How many keys do I need (piano, synth)?

[Tom]

I’m looking to get a digital piano/synth.

Because when people ask what I play and I say “Accordion,” they all move away from me on the bench. But if I say “Keyboards, but I busk with accordion,” they all move back. (Thank you Arlo.)

Just kidding, but there is a note of truth here.

Anyway, for you piano players out there, do I need 61, 76, or 88? I’m not looking to play fancy classical or obtuse jazz music, just the traditional, pop, improvisational stuff I play on my accordion. I imagine it mainly needs to be more than 41 because of the fact that the left hand has to share the same keyboard.

I’m looking at the Roland GoKeys 3, because of the price/feature ratio, and THINK it can even be used as an arranger keyboard with my Fr4, although I have not been able to get a straight answer to this. It has 61 keys. Another contender would be the more pianoistic Casio CT-S1 with 76. I would like to stay under $500.

Any thoughts my brilliant, knowledgeable friends?

 

[Ventura]

unfortunately, most of the lower priced stuff now only has
USB MIDI or for that Roland, USB and BLUETOOTH midi..

so most of these will NOT work live taking a feed from
a simple MIDI cable out from your FR4 to in on the keyboard,
but they will work fine off a computer based home studio setup

that is the only bad part of the hugely handy KORG i3 i picked up
last year, which has scads of live performance background stuff
going back and collected over 40 years of products and crammed
into the beast

it may be better to occasionally pop in at the Pawn shops and
music-go-rounds to find a slightly older tech model of a pro
or semi pro level Korg or Roland in your price range, with backgrounds
built in and actual old fashioned MIDI ports, like an iX300
which like other models of it's era, has a floppy disk built in (lol)
but still very useful, full complement of MIDI ports for live use
and great sound engines

note: many of these will need popped open and the 2032 coin-cell
battery replaced, just like on a Motherboard, as the residual voltage
is needed to hold any settings you make when the unit is cycled on/off

ciao

 

[PeterF]

61 keys is probably the minimum you want. You can do a fair amount in that range, but depending on what you're playing, you may still run out of notes on the top or bottom occasionally. 76 key would give you a very comfortable range. 88 keys is absolutely overkill for what you want it for, it sounds like. Plus they're big and bulky.

I have a Clavia Nord Electro 61, which is a lovely instrument. I do sometimes run out of notes at the top or bottom and need to shift the octaves, but I can live with that for the light weight and size. Definitely outside your $500 range though.

Note that, while I can't speak to MIDI compatibility, if you're connecting it to your MIDI accordion, the number of keys shouldn't be an issue. The keyboard will respond to whatever MIDI notes are sent to it, regardless of whether it's on the physical keyboard or not. So if you accordion is sending MIDI notes below the range on the keyboard, it should sound still.

A quick look online shows a lot of new keyboards in the sub-$500 range from Roland, Yamaha, Casio, Korg. They're all going to be pretty similar ultimately. Compare the stats and specs and if you can go try them in a store and see which sounds and keyboard feel the best.

As Venture noted, it may be easier to get a keyboard (used or new) with old style round MIDI ins and outs to make a direct connection from your accordion. (And not just a USB midi port). Otherwise you might have to try to link them through computer software and that gets very fiddly very quickly.

 

[Tom]

unfortunately, most of the lower priced stuff now only has
USB MIDI or for that Roland, USB and BLUETOOTH midi..

so most of these will NOT work live taking a feed from
a simple MIDI cable out from your FR4 to in on the keyboard,
but they will work fine off a computer based home studio setup

that is the only bad part of the hugely handy KORG i3 i picked up
last year, which has scads of live performance background stuff
going back and collected over 40 years of products and crammed
into the beast

it may be better to occasionally pop in at the Pawn shops and
music-go-rounds to find a slightly older tech model of a pro
or semi pro level Korg or Roland in your price range, with backgrounds
built in and actual old fashioned MIDI ports, like an iX300
which like other models of it's era, has a floppy disk built in (lol)
but still very useful, full complement of MIDI ports for live use
and great sound engines

note: many of these will need popped open and the 2032 coin-cell
battery replaced, just like on a Motherboard, as the residual voltage
is needed to hold any settings you make when the unit is cycled on/off

ciao

Thanks Ventura. I do have a midi to usb cable that worked with the software arranger that I tried which is why I wondered about the GoKeys.

 

[Tom]

61 keys is probably the minimum you want. You can do a fair amount in that range, but depending on what you're playing, you may still run out of notes on the top or bottom occasionally. 76 key would give you a very comfortable range. 88 keys is absolutely overkill for what you want it for, it sounds like. Plus they're big and bulky.

I have a Clavia Nord Electro 61, which is a lovely instrument. I do sometimes run out of notes at the top or bottom and need to shift the octaves, but I can live with that for the light weight and size. Definitely outside your $500 range though.

Note that, while I can't speak to MIDI compatibility, if you're connecting it to your MIDI accordion, the number of keys shouldn't be an issue. The keyboard will respond to whatever MIDI notes are sent to it, regardless of whether it's on the physical keyboard or not. So if you accordion is sending MIDI notes below the range on the keyboard, it should sound still.

A quick look online shows a lot of new keyboards in the sub-$500 range from Roland, Yamaha, Casio, Korg. They're all going to be pretty similar ultimately. Compare the stats and specs and if you can go try them in a store and see which sounds and keyboard feel the best.

As Venture noted, it may be easier to get a keyboard (used or new) with old style round MIDI ins and outs to make a direct connection from your accordion. (And not just a USB midi port). Otherwise you might have to try to link them through computer software and that gets very fiddly very quickly.

Thanks Peter! So many choices. Unfortunately the nearest music store is an hour away but I definitely plan to check them out in person when I can.

 

[Rosie C]

My Kawai electric piano is an 88 note, but that stays at home. My MIDI keyboard is a 61 and that's a good balance for me between portability and range - I wouldn't want to lug an 88 note keyboard around!

Being physically unable to play shawm, and unable to afford a hurdy-gurdy, one of my goals this year is some sort of synthesiser set up - an old Mac Mini, my 61 note MIDI keyboard, and sampled instruments from "Orchestra Tools". It's all a bit of a learning curve though!

 

[Tom]

Tha

My Kawai electric piano is an 88 note, but that stays at home. My MIDI keyboard is a 61 and that's a good balance for me between portability and range - I wouldn't want to lug an 88 note keyboard around!

Being physically unable to play shawm, and unable to afford a hurdy-gurdy, one of my goals this year is some sort of synthesiser set up - an old Mac Mini, my 61 note MIDI keyboard, and sampled instruments from "Orchestra Tools". It's all a bit of a learning curve though!

Thanks Rosie! What’s a shawm?

 

[Rosie C]

Thanks Rosie! What’s a shawm?

An early sort of oboe (double reed) and it needs a lot more air pressure than I can muster!

Here's the lovely Candice Night with one:

 

[Tom]

An early sort of oboe (double reed) and it needs a lot more air pressure than I can muster!

Here's the lovely Candice Night with one:

Thanks Rosie! I bet that has a beautiful sound, but I imagine playing it would be difficult. I need my reeds hidden behind celluloid!

 

[Rosie C]

Thanks Rosie! I bet that has a beautiful sound, but I imagine playing it would be difficult. I need my reeds hidden behind celluloid!

Likewise, my reeds all in a nice handy box!

 

[Dingo40]

Thanks Rosie! What’s a shawm?

Shawm: