I have a love/hate relationship with the weight of my Roland FP5. It is a weighted key, 88-key instrument. I am a classically trained pianist and a gigging jazz musician. I love the feel of playing with the instrument. It affords me the opportunity to explore a wide range of expression in my playing. I hate lugging it around. On a gig, add to that a stand, amplification, cable/stuff bag and the hate just grows. Some people may say a cart is the solution. That helps if the gig is handicap-accessable all the way to the stage. If not, your language gets very colorful as you unload/reload the cart to get passed steps.

I use the softcase for the Yamaha S80 with this keyboard. It fits the Roland perfectly, has wheels and a strap. I can strap it to my back and wheel it and move it around hands-free. That part is easy. Lifting it in/out car and on/off stand at home and the stand at the gig is a little less fun. There has been plenty of times the keyboard sat in the case and not on my stand at home because I didn't feel like dealing with it or knew I had another gig coming up soon and would just have to pack it up again.

For the future I am looking at 61 keys for the main keyboard with a 2nd 88 key controller that I will use when needed. For me, in the perfect world, Yamaha comes out with a 76 key arranger. If I only played the keyboard at home, or took it out only on a very rare occasion, I wouldn't care about weight. Otherwise, it is of high priority.



[This message has been edited by RobertG (edited 05-14-2006).]

... and freak out the first time the keyboard falls off the trolley.

The idea is there,if you improvise i am sure you can find a way around it, the other alternative is to pay a wrestler to escort you,he he.

There are too many great choices to be carrying a 50 pound kb around. The first thing I look at is the weight. If it's too heavy, I don't consider it.
... and I am 6-5 and 250.
... with a bad back and wrist from toting this stuff for 35 years.
DonM

I've spent too many years in envy of fellow band members able to simply carry (in one hand) their music instrument to/from rehearsals & gigs, while I had to struggle carting around my 70+ lb keyboard, suffering back aches along the way to go back to that. Now that my keyboard transport weight is finally begining to inch in the direction of my non-keyboard gigging musician brothers and sisters, (Tyros2: 32 lbs) no longer am I willing to transport a keyboard over 40 lbs. Considering the fact that a keyboard's appropriately protective case can easily weigh 20+ lbs, a 49.6 lb keyboard like the Roland E80 with appropriate case will weigh 70+ lbs. In addition to weight, the keyboards dimensions (length/width & depth), bulkiness, and balance ergonomics, are other critically important transport factors to consider. It's far more difficult to manuever a 76 or 88 note long keyboard than a shorter 61 note one, and if the majority of the keyboard's weight rests on one end only, this makes it more difficult to manuever still. Balancing keyboard sound quality, with transport weight and size (61 vs 76-88 keys) are important considerations for the gigging musician. - Scott

With composites getting lighter and stronger there really is no need to build 50 lb. plus keyboards anymore. But the manufacturers are still using the heavier composites in many cases as we saw Roland do with the E-80. Even with 4 speakers it didn't have to be 50 lbs. in my opinion. I mean we're talking about a 61 key Arranger not an 88 key behemoth. Roland apparently didn't think it was necessary to consider weight when they made the E-80. And if the E-80 doesn't fly off the shelves I hope they wake up and see that its weight may have been a big reason why and the determining factor for many people who may have otherwise bought one. Besides the other big reason of it being astronomically priced.

There is a glimmer of hope though. Take the new MO8 from Yamaha. It is "88" keys and weighs 46 lbs. Take the Roland Fantom X7 which has 76 keys and weighs in at 32 lbs. Take the new Korg TR 76 key which weighs in at only 20.3 lbs!

So I think there is a shift towards lighter and more portable keyboards by the Big Three. Except, of course, in the case of the E-80. They aren't batting a thousand yet but at least in several recent instances we see Yamaha, Roland, and Korg moving in the direction of lighter more portable keyboards. For which I commend them.

Best regards,
Mike

I think that the technology has progressed amply to deliver a lightweight keyboard with or without speakers, as witness by the addition of the Casio 88 key digital stage piano. If this piano has better polyphony and maybe better sound samples it would have been a keeper for me at only 26 pounds for a weighted hammer action 88 key instrument. I know that its possible, just hard to get all the technology together into one instrument. I am still thinking that one of those cheaper (less expensive) digital stage pianos is a good mix with an arranger board if 88 keys is required for a certain venue or performance. Everybody has their own reasons for why they do what they do. After having played heavy, lets not forget the Rhodes 76 key stage piano, I have decided to go light. Its about saving my back. Wheels or not you eventually have to lift it.

Remember boy & girls..."Lift with your Spleen!"

Dennis L. Almond
aka...TwoNuts

I don't know about other keyboards, but Technics could easily shave off 5 lbs just by removing the two speakers AND the woofer.

I know Yamaha supposed to be pretty light, at least for the PSR and the Tyros series.

I've been using a 7-pound controller keyboard with a 8-pound Midjay. I had to use Velcro to keep it from sliding around!
DonM

Roland IMO didnt design the E80 or the G70 for the gigging musician but rather for the Home / Studio user, judging by their refusal to sell these units in home organ stores where they exagerate the prices beyond belief........
who knows that their up to