Hullo,

I'm a guitarist who knows little about keys. Can some one recommend a good, cheap (<400 used) keyboard that has reasonably realistic piano and string and other acoustic sounds for that price and also some decent effects, with a few wierd noises. Not as interested in drum machine/sampler options. Also, I guess nothing too old as synths go out of phase quickly. Any advice would be great. Thanx...

400-500$ range
with sequencer and disk drive

roland xp 50,jv 1000,,korg 01wfd,t 3(no GM)/x 3(ok piano),ensoniq ts 10,yam w7,

no seq

xp30,x 5(too small),
QS series(not recommeded by me)

if you find one let us know,we'll give you more advice.

As you know this is an arranger forum and I think (and many pro's here also) that arranger is a great tool to use for beginner and people who wants to play almost any kind of music and needs accompaniment.

If you just want piano and strings, many arrangers have decent ones although I am sure dedicated synths and piano boards are probably better sounding. Less than $400, for new arranger board has got to be the CASIO WK3000 or the 3500 series. But for a used board, maybe Yamaha PSR740 or PSR550 or even PSR1000.

Thanks guys. I was looking at used xp-30's for about $400, so the XP-50 is probably out of my price range. E-bay is pretty much market price these days. Are there any glitches with the XP-30 which caused it to be discontinued.

I would also agree that the Casio WK3500 is one of the best keyboards you can get for the money.

I have a Mint Condition PSR 740 for sale. $450.00