My little neffew will be taking keyboards lessons soon, my sister told me they don't wanna spend more then 1000 euro, that leaves them with the following options

-Yamaha MM6 for €500
-Yamaha S500 for €600
-Yamaha YPG-735 for €750 (88 weighted keys)
-Roland E50 for €999
-Korg PA500 for €999
-Casio Wk3800 for €650 (76 keys)
(seccond hand gear is out of the question, they wanna buy something new...woman)

Which of these boards do you think suits best for a little kid, 8 years old, that needs to have fun when making music...

Next to that, i haven't even heart most of these boards... How do they sound? ...whats your opinion, do you have any experience with some of these?

He is supposed to begin after the summer vacation, so that leaves me with some time to seriously study these machines.

[This message has been edited by Bachus (edited 05-10-2008).]

If he's taking piano lessons go with:

-Yamaha YPG-735 for €750 (88 weighted keys)

-Casio Wk3800 for €650 (76 keys)

Both are great keyboards, although the Yamaha will be worth more on a trade-in if they decide on something more substantial down the road.

Also, if he doesn't continue with the lessons, the Yamaha will be easier to sell.

Ian

He is taking arranger keyboard lessons...

Yes that is possible here in Holland, it replaces the organ lessons from earlier days..

They learn play with arranger ... adn with 10 finger synth piano style, requirenets are a 61 key or more arranger keyboard...

I can't judge the sound of the casio, or thequallity of the actuall keys... From the YPG i tought the styles where rather thin compared to what i am used, the piano part tough was extraordinary..

The Roland E-50 is a fine instrument, I've played one and it's a got a great sound and styles are excellent...I can't speak about the Korg PA-500 as we don't get them in my area.

What about the Yamaha PSR-S700...is that over your price limit?

The Yamaha MMO6 is not an arranger.

Ian

The S700 is about €200 to expensive...


And the MM6 as i was told can be used as an arranger with only 1 variation (no intros's and fills)It has an awesome arpegiator that allows for this..

But you are right its not a standard arranger keyboard, more like a synth zound module with some extra options.....but it sounds about 100 times better then the S500

The MMO6 would probably be "cooler" to an 8 year old, and the arpeggiator functions are pretty neat.

They don't support "on bass" or slash chords which may be limiting.

The Yamaha PSR-E403 features two control knobs for real time control of effects, filter, EG, tempo, an on-board arpeggiator and Pitch Bend wheel. Also included is a 6-track sequencer.

It doesn't support on bass chords either, whereas the Roland E-50 does.

The keyboards you mentioned(other than the MMO6) have built in speakers...is that important to you?

Also, have you considered the Korg PA-50?

Just trying to help and run the possibilities by you.

Ian

Yes,

I suppose build in speakers are important as this keyboard is for home use...

I considered the PA50, but its been replaced by the PA500 as i was told.

(If it was up to me i'd spend €200 more on a roland E60, but sadly thats out of the budget, same as the yamaha S700) as that would have all the feautures to last a few years more.

According to Korg UK and also the dealers, the PA50 is to continue in production, as the PA500 costs about £300 more, and so is not a direct replacement.
As most young ones are into computers, also consider a controller keyboard and some software like Live-Styler. http://www.live-styler.de/home (Get a controller with plenty of buttons and controls for best results)
Hope this helps

Bill

That would also be an option....a nice CME controller livestyler or OMB and a good vst..

But then i think my sister will dislike it, she is a typically woman and not intoo tech things...She owns a PC to read her E-mail and chat with her friends, and prolly does not know it can be used for other things too...

Its an advice i surely will keep in mind...

If he's got to carry it around, the built in speakers would be a big plus.

Ian

Well maybe from the kitchen to the living room...My sister will never allow him to take such an expensive toy out of the house...

Inquire what type of instrument the teacher will be using?

Might help if the OS are similar.

Ian

Get the E50 or MM6...

WAY cooler, way more contemporary...

Why not take the kid out to the stores and see what HE wants?

Alternative plan... look for a used E60 (they are so new it'll LOOK new). 76 keys (enough for most beginner piano pieces) a GREAT piano sound, loads of contemporary styles like hiphop and techno, VERY simple OS... cool touch screen (he'll love that!)...

Since they indicated they wanted "new", wouldn't the E-50 have basically the same goodies as the E-60?

Ian

Not the 76

(rather more important to a beginner than someone who already learned on a piano, Ian)...

BTW, I DID mention the E50 first. It's just that 'used' can mean so little, nowadays, as many buy things just to try them out (especially Roland's, which are getting hard to find). A 'used' E60 might have been out of the box for less time than a 'new' one bought from a store that was on the shelves...

Yes I know Diki...I did recommend the Yamaha YPG (88 key) and Casio WK3800(76) at first.

According to Bachus, he is taking arranger lessons...not piano.

If it was me I'd get him the MMO6 and computer speakers...or the E-50, but his teacher should be consulted beforehand in any case.

Ian

I kind of consider arranger lessons as the equivalent of accordion lessons (or playing) back in the day. You can play complex tunes with difficult chords LONG before you might have the technique to play them if you were just learning piano...

One of the best things to happen to me was moving to another house after my first year of piano. While it was being built, we had no room for a piano, so my folks got me an accordion. I learned SO much in the way of understanding chord relationships (the buttons are in a cycle of fifths layout, so the same relationships meant the same jump, no matter what key you were in) that would have taken MUCH longer to learn on a piano...

BTW, if it were ME buying this, I'd remember he's EIGHT..! Used might be EXACTLY the way to go, given how destructive little boys can be!

I don't know, Diki, I was 5 when I started, and I didn't beat anything up...depends on the kid's upbringing, I guess and how he was taught to respect his belongings.

I'm sure the teacher would(and should) have some suggestion on what to get, and combined with the savvy that Bachus has about keyboards, it should work out okay.

Ian

I had a talk with the teacher....

And we both agreed... Roland E60... I talked out a deal for it at €1100, now i need to convince my sister.......I am sure it will be a great choice, and whenever he decides to drop out it will sell for a good price too

Cool! Good decision...the E-60 is great instrument...it should bring a good price if you ever need to sell it.

Ian