Picked up one of these little guys for the office I use at a charity. Wouldn't want to use it for gigging, but for an "idea" generator, it's fine. Compact size, 76 notes and on-board speakers good enough for my purposes. ZSounds will have the unit for $299.95 with free shipping, stand and adapter when they get their next shipment-November 10, they say.

Had an old Clavinova CPV 65 sitting around and a Casio WK-8000 I got from George last year not being used, but they were too large for the small space.

Neat, cheap little unit!


Russ

captain Russ. NP30, I use one as lower keyboard to my Tyros 2 (Organ without pedals) This enables me to have full T2 for RH and the NP30 triggers the Chords / Styles of the T2.

NP -30 is very nice...my girlfriend bought one after trying the one I had here.

I got myself a Yamaha P-85 digital piano...88 weighted graded hammer action, built in speakers and only weighs 25 lbs.

Pretty inexpensive , too.

Works real nice on it's own, or as a MIDI controller for the S900.

http://www.yamaha.ca/content/electronick...keyfeatures.jsp

Ian

[This message has been edited by ianmcnll (edited 09-29-2008).]

Not the best sounds, but they aren't too bad. Also makes a darn good midi controller if you want an inexpensive 76er that doesn't feel like the typical PSR line up. The keys are a little stiffer.. Not really weighted, but you can feel the graded effect they have. The keys are kinda in between synth-action and semi-weighted. They feel different at first, but you get used to them fairly quick.

I picked up one of these a few months ago, with the idea that I'd use it as a lower manual with my Tyros 3 (no, I don't have that yet!) ... I used to use a Technics KN-7000 as upper and an older 76 lower, plus pedals.

Ironically, for now I have moved to a S900, no lower manual, no pedals - for some gigs.

NP30 seems nice for the price, and I like having 76 notes of piano always available no matter what's on my upper keyboard for sounds ...

Jim

I'm sorry, but I hated the piano sound, and I hated the action. Is any REAL pianist going to be able to play well on this? 76, well OK, yes I'm used to squeezing my parts into that limited range, but the touch... It's like playing a theremin! Absolutely no resistance at all. You could hurt yourself banging into one of these!

But the fact so many of you are willing to put up with it's shortcomings shows one thing... There's FAR more of you than you are willing to admit recognize the importance of a keybed bigger than 61 notes is needed to play piano parts

Diki..., you're used to the G-70 man. The G-70's keys are like night and day compared to the NP-30. To someone who is used to the typical action of a PSR..., they may notice the difference. If you're used to the smooth action of the 70.., the NP will feel like a Casio to you. There is resistance to the keys as well. You can feel the graded resistance (it's not the best, but better than nothing I guess)

The piano sounds aren't the best, but the onboard speakers are just shit period! The unit sounds much better with a decent set of monitors.

Diki, I understand what you're saying. For me, I'm at this office about 6 hours a week. If I hear a tune on the radio, or just think of one I have never played or have not played in a long time, I'll use it for 5 minutes. It's the right size and I spent more time playing synths and Hammonds, so the action is something I can live with.

If action and piano sounds were critical and I had the room, I'd move my Clavinova CPV 65 into the office. It's just sitting around and has 88 weighted keys, action, a piano player like you would appreciate and an acceptable piano sound, even though it's old.

You're right...not much of an instrument, but does exactly what I need it to do.


Russ

Actually, squeak, I'm used to a piano

The G70 is an excellent compromise between piano feel and organ feel, but for playing the piano sound, is still second best to a real action. It's just that so many of these NP30's seem to be bought by people that want to play a piano sound on a larger keybed, but no attention is payed to just how light the action is. Even a T2 or PA800 is heavier than these!

Ian's P85 is a FAR better choice, IMO if you want to play pianistically... Personally, the G70 is at the LOW end of what I would consider acceptable for good piano technique, not the high end!

But yes, I get that it's cheap and cheerful... And, as I've said in the past, if Yamaha wanted to make a 76 S900, it would make a decent action for those already used to the flyweight PSR series. Personally, I hope that if they ever make one, they use the MotifXS7 action (same as T2), but knowing Yamaha's penchant for using the cheapest stuff they can find for that series, I don't hold much hope

I received my first shipment of KX8 Yamaha 88 Graded weighted action midi/usb controllers. These controllers are light weight and also have the Yamaha Phrase Factory arpeggios built in, just like in the Motif. They sell for under $600.00 and make a great weighted key controller for use with lesser key arrangers.

------------------
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California
818-881-5566
www.kayesmusicscene.com

Oh, BTW, if any of you haven't had an opportunity to play a FantomG8 yet, try to find one... OMG They have finally found something to make the keys out of that feels JUST like ivory! A non-slip finish with the perfect piano feel. It is, by FAR, the most tactile accuracy I have ever had the pleasure to play.

For those of us in the south (US, that is!), having a non-slip keybed is a wonderful thing, but even cooler climate pianist should appreciate the touch of this thing. It is also tied to some delicious acoustic and electric piano sounds, and is a joy to play. Close your eyes, and you could easily imagine you are playing a real piano, the FEEL is that good! (The sound is up to your tastes - me, I love the 'warmth' of Roland's acoustic pianos)

How well it holds up to dirt is yet to be determined, but even real pianos had issues with that. For a true pianist, having something that stops your fingers from sliding around is more important than cosmetics, IMO...

Give it a spin, when you can...