These two keyboards are the same size, and I'm hoping that I can sneak one as a carry-on even though they exceed baggage requirements in length, but they're only 3.5 inches thick.

The Roland Go Piano is 61 keys and operates on batteries. These are big pluses for me. I can see me practicing with headphones at the airport.

The Yamaha MX-49 has only 49 keys, but it has so many cool sounds that I thought I could use it at home as a sound bank.

I already own a PSR-S970. The MX-49 has 1000 tones from the Motif. Is there going to be a lot of sounds on the MX-49 that I would enjoy it at home?

The MX-49 is $200 more even though I saw an open box one for $100 more than the Roland Go piano.

I'm assuming they both have kind of crappy synth-like keys. You got to make sacrifices when you're on the go.

May I ask is this "traveling" for gigs or vacation etc,.... as these mentioned dont have arranger features unless you playing against backing tracks?....if sacrifices have to be made for travel only smaller (keys)
but certainly gigable as I can attest to many times Ive used it on stage the KORG Micro is perfect styles, lightweight great sound on board speakers.....for practice or travel its very efficient.

http://i.korg.com/microarranger

Donny, that makes no sense at all. Anyone that is intending to perform while traveling, such as I did when I traveled to the Florida Keys by boat and car, would also be taking their entire rig, keyboard stand, gig bag, custom console with laptop, complete PA system, and of course their BEST keyboard. The micro-arranger is just a smaller, arranger keyboard that IMHO, doesn't sound very good. I want my audiences to hear the best I have to offer - and nothing less!

All the best,

Gary

It's just to bang around on when I'm traveling. I want to have full-width keys.

What I like about the Roland Go Piano is it doesn't waste any space on the sides of the keys, so it's almost the same width as the MX-49 but it has 61 keys.

More keys, AC/DC, I give the edge to the Roland for travel, but
the MX49 has all of those great EPs, organs, and synth sounds. Does it have stuff that I would want to use at home that my PSR-S970 doesn't have?

Gary I have personally gigged with the Micro and it can be made to sound very good, yes it makes alot of sense, believe me I have played with groups all over the world years ago and used alot of gear that wasn't mine you just make it work with your talents and experience,......have you gigged with the micro vsv just a few minutes in a store?.....also when traveling many times just your Kb is all you need especially if your visiting someone and can rent or borrow gear just for the gig with out having to carry it yourself especially on a plane..the micro certainly has its attributes if you know how to use it.

Hope your sailing in this very warm weather....

take care

Larry thanx for adding more detailed info...if I'd known that I wouldn't have offered the info,.....have fun in your travels..
and whatever you choose...that said the Roland GO Piano is a good sounding choice.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Carbon49

If you have an iPhone, or iPad - this is a cheap, teeny-tiny option to let you play anywhere! There's even a grove to hold the device at a good viewing angle.

Donny, the only time I played one was in the local music store - I was not enthralled with the sounds I heard. And, it's not all that much smaller or lighter than the S-970. I would much rather play the S-970.

As for borrowing or renting gear for a job, NAH! No one in their right mind is going to loan someone their PA system, and renting one makes absolutely no sense at all, knowing how little the jobs pay on average.

As for the sailing, too hot and humid to sail when you have bad lungs. It's 95 here right now with a humidity of 90 percent. Much cooler in the Florida Keys where it's just 88 degrees and 60 percent humidity.

All the best,

Gary

If you wanted, you could put the Aiwa Exos 9 in your suitcase. It's just 18 lbs and delivers 200 continuous watts of power. And it has a lithium battery.
https://www.amazon.com/Aiwa-Exos-9-Portable-Bluetooth-Speaker/dp/B00WF78GS4

Oh, but as an update, months ago, I returned the Aiwa Exos 9 I purchased for local gigging not because it didn't sound great, but my current rig has been so dependable and convenient, it didn't make sense to upgrade.

But that 49 key controller has some bad reviews as far as velocity sensitivity of the keys and problems interfacing with included software.