Hi ,
have a question, I blame Uncle Dave for getting me interested in pianos again, with his Yammie P121, I think it was.

I possibly want to give piano a bit of a try again, been about 25 years since I played so not sure if it’s something I’m capable of doing again, so don’t want to go overboard on a piano.
I was thinking of getting one with 88 keys, but is it necessary? 73 keys would be easier to ship, if I decided it wasn’t for me.

I did mainly play arpeggio type songs, so hence my question, would 73 be enough. I know the 61 notes on my keyboard aren’t, and I’m no good at octave swapping to try and make 61 notes work, plus I want weighted keys.

Any input would be appreciated.

Thank you
Best wishes
Rikki

I can say that now playing 76 keys I sometimes feel that I need more; surely, not less. The reason I bought 76 is that I’m not ready for hammer action, and 88 versions usually have one. But in terms of real life, especially outside one’s room, it’s always about finding a proper compromise, while 61 keys are pretty usable, too, 73 is surely much more usable than 61.

Hi Rikki,
Obviously, your question was too hard. Slow response!!!
My comments,for what they are worth, from a juvenile piano player.
My first impressions would be that 73 should be enough for anyone but a concert pianist, but recent posts will give you varying opinions contrary to that.
Relative to console organs with extended keyboard range,with which I am familiar, when compared to spinet organs, with lesser key range, I always found that the spread/quality of sound was always far superior with the extra keys.
i do not profess to know the technical reason for this, but no doubt others will soon respond.
I have also been a longtime fan of piano action keys for expressive playing.

P.S. I am sure your partner is pleased that sports cars were not your hobby !!!

Ray

If you are doing any classical piano then 88 keys would be best. I also feel it is better to have more than enough keys than not enough. Then all options are available. There are pianos with even more than 88 keys.

To my experience, only composers of the Romantic period like Chopin, Schubert etc often have these extremes in their compositions. If you don’t intend to play their tunes precisely, 76 and probably 73 keys will be entirely satisfactory, that’s my view.

Hi ,
Thank you everyone.
I don’t think I’ll be playing classical music, so by the sound of things , the 73 keys should be enough. It’s mainly the weighted action I miss, can’t get used to playing arpeggios on my keyboards, the light action doesn’t work for me.

Anyway, if I find I really enjoy playing again, I can always upgrade down the track.
If not I can always use it as a controller for VArranger.

Hi Ray,
I’ve had a few over the years, but not my doing . He was the sports car nut, but since he needed a work truck, I got to drive the sports cars. I didn’t complain. Haha

As others said 73/76 should be good enough except for Classical and even then there are workarounds. I would think a lot about the touch and go for a weighted action for more expressiveness. Just my opinion.
As for shipping I had a Roland FP90 shipped to my house, heavy but no problem the way they pack them.

For most songs its enough..
For any other songs, its okay when there is an octave +/- buttons on the front panel..

However, make sure its an e-e keybed..

f-f and certainly c-c don’t cut it..

Sorry for duplicating the video of me which I had posted in n other thread, but as you can see here in the beginning I play the 76 keys keyboard nearly on its ends, and it doesn’t sound weird, and its not an academic stuff. I think if I felt better about hammer action and didn’t need mobility, 88 keys would be my choice.