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First post, by 386SX

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l33t

Hello,

lately I'm trying to learn after decades to play different movies/music soundtracks on a digital keyboard and after reading about modern cheap lowest end products, trying to find a "good" digital piano keyboard (Casio or Yamaha) and beginning to learn as far as this new idea will last. To "test" if this might be a temporary idea I only bought a cheap new portable Yamaha PSS 37 keys modern keyboard below the 99$/E limit just to test something basic and I think it could actually be fun to learn music at least by memory and sell it later for a better device.

I'd like to ask those who are expert on this complex subject few entry level questions. I understood by myself that the choice of getting a not touch sensible keyboard was a big limitation I'm already seeing by myself. But I didn't want to get a new full size keyboard usually without this feature too (at these prices) and to spend too much when I would replace it soon anyway; so I was thinking to buy a vintage old Casio keyboard that has good prices for great features, DSP, etc.. The idea would be to have a keyboard that could have touch sensitive full size keys with some very good piano sound and synth emulation and I'd like your opinion on some keyboards like the old entry level but not bad Casio CTK-530 or CTK-671 (90>2000 devices) with the first having touch keys and the second also a DSP and possibly to upload from computer different new sounds/configurations.
A thing I don't like of these keyboards are that those keys while full size doesn't seem to have a the classic piano front plastic on each key but empty below.
Anyway they seems good (or not?) and what I could actually upload to the keyboard? If I would like for example to find a good similar Moog analog synthesizer configuration for some specific songs, would it be possible to get a specific sound like those ones?

Thanks for any suggestions.
Bye

Reply 1 of 3, by PdXY

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Use any decent keyboard as midi controller and use synth emulations to test a few sounds on your PC with it. The Sound generation doesn't need to come from the keyboard, so you should get a cheap but touchsensitive midi controller as your best option to start with as keyboards with builtin sound generation used for 80s soundtracks will be pretty expensive for a starter (speaking as a starter myself).

Reply 2 of 3, by Shponglefan

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If the goal is to learn proper keyboard/piano skills, I would recommend getting a proper digital piano with fully weighted keys and a full 88-key keybed.

Used models from Yamaha or Casio are probably your best bet for something that won't break the bank, but will still give you something proper to learn on. Models from within the last 10 years or so should include MIDI capabilities (at least via USB), which will allow you to hook it up to a computer for controlling software synthesizers.

If you're planning to go the actual synthesizer route (e.g. Moog, etc.), be warned that is a pretty deep (and potentially expensive) rabbit hole. Unless you have a burning desire for actual, analog hardware, I would stick to a basic digital piano and supplement with software synths as a start.

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Reply 3 of 3, by akula65

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Pre-pandemic prices had dropped to $500.00US for a low-end 88-key digital piano, so I am inclined to agree with Shponglefan.

Having said that, I bought a Casio CTK-601 twenty-five years ago for $200.00US and if you could find one in good shape at a reasonable price, I would certainly recommend it. It has 61 full-size keys. The touch sensitivity has four levels and can be turned on or off. More info here:
Summary: http://arch.casio-intl.com/asia-mea/en/emi/pa … ade/ctk601.html
Manual: https://www.usersmanualguide.com/manuals/casi … 601_CTK-611.pdf