Hey all,
About six months ago I decided to start learning to play the piano, so I bought an M-Audio Keystation 49 from eBay and have been going through the GarageBand lessons and bought some Ludovico Einaudi sheet music and just threw myself into the deep end. The keyboard was probably in the seller's attic for a while so the keys are a bit sticky. Not much, but still. Anyway, I find when I have to play delicate notes, it's not much fun with just these semi-weighted keys, but it could be because they're sticky. One thing I don't like is having to completely release the key before I can play the note again. I'm not sure if you have to do that with hammer action keys or if you can press it before it's fully returned to its initial position.
Anyway, my main problem is that I'm finding 49 keys isn't enough for certain things I'm learning to play without doing some funky keyboard splitting in Ableton which is less than ideal, so I'm in the market for a new keyboard. I'm beginning to lean towards a digital piano (with midi) over just a midi controller as then I could have quick goes on it without needing to hook it up to the laptop.
So my questions are:
1) Regarding key weighting - is there a big difference between standard hammer action and graded hammer action (where the weight is heavier for lower notes than higher ones)? Should I bother going for as authentic a feel as possible given my level? I suppose my main concern is whether having just semi-weighted or weighted keys will mean it takes me a while to adjust to real piano keys later on.
2) I see keyboards that have 88 keys and some that have 76. Will those extra 12 keys matter? Granted, that's a whole octave, but has anyone come across many pieces that use more than 76 keys? I'm currently eyeing up the Yamaha NP30 (76 'Graded Soft Touch' keys, slim, built-in speakers and midi out) but will look up some reviews before I take the plunge. Initially I was considering getting a 61-key controller, then moving up to 88 later on, but that was because I thought space would be an issue but it's less-so now, so I'm thinking of just going for more keys now.
3) Does anyone have any keyboard/digital piano recommendations(I suppose ?250 would be my maximum right now)? Space is quite tight in my room, but I'm planning on maybe setting it up in the guest room and so would need to have the keyboard and a separate, easily-folded stand and stool, rather than an all-in-one unit, even if it's slim and can be removed from the stand, as it may need to be put away quite often.
Thanks!
About six months ago I decided to start learning to play the piano, so I bought an M-Audio Keystation 49 from eBay and have been going through the GarageBand lessons and bought some Ludovico Einaudi sheet music and just threw myself into the deep end. The keyboard was probably in the seller's attic for a while so the keys are a bit sticky. Not much, but still. Anyway, I find when I have to play delicate notes, it's not much fun with just these semi-weighted keys, but it could be because they're sticky. One thing I don't like is having to completely release the key before I can play the note again. I'm not sure if you have to do that with hammer action keys or if you can press it before it's fully returned to its initial position.
Anyway, my main problem is that I'm finding 49 keys isn't enough for certain things I'm learning to play without doing some funky keyboard splitting in Ableton which is less than ideal, so I'm in the market for a new keyboard. I'm beginning to lean towards a digital piano (with midi) over just a midi controller as then I could have quick goes on it without needing to hook it up to the laptop.
So my questions are:
1) Regarding key weighting - is there a big difference between standard hammer action and graded hammer action (where the weight is heavier for lower notes than higher ones)? Should I bother going for as authentic a feel as possible given my level? I suppose my main concern is whether having just semi-weighted or weighted keys will mean it takes me a while to adjust to real piano keys later on.
2) I see keyboards that have 88 keys and some that have 76. Will those extra 12 keys matter? Granted, that's a whole octave, but has anyone come across many pieces that use more than 76 keys? I'm currently eyeing up the Yamaha NP30 (76 'Graded Soft Touch' keys, slim, built-in speakers and midi out) but will look up some reviews before I take the plunge. Initially I was considering getting a 61-key controller, then moving up to 88 later on, but that was because I thought space would be an issue but it's less-so now, so I'm thinking of just going for more keys now.
3) Does anyone have any keyboard/digital piano recommendations(I suppose ?250 would be my maximum right now)? Space is quite tight in my room, but I'm planning on maybe setting it up in the guest room and so would need to have the keyboard and a separate, easily-folded stand and stool, rather than an all-in-one unit, even if it's slim and can be removed from the stand, as it may need to be put away quite often.
Thanks!
It's big though, so shifting it is a problem.
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