Stage Piano Rec.

[will_to_burn]

Fellow musicians! It's high time that I invest in a full sized stage piano for performing. I'm not looking for anything top notch, just to get me started. I'm wondering if you guys have any suggestions.

I've really got three basic interests in said keyboard:
-Maintaining sound when amplified (keyboards I've used sound really harsh when sent through an amp).
-Weighted keys. (a given!)
-Price (I'd like to try to keep it below $500 hopefully).

Also, does anyone have experience in building their own keyboard cases? I've heard it may be cheaper to make your own, and I'm very curious.
Thank you all, I'd really appreciate this.

[chrisstahl]

I would rec this for basic operation..

http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-CAS-PX130-LIST

but I would spend a few hundred more and get this one for a bunch more features.

http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-CAS-PX330-LIST

there are quite a few videos on youtube of the features of the 330. you should check it out. also american musical supply will split it into 3 payments without doing a credit check. they divide the cost by 3 and the first month they charge you 1/3 plus the shipping and send it to you, and then they bill you 2 more times the rest over the next 2 months. pretty sweet deal and no interest charge. they really cater to the musicians with bad credit, or just musicians that are poor haha.

hope this helps.

[will_to_burn]

I would rec this for basic operation..

http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-CAS-PX130-LIST

but I would spend a few hundred more and get this one for a bunch more features.

http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-CAS-PX330-LIST

there are quite a few videos on youtube of the features of the 330. you should check it out. also american musical supply will split it into 3 payments without doing a credit check. they divide the cost by 3 and the first month they charge you 1/3 plus the shipping and send it to you, and then they bill you 2 more times the rest over the next 2 months. pretty sweet deal and no interest charge. they really cater to the musicians with bad credit, or just musicians that are poor haha.

hope this helps.

Do you know if there's any particular difference in sound of the piano between the 330 and 130? I'm hoping to aim for the basic 130 because I have a synth for all the extra sounds besides piano. thank you!

[chrisstahl]

I don't think there is a huge difference in the sounds. It's been awhile since I messed with one. The 330 just has more features, and has a digital display screen.

[will_to_burn]

I don't think there is a huge difference in the sounds. It's been awhile since I messed with one. The 330 just has more features, and has a digital display screen.

Alright, thanks for the suggestion. Also, do you have any experience in working with MIDI?

[chrisstahl]

Alright, thanks for the suggestion. Also, do you have any experience in working with MIDI?

very little. I have used the midi out on a roland fp8 keyboard to record some stuff, but it was a learning as I went kinda thing.

[Bruised26]

I would highly recommend finding a used Roland or Yamaha (I use a Roland Fantom and FP-7 as my main keyboards and they are fantastic). For your budget, finding a decent (used) fantom will be tricky but if you can save up a little bit, they are totally worth it. The casio mentioned above is your average keyboard and I do like the way the keys feel but I was not impressed with its patches.
And I have midi experience if you needed advice.

[will_to_burn]

Thanks for the rec. Alright, well I recently saw a video of someone running MIDI with a Korg r3 synth through to another keyboard (along the lines of the above Casio's. Do you just need a simple two way MIDI cable? Do most average budget stage keyboards allow you to run MIDI from the synth to the keyboards? (mostly for use of a full ranger of keys, instead of octave buttons.)
woo! think I'm gettin' closer to knowing what i want.