KVR Audio

CT007 · Post by **CT007** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 6:03 am

So I just typed about 1000 words, and I hit "Preview", then it asked me to log-in (again), so I lost all the text... So here's the new, short version!

This is my recommended setup for keyboard/piano people on a budget. For ~$350, you've got something that feels good, sounds good, and can take you a long way. If there is a better deal, I am not aware of it!

[KEYBOARDS]
Yamaha YPG-235 (~$249)
+ 76 keys, with "Soft GRADED action" - great key feel, for real!!
+ Pitch bend wheel.
+ Tons of decent built-in sounds, speakers, song recorder, song lessons, can run off batteries, etc.
- Keys are thin, which is common for most Yamaha boards.

Williams Allegro-88 (~$299)
+ 88 keys. Nice, heavy piano feel; wide!
+ Some build-in sounds, FX, etc.
- No pitch/mod controls - This is mainly for people who like playing PIANO.

[SUSTAIN PEDAL]
M-Audio SP2 (~$19)
+ Optional pedal for controlling sustain - it's helpful, and solid.

[MIDI CONTROLLER]
Korg NanoKontrol2 (~$49)
+ Plenty of extra buttons, faders and knobs to make up for any of those crappy MIDI keyboards you didn't waste money on.

[PIANO LESSON BOOK]
(Alfred's) All-In-One Adult Piano Course
+ Don't waste your money on other lesson books that have fancy pictures of keyboardists/keyboards on the cover - this is the real deal!

[FREE PIANO PLUG-IN/VST]
Piano One
+ Easily the best free piano VST I've heard..! It satisfies.

[FREE PLUG-IN "LOADER"]
FreePiano
+ It's great, it's simple, it just works!
- PC only, it seems.

[EXTRA COOL FREE STUFF]
MuLab Free (a great, simple, fun DAW/music making program)
Proteus VX (tons of free instruments/sounds to play - I love this kit!!)

THE END, and good luck getting out of the BUDGET tier, so you can just buy a Korg Kronos and be done with it!

excessional · Post by **excessional** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 9:17 pm

[

FREE PIANO PLUG-IN/VST]
Piano One
+ Easily the best free piano VST I've heard..! It satisfies.

You can get the Addictive Keys Grand free as a Demo if you register on their website. It's far better than Piano 1 IMHO.

Mind you I assume the Yamaha will come with some pretty good piano sounds anyway won't it?

Touch The Universe · Post by **Touch The Universe** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 9:26 pm

Thanks for this

Can you recommend any good videos?

CT007 · Post by **CT007** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 2:40 am

excessional wrote:You can get the Addictive Keys Grand free as a Demo if you register on their website. It's far better than Piano 1 IMHO.

Mind you I assume the Yamaha will come with some pretty good piano sounds anyway won't it?

The first piano patch is definitely decent/good for a $250 keyboard...but PianoOne kills it. Hm, I'll check that demo out.

So you only get 4 octaves in the demo? :\ Not impressed!

CT007 · Post by **CT007** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 2:43 am

Tjgoa wrote:Thanks for this Can you recommend any good videos?

Piano/keyboard lesson videos? I like the nature of learning from watching someone play right in front of you, but no, I haven't found anything that beats the Alfred books. You can skip around to other sections/songs in a book much easier than a video, also, I'd say. And you don't need to be in front of a computer(=distraction!). AND you can take the book with you, and write notes in it! =p

[My Recommended Setup - Budget, Beginner Keyboard/Pianist]