Hi all,

I am getting my wife a keyboard so that she can learn to play. I want to make sure she is really interested before making a bigger investment (real or digital piano). It seems that for my price range (up to $300) the choice would be a Yamaha DGX202 vs. a Casio WK3000. I had expected that the Yamaha would be the winner based on the postings I had read around the 'net. To my surprise, the Casio seemed to sound as good if not better (was cetainly louder) than the Yamaha to my untrained ear when I went to demo them today. Is that the case? Is this Casio the better board? What would I be losing by not getting Yamaha's YES II teaching system for a beginner? And lastly, is there another board in this price range that I should consider? Or would it make more sense to go with a 61 key PSR292 or PSR275 in the beginning?

Thanks for your advice.

--Wayne

Wayne,
I sell both brands and I agree with you that the Casio sounds better than the Yamaha. I would suggest the WK3000 or WK3500 over the DGX202 both for sound, features and value. Keyboard Magazine also agrees with both of us in their review of this keyboard this month. They say you can't find another keyboard under $1000.00 to compare. Please contact me if you need any more information.
George Kaye
kaye's Music Scene
818-881-5566
Reseda, California

George is right. When I played with the WK3000 for 30 minutes or so at the store, the speaker is LOUD. I was impressed by the piano sounds. I think the speaker is the LOUDEST even compared to the much more pricey Yamaha PSR2000.

George also pointed out another similar keyboard but a lot cheaper, CASIO CTK671 - I think that will probably be an even better choice for a beginner's keyboard. I never tried it though. Is the speaker as loud as WK3000/3500 ?

See the thread http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/Forum37/HTML/007854.html

Hi All

Joining in for the first time and wanting to say that i also found the sound quality of the WK3500 much fuller and more pleasing than a comparably-priced Yamaha. I should also say I found the Yamaha's auto accompaniments and preset styles superior to the Casio but the casio's were more than adequate.

Stephen


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Thanks for the info. If I remember right, the CTK-671 sounded a bit "toyish" when compared to the WK-3000. Were you referring the the CTK-691? At first glance this seems to be a 61-key version of the WK-3000 (at least as far as tones, etc).

Is 61 keys appropriate for someone that would likely want to go down the classical route? (how'd they ever come up with the number of 61 anyways?) For that matter is 76? I saw 88-key digital pianos starting at $500 at guitar center. (as my price continues to creep up...)

Thanks,

--Wayne

Since it looks like I will be going with the Casio which doesn't have the learning system built in, can someone recommend a good book (or video or program) to get us started? That will be easier to wrap then the keyboard...

--Wayne

WCW,there are a lot of books on the market but i would strongly recomend that you visit joe,s psr tutorial,even though it helps a lot of yamaha players ,the site is great for learning all about playing keyboards,mike

WCW, 61 is the number of keys on an organ keyboard (called a manual) and that is where that number of keys came from. You can play all of the organ literature on two keyboards + pedalboard. Well, most of it, anyway. There is some that is written for three or more manuals, but it is a small part of the repertoire.

Tom

PS 76 key boards come from 76 key pianos that were made back in the days when everyone who could afford one, had a piano in their homes (back before radio and TV) and people made their own music at home. The 76 key versions were less expensive, usually, and took up less room in the living room while still being able to play most piano music.

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Bigger is not always better

[This message has been edited by Tomcat (edited 12-15-2003).]

I don't play classical piano, but there are some piano pieces that go down to an A or B below the last C on my 61 note keyboard. I find this a little frustrating. I could, of course, lower the octave by one, but this would not happen with the Casio 76 note keyboard.
Starkeeper