Hello everybody,
I was a regular user here some years ago (when I bought my latest keyboard). Now I'm thinking of buying something new again and I want a bit of advice from you guys.
I'm (almost) blind which is a bit problematic especially with modern keyboards which relies so much on their displays. Even my current Roland EXR-7 is a bit tough at times. I have tried to find resources on the internet (I'm certainly not the only blind keyboard player in the world ), but I haven't found anything. So now I'm asking you because I know that you know a lot about everything keyboard-related .
Here is what I want the keyboard to have/be:
1. It *MUST* be (more or less) accessible, meaning that I can control it without ever seeing the display.
2. It should have high-quality sounds (better than my EXR-7, which has 8 MB of wave ROM).
3. It should have some good effects and the ability to modify them.
4. A bit of sound editing wouldn't be bad either.
5. It must not cost more than €1000 or so (of course, the less it costs the better ).

I'm open for many alternatives (software or hardware, arranger or synth), the accessibility is the main point.
I'm just a hobby player (and pretty bad at that ), so I won't use it for gigging and stuff (it's because of that I don't want to put too much money in it).
I hope you can help me. All advice is appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

Hi ,

The Roland E50 seems to have a clean layout , that may work for you , and it is within your price range. { link > }
http://www.bonnersmusic.co.uk/buy/Roland/E50_Keyboard

Or if you want 76 keys , this to may work:
http://www.bonnersmusic.co.uk/buy/Roland/E60_Keyboard

Best of luck to you.

Later,
Gary 

[This message has been edited by jedi (edited 04-14-2008).]

Would touch screens be a hindrance to visually impaired users like yourself?

Ian

I have a friend that is nearly blind from macular degeneration who uses a Tyros2. He connected a 17-inch flat-screen monitor to the video out and says he can now see the screen again because of the improved display size and colors.

Just a tempory fix, but it could buy you some time to learn the operating system.

Good Luck,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

Another option would be the new Korg Pa500 with a listed price of $1,499 or the Yamaha PSR S700 with a street price around $999. The Korg will give you more sound editing capability and it also has Korg's newest RX sound generation technology i.e. the same found in the much more expensive Pa800 and/or Pa2x keyboards. It also has a Guitar Mode which makes it especially easy for playing the Guitar voices in the keyboard. If you are willing to spend a little over your maximum budget the Yamaha PSR S900 may be a good option for you because of not only the large LCD screen but all functions can be controlled without it being really necessary to look at the screen (same with the PSR S700) and also the PSR S900 includes Yamaha's Super Articulated Voices as well as Mega Voices.

PS: If you are sight challenged there may be way to place some sort of magnifying glass over an LCD screen too. Since a Tyros2 with its VGA output is beyond your budget realm, a large magnifying glass over the top of the LCD screen could be an inexpensive way to increase the size of the text and graphics on the display.

Happy shopping!

Best,
Mike

[This message has been edited by keybplayer (edited 04-14-2008).]

Thanks everybody.
Touchscreens are by design not very accessible, so that's a hindrance yes.
The various magnifying glass options can help but my sight is actually so poor that it might not do much difference.
Thank you anyway .

I have a blind friend who navigates very well on the Yamaha psr3000. Not a new arranger, but still sounds pretty good.