While I was distracted from any playing in public and was focused on playing at home eventually I became puzzled about why most of keyboards are only 61 keys. But then I felt the need to get back in the game and the outside world quickly replied to my question. 61 keys allows you to get a keyboard into a small elevator with no need to hold it vertically, and then you can put it in a trunk of a small car. Of course with a backseat folded there’s room even for a digital piano, but it feels safer when no one can see what’s inside the car while you’re away, let’s say, having coffee in a shopping center on your way home.

So while I still want some extra keys, I have to appreciate more that less keys may make life less complicated.
Have to reconsider some of my future purchases…

I have to admit I like the idea of 76 keys but will probably stick with 61 keys for next keyboard. That would give me 122 keys with 2 61's. That should be enough to keep me busy.

While I like more than 61 keys it just isn't practical for fitting in a car.

thats why i always drove a van, big enough to fit a b3 and a couple of leslies. kinda miss those days

If you wonder why I voted for 49 keys, my Russian friend... it was because you did not list 36 keys. I do not play well and only employ chords with my left hand... letting the arranger, multi-pads and Yamaha Styles do the "heavy lifting." I am only a song-writer and my needs are different from the many talented people who "inhabit" this wonderful web-site.

I don't have to "perform" as such... and a smaller keyboard (with the rest of the features of my current PSR-S970) would give me more room in my small recording studio I fondly call, "Jackass Flats" to add more gear to help me improve my recordings.

Thanks for asking... and for the "poll!"

I am sure you miss PLAYING the b3, but HAULING that gear around? ... I bet not so much ...

All of my current KB are 61 keys. I almost never play the top octave. But now that I've been using the "Bass Inversion" setting a lot, I can appreciate the 76-key variants. With another half-octave at the bottom, I could set my split and not have to worry about changing it with every song.

A while back Deane (Hammer) shared that he sometimes plays gigs with a 49-key controller and a module. Using the Bass Inversion setting, you need up to 23 keys (basically the lower two octaves) for chords. This leaves only two octaves for the melody. If the song begins on F or G, it seems like you would run out of room! I would love to use a 49 compact controller on certain occasions, but it seems like it just isn't enough for all possible chords & melody. What am I missing here?

Pretty clever Kabinopus.

Put the back seats down. In my Ford edge I slide my BK9 in and keybaord stand next to it. On my R&R cart I stand both up with bunge cords.
You can't buy a subcompact car and then have to figure how to get your equipment in. When I had biiger equipment I actually took a demop car home to see if everything would fit. Although I've see pics of guys putting their Hammond Clones and mini Leslies and other stuff in sub compacts its just too much hassle.

I'll add another view of how many keys. What does it lok like in a preformance ? Sitting or standing behind a tiny keyboard can look amateurish to the regular crowd. Recently my friend and his brother who both play keys made mini Grand Piano shells to look more professional.
Why does Elton John still sit behind a 9' fake paino shell ? for us mere mortlals we have to consider the moving hassels so its a tossup.

I found that I could jam nearly as much stuff into my mini-can that I previously did in my full sized 1/2-ton Ford. And, I get 22 MPG on the open road - can't beat that!

Sure do miss doing that job every Christmas,

Gary

Well, i just like big cars and need areason to buy one..

Can certainly see why you miss that gig Gary...where’s the mistletoe?

JM

JM, they all get me when I first arrive at the job, carrying mistletoe and holding it over my head when I sit down at the keyboard. The number of beautiful ladies increased every Christmas till I retired 2 years ago. I gave them the name of a friend to do the job who was very talented, but they said that after all those years it just wouldn't be the same without me and stopped doing the party/$1-million dollar diamond sale at the store.

Gotta stop there for a visit one day soon.

Gary

Gary who is filling the gig at Xmas now?

Size matters to some, but it is how you use what you have that counts! Now where did I hear that before, anyway sometimes more is more fun too, so I am an in between type of guy, I like my 76 keys.

Donny, no one is doing the job since I retired - they decided to cancel the sale event since I could not be there - I was shocked, and also dismayed.

Gary

Yes, Gary, everything/everyone on these photos looks impressive :-)

Not sure if this cart will handle well our Russian curbs – they are practically everywhere (so Russia is still not a good place for people in wheelchairs, BTW).

I’ve been thinking about the look of small keyboards as well – about how it makes the performer to appear. But I’ve been watching people like Peter Baartmans and it impressed me how impressive it was when a performer is not trying too hard to appear impressive (yeah, this is how I write). I guess it is inner confidence which counts.

I see now that the poll shows that about half of the people are fine with 61 keys, and the other half wants more. This is how I feel myself – as long as staying in one place it surely doesn’t hurt to have one or two extra octaves. But when rehearsals come and you have to carry it daily – you start to dream about Roland Go:Piano.

The point is that sometimes there’s no need to have it all. I still have a lot to figure out. As I see it, being a hero is about luck, but job is about having a good technology.

Apologies for OT, but can you believe that in Russia they are still producing this car:

It has been around for more than 50 years with some minor changes. It’s informally called “a loaf of bread” and it costs around $10500. I wonder what sort of keyboard would suit this car. Perhaps, Casio WK-7600 (no offence) :-)

That's a strange looking vehicle - no offense - looks like a van body was just placed on a skate board ...

WOW ... a $1million sales event cancelled because you couldn't appear? now THAT'S impressive !!! ...

Plus 1

They advertised the sale as their "Million Dollar Diamond Sale" and one year they actually sold just over $1-million in a single night. This is the largest diamond broker in the mid Atlantic region and they sell lots of monster diamonds to ladies married to billionaires. What really impressed me was when I saw several stretch limos pull onto the parking lot, the driver gets out and opens the rear door and a lady dressed in a mink coat is being escorted by a guy in a tux into the store. At this point, they are taken to the bar where they are both handed a glass of champagne, then escorted to a luxury padded chair where the salesperson pulls out trays filled with various sized and colored diamonds to select from for the basic piece of jewelry they will have custom designed and constructed by the in-store jeweler. Until then, I didn't know that there were different colored diamonds, brown, blue, blue-white, etc... I saw people order rings that cost $250,000, which absolutely blew my mind, and the guy that was paying for it didn't even flinch when they got the quote - they just wanted to know when it would be delivered.

There's a lot more money flowing in the US than most folks ever dream about. I saw this first hand when cruising down the Intra Coastal Waterway. I was amazed the size and cost of those McMansions that line the banks of the waterway, many of which were more than 10,000 square feet. More often than not, sitting at the dock in front of the house, was a 150-foot motor yacht that had a crew of 12 college kids wiping the dew from the fiberglass using chamois cloths so the fiberglass wouldn't get dirty and stained. I don't think any of these folks would have blinked at spending more than a quarter-million dollars on a diamond ring or necklace. This was the type of clientele that showed up for that sale every year of the 15 years I performed that job.

All the best,

Gary