I just believe that the NP-30's so-called success comes from, firstly, no-one has the money for a real piano-like action, and that there are fewer and fewer young players that have been actually taught on a real piano... You don't miss what you never had, eh?
But trust me, playing an NP-30 is no more piano-like than playing a G70 (OK, maybe it's a bit better than a PSR, but that's it
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There's a couple of things that keep troubling me about your advice, Ian. No disrespect intended, but to suggest that doing an arranger gig DOESN'T involve playing piano is kind of strange. One of the things I like to do the most in arranger mode is set up in Pianostyle mode, and play simply as a pianist, and have the accompaniment follow me like a good rhythm section. For those of us that DO play piano (you seem to be one of them, Ian) this is some of the most fun you can have, playing in a style already honed, and yet the accompaniment still does a great job of grokking the chords and avoiding glitching too much on passing notes and solos (once you learn the 'three notes make a chord' rule).
But a keyboard with enough resistance to help you control the dynamics, and more importantly, enough keys to allow you to play pianistically is vital for this style of arranger use. If you truly enjoy playing piano, and would like a rhythm section to accompany you, it strikes me that a 76 is the best compromise. When such good piano sounds are included in an arranger, and a mode provided specifically for you to play like a pianist, it is odd that Yamaha don't acknowledge that a keyboard big enough to play on in that style might be a commercial success. The PSR9000Pro didn't fail because it had 76 keys. It failed because it was a POS in the OS department. But you didn't see Yamaha stop work on developing a better OS... The 76 was a casualty of war, an innocent bystander in that debacle that took the brunt of the blame.
But the thought that, when you DO sit at an 88, you turn off the arranger and just play solo seems to acknowledge that, because Yamaha don't make a 76, this style is lost to you. Sad, because, for a pianist, it is some of the most natural ways of using an arranger, IMO.
For the most basic user of an arranger, your advice makes a LOT of sense, no point in lugging around a 76 if you can't use it, but I'd just like to point out, for the more advanced player, that a 61 makes you either 1.) carry around an extra 88 keyboard, plus stands wiring, pedals, etc, or 2.) have to make serious compromises in what you can play, technique-wise, on an arranger that OS-wise allows you to do the things the size of the keyboard actively works AGAINST.
For the more advanced player, the pianist transplantee, or just the intermediate player looking to grow into a pianist, a 76 (it don't HAVE to be a G70, plenty of choice except Yamaha!) is a FAR better choice than a 61 AND an 88 if you are on a budget, and want to limit how much gear you have to cart.
Sure you COULD use a 61 for everything (we all could if we are FORCED to), but when the choice is available, a 76 can help expand the choices you have, musically. And that is what it OUGHT to be all about, eh, Ian?
'Fess up.... if Yamaha made a PSR S900-76 at under 30 lb. (maybe use the NP-30 action for light weight), would you use one instead of lugging an S900-61 AND an 88 (and extra stands, pedals, wiring, etc.) around? I am fairly certain, from reading the many, many pleas for it, that quite a large percentage (enough for it to be commercial) of current PSR players would opt for it.
For anyone wanting to grow beyond the limitations of a 61, it seems, to all but Yamaha, the obvious choice...
). I was hoping to get your feelings about 76-key arrangers, not try to outfit me with another board.