I would like to share my personal experience, which I had
while choosing to buy a Keyboard. I started learning the piano when I was
16-years old. Initially, the keyboard I was using to learn was a very small and
portable keyboard. It had 28-keys on it, but, it was very portable and apt for
a beginner. I progressed from a novice to an early pro stage on this small piece
of instrument. However, just as I was entering into my final year in school,
study pressure piled up and I was rather forced to stop progressing with it.
Recently, after a gap of 4 years, I yearned to go back to
learning the piano. I was divided and confused about which keyboard to buy. The
pre-requisites included – portable, light-weight, not to be easily damaged
while travelling and good sound quality. This is because I travel a lot and
hence, all these are an absolute must. I started off my search for the perfect
match. The primary thing which must be underlined at the beginning is the price
range for the keyboard. I had a price range of a little above 10k in Indian
rupees, which roughly amounts to $150. It must be noted Casio keyboards are the
best for a price range of $100. However, since I had a little extended budget,
I explored a variety of options:
·
Casio CTK-2400 (61 keys) – This is a good choice
for beginners, but, I crossed it off the list primarily because the keys are
not touch-sensitive and hence, has a negative effect on the sound while
playing.
·
Yamaha NP-12 (61 keys) – Very portable and
light. However, this lacks extra sound types and could not record pieces of music
being played. Also, the price is way above the budget, $299.
·
Yamaha NP-32 – Very large and not suitable to be
carried to different places, albeit, a perfect piano.
·
Casio LK-280 (61 keys) – Good built and perfect
to be carried to different places. However, as with most Casio keyboards, the
feeling while playing the keys is too childish and hence, this seems more like
a toy than an original instrument.
After a lot of searching and analysing the pros and cons of
each different models, I was finally able to come up with the following two
short-list:
·
Yamaha EZ-220 (61 keys) vs Yamaha PSR E353 (61
keys)
I was lucky enough to test and play each of
these two pianos before I bought the PSR E353, which has been recently released
as a pre-cursor to the E453 and an advancement on the E253. The E453 was out of
my budget, apart from the fact that it is not portable also. The EZ-220 is
comparable to the E353 is all aspects, including, sound quality, touch
sensitive keys, weight being light and looks. However, the only region where I
felt the E353 scored over the E220 is that it was lighter than the latter,
weighing about 4.5kgs without a cover and 5kgs with a cover. I also felt that
since I travel a lot, mostly air travel, the E353 was more resistant to any
damage than the E220.
Finally, I bought the Yamaha PSR E353 from Amazon and it
took about 15 days to deliver the product at the residence. I have been playing
it for quite some time now and I have not been disappointed. The sound quality
is beautiful and the touch-sensitive keys make you feel as if you are playing a
piano.
Yamaha PSRE353
Yamaha PSRE353
