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I have an iPad and a Casio cdp s100

What’s the cheapest route for me to take to get top class sounds ?

iPad apps ? How good is ravenscroft 275 ?

I already have Galileo organ and korg module - I even bought the ivory mobile grand IAP but it does not sound anything like it does in the demo they give u to listen to - I feel cheated - the grand piano sound on the Casio sounds far better and it’s a cheap entry level keyboard - the piano sounds on module itself are also rubbish - again I feel cheated - the demos sound great but then u buy it and it’s rubbish

Naturally I don’t want to buy more and more apps and be disappointed again

Should I get an older keyboard such as a tyros 1/korg pa1x or similar and connect it via usb midi to the Casio ?

The Casio has an audio in so I can take the sound from another board that way but I would prefer to have just one keyboard

Should I just go the whole hog and get a better keyboard ?

If I sold the Casio i could afford to buy

Korg grandstage/Kronos 1
Roland rd800/rd88/fp60
Yamaha cp73/p515
Nord electro 5d/piano 3
Kawai mp7se/es8
Dexibell p7

Which of those keyboards has the best range of great sounds ?

I like built-in speakers but don’t mind having to get headphones if that means better sounds

Not bothered about key feel/action as the Casio feels fine to me so am guessing all those other boards will feel better

Looking for the best range of sounds I can get especially synth and electric piano - I thought buying apps would be the cheapest way to do it but it hasn’t worked out that way

I want to get a wide range of great sounds

SampleTank app for iOS?

A hardware sound module like a Yamaha Motif, Roland Integra or SonicCell?

It's doesn't need to be another large keyboard device.

You can go the virtual instrument route with an attached laptop. There are a handful of piano VIs that are quite well liked here.

We have a lot of posts to get you started.

For better sound and combinations I use Yamaha cp73 / p515 and chord generator https://chordchord.com/

Maybe one of Korg Arranger Keyboards would fit then - second hand then.
They released new ones now and probably make market for second hand of former generation available in private ads buy/sell.

They probably offer a Demo button on there that plays through a variation of styles - you could ask any sellers to provide a recording of those before looking further.

Loading midi files from internet and play on various keyboards might not make it justice - since some pianos and stuff really sound better keeping velocity within a certain range. Some pianos in particular sound harsch if having velocity as the way up to 127 but decent if kept below 100.

But I'm really overwhelmed of MP7SE, even looking first at MP11SE that was severely cut down in sounds. Choirs and orchestral stuff sound good to me. I have not tried it all though.

I also saw some comment in another thread about not all of them were selectable from panel - so check that out before deciding.
https://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthre...ones-and-program-change.html#Post2961963

Manual for MP7SE list all sounds - but if not selectable from panel a bit worrying why that is. If that is documented somehow.

Really good setup features with 4 parts you can save as a preset. The overall design is really well thought out, I think.

And stunning piano, keybed and the main stuff.

FWIW (I know nothing about the iPad) --

. . . a) What are you using, to listen to the sounds from the iPad ?

. . . b) Is it possible that the "sound card" (there are various names for this function --
"digital-to-analog converter" = DAC is another one) inside the iPad, is limiting the quality
of the output ?

. . . c) Is it possible that the CPU speed, or memory, of the iPad is limiting the
quality of the output ?


I'm not sure if Pianoteq runs on iPads, or not. There's a free demo version, if it does:

. . . Download that, see what it sounds like.

From my experience (Pianoteq on a PC, versus my PX-350), Pianoteq is significantly better that the sounds built into the PX-350. Longer sustains, serious string resonance richness. If you can run it on the iPad, and -- through decent headphones -- it sounds worse than the Casio, something is wrong with the iPad.


One way to get a bunch of decent sounds (I don't know if they're "great" sounds) is to get a Yamaha MX49. It looks like a toy, but you can drive it (I think) from the Casio's keyboard(*), and the built-in sounds are extensive. GuitarCenter.com has used MX49's around $350 US (plus shipping).

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/yamaha-mx49


(*) I assume that Casio doesn't have 5-pin mini-DIN MIDI jacks, but only "MIDI-over-USB". So you'll probably have to feed the MIDI output from the Casio into the iPad, and take it out from the iPad to feed the MX49. I don't know what iPad software will do that, but I'm sure it exists.

(**) Actually, I'm _not_ sure that it exists, because of possible hardware limitation on the iPad.

Arturia V Collection 7 It's on discount in these days.

If you want to keep it simple, try out the DGX 660 or whatever it is now, from Yamaha. very good value for money, loads of stuff in there, 32 memory banks for quick retrieval and a 6 part easy operated recorder. The action whilst not being the best, is light and won't let you down.

Not a bad advert, eh guys?

Software route not possible since no laptop

I have iPad Air 1 - Galileo organ sounds fine so don’t know why module and ivory pianos are so bad - other sounds on module like synth and clav are fine

Maybe a Korg pa300 or Yamaha mx49

Any u guys tried ravenscroft 275 ?

If you are interested in synth sounds you can buy: KORG Gadget 2 and the various synths apps; Moog Animoog, Model D (it's free in these days) and Model 15 apps; Waldorf Nave app; Reason Thor app; Arturia iSem app...

It really depends on what type of music you are playing and what you are looking for. The Kronos has the largest palette of sounds of keyboards listed above. But players who understand that less can be more if the sounds are well curated and easy to locate and control would prefer to perform in a Nord than a Kronos.

If you want to drown yourself in a library of 1000-2000 sounds, a keyboard or midi module with them built-in will be much cheaper than acquiring them as soft patches to run on a computer. It may feel like trying to take a sip of water from a firehose when you want to locate a sound, but Roland, Korg, and Yamaha all have firehoses to offer.

For what its worth I went through a similar search as yourself. I've tried just about all the piano and other sound apps on iOS (including Module with Ivory, Ravanscroft, igrand, sampletank) with my iPad Air 2 and was always a little dissapointed with the sounds. The huge Colossus piano is pretty good but your iPad might struggle to run that one. In the end I actually ended up making a version of the free Salamander (Yamaha C5) that ran on my Korg Pa3x to get a quality piano sound.
If its a wide variety of quality sounds you are looking for and don't mind the action of a semi-weighted keyboard than you would probably be happy with somthing like a Korg Pa1000 or Pa4x. Here is a real simple recording of a song I put together for our 30th Wedding Anniversary a couple of days ago on my Pa3x. All sounds are from the Korg. https://youtu.be/-7cUu0NU-NQ