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As travel becomes more possible, I'm thinking about a small keyboard to take on a road trip. Ideally , 4 octaves. This is just to keep my piano playing chops up so that my whole coordination/muscle tone "thing" is kept intact.

I've watched a YT review of a Casio Casiotone CT-S200. It's a candidate. But if anyone has other suggestions, I'd like to hear them. I'm thinking of up to $200-250. I don't expect the best sounding speakers. I'm thinking of something I could play sitting in bed with the keyboard sitting on a pillow in front of me.

Any suggestions ? Thanks.

This may be overkill but it looks amazing (if it actually exists) and it comes with a battery and it's own suitcase!

https://pianophoenix.com/en/

Is the CT-S200 touch sensitive at all?

You may need to look at the CT-S300 which is.
It is the smallest and lightest 61er. Be aware that sounds are thin and keys are feeling kind of dead.

But(!) i kept it after trying hard to like the Roland go piano which looks much more grown up and does not sound too bad. Impossible, they got the touchweight completely wrong at up to 200 grams.

Rather a CT-S under than CTS in my hands.


-Rhodes74

Related:
https://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthre...eight-travel-piano-61-weighted-keys.html
https://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthre...t-travelling-piano-with-good-action.html
https://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthre...nder-500-to-practice-when-traveling.html
https://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthre...-good-keyboard-to-buy-for-traveling.html
http://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/2966612/travel-piano-action.html
https://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthre...t-weighted-keys-piano-for-traveling.html
https://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthre...s-here-need-a-travel-piano-keyboard.html

+1.

On grounds of weight (and size), weighted-action keyboards are unlikely and/or expensive.

But I'd hold out for "touch-sensitive" synth-action keys. Without touch-sensitivity, you stand a good chance of practicing bad habits.

It's too bad the Yamaha MX49 is expensive, it would fit your needs nicely.

The Yamaha PSR-3xx and PSR-4xx are touch-sensitive.

Yamaha NP-12

I've had both Casios:
CT-S300 (s200 is not velocity sensitive)
CT-X700

I bought these boards for couch/bed/travel and appreciated their light weight, shallow depth and ability to be battery powered.

Night and day difference- the S300 is just terrible. Its cute, carry handle and all, but the sounds and built-in speakers were awful. Action not bad.

The X700 was a revelation. I've used a lot of cheapie boards, the X700 is just $30 more than the S300. Using the same 5 watts of speaker power, it actually sounded pretty decent. And the sound quality was also decent, something I've never seen in this price category, and the action is not bad.

Altogether a surprising board that I don't hesitate to recommend. As a comparison, the s300 is not worth playing, the x700 is good enough to be used as a back-up board if you were gigging.

In fact, the x700 was so good I decided to go for their top of the line in the CT-X series, the x5000. Not battery powered but kick ass speakers, more sounds and capability, etc. Like the x700, it's also best in class AFAIK in this price category, love it!

Los que mencionaron anterioremente parecen ser buenos para lo que tu buscas, el otro seria un roland go

Another path:

. . . Get a 49-key MIDI controller, with full-size touch-sensitive keys.

. . . Use a smartphone / tablet / computer with appropriate software,
. . . for generating sounds;

. . . Use headphones (or earbuds), rather than loudspeakers.

A search on Amazon.com for 49-key MIDI controllers yields lots of hits. I recognize the Alesis and M-Audio brands, with their touch-sensitive models starting around $100.

The Alesis Q49 comes with a free version of Pro Tools, and 4 virtual instruments. The M-Audio Keystation 49 MK3 is similarly equipped.

You will need something called an "On-the-Go" (OTG) adapter, if you're using an Android smartphone or tablet -- that's about $5.

For travel practice, the Alesis Recital 61 has semi-weighted keys for around US$200. (Don’t confuse it with the Harmony 61 with typical synth keys.)

If you want weighted action, Yamaha P-121 is a good candidate.

Osho

I agree, but the P121 is $600, not $200-250.

The NP-12 is inexpensive, lightweight, has touch-sensitive keys and decent internal speakers, and runs on AA batteries. For a "motel" piano, I don't think you'll find anything better.

But I thought the NP-12 didn't have full sized keys. If I'm taking it with me I would want full sized keys IMHO.

No, it has full-size keys. Also has USB MIDI. You have to either use batteries all the time (I think they last 10 hours or so), or buy a power adapter (Yamaha PA-130, $15) separately.

I have an M-Audio Keystation 49, which I think was $99. It seems like a good solution for this "road trip" kind of problem. Weighs 4 pounds, I think. You can definitely use it on your lap or in bed. The key action isn't stellar, but take it with a grain of salt if anybody tells you that the action on any inexpensive, non-hammer-action controller is really good. It's fine to "keep your chops up". I use it in combination with an iPad or macbook. There are lots of different sounds sources you can use on iPad/iPhone, many cheap (free up to $10) and quite good, i think I picked up Ravenscroft on sale for less than $20, but the cheap VST's are good, too. On Macbook Air I mostly use Pianoteq. With my iPads you don't need an OTG cable, generic usb cable works, but you do need Apple CCK adapter ($40?) or a generic clone ($12 on ebay). I have both the Apple CCK and an ebay clone and they both work the same, but there are lots of clones out there and many people report problems.

I see the Casio CT-X700 and Yamaha NP-12 are both mentioned. I happened to have played both. For the OP's needs, if picking between the 2, I think the NP-12 is better because it is a lot smaller than the CT-X700 (although the CT-X700 sounds significantly better than the NP-12). They also run on batteries; which is great for portability.

However, both keyboards' keys are narrow. Yes, I know there's no standard piano key size; but these keys are narrower than what you'd find on an acoustic by a little less than 1 mm. It doesn't sound like much, but when you play between the black keys, you can clearly feel the rub and when you do an octave, it'll be like 5mm difference (enough for you to hit between the keys sometimes). Additionally, both keyboard's keys don't travel very far and they are spring loaded.

The NP-12 is a lot smaller?
---- NP-12: 40.8" wide x 10.2" deep x 4.1" high...... 10 pounds
- CT-X700: 37.3 wide x 13.8 deep x 4.3" high...... 9.5 pounds

I would say the extra depth of the x700 is worth it for all the added functionality, most of which is missing on the np-12. But yeah, a shallower depth is nice. And to clarify, the x700 sounds better because of the voice quality AND the speakers.

I haven't tried one in ages, but if you jump up to the $300 price range and a bit more depth and weight (at 15 pounds is still very lightweight) the Yamaha PSR- E463 is a really fun board, better everything than the np-12, AND it has those two knobs for cutoff/resonance/etc., wicked fun! Though once again Casio has the overall stronger board at this price point with the CT-X3000.

Like I said, everything about the x700 is a class leader for the under $200 segment. However, if I were to buy again, I'd get the X800 which is the exact same board but adds a pitch wheel (!) and a USB flash port. For a fun board like this I really miss the pitch bend wheel. You might have a hard time finding a x800 however.

This thread prompted my thinking : Did you ever chose a hotel that actually had a piano they would let you use ? I did.

Admittedly I am am more concerned with resort hotels or small country inns catering to leisure travel. But in places like Germany, France and Switzerland, in touristic areas, you will find plenty of places that have pianos. They are generally acoustics, of course, not necessarily well tuned or taken care of, and usually located in bars, or better in small halls intended for gigs or private receptions such as wedding parties. In the latter case the advantage is that the hotel proprietors have arranged for some form of acoustic isolation, so evening parties do not disturb people in the bedrooms. This means your fumbling practice work will not be overheard.

I have found that "piano-inns" will be very accomodating in letting you practice, particularly when you give them advance notice.

I bought the Yamaha P-125 specifically for use while traveling and has worked out well. Found a portable stand that can break down into a suitcase:

https://www.quiklok.com/product/ws-421-keyboard-mixer-stand/


The P121, as was mentioned earlier is higher than your budget, but would probably work well for the size preference you mentioned. I have the case Yamaha makes specifically for their portable DPs and carries everything needed (except for a stand). This is the case for the P-121:

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical_instruments/pianos/accessories/sc-kb750/index.html