Is it so silly to buy such a portable folding keyboard?


I found different models and would like to ask whether some experience is available!

Here what I found:

1) Simple 61 keys, 120 sounds, rhythms and what else:



2) 61 keys stereophonic with pedal!


3) Most sophisticated is Brando, with simultaneous 49 key activation and velocity-sensitive (USB only):

Run do not walk away from this. It is a total waste of money and could cause injury if despite the fact that keys often don't sound and only one key at a time can be played and there is no depth rendering it useless for anything put pecking out individual tones you tried to actually use it.

I had one of these with the idea i could have something to play when i travel.

DO NOT BUY! WASTE OF MONEY!

They are absolutely terrible to play, keys are unresponsive and its very hard to play anything resembling music on them once you start trying to play more than 2 notes simultaneously.

I would consider these at least as cumbersome as those very nice iPhone composing apps with a virtual keyboard...

Junk.

I play all my big-time concertos on these...

Do not bother.

While there are "good" roll up pianos, ones that play multiple notes and have an ok detection range, they are nothing like a real piano with real movable keys.

You're better off getting a 49 or 37 key midi controller with a stiff action if you're going to travel.

Sadly, yes it's silly. It looks like a good idea but it doesn't work.

I've tried one, and I was surprised at how good it was, relatively speaking. This is no joke. You could actually learn to play the piano on one of these. The keys are printed on plastic; nevertheless, this, strangely enough, has the "look and feel" of a piano, since the black keys are slightly higher in the texture of the plastic than the white ones. I've seen it advertised on late-night tv (in the US) as a piano learning system. I see that as valid; a beginner could learn on one of these. For portability it can't be beat, since it fits in a pocket; no other piano can do that.

Gyro, either you are joking or my piano technique fundamentals is far away from yours. Not saying which is better of course.

IMVHO, those kind of "pianos" are completely useless if the player intends to play a piano keyboard someday. However for learning music they could work.

Sure you could learn the notes. But playing the piano, as in, can-sit-down-in-front-of-one-and-play? Good luck with that..

Just to say that, as I thought, maybe they're not all of the same (junk?!) quality.

Of course, I'm not looking for a piano substitution, or piano learning neither.

Just to have fun on travel, on holiday... and so on.

You can't say we didn't warn you.

Yes! Anyway I didn't find, so far at least, what I'm really looking for:

folding
multitouch (for chords)
dynamic
USB with MIDI driver (Brando miss this feature)

A rollup piano compared to a real piano ... is like a Hot Wheels/Matchbox car compared to a real car. A toy just doesn't cut it.

For the doubters, consider that, since the striking bars on a xylophone are laid out the same as the keys on a piano, a very good xylophonist can sit down cold at the piano and play it quite well without instruction, put some experienced pianists to shame really.

Consider me a doubter then. I'd have to see that to believe it and I'm not sure I'd believe it even then.

Gyro I see you have a great sense of humour

But I'm not sure it is so funny when you pretend to be serious in other threads and you give advice like this.

when I first saw this product (online or some TV ad) I was really so excited to try it and bought one right away ! It was a while ago so I don't remember all the details, and I'm not sure whether it was this particular model or brand or they're all like that (I want to assume that like in anything else there's different qualities) but a few days after I got it I just gave it away...because I knew that I'm never going to touch this instrument. The idea is genius, but the application not so much (again, on the particular one that I had) so I wouldn't recommend.

And similarly playing xylophones by pianists is a piece of cake!

In my accordion days, I could rattle out Scotland the Brave on an xylophone