Keyboard/Piano

Riboflavin

I'll keep this short.

One of my son's is a Freshmen in College and taking an intro to Piano course.

1. He wants a Keyboard so he can practice, I know nothing about them.

2. I don't want to spend alot. I don't know what alot is for keyboards.

3. I need something that will replicate a Piano sufficiently.

4. He is not going to be doing performances with it.

5. It needs to have a headphone jack to avoid annoying the roommate.

A friend recommended the Rockjam 61 key keyboard for $109 on Amazon but the cheap price makes me suspicious.

Hahnsoo1

I wouldn't buy anything from Rockjam, for what it's worth (they tend to break easily). For cheap models, Alesis is about the bare minimum I would go. Donner, I've had less success with, but it's a similar price range and quality level. If you want a decent and durable keyboard with good weighted action, Casio or Yamaha are good bets.

Because it sounds like he's going to be a beginner, I don't think he necessarily needs a hammer-action keyboard (which simulates the internal mechanics of actual piano keys). Weighted keys feel great and make it feel like you aren't playing on a toy, but may not be necessary for beginners, either, but they are nice to have.

Riboflavin

Thanks, I hate to pester but what about the : Alesis 88 Key Keyboard Piano with 480 Sounds, Speakers, USB MIDI, Carry-Bag, Stand, Headphones, Pedal and Piano Lessons for Beginners

Its 169 on Amazon. I think $250-300 would be the very high end of what I want to spend.

I don't know what to look for in specs which makes it hard.

Can you hit two keys and get a blended sound or does one overlap the other?

Is an 88 key what he needs since it mimics a piano or is that less important?

Hahnsoo1

You might want a 61 key keyboard for space reasons. Beginners can usually get away with a 61-key keyboard, but it really depends on what the course requires. Nearly all beginner piano courses only need 3 octaves, at most (which is 36-41 keys). 88-key is regular piano size, but more importantly, the quality shoots up a bit once you start looking at 88 key models. So you might want 88 keys just to be safe and ensure it matches the course and also meets a minimum quality standard.

I think that price maps to an Alesis Recital Play 88, which is a perfectly fine keyboard for a beginner. It has touch sensitive semi-weighted keys, and nearly all pianos at that price range have 88 note polyphony (you can hit all 88 keys at the same time and get them all to play).

Space Pickle

The Alesia will do fine IMO.