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The best, worst portable?
I've had the Go:Piano for nearly two years, and have used it occasionally, mostly for informal rehearsals. I'm primarily an organ-player, but love piano, and adore my trusty CP-300. The playability, the connectivity, the sound! But I don't like the bulk. At 32,5 kg + flight case, it's tough to lug around, and mostly leaves the house for major gigs. For other occasions, I wanted a lighter, more casual keyboard that I can 'toss around'- with a focus on classic, electric pianos, because acoustic pianos are so difficult to emulate (not least on a budget).
I had a lighter 88-key option, a Yamaha P-45, but it wasn't all that easy to toss around (too long), the sounds were lack-lustre and the action was uninspiring.
So I decided to just disregard it all, and get the lightest, cheapest, half-way decent EP with full-sized keys I could find. Enter the Go:Piano.
Pros:
- Weight and portability can hardly be beat.
- 63 keys is a fair compromise (probably not for classical music).
- EP sounds are generally ok, and there's a fair selection for p/ep/clav (never mind the rest). But please read on.
- The texture of the keys is really good, the matte/'ivory'-feel makes you almost nostalgic.
- Operation is straight-forward (if you don't mind menues).
- Internal speakers are pretty good, and the volume will match eg. an acoustic guitar without problems.
Cons:
- My overriding complaint: The keyboard is very hard to control. You can adjust it to light/medium/heavy, but within each setting it's still very difficult to play naturally. There's a point, where a slightly harder attack will return a much harder response. Dynamically, it's just not intuitive.
- Very few options to tweek settings (eg. chorus, wah), voices are pretty much 'as is'.
- Internal reverb is poor, especially with external amplification.
- Acoustic piano decay is too short, very unnatural.
- Connections (mini-jack) are flimsy, headphone and line-out combine.
To conclude: The Go:Piano may be ok for the occational 'campfire' setting, but that's about it. The search for a decent, inexpensive 'to-go'-piano continues.
About the 'Handling' rating: If it refers to weight/portability, it's a solid five stars. But if it refers to operation (including keybed/playability it's barely one. That's my reason for giving it three.
I had a lighter 88-key option, a Yamaha P-45, but it wasn't all that easy to toss around (too long), the sounds were lack-lustre and the action was uninspiring.
So I decided to just disregard it all, and get the lightest, cheapest, half-way decent EP with full-sized keys I could find. Enter the Go:Piano.
Pros:
- Weight and portability can hardly be beat.
- 63 keys is a fair compromise (probably not for classical music).
- EP sounds are generally ok, and there's a fair selection for p/ep/clav (never mind the rest). But please read on.
- The texture of the keys is really good, the matte/'ivory'-feel makes you almost nostalgic.
- Operation is straight-forward (if you don't mind menues).
- Internal speakers are pretty good, and the volume will match eg. an acoustic guitar without problems.
Cons:
- My overriding complaint: The keyboard is very hard to control. You can adjust it to light/medium/heavy, but within each setting it's still very difficult to play naturally. There's a point, where a slightly harder attack will return a much harder response. Dynamically, it's just not intuitive.
- Very few options to tweek settings (eg. chorus, wah), voices are pretty much 'as is'.
- Internal reverb is poor, especially with external amplification.
- Acoustic piano decay is too short, very unnatural.
- Connections (mini-jack) are flimsy, headphone and line-out combine.
To conclude: The Go:Piano may be ok for the occational 'campfire' setting, but that's about it. The search for a decent, inexpensive 'to-go'-piano continues.
About the 'Handling' rating: If it refers to weight/portability, it's a solid five stars. But if it refers to operation (including keybed/playability it's barely one. That's my reason for giving it three.
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