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Hi Folks.
My sister in law as a part time gig gives music lessons to kids. Not her main trade, but she is good at it. Sometimes she would travel (in a car) to friends and they would jam.... She asked me to help her to find the right travel keyboard for her needs, but there are so much choices, that my head spins and she has a specific set of features / pre-requisites that it must have.
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1)Good acoustic piano sound
2) Has to be portable enough for her to carry and of course built in speakers.
3)Weighted keys. Not full weight of course, but something not very "plasticky"
4) Should be able to play styles (has to have at least a good GM soundest onboard for that)... Style expansion in the future.... Nothing fancy, just some average styles in Bossa Nova / Jazz /Pop.
5) Not expensive $200-$400 or close to that. Could be (and most probably should be) pre-owned.
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Could be any brand. I guess something from 2005-2019 year range.
If it was me I would take three components: A weighted controlled+tablet/ipad+portable speaker(s). She wants it all in the same package...
Any recommendations? Again a pre-owned unit is totally fine.
I thank you in advance.
Misha.
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Suggestion: Look at digital pianos instead of digital keyboards. Digital pianos generally have excellent sounding piano sounds with a fairly generic sounding built-in MIDI sound module. The Yamaha DGX series range from inexpensive to more than I can pay. 
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Jim,
Thank you for trying!
She has a Yamaha digital piano, put it is too heavy to carry around and does not have arranger functions.
The issue is I can not pinpoint a middle ground. Something like Yamaha PSR-EW310 would do just fine if it had weighted (not synth) keys. And for her uses, I think preowned would be a better choice. She can get a better keyboard for less money. A lot of keyboards are discontinued, so I am not even sure what models to look at.
I asked here, as it seems many people play/played "live" and know about gear far more than I do.
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eddie1261
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eddie1261
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A lot of people like the Casio Privia if you can believe that Casio became a major player in the music game. One of my friends who is a gig [*****] uses it because it is light, and he is in a band that does jazz standards, a rock band, and plays behind 2 country acts here. All on that keyboard. OR, just thinking, a MIDI controller and a laptop and she could play all virtual instruments.
Look at Casio Privia PX-S3000. I don't know budgets here but that will run $850 new. You can find them used for $500-ish. My own preference is that I don't like anything with speakers in it, but then she doesn't have to move an amp if she has one of those.
Or you could go with her and be her crew!!
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One of my keyboards is the Casio Privia PX-S3000. It's lightweight for sure, full 88 keys. Includes speakers and Bluetooth etc. It's not really a full arranger keyboard, but can certainly provide arranger type backings if you need. Full weighted action. I've got the carry case and a stand as well. All becomes pretty compact for a full keyboard.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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Eddie,
Thank you!
My son plays on Privia, but it doesn't have arranger functions. Just basic 10 sounds or so. Piano sounds great and action is pretty close to real piano.
The one you mentioned PX-S3000 looks great and seems it will play rhythms/styles, but is pricey and used prices are not significantly lower than new ones. Still about 750 shipped. Yamaha is more familiar to her, but I think she is out of luck of finding something portable with weighted keys and arranger functions in Yamaha line with budget she has for it.
After you mentioned, I looked at a few Privia models from a few years back, seems there are some good and affordable options available. I never dealt with Casio arrangers, but I guess some common Yamaha styles can be converted to their format. Only downside is that most of them are 25+ pounds. I was hoping to find something under 20 pounds for her.
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VT,
Thank you! Yes, will look at Privia line.
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