this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2026
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Piano And Keyboards

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Decent budget compact keyboards? (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 2 weeks ago by agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works to c/piano@lemmy.world
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I'm not much of a musician, but I do like to fool around a bit from time to time. I have a small space crammed with instruments, passed through a loop station.

For keys right now I have an old Yamaha PSR-262, but honestly it's pretty bulky for the space. I'm looking to replace it with something a bit more compact.

Again, not much of a musician, so I don't feel the need to get something high quality or packed with features. I just want something that fits in a ~36" space and doesn't outright suck. And cheap, I'm not really serious about learning and I can't justify spending hundreds of dollars on what's essentially just a toy to play with when I'm bored.

What compact keyboards provide that kind of value? So far I'm looking at the Casiotone CT-S200, which is still at the high end of my budget. I'm sure there are other decent budget keyboards cheaper than that, but in that range it's hard to tell what's cheap because it's just very basic, and what's cheap because it's useless crap.

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[–] can@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Have you checked your local second-hand stores or listings?

How basic are we talking? I assume you want velocity sensitivity (louder if pressed faster?)

[–] agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Real basic. Velocity sensitivity would be a nice-to-have. I just need a reasonable selection of voices, midi connection in case I want to plug it into the computer, maybe a pedal.

I got my current keyboard from the thrift shop. I'll probably go to Facebook Marketplace first, but still I'd need to know which brands and models to look for, and which ones to avoid.

ETA: compactness is really my primary concern. My current keyboard has more space dedicated to buttons than to keys. My space is very limited, 36-37" is a hard limit, and smaller in every dimension is preferable.

[–] can@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

If you only want keys I'm sure there's good compact options. I don't have any specific recommendations as I mainly use midi keys and only collect old toy keyboards. If you're willing to get produce the sounds from your pc/phone/tablet then compact and cheap options should be plentiful, but that's not as convenient.

Either way be on the look out for a good deal on a Casiotone.

[–] agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yeah I'm leaning toward the Casiotone CT-S300

[–] can@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I'm only really familiar with the older models but those are getting more pricey now that more people are on the lookout for them but you can score good deals. For 61 keys that appears pretty compact. I forgot to ask about your preferred key size.

[–] agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Normal-sized individual keys, 61 keys seems like the sweet spot for number.

[–] can@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 days ago

If you have the space that's an excellent number of keys. I have made do with much fewer.