I saw it on my way into town, somebody put out a casio WK-3000 piano out on the curb for free, with the stand power cord and even manual. The craziest part is its fully functional. Not a darn thing wrong with it 'cept some dust. Now I have to learn piano.
FYI, OP, a Casio WK-3000 is a digital keyboard, not a piano. Pianos have weighted keys, so the playing experience is a bit different.
(Allegedly, people learning to play are better off starting with a piano so they develop finger strength or something.)
Plus it’s only a 76 key board vs the 88 keys on a real piano. So some songs are literally impossible to play on many electric pianos.
On the other hand, electrics don’t take up as much room or weight as much. Which makes them far easier to move and a lot easier to get help to carry down the stairs.
I own a digital keyboard with weighted keys. Would that be a digital piano?
Having played both electric keyboards with weighted keys and analog pianos, the feel of the keys are most definitely not the same.
Electric weighted keyboards all have nearly identical actions. Analog keyboards tend to be very individualistic. Electrics are smooth through their stroke, exhibiting an even effort. The initial press of the key is less effort. There is less inertia to over come in the system. You are just closing a switch with a weighted feel.
With an analog key, you need to not only over come the inertia of the key but also the hammer to get it to start moving, but you also have the friction of the pivot points to overcome. So it requires more effort to start moving before all the parts “break free” and then move more like your weighted electric keys.
It depends how hard the digital piano is trying to mimic an acoustic one. Some of them have “graded hammer action” where the keys have something approximating the inertia and friction you mention, as well as varying from heavier for the low notes to lighter for the high ones.
Oh that’s a good shout actually, I now know the terminology differences! Thanks!
It looks like the WK3000 is semi-weighted, so not really light as a synth action, but not a hammer weighted action like your Roland.
I find the Roland FP’s action to be a bit heavier than my teacher’s Yamaha upright, but lighter than my Rhodes. If you get your technique down playing a synth or semi-weighted action, if you do decide to get a hammer action or acoustic piano later on, your fingers won’t have the muscle and/or muscle memory to play on the heavier action.
I had somewhat the opposite issue when I started taking lessons, as I’d been playing the Rhodes for about a year or so, and I was pounding the heck out of the acoustic keys. I got it tuned up by Vintage Vibe and the action is better now but it is still heavier. The other issue I had to deal with was I learned the Rhodes keys are a hair skinnier than standard piano keys, so playing the Roland I got when the Rhodes went in the shop or my teacher’s piano, all of a sudden my fingers had to reach further for octaves.
I think OP’s find is tremendous for someone interested in trying piano/keyboard/MIDI, but if they do decide to stick with it, they would probably want to upgrade at that point.