In an ideal world where money were no object, professional and beginner keyboard players alike would sit proudly in front of this elegant, beautifully crafted piece of art, tapping melodically away at its 88 keys. It is a pleasure to be able to review an instrument that not only produces an incredible sound but also looks every inch the part. 

For serious musicians the Korg SV-1 Black is an absolute joy to play. In our experience it is not very often an instrument actually lives up to the hype; in this case all hype is surpassed. The RH3 Real Weighted Hammer Action is the finest keybed Korg offers, with a solid, responsive feel that leaves you in complete control. Unlike much of the competition, there is no need to stare at complex displays with numerous banks and programs. The SV-1’s entire front panel is permanently live, allowing you to fine tune your sound as you play. The entire system has been designed for user simplicity; saving your eight favourite settings for quick recall could not be easier.

The styling of the SV-1 Black is a major selling point with the retro curves reflecting the look and feel of the original instruments. If it’s an elegant, even sophisticated on stage presence you’re after, if you can’t create it with the SV-1 Black, you really have no chance at all. Even the controls are designed with a retro-style in mind! To see this vintage keyboard is to play it, and once you start you will not be able to stop. 

The sounds produced by the SV-1 Black originate from organs, strings, synths, electric pianos and acoustic pianos, offering some truly distinct sounds which defined eras. It is impossible to generate some of these sounds on any other keyboard. Each of the instruments has been accurately sampled at a wide range of velocities, including tine, key-off, damper and hammer noises. The attention to detail is so great that even piano cabinet resonances have been sampled, which further improves the accuracy of the instruments.

To surmise, the Korg SV-1 Black offers a cost-effective, reliable and economical method of collecting a wide variety of vintage instruments, without having to store them securely and ensure they all receive equal playing time. If you’re looking to recreate the sounds of German and Japanese grand pianos, mono pianos for smaller gigs or a 70s and 80s Japanese electro-acoustic, you will not regret opting for the Korg SV-1.   

The Yamaha PSR E333 is one of the top beginner keyboards on the market. Of course this is in some part due to this being one of the most affordable instruments to feature a velocity sensitive keyboard available in Yamaha ‘s PSR range.

Alongside the velocity sensitive keyboard, the PSR E333 is jam packed with features and sounds with 113 voices, 361 Xglite voices, 13 drum voices and a special effects kit to sink your teeth into. Partner this alongside over 100 different accompaniment styles and you have yourself a keyboard that can cope with just about any style of music you could imagine.

In addition to the huge range of voices, there are load of effects to experiment with too such as 9 reverb settings, 4 chorus types, sustain and a dual/layer function two voices to be overlapped, perfect for quick compositions and harmonies.

A two-track recorder is also built in helping beginners to create, record and playback your performances and brief compositions. The PSR-E333 can also be connected to a computer via the USB socket on its back panel for use with composition software.

The E333 is perfect for use in a wide number of environments, be it a quick practice session at home, a music lesson at school or recording at the studio due to its battery power option, offering portability to a traditionally static instrument.

The E333 is great for those wishing to educate themselves with the keyboard. The Yamaha Education Suite teaches users a range of skills such as rhythm and timing, chord identification, strike accuracy and even offers a method of progress monitoring to easily track your improvement as the week go by. Conveniently the PSR-E333 can be set to the Portable Grand function at the touch of a button, producing a rich, stereo sampled concert grand piano sound, ideal for some pre-exam practice.

The Yamaha PSR E333 combines a touch-sensitive keyboard with the E233’s impeccable technology offering beginners a lower cost alternative without sacrificing on sound quality. Priced up at around £165*, there really is no competition when it come to value for money. Search Instrumania now for the best price on the Yamaha PSR E333, a true candidate for the best beginner keyboard on the market today.

*At the time of writing

For a long time, if you wanted to get the sound of an authentic tone-wheel organ, the Korg CX-3, introduced in 2000, was the way to go. The CX-3 single manual combo, re-created so well the classic sound that many had demanded, that many were calling for a dual-manual. Enter the BX-3. The dual-manual BX-3 is the bigger brother of Korg's CX-3 digitally modelled combo organ and has become a firm favourite for many musicians.

 
Don’t let it’s old and 'vintage' styling confuse you, everything about the KORG BX3 is digital, with a handy set of computer programs that emulates a tonewheel sound generator, and other programs to recreate the numerous effects that are vital to the original Hammond sound.

This organ successfully emulates many different Hammond setups sounding and playing in a superior fashion to ALL of the competition, including the current crop of Hammond-Suzuki and Diversi models. There is a long list of extensive and expensive arsenal of synthesisers and digital pianos, but the BX-3 stands out as it’s is all you really need in an organ. It doesn't require anything beyond a pair of 1/4" cables, a few pedals for volume and the Leslie effects.

The dependability of a KORG is known the world over and many musicians gig with a BX-3 without a back-up due to their complete confidence in the reliability of KORG manufactured instruments. In the event that you would ever need to contact the manufacturer, KORG has a sterling reputation for offering their customers great assistance with any issues.

Very focused instrument that has been implemented thoroughly with no frills and no clutter, yet provides everything you need in an organ. Okay so maybe if you are not organist, then you may look for something a bit more universal as an instrument. But if you are, the BX-3 is perfectly versatile.

Quite simply, if you want a quality B3 presence, sound and style when gigging, and want to spend less than a small car, then the Korg's BX-3 is definitely the way to go.

Piano is a mainstay of almost every style of western music. Whether you are interested in classical, pop, rock, jazz, blues or gospel, you would make a smart decision if you learn to play keyboard. But with piano prices reaching the thousands, a good beginner keyboard is a great start. Enter the Casio CTK-230.

Casio have always offered a fantastic range of starter keyboards and the Casio CTK-230 is no exception. Casio CTK-230 is a keyboard introduced by the Casio company in 2005. It is well known for its look, sound clarity and volume.

A brilliant starter keyboard for newcomers who are just getting into music, the Casio CTK-230 has an easy to use layout for simple operation and lesson functions. The keyboard will guide you along the way to musical proficiency with its piano lesson system, which effectively trains your hands to get used to the layout of the keys.

For a starter keyboard, the CTK-230 holds a wide repertoire of 100 high-quality tones for you to experiment with. And to make sure that learning is fun, the keyboard’s rehearsal system has 50 songs in the Melody Cut, providing effective training for the right hand, waiting to be practised with, and offers a simple to follow tutorial so you can learn quickly.

The CTK-230 allows budding musicians to discover a taste of what it is like to play a keyboard; however, being a cheap starter keyboard, there are some drawbacks. The keyboard boasts 49 standard sized keys (4 octaves), they are touch-sensitive keyboard keys as opposed to the piano styled 88 full size weighted keys optimal for efficient learning from the very start.

That being said, the sound clarity and volume of the Casio CTK-230 should make it a definite “must consider” for anyone looking for a cheap starter keyboard.

Instrumania provides you with the resource for comparing products on offer from a wide variety of online musical instrument shops, allowing you to find the cheapest starter keyboard for sale.