Soundless, Gutless, Weighted Keyboard?

[gwegowy]

Hi all, quick question.  I have a home office, and I often find myself wanting to keep a free hand busy on a piano when there is not one around.  I find tinkering on my Clavinova is relaxing and helps me think, even when it is off.  Is there such thing as a desktop (physical, not software desktop) keyboard?  I don't want a full piano, just a small section of keys, maybe 2 8va worth of full-size keys?  I specifically would want to get a soundless product.  No electronics, no strings/hammers, just weighted keys in a frame.

I surely would have thought someone would be selling some sort of equivalent at least for educational purposes, but my Google searching has been thus far fruitless.  Does anyone know if such products exist, who sells them, and/or make and model numbers?

Thanks very much in advance,

G

[synthex]

?

[timothy42b]

Silent pianos used to be common.

I don't think what you want is made.  But, you could possibly construct one from either an unrepairable stage piano or the keybed from an unrepairable acoustic piano.  I'm trying to find one of either for the same purpose. 

[kookaburra]

?

synthex, do you ever say anything but ?  ?

[kookaburra]

Just find a nice weighted electric piano that no longer works, and hack off a section for your purposes.

 

[smithreeseii]

Agreed...why would the thing you are speaking of be manufactured?

[lostinidlewonder]

synthex, do you ever say anything but ?  ?

I think could be a passive aggressive approach to try to undermine someones point. Just looks like spam to me. In any case, the original poster is asking for somethings really strange, I wonder why on Earth someone would want such things? Go get a piano, rip the strings out of it and then get an axe to chop it up to the size you want, Bobs your uncle.

[timothy42b]

Go get a piano, rip the strings out of it and then get an axe to chop it up to the size you want, Bobs your uncle.

This is my plan as well.  The actions are made to be removable, so you could take the keybed out, slice it into two 44 key halves with a fine toothed saw, mount them on a board.  Use one for travel, one for work.

But as always the devil is in the details.  There are nearly always pianos in the want ads to give away or sell very cheap.  But now I have to borrow a truck and find six friends to help lift it.  Then it's going to sit for a while in the way of everything until I get to it.  And then after I've removed the keys I have to borrow another truck and another six friends and take it to the landfill (because the first six friends probably no longer are, after that job).  I can pretty much guarantee the weekly trash pickup is not going to be thrilled to see a half disassembled piano on the curb. 

[clarkf]

How about one of these?


It's not weighted, but still better than nothing right?

[kookaburra]

I can pretty much guarantee the weekly trash pickup is not going to be thrilled to see a half disassembled piano on the curb. 

right. so, go spend the day at a busy landfill, and bring along your saw. Wait till someone comes along with a piano in their truck, and ask them, would they mind terribly if you cut a little piece off before it goes in the pit? that way you don't have to haul anything big home, and besides they probably could use some help getting that thing out of their truck. And there you go. Better yet, why don't you intercept junk pianos on their way to the dump to SAVE and REPAIR them, instead of hacking them up into little unmusical pieces.     

(If the reason you want one is because you're just plain fidgety, get one of those squishy stress balls, or a clicker toy)  (besides, with a soundless piano, how will you know if you get the wrong note???!?)

Best of luck.

[Bob]

I did see a semi-weighted MIDI controller when I looked just now. 

The weightless keyboards can wear out.  I did that to one once. 

I'm still looking for a little keyboard that produces it's own sounds.  Something of that size roughtly.  All I ever find are MIDI controllers though which are more for features and expense than I'm looking for.

[Bob]

I still can't find anything.

25-32 keys.
full size keys
prefereably weighted but I was looking for anything
with its own internal sounds
for around $100 tops.  There are $400 MIDI controllers that also generate their own sounds but that's not what I'm looking for for price.

I'm thinking they don't make them.  But I bet there are a lot of people interested in them.

[kookaburra]

I still can't find anything.

25-32 keys.
full size keys
prefereably weighted but I was looking for anything
with its own internal sounds
for around $100 tops.  There are $400 MIDI controllers that also generate their own sounds but that's not what I'm looking for for price.

I'm thinking they don't make them.  But I bet there are a lot of people interested in them.

you mean, basically:

a wooden box
with piano keys
and a mechanism inside that gives the keys weight and also gives them sound?
So basically a small piano keyboard, but with better key touch?

or do you mean electronic?

??

[Bob]

I'm looking for electronic.  I've never seen anything like for acoustic.

So electric.  I'm still annoyed I couldn't find anything.  Not unless I want to pay $150+ and have lots of bells and whistles I didn't want - i.e. buying something and using it for a different purpose than what it is, which is a MIDI controller.

[peterjmathis]

I can't think of anything that meets every requirement you give. Maybe if you look on craiglist/freecycle you'll eventually find something that could be modified into what you want for cheap, but I can't think of anything specifically sold completely gutless.

[Bob]

Or give up and buy a MIDI controller with internal voices.  That's overpaying but there might be something there.

[kookaburra]

, but I can't think of anything specifically sold completely gutless.

you mean, you want a keyboard with no sound? but I thought you said it had to have internal sound, so how could it be gutless then?......   I don't understand.....

 

[Bob]

I want one with internal sounds.  I don't think the original poster did.