Case for a stage piano

[eleanorrigby]

Hello,
I have a Kawai MP8ii Professional Stage piano, originally I bought it as a portable piano but since purchase it hasn't left my room as I don't have a case for it.
So two questions;
Should I buy a hard case or a soft case?
Does anybody know where I could buy said case?

Thanks, Eleanor.

[richard black]

Hard case - best protection for the keyboard, probably very heavy, takes up storage space when at home.

Soft case - convenient, light, easy to store, cheaper, not good if you're going to put the keyboard into a gig truck.

Where to buy? Why not the same source as the keyboard itself?

[eleanorrigby]

Ah yes, this is my conundrum. Hard case soft case.. You see the keyboard itself is already very heavy, needs two people to move it.. So a hard case would definitely add to that problem. But at the same time I may be moving abroad at some stage in the near future and I would bring the keyboard with me, so I'd need a hard case for transport right? Hmm.. How much do you reckon a soft case would cost?
The source of the keyboard don't actually sell them, and in fact I don't think Kawai has designed a case for it, so it could turn into a situation where I'd need a specifically designed case.. Which would obviously be really expensive I imagine..hmmm.

[ionian_tinnear]

I have one of each.  A hard and a soft case.  Both have wheels, all good cases should.  And heavy?  My kurzweil K2600sx, in the hard case, comes to about 90lbs..  Without the wheels, I'd never take it anywhere.

My softcase is use for my yamaha S-90.  Since I always put the case in the truck in a way that nothing will be put on it, nor can fall on it, I'm not so concerned that I needed a hard case.  A decent softcase should have some structure to it, and will still be solid enough to protect your keyboard for normal transport.  Not for flights of course, must be hard for that.

[keys60]

Ditto Richard Black and inonian. I'd go for the hard case with wheels or a dolly if you're going to gig a lot.  If your moving it to your local church once per week without a complicated area to move around, maybe a soft case could suffice.

[maxtrainfla]

When I read the subject, I thought this would be a post about someone justifying a stage piano over an acoustic .. i.e. "making the case" for a stage piano.

That said.. what they said. hard case w/ wheels. Protect that investment and eliminate any excuse not go go out gigging!!!