All I can remember from grade school religion classes: “Avoid the near occasion of sin.”
Thus, I rolled into my local music store with trepidation. I had to get out of the house. 🙂
First, I want to say a few good words about Kennelly Keys, our local musical instrument chain. They have a decent selection of bread and butter keys on the floor. I always have fun chatting with their staff. Kennelly hires true laid-back PNW types.
I would say, “Go to Patchwerks for synths.” Unfortunately, Patchwerks has closed. Major bummer, that was one sweet store. RIP.
I wanted to check out Roland Go:keys 5 (or 3). When the August dolldrums hit, we go in search of new adventures.
Kennelly has a Go:keys 3 on the floor. The 3 has the same keybed, styling, sounds and patterns as the 5. The 5 adds two passive radiators (better bass), 1/4″ stereo OUT, and microphone IN. The 3 is good enough for me because, today, I just want to touch the keys and hear the tones.
Roland Go:keys 3
Tone-wise, the gen 2 Go:keys does not disappoint. If you want Roland tones, the gen 2 Go:keys delivers them on the cheap (3: $385-ish, 5: $550 USD). The featured acoustic and electric piano voices are quite good for this price range. The patterns (styles?) are relatively hip and current by typical arranger standards. (Yamaha take note.)
The gen 2 keybed is much improved since my close encounter with gen 1 Go:keys. The keys are piano-shaped, but in no way feel like a piano. At this price point, were you expecting linear-graded with escapement? Roland kept the nice texturing. I’m not sure if I could bide the slight sponginess in the long run. Still, the Go:keys keybed is good competition for the Casio CT-S1000V.
The Go:keys 3 and 5 styling is very contemporary. I could see having one in a living room or family room. My only knock is the front panel legends. I tried a turquoise Go:key3 and the legends were very hard to read — not enough contrast. Roland should change the legends to black and save our eyesight.
Well, that was pleasant. I spent a few moments with a Yamaha CK88 and that was pleasant, too. Yamaha have developed two fine instruments in the CK61 and CK88. The CK61 FSB keybed feels better than MODX6. The CK88 GHS felt connected to the main CFX grand piano voice. All good. For their respective price range, I see why the CKs appeal to a lot of players.
Still, I’m awaiting the mark 2 Stage YC61. The CK secondary sounds surpass the current Stage YC series and I hope mark 2 does better. Overall, I wonder if I could live with Live Sets as the sole means to layer/split? The MODX (Montage) Performance organization is far more flexible and satisfying. Also, the CK MIDI implementation seems limited and rigid as far as external control is concerned. I hope Yamaha take note of forum comments and make gen 2 Stage YC MIDI as flexible as possible.
I was struck by the aesthetic difference between Go:keys and CK. Go:keys looks very modern; Yamaha looks industrial. One can accept an all-business look for a professional instrument. However, I hope Yamaha ups its game in the next E-series models for home. The current E-series looks tired next to the Rolands.
Well, I didn’t buy an instrument. I did buy a cool LEGO Ninjago Ice Tank Set (30427) at Bricks and Minifigs. At least I didn’t go home empty-handed. 🙂
Copyright © 2025 Paul J. Drongowski