Looks like I've finally found a back-up PSR-E433!

SciNote · April 15, 2023, 06:29:26 AM

I currently own a PSR-E433 that I got new in 2013. I've considered buying one of its several successors, but just don't think the additional features they've added were really that important based on my particular needs. And additionally, in my opinion and also in the opinion of others on this forum, the key feel of the E433 is noticeably superior to any of its successors. So, I've just kept using my E433 all these years.

Normally, I have had my keyboards, including the E433, set up in a structure that I built that resembles a home organ -- including having a set of bass pedals. But in case I start gigging, and to practice songs in what would be a gigging set-up, I made a portable stand that supports two keyboards, so I have moved the E433 (and my Roland Gaia SH-01) to that stand and have been practicing arrangements of songs using that stand -- with the big difference being that this "gigging stand" does not accommodate bass pedals, so that I had to work out other ways to add bass to my playing.

So, this is fine as far as it goes, but now, my organ-style stand has just been sitting there, half empty. And since I have not been playing on the organ-type stand, I'm concerned that my bass pedal playing will get rusty.

So, I have been looking for a back-up for the E433. I could get a different keyboard (Yamaha or otherwise) for the organ-style stand, but I figure it is best to have something with at least similar features and a similar layout as the E433 -- like having the registration buttons in a similar location -- so I can keep a similar playing technique. And if I get another E433, then I could easily exchange data between my main keyboard and the back-up. This would also make it a good back-up in the event that I do start gigging and if my main keyboard stopped working right before a gig.

However, what I've noticed is that E433's are surprisingly difficult to find, and what is out there is often very expensive. I've been looking at eBay, CraigsList, and Reverb, and of the few E433's I see, most are $300-400 when shipping is included. To me, that's quite a bit to spend for a ten year old keyboard that was $250 when it was new. It ain't a CS80 or a Mini-Moog! And if anyone checks Reverb and sees the $250 E433 in Miami, Florida, please note that it was being sold by a music store, and when I went to my local branch of that store, they said I could buy it there and they would ship it, but when I tried to do so, they found it had already been sold. I have no idea why they are still listing it.

Well, I finally saw one on eBay for a reasonable price -- $170 with shipping costs of about $33. It was described as fully functional, and the seller has a 100% positive feedback score, so I figured I'd grab it! It will probably be here within about a week, so I'll keep you posted!

Divemaster · April 17, 2023, 04:34:49 AM

Just purely for your interest SciNote.

Don't throw your pedal board out!

There's a programme on UK tv at the moment called The Bidding Room.
In a recent edition, this guy turned up with a really old beautiful converted to electric Harmonium that he had bought for £1. Yes you read that right. £1
No interest at all.
However the beautiful oak bench, and the full sized pedalboard which they stood on end, and described as a wooden sculpture did sell as 1 lot for £120.
A sign of the times!
The organ case itself, probably 100kg plus of oak will be recycled for the timber.
Sad ending for such a majestic old instrument.

Keith.

pjd · April 18, 2023, 01:06:57 PM

Good to hear, Bob!

Patience pays off -- pj

SciNote · April 18, 2023, 02:42:53 PM

Oh, don't worry. I have no intention of throwing the pedal board out! In fact, that is one of the purposes of my getting a second E433 -- to be able to permanently have it mounted on my organ-style stand, where I can play music using the pedal board. But this is no majestic pedal board made with oak pedals! This is just a simply 1-octave unit with plastic pedals. It was originally a stand-alone bass pedal board when I bought it back in 1985 (and it was a used model, then), but it kept going out of tune. Eventually, its tuning pot was at its limit, and I could not get it in tune anymore. So, I gutted it and hardwired the switches of the pedals to the lower octave of an old Casio MT-68 mini-keyboard.

And perseverance, indeed! I've been looking for one of these keyboards for years! It should be here in a couple days. Hopefully, it's in as good as shape as the seller said it is. Hard to believe what other people ask for them, but then again, I don't know if they really sell for those inflated prices, because the listings seem to sit for a long time.

pjd · April 18, 2023, 04:39:26 PM

Quote from: SciNote on April 18, 2023, 02:42:53 PM
And perseverance, indeed! I've been looking for one of these keyboards for years! It should be here in a couple days. Hopefully, it's in as good as shape as the seller said it is. Hard to believe what other people ask for them, but then again, I don't know if they really sell for those inflated prices, because the listings seem to sit for a long time.

My Mom was a terrific haggler and bargain-hound. I remember walking out of a store with her saying, "They're not hungry enough yet. I can wait."

Great training as a kid.

I also remember, "Always be ready to walk away from a deal."

Yep, those inflated prices are something else...

Take care and have fun -- pj

SciNote · April 22, 2023, 05:54:55 AM

Well, the E433 came, and so far, it looks great! Except for a small scratch (that was clearly noted in the description of the eBay listing), it looks practically new! So far, everything I've tried on it works fine -- including loading data from a USB flash drive. I hope to have it fully set up within the next couple days.

rodrigo.b · April 22, 2023, 11:55:18 AM

Excuse me, could you please share the midi file of this PSR E433 song? https://youtu.be/7TjZsALBhqQ thank you in advance!

SciNote · April 22, 2023, 08:01:58 PM

I've never much messed with the onboard pre-recorded songs on my E433, but that song sounds amazing! Just shows what this keyboard is capable of. However, I am wondering about that background vocal effect at around 1:15, as I cannot think of anything in my keyboard that can produce that sound -- I'll have to take a closer look at it and see if this song sounds the same when played directly on my keyboard.

Unfortunately, I have never messed around much with MIDI, so I'm not sure how to extract that song -- and in fact, I'm not even sure if there is a way to extract the hard-coded data, like the pre-recorded songs, from this keyboard.