i recently bought my son a medeli electronic drum set, and i think you're right - there's a chinese/japanese line/factory/woteva manufacturing generics that are branded after the fact. in trying to get the right instruction manual off the interwebz, i came across the model number from various brands before i found the medeli manual.

that said, i'm quite impressed with the quality of the set, not being a drumming aficionado. it offers plenty of features for both learning and playing, and i'm not massively out of pocket now that the vacillating 10-year old has decided not to pursue the drums. (just glad he's keeping up with the piano lessons.) i'll probably keep the drums myself, unless i can offload them without losing too much.

how old is your daughter? my kids (a girl and a boy) started piano lessons at around six or seven. many would say this is an ideal age, although there is plenty of evidence on youtube that two-year olds have the capacity to be awesome. my kids are lucky that their dad plays, and we've had a piano/clavinova in the house forever.

good luck with the decision, either way
dh|

I must admit that up till now I have only researched on the web. I have not physically touched any keyboards. I think over the next two weekends I will do a tour of all the music stores around Pretoria and get a feel of what I get for my money. Perhaps the cheapies will suprise me. Obviously my 5 year old also has to get some say in what she wants but at this stage the one in front of her at the time will be the one she wants. On the other hand if the piano teacher (who does UNISA preparations) reckons the cheaper make is sufficient it might just be. That way it won't hurt as much when she decides to learn the violin..

I have recently started dabbling in the dark art of learning the keyboard. So off I went to the local CC and walked away with a R300 Medelli keyboard. Plastic sounding is being kind but it is serving the purpose of having a keyed instrument to learn on.
BTW getting to learn the major and minor chords on the keys also increased my knowledge of the guitar fingerboard.

So... go cheap for now and evaluate the will of the youngsters to learn, then decide on the way forward

Stoffeltoo wrote: I have recently started dabbling in the dark art of learning the keyboard. So off I went to the local CC and walked away with a R300 Medelli keyboard. Plastic sounding is being kind but it is serving the purpose of having a keyed instrument to learn on.
BTW getting to learn the major and minor chords on the keys also increased my knowledge of the guitar fingerboard.

So... go cheap for now and evaluate the will of the youngsters to learn, then decide on the way forward

agreed. but stof, if you're spending r300 on a keyboard, plastic-kindly it's gonna be. ?
dh|

Yeah Dom! Now that I discovered that Keys are not that difficult I am developing KAS! Definitely not a stage piano or Yammie but something a bit more real sounding ?

Stoffeltoo wrote: Yeah Dom! Now that I discovered that Keys are not that difficult I am developing KAS! Definitely not a stage piano or Yammie but something a bit more real sounding ?

i reckon you can save yourself a bit by getting a midi kb and using virtual instruments/sound banks. one keyboard, many instruments...

dh|

If you can get a good deal on a vst instrument and just buy a cheap midi controller that is also a good option as stated. Sometimes vst softwares goes for a steal on special, just keep an eye out. Controllers also have a better resale value and you can even find a use for it yourself ?

Vikster
I am in a similar situation. Last year it was an acoustic guitar, this year it is a electronic keyboard (she is seven). I have only just started my research on the Internet.

I have looked at what is available at Cash Crusaders. I am tempted to buy one of the Sanchez models.

Please share what you settled for and which were the close contenders. I live in Pretoria, so if you still have the store names, I would interested in that as well.

JaubulaniMkhize I don't much about keyboards in general - but Sanchez as a brand ain't great. Better off looking at Casio or a 2nd hand yamaha.

Keyy your eyes peeled on the SAMIS facebook group for 2nd hand deal or if you must buy new then try [TOMS]{https://www.toms.co.za/}- sure there's a branch near you?

Looking around Medelli seem to be comparable to Sanchez and there's not many bad reviews - https://www.toms.co.za/products/medelim15

JaubulaniMkhize
I would agree with V8 on this one.
In terms of music stores in PTA, whereabouts in PTA? In Centurion, there is Bothners (Jean Village Music) in a small center on Jean avenue. In Menlyn, there is Oosthavens near the Metro in the center opposite Menlyn mall, and there is a small Marshall Music inside the big Pick nPay on Atterbury. There is another Oosthavens in Montana. There is also Musika next to the Makro in Silver lakes.

In Midrand there is Mitech.

I usually go to the Oosthavens in Menlyn for strings n things.

Regarding buying, my general rule of thumb is to go 2nd hand every time. The SAMIS group on facebook is a great start. Loads of gear for sale in the PTA area.