Yamaha Keyboard Foot pedal and Stand – I need to get my daughter a foot pedal …

I need to get my daughter a foot pedal and stand for her Yamaha keyboard. The pedal she needs is an FC5 sustain pedal. She has a Yamaha PSR-275/273 keyboard. Any ideas?

Yamaha FC5 Footswitch Pedalspeed,

Congratulations on having music in your home.  I was in the music products industry for many years, so I’m happy to help you come up with a good solution and the best place to purchase these accessories for your Yamaha PSR-275/273 model keyboard.  Let’s focus first on the keyboard pedal, and second on the stand.

The FC5 keyboard footswitch pedal is an on/off switching mechanism that allows for the user to control several functions on Yamaha keyboards, drum machines, recording equipment, and more.  One of the functions you can control on the keyboard is sustain.  In addition to sustain, many keyboard models allow you to use multiple pedals to control pitch bend (sometimes called glide), rhythm on/0ff, rhythm start/stop, or a variety of other functions.  To find out uses on your particular model, consult your owners manual and look for pedal functions.  Unfortunately, a footswitch type of pedal does not work much like the sustain pedal on a piano. On a traditional piano, the pedal lifts the Yamaha FC4 Piano-Style Sustain Pedal Standarddampers from the piano string, and because of the physical nature of its action, has quite a different effect than a simple on/off type of switch.  If the person using the keyboard is not an accomplished player, they probably won’t notice much in the way of response.  However, if the person is a more accomplished player, you’ll probably want to consider the FC4 piano style pedal.  This pedal has multiple switches giving several layers of response, so it will feel and respond more like an actual piano pedal.

After a broad search of on-line and off-line resources, here are the best prices currently available on each of these products.  For the FC5, you can actually beat anybody’s price because of GuitarCenter.com’s 10% price guarantee.  The FC5 foot pedal is listed on Guitar Center’s site at $19.99.  However, a number of online resources, including Buy.com and Wal-mart.com list the product selling price at just under $15.00.  This means that Guitar Center should sell you the product at around $13.50.  If you don’t have a Guitar Center in your area, I recommend that you just purchase directly from either buy.com or Walmart.com.

On the other hand, if you decide that the FC4 is more what you’re looking for, the story is a bit different because the Yamaha FC4 Piano-Style Sustain Pedal is priced lowest directly from GuitarCenter.com at just $22.99.  Of course, on both of these products, if you have a Guitar Center in your area, you can purchase them directly and save any shipping costs.  With Wal-mart.com, you will also save shipping costs by using their in-store pick up option.

On-Stage Stands Standard Keyboard Stand Portable KeyboardRegarding the keyboard stand, there are a couple of things to consider.  First is ease of use.  In other words, how easy is the stand to set up and take down.   Also, will it be convenient to store in a closet or under a bed when it’s not being used.  Second is how it will be used.  For example, will it be used as a more stationary place to hold the keyboard, or will it be taken to several different places and need to be more portable.  The stands that I like best are called X style keyboard stands.  The X styled stand is both simple to use and convenient because it folds flat for storage.  There are many different models and styles of these stands and prices will vary greatly.  For this model of keyboard (because it’s not too heavy) you should be able to use either a single or double X style stand.  A brand called “On Stage” is very popular.  Also, Yamaha makes one specifically for their PSR keyboards.  The model number on it is PKBS1.  You’ll likely pay a bit more for this model though, so consider the On Stage or No matter what you buy, make sure that the stand has the pull knob center clutch adjustment.  This is the easiest type of adjustment on the X styled keyboard stand.  Although the single X stand will hold the keyboard just fine, you won’t be fighting with loose screws and the tubes where the keyboard rests won’t twist if you get the double X styled stand.  See the images to the left for comparison purposes.

Regarding pricing, you should expect to pay anywhere between $19.99 and $199.99 depending on the quality of the stand and the manufacturer.  Because this is not a professional keyboard being used in a professional setting, you should be find in the lower end of the price range.  Here are the best pricing alternatives for you.

Hopefully, that helps you in your search.  Also, consider purchasing a X-styled keyboard bench as well.  They are between $19.99 and $49.99 and are available at all the places we’ve previously listed.

Again, congratulations on having music in your home and in supporting your child’s musical endeavors.

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