My son plays jazz piano.  He’s really good, and we want to get something that will allow him to play gigs at bars and restaurants.

Something with a solid, old-school, earthy sound.  He IS a jazz man.

We just bought my mom a Yamaha P71 for her 80th. It seems pretty nice.

Are you willing to spend 2-3K on a Nord?

OP for about half the price of a Nord you could get him a Korg SV-1. It's a "vintage stage piano" that sounds like it would be right for your son.

He's gonna need a keyboard amp or small PA speaker as well, gig bag or hard case, cables, bench, keyboard stand (nice double-braced stand, not something cheap)...I'm sure you know all that.

That Korg and something like a QSC K10 for an amp/speaker, and he has something he can use on any stage, large or small, for years.

If I was a keyboard player I would.

Yeah, but he’s just 16.  His summer pizza making money won’t cut it.  

Cool.

Figured he was more college-aged.

Looked around on my keyboard playing buddys' facebook pages trying to get some other ideas for you. Mostly Nords
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He’s been playing in a jazz orchestra for 5 years.  Heavy on the improv.  He’s played in Vietnam, Senegal, Dubai, and numerous places CONUS.

But this summer, he needs to make money with it.

Let me link you to a list of keyboards that are commonly used in the real world. This is an excellent resource; it is what's available for rent at Onstage Systems in Dallas. It is an objective measure of instruments that are in demand.

They would not have these keyboards and pianos sitting around if they weren't sought after by world-class players. We just rented their Hammond organ and Nord Electro 4 this past weekend, as a matter of fact, for a band that flew in.

My frank opinion is that you ought to set him up for success by dropping a few grand on an acceptable rig. He WILL be judged by what he loads in. If you send him out into the world with something cheap, he will likely be embarrassed into begging, borrowing, or stealing to get something better.

Maybe things are different where you live, but in my world there are a ton of talented young guys jockeying for position in a highly competitive music scene. Most of them are carting around several thousand dollars worth of stuff every night. You should give your son a leg up regarding gear.

https://onstagesystems.com/what-we-do/backline/

Thanks!

It's my pleasure. I respect you from your posts in GD, so more than happy to help out. It's exciting to hear that your son is on the verge of making a go at music.

I'm not a keyboardist, but I'm infinitely familiar with the culture surrounding modern live keyboard/piano/organ playing. I'm assuming he won't want to play restaurants and bars forever. He gets plugged into the right scene and doors will open for him left and right. He will almost assuredly branch out from jazz when he starts recognizing all the opportunities available to him. A versatile keyboard player could literally work 24/7 if he could stay awake all the time.

Weighted keys. That is the biggest complaint I hear from my keys playing friends. They want weighted keys. Otherwise an older Yamaha Motif is pretty nice. If he isn’t looking to play too loud krk powered studio monitors sound pretty decent for the price.

Here's your Wednesday night working jazz man rig. Yamaha P-80, I think these can be had used for about $375.

The JBL monitor is ours. A lot of restaurants and bars will have crappy or no monitors, though, so it's always good to have your own in case you need it
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Listening to a Hammond Sk1 tonight. They go for about $1,900
http://hammondorganco.com/products/portable-organs/sk-1/

Roland RD-700GX
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What’s the consensus on 73 vs 88 keys?

Will 73 be that much of a limitation?

ARFCOM is slacking. Get both

Seriously though, I've seen two Korg SV-1s this week. It's a sign. Still think that's the one you ought to get.