Digital piano recommendations?

[HarmsWay]

The LOML and I both took piano lessons as kids. She liked it. Me not so much. Well 40 years or so later, both of us want to try again. I'm looking to re-learn the basics just so I can play with MIDI. She more into just getting better. We looked at a Yamaha in a music store (perhaps a YDP-213 for around $900). I've also looked on-line at the M-Audio ProKeys 88 ($600 street price). She prefers the piano with the built-in stand and three foot pedals. I prefer a portable keyboard. I noticed the Yamaha's all have graded hammers keys but not the M-Audio (still hammer keys but all feel the same). Given that I haven't played a real piano in over 40 years should I care that my digital piano doesn't feel exactly like a real piano?

Any suggestions?

Thanks, Bob

[poolhound]

We have 2 a Roland and A Yamaha (I think). We bought the Roland when we moved to Phoenix from the UK. Our old upright piano wouldnt have survived the trip. My son is now a Sophmore in college and asked if he could take the DP (Digital Piano NOT Drill Press :-) ) we said no but he ended up getting one he could use in his room. I am 90% certain its a Yamaha. It does have a fullsize keyboard and a plug in pedal (maybe 2). The sound and key action are amazing. I will ask him which model but I think we paid somehwere around $750. The Roland is much larger and more "furniture" like and expensive ~$1600.

[Uncle Cracker]

I'll suggest that, if realism is as important as you indicate (judging by your attention to the graded keyboard), you will fall short if you go with a model without a pedal setup. That is one thing that separates a piano system from an ordinary "keyboard". Perhaps you should search for a system that has both a pedal system and a true-feel keyboard. Wish I could suggest a specific make and model, but that part of my life has left me far behind. I know they're out there, though.

[jziegler]

The LOML and I both took piano lessons as kids. She liked it. Me not so much. Well 40 years or so later, both of us want to try again. I'm looking to re-learn the basics just so I can play with MIDI. She more into just getting better. We looked at a Yamaha in a music store (perhaps a YDP-213 for around $900). I've also looked on-line at the M-Audio ProKeys 88 ($600 street price). She prefers the piano with the built-in stand and three foot pedals. I prefer a portable keyboard. I noticed the Yamaha's all have graded hammers keys but not the M-Audio (still hammer keys but all feel the same). Given that I haven't played a real piano in over 40 years should I care that my digital piano doesn't feel exactly like a real piano?

Any suggestions?

Thanks, Bob

No real suggestions, just a quick comment. The M-Audio is a stage piano, so it's more or less designed for travelling/touring musicians. Which means that there are no speakers built into it. Any of the Yamahas marketed for home use will have built in speakers. So, for the M-Audio, add in the price of a keyboard amplifier/speaker combo for your comparison price (as well as an audio cable to connect them). Also, the Yamaha has the pedals included, the M-Audio has inputs for them, but you;d need to buy them. The Yamaha listing I saw online says that it includes a bench, so for a full comparison price, you need to add a bench and stand to the M-Audio. Really, comparinf the two is comparing apples and oranges, they are compeltly different markets, although they do the same basic task.

Jim

[HarmsWay]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. I realize the two I mentioned were different but that was the point. The stage piano seems more suited to how I think I'd use it (thru the computer/stereo via my FireWire audio box). It comes with a sustain pedal and inputs for two more pedals that could be bought separately. The Yamaha can run stand-alone. It has built-in pedals and speakers.

So far the minimum requirements are 88 hammer action keys, MIDI I/O, and under $1k.

Bob

[dlminehart]

Bob, I have a Yamaha PSR-510 MIDI keyboard that I've not used for a few years, complete with fold-up stand and pedal. It has a lot of bells and whistles (voices, rhythms, tracks, etc.), although I found it most fun to use it for MIDI attached to my computer. Amazing how much MIDI music there is to download! And, with the right software, you can modify to your heart's content. I suspect this is what you may have in mind.

I had great fun with Band-In-A-Box, for instance. You basically type in the chord changes, pick a musical style and tempo, and a backup track is automatically generated for you to play the melody in front of.

The PSR-510 was the top "prosumer" model from Yamaha, light enough to be portable but substantial enough to feel "real". Mine has been taking up space I need for my workshop. If you might be interested in buying it for a lot less than $1K and would like more info, PM me.

[HarmsWay]

Yeah that's what I had in mind. Looks like a nice keyboard David. Unfortunately it's 17 keys short of a piano so that would be a show stopper for the LOML. Thanks for the offer though. I'm starting to think we may find that we can't both get what we want in a single unit. Although, I'd be willing to compromise as long as it was MIDI capable (I'm not admitting that to her just yet though).

Bob

[poolhound]

Checked with my son and the one he has is a Yamaha YPG-625

http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/...205200,00.html

we paid $800 including pedal and bench and tax.

full 88 keys, weighted action and it sounds really great.

[HarmsWay]

Checked with my son and the one he has is a Yamaha YPG-625

That would do everything. Not available in Canada but the DGX-620 seems to be the same thing and is available here. When figuring that out, I stumbled upon www.pianoworld.com

Bob

[germdoc]

My son is a keyboardist, and I recently researched this topic.

I got him an M-Audio 88-key keyboard to use as a stage keyboard and computer input device. It sounds pretty good and outputs to an amp or computer via USB. It is not the one with weighted keys, which adds not only to the price but to the weight. I think the M-Audio products are great for the money.

If you play mainly piano and want a more "true-to-life" experience go with a decent quality digital piano with weighted keys, foot pedals, etc. The epitome of digital pianos is probably the Yamaha Clavinova--best samples, best feel, etc. They are the best-selling by far. A little pricey. We had a Roland a few years ago that I thought was pretty good as well. Casio used to make really cheap keyboards but now makes some decent digital pianos that are rated as good bargains.

Best advice: visit a few music stores and try them for yourself.

[HarmsWay]

Wow, I just compared weights between the M-Audio ProKeys 88 and the 88sx. Big difference. 48 lbs and 17 lbs respectively. My only experience with M-Audio is with my outboard computer audio, but it's very nice and was definitely good value. It's the reason I checked out the ProKeys piano.

The consensus is that the Yamaha's in general are more piano like which will mean more to my wife than to me, and the ProKey 88 makes for a better box for interfacing (line outputs, USB, MIDI). Technically, the ProKeys have better audio/sample specs.

I'll try to get into the music store this weekend.

Bob

[gerti]

Another option would be to look into a good quality midi keyboard (no audio) and combine it with a program like Reason from http://www.propellerheads.se/ which comes with pretty decent piano samples, and the toy factor is tremendous.

[germdoc]

Wow, I just compared weights between the M-Audio ProKeys 88 and the 88sx. Big difference. 48 lbs and 17 lbs respectively. My only experience with M-Audio is with my outboard computer audio, but it's very nice and was definitely good value. It's the reason I checked out the ProKeys piano.

The consensus is that the Yamaha's in general are more piano like which will mean more to my wife than to me, and the ProKey 88 makes for a better box for interfacing (line outputs, USB, MIDI). Technically, the ProKeys have better audio/sample specs.

I'll try to get into the music store this weekend.

Bob

You've got it right. Weighted keys are important for PIANO feel. However, I've read forum posts from gigging musicians who complain about having to lug around the extra weight, and say that it actually tires out the fingers if you pound the keyboards for hours at a time. There's also more chance for things to break with weighted keys, whereas the semi or non-weighted keys are very simple spring-loaded and very unlikely to need repair. Plus the ProKeys 88-sx can be got for about half the price of the 88.

That said, if I wanted to sound like Billy Joel or Elton John or Herbie Hancock I'd get weighted keys.

The M-Audio keyboards do need an external amp but these can be got pretty cheaply for less than $100, for instance. You can use headphones as well or your computer speakers.

[cbrown]

I have a Yamaha YDP-223 and have been very happy with it as a substitute for a piano that can be placed in the draft from the front door and not need constant tuning. The feel of the keys and the response are very good. I believe it is equivalent to one of the lower Clavinova models, but is sold through guitar stores rather than piano stores and is much cheaper. The harpisichord samples include clicks from the quill hitting the string on attack and release--if you like that sort of thing.

Chris

[HarmsWay]

My biggest complaint with Yamaha's Canadian website (different models are available here than in the US) is that they seem to have about a thousand different models with no novice end-user roadmap to figure out which are suitable. Just including the MSRP would help eliminate many. Just another good reason to go to the music stores.

Bob