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Post subject: Digital Pianos - any advice?
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 7:17 am
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I'm really jonesing for a digital piano. Specifically, I mean one of those like the Yamaha DGX650, which are meant to fit in with home decor, but are still quite powerful and authentic musical instruments.

I'm a guitarist, mainly. However, in my heart I believe I am a musician first. I've been doing a lot of writing and recording lately, and would spend a lot of time learning and sharpening my keyboard skills in order to add some interesting textures to my recordings.

I don't have unlimited funds, but would spring for something in the sub-1,000 US Dollar range.

If any of you have experience with Casio vs Yamaha vs Alesis, or any brand, I would love to hear of your experiences with them!


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Post subject: Re: Digital Pianos - any advice?
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 10:24 am
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Kurzweil SP2X 88 - provides some impressive sounds; pianos, EPs, strings, pads, mallets and voices, all available at the touch of a button.

edited to add - looks like the SP4 is the newer model.

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Post subject: Re: Digital Pianos - any advice?
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 10:32 am
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If you're not overly concerned with having the "real feel" of a piano, IMO Roland makes the best sounding digital pianos. I would check them out first.

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Post subject: Re: Digital Pianos - any advice?
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 12:25 pm
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strings10927 wrote:
If you're not overly concerned with having the "real feel" of a piano, IMO Roland makes the best sounding digital pianos. I would check them out first.


Roland and Yamaha's "portable grand" options are some of the best sounding ones out there.

However, I'm a fan of using midi and a good piano plugin - it generally gives you a lot more options than built-in sounds that have to fit in the limited memory of a piano keyboard. Then the primary concern becomes the feel of the keyboard, not the sounds it has.


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Post subject: Re: Digital Pianos - any advice?
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 12:51 pm
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The Casio Privia sounds really good. I've had a Yamaha, and an Alesis, I can't tell a whole lot of difference between them, but a like the Casio best, seems to be more analog sounding.


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Post subject: Re: Digital Pianos - any advice?
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 7:11 pm
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I won't plug a particular brand or model but I will suggest you find one with weighted keys, touch sensitivity and each individual note sampled by at least 5 great pianos.

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Post subject: Re: Digital Pianos - any advice?
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 8:27 pm
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Mike, here is a piano - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodes_piano

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Post subject: Re: Digital Pianos - any advice?
Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2015 4:38 am
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I've got the Casio Privia PX-3s. I use it mostly at home but I have gigged with it from time to time.

I'd been looking at electronic keyboards for quite some time and finally pulled the trigger on this Casio about 2 years ago. For the price ($600) it equalled if not bettered keyboards going for almost twice that amount. Apparently what I didn't know at the time is the entire management team at Casio got changed a few years back and they were hungry to overcome their reputation as a cheap, Walmart style keyboard company and got serious about their pro line of keyboards, and that resulted in stuff like the Privia.

The weighted keys feel very real to me and respond quite well dynamically. On this, and probably most keyboards at this level, be prepared to spend some time mastering all the various advanced features such as the keyboard zones, splits and layering and MIDI playback using a memory card, etc. It has a 70 page user manual as well as a 68 page MIDI implementation guide.

However if you just want to play it it's as simple as turning it on, selecting a preset, and playing (or recording).

Good luck on your search and have fun with it!!!

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Post subject: Re: Digital Pianos - any advice?
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 12:39 pm
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I have purchased two Yamaha Clavinovas (from about 1997 and 2006) and can vouch for their sound. It's a little weird because when you play with headphones the experience is identical to playing in a hall with good sound and sometimes you think you're going to wake up the neighbors at 2 in the morning.

Don't know about the series you're talking about, but make sure it's got weighted keys and just go there with your favorite headphones to jam a bit.

BTW, the GarageBand piano sound is phenomenal.


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Post subject: Re: Digital Pianos - any advice?
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 1:41 pm
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Thanks all. It's going to come down to a choice between a Yamaha DGX 650 or a Casio PX 760. I'm leaning Casio at the moment. Looking forward to doing something, whichever way it goes. :D


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Post subject: Re: Digital Pianos - any advice?
Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 4:43 am
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This is just my own $.02 for what it's worth...

Like guitars, I think it really comes down to personal taste and personal preference more than anything. A person who was classically trained on a "real" piano for example is likely to prefer something with weighted keys (I had a band mate for a few years who swore by his Alexis as being the closest in feel to a real piano). Myself on the other hand - I'm self taught and mainly use keys for "fluff and fill" on recordings more than anything (although there are certainly some recent exceptions). I also use a keyboard to work out some piano/key parts in order to translate them to my guitar synth. As such, weighted keys just drive me insane...I prefer a nice, soft touch keyboard and over-all, don't really need anything fancy at all. With that in mind, I actually use a cheap Yamaha that I got at Goodwill for a whopping $10, along with my Kawai ($40 off Ebay)...I actually prefer my Kawai as it has the 3/4 size keys which I prefer for my smaller hands (despite being 6'2", I have less than an octave reach on a typical keyboard). Both are midi capable (not to mention touch sensitive), so both work very well with Reason (or my other synth packages) and ultimately end up sounding A LOT nicer then they actually are. That said however, something that goes with my living room decor wasn't even a consideration for me...just needed something down in the studio that was more manageable than my old upright, LOL!

The only thing I would add in this case is that which ever way you go, do get something that has MIDI...even if you're not using it now, it can open up a tremendous world of sound for you. I got my copy of Reason 4 for free from a friend who was upgrading and not even considering the orchestra sounds and other funky do-dads (including ReDrum...some really great drum samples there), the piano sounds I have available are just AMAZING...makes my $10 Yamaha sound like a full concern grand (and don't even get me started on Abbe Road Studio...wow!!!)!

That said, as with guitars (or amps, pedals, etc), my advice would be to simply head to a few music stores and play as many as you can get your hands on...let your own hands, ears, heart and wallet decide which is right for you.

Good luck!


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Post subject: Re: Digital Pianos - any advice?
Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 8:02 am
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I was where you were back in 2004.

IMHO the yamaha samples to my ears, are probably the more "real" sounding if compared to Casio



I've two yamaha digital pianos, one in my den (a PF500 that is a very good sounding digi piano)
and a p140, that is also a great sounding playing digital piano. (that's in my studio room in my down stairs --Man Cave--)

IMHO, The Yamaha's I think are far more realistic sounding (the comment about using headphones is spot on).
for example, here's a sound cloud clip of my PF500 that I recorded directly to a 8 track digital recorder.

The Roland pianos do sound good but they tend IMO to work better in a stage piano or live performing application where the sounds cut thru the mix a bit better.

https://soundcloud.com/ray-pelkey/winter-walk
(My p140 sounds very close to this)

the P140 would is now be the newer model, (p255)
http://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical- ... ies/p-255/
it's a quite a bit more ($$$) than your example, but it's excellent, with great piano sounds and good strings, as well as electric piano and organ. graded weighted keys as well. (you want these if your goal is playing Piano)

something more in your price range is the P105
http://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical- ... mode=model


/ray


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Post subject: Re: Digital Pianos - any advice?
Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 12:53 am
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Sound and playability are key for sure. If displays will be important to you, make sure that you are comfortable with their size.

I have a great sounding inexpensive Yamaha that my wife brought home. It serves my purpose, but my tired eyes have some difficulty reading some of the graphic designations, and the display screen. For me, this limits the added educational features. Other than that, the keyboard is appreciated.

You might also check to see what features are associated online from the keyboard manufacture. Things like song downloads to install and, perhaps learn, on the piano, and more. Last time I looked, Yamaha has actual artist endorsed music available. Others may or may not have.

Enjoy the search and your piano choice. :D

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Post subject: Re: Digital Pianos - any advice?
Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 3:50 am
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I came across a new p115 at the music store my grandson takes lessons at.

it's a scaled down p255, $599, pretty good action and piano sounds, built in speakers were "meh" but you can fix that easy enough.

There was a comperable casio setup next to it, I thought the yamaha was quite a bit better, but I'm partial to them as I already have 3, (2 digital pianos and an s08 which is an 88 weighted key synth with loads of sounds)


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Post subject: Re: Digital Pianos - any advice?
Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 1:13 pm
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All great stuff. Thanks for all of the insight.

After looking at user manuals online, I'm going to pull the trigger on the Yamaha DGX 650. I like the Casio's look. It's much more like a piece of furniture than the Yamaha.

But, since I'll be using this as a compositional tool and using it to add to recordings I'll make, I can't beat the features of the Yamaha. It's much more like an arranger piano, which is kind of what I feel like I need.

Of course, I would realize none of this if I hadn't taken the time to research it. My guy at Sweetwater gave me some spot-on advice, too.

Give me a few months, and I'll try to pop back in with some songs after I learn how to run this rig!


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