Digital pianos
Discussion
Any thoughts/recommendations on digital pianos? More classic and jazz than pop and rock, home use only.
£1200ish budget, looking at Kawai CN25 or Roland HP504 - the Roland started behind but might be winning me over. Tried some Yamaha CLPs but found the speakers a bit muffled and muddy.
I've thought about a controller keyboard with software pianos and external speakers, but don't really want to deal with the extra wires and having to start up a computer just to sit down and play.
£1200ish budget, looking at Kawai CN25 or Roland HP504 - the Roland started behind but might be winning me over. Tried some Yamaha CLPs but found the speakers a bit muffled and muddy.
I've thought about a controller keyboard with software pianos and external speakers, but don't really want to deal with the extra wires and having to start up a computer just to sit down and play.
I have a Roland RD-700GX which is great. It sounds and feels wonderful in my opinion, though I know these things can be subjective and different people prefer different keyboards. Got mine for £700 from ebay in as new condition. It's a 'stage piano' though, so doesn't have its own speakers as it would be cabled into the sound system provided by the venue, or into the mixing desk in a studio when you're recording.
I bought a Roland FA08 earlier this year for Billette minor who is heading towards grade 4 piano and had really outgrown her entry level Casio
The Roland is an outstanding piece of equipment and operates as a full workstation but does need external amplification and sound. Although the flags whistles and bells that are built in are quite remarkable we bought it mostly because of the quality of the action and the fact that it would take a full three pedal set exactly as the best uprights and all grand pianos have.
The keyboard itself is a little over the OP's budget but having compared the FA08 to all the other options it ticked just about every box imaginable for quality, versatility and the "not outgrowing it in a year" test
The Roland is an outstanding piece of equipment and operates as a full workstation but does need external amplification and sound. Although the flags whistles and bells that are built in are quite remarkable we bought it mostly because of the quality of the action and the fact that it would take a full three pedal set exactly as the best uprights and all grand pianos have.
The keyboard itself is a little over the OP's budget but having compared the FA08 to all the other options it ticked just about every box imaginable for quality, versatility and the "not outgrowing it in a year" test
brickwall said:
If it's for mock piano-playing, then get a Yamaha Clavinova. They're the industry standard for that kind of thing. No need for external amplification or speakers, and generally a pretty good touch and action.
Thing is, they're not really any more - they've benefitted from that perception for a long time and hence haven't put the R&D into their technology that the other companies have. Below £1k they're not that great and have got stiff competition from Casio, and above £1k Kawai and Roland have been moving fast over the last decade. A Yamaha won't disappoint, but if you know what you're looking for then you can get better results elsewhere.But yes, it's home use and I doubt I'm going to push the limits of a digital piano any time soon.
Not exactly what you've been looking at, but I bought a Roland F-140R about a year ago (when they were £719, now £809!) and am very happy with it.
In the music room at work we have a ca. 5 year old Clavinova (cannot remember model name, but it was a ca. £1,500-£2,000 one) and the Roland has a *much* better action, feel, tone and range of voices, as well as the built in songs, rhythms and accompaniments.
In the music room at work we have a ca. 5 year old Clavinova (cannot remember model name, but it was a ca. £1,500-£2,000 one) and the Roland has a *much* better action, feel, tone and range of voices, as well as the built in songs, rhythms and accompaniments.
Kawai, Kawai, Kawai. Yamaha owner for 20 something years. Played several different Kawai's, Yamaha and Rolands back to back in a Piano store which also had several real grand pianos in and the Kawai for feel was quite a step above the rest. It was the grand feel action which I ended up buying in the CS7 but if you can get anything else around that price then I'd go for it. Really happy with mine, beautiful instrument.
Chicken Chaser said:
Kawai, Kawai, Kawai. Yamaha owner for 20 something years. Played several different Kawai's, Yamaha and Rolands back to back in a Piano store which also had several real grand pianos in and the Kawai for feel was quite a step above the rest. It was the grand feel action which I ended up buying in the CS7 but if you can get anything else around that price then I'd go for it. Really happy with mine, beautiful instrument.
Yeah, initial budget was £300ish for a Yamaha P45, ended up with a £1400 Kawai CN35 - sounds great, good speakers, and enough useful bells and whistles to keep it reasonably future proof. Roland would have been awesome for late night jazz, very smooth sound, but was muffled at times and the Kawai was more well-rounded and suitable for straight jazz/classic stuff.Twilkes said:
Yeah, initial budget was £300ish for a Yamaha P45, ended up with a £1400 Kawai CN35 - sounds great, good speakers, and enough useful bells and whistles to keep it reasonably future proof. Roland would have been awesome for late night jazz, very smooth sound, but was muffled at times and the Kawai was more well-rounded and suitable for straight jazz/classic stuff.
Excellent. Pleased to hear it! Trying to learn how to play boogie woogie right now, and its like starting over again. Despite playing for over 25 years, the left hand doesnt seem to want to work independently from the right!Chicken Chaser said:
Excellent. Pleased to hear it! Trying to learn how to play boogie woogie right now, and its like starting over again. Despite playing for over 25 years, the left hand doesn't seem to want to work independently from the right!
Usual tip for stuff like this is to start slow, like really slow, with a metronome. If you felt stupid you could even play as if you were in slomo, moving your fingers really slow between the keys. This trains the brain with the correct muscle movements which you should then repeat until you can do it automatically, and then bring up the tempo. If you can't play it at a faster tempo then it's too fast for you at this time and you'll just be confusing your fingers and bedding in bad habits.It's better to spend half an hour nailing two bars repeatedly at a slow speed, and the next day nail the next two bars and so on, than wobble through a whole page for days and days, never really getting anything to a good standard.
But yes, Kawai's rock.
Yeah I know, the mertronome is the best thing to work with when learning something new. I'm fine with contemporary stuff, pop/rock etc but because its a syncopated rhythm, my right hand wants to knock my left hand into time when i'm trying to do it! Slow and steady wins the race though. The 2 parts independently arent actually that difficult, its the putting it together which is the challenge.
Thought I would resurrect this thread rather than start another one.
Does anyone have any experience of the Yamaha DGX670 which replaced the DGX660 a couple of years ago?
When I was in my late teens/early 20s I played in a band; had a Wurlitzer EP00 and a twin keyboard Vox Continental style organ. The band split up in '77 and I've not played since: 45 years!
Now my grandchildren are getting into music and mucking about on their keyboard tempts me into getting my own. I understand the Yamaha Clavinovas are closer to a real piano but I rather like the idea of having a piano the replicates a grand but also has Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Hammond sounds too. Anyone got one or any other suggestions?
p.s. I wonder how Chicken Chaser is getting on with his boogie woogie? I could boogie easily at 18 now nearly 50 years on I really can't get my left hand to do something different to the right. It's so difficult and I hope it comes back to me.
Does anyone have any experience of the Yamaha DGX670 which replaced the DGX660 a couple of years ago?
When I was in my late teens/early 20s I played in a band; had a Wurlitzer EP00 and a twin keyboard Vox Continental style organ. The band split up in '77 and I've not played since: 45 years!
Now my grandchildren are getting into music and mucking about on their keyboard tempts me into getting my own. I understand the Yamaha Clavinovas are closer to a real piano but I rather like the idea of having a piano the replicates a grand but also has Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Hammond sounds too. Anyone got one or any other suggestions?
p.s. I wonder how Chicken Chaser is getting on with his boogie woogie? I could boogie easily at 18 now nearly 50 years on I really can't get my left hand to do something different to the right. It's so difficult and I hope it comes back to me.
RichB said:
Thought I would resurrect this thread rather than start another one.
Does anyone have any experience of the Yamaha DGX670 which replaced the DGX660 a couple of years ago?
When I was in my late teens/early 20s I played in a band; had a Wurlitzer EP00 and a twin keyboard Vox Continental style organ. The band split up in '77 and I've not played since: 45 years!
Now my grandchildren are getting into music and mucking about on their keyboard tempts me into getting my own. I understand the Yamaha Clavinovas are closer to a real piano but I rather like the idea of having a piano the replicates a grand but also has Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Hammond sounds too. Anyone got one or any other suggestions?
p.s. I wonder how Chicken Chaser is getting on with his boogie woogie? I could boogie easily at 18 now nearly 50 years on I really can't get my left hand to do something different to the right. It's so difficult and I hope it comes back to me.
Ha, honest answer is I gave up. I guess it was the fact that the genre wasn't something I was that engaged in so focused on doing some other stuff. I am still playing though and I have improved although music is a constant learning process. Does anyone have any experience of the Yamaha DGX670 which replaced the DGX660 a couple of years ago?
When I was in my late teens/early 20s I played in a band; had a Wurlitzer EP00 and a twin keyboard Vox Continental style organ. The band split up in '77 and I've not played since: 45 years!
Now my grandchildren are getting into music and mucking about on their keyboard tempts me into getting my own. I understand the Yamaha Clavinovas are closer to a real piano but I rather like the idea of having a piano the replicates a grand but also has Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Hammond sounds too. Anyone got one or any other suggestions?
p.s. I wonder how Chicken Chaser is getting on with his boogie woogie? I could boogie easily at 18 now nearly 50 years on I really can't get my left hand to do something different to the right. It's so difficult and I hope it comes back to me.
What's your budget on the new instrument? You've got a wealth of options from Korg, Roland, Kawai, Yamaha and Nord. If you know your budget then try them all out as they all feel and sound slightly different. I've still got my Kawai and highly recommend it, but I am considering selling and buying a Nord Grand as every time I play one, I find it hard to stop playing it.
I've just been through this process on a smallish (£400) budget -
Honestly if you check the hundreds of youtube reviews, and particularly the blind tests - I don't think there's much in it between any of the top half dozen manufacturers.
The quality of electric pianos really has moved on from when I last looked ten years ago.
I ended up with a Roland FP10 as it seems largely agreed to have the most realistic piano action, fake ivory texture, two stage key action etc. - Not the biggest polyphony, only 96, but if your budget is bigger then an FP30 etc. will take care of that.
You have quite specific requirements around Wurlitzer sounds etc. so I don't think there's going to be any substitute for checking out a good music shop - loads around.
As mentioned above, I would also check into how quick the setup is on the system you choose. If you have three sounds you want how long does it take to switch between them. Firing a computer up when you fancy a five minute blast gets tedious.
Honestly if you check the hundreds of youtube reviews, and particularly the blind tests - I don't think there's much in it between any of the top half dozen manufacturers.
The quality of electric pianos really has moved on from when I last looked ten years ago.
I ended up with a Roland FP10 as it seems largely agreed to have the most realistic piano action, fake ivory texture, two stage key action etc. - Not the biggest polyphony, only 96, but if your budget is bigger then an FP30 etc. will take care of that.
You have quite specific requirements around Wurlitzer sounds etc. so I don't think there's going to be any substitute for checking out a good music shop - loads around.
As mentioned above, I would also check into how quick the setup is on the system you choose. If you have three sounds you want how long does it take to switch between them. Firing a computer up when you fancy a five minute blast gets tedious.
Hammersia said:
<clip> I would also check into how quick the setup is on the system you choose. If you have three sounds you want how long does it take to switch between them. Firing a computer up when you fancy a five minute blast gets tedious.
That's a very good point. I have just retired from software after 45 years. The last thing I want now is to have to program the thing to get started! 
The Yamaha DGX670 with stand and pedals is around a grand so I guess that's the budget area I'm considering. Gassing Station | Music | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff