Gear4music electric piano?
Discussion
Anyone got any experience of Gear4music and their own brand electric pianos?
My 13yr old lad is getting really good on the Yamaha keyboard I bought him last Xmas, and now he wants an 88 key electric piano for this Xmas. We went to Gear4music shop in York the other day to look at their entry level Casio and Yamaha branded pianos, around £600. But the one he really loved was the Gear4music own brand DP50 piano at £500. He said the bonded ones didn't feel as good, and the pedals were too short.
So, what are peoples opinions of Gear4music own brand instruments?
My 13yr old lad is getting really good on the Yamaha keyboard I bought him last Xmas, and now he wants an 88 key electric piano for this Xmas. We went to Gear4music shop in York the other day to look at their entry level Casio and Yamaha branded pianos, around £600. But the one he really loved was the Gear4music own brand DP50 piano at £500. He said the bonded ones didn't feel as good, and the pedals were too short.
So, what are peoples opinions of Gear4music own brand instruments?
I was looking at digital pianos for my daughter earlier this year including the models you mentioned but it's worth looking at pre-owned as you will get a better quality instrument for your money. I found a kawai kdp90 locally in great condition for half the £750 rrp. Lovely piano which she is very happy with.
Edited by kuro on Tuesday 19th November 22:11
I have only ever played one Gear4Music keyboard and frankly it was terrible - the key action was leaden and the sound entirely artificial. It wasn't the one that you've linked to though so I can't comment specifically - but on the whole whilst I've found Gear4Music stuff to be OK for very beginners they don't compare at all well to the more established brands. That said, for the money they are probably the best you can get - a £500 Gear4Music piano is likely to be better than a £600 Yamaha. But, as per the previous poster, it won't be anything like as good as a £1200 Yamaha which is a few years old and up for £400 on eBay - that is absolutely the way I'd be going. Apart from anything else, a £500 piano will be worth nothing if you want to shift it on a few years down the line. A Clavinova which you pick up for £400 today is probably going to still be worth £400 in five years time.
He could also think about something a bit more portable and get a stage piano - depending on the model you'd need to get an amp, stand etc. but it would give the flexibility of playing in a band if he wanted. Or get a keyboard, synth, or arranger workstation rather than a digital piano, which would all come with a much more sophisticated sound engine, many more preset voices and would allow him to record loops, mix sounds and really get creative. It's all about where he wants to take his music really (and a matter of budget, of course
)
He could also think about something a bit more portable and get a stage piano - depending on the model you'd need to get an amp, stand etc. but it would give the flexibility of playing in a band if he wanted. Or get a keyboard, synth, or arranger workstation rather than a digital piano, which would all come with a much more sophisticated sound engine, many more preset voices and would allow him to record loops, mix sounds and really get creative. It's all about where he wants to take his music really (and a matter of budget, of course
)I'm still leaning towards a slimmer piano such as the Yamaha P125 or the Casio PX770 as they are much slimmer than most rival models, at about only 30cm deep, space is of a premium as anything deeper will mean rearranging furniture to accommodate it, but these are both current models and not cheap, and hardly any for sale 2nd hand.
Its a compromise as whilst I want a good piano for him, its also going to be a permanent feature wherever we position it. A narrow piano will fit in our hallway without obstructing, a deeper one will have to go in the living room and mean moving chairs around.
Casio PX770
Yamaha P125
Its a compromise as whilst I want a good piano for him, its also going to be a permanent feature wherever we position it. A narrow piano will fit in our hallway without obstructing, a deeper one will have to go in the living room and mean moving chairs around.
Casio PX770
Yamaha P125
I'd suggest you won't be able to put a fag paper between those two and that they will both be just fine for what you want.
However to muddy the waters further, if space is at a premium then you should be looking at stage pianos (which is what those two are). Although this https://www.pianodreamers.com/korg-d1-review/ is a review of a different - and rather good - stage piano, it goes into some detail of what features you should be looking at and also has a handy list of the best stage pianos in that price bracket. Well worth 10 minutes of your time.
However to muddy the waters further, if space is at a premium then you should be looking at stage pianos (which is what those two are). Although this https://www.pianodreamers.com/korg-d1-review/ is a review of a different - and rather good - stage piano, it goes into some detail of what features you should be looking at and also has a handy list of the best stage pianos in that price bracket. Well worth 10 minutes of your time.
Thanks deckster, I'll give that link a read.
As an update regarding space, I've discussed it with the wife and thrown a tape measure around and she is happy to have one of the deeper 40cm pianos, which opens up the options considerably.
A budget of £600 means I can consider these two...
Yamaha Arius YDP144 £613
Casio Celviano AP270 £569
They are a similar price, I think the YDP is Yamaha's entry range whereas the Celviano is Casios upper range, but I'm not sure how the two models compare?
As an update regarding space, I've discussed it with the wife and thrown a tape measure around and she is happy to have one of the deeper 40cm pianos, which opens up the options considerably.
A budget of £600 means I can consider these two...
Yamaha Arius YDP144 £613
Casio Celviano AP270 £569
They are a similar price, I think the YDP is Yamaha's entry range whereas the Celviano is Casios upper range, but I'm not sure how the two models compare?
Edited by LeadFarmer on Thursday 21st November 23:14
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