question for you keyboard folks

[Richard Monroe]

I have a close friend with an operational budget of $700-$1000. She is a pianist, not a recording person. She's a *very* advanced student, but not a performer. She's looking for a digital piano for practice, as the baby grand just isn't going to fit in her apartment. She will need speakers or a keyboard amp, and I think feel is more important to her than pure sound. She is demanding
NEW (I know), will want some cans for silent practice (I'm recommending Sennheiser HD280's), and a bench (which can be bought separately). It doesn't matter whether it is portable or console style, she's not looking for a piece of furniture. It *must* have 88 keys, and a sustain pedal.
I have been spooking around a little, and played the Yamaha P70 and a comparable Casio. From my point of view, the Yamaha trashes the Casio pretty badly. Remember- pianist... MIDI doesn't matter, polyphony is irrelevent, it doesn't need to be an organ, harpsichord, or anything but a piano (although, of course it will, in her price range).
All I really want to know is- are there any models with similar features in that price range (probably no more than $800 for the piano alone) that she should be looking at? Thanks in advance for any useful input y'all may provide.-Richie

[bsr2002]

This looks prett decent for your price range, of course nothing beats trying one out at the store first

http://www.nextag.com/Williams-Conce...28/prices-html

[dementedchord]

she's gonna have to get hands on with it... they all feel different and some are closer than others to an actuall piano feel... personaly i own a kurz... the action is made for them by fatar and is considered to be among the best for feel...

[earthboundrec]

As a pianist, she may find polyphony relevant. I use a P70 and love it, but I do notice drop outs when sustained. I like to really ride the sustain pedal though so that does make the notes add up quite quickly. 128 polyphony would be much better. Most pianist do like the feel of Yamaha's though. They seem to provide the most realistic touch. I've found the Casio's to be kinda mushy, especailly for faster runs. And the piano sound to me is just not very convincing. But at $600 the P70 is a great option.

[Richard Monroe]

Thanks for the input, especially earthboundrec. Info on the specific character or shortcomings of any specific unit is also useful info.-Richie

[dementedchord]

Originally Posted by earthboundrec

Most pianist do like the feel of Yamaha's though. They seem to provide the most realistic touch. .

curious.... not the ones i know... or those over on keyboard mag site... personally i find them sluggish... and you dont feel the "fall" of the action.... on a real piano there's a point at which the hammer flies away and you feel the action fall away....

[earthboundrec]

Originally Posted by dementedchord

curious.... not the ones i know... or those over on keyboard mag site... personally i find them sluggish... and you dont feel the "fall" of the action.... on a real piano there's a point at which the hammer flies away and you feel the action fall away....

You're right, I shouldn't say MOST pianists, I guess, me and a handful of other's I know. I guess I don't find them sluggish, especially compared to Casio's line. I'm so used to playing Yammy's that maybe I've just grown quite accustomed to their feel. I did sell them though for quite some time and I'd always show folks the Casio's and the Yamaha's and ask for their opinion on the feel of the keys. (not trying to lead them as the Casio's actually made me a better commison check) Anywhere from beginner's to very advanced and professional players. I very rarely heard Casio as a better feeling board, and folks would usually give in and drop an extra $100 to get the Yamaha. (if deciding between the Casio PX110 and the Yammy P70) Same with their higher end weighted workstations. I would show folks the Triton, Fantom, and Motif and a general comment was that the feel of the keys on the Yamaha beat out the others. I think especially on the newer CP33, the action is just spectacular.

I'll search around for an article about the Yammy keys. I just want to see what the reviewer (and probably a much better player than myself) had to say about the action and what they recommend, I may have to try a new board! Any links to a specific review?

[earthboundrec]

Originally Posted by dementedchord

she's gonna have to get hands on with it... they all feel different and some are closer than others to an actuall piano feel... personaly i own a kurz... the action is made for them by fatar and is considered to be among the best for feel...

I did own a Fatar controller for awhile, and I have to agree that thing did have great feel to it. After a few years it kind of "hardened" up though. Probably if I'd have taken it apart and cleaned the keybed thoroughly it would have solved that problem.

[mikeh]

About a year ago I was looking for a weighted feel 88 for my demo studio - I spent a lot of time trying many boards - the Casio Privias, the Yamaha 70 and 140, a couple of Roland boards, a Korg, M-Audio, Williams and perhaps a coupld others that I can't recall.

I came very close to getter the Yamaha, but ended up buying the Casio 310. In my case some of the MIDI issues were the deciding factor - however, I thought the feel and the sound of the Privia held thier own against the Yamaha. The lower cost and lighter weight of the Casio were also factors.

Having played the 310 for about a year, I am now noticing some digital "clicks" on certain keys - and while it is not a major issue (it kinda adds some "realisim" (ie: mic'ing an acoustic) it does have me wondering about the long term dependability of the Casio. In hindsight - I somewhat wish I would have gone with the Yamaha

I am taking my nephew shopping for an electronic 88 on Friday - I will let him try as many boards as we can find in the 1/2 dozen music stores in the area -but I will be suggesting he try to narrow it to a choice between Yamaha or Casio.