Help me choose a digital piano/keyboard

[Kacey]

Hello coldplayers,

 

I've done a number of coldplay piano covers on YouTube, which some of you may or may not have seen:

 

I've had that keyboard for 7 years or so, and am looking to upgrade now. It is a Yamaha YPG-525 model. The piano sampling is pretty horrible, and it only has lightly weighted keys.

 

I've looked around the net, and everyday I get more confused as to which model would suit me best. I want fully weighted keys, with a decent piano sampling worth upgrading to, and a decent selection of tones. I've mostly been using piano and strings as of late, so maybe I don't need a whole variety, but I'm used to having them there if I need it. I thought I was going to go for Roland FP-80, but in person its just not that spectacular. I've looked at the Yamaha YDP v240, which is the exact same thing as the DGX/YPG series, just with bigger speakers it seems, not worth the money imo.

 

I've read this piano "experts" blog about digital pianos, and he likes the casio PX-780, which covers a lot of needs at only $999. It seems like a decent choice, would have to try it first, but I don't know about buying a casio model over Yamaha...

 

I could keep going, but does anyone have any suggestions for me? Or any tips? I could spend up to $2000, preferably lower of course. I was also thinking about the Yamaha P155, which I've yet to try, but I hear the higher octaves are quite rough, and maybe even the Yamaha YDP 181. But like I said, everyday I keep finding new models which may work. I'm not sure how I feel about stage pianos...they have a lot of features, but I don't know that I would need all of them, plus they require some monitors for live sound output.

 

Help :(

[jaik]

Hi Kacey,

 

here is my I answer from another thread, where someone had nearly the same question like you:

 

Hi Mollyxyloto,

 

what are you exactly searching for? A keyboard, a "stage piano" or an electronic piano?

 

I'm not an expert, so my advice just bases on my personal experience(s):

 

As a stage piano I use the Yamaha P-90, that costs around 500 Euros. If you use it with the default speakers, the sound is some kind of scary. But if you want to use it with external speakers or headphones, it is (in my opinion) a cool device.

 

At home I am using a Yamaha CLP 230 (an electric piano) and I really really love it.

 

If you don't have to hurry up with buying a new device - and if you like electric pianos at all and if you don't want to spend about a thounsand Euros: Don't underestimate the second hand market. There are so many people who start learning piano with an electric one and some time later they realize, that they need a real piano / no e-piano at all.

My device costs around 1500 euros, if you actually buy it in a store. I bought a second hand device from a family who has bought a real piano for about half the price. I can highly recommend that

 

 

As I said, I'm not an expert, but I can highly recommend the Yamaha CLP series. But I think it's a matter of what you like or dislike. I would highly recommend to go/drive to a big music store and test several products. I think it's the only way to get an overview about the market...

Or look at the second hand market... Most of the time you can visit the people who sell their electronic pianos to test them :)

 

Hopefully I could help you.

 

Cheers,

Jan

[86Timewarp]

Do not, buy a heavy weighted keyboard 2nd hand. Just don't. Btw, huge fan of your cover's Kacey!

 

My teacher has a Korg SP250 and it's a very decent keyboard for $700. She guards the thing with her life so I would recommend it. I played it a few times and it has a nice feel.

 

I recommend going to music shop though. Much like when buying camera lenses, you have to try it out in person to see.

[Kacey]

Thanks for the replies guys :)

 

No, I was never gonna buy one second hand. Brand new for me!

 

Hi Kacey,

 

here is my I answer from another thread, where someone had nearly the same question like you:

 

 

 

As I said, I'm not an expert, but I can highly recommend the Yamaha CLP series. But I think it's a matter of what you like or dislike. I would highly recommend to go/drive to a big music store and test several products. I think it's the only way to get an overview about the market...

Or look at the second hand market... Most of the time you can visit the people who sell their electronic pianos to test them :)

 

Hopefully I could help you.

 

Cheers,

Jan

 

I'm mainly using it for home use and YouTube recordings. (I'd like to join a band as well, so that's why I was thinking about the stage pianos, but haven't found anyone yet, not sure I will...)

 

I visited two more music stores. I know about the clavinova series, I never researched them before because I thought they were out of my price range. Turns out the CLP-430 ( http://ca.yamaha.com/en/products/musical-instruments/keyboards/digitalpianos/clp_series/clp-430/?mode=model ) is at a decent price, they offered it for about $2000, when the price tag said $2199. When I came back the next day, the price tag said $2088....interesting. It feels great though, and sounds nice too, strings are amazing. It's main drawback for me is that it only has 14 tones.

 

I also found a Kawai CN34: http://www.kawaius.com/main_links/digital/CNxx4/cn34.html

 

...pretty similar in look. Was offered at $2295 when price tag was $2499. This one has over 300 tones, and a loop feature, you have to click/scroll through a ton to get to most of them though.

 

I did the smart thing by bringing my laptop and recorded some samples to compare the piano tones of the models. I think the Yamaha wins there (in comparing the main concert piano of the Kawai).

 

So it's between these two...

[The Final Track]

NORD. It's pretty expensive, but it's the best, and there are some different price ranges. If you're just interested in a handful of sounds and a good piano one, a Korg isn't a bad pick either.

[Tnspieler1012]

I have a YPG-635, and it's wonderful. The only issue might be portability. If not, and if you're willing spend so much, the clavinova series is also nice. Of course, a trip to the music shop will tell you more than we ever could.

[86Timewarp]

You can always hook-up your computer to the keyboard and use MIDI sounds if the onboard sound bank is lacking.

[lauva42]

i own a kawai cn 34 and can just recommend it!! its very easy to record your songs in mp3/midi on usb and it sounds (in my opinion) fantastic. ive recorded some coldplaysongs on this piano, which you can listen to:

[Coldplayfan1294]

From the looking I did, the Casio Privia PX-850 is one of the better value for money buys with its 256 polyphony. A lot of people rave about this DP, and I think it sells online for a little over a thousand USD.

[Kacey]

i own a kawai cn 34 and can just recommend it!! its very easy to record your songs in mp3/midi on usb and it sounds (in my opinion) fantastic. ive recorded some coldplaysongs on this piano, which you can listen to:

 

Nice! Those are some great covers. What program do you use for midi recording? Garageband (what I normally use) doesn't recognize half-pedalling so it removes some notes you play altogether at those points.

I ended up going for the Yamaha clp 430 though:

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHYJ547f_io]Yann Tiersen - La Dispute (orchestral piano + strings version) - YouTube[/ame]

 

I was regretting it a bit when it first arrived, but right now I think I love it.

 

From the looking I did, the Casio Privia PX-850 is one of the better value for money buys with its 256 polyphony. A lot of people rave about this DP, and I think it sells online for a little over a thousand USD.

I would have loved to try it, there aren't any casio dealers where I live and I just can't order something like that without knowing how it feels.

[Coldplayfan1294]

Nice! Those are some great covers. What program do you use for midi recording? Garageband (what I normally use) doesn't recognize half-pedalling so it removes some notes you play altogether at those points.

I ended up going for the Yamaha clp 430 though:

 

 

I was regretting it a bit when it first arrived, but right now I think I love it.

 

 

I would have loved to try it, there aren't any casio dealers where I live and I just can't order something like that without knowing how it feels.

 

 

Congratulations on your purchase! I don't think you can go wrong with a Yamaha, always loved them. Mind if I ask why you were regretting it a bit at first? Found that a bit interesting. Was it anything in particular? Or was it just a matter of "OMG massive purchase, lots of money" type thing?

[Kacey]

Congratulations on your purchase! I don't think you can go wrong with a Yamaha, always loved them. Mind if I ask why you were regretting it a bit at first? Found that a bit interesting. Was it anything in particular? Or was it just a matter of "OMG massive purchase, lots of money" type thing?

 

Thanks! Largest purchase I've made. :)

It wasn't so much the price. I was aiming to spend less initially, but a couple hundred more isn't that much difference. I could've afforded to go a couple thousand more, but I feel those ones aren't worth it. It's just that it only has 14 different voices, I will only use about 4 of them maybe. I'm used to having a large selection, even if I probably wouldn't use most of them. I still have access to my old keyboard though, it's just in the basement. I probably should have looked at more stage pianos to be really sure about my choice. After it arrived, I thought to myself that I should get an additional stage piano in the near future to cover my grounds.

 

Also, when I first heard it in my room, it sounded so electric and not real. That's probably just with all dps though, headphones are the way to go. One of the grand piano voices is a bit softer (ideal for classical), but one or two notes in the middle sound like they weren't sampled well, but maybe its just me. You can change the brilliance of the voices though, and I found a combination that I think sounds really great. Two of the other piano sounds are just useless to be honest, unless maybe you layer them with other piano sounds. But the strings and even the chorus voices sound so realistic, I feel like I can make good soundtrack music if I wanted to. I'm just getting used to the proper timing with the strings, as the sensitivity is a lot different to what I'm used to.