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To answer your question--

I do require my students to have an acoustic piano at home. My last student to make the switch from DP to a Yamaha upright (October of last year) has since made outstanding progress. She can make dynamic shadings like never before.

I teach classical music. Almost all of my students are playing intermediate and/or advanced classical repertoire. But even for my handful of beginners I require them to have an upright at the very least. In my personal experience, students who do not practice on an acoustic piano:

1) quit piano within six months,

2) are not interested in learning classical repertoire,

3) are not sensitive to different levels of dynamics, and

4) do not develop strength in their fingers.

That being said, I am also particular about what upright pianos the students have. Several of my current students play on substandard instruments, which holds them back from advancing into more difficult repertoire. I've been hammering away at their parents to get them either a baby grand or a "quality" upright piano. Like John said, it's not these parents can't afford buying a good instrument that costs $6,000. Heck, I just helped one of my students get a very good (brand new!) upright piano for less than that.

Some of these students have been studying with me for more than 3 years. It is very frustrating to me as a teacher to witness students who are not progressing properly because their parents are unwilling to get a good instrument.

I'm not sure what the fuss is all about.

Whether digital pianos will ever be as good as acoustic pianos is not relevant to me.

I gave up my worn out upright and bought a CLP240 last fall. I don't think I'll ever go back.

• I like the feel of the DP keyboard better.
• The sound is not as good as the upright was when the latter was in tip-top shape, long ago. But I couldn't see fit to do all the fixing up the upright needed. It needed new hammers, some flange repairs, regulation, and some replacements for rattling wound strings. Money money money.

Since I did not (could not, would not) spend the money fixing the upright, I got the DP, and it sounds, feels, and plays MUCH better. You see, there are some cases where DP beats acoustic. (We're not all millionaires, ya know.)

So I don't ever intend to go back to an acoustic.

Am I a piano player? No, I'm a DP player. So what?

Does the DP spoil my ability to play an acoustic. No! An acoustic spoils my ability to play a DP.

Does the DP prevent me from performing in concert? No. I have no intention of performing in concert.

There's more to the story than just the pianos. There's the player and his circumstaces. So it's best not to make generalizations about "acoustic vs. digital".

Thanks for your reply, AZNpiano.

I do require my students to have an acoustic piano at home. My last student to make the switch from DP to a Yamaha upright (October of last year) has since made outstanding progress. She can make dynamic shadings like never before.

It would be useful to know which DP she switched from. My Yamaha Clavinova CLP-124 was considered a pretty fair DP when I bought it in the mid-90's, but it certainly is not now. Thus my search for a DP to replace it (with the outside chance that the replacement will be an acoustic, my teacher's wish for me).

I'm trying to resist, but by piano you mean Analog Acoustic Piano, right?

Call your organ what you want, you certainly do with pianos.

Analogue is a different type of electronic signal to Digital so has nothing to do with Acoustic Pianos.

Not in my definition. Analog = Acoustic.

Sorry Kenny, but you don't get to define the meaning of words and neither do I.

Look it up in the dictionary.

In case you don't have a dictionary to hand.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=analog&db=luna

Tell that to John.

Analog is a term used to describe a system that exhibits continuous physical properties.

I'm afraid that's not what it means.

Click on the link I posted for you to read what it actually means.

When I click I get

–adjective
2. of or pertaining to a mechanism that represents data by measurement of a continuous physical variable, as voltage or pressure.

What's the problem?

An acoustic piano doesn't measure anything. The strings simply resonate at the frequency they have been tuned to when they are struck by a hammer.

No measurement takes place and no data is represented after it has been measured.

Ah, but the key here is "continuous physical variable".

In this sense analogue and digital are antonyms.

No, the key is that data is not measured and data is not represented based on what was measured. The difference between digital and analogue is how the data is measured and represented.

An acoustic piano does neither of these things.

Another interesting link which describes the differences between Analog and Digital Sound Reproduction.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_recording

Gerry, clearly you seem to just want to argue. My point in all this is that John has created his own definition of "piano" which is not what the rest of the world concurs on and that definition is what he is basing his follow on claim that the student is limiting themselves. In his world that is true, but it's a fantasy world sort of like Ronald Regan's wish for a nuclear bomb free world.

As far as analog you are not understanding the base meaning of analog vs digital. Analog equates to continuous, digital equates to discrete samples.

We're not discussing recording.

I've owned and played three acoustic upright pianos, the last olf which was an Everett studio piano (circa 1970, new at that time). I now play on a Roland FP-5, which I prefer over any of the previous pianos for touch, and perhaps even tone.
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Perhaps it has to do with the type of music you like to play (pop, classical, etc.), and how (well) you play it. I've got to agree that a really good acoustic piano, especially a nice grand, allows for a wider range of expression, and a certain presence that appeals. I haven't played the new Roland V piano, but I wonder how much better that is than my 3 year old FP-5.

That said, it doesn't have to be an either/or choice. I'm getting a HG 178 grand that I hope to enjoy also. It will be interesting to me to see whether the grand piano allows me to do things I couldn't do before, or whether the tone and touch will make it still more enjoyable to play.

Hope so.