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Need help with buying advice. Any comments on any of these models are appreciated! These are what I've found so far in my price range which is less than $750. Want something simple, with audio output (so I can record on my computer), best grand piano sampling I can get for the money, GH/weighted keys,

Yamaha P85: Played today at piano store on sale for approx. $760, no stand, no bench. Found it on Amazon for $622 with stand including shipping! Seems like a fine DP for my specifics and has received decent to good reviews online for the money.

These I found on craigslist but don't know anything about them!

http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/msg/1424976088.html
This seems like a lot of money for something he bought in '95. Was it the top of the line back then? I'm thinking the sampling can't be as good as most anything that's out now but sounds nicer aesthetically than the P85

http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/msg/1424797632.html
This is more than I wanted to spend and I'm not sure how old this model is. If it's a recent model then it is at least half the price of the lowest end Clavinovas I saw today and it sure is pretty, as DP's go.

And two others...
http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/msg/1416373569.html
http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/msg/1423591101.html

Just wanted to get a few thoughts from all you experienced folk before I contacted any of these ads. Thanks in advance for your time!

I'd go with new Yamaha P85 from amazon, I had once P80 and I liked it a lot. Not so many useful sounds but piano and action is good enough and you have simple recorder. P60 is kinda cheaply made.

here you can find some P85 bundles as well with good prices.
http://www.kraftmusic.com/search/in...les&gclid=CLOkg6LVxZ0CFQRM5QodImP4yQ

and here are specs:
http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDetail/ModelSeriesDetail.html?CNTID=565658

I own both DPs and I disagree with your statement about the P-60. Its a tad on the heavy side at 36.4lbs compared to the P-85's 26lbs. I find it to be a solid DP with the feel of an acoustic. Even the keys themselves feel more solid, less plastic-like than the P-85. I can feel the difference when I switch between the two pianos. The polyphony is 32 notes for the P-60.

The P-85 has a lighter action in comparison than the P-60. There are times when I prefer the lighter action. The speakers are better on the
P-60 and better positioned. On the P-85 the sound is directed out the top and bottom of the DP. Because of this odd design plus the fact that its bottom is not flat, it is recommended that you buy the custom stand (L85). The polyphony is 64 notes for the P-85.

Rob

The first two are too old (and expensive) to consider. 32-note polyphony is not really adequate (the cheapest new DP will be 64 and 128 is common now). Older Kurzweil's can be unreliable and again, 32 notes is marginal.

The P60 is an OK choice, although not Yamaha's best. The action is better than the newer P85.

I'd look into a new Casio PX-130/PX-330 or a Korg SP-250. The cost is comparable to a P85, but the action is better and the piano sample is multi-level, so it's more expressive.

From the options above, I would go with a brand-new P-85. If you tried it in the music store and you liked it, go for it. However, I would try different models, not just one. The DPs Geoffk mentioned are worth a try, I recently bought the SP250 and I'm very satisfied. They key action you should take is comparing the models playing them by yourself. It's better than reading 50 reviews of each and comparing specs.

Well I just couldn't go another day without a proper piano to play on. Hitherto I've been making do on my boyfriends Ozonic midi keyboard with just three octaves to work with!
I revisited a local music store this evening ten minutes before they closed and came out of there fifteen minutes after they closed with a brand new Casio PX 130 with stand for $540...well under budget and perfect enough for my needs. I was reading just now on these forums something about clacking keys so hopefully that doesn't become an issue! Anyway happiness ensues! Thanks so much for your thoughtful recommendations and advice, appreciate it!
~Monique

Congratulations! Don't worry about the issues people post here, they just talk in case of problems, not when things work well!

Enjoy your new DP

Hi Monique, congrats on the purchase of a new DP.

I also heard the complaints about key noise (clacking) on the Casio Privia line of DPs but I'n not sure that is still an issue. I think the problem was evident with the earlier Privia line from several years ago. Hopefully Casio has addressed this problem. I don't really hear this complaint anymore.

Enjoy your new Casio DP and let us know how you like it!

Rob