Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards which DP for me? Privia 130 330 new or used Korg 500

Hello all

I have been reading these forums for the past days and I have a question regarding my first DP.

I play the guitar and want to learn the piano for my enjoyment and to widen my music skills (hopefully to jam or compose). Although I love some pieces (Esp Chopin) I am too old to pretend to learn classical. I am much more interested in some nice rhythmic piano such as funk, bossa and latin (salsa).

First I wanted to buy the Yamaha DGX630 but I didnt like the touch after I compared with the Privia.

Now I live in Thailand, life is good but DPs are expensive. I can get the PX130 new for about $800 but I feel I might miss the auto accompaniment which was present in the earlier versions (until PX120) or in the dgx. (Having said, I guess I could use the PX130 as a USB controller with a software. Is there any software capable of doing nice auto-accompaniment based on the bass I play? Any experience with these, eg garage band.)

Or I can get the PX330 for $1200 or an old KORG SP500 with FANTASTIC beats/styles for $1200 too or a used casio ld-40 for $900 also with accompaniment, and education suite. Or a used px300 for about the same price.

I do like the sound, touch and light weight of the 130, i haven't been able to test the 330 yet. I am a bit worried that if I cant have fun with the auto accompaniment I might get bored and give up.

So please advice on which is the best DP for me? If you have any suggestion on the best method for me to learn, please let me know too. I am posting another thread about this in another folder. It is called "which method or software for non classical..."

Many thanks in advance

Since you like the touch and sound of the PX-130, but need rhythms and styles, the PX-330 is a good choice. The touch and basic sounds are pretty much identical in both models. The 330 also adds the ability to store your own setups and features much wider connection options.

I have not played the Korg SP500, but I believe the SP250 (a later model, which I owned for a while) has better piano sounds. The Korgs are probably more robust than the Casios, but I'm not sure I'd want to pay that much for an older Korg.

I agree with you, I think the Korg is very good but overpriced for a discontinued model with no speakers. I forgot to mention I can also get a second hand PX110 for $500 or PX410R for $850.
So you think the extra 50% from 130 to 330 is worth it?

I liked the sound of the PX-110/310. Although the 32-note polyphony can be limiting, and the timbre/layering is less sophisticated, the earlier Privias with the ZPI chip have a nice presence.


It all depends on whether the extra features are useful to you. I owned the 330 and replaced it with a 130. I decided that I didn't want to gig with the 330 as I preferred the sounds on other boards that I own, but thought that the 130 would make a good (and cheaper) practice board.

Sometimes I wish I'd kept my PX-310...

There is software that can emulate what the Yamaha YDP630 and others that play Yamaha style auto accompaniments Take a look here
OMB

I should start a business exporting digital pianos. Why are they so much lower priced here in California then on the West side of the Pacific which is closer to the factory? I bet I could make $300 on every one I shipped back across the Pacific. (Price in US is about $660)

Frapal,
Both the PX-110 and 410R are discontinued models. You should be able to bargain on them. I can tell you that the PX-410 has lots of sounds on it and the accompaniment is excellent. The 32 note polyphony is it's only weakness. You would mostly have issues with layering strings patches with piano. It does amazingly well with accompaniment. Sound quality on these is very high quality. They are better than the PX-130/330 in my opinion and have better on board speakers.

The extra money would be worth it for the 330 if you need the sounds, rhythms, and connectivity options.

Thank you for all your quick answers.

Regarding the sounds and rhythms of the PX330 versus plain PX130, I guess I can get around it if I use a software such as the one ChrisA mentioned. It is an extra set up and connection but it might be worth it. Has someone succesfully used this kind of software with the PX130?
I also heard the build of the PX330 was slightly worse than the PX130 (strange IMO).

So I am inclined to rule out PX330 at this stage.

Regarding discontinued PX410 or PX110, I dont think at my stage the polyphony would make much difference. And I am surprised they have better presence (can you elaborate on the presence please). My issue is more about having no warranty.

About the import/export business, it is very frustrating that we pay more here, being so close to Japan and China. It all comes down to taxes and your business will have the same problem. Eg when you want to import a sports car here there is a 210% tax. I tried to buy from online dealers and they tell me they can deliver with $400 delivery. And then I have the risk to pay customs tax. No thanks.

But please tell me if someone has ordered from US to an asian country with no trouble.

The difference in cost between the US and Thailand (if around $200) would mostly (if not entirely) be made up for in freight. I buy quite a lot from the US and have it freighted out to Australia, but freight from the US can be highly variable and at times stupidly expensive. Sometimes I think the companies simply use a random number generator to calculate the freight costs! To give you an indication of a quote I received last week, a frame for a bicycle (admittedly including insurance for several thousand dollars), that weighs just 1kg plus packaging, the freight cost was between US$450-$550!

Freighting out of Europe can also be quite expensive, but the UK often very reasonable. Just consider the complete cost before being seduced by what looks to be a better price at face value.

As to WHY things are cheaper in the US. Typically it's simply numbers. Number of people, number of retailers, number of units moved, etc etc. While freighting an individual item is very expensive for an individual, shipping container loads of product is remarkably cheap. On something like a PX-330 for example, off the top of my head I'd be surprised if the shipping component from China to the US is more than a few dollars, and again, due to the numbers, possibly even less than markets physically closer.

Ooh, got any pictures?

I'm thinking about (re)building a bike with a new frame...

/offtopic

Cheers,
James
x

KJ, I think that except for Trek's highest priced carbon frames, the carbon frames for all other bikes are made in one of three or four factories in Taiwan. If you're going the carbon route, you could probably get info re manufacturers by posting on bikeforums.net (registration required, but doesn't lead to spam).

BTW the all-carbon frames for the Jamis Xenith - my Eclipse is a Reynolds 853-carbon hybrid - are made in the same factory which makes the Cervelo frames and the geometries of the Xenith and the Cervelo R3 are identical. (Cervelo's seat stays may be more sophisticated.)

Sorry but that's completely false. It's true about Trek's OWN product range but there are countless manufacturers around the world who make their own carbon frames.

In this case the Manufacturer is Time, a French company. My old bike is a Time VXR that was damaged in an accident. Most of the newer models have an integrated seatpost that makes packing for travel quite difficult. I managed to find a new VXR at a retailer in the US. However I will probably go with the RXR Ulteam, even though it has an integrated seatpost. I have a dedicated travel bike that fits in its own suitcase, though not at this standard, it's quite "ok".

Here is the address for Time Bicycles http://www.time-sport.com/ the catalogue is in the bottom left. I don't want to drag the thread OT, but am more than happy to help in any way I can via PM. Yes I'm a very keen cyclist Sadly about to head off to hospital yet again for a collarbone operation ... hence why I'm now learning piano!

Thanks for the info chaps. I'm not sure I'll pursue the full carbon route - they're a little too spendy for me. My older Trek developed a nasty crack in the down tube, so if I am unable to have it replaced under the 'lifetime warranty', I'm thinking about buying a new frame then refitting all the parts, then using thicker tyres and use it as a secondary bike for rain riding.



Ouch, sound nasty! Best of luck with your recover - I understand what it's like to not be able to ride. Bloody horrible.

Okay, sorry about that - enough OT nonsense.

Cheers,
James
x

Thanks for all the replies and the info about freight, cycling and carbon frames.

I am happy to pay more for a dp while I am here. I was just asking for advice about the models that suit me.
Anyone can advise me? Thanks

I think my choice is now down to:

- getting a PX130 new for 800 dollars and connect it to a PC with auto accompaniment software

- getting a PX410 second hand in new condition apparently for less than a $1000.

I haven't been able to try the PX410. I looked on youtube and I liked the various rhythms and mike input. I have no idea about the sound and touch. Will there be a big difference with the PX130.

Do you guys use the styles and auto-accomp much (they sound like great fun when you know how to improvise)? Or do you think it's just a gimmick?

Help me please as I will make my decision in the next day or so. Many thanks

ChrisA
Can you please explain
"
There is software that can emulate what the Yamaha YDP630 and others that play Yamaha style auto accompaniments "

What is the difference between both software apps?