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Joined: Oct 2010
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I'm looking for a good quality 88-key digital piano for the home, to play primarily as a piano. Other voices are nice, but a secondary consideration to the quality of the piano sound and action. I admit, I am a newbie to the DP world, and am a first year adult piano student. From the best I have determined, this seems to be correct, and is guiding my search: Is it safe to say that Yamaha, Kawai, Roland have the following best key actions: Yamaha: GH3 & NW Kawai: Responsive Hammer (RH) & RM3 (wood) Roland: PHAIII -S & PHAIII
Also for their best sound sample: Yamaha: Pure CF sampling (4-5 layer) Kawai: Ultra PHI Roland: SuperNATURAL
Lets add String Resonance as an important feature.
I know that demoing a DP in person is the first best reliable indicator. I will do this as I am able. What I am trying to do is construct a short list, to narrow down my choices. I have come up with the following: Roland FP-7f, Kawai MP6, and the Yamaha P-155. From what I have read, the Nord Piano 88 is very tempting, but also just out of my budget ($2000 or less). This is not expected to change in the next year, and I don’t want to wait that long. The same is true of the Kawai MP10. The MP6 is a strong candidate, but the closest Kawai dealer is a bit out of the way (I really wish Kawai had better distribution). As such, it will likely be the last I demo. The FP-7f is available conveniently, as is the Yamaha. The really tempting thing about the Yamaha that sets it apart at a glance is the price: currently $999, vs. $1500 for the MP6 (plus additional money for monitors/speakers) or $1900 for the FP-7f. So the main question here is this: in your opinion, is the FP-7f or the MP6 worth the extra hundreds of dollars vs. the P155? I am no expert, so I am not familiar with all the technical details of each. I have compared the technical specs of all three to the best of my ability, and there doesn’t seem to be an appreciable difference. Can anyone enlighten me please?
Roland FP-7f
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Just to point out something real quick-Roland's PHA III-S and PHA III are identical minus the faux-wood colored sides of the keys on the PHA III. The PHA III-S is what's in the FP-7F, which doesn't have the faux-wood color on the sides. That's it.
I think both the MP6 and FP-7F both out class the P155 in touch and sound. Since both touch and sound are extremely subjective, you'll need to use your ears. As an example, I went and played the MP10/MP6 this past weekend, and after playing those the Kawai dealer had a used P155 that I played and it sounded like crap and the action felt dated if that makes sense. It's a great buy for $1000 no doubt, but simply outclassed in touch and tone IMHO.
I think for your needs, the FP-7F is the way to go. Built in speakers, one of the best actions inside of a DP, and great SN piano sound. Play them all and go from there. You may really like the P155 sound and feel, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Good luck.
Studiologic Numa X Piano GT with Native Instruments Noire
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I tinkered with the P155 and wasn't very impressed. It's okay but it's clearly in a different class to the FP-7f and the Mp6.
I enjoyed the Mp6 although I simply didn't feel the AP sounds were as good as Roland's SN piano in the FP-7f. I prefered the keys on the FP as well. Personal though that may be.
The FP-7f was clearly the most exciting machine for me so I bought one. It's wonderful and I have no regrets whatsoever. The Mp6 looks the best to me as the FP is a slab of plastic. The yammy feels cheap by comparison. I'd steer clear if I were you.
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.. I think both the MP6 and FP-7F both out class the P155 in touch and sound. Since both touch and sound are extremely subjective, you'll need to use your ears.. I have a P155. I mostly agree with the above. The FP7F has better sound and I might like the key action better. I think the MP6 key action is very close to the P155, the main paino sound is a tossup but the MP6 has much better non-piano sounds, the P155 really only has one good piano sound, the rest are just "ok". When I bought the P155 the Roland and Kawai models with features like the FP7F and MP6 were well over $2K and I had a $1K budget. To select a piano I looked at all the pianos that I though had an acceptable quality key action and sound. I did not look for the best, just divided the DPs into two heaps, acceptable and not. The P155 was at the time the lowest priced DP in the "acceptable" heap. I did not like Yamaha's "GHS or Roland's "Alpha" keys. I think other people shop differently. Most set a budget then buy the "best" DP at that price point. Decide on a selection method then which piano to buy will become clear. All that said, I still think the P155 is the best value in a home practice piano. Quality is good enough that it will not hold you back and the sound, if you use external speakers is pretty convincing. The others are nicer pianos but at a higher price. If you can afford the higher price go for it but I doubt you will learn faster or better. If you were playing on stage in a band the FP7/mp6 are hands down winniers. The P155 is solely a home practice piano. The key actions are all different. Yamaha is the most firm. Kawai is a little bit like a lighter Yamaha GH ad Roland has a unique feel. You will get used to which ever one you have. Acoustic pianos are all different too. So none of these DPs are more like the acoustic.
Last edited by ChrisA; 06/02/11 01:00 PM.
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The MP6 does not have speakers, it's clearly designed for playing on stage. For home I would choose the FP7F
IMHO, The FP7F is a better home piano, while the MP6 is the best for stage.
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Thanks for all of the comments so far. Your advice is very helpful to a newcomer like me trying to make sense of it all. Just to point out something real quick-Roland's PHA III-S and PHA III are identical minus the faux-wood colored sides of the keys on the PHA III. The PHA III-S is what's in the FP-7F, which doesn't have the faux-wood color on the sides. That's it. If I'm not mistaken, another difference in the Roland PHA III-S and the PHA III is that the latter has the "ivory touch" for the white and black keys, whereas the former only has it for the white keys. Is that correct?
Roland FP-7f
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You may still find an FP-7, the previous generation of the FP-7F, at a steep discount. I would think as a first-year piano student this might fit your needs very well.
Yamaha YC88, Kawai CA93, Yamaha MODX8, EV ZXA1
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If you were playing on stage in a band the FP7/mp6 are hands down winniers. The P155 is solely a home practice piano. Why? Just because it's labeled as "home piano"? I toured for 6 years playing on a Yamaha P120 (among others) and it did an excellent job. I completely agree with you, the P155 is great value for the money.
Yamaha C3 | CP88 | CP4 | P-121 | Sauter Upright
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If I'm not mistaken, another difference in the Roland PHA III-S and the PHA III is that the latter has the "ivory touch" for the white and black keys, whereas the former only has it for the white keys. Is that correct?
I haven't heard that but you may very well be correct. You may still find an FP-7, the previous generation of the FP-7F, at a steep discount. I would think as a first-year piano student this might fit your needs very well. Good point. The older FP-7 has PHA II action. While not Ivory Touch, it's still a really good action. Some people still prefer the PHA II to the PHA III. The only difference is the PHA III has an added 3rd sensor for slightly faster repetition of notes. If you can find an FP-7 for a mush reduced price, like $1200-$1300, that may be another option for you.
Studiologic Numa X Piano GT with Native Instruments Noire
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Go and play on them. You might be surprised. I always am, at least, when I do. My hand-ear-brain system makes very quick and sometimes surprising decisions.... and I am sure yours will do as well. Be sure to know what you need though in terms of features. Some need master keyboard functions, others need different tunings, yet others need a certain sound to be good - what is it you need?
Shigeru Kawai SK-2, etc.
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The p155 has a nice sound (through headphones) if you like the yamaha sound. Only thing I didn't care for was the GH action. It felt to light for me. Now if it had the action of the 340 id be great.
The Roland action is very very sensitive. Looking past it's lil imperfections you could definitely jam a mile a minute. But I found I didn't really care for it, but that's my taste. The sound was great though. I mean it just BOOMED out like an ancient old upright. However as you got in the higher octaves it had this kind of metallic sound. Didn't sound anywhere close to what my acoustics did, and being that noticeable it really annoyed me every time I struck the notes.
The mp6 had a heavier feel to it, well not heavier but more girth to the key. Felt nice, played nice, and the sound was pretty good to. It wasn't as outspoken in tone as an upright but it was still nice and enjoyable. (again to me other people like other sounds.)
It's all up to you. Drive out find the keyboards or their home console components (same action like the cn33 or 34, the lower clp's or arius with GH action, the hp307. And test em out for yourself. (Id say bring a pair of headphones. Give you a equal idea of what the sound would be except for the 155 as it goes by the clp340 with 4 layers of sampling instead of the 3 but has the GH action instead of the GH3.)
Also a piano's a piano. I see plenty of those mammoth grands on a stage being played beautifully by pianists. Does that mean they're not fit for a home? If ya like the instrument it's fine and perfect wherever you see fit to play it. The only difference is how much crap you hook up to it to blow your ear drums with. Actually had a dealer try and tell me that once in comparison of a keyboard to a home console.
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The key actions are all different. Yamaha is the most firm. Kawai is a little bit like a lighter Yamaha GH ad Roland has a unique feel. You will get used to which ever one you have. Acoustic pianos are all different too. So none of these DPs are more like the acoustic.
I agree. They don't have the touch and feel of the acoustic piano.
Last edited by Hoang; 06/02/11 06:02 PM.
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Still doing research on my own purchase and these are the same three I have on my list to try when I go to Sam Ash. The MP6 not having speakers is a minus for me though. I'd prefer to not have to lug around speakers or attach external ones. I could see myself moving it back and forth between home (to use when I need lower volume) and my vacation home.
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if speakers are a dealbreaker you could always have a look at the es6 from kawai. It's cheaper then the mp6 with speakers in it. It holds the older action and doesn't have kawai's ivory touch but it's still nice, very little slip effect either.
Not sure but I think they go for around a grand.
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Or the Kawai cl36 with the RH action. I think it costs about 900 euros. Maybe less.
Kawai CA63 working on: odos oneiron - Manos Hadjidakis adagio in c minor - Yanni through the arbor - Kevin Kern
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Still doing research on my own purchase and these are the same three I have on my list to try when I go to Sam Ash. The MP6 not having speakers is a minus for me though. I'd prefer to not have to lug around speakers or attach external ones. I could see myself moving it back and forth between home (to use when I need lower volume) and my vacation home. Yes, lugging speakers between your two locations is a hassle to be avoided. You can either have speakers permanently located at each location, or just use headphones at one of the locations. If those options don't sound good to you, I'd go for something with internal speakers. I also like the way internal speakers add a piano-like natural vibration while you play that you can feel in your fingers. Personally, I prefer the action of the FP-7F over either the P-155 or the MP6. I'm not as sure about sound, though I think I could be content with any of them.
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Can't remember if the question as to whether the FP-7F has the hard bottoming out feel that the older FP-7 had. Has anyone compared the two to see if there is an improvement in the newer model? I had tried the FP-7 way back and ended up getting the "easier on the hands" FP-4.
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After shopping around and receiving great advice here, I decided to go with the Roland FP-7f. It is a beauty, and a joy to play on. The keys are all nicely treated with the "ivory touch," including the black ones (perhaps with some other touch but still feels nice with no slip). The action is wonderful, as is the sound. I even like the other voices besides the Supernatural grand piano (though of course this is still the best). The internal speakers do a good job at conveying pleasing, rich sound in my home. Thank you all again for your thoughtful responses.
Roland FP-7f
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After shopping around and receiving great advice here, I decided to go with the Roland FP-7f. It is a beauty, and a joy to play on. The keys are all nicely treated with the "ivory touch," including the black ones (perhaps with some other touch but still feels nice with no slip). The action is wonderful, as is the sound. I even like the other voices besides the Supernatural grand piano (though of course this is still the best). The internal speakers too, and do a good job at conveying good sound in my home. Thank you all again for your thoughtful responses. That's not an uncommon reaction to the FP-7f. Good choice mate. Regards. Rimmer
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Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:34 PM
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Piano
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