Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Which stage piano for less than $3K, and why?

If you had $3000 to spend on a stage piano; which make/model would you choose and why?

I'll get either Yamaha CP5 or Kawai MP6 (and spend the rest of the money on alcohol :D)

I'd wait and see what turns up at NAMM in January. But right now I'd compare Roland RD-700NX with Yamaha CP5, Kawai MP10 and Nord Piano 2.

For key action I'd go Kawai, Yamaha, Roland, Nord in that order (The first three are all very good).

For sounds I'd go Nord, Yamaha, Kawai, Roland* in that order.

*I haven't played the Studio Grand on the Roland. If I liked that and it didn't do the annoying things that all the other Roland Supernatural pianos do I might choose the Roland first.

Roland RD-700NX .... Best DP currently made if you weigh up the sound and action. Nothing else comes close.

For rock bands and such (that's the main purpose of a stage piano, AFAIK, although nothing stops one from using them at home) Korg SV-1 is definitely an option to have in account. The vintage pianos emulations (such as CP-70, e-pianos and such) are simply amazing. The options other posters told are also superb. Which one decide? It's not easy!

Nord's DX-7 EP emulation is so amazing, and its drawbar organs... But Roland's supernatural piano, if you like the tone, is super expressive, and the EP's are fine, although it's CP80 emulation, as far as I recall, just sucks. Yamaha has that superb high quality finish, pseudo-wooden keys, and that bright tone. That's so difficult, so personal...

Very difficult to decide because we all have different needs from a stage piano. However I would side with Dr. Popper in saying the Roland RD700NX is probably the best, pound for pound on the market right now. However, the Kawai MP6 has a great bang for buck as well. It will most likely be updated to at least ES7 specs for AP's and EP's by next year. I confirmed this with a Kawai rep after an hour long conversation. The MP6 will most likely be updated at NAMM 2014. However, the new CP series are what I'm interested in. I'm thinking that Yamaha may update them. I have no confirmation for this of course, but hopefully the deficiencies in the AP sounds like static looping decays and no sympathetic resonance may finally be resolved. Hopefully Yamaha really digs in and pulls all the stops with their SCM technology.

If you like a heavier action, I'd look at Kawai MP-10, Korg SV-1, Yamaha CP-50 or CP-300. If you prefer a lighter action, Yamaha CP5, Nord Piano 2, Roland FP-7F or RD-700NX.

(I haven't played the newer Kawai ES7 or Korg Krome to judge their actions, so they are left out of this comparison, but may be worth looking at.)

Among those heavier action models, Kawai probably has the best feel, but weighs a ton. CP300 also weighs a ton and is sonically behind Yamaha's state of the art these days, but it gives you an option with built in speakers. CP50 has the widest variety of sounds and features, but is less intuitive to get around than the others. SV1 has the nicest interface, but probably has the weakest sounding piano.

In the lighter action models, Nord has the best interface, widest range of different piano sounds, and lightest carrying weight, though most people feel that its action lags the others in this category. RD-700NX has the most features. FP-7F is kind of a scaled-down RD-700NX with built in speakers. CP5 is similar to the CP50 mentioned above, except with the lighter action and additional piano sounds.

Leaving NAMM 2013 aside, if quality action is important and my priority was AP sounds, I'd definitely choose the RD-700NX. If EPs headed the list, I'd go for the CP5. The only reason I don't own either is because of weight.

The FP-7F frustrates the heck out of me. It has that wonderful playability that comes with SN acoustic pianos coupled with the PHAIII action. But, for me, its EPs are awful, you can't access the tonewheel organs from another board, and the FX are fixed. And again, it's too heavy, although less cumbersome than the RD. It stays at home 95% of the time.

As for Nord, I owned the NP 88 for a while, but found the action sub-par, the dynamic range too limited, the timbre variation insufficient and the EPs in need of refreshing. Other than that, it's a great board! I'm not being sarcastic here; it really is wonderful being able to download and install your own preferred samples, have all the important controls laid out in front of you, and keep the weight down to 40lbs. But it's quite a compromise.

Kawai's offerings sound and feel quite different from the others. I haven't played the MP10 (although I would like to), but the weight is a non-starter for me. The MP6 has reduced size/quality AP samples (and IMO it shows), but for the most part they have a nice clarity, lacking just a little of the sound/action integration of the Roland SN pianos. On the plus side, the action is very good (would be near-perfect with the ES7's third sensor), the Classic EP rivals Nord's, the layout/interface is intuitive, the size and weight are within sensible bounds (although the board is quite tall), and the price/performance ratio is excellent.

Beyond Roland, Kawai, Yamaha and Nord, are the oddball offerings from Korg and Studiologic, and the excellent value of the Casio PX-350. As far as Korg is concerned, the SV-1 is a flawed but intriguing alternative. It lacks the quality of action that Roland and Kawai offer, and it would not be my first choice for APs, but its EPs are up there with the best, and may be the closest you get in a digital emulation to the sense of playing the real thing. The Krome, with its Kronos-derived APs, and EPs sampled from the Kronos engine, has a lot to offer. I had the 73-key version for a few weeks. The action on the 61/73 is dreadful, and by all accounts the weighted 88 has not drawn accolades either. The APs are very good, although the improvement is perhaps not as great as you'd expect for the sample sizes involved. The EPs are also generally very good - organs so-so. Nice and light, but I couldn't attest to the build quality. It could be a real contender, but doesn't quite have the vibe of its sibling (cue SV-2?).

Let's hope NAMM brings some pleasant surprises.

Depends on your musical context and if you are moving the thing around.

If portability is not an issue, my order of preference is:

CP5, Nord Piano 2, Roland 700NX, and CP50.

If portability is a consideration and depending on what *kind* of live context you are using it in..my order would be:

Nord Piano 2, CP50, CP5 and Roland 700NX.

Not a fan of Kawai stage pianos at this time. Due to the recent (in the last 2-3 years) poor build quality and un-reliability, I can't recommend anything by Korg. It's unfortunate because for guys playing in bands, especially pop/rock/funk r&b, they (Kronos, Krome, SV1) might be the best thing sonically happening right now if *all sounds*, not just AP, are taken into consideration.

I owned the CP5 for just under 2 years and currently use the Nord Piano 2 . I play all styles (to work) but mainly consider myself a jazz pianist fwiw.

edit-after further thought I'm changing my order ...I'll have the salad instead of the fries

Seriously, there's a quirkiness in the Roland AP sample that bothers me. It would bother me less if I weren't playing jazz on it though.

I'm with EssBrace and Dave Ferris here. CP5 is a nice compromise, soundwise it is limited to the Yamaha AP sound, and its user interface is a bit problematic, but still it is a well-rounded instrument. If portability is an issue, and for sounds alone, the Nord Piano wins for me, and it has a very easy-to-use interface. Its problem though is a light action that personally I find limiting. If action (but not portability) is crucial, I'd go with EssBrace's recommendation of the Kawai MP10, but then again the sounds are somewhat special and not to everyones taste. The Roland SN acoustic pianos on the FP7 bug me for totally overdone timbre variation with dynamics (but just as Steve I've not tried the Studio Grand on the RD700NX yet).

I guess in the end my own choice would be between the CP 5 and the Nord Piano 2...

That's the way I call it as well fwiw.

Wow, thanks for the great in-depth responses guys! It is actually helping me in the decision making process. So here is where I am at with this so far.

I had an opportunity to play on the Kawai ES7 for a while yesterday. Personally I love the action of the keys. I also tinkered with their "better" key pad on another model and I didn't like it. It had a longer key travel and didn't seem to respond very quickly. Also it seemed that ES7 key bed was more representative of there actual AP's. But I am just a newb so what do I know. The piano sounded good but I was not impressed with the other sounds really and how few there are. SInce I have a couple synths, I am looking for something with better sounds overall for a more versatile instrument.

Just as a quick side note: It was mentioned in other posts and I noticed it right away. The DPs seem to be skimping on sounds etc. While they have nicer keys and actions generally speaking I was hoping for the ultimate in AP sound quality at that price point. My $50 Addictive Keys Grand Piano software seems to be rivaling them a bit.... What's the deal? Which leads me to my next point.

Sounds, I am trying to listen as hard as I can to every DP I can through my studio monitors to compare most of the models listed here. CP5, RD700NX, Nord 2, Kawai MP10/ES7...

So I haven't been able to play the RD700NX but I have been able to play the FP-7F which has the same key bed and actually started piano lessons today using it. I also like the keys on this as well but compared to the Kawai ES7 I like the Kawai's action better. I need to do more listening and comparing of sounds though.

Nord 2: So I have been listening to this a lot. I must say that I love the sounds it produces. I also like the fact that I can edit and add sounds which is a huge plus for me. There is not one for me to try locally but Guitar Center has the Stage 2 and if the key beds are the same I was really, really, really, unimpressed on how much noise they made. It's like they are clapping at you and can get annoyingly loud the harder they are played. If the new Piano 2 is the same that could be a deal breaker for me especially at that price point. I don't expect to pay $3k on something and have to take it apart day 1 to mod the thing....

Since I am still just learning, weighted/realistic keys etc seem to be ideal to have. As for portability, I probably won't need it anytime soon. With that said I would like to be able to move it I so choose when the time comes without needing roadies. :-) Sorry if I am not typing coherently. Getting sleepy. Since I really like the Nord sounds I am going to head to GC to mess with the stage 2. If I can't get past the keys that narrows my choices. Leaning towards the RD700NX...

Oh, forgot Yamaha. Need to so some more listening to them as there are none to try locally. Also, those models are 5 years old. o.0 Hopefully January will bring out some new worthy contenders...

I thought the CP1,5 and 50 were formally introduced at NAMM, January 2010.

The $50 does not include everything else you need to make it a nice working instrument: electronics (for Addictive, a decently powered computer), and a good feeling 88-key action. Add the cost of those things, which are essentially already built into the keyboards you're looking at, and the price difference won't look quite so extreme!

My bad, it was Dec 2009.

Yeah I suppose... But I look at workstations like the Krome, it has a plethora of great sounds and a touch screen to boot for $1500. Of course it doesn't have the nice key bed. So hypothetically speaking lets add another $500 to the price and a nice key bed. At that price point and with all those features it would trump all the current DP imo. So I guess where I am going with this, is why don't the manufactures up the features a bit more? It seems they could take some samples from other lines and toss them in with minimum cost and effort. That would eliminate the conversations I have been reading like, "this piano has great AP sounds but the rest is just okay at best." So at that point you are pretty much buying a piano only. So what do you guys think? Am I way off base here? Maybe I am asking for to much. Great AP and EP sounds with a nice key bed. It just seems to be a huge compromise one way or the other.... At this point I'm leaning towards a lesser key board in favor of better/more sounds...

Krome is the newest "DP" from anyone. The newest tends to lead the pack in some way or another. It's only been out for a few months. Someone is always first at some capability at some price point. I would not be surprised to see some piano competition for it soon, perhaps announced at January's NAMM. (Though not everyone agrees that the Krome pianos are the best sounding in a DP, despite their large sample size.)

If you're enticed by the Krome but just don't like the action, you can get the cheaper 61-key Krome, MIDI it up to whatever 88-key action you like, and have the extra benefit of a 61-key unweighted action at your disposal as well.

BTW, getting back to your Addictive piano scenario... if you want to add their Rhodes, that's another $79... Sometimes the more you're willing to buy a la carte, the cheaper one piece can be, but then you add up all the pieces...


This forum is filled with armchair engineers who "know" how much effort and expense is required for all kinds of things. Welcome. ;-)

Nope, that's pretty much my philosophy too. For me, the majority of DPs out there are really just very expensive MIDI controllers. If you want good sound - buy a software piano, or a Kronos X. There's not many other options really.
Of course, not a lot of people share this point of view, in fact, we are probably a minority. Which probably explains why most of DP manufacturers don't really bother that much with increasing the quality of the products. People are still going to buy them no matter what, so why waste money on research and development, if you can you just rehash a 10 year old technology, put it in a new cabinet, slap a new name on it and just watch the income flow.

My piano instructor and others have been really stressing the importance of weighted keys etc in order to learn control. I see their points as very valid. Which has brought me to the DP realm as opposed to the workstation. So this has caused me to eliminate them from my want list. I guess I am a bit lost at this juncture. I am not trying to armchair engineer (although I have designed and built a great variety of things so I have a good idea of the costs behind them). I guess I am trying to justify the loss of the other features for the keyboard and in my mind its not quite equivalent. Besides we typically pay a 50% mark up (depending on the item) so $79 for the Rhodes is a $40 profit for them...

So with said and moving back to the topic at hand. The Nord 2 for those of you who play/own it. How do you feel about the keyboard overall? Does it provide you with enough feel and response?

Thercman,
I have a nord stage 2 HA88, which has a very similar action to the nord piano 2 (the NP2 lacks the aftertouch control strip, so the actions are slightly different but very very close to each other). I think it's a very playable keyboard. The action is weighted but not graded. I wondered if that would bother me, but in reality it doesn't seem to matter (since I never notice it). So I'm thinking that's maybe more marketing hype than anything else (or maybe a distinction that would matter to people much more skilled than I). It's a bit lighter than my yamaha p250's action (and lighter than the korg's I've played around with in music shops), but comparable to some older roland RD700 and casio privia models that I've had a chance to tinker with.

It's very comfortable. I actually played my yamaha for the first time in several weeks the other night, mainly been using my nord, and I was amazed at how heavy the action felt in comparison. I actually prefer the nord's action, I had a hand injury (work related, not piano related) a couple of years ago that put me off playing about 8 months (frustrating as H E double hockey sticks) so in part that's why I prefer the lighter action I think, easier going on my hands. As I get older, I find I appreciate comfort. 5 years ago I probably would have preferred the yamaha's heavier action.



The main downside to the nord keyboard's keybed is that it's noisy. It's really loud. Some people find that distracting/annoying. I honestly don't notice when I'm playing, but If you think you can put on some headphones and practice without disturbing your spouse/roomate, well they better be in a different room or the thump thump thump of the keys is going to drive them crazy.