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I first played an electric organ way back in '61 and swore that I would never ever play an electronic instrument. I don't think the makers had heard terms like 'attack' or 'decay'.

Today I am on my second digital piano which is, I think, heaps better than my old, admittedly rather decrepit Rogers acoustic upright that I had for many years. But the technological advances that have been made, particularly over the last 10 or 20 years are such that when I read through all the problems that acoustics have, and all the expense in money, time and effort needed to keep them in top condition, I start to wonder what the situation will be like in another 10 or 20 years. Will acoustic pianos be like vinyl records, a fashion market or a niche market for the rich?

Just as movies coexist with live theater and recordings coexist with live concerts, I see digital and acoustic instruments coexisting far into the future. I think any serious player should have both.

I bet they thought the same thing when upright pianos came out. A digital piano is a synthesized copy of an acoustic and I do not think it cane reproduce the nuances of a 9ft concert grand.

Imagine going to a concert to hear a Rachmaninoff piano concerto and the player sitting down in front of a digital keyboard.

Mike

John you are right, they coexist.

I would like to see digital pianos go from sampling or modeling acoustic instruments to developing new samples.

I think we will see less and less upright piano's in peoples home the next 5 - 10 years.

We already have seen fewer uprights in people's homes. Mainly because of tuning, maintenance costs, and moving headaches associated with an acoustic. People are a lot more mobile then they were 50 years ago and it is not that uncommon for someone to move across the world for a job.

Co-existence yes, but for how long? Digitals will continue to develop and costs may well come down further but acoustics? Unless there are developments in the manufacture, design and maintenance of acoustics it may be difficult to maintain quality in the lower end of the market.

I don't think acoustic pianos are showing signs of being outright replaced by digitals to a point where the acoustics no longer exist - in fact to make a good digital piano you need a good acoustic to sample or model.

Anyway, two very large makers - Yamaha and Kawai - have recognised the market for both types of instrument and have been making excellent examples of both digital and acoustic pianos for decades now.

I can see situations where acoustic pianos become increasingly redundant - certain education applications, warm up rooms, even certain rehearsal applications. Will it get to the stage where a soloist can comfortably practice tone production on a digital piano and not touch an acoustic concert grand until the performance? I don't know. That scenario is probably 20 years away at the moment although there are already situations where digitals have been used in the concert hall.

In 1991 Roland had a concert in Japan, where the soloist played a Mozart concerto on a digital grand piano, and the orchestra were live musicians on acoustic instruments. The piano at that time wasn't even a hybrid - but it did use a kind of modelling synthesis called Structured Adaptive Synthesis which, although not as immediately realistic sounding as sampling at the time, was far more capable of producing the nuances of the pianists touch than straight sampling was. Unfortunately I can't find any recordings of that concert online.

There are some music clubs in remote places already using high end digitals as their piano. There is one music club in Scotland (i forget which one) uses the GranTouch digital grand, and by all accounts although the technology is now dated, most people have been happy with it. Certainly it beats turning up to play on a 100 year old Bechstein with a cracked frame and worn out hammers.

We are already at the stage where a digital piano is good enough for a student to sit all the grade exams on (since 1990 the ABRSM has endorsed the use of digital instruments), and I would reckon that about 90 percent of practice can be done on a digital piano with the grand piano being used for the finishing work. Sure, it's perhaps not as rewarding as sitting down at a nice Steinway but that's not the point I'm making here.

So I'd say the future is digital, but the present is also digital. I can't see the Wigmore Hall getting rid of their Steinways any time soon, but I can see a time when more and more regional concert societies are using digital pianos (the lack of decent piano tuners in Scotland is alarming).

I'll finish by saying this though: I know of a few people who have bought even high end digitals, thinking that will be it for them, they're on the digital journey. Then they get a few hours on a top-notch acoustic, and their needs change. For some of those people, the digitals have been sold on, and in its place a new acoustic has appeared. There is a certain vibration you get with an acoustic, a certain control of the touch, a feeling, that just can't be replicated on a digital piano at this present time, but I agree that digital instruments are now incredibly realistic.

One of the things that you have to take into account for is that your acoustic piano has probably deteriorated since your earlier comparison. That happens with digital instruments as well. The mechanics wear similarly, but the electronics and transducers wear in their own particular manners.

Just imagine what could be done with 88 computers working in parallel to create the sounds and interacting in the way that happens with an acoustic. Plus a few more computers for the soundboard, etc. Not now, but maybe eventually?

To the OP. You already admitted your old upright was not in good shape (decrepit). Of course a new DP will be better then a beat up acoustic. That is kind of like saying a new Chevy Sonic is better then an old beat up Lexus. How does it compare to a 2018 Lexus?


Do you think this post was put in the Piano Forum to start a flame war?

It probably costs less to keep my old baby grand in shape than it would to purchase a new top-of-the-line digital every couple years, and far less often than some seem to. But I also have a good digital to play when I can't play the grand. Add a computer to it and have even more fun. So, best of both worlds. I'm not sure why there's such agonizing, but I guess is has to be.

If you are a serious pianist and you have the money, the room and the (lack of) neighbours for it, you would certainly prefer a good acoustic grand in preference to any digital.

I've never owned an acoustic, but I was brought up on acoustics. Despite owning the most responsive and technologically advanced digital money can buy (since 2010), I'd still prefer to play on a good acoustic, given the chance. There is something about playing on a 'real' piano that no amount of technology can quite emulate. But my home circumstances don't allow me to own one.

However, despite doing all my practising on my digital, I have no problems switching to playing or performing on acoustics. My digital has had seven years of hard daily use, but still plays like new. Which is more than can be said for the C.Bechstein six-foot grand (circa 1900) that I perform on every month: its tuning is never perfect, and gradually worsens until it gets its next attention from the tech, and its action is somewhat 'loose' and not perfectly even. But I still love playing on it, because there are things I can do on it, and get out of it, that I can't to the same extent from my digital. Conversely, its action is not good enough for me to execute rapid repeated notes on it (which I can on my digital), so there are some pieces I'd never perform on it.

No Michael, no intention of starting any war. It is just that I have seen so many changes in my lifetime that I start to think ahead. And actually my old Rogers was chosen for me way back in the early 50's by my two music teachers when it was in good condition. But even so I would still prefer my current DP to how that was way back then.

Actually, rather than 88 parallel computers, I think I would start with just 12. If only I were 20 years younger...

And of course, why not diagnostic tools and instruments for acoustics such that one could rectify and improve?

Colin,

Sorry about my comment, really it was unwarranted.

Actually with multicore processors now the amount of CPU chips needed would decrease

Really I feel to get a feel of an acoustic and one that allows a player to control the sound as an acoustic right now you need to get into something like a hybrid piano and in many cases these are more expensive then acoustics. I own a decent digital and enjoy playing it. I would not want to put my wife through the torture of my technical exercises so the headphones are nice.

One thing I noticed. I own a Kawai ES8. Every other ES8 in the world will sound exactly like mine. Acoustics are more like wine and two different pianos of the same model can sound very different, I would say to me at that an acoustic has more character then a digital. If this gets built into digitals in the future who knows. I think it is healthy for them to grow into two distinct and different instruments because both have a place in music.

Mike

Here are my thoughts on this subject...

Acoustic pianos will be around, now and in the future, as long as society and mankind exists. However, I see digital pianos playing a more dominant role in meeting the needs of end-users. For example, I have purchased at least 3 used pianos, (including my current Yamaha C7, circa 1978) from churches who were selling their acoustic piano and going all digital. That is just one example of a trend of sorts...

On the other hand, the acoustic piano will never fade into the sunset completely. There will continue to be a market for acoustic pianos, in spite of the needed maintenance and delicate environment needed for acoustic pianos, from now on.

Of course, I could be wrong...

ETA: I will be playing my digital stage piano at a wedding this evening being held outdoors. I'm looking forward to it!

Rick

Very interesting topic, Colin.
First and foremost -- and out of curiosity, may I know what digital piano you possess now?
Honestly -- and as much as I might not prefer the status quo, digital pianos have become so prevalent and predominant that even the present somewhat belongs to them. Moreover, the way companies like Kawai and Yamaha are now competing in the arena o so-called hybrid pianos (like what the NV10 and the N3X represent) indicates that we'll see more interesting breakthroughs in this field. I think there's absolutely nothing wrong with owning the awesome Yamaha YUS 5, the gorgeous Feurich 179 or whatever earth-shattering piano Sauter offers (I personally love Sauter pianos). However, owning one of these uprights or acoustics doesn't easily jibe with today's lifestyle from an economic or practical perspective.

Thanks,
Amir

Hi Michael - no problems. Yes, every acoustic is different. However, with digitals you do have different sounds which you can exploit for different types of music. And it is certainly useful when trying to memorise - memorising on the same piano always means that you won't find it so easy when moving to a new one.

Of course, although all ES8's may, in theory, sound the same, the acoustics of where you are playing can make quite a difference, which can be another problem unless you restrict yourself to headphones. But playing any piano of any type the aim should be to find the sweet spot, if it has one and allows you to find it!

Colin,

For those of us who own a high quality piano they can, provided it is maintained, expect it to be still making music over 100 years from its construction. I tune and regulate mine and it is a pleasure, not a chore, to do it.

How many electronic devices are still working, and performing to current day expectations, after say 25 years? My Kurzweil 88 note keyboard certainly wasn't and so it had to go. I still have a Yamaha Tyros 5 which is a current model "all singing all dancing" arranger keyboard that I expect will be old school technology within a couple of years.

A concession I make is for my Modartt Pianoteq 6 software. This product is regularly updated and emulates my acoustic and that of other brands in a most realistic way. It does it well with only a dual core processor.

Four Chinese acoustic piano manufacturers are together shipping over one million pianos per year. I don't know how many digital pianos are being shipped worldwide, but only 150,000 were sold in the US in 2016

Ian

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I think you've probably hit the nail on the head with the part I've put in bold. My own take on this is that we're a long way from the point where digital instruments replace top end grands, and my own first thought is that the idea of getting there seems unlikely. But at the lower end of the market, it's perhaps a different story. If you have 500 quid to spend, getting a decent acoustic piano is going to be a tall order. But that amount of money will buy you a digital that is a passable musical instrument. And even at 2,000 quid, while the best used acoustic will probably be more satisfying than a similar priced digital, buying the "best used acoustic" available for that money will require time and knowledge on a scale that many buyers at that price point just don't have. But anyone with 2,000 pounds in their pocket can walk into a shop and buy a high quality digital.

So I agree, at a certain point in the market, digitals will increasingly become the default option instead of acoustics. Indeed, I think this is already the case to a large extent. But imho, until the technology makes a leap that for all the recent progress still seems unlikely, that will only ever go so far. A good acoustic is "alive" in a way that even the best digitals are not. That's not to say that the best digitals are not excellent instrument in their own right. They can create something quite close to the core tone of a high end acoustic, and the latest hybrids can also produce an action that comes close to that of an acoustic.

But for all that, they lack the soul of a good acoustic piano. And by good, I don't just mean a tier 1 grand. To look relative to my own position, I own a top end mass produced upright. It's a lovely piano, but it's the equal of neither the very best uprights or good quality mass produced grands. And yet it is still a completely different proposition to even the best hybrid pianos. There's a soul and ability to manipulate tone that you just don't get from anything other than a truly acoustic instrument.

Until digitals find a way to replicate that truly "live" experience of an acoustic, they will never be the equal of a high quality acoustic instrument. And while that's the case, there will always be a demand for those high quality acoustic instruments .

It's Roland LX7. I did spend quite a lot of time trying out Yahama, Kawai, Roland and Casio. Indeed, for one short week I had a Kawai CA67 but had problems. Then my dealer arranged for me to play the LX17 at the Roland centre down the road - very kind of them. And since I couldn't really afford that we settled for a demo LX7.

For someone who has spent a lifetime in computers I have a particular interest. I don't think the Roland supernatural sound is really anything to write home about, but the dynamic range is good and if they can develop further then who knows.

And to the others let me just say, I am not trying to do down acoustics. But standing back and looking at the digital developments - I am particularly impressed by the keyboard action improvements - and thinking of what other technological/digital developments are being made, who knows what will occur.

Ps. Just been rereading life of Chopin. All that lugging around of pianos - what must have it been like for the servants!

I have a Roland Digital Grand, a Yamaha Clavinova, and a Baldwin R Grand. Like my children, I love them all, but if I could only have one it would be the Roland Digital Grand. I also owned a Technics digital that I gave to a neighbor that was a least 20 years old. All three of the digitals still perform like the day I got them and have had zero maintence performed on them.

In my case I think playing digitals has heightened my sensitively to out of tune pianos. While I love the sound of the Baldwin it requires at least semiannual tuning to keep it in tip top shape. Not a big deal but the only thing I've ever done to the digitals is dust them.

At the store i work in we sell alot of digital pianos. We see the lower priced ones going to young students and the higher priced ones often to adults. Some of the main reasons for buying a digital is maintenance, price, easier to move, headphones and volume control. There are some beautiful digitals these days.
Personally I would not be happy with a digital but I am looking at purchasing a Yamaha trans acoustic.
Some people can do wonderful things with the options that a digital piano provides, I can demo these features but do not have a personal desire for them.

I've yet to play a digital that even comes close to a good Steinway or Bosendorfer grand (or many other brands). The responsiveness just isn't there. Also, there's no way small speakers inside a digital can reproduce the sound of a huge soundboard on 6' or larger grand, although speaker technology has come a long way in the last 10 or 15 years. Lastly, digital pianos do require maintenance. It's not often, but it's expensive when it happens. The key switches wear out, electronics go bad, or get damaged by power surges etc. Sometimes replacement parts aren't even available. Digitals certainly have their place, but I doubt they've ever replace acoustics.

Another thought; I know that electronic organs require tuning from time to time. I wonder if the tuning of digital pianos ever drifts. Does anyone know?

Well, I've yet to figure out how to use the hundreds of accompaniment combinations on my Casio Privia PX310 digital stage piano, but I do use some of the modern-sounding drum-beats when I feel a bit feisty. Makes me feel young again...

Rick

Your points are all valid, but some digital’s now have soundboards, some use acoustic actions with light sensors instead of switches, with associated improvents in responsiveness, the latest includes physical dampers which lift with the key, and the sound is slowly improving.

I won't argue with you as to the current situation though I think you underestimate the advances that have been made over the last 10 or 15 years and especially what the situation will be in 5 or 10 years time. As for expense, well we are into a different ball game in that you might upgrade after some years - perhaps with the money saved on acoustic tuning and maintenance!

I've heard the same about electronic organs. I'm wondering if it applies to older, non-digital electronic organs. It's also possible that people are talking about hybrid organs that have one or two ranks of pipes. At any rate, the newer digital organs (Allen and Rogers) I've played don't receive any tuning.

These instruments do require maintenance however. I know a school piano lab that just sent it's whole room full of digital pianos out for major maintenance. I think under heavy playing anything will require maintenance. That's not a mark against digitals... just reality.

This is what Roland's ex-rep said in PW recently (answering a question about the longevity and maintenance of Roland digitals):

.....the longest lasting school that was still completely on old tech before I left the company, is STILL USING Roland HP-2 and HP-3 pianos (from 2001-02) without a SINGLE problem to date. These keybeds far pre-date the PHA-III. But they're still ticking in spite of an average of 7-8 hours per day, 6 days a week use by students of all ages and skill levels. Some of the factory Q&A testing done to date, has included doing 10,000,000 actuations per key on the actions. Smashing them with a weight, dropping pianos with and without packaging. Shake testing to simulate truck transport. All to develop reliable keybeds that last.


Bearing in mind that the simpler the action, the less there is to go wrong, I'd guess that if you buy a digital, you don't expect to have to send it away for maintenance ever, unless your digital uses Yamaha's so-called hybrid action (AvantGrand, NU1) which has some (not all) of the parts used in a Yamaha baby grand or upright.

The school I was referencing wasn't using Roland, but the instruments were from this same era, perhaps c. 2000. So they did hold up well and were serviced, I think, fairly easily. I don't know details about this particular example, sorry. I just know they were all sent away, and then they came back.

My point is simply that all things mechanical will wear over time. Furthermore, I think it's good that, at least in some cases, repairs and maintenance are possible. I don't really like the concept of a disposable instrument.

The Rodgers combination organ at my last job had to have to electronics tuned before tuning the pipes to the electronics. It wasn't tuned with aurally (or by a tuning device) but with a voltmeter (I'm pretty sure, or it might have been a scope). You are probably right about it being an issue with non-digital electronic organs.

Out of curiosity, has anyone ever used a variable induction damped coil to mimic the resistance of a real piano action ?

I say No, because you will never be able to do THIS with a digital.

John

Because of maintenance issues and avoiding having to get my tech to voice the hammers too often, I do almost all of my serious repetitive practice on my N3X now (and before that the N3). Granted, it is never going to sound as rich or as full as my Sauter or Bosendorfer, but its pretty good enough, and one will be surprised at the nuances that are possible with the N3 and the N3X -- including on the pianissimo side of the dynamic spectrum. The N3 was good, but the N3X improves on it further with a more responsive (read: lighter) action, and a warmer tone that I prefer. I actually have my N3X and Sauter Delta in the same room and the N3X is powerful enough to match the Sauter in two piano music.

Given my experience, I would wholeheartedly choose a good hybrid grand over an expensive upright as a practice instrument

And given my experience over the past couple of months with my new Roland LX7 digital I would say that for those who can't afford a grand and/or haven't the space, a good digital is probably far better than most upright acoustics as a practice instrument.

Hmmm - My digital is 5'2" and Michelle is 5'7" so she would really have to scrunch up. Perhaps she has a shorter sister??

At 11 years out and on the average of 2-3 hours a day of practice in that time, my Steinway hammers are at an optimum state. My tech said next year she might do some substantial filing of the hammers. Up until now it has been light needling.

Much of my practice - mostly in the Jazz realm - is highly repetitive in nature. It consists of transposing lines or patterns ( almost always with parallel octaves ala Phineas Newborn , Oscar etc.), anywhere from one to four bars. The single lines along with chord voicings and sequences are always transposed to all 12 keys. This kind of practicing can easily be done on a digital, although the internalization and overall effect is nowhere near the same (as acoustic) on the current stage pianos I own.

I have played the new N3X and felt is was warmer and a less digital sound then the N3. I could see this being the perfect "tool" for saving wear and tear on my hammers.

On a side note - I owned a Yamaha S6 from '97 to'06 and was actually putting in more practice hours during those years. The hammers had to be constantly voiced down to to the point when I sold it, it really needed a new hammer set.

So yes a digital, and particularly an Avant Grand, would be a welcome addition. I have played no other digital that comes even close to simulating the acoustic piano experience as the Yamaha. Actually waiting to see when the N2X is released as I prefer the form factor more then the N3.

Oh almost forgot -- I could never get around very well, or have a good player connection on 90% of the uprights I've played.

My piano tuning clients routinely tell me they bought that $300 spinet over a digital because they want the touch and tone of an acoustic piano. As long as that attitude persists, the acoustic piano will be around. Many clients, schools, and churches have both digital and acoustic - used for different applications. The key is to move that digital piano owner into an acoustic piano, and that is the challenge piano dealers face.

I have considered buying a digital, and, although they have come a **long** way--far enough to supplant the Wurlitzer spinet I grew up on, for instance--neither a digital nor a hybrid has ever given me the feeling that I get from leaning into my upright. Of course, that upright is in pretty good condition and kept there, too, so that makes a very big difference. Also, I programmed synthesizers back in the 80's and somewhere along the way just reached the conclusion that a soundboard is better than a speaker. The Yamaha NU1 (?) hybrid I played helped me out on that a lot, but the feel was still not the same. Maybe I am just set in my ways. Geezerdom, here I come.

What with the advantages of a digital piano over an acoustic - less bulk and weight, lower price, never needing turning, never needing voicing, can be used with headphones, recording capability, electronic "bells and whistles" - I see digital pianos eventually taking over the low-end vertical piano market entirely. Stage pianos by their very definition are already digital.

Acoustic grands and high-end verticals will still have a place in the marketplace because they have nuances of touch and tone that are beyond the capabilities of digitals (so far). Serious amateur or professional pianists can also use digital pianos for practice, saving their fine acoustic instruments for putting finishing touches on their repertoire and for actual concerts.

I think Niels Bohr was quite right when he said: "Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future."

At the same time: Who would have imagined that we were still eating potatoes, rice, pasta, meat and vegetables when there's something so incredible efficient as astronaut food.

that's what I think. I think, in the next 10 years, the way digitals are evolving now, it will become hard for any piano salesman to sell an acoustic upright piano. I don't see much future for them.

I'm not totally convinced by the idea of the slow death of an upright, but that could be just me. I bought a very humble new Pearl River upright in 2013 (UP115M) and a good quality digital piano (Kawai CA65) a year later. The upright was only slightly more expensive to purchase but I much prefer playing it, hugely so. One day I hope to buy my dream grand piano, but I'm still keeping my upright.

When people prognosticate about the future, they invariably think things are going to change much sooner than they really do. As far as I know, upright pianos are still selling in much higher numbers than grand pianos, and it's an assumption in itself that grand pianos are exempt from digital competition but upright pianos are threatened by it. I think acoustic pianos in general are competing with digital pianos, whether it's uprights or grands. There's no question the digitals continue to eat away at the acoustic market, but we are still a long way from acoustic pianos being obsolete. There are a lot of people who very much value the realism of real strings and hammers, and even knowing that this is one thing they have that isn't involved with the internet and power consumption. I like knowing that when the power goes out, I can still play my piano. I do have a digital, but the experience does not match what I feel when I play an acoustic pianos.

Funnily enough, even though I've played many digitals over the last 20 years, and experienced the improvements of each generation, I still feel the margin of my preference for acoustic pianos over digitals is exactly the same. i.e. I'm no closer to considering a digital to actually replace my acoustic piano than I was 20 years ago.

I am certainly not convinced of the death of the uptight: In fact, I only had an upright and my teacher only had an upright as a youngster. I started lessons again as an adult with an upright, as an intermediate student, And was no worse for it. I only recently bought a grand because it was The piano of my dreams at a price I could afford.

If there would not have been such a fortuitous circumstance, I would still be happily playing the upright. If there is the death of the upright, It is because now every parent is convinced their seven year child needs a grand piano. In the 50s and 60s, it was not common to have a grand piano in the living room. Many students learned To play proficiently on an upright and could do so now without the cultural shift to grand pianos ..... And since we have convinced many that upright pianos Aren’t worthwhile, havent we created a market for digitals for young students as there are many families that cannot afford a grand?

Do I love my grand piano? Absolutely. But I had played on many grand pianos That I would not trade for my upright.

Just my opinion of course, and I’m sure many will disagree

Now that is a pity..Or a shame.. depends on how you like your fellow people, uptight or not..
Sorry, typo was to funny not to mention

Just to make one further point. Room size is going to dictate whether a grand is feasible or not. Here in the UK rooms large enough for the latter are going to be in the minority whilst I would guess that in the States that would not be true?

Does anyone know the figures about the sales of digitals/hybrids vs. acoustic grands/uprights? My guess is that digitals are the majority of purchases in recent years? Most, even high end, dealers seem to stock digitals also.

😃 LOL. When I use my cell phone to reply, I use the voice to type instead of my fingers. It makes an unbelievable number of errors in not recognizing my Southern drawl. And I don't catch them all

They're controlled by crystal oscillators -- accurate to a few parts per million. As far as human hearing can tell, they're perfectly constant for the life of the device.

I have heard several that were not tuned very well, however.

But tuned to what frequency? When I was young it was A=423, now it is A=440. Caused me no end of problems and arguments with piano tuners in the 90's when I got back into playing. When I got my digital I had to play transposed until my ear adjusted.

The answer is YES.

I'm an inveterate acoustic piano lover. I love playing, tuning, regulating REAL piano.... endlessly fascinating, to me at least.

BUT: the advent of RECORDING was the death of the acoustic instrument: first: the player piano (1900-ish); then, the LP (which I grew up with), followed by the CD, and now pure digital, and limitless editing and virtually free online sources for recorded piano.

I emphasize the "RECORDED" piano, because that for me is THE most important change. Once folks could hear an approximation of LIVE piano playing, sitting down and playing the piano yourself, or listening to someone play the real thing LIVE, began to fall by the wayside.

Digital instruments are, of course, RECORDED pianos (at best) not REAL pianos, even if the sense of keyboard touch is maintained. You're not playing a REAL piano.

And the listening side of the industry....well, that's almost entirely about RECORDINGS now, with a tiny part of the world actually paying to hear live piano playing.

And since listening means, these days, listening to RECORDINGS, not LIVE playing, then it isn't even necessary that the source of the recording be a real piano, or even real playing of a piano. Where RECORDED piano music is concerned, a sampled piano "played" via a midi file is, in many cases, INDISTINGUISHABLE from a REAL piano recording. That, I suppose, is why so many folks who listen to recorded piano want to know that the recording is LIVE. But most recordings aren't live, these days, certainly in classical music. Jazz, one would think, would be a little more live.

Is all this a bad thing? I don't know. I love playing around with midi and sample piano technology, myself. But I have the feeling that the whole process of "midification" is parasitic on the traditions of real piano playing. That is, a straight midi file will NEVER sound like a real performance, unless the midi file itself is based on an actual live performance. In other words, the timing, phrasing, dynamics, etc., are "real", or "musical".

My more than two cents on what is a great question.

The tuning of a sampled digital will be exactly as good as the tuning of the acoustic piano that was sampled.

I can (de-)tune each and every individual (virtual) string on my digital, which is modeled, not sampled, just with the turn of a dial. Or do a wholesale (de-)tuning, again just by turning that dial. Any degree from -100 (which sounds too perfect to be true) to +100 (which sounds like it hasn't been tuned for a century).

Also, at the turn of a dial, I can choose several different temperaments from meantone to Pythagorean to Kirnberger, or even (microtonal) "Arabic". Or 'honky-tonk'.

Or change the tonal qualities to that of a fortepiano. Or adjust the levels of several kinds of resonances (string, soundboard, pedal etc).

But.....I still prefer a Bösendorfer Imperial or Fazioli F278/308. - if only I can banish my neighbors to a desert island in the Pacific, and enlarge my lounge to about ten times its current size.

Same thing for me and my kinda humble $4500 Pramberger 48. I had been playing a pretty good for the time Korg Digital with weighted keys. I bought the upright just kinda because I wanted to have one despite being a child of purely rock music. The soundtrack of my youth was: hammonds, rhodes, synths etc. After buying the acoustic, I never touched the digital again and sold it after it gathered dust for 2 years.

I would happily get one again if I needed what they do or needed to carry it out of the house. I've been considering getting one again for the lighter action when my wrists are acting up.


Kurt

Money, money, and more money: that's the bottom line. Money for a decently large and relatively private space to put the instrument in. Money to afford an acoustic that you can learn to love, or even love right off the bat (again, a question of money). Money to afford the time to practice and/or just have fun. Money for the upkeep of the piano (well, unless, like me, you have the time to learn, that's a LOT of time.)

There used to be a kind of "Golden Age" of upright pianos, at least in North America. I grew up at the tail end of it. Just before TV sets (if anyone can remember those) became the norm in most households. During that Golden Age, it seemed that many folks had a piano in the home, and learning to play it was part of a general education.

Those days are gone, and you have to wonder whether, along with such things as the disappearance of the North American manufacturing-based economy, there has been a general decline in the standard of living. Post ww2 bungalows have been replaced with less generous condos, etc., etc. You can't put an acoustic piano in one of those, at least, not easily. Not to mention the sound-proofing issues.