Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Need a DP for young classical pianist

Given the limited information that we were given, I also think that the Roland FP-90 is probably the best solution based on the OP's requested criteria. of course if the kid could go to a local music store and test play the various recommendations others have made that would be best (and if the kid can't play he could perhaps go with someone who could (OP? their teacher? etc... -- worst case they could get the salesman to play some pieces for them to get a sense of how it sounds live and in context). But if that's not possible, I think the FP-90 is the most likely best compromise that meets what waw requested

It has Roland's best in class piano action which is very authentic feeling and which allows for very nuanced playing. While some don't like the modeled piano approach, others find it very authentic and wonderfully expressive to play. I doubt a 9 year old is going to be able to tell the difference between modeled and sampled piano sounds. Here just watching some youtube to hear it played in context would perhaps be very helpful.

It's very portable, but also has the option for a "furniture style" stand with 3 pedals (it can be detached from the stand) and if that's truly not wanted it also works with Rolands RPU-3 stand alone triple pedal unit.

It also has a lot of voices and features built in. All the usual ones, splitting/layering sounds, transposing, etc... It has a line in that you can use to feed sounds from a computer or mp3 player through the speakers to play along with and even has a microphone input with some vocal effects processing if the kid likes to sing as well as play. Of course the piano designer and 3 band EQ lets you fully adjust the tone/timbre of the different piano voices to suit your tastes and the style of music being played, and it can even be set to alternate historical piano tunings for playing period music.

Another bonus is that it features built in bluetooth and can interface with a lot of different ipad apps. Sheet music apps are particularly useful, but there are other apps that can provide instructional tools (like sightreadingfactory, apps that stream backing tracks wirelessly through the piano's speakers, etc...).

At $1800-ish the cost is well within the OP's budget. Even with the matching stand/triple pedal unit it's only $2140.

If it's well cared for, I think it would also have pretty high resale value should the kid/parents decide to discontinue piano lessons after a few months. So I would advise get the best you can afford. My vote would be for the Roland FP-90

If he's keen and likely to continue then kawai es8 or Roland fp90 would be my choice given the max price (which mp11 seems to be outside of, also it's stretching the definition of portable for many)

The altenative is the lower price bracket which contains the Roland fp30, kawai es110, Yamaha p115, Casio px360 etc. My preference would go to one of the first two mostly because of action and pivot length. My relatively diddy thumbs and long fingers mean I really dislike Yamaha's GHS action and the Casio's are similar in that bracket.

Also the sound is certainly, technically speaking (I.e. not considering subjective differences in tone etc), worse on the p115. It's still only around 30odd samples that are stretched over 3 key groups and it's pretty audible when playing scales. I think according to the sub $1k sticky thread that the Casio's in this price range also note stretch.

Some of the portable slabs are pretty heavy; will they be able to pack it into the car every week without throwing out their back? I'm lazy, so I'd get two of the cheaper ones and keep one in each house. It's also one less thing for the parents to potentially argue about. "You didn't bring the piano!" etc. I've seen divorced couples in action, so it's bound to happen, and the kid will be without a piano for a week or whatever.

Get two cheaper pianos instead of one expensive unit.

Maybe even seriously.

Exactly how "bad" would a $1000 modern digital piano be for someone studying classical music in his second year? Something like a Roland FP30, RP102 or FP-140R? Yamaha Arius YDP-163? Kawai KDP90?

And exactly how much fun is hauling a digital piano (even a portable one) always with the kid? And how likely it is to damage during transport? Not necessarily likely, but a portable/stage piano in a flight case + stand + pedal(s) do take up space and need many hands to carry around.

I fully agree that for a 9 year old the actual quality of the piano sound could be rather secondary...

Regarding the Casio: the PX-560 has the same 256 note polyphony sound engine of the PX-5S and has adjustable sympathetic and damper resonance. The 360 has a 128 note polyphony engine with very basic on/off damper resonance. Pianoman Chuck has a number of videos on the PX-560 since he used one for his gigs due to its action and low weight (12 Kg vs the 23 Kg of the Roland FP 90). And check this video that compares the sound of the acoustic pianos of the Casio PX-560, Kawai MP11 and Korg Kronos. If price and weight are factors I would say the 560 is difficult to beat. To get better action, sound and features you would need something like a FP90 or a Kawai MP that cost at least 50% more...

Wow ...

I have to tell you.

After hearing this demonstration I would absolutely consider purchasing 2 Casio 560s so he could have 1 at each site.

Much simpler solution without sacrificing much in the way of quality.

This would be my choice ....

http://www.kraftmusic.com/casio-privia-pro-px-560-digital-piano-blue-complete-home-bundle.html

I think this rules out the Kawai MP11SE or MP11 IMO - too heavy to move on a regular basis.

I tend to agree with the comments that purchasing 2 identical pianos (each about ~$1000 or so range) might be a better solution in this case. This also opens up the 'furniture style' pianos - which look way nicer in a home setting. And, it simplifies life by not having to lug around a piano.

Osho

Right, I see.

This simplifies matters considerably. Here is an approach for you.
You outline 3 price ranges and test the top 3-5 pianos in each range.

I am going to rule out portable pianos with wooden stands for now as they take longer to disassemble, pack, and reassemble (portables will need external stand). As headphone practice is enough in the first instance I'm going to suggest he tries out only stage pianos.

Don't forget, many of these come with the option of a triple pedal!

Top price bracket:
1) Kawai MP7SE.
2) Yamaha CP4
3) Roland RD800.
4) Roland FP-90
5) Kawai ES8
6) Yamaha P255

Middle price bracket
1) Yamaha CP40
2) Roland RD300NX
3) Casio Privia PX-560

Low price bracket
1) Kawai ES110
2) Roland FP-30
3) Yamaha P115
4) Yamaha DGX660

What to do is: locate your local music stores within radius 15 miles. Ring them, find out which of these in the list they have in store to try out. Then go there and let him (9 yr old) try out each of those available. If it means two trips to separate stores, so be it.

I have a Kawai MP7 with a K&M table stand, a triple pedal and a stand bag and carry case for the board. The table stand takes 5 seconds to fold away and 30 seconds to put in the bag. The pedal and wires go in a ruck sack, and the board goes into the case. Quick, simple, not so expensive---more fun than the ES8, and I think lighter.

Another good shout is the CP4 from Yamaha. Exceptionally light, also reasonablly great action. The Roland RD800 is so fun, and prices are low. Action different than CP4 but on a par with it.

Both ES8 and FP-90 excellent but obviously the internal speakers are heavy. With headphones, a stage piano will do. Can buy small speakers. Piano man Chuck had some great speakers on a recent video: $300 or so.


Anyway, try or die: we've said enough to get you going!!!

Where are you getting the information that the 360 has less resonance functionality than the 560? Both have string resonance and damper resonance, and I see no difference in how these are described in their manuals/specs.

(You're right about the 256 vs 128 polyphony, though that's pretty irrelevant in this situation.)

I am not sure if the 360 and 560 share the same sound engine. The differences are not limited to the polyphony. The 560 enables editing filters, effects, equalization and the sounds. It also enables to create and edit new instruments as a combination of six different sounds. Acoustic piano effects such as "lid position" and "cabinet reflection" are also editable. None of these options is available on the 360. For example, on the 360 reverb can be selected from a list of fixed options but cannot be further configured. And resonance has 3 levels whereas on the 560 there are 16 separate levels for string and for damper resonance, besides all the other effects that can be configured as well. When it comes to the sound itself, the maximum level of resonance on the 360 produces less audible results than the middle setting on the 560. The damper resonance effects are also less noticeable. The 560 also has the option to add damper noise. Other audible difference is that the strings of the top two octaves or so on the 560 are not damped. If this effect is also present on the 360, then it is barely noticeable. At the end of the day, the resonance functionality may actually be the same on these two keyboards, but the level of configuration possible on the 560 can definitely make it sound quite different. BTW, I have a 560...