Yes! I just bought myself a Yamaha P71 (which is Amazon's version of the P45) with a small clickety sustain pedal, a super cheap X-stand, and an even cheaper X-bench! Will be delivered Saturday.

Why did I do this when I have an Avantgrand N1X? Because I doing some interior design on my flat because of my N1X not fitting saga and Murphy's law has dragged this process out interminably. I am living among paint fumes and dust and even developed bronchitis two days ago because of this, all because I have my RCM Level 4 piano exam coming up in a few weeks and I need to practice, but I can't move my N1X... it's just too big and heavy. I really regretted selling my FP30. That would have solved all my issues.

So now, starting Saturday, I will be able to hole up with my P71 in a hotel and not return to my flat until is completely livable, finished, and fully furnished. I will not have to suffer in order to practice for two hours. Yay!!!! 🎺

So tell me what a mistake I made getting the P71. I did look at the FP10 which has a nicer action, but with a bench, stand, and pedal, it would have cost me $600, while this P71 was $453 with everything. Didn't feel like spending another $150 for a DP that I might not use again after this work on my flat is done.

With the P71, I will have owned a Yamaha, a Roland, and a Kawai. Basically all the entry level DPs except the Casio. Ooo.... I'll be able to be more authoritative in my entry-level piano recommendations. 😎

What??!! Tyrone is spending conservatively?Elizabeth! It's the big one! I'm coming to join you now!

No! Wait a minute. This is just a case of faulty logic!

MUST STERILIZE! STERILIZE! STERILIZE! STERILIZE!

What's the scope of your redesign? When you first mentioned it upon getting the N1X I assumed you were just asking someone where to rearrange a sofa and cadenza. But it sounds like you're renovating an entire room to fit the piano?

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

You know what... having been away for work more than usual, I’m sort of thinking about my ol’ FP-30 too (not the FP-90 for some reason - probably because of the extra heft & cost if I drop the bloody thing). That’s because my exam is coming up soon too!

I’d be interested in your feedback RE action (and sound over headphones).

Long term (unless I change career) I think I’ll want another DP to take away with me.

Congrats! I miss a cheap piano exactly because I miss a cheap piano! The N1X makes me treat it with a great respect. Like that smart and erudite friend whom you can’t tell a dirty joke I need also a piano that I can bash and bang with pop, jazz, kid tunes and any other cr*p that won’t make me feel bad. And where the wife will put her coffee on without me going thermonuclear!

The sofa & cadenza was LarryK's retrofit of a piano

For me, it was never that simple or else I wouldn't have needed an interior designer. LOL. I need to recover space in a high-density urban flat a few blocks from the Capitol So it's the works. Every stick of my existing furniture was tossed except for the N1X and my mattress & featherbed. And 100% custom furniture is being made for the flat, with the exception of one leather chair and a couch which is being bought. I even had to get rid of my current 60" TV since I need that wall now because the piano displaced my bookshelves. So the 60" is now be replaced sadly by a 43" TV in the same location which is being embedded in a custom-made wall unit... My designer swears that's the largest TV she can shoehorn in. I hope I can still see the screen - I had my heart set on not going below 55" so I'm pretty much heart-broken now. 😢

Now there's definitely "scope creep" though! Walls/ceiling repainted, floors sanded and refinished. Bathroom and kitchen remodeled. New appliances. New light fixtures and track-lighting everywhere. More electrical outlets and wall switches. Space to hang my wife's art on the wall. Putting my bed on a platform so I can get a couch underneath it. etc etc. Decided I couldn't live without the remotely operated window treatments (want Alexa to open my windows when my alarm goes off). 😂

My wife completely doesn't understand why this is all being done or what is the big deal. No wonder, because our flat in the grachtenpand in Amsterdam is two levels including a loft with a full bath, and three times the livable space of our DC flat! 🤯 The outdoor terrace over the courtyard there which is sort of like our cats' apartment, is by itself, only about 25% smaller than my entire flat here! It costs money to live packed into a high-density urban dwelling like this one here in DC! 😂

My interior designer just arrived and just had a very evil idea. After I explained to her that it was her fault (i.e., the Murphy's law interior redesign) that I had to buy a new piano so I can hide out with it, she said:


😈

If the P71 is anything like the P60 then it’s not a ‘cheap’ instrument, but rather a good bang for your buck.
I’ve owned a P60, and considering its price, it was a very capable instrument. I would definitely not let anyone come near it with a ‘cup of coffee’.

It's not the piano's fault. It's not the TV's fault. It's the city's fault!

For the price of a cramped apartment in a big city you can have a spacious home in the countryside.
And get away from city crowding. Yuk!
And get away from city traffic. Yuk!
And get away from city people. Yuk!

And have plenty of room for that piano. And room for a second piano. And a 100" TV. Yay for un-urbania!

Hmm, this sounds like a terrible nightmare to me.

It may have been better to simply trade in the N1X for the NU1X... saving time, money, health, and heartache, in one shot.

OK, no interior designer evil plots (to use and return the P71 after my flat is done). I was talking to my daughter and mentioned the 2nd piano and she was all upset that I am not supporting her musical aspirations (.... um, maybe because you had no musical aspirations except to listen to Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, and BTS?). So I have now given her the P71 under the condition I can borrow it when my N1X is unavailable (like now).

I just created more happiness factors!

Now I just need to sign her up for Piano Marvel or something like that so she can know what to do with it

The NU1X wouldn't have fit either. My piano nook could only barely fit the FP30 and similar because the 1st and 88th key were right up against the ends. Both the NU1X and N1X have a side control panel which make the pianos too long for my piano nook.

Not fitting in my piano nook is what has lead me to this current sorry point of first owning (and now gifting) a Yamaha P71. 🙄

Or for MUCH less money than either a cramped city apartment or a spacious home in the countryside, one can have a lovely western exposure, oceanfront home on a large piece of land in scenic Newfoundland. No city crowding here, nor traffic, nor... well... people, for that matter. (not quite true... we have 2,500 residents on our 250 sq/km island) Mind you, I still have no space for an acoustic piano. Can't win 'em all!

It seems like I should offer a rebuttal. Here it is.

Life in the city is wonderful because:

No snow to shovel
No leaves to rake
No car to pay for
No roof or basement to fix from leaks, because there are always leaks.
No house to paint.
No traffic to sit in in a car if one takes the subway.
Only one bathroom to clean
I can walk fifteen minutes and receive piano lessons from a world class teacher.
I can ride the subway for fifteen minutes and receive classical guitar lessons from a Juilliard trained player.
There are cultural activities and the best artists come to visit.

I saw Angela Hewitt play the last three English Suites a few weeks ago and it was a sublime experience. I’ll put up with a lot of hassles to experience such moments of joy.

The review: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/03/arts/music/angela-hewitt-bach-review.html

I’ve got access to trees, hills, and a river.



There are as many beautiful things in a city as there are in the mountains.

To each his own.

Re-Re-rebuttal:





Tough to beat views like this at every turn.

There is beauty everywhere.

And there is beauty in city people. Yes, this is my photograph, published in my book.