Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Too many stage pianos to choose.....

I have been out of the DP world for far too long and am looking to break back into it. My last DP was a Clavinova and a couple of Technics before that. My needs now are based on limited funds and limited space such that I feel a stage piano is my best option.

My shortlist (at the moment) includes Kurzweil SP2X, Roland FP4 and Roland FP7.

Just wondered if I am missing anything or if anyone has particular views on these.

I have managed to complicate matters by looking at things like the Kurzweil PC1X which has a passable piano but so many more sounds on top. It is all so confusing!

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

I personally own a Kurzweil PC2 (76 key), my church recently got the SP2X. The PC1 and PC2 instruments are similar, but the PC2 series also has what Kurzweil calls the "KB3" module, which has the sole purpose of simulating various Hammond drawbar organ sounds.

The keybed assembly in the SP2X and PC1X are quite similar in feel. The SP2X is a new release (about 6 months ago), whereas the PC1X has been out for some time.

Both have a very similar piano, the so-called "Triple Strike" piano as their primary acoustic piano sound. The name "triple strike" relates to the samples being made at three different levels of play (hard strike, medium strike, and soft strike). This adds realism (the timbre of a piano changes as one strikes the keys more firmly).

Kurzweil has a very distinctive piano sound (Yamaha also is distinctive, their samples are taken exclusively from Yamaha acoustic pianos). Some people like the sound very much, others find it not their cup of tea. I personally like the sound (I own a 15 year old K2000VP synth, SP88X stage piano - which is the precursor of the SP2X, the PC2, and a K2661 synthesizer, and I have on pre-order the new PC3X, which will give me their newest instrument in a full 88key weighted version).

Difference between the SP2X and PC1X: SP2X is less expensive, has less sounds (although equal in quality), does have USB connection as well as MIDI connectors (easier to connect to a computer). If I recall, there are four variations on the acoustic piano, then also electric pianos based on Wurly and Rhodes sounds. It also has a metronome tick built in. Easy to use. Does have transposing capability.
The PC1X has hundreds of sounds, although they are arranged in a manner that makes it easy to select the same sound. It will come on to one of the acoustic piano sounds (Stereo Piano). It has over 100 orchestral sounds. Over 100 vintage sounds can be added with a plugin module. It is still easy to use.

Both instruments sound best (with piano) when amplified in stereo.

BTW, if you wonder how well they can last, the keyboard player for the CBS Late Show STILL uses a Kurzweil K250 - the original model released in the early 1980's for his master controller. (it does have a fantastic keyboard, all wood key action)

I played a Yamaha Motif today, was not impressed with the piano sound. I do not have experience with the Roland current models.

HTH,

Jim

I just spent a month shopping for a stage piano and bought the Kawai MP5. You can read about my odyssey here:
http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/6/3992.html

In my opinion the MP5 should be on the consideration list of anyone shopping for a stage piano.

Thanks, guys.

The Kawai is slightly out of my price range which maxes out at around £900 (US$1800 ish).

My concern about the PC1X is the keyboard. I believe that the SP2X is fully-weighted with hammer action whilst the PC1X action is fairly light and does not have the hammer bit. The problem I have is that I am unable to try them out to find if this will really be an issue.

I suppose I also ought to include the Roland RD300 on my list but am not sure how it differs from the FP range.

I was chatting with a friend on another forum not long ago about this, who had similar considerations. It was tricky to strike a balance between the physical constraints, keyboard action and overall sound - there's always a compromise somewhere

The Celviano I have is too bulky but is nice to play and sounds reasonably good - although I find the best combination is to plug it in to my PC to use the pianoteq sound, which I think is excellent - that way I get a good keyboard feel and a really nice sound.

I'm not sure where you're pricing it but most places are selling the MP5 for $1,100. Other pianos you mentioned like the SP2X and the Rolands are all more expensive.

That is bizarre! Here in the UK, I can't find an MP5 for under £1,000 (US$2,000) where the SP2X, FP4 and RD300 are all around the £700 (US$1,400) mark. I wonder how much shipping from the States would be......

If you're still looking here's an MP5 for £867 inc VAT and delivery!

http://www.ukpianos.co.uk/kawai-mp5-piano.html

Thanks, Baz. I'm still looking and, if anything, I'm getting more confused!

I think that I have narrowed down the key factors - the keyboard must be fully-weighted/hammer action, it needs to have internal speakers and a USB capability. That pretty much limits my choice (within my budget) to the Roland FP7 and Kawai ES4 but I am not convinced about either!

Good luck!

I haven't played Kawai, as there aren't any dealers in my area. But I have played the FP-7 and I really was impressed by it's capabilities for the money. I used to own a Roland dp and loved it. It's about 8 years old and I sold it to my sister in law, and it still works, so they do have longevity beyond their warranty (I never had to take advantage of the warranty).

I played an ES-4 early in my search and liked it, but wound up with the FP-7. Could not compare them side-by-side, but for me, taking my first serious stab at learning piano (after 30 years of playing mostly guitar), the FP-7 seemed great. Many more features and voices for what turned out to be the same price I was quoted for the ES4 (USD1350 including a nice stand; got lucky), and I really love the FP-7's display. You can tell where you are in the settings very easily, although of course there is still a lot of multiple-button pushing to make the adjustments. And the feel of the keys is great (again, to my guitar-fingers).

After a week of owning it, the only knock I have is that some of the decay on the piano voices sounds a bit digitized, but it is not a serious problem for me.

My biggest problem is that I don't have access to anywhere to test them out. The only shop locally that sells DPs can get all the main brands but only has a P140 in stock at the moment! It seems most likely that I will go with the FP7 but is there are a site somewhere where I can listen to the tones?

There are some links to tone-listening sites on this thread:

http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/6/3866.html

There is an ex demo RD700SX on ebay right now
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ex-Demo-Rolan...090QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
for £949 - lovely keyboard.. could be a good buy! (The seller is Eddie Moors Music - that name has been around for years)

I would certainly advise against buying the RD-700SX without auditioning it. You're really going to have to add a stereo PA system to get the best out of it (I found a mono / mix keyboard amp to sound pretty awful with it) and even then I found it tricky to EQ.

Although the FP models have built in speakers, they are pretty weedy (at least the FP3 ones are). Another option might be the Korg SP-250, which can be found ridiculously cheap and has a weighted action - I don't know much about it, I'm sure there must be owners on this site to ask an opinion of.

If you've got lots of dough, the Yamaha CP-300 has built in speakers - but you'd probably have to be a wieghtlifter to move it anywhere.

I had Kurzweil's top of the line PC2X, then Yamaha's P-250, then the Kawai ES4. Then I tried the Yamah CP-300, Kawai MP8 and Roland RD-700SX. The Roland RD-700SX impressed me far more than any of the others. Now the new Roland RD-700GX has debuted at the NAMM Show in LA this week. It is reported to be awsome:
http://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/1874568/page/1/nt/3/fpart/1