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I know most people are probably tired of yet another DP question. I have searched the internet and this forum, checked specifications, etc. but I would still love to hear some personal opinions, so I would appreciate if you could share your thoughts.

My main consideration is sound quality and touch (close to real piano. I am occasionally asked to be the pianist at our Church, and I would like my practice at home to be applicable to playing there). My budget is around $1500.

Right now I am looking at YDP160. Some questions that I have are:

1. Between YDP160 and YDP140, I prefer YDP160 for the HDE touch. Do you think that is worth the price difference?

2. How about Roland FP4. It has 128 polyphony (higher than YPD160), yet it is cheaper. Is it because the sound quality is not as good?

3. I have never touched a YDP160 (no piano store in my area. I have only tried Casio PX120 at Bestbuy, and I liked the touch. Is YDP160 going to feel even "better" (more like piano)?

4. If I go above the YDP160 price and go to about $1600, what would you suggest that I look into?

Many many thanks in advance!

definitely choose YDP160 over 140, and i think it's worth the money difference for better speakers and action alone.

you should try at least similar actions to what you want to consider. YDP160 has the same action as it on P140/CP33/CP300. so, you may at least find one of those to try on if you cannot find YDP160.

btw, why does YDP160 cost $1600? it's selling $1300 online.

Thanks, Signa.

Maybe the way I said it was confusing. I found YDP160 at $1300 too. What I meant to ask was if I was willing to go to $1600 (or even $1700), what should I look for?

Dave,

At this price level, check the Roland FP-7. It was my favorite for both action and sound. You can find recordings in Youtube, but the best is to try it yourself.

Regards from Paris

Thierry

I'll second that. IIRC, the 140 has 6 watt amplifiers. Not enough. The 160 has 12 watt amps, doesn't it?

And the 160 has a **much** better keyboard. Night and day difference.

Thanks all. LH, YDP160 has 20W amps. Aside from minor difference, I think the more important ones for me are:
- GHE vs. GHS
- 20W vs. 6W speaker
- 10 voice selections vs. 6 (but the other 2 very much make this a minor point)

It looks like if I go with yamaha, it will be YDP160; but I still have a couple more questions:

1. About the 10 voice selections, do they give different piano sounds only, or do they have selections like violin, flute, etc. like some keyboards have?

2. The specifications say "1-track recording/playback." What does it mean (as compared to 2-track recording, for example)?

TIA!

"10 voices" mean 10 dfferent voices including piano's, usually string, harpschord, chorus stuff, most popular ones as on other DPs.

1-track recording means that you can only record 1-track at one time and play only 1 recorded track back. with 2-track recording, you can record 2 separated tracks but play both tracks at the same time, which is good for mixing.

Signa, thanks!

With 1-track, can I do this: I play a piano part and record it, then I play back the recorded piano while playing another part to make a duet but also to record them together? Then I play back this recorded duet part and play string and record them together? At the end I will have a recording of the piano duet + string.

It would be very cool if I can do that.

Hi Dave. Just one thought, from a fiscal point of view. I seem to have been in the same boat as you not long ago. I really liked the ydp160 and liked the Yamaha CLP320. For 1600 or 1700, you could get a CLP330. BUT, the reason I am writing, is to tell you, I spent 650+ tax and got a nice Casio PX-720. (seems like only COSTCO carries this model) You mentioned that you liked the Casio in your original post, so this might be a good option. It has many features for the price and a decent touch. Good luck looking and who knows, maybe you will save some money at the same time. I did.

Hi Weaky6, thanks for the suggestion. I will check into Casio too.

Now a bump to my question: does anyone know this:
With 1-track recording, can I do this? I want to play a piano part and record it, then I play back the recorded piano while playing another part to make a duet but also to record them together? Then I play back this recorded duet part and play string and record them together? At the end I will have a recording of the piano duet + string.

I know you can record something and play along with the recording, but if you try to record it again, it wont record the previous recording aswell. So you'll lose the first bit you recorded.

Correct me if im wrong.

As far as I understand, you cannot do that. I personally have the ydp-140, and chose ydp-140 over 160 cause I don't think its worth the extra money (the touch feels same to me, although 140 is lighter but in order to make the same sound it takes the same effort, at least I feel so. Of course money was a big issue to me. Also I live in a dorm and play with the headphones so quieter pianos actually work better for me. You might have different situation though.) And regarding to the recording, I just tried what you said on my 140, it cannot re-record when you play what you just recorded. I hit the record button, played a little, stop recording, then hit the play button, while my recorded music came out I tried to hit the record button again, but the button was disabled. So I assume what you want is not achievable through 140 or 160 cause they are the same on this topic.

Moreover, the extra 4 voices on 160 isn't that necessary or great either.

If you are willing to go 1700, it is attainable to get a CLP240 within that price, if your dealer is desperate enough. Good luck on searching!