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Hi guys so I view this as a rather long term investment being that I will keep it as long as it'll play. I'm pretty musically orientated mostly in woodwinds (in particular clarinet) and I'm no slouch by any means (I was accepted into Eastman, Northwestern, Oberlin and USC schools of music although sadly I didn't go into music [I'm currently doing medicine]). My mother was also a concert pianist and I'm saying this as I'm going to be a serious player not some average joe. Currently I'm limited at approximately $1500, most due to the fact that this is all loan money that I'm reallocating from the supposed book expenditures.

So! If you guys could help direct me as to a few different models, I'd be MOST appreciated! Well perhaps some of this may be obvious, but I'm going to write it down as to avoid any assumptions.
1. 88 keys is a must
2. I don't care about other voices, just the main piano's sound
3. I want it to be as piano like as possible in terms of sound as feel
4. I might record something, although most likely not so the outputs don't matter too much.
5. I won't be using headphones and will just use the speakers it comes with
6. I'd like it to be somewhat portable as I will be moving around every few months and don't want to pay movers to ship it. (I have an Altima so it needs to fit in that)
7. I don't really need 3 pedals
8. I have a $1500 max budget (I've already increased it from my original $700)

I'm generally open to any options or suggestions, but since I'm going to be moving around for clinical rotations later on, portability is a definite must. I really cannot go any higher than $1500 as I'm going to have to cut back on food as it is in order to afford that amount.

Any suggestions are very welcomed
Thanks!

Quick question - in #8 you mention that you increased your budget from $700 to $1500; does that mean you tried specific models in the < $700 range you did not like? If so, what did you like/dislike so far?

Here's my list of suggestions:

Roland FP-4 $1400
Yamaha P140 $1000
Kawai MP5 $1100
Casio PX-320 $700
Korg SP250 $900
Kurzweil SP2X $1100
Yamaha CP33 $1100, Roland RD300GX $1500 (both of these need separate amp/speakers so might not be desireable but are highly rated stage pianos)

Mega-stores like Guitar Center and Sam Ash have most of these models but the Kawai and Kurzweil are harder to find - probably have to call around for those.

Good luck!

Here's my take on ohitpro's list

Roland FP-4 $1400: very nice main piano sounds - every key individually sampled and 128-note polyphony. Lightish action. Fairly good EPs. Organ with Leslie sim. Good strings. Lowish power speakers. Good portability.

Yamaha P140 $1000: nice pianos. Weak speakers. Good portability. Good action.

Kawai MP5 $1100: no direct knowledge but have heard mixed reports. I didn't find the ES4 piano sound all that convincing but the MP5 may be better. I think both Sweetwater and Kraft stock Kawai. (Sweetwater may also stock Kurzweil).

Casio PX-320 $700: fairly good main piano sounds. 128-note polyphony. So-so other sounds. Lots of bells and whistles. Lowish power speakers - but adequate (just about). Good action. Very portable and surprisingly capable.

Korg SP250 $900: very good main piano sounds (I would rank just below Roland). Interesting EPs! Good strings. Nice action and feel, though perhaps not as good for very fast repetition as the Casio. Very good speakers for a non-console model. Has its own lightweight stand. Reasonably portable (Roland, Casio and Yamaha are lighter.)

Kurzweil SP2X $1100: no direct knowledge.

Yamaha CP33 $1100: a lot of people like this model - I prefer the Roland sound. No direct experience beyond a store demo. No speakers.

Roland RD300GX $1500: my experience is with the RD300sx. Similar to the FP4. No speakers.

No I didn't try out the piano, but you get what you pay for, so based upon that notion I figured that I should get the best that I can afford.

Oh sorry also I don't mind used DPs as well so if you know a certain going rate for a used piano that's great then please let me know!

Also do most people prefer separate speakers from the piano? Are the pianos with speakers in them pretty good?
I'm planning to go to Guitar center, but I really don't know how to play so I'm not sure if it would be a great experience for me.

dakayus

From : la
what's the "la" stand for

[QUOTE]Originally posted by dakayus:
Oh sorry also I don't mind used DPs as well so if you know a certain going rate for a used piano that's great then please let me know!

I wouldn't pay more than half retail or even less depending on seller's motivation unless it's a "new in box" kind of thing you see on eBay.

Also do most people prefer separate speakers from the piano? Are the pianos with speakers in them pretty good?

Generally, the speakers in portables are OK but definitely lacking in fullness so you'll probably end up with separate speakers at some point anyway. I use Logitec 2.1 PC speakers for about $50 and even these are a huge improvement over the onboard speakers.

I'm planning to go to Guitar center, but I really don't know how to play so I'm not sure if it would be a great experience for me.

Getting the feel and familiarity with the unit is important even if you're a beginner. For the most part, you won't make a "bad" decision with the above list so it's your personal preference that will help you decide.

Used DP's don't go on sale very often. That said, I just saw a <a href=http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/msg/949362844.html>used P-140</a> on <a href=http://losangeles.craigslist.org/search/msg?query=piano>a search for pianos on Los Angeles Craigslist</a> for $650. Used DP's are hard to find and hard to price ... it's not like you can just say, "I want to buy a used X and pay $Y for it." Instead it's more like, "What's selling used?" If anything is available (not guaranteed), you just have to make a yes/no decision on that. Good deals can be had, but it's kind of a luck-of-the-draw move. You may find better deals after Christmas if you can wait a few weeks. (Possibly also true for new DP's ... but that is just a guess.)

I'm also not much of a player -- If you want to listen to the piano sounds at Guitar Center, most DP's have built-in songs in memory that you can play. One thing to look out for is to make sure the volume is even between the models you're comparing, and you may want to tweak features like Reverb so you're comparing apples to apples. Some Yamahas have reverb on by default, and Rolands have it off by default (not sure if this is true accross both brands or just in a few I've listened to) -- I think it may be one of those features that's better at making first impressions but not so much at long-term listening. (Try different Brilliance settings, too, if available.)

In a showroom, the sound is going to be affected by room shape and instrument placement -- the smaller-size GC DP showroom is probably more like your home studio area than a half-acre piano showroom, but if you're listening to external speakers, you may still be thrown by room dynamics -- more expensive models might be placed in a spot in the room that makes them sound better, etc. (I think this is why the general advice is to take a good set of headphones with you piano shopping -- but you care more about speakers than headphones. :p )

Oh, and if you just want a flat piano recommendation: this is not what I have, but I think if I were in your shoes (i.e. before I had kids ) I would pick a Roland FP-4. They have a great sound, they're portable, they work in an ensemble, and they're popular--not that popularity is everything, but for a piano to have a "following" among musicians says a lot to me about its long-term usefulness.

la is Los Angeles. I just wanted to fill out the registration bit as fast as possible.

I do have good speakers, but they're on my desktop and I'd think it would be kind of weird hearing the piano from 15 feet away. Also I think it would be a bit weird to put the speakers on the floor or something.

I think I saw a Yamaha clavinoa clp 2xx or something like that for $1500 or so on craigslist. Gee the only problem now when I throw used pianos into the constraint is it opens up another level of pianos haha.

Sorry what does EP stand for?

Does anyone know about the Kawai mp5? I listened to someone play it on youtube and it sounded pretty good although I'm not sure of how they recorded so it could have just been that factor.

EP = Electric Piano (Rhodes, etc)

The Kawai EP2 and EP3 might be worthy of your consideration as well. Since the EP2 is now obsolete, you can find them for less than $900.

First, if you're doing something irregular
with grand money, stop right
there. This seemingly minor thing can
get you into big trouble and even land
you in jail. Furthermore, this kind
of thing can become a habit, and later
in life you might try to do it in
an even bigger way, since you got away
with it before, with even more serious
consequences.

If cost is a primary concern, then the
best deal I see on a new digital piano
is the Williams Encore. This is about
$680 online, and that price includes
factory stand, bench, pedal, and shipping.
This is an inexpensive but perfectly
capable piano, and you can play anything
on it from jazz to big concertos.

I recently bought a Yamaha YDP-160 (Got it yesterday). I love it and the key action is great.

- $1300 (and I got free headphones!)
- GH (Graded hammer effect keys (they feel real and heavy on the fingers)
- 20 watts speakers which are loud enough than its Yamaha YDP-140 counterpart at 6W speakers
- Connectivity to your Mac/PC for recording
- It weighs 94lbs better than a gazillion pounds of an upright

Overall, I love it. As for the P140, it has the same key handling, but as previous people said, speakers are weak.

Williams Encore, I thought the key action was not up to par. Although pricewise, I think it is a good piano for beginners.