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Joined: Feb 2014
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Hello to one and all. I am in my fifties and have decided to learn the piano; I intend to take weekly lessons. I would love to buy an acoustic piano, unfortunately I do not have room for it, so I will have to buy a digital. My main question is, do I spend a lot of money on a digital piano, for example, a Kawai 65 or a Yamaha CLP 470, or should I spend about half that and get a Yamaha YDP 162?
My motto has always been the best you can afford, as you would only want to upgrade later on and you may as well have the best from the beginning. However, if I were to not use the piano and want to sell it, I would probably lose more money. Having said that; I would have had the pleasure of owning and playing a nice instrument. And that is where I am at the moment, procrastinating over what I should buy, instead of practicing my chords and enjoying the experience of learning. Any advice would be appreciated.
Phil
PS Apologies in advance if I am regurgitating existing questions.
Last edited by Phil Greenough; 02/04/14 09:46 AM.
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Hello Phil. It really looks as if you've already done some research to arrive at these three DPs: Kawai CA65, Yamaha CLP 470 and Yamaha YDP 162. Many people here love the CA65 in particular, with its wooden keys and authentic-feeling action. I'd also look at the Roland HP 503, 505, 507 and the new ones; 504, 506, 508, if you can find them. They keys play a little lighter & harder, which some people prefer.
Personally, I'd go for a good model in the cheaper range, such as the YPD 162 because you will have a much better idea in a few years what features really appeal to you: sound, response, key feel, other hi-teq features - then you can change and still get a good price for the older DP on ebay.
Good luck in your search for a piano, and your first lessons!
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Hi,
There are two options. To some extent they depend on how well you know yourself.
If you are the kind of person who can set his mind on something and go the whole way and the long run (believe me, with piano it is a very long run) Then you might be quite safe to buy the best instrument you can afford.
If however you are not so sure wheter or not you will carry through with this and essentially are more like tasting things and decide you'll really carry on at a later time, you might indeed be better of buying a slightly less expensive instrument. For example a kawai ES7 wich by itself is a very fine instrument already and will offer both beginner and experienced players a lot to enjoy. (I made an agreement with myself that I'll replace my ES7 with a better instrument if I pass my 3th year in music school, and i'm only halfway my 1st year right now) By then hopefully the high end digitals may have seen some more improvements :-)
I think that by today's standards even the lower end true digtal pianos (not keyboard etc) of any major brand (kawai, Roland, Yamaha, Korg, Kurzweil) would be of good use to any beginner. If you intend to get a private teacher you might want to discuss your purchase with him/her before making a final decision. Maybe the teacher has specific experience with some instruments and might be able to give you some more guidance.
Kind regards,
Wouter.
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Welcome to Piano World! You are not alone as there are lots of later-in-life beginners here. Myself included. Like you, I wasn't sure about my piano adventure so I borrowed my brother's keyboard. Within two months of starting lessons I bought a Yamaha P-155.
You didn't say whether you looked at the P-155, but I found that it fit perfectly in that niche between the cheaper and more expensive models. I found the keyboard action at least equal to those of more expensive DPs. The sound is terrific. The electronics are basic. The on-board speakers a little lacking (you can use headphones or plug in external powered speakers).
So much music and so little time! ----------------------------------- 1916 Mason & Hamlin BB Yamaha P155
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Thanks for the welcomes and advice, it's very much appreciated. Here's the rub guys, what you say about buying a cheaper keyboard and see how you go with it is sound advice, and my brother more or less said that to me when I spoke to him about learning. After all, not many people know you better than your siblings. What Silver keys and Paul suggested do look like good starter models, but I like the idea of it being a piece of furniture. As I said, I would love an acoustic piano, but it's got to live in our study, which is upstairs. I'm definitely going to speak with my teacher this evening and see if he can give me advice. Thanks again.
Phil
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Hi & Welcome, I had to make the same decision. Is it better to spend more money or save money and maybe upgrade later? My favourite pianos are, Roland HP504, Kawai CA-65 or at the end Roland HP508. I liked the wooden keys and the look from the Kawai, but in my opinion the paino sound and the key action is a little bit better with the Rolands. I played all three pianos at a local store, and felt really in love with the HP-507 (last model, new model is the 508). The acoustic projection system is marvelous But on the other side it costs 800,-€ more than the 504 and offers just a few more options (acoustic projection with 6 speakers, "better" keyboard (but so far as I know, the only diffrent between PHA IV concert and PHA IV premium is just the sidecolor of the keys, and some more detailed sound tuning options). At least the sound via headphones is almost the same like the sound from the 504. I guess till I can play piano, most times I'll use headphones, so it makes no sense to spend more money for an soundsystem right now. Final decision (and belive me, it wasn't easy ): Yesterday I finally ordered the Roland HP504 and I'll keep in mind, if I still play piano in two or three years I will sell it and spend more money maybe for the Roland HP508 or an acoustic piano. P.S. I'm 45 years old, so you're not alone
Last edited by Hanseat; 02/04/14 12:58 PM.
Roland HP504
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Welcome to the forums Phil Greenough. It sounds like you have already made a decision, because your motto is buy the best you can afford. If that is how you live your life, no reason not to follow that on piano. For those paying for lessons, the cost of a digital unit is only a percentage of the cost of several years of lessons.
Some beginners can't tell the difference, so are paying for something they can't hear or feel. This would be more true for novices with no musical experience or education. Observing the forum, there is another group that decides after a short time, that they don't like something about unit they bought, no matter the price tag. They decide to trade up or down or sideways.
As always, the prices paid thread is a valuable resource. It is a record of what people actually buy, often after using this forum for research. Only a few relatively vocal people reply to these threads about what to buy. Some are knowledgeable, a few are not, some are playing games.
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Hi Sand tiger.
Thank you for your opinion, it reinforces what I am thinking. My lessons are going to cost £25 per hour and I intend to have one every week, which would equate to about £1200 per annum. What I am proposing to spend on my digital piano is roughly the cost of two years private tuition. Another thought occurred to me, if I do invest roughly £2000 a year learning to play the piano, that is more than enough incentive to keep me at it when the lessons are hard. I have yet to go to a music shop to try them in the flesh so to speak and have that pleasure to come.
A lot of pleasure is also derived from arriving at the decision of what to buy. Although I may not have my piano for a week or so; I know I will have made the right decision by gleaning information from every angle. However, I have no choice but to listen to what people who can actually play the instrument, and for that I am very grateful to people who volunteer their expertise on forums such as this. Up to now I am on the 17th page of this sub forum and have many to read.
I may be doing my self a disservice by saying I have no experience when it comes to what digital pianos I should buy. I have been lucky enough to fully appreciate all types of piano and keyboard music, having been brought up on the likes of Reginald Dixon, Stanley Black, Russ Conway, Winnifred Atwell and Billy Joel, to name but a few. So I'm pretty confident that when I ask the salesman to demonstrate the instruments; I will know what I like to hear. As to the weight of the keys; I will have to listen to the experts.
Phil
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Phil Greenough, I would be tempted to buy a good used slab-type stage piano for the first "stage" of lessons, to ensure I am really going to enjoy playing. Then, if I am to continue, (a) I should be able to sell the keyboard for almost as much as I paid for it, and (b) I would be a much better judge of what was important to me when making that ultimate purchase. You might even consider that to be your reward for sticking with it for awhile. If you buy "the best" digital piano you can buy - for its looks - and then decide piano is not for you, you will take a much bigger loss if you sell it. Others may disagree, but a "nice" furniture-grade digital piano may not be a desirable piece of furniture if you aren't also using it.
Yamaha YC88, Kawai CA93, Yamaha MODX8, EV ZXA1
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