Greetings!

I've just begun playing with my daughter's Yamaha PSR E253. I'm now hooked and need to upgrade.

My goals are modest; i just want to play easy pop and holiday arrangements for my own enjoyment. I'm just starting my search for a teacher who will take on an adult beginner with no innate musical talent!

Anyway! I'm looking to buy a digital piano. I dont really care about bells and whistles, I intend to just use it as a piano. What i am looking for is a dp with a good piano sound for under $2,000. I don't intend to keep upgrading, so im hopeful i can get a decent, lasting instrument for my money.

I realize that i might actually be better served by buying a used acoustic, but i live in an ancient building and the landlord strongly suggested that I not put his floors to the test.

So, down to business. I've been trying to research different makers and models, but I find it confusing. The Korg C1 Air has caught my attention as a possibility.

What say you? Do you think the Korg is appropriate for my needs? Can anyone suggest others I might consider?

Kawai ES8.

Thanks for the suggestion! I appreciate it and will chck this out now.

Roland FP-90.

Yamaha P-515.

These are higher end pianos than the Korg.

Thank you, I will check them out. I'm looking for YouTube videos featuring these suggested pianos.

I'd say try out Kawai CN27. It's bring superceded now, and you'll get it cheap. It doesn't sound cheap. AND it looks nice and won't go through the floor.

Roland upgrade their FP series every 3 years - FP-90 was released in 2016, FP-80 in 2013. So I'd wait until September when they'll likely put their new grand hybrid action and longer keys from the LX700 series into the new FP-100.

P.S. I've owned Roland FP models since 2003, so I'm a bit biased!

With Yamaha - note that they also release new series every 3 years. CLP-700 range will be out on April 1st (Musikmesse 2020).

Even if you don't want the new models - the prices for old models will drop around the release dates of the new models.

You have a lot of options and that's the problem.

Typically any modern digital piano from a "reputable manufacturer" like Yamaha, Roland, Kawai, Korg, Casio, Dexibell etc. will sound pretty good just based on the piano sound generator. The amount and implementation of the various resonances found in a real acoustic piano vary. They aren't that crucial but will in part affect how "acoustic" the digital piano sounds.

Then come the speakers. There's everything from "muffled" and "distanced" to "OMG it's so real!".

Typically the more expensive models have the more elaborate speakers systems. And typically they are "cabinet models". But a "portable" or "stage piano" could also have pretty decent speakers like maybe the Roland FP-90 just as a hypothetical example.

Then the key actions vary. There are things like noisiness and looseness or "wobbliness" that anyone can experience and then there are finer nuances that take a certain skill level to judge.

One is the infamous "pivot length" that's often mentioned here. On the Yamaha PSR is much more difficult to play the keys from the hinged end. This also applies (less dramatically) to digital piano actions with a short pivot length like Yamaha's GHS and most Casio's actions. But it might not really be a problem for you. But it's something to try out if testing digital pianos in a shop. And then you'll look very knowledgeable.

Then all the others like "escapement" or "let-off", counter weights, wooden keys and such are less important. And even ignoring all these fancy words in the specifications the playing feels just do vary. As do people's opinions. Some like e.g. the "RH3" action found in the Korg C1 and others don't.

If not playing with headphones the speakers will actually affect the playing experience quite much. For example a Korg G1 Air apparently has a better speaker system than the C1 Air. And similarly a Kawai CN37 (or 39) has a better speaker system than the CN27 (or 29). And a Yamaha CLP-645 has a better speaker system than a CLP-635 etc. And you typically won't hear the differences on YouTube videos and such.

Anyway there are an awful lot of models to choose from.

For around $2500 and below there are e.g.
- Roland DP-603, a compact version of the HP series that's an upper market range from Roland.
- Yamaha Clavinova CLP-625, the cheapest model in the Clavinova range that's above Yamaha's "Arius" range
- Roland FP-90, a higher end portable piano that optionally comes with a stand and a pedal bar
- Yamaha Arius YDP-184, a high end Arius model, not necessarily any "worse" than the CLP-625. Yamaha may have some overlap here between those two ranges.
- Kawai ES8, a higher end portable piano that optionally comes with a stand and a pedal bar.
- Kawai CA48, the cheapest Kawai with wooden keys.
- Yamaha P-515, a higher end portable piano that optionally comes with a stand and a pedal lyre.
- Roland FP-60, a little "lesser" portable model compared to the FP-90.

And now we are already under $2000

Then the list would go on to even cheaper, but still "perfectly fine" models like Roland RP-501R, F140-R, various Casio Privias and Celvianos, Korg G1 Air, Yamaha Arius YDP-164 and whatnot all the way down to around $500...$600 which would still get you "something usable". A cheaper option from that range like Roland FP-30 or Kawai ES-110 would serve you just fine for many years if only the speakers are okay and not too muffled.

(I guess. But take any internet opinions with healthy scepticism.)

And then there's the "fun factor". Some models come with lots of various sounds and backing rhytms. They can be fun. But then you are not "playing piano" anymore. Yamaha has the relatively cheap DGX-660 and Casio has a few Privia models with backing rhytms. The Roland RP-501R and F140-R also have some. (Many other Rolands also have, but you'll need to use their Android/iOS app to activate them.)

Someone in the purchase price thread just bought a new FP-90 for $800.

Steinway Piano Gallery (Roland dealer) at
12033 Dorsett Road, Saint Louis, MO 63043

Are advertising a 'Winter Clearance Event' (I thought it was summer?) with: 'Huge Savings'. Might be worth asking them to prove that

Excellent suggestions! Thank you very much for taking the time to help me.

I had no idea that Steinway Piano Gallery offered anything other than very pricy Steinways.

I also found out that a place nearby called Lacefield Music carries Kawai and Yamaha digitals.

I know what I'm doing this weekend! 😀