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I'm looking to purchase a cheap first digital piano. It will be kept and used at home, mostly for practice. I'm looking for the cheapest option possible, but can go for higher priced models too.

I'm from India, and here are the options right now are as follows:

Yamaha
P45 - INR 37000 USD 489
Tried this in a store. Didn't like the action at all. Felt really sluggish. Playing soft felt like I was playing into gum, but surprisingly on playing hard, it felt very light.
P125 - INR 50000 USD 662
Tried this in a store as well, but a different store. It uses the same action as the P45, but my perception was completely different with this one. It didn't feel sluggish at all. I don't know why I felt so much of a difference between this and the P45.

Roland
FP 10 - INR 42000 USD 556
RP 30 - INR 54000 USD 715
RP 102 - INR 62500 USD 827
RP 302 - INR 69000 USD 913
Haven't tried out any of these.

Korg
B2 - INR 48500 USD 642
LP 380 - INR 71400 USD 945
I've played the LP 380 in a store a very long time ago. It felt extremely disappointing, but that would be because there was a baby grand in the store which I had just played.

Casio
CDP S100 - INR 32400 USD 429
Played this at a store. Action felt decent, but sound was horrible.
PX S1000 - INR 49500 USD 655
Played this as well. Decent action and sound.
AP 270 - INR 61200 USD 810
Played this, again, decent action and sound.
PX 870 - INR 76000 USD 1006
Haven't played this one
AP 470 - INR 8000 - USD 1059
Played this in store. This sounded like the most amazing piano, and all other digital pianos in the store at that time paled in comparison to its sound. They did not even come close. Liked the action as well.

There is Kawai as well, but there is only one dealer for Kawai in India, and they don't post their prices online, and I haven't tried out their pianos in their store as well.

From these, I'm leaning more towards a Casio, because they offer a comprehensive 3 year warranty in India. Yamaha only provides 1 year, only for electronics, and Roland provides 1 year, but the product has to be shipped to them for service. No idea about Kawai.

Of these, which will be a good option? Or are there other options that I haven't covered?

A little background about me: I want to learn classic music on the piano, but I'm learning by myself for now. I have had a Yamaha keyboard with its synth action for about 12 years now. Have taken some keyboard lessons as well, but I can't really tell the difference between what is a good action. Apart from the P45 (which I tried out at a store all by itself, all the other pianos were tried out in a different store together, except for the Korg), the action felt pretty much the same in all of those. As for sound, I'd like a piano with a decent sound (doesn't have to be really good though, but not like the CDP S100), I didn't really like playing around with VSTs.

Thanks!

Advice.

1) Set a budget: what you would like to pay, and what you'd stretch to.
2) Decide how comfortable you are buying used instruments (as new digital pianos suffer horrendous depreciation, and used deals are very much more advantageous than in other markets).
3) Decide what are your main uses?
a) Is it for gigging
b) Does it need to be portable
c) Do you want a cabinet piano (furniture over sound)
4) Decide what you value more. There are many factors which can define a digital piano e.g.,
a) Functions
b) Sound tone
c) Action
d) Amplification
5) Ask pianoworld members to chip in and advise models to test.

Best not to provide a list up front, as it may well be that best advice would be directed by the list than by need.

I wish more people would think the way you do ...I'm not referring to pianos, but rather to the notion of finding a solution based on a proper definition of need (or a definition of the problem to be solved),

Beginner here too. I have Casio PX-S1000 and it's pretty ok. Action is a bit on the light side for classical and i always use "heavy" settings so that its easier to transition to the teachers acoustic upright. I would get the best stage piano i can afford such as Yamaha P515. I also think Roland FP-10 felt ok but FP-90 was on another level.

Thanks for your reply. I hope this information will help:

1) I would like to pay around around $5-600, but can stretch to about $11-1200
2) I'm comfortably buying used, but where I live, there aren't a lot of used pianos available. I've been looking for a while in this area.
3) Main uses are practice at home. I will not gig with it, and it does not need to be portable. I don't care about a cabinet.
4) I don't care about functions or amplifications. I will only use the piano tone, for home practice, so doesn't need to be too loud as well. Sound tone and action are important. (Action more that sound tone).

I provided a list because a lot of pianos discussed here on the forums aren't available in my country, so I listed those which were available. I'm open to suggestions though, I may have missed a few

I also wanted to mention about the warranty situation. Roland and Kawai provide warranty through their distributors which Yamaha and Casio have proper subsidiaries here, Casio providing the longer and more comprehensive warranty.

Thanks!

FP90 unfortunately is prohibitively expensive in my country, and P515 is somehow not available at all, despite Yamaha being the most popular keyboard brand here. But I'll try out the PX S1000 again sometime. Roland doesn't seem to be available to try out at stores here, but they're ready to order it if you want to buy it. The pandemic may also make trying these out more difficult though.

Sounds like a strong candidate then and you've actually tried it yourself.

I think i would actually choose a bit heaver action than PX-S1000 if i could choose now. The sounds are nice with headphones but speakers are horrible Also keys are short but not a problem because im not advanced student.

You’ve come to the right place, aspirar. The problem will be leaving.....this place.

‘Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in (by promising the next big thing).

It never ends, aspirar, it never ends!

From your description of your opinion of this one .......AP 470 - INR 8000 - USD 1059

I would suggest you go get it and begin enjoying.

Good Luck

Also, PIVOTS, someone needs to table all those options out for Aspirar.

If you really like it, and it's within budget, buy it.

I think that the action is the same as in my PX-350, and (when I bought that) it was the best available in its price range. The AP-470's sound generator now includes "string resonance", and a continuous damper pedal, which I think are important for realistic sounds. And it will record audio, not just MIDI.

It's not a mistake.

Compared to the AP-270, the AP-270 is missing "string resonance", and doesn't have a continuous damper pedal, and has less than half the amplifier power, and has two loudspeakers (rather than four). And it only records MIDI, not audio.

So you are getting some useful features for the extra cost.

Good luck!

From that list, go with the Yamaha P-125 plus get the Yamaha stand with 3-pedal board.

With the spare change, purchase a good VST.