Good feel and sounds: recommendations?

I used to play classical piano, but I haven't lately due to apartments, moving frequently, etc. I'd like to get something that approximates the feel and sound of a real piano as closely as possible (heavy weighted keys, dynamics, 88 keys, etc). I care somewhat about size, but I'm strong and I have a station wagon .

Priority is on the piano sounds, but it would be really nice to have something into which I could load a fairly good set of church/pipe organ patches (what's the difference, anyway?). Can you even get such a patch set? I'll live without pedals, but it'd be cool to have a bunch of stops available. Not essential by any means; I'm just wondering if it's possible. I don't play real organs, but I listen to them a lot.

I'm very early on my search, but one thing that's been a disappointment on the keyboards I've played with has been the sustain pedal response. Are there pedals that can do what a real piano pedal can do? The ones I've tried seem to be either on or off, with nothing in between.

Thanks for any help!

BP >I used to play classical piano, but I haven't lately due to apartments, BP >moving frequently, etc. I'd like to get something that approximates the BP >feel and sound of a real piano as closely as possible (heavy weighted BP >keys, dynamics, 88 keys, etc). I care somewhat about size, but I'm strong BP >and I have a station wagon .

If I understood correctly, you are searching for a digital piano. Well, me too... I posted here a request for informations, and many answered me with good advices I will study. People pointed me on the Yamaha Clavinova (which I can't buy, it costs too much for the quality I'm searching for and it's too big), the best models are very good but at a high cost: the Kawai P9000 (or MP9000, now I don't remember well) and the GEM PRO-2 are similar, but someone preferes the Kawai action.

BP >Priority is on the piano sounds, but it would be really nice to have BP >something into which I could load a fairly good set of church/pipe organ BP >patches (what's the difference, anyway?). Can you even get such a patch BP >set? I'll live without pedals, but it'd be cool to have a bunch of stops BP >available. Not essential by any means; I'm just wondering if it's BP >possible. I don't play real organs, but I listen to them a lot.

Actually I know a bit about the GEM PRO-2: it has weighted action, 128 oscillators (128 voices) and 64 performances (voice-effects combos), a two-tracks, 45000 events sequencer, 64 built-in sounds with acoustic and electric pianos, organs, strings and basses, a MIDI in-out-thru and a serial interface to directly connect to a PC (for sequence downloads etc.). Also, it can connect to a pedalboard to be better used as an organ, you can tune all the keys one by one, it has a graphic 7-bnad equalizer: GEM engineers implemented some physical models (sympathetic string resonance, natural decay of the notes due to key release and a 16-level pressure sensor for the damper pedal, which makes it possible to use the 'mezzo pedale' and so on). And much more...

BP >I'm very early on my search, but one thing that's been a disappointment on BP >the keyboards I've played with has been the sustain pedal response. Are BP >there pedals that can do what a real piano pedal can do? The ones I've BP >tried seem to be either on or off, with nothing in between.

AFAIK the PRO-2 (with the professional pedals) does the job, don't know if others do (but it's at least possible!): the best I can say is, try all electronic pianos you can find and buy the best for you. Actually I'm not very convinced about the action of the PRO-2, but all the other things are really good, so I must still search for other options.

I bought the Kurtzweil PC88 last year and love it. It has terrific action and a great collection of sounds including 16 pianos not counting the effects. But, basically I had the same problem, wanted to play without noise. It has a terrific Warm Grand and Tight E Grand program. Plus, after about 8 months, I've ventured out into it's organ (church pipe, jazz and rock organs are included) and other programs and enjoyed them as well. They may be all you need. I don't remember if the sustain pedal came with it, but, it works like you would expect it to. I played with headphones for about 8 months, then bought a pair of Mackie 824's speakers. Fabulous.