I need a digital piano. Which one though?

I live in southern Oregon.

I'm looking for the best digital piano that can be purchased with $3000.

I originally posted an acoustical piano suggestion with the price tag ceiling of $4500.

If I buy digital, I'd rather spend less.

I've heard so much good things about the RD-700. I plan on using it primarily for piano. I might play with the occasionally string, but the harp, organ and all that other crap, is unlikely.

I naturally want something with weighted keys and a good action. Who doesn't?

I wouldn't mind a piano that transposes music onto your computer for printable music. That's probably all I'd do as far as computer interaction.

What do you suggest with those needs? Would the RD-700 be overkill? Unfortunately I don't live close to any dealers. I want to build up a list of potentials, then commute to Portland for one day of keyboard testing!

I can't give you comparisons of quality, but I'm very fond of my Roland HP145. I found I liked the feel of the Rolands better than the other brands I tried, but YMMV. It only has three extra tones (harpsichord, strings, electric piano), and avoids most of the fancy crap a lot of the digitals come with. When I first saw it, it was listed at A$3,500, but I got a deal on mine for A$2,500, and I've mostly seen it at around A$2,995 or so since then

I don't know if any actual pianos do that; I think the pianos just offer the connection to the computer, and then a music software package will do the transposition. I'm pretty sure most of the digitals have a midi connector; the HP145 does.

Good luck with your shopping

I just picked up a Roland FP-3... it has very good action... not so many bells and whistles but I only wanted a weighted keyboard and a MIDI out so I could, like you, get printed notation of my music out of my MIDI software. Also, the piano 'sounds' are OK... but I use soundfonts, so I can have any instrument that I choose.

Good Luck

Peace... www.Shemakhan.com

'Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.' Through the Looking-Glass Lewis Carroll

Although this subject has been covered over and over again in various threads on this newsgroup, I will answer it again. (You might do a search on this newsgroup). But these are just my opinions. In the price range you mention, there are of course many brands to choose from, including Korg, Kurzweil,Yamaha, Kawai, Technics, Roland, and so on. On this newsgroup, most of the people seem to be happiest with Yamaha, Kawai and Roland, so I would stick with those. It is partially a matter of personal preference. In your price range, you can get a digital piano that includes speakers, or one that doesn't and often instead has MIDI controller features, allowing you to set up the keyboard into zones and drive sound modules more easily. In my opinion, it might be better to take the latter route and spend the money on a stand and a really good pair of speakers. The Yamaha models in this price range include some nice speakers for little additional cost, though. The Yamahas have a very good feel, and the newest model, I think the P-120, has an upgraded sound and perhaps an upgraded action. Try it out and compare it with the Roland that you like. Some people much prefer the action of the Yamaha. Others don't. The Roland sounds pretty good. Both the Yamahas and the Rolands are well-built, dealers are easy to find, and if something goes wrong, getting them fixed would not be a problem. Kawai makes the MP9500, its newest speakerless model, in addition to some home models that come with a stand and built-in speakers. The Kawai has a wonderful feel with its wooden keys, but some people do not like it after a while. Other people do not like the samples the MP9000 uses. I find them much closer to a real piano than the previous Yamaha models. But all these models from different manufacturers have recently been upgraded. The Kawai models can be very hard to find and might be difficult to get serviced. Their are lots of people on this newsgroup that really love Rolands. The same could be said for people who own Yamahas or Kawais. All of these current digital piano models are great improvements over models from six or seven years ago. None of these digital pianos, in my opinion, approach a decent-sounding vertical piano. The reason is they do not include a sounding board and all the complex overtones that a real acoustic piano is capable of producing. Although all the current digital pianos sound better than they used to, to me it just isn't like sitting in front of a real piano. Some would disagree. However, digital pianos stay in tune, and the actions do not wear out as much. All digital pianos can send MIDI signals to the computer to be interpreted a through software. Perhaps only the Yamaha Clavinovas can to this on its own, without a computer, but they would be out of your price range, unless you buy one from overseas (www.pianodepot or www.musicians-gear.com). It would probably be better to invest in some software and possibly a MIDI interface for your computer, if you have a computer. But computers are cheap today, if you need one. For simply translating MIDI data your keyboard produces when you play notes into notes on your computer , you can use any number of software packages, including inexpensive ones from the web such as MIDINotate or many others I cannot remember the name of. Arguably the best software for real-time composition might be Sibelius, but it is expensive, and many less-expensive programs can do this also. If you really meant transposing (I think you just meant you want what you play to show up on your computer screen), then you can just save a file and click on transpose in many of the programs. Sibelius supposedly can work in real-time really well though. But that is probably overkill for your needs. The RD-700 is not.

Hope this was helpful,

Alex Maas

No idea, sorry Like I said, I can't give you comparisons; I only know about the one I have, which is an HP. I suggest visiting a few shops and trying them all out; that was how I discovered which was my favourite. You might find you like a Yamaha clavinova or something better than any of the Rolands. It's different for everyone.

Yeah, that's what I've heard. Clavinova's are supposedly wildly overpriced in the US compared to Europe. And, they come out a half-year sooner in Europe too.

Of course, we USA folks can take advantage of that price by purchasing from an overseas firm on the Internet, however, the savings seem to evaporate when you tack on shipping, customs fees, etc. So yep, they get us either

Where do you live? Where did you purchase one? I live in Chicago and the dealer here says they don't have any yet! Grrr.

Also, why did you pick the CLP-150 over the CLP-130? Any insight would be appreciated.

Curiously yours,