Please help choose between an apple and an orange (digital piano)

Hi,

I am about to start learning to play the piano. I have no previous experience with piano or any other musical instrument for that matter. I always wanted to learn some musical instrument and I love the sound of piano, so piano it is.

Can't have an acoustic piano in my apartment due to space and noise limitations. So, I have narrowed it down to two digital piano's:

Roland EP-7 MK IIe: 76 keys: Semi-weighted : approx. $400 (used on ebay) Yamaha P80 : 88 keys: fully weighted: approx. $850 (new in a local store)

I am mainly interested in the piano sound and feel (don't know if I should worry about it too much, as I don't know if I will ever play a real piano).

My questions are : a) how important is the real feel for a beginner who hasn't felt the real thing anyway? b) Am I spending a lot extra ($450) for something that is not too important for a beginner?

I can afford either one, the yamaha with a bit of difficulty though. I will greatly appreciate any advice, and comments about these keyboards (esp. the roland ep-7 Mk IIe)

Thanks,

You will spend more than that. The P-80 does not come with amplifier or speakers.

Fully weighted keys are incredibly important to acheiving the 'piano' sound. I'd spend the extra money...

Sahi, Please buy the p-80! I (and many other people too) have played piano for years and chose it over keyboards 2 and 3 times as much because it was better. I owned the roland ep-9 (88 keys), and I got tired of it after a month. the dinky semi-weighted keys simply aren't sufficient for playing. you can run a p-80 through a stereo or use headphones. I do both. The p-80 actually has rca stereo outs for direct hookup to a stereo system. It sounds pretty good with a good stereo. The P-80 will have better resale value than the ep-7. 76 keys is a joke too...you gotta have all the keys. I just got a used one on ebay for $650. That's only $300 more than the ep-7, and totally worth it.

Brian T. Murphy

Thank you all for your responses. I greatly appreciate your time and advice.

I just found out that my teacher has an upright so I will be learning on a real piano wooohooo!. So I better get the closest to that thing. I am planning to use my Sennheiser HD580 with the yamaha. Also I can run it through my home receiver (onkyo TXDS 676) and the energy speakers. So, I think I am getting the yamaha p80.

A friend of mine offered to loan his extra very basic 61 key casio, so I can figure out how serious I am about learning the piano. And find out how much fun it is for me, and if I will be able to spend the required amount of time practising. A couple of months down the line I can go get the yamaha p80. Hopefully I won't be too turned off by the tiny sounds of the casio piano. If someone feels this is not the right approach please let me know.

Thanks again,