# How good - or bad - are today's digital pianos? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 8, 2006, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-or-bad-are-todays-digital-pianos/351804 "2006-04-08T01:16:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2006, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-or-bad-are-todays-digital-pianos/351804/21 "2006-04-09T22:09:45Z")
> [@Cardinal](#): > > In about 2 minutes I found a baby grand on craigslist for $3400. Are you buying a digital in part so that you can practice with headphones? Please tell me more about craigslist. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-or-bad-are-todays-digital-pianos/351804/22 "2006-04-10T01:34:10Z")
**Cardinal** - Thanks for the craigslist tip. I found it online and have tapped into cities relatively close by - Hartford, New York, Boston, etc. I found a few low-priced grands, and some oldish digitals but I guess I’m stuck on getting a new digital - specifically Yamaha’s CVP- 307M. Check it out at [http://music.yamaha.com/products/features.html?productId=197](http://music.yamaha.com/products/features.html?productId=197) I emailed Yamaha for pricing info and local dealers, but my computer shorts out. Problem is I keep drooling into the keyboard. 😃 I guess it’s safe to say the 307M is well over $4K. So, when my wife finds out, the deal might go down the drain. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-or-bad-are-todays-digital-pianos/351804/23 "2006-04-10T09:25:57Z")
> [@scotandrsn](#): > > Years ago, Keith Emerson pointed out the difference in an interview, comparing the sound of two keys played on an acoustic, where sympathetic vibrations in various strings affect the timbre of the whole sound, to the sound of two notes on a digital being played, which pretty much sounds like two individual recordings of notes. So that’s why he stabs Hammonds. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-or-bad-are-todays-digital-pianos/351804/24 "2006-04-10T12:04:27Z")
Currently I’d say two great choices for keyboards would be the [Roland RD700SX](http://www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.aspx?ObjectId=666) or the [Yamaha S90-ES](http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDetail/ModelSeriesDetail/0,,CNTID%253D48793%2526CTID%253D206500,00.html). I’ve only played on the Roland, but I loved it. Other folks have recommended the Yamaha over it, but it seems to be a question of personal preference (one thing the Yamaha has going for it is the ability to do half-damper playing). Really, I’d say go try things out. As every piano has a different feel and sound, so do different makes of keyboard. I’ve played electric boards that felt much better than some accoustics I’ve played, and vice versa, so don’t think that just because it’s not ‘real’ it won’t feel good. Try them out and see what you like. I used to hate Roland’s action, but on this latest board I think they really got it right (according to my tastes, of course). Both of these boards can be had for about $2000. Of course, they’re not ‘clavinova’ type boards, which means you’d have to buy a stand, amplifier/speakers, a few cables, and a music stand, all of which will look slightly less graceful than an all-in-one type dealy from Yamaha or others. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-or-bad-are-todays-digital-pianos/351804/25 "2006-04-10T13:42:43Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > I’d be suspicious of a piano teacher who allowed his/her students to practice solely on a digital piano. Why is this? I bought a beginners’ digital piano around new years’ eve. It doesn’t have the full body sound of an acoustic piano, but that doesn’t stand in the way of learning how to play. I can use the skills I acquire on the digital piano and apply them perfectly fine to a regular piano. Besides, the option to use headphones is perfect for a beginner whose sound might not be the prettiest. :wally ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-or-bad-are-todays-digital-pianos/351804/26 "2006-04-10T19:40:10Z")
From Yamaha… “The MSRP on the CVP-307M is $10,895.” So now I’ll have to get real and look for something much, much cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-or-bad-are-todays-digital-pianos/351804/27 "2006-04-10T23:11:21Z")
> [@BarnOwl](#): > > From Yamaha… > > “The MSRP on the CVP-307M is $10,895.” > > So now I’ll have to get real and look for something much, much cheaper. There’s a lot of “bells and whistles” on that model. Is that what you really want? Myself, I’m looking for a great grand piano sound and a realistic weighted keyboard. The other features are nice-to-have. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-or-bad-are-todays-digital-pianos/351804/28 "2006-04-10T23:39:51Z")
> [@K364](#): > > There’s a lot of “bells and whistles” on that model. Is that what you really want? > > Myself, I’m looking for a great grand piano sound and a realistic weighted keyboard. The other features are nice-to-have. Actually, so am I. So when you find what you want, **K364** , please tell us all. I’m serious. It’ll make my search so much easier, and by keeping things simple, our cost will be manageable, and all with no buyer’s remorse. Ideally, I’d like to get the piano in one package - speakers, pedals, stand, keyboard, etc. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-or-bad-are-todays-digital-pianos/351804/29 "2006-04-11T01:34:13Z")
Will do! I’m waiting to see how the new Yamaha Stage Pianos (CP300 & CP33) compare to the current P250 and P90 and how the prices line up. The new ones have just been announced in Europe, and it may be a couple of months before we see them in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-or-bad-are-todays-digital-pianos/351804/30 "2006-04-11T18:19:59Z")
> [@K364](#): > > Will do! > > I’m waiting to see how the new Yamaha Stage Pianos (CP300 & CP33) compare to the current P250 and P90 and how the prices line up. > > The new ones have just been announced in Europe, and it may be a couple of months before we see them in Canada. I called 714-522-9000 (Yamaha) Guy said the CP300 price is $2699, and doesn’t know when it’ll be realeased. He’s sending me lit (might take 5 weeks to arrive). It’s got some bells and whistles - including 16 track recording - he said. Nice enough guy, but I got the impression he didn’t want to waste his time too much on something he can’t sell right now. Told him you’d be calling for the lit, too. Maybe you can pump him for all the features. ---
**Author:** ![Mozz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@Mozz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mozz)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-or-bad-are-todays-digital-pianos/351804/31 "2006-04-12T10:49:03Z")
I have a new Roland 101 and it is fantastic. It is always in tune, can be played with headphones and has a great feel. If you are good enough for a grand buy a grand, if you want a good versatile piano for a decent price, i can recommend the Roland range. They have real hammers, pedals that work and have a good dynamic range. Is it a Bosendorfer, no of course not. Is it good enough for someone who wants to play some piano. YES. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-or-bad-are-todays-digital-pianos/351804/32 "2006-04-12T11:06:33Z")
> [@Mozz](#): > > I have a new Roland 101 and it is fantastic. It is always in tune, can be played with headphones and has a great feel. If you are good enough for a grand buy a grand, if you want a good versatile piano for a decent price, i can recommend the Roland range. They have real hammers, pedals that work and have a good dynamic range. Is it a Bosendorfer, no of course not. Is it good enough for someone who wants to play some piano. YES. Thanks **Mozz** , I’ll check it out. I am not good enough for a grand. Hell, at the moment, I’m not good enough for a player piano. Anyway… I was just in a piano store yesterday where they sell Bozendorfers, and the owner practically begged me to play one - i.e., hack at it. I’m just starting out on the piano (again, after ~17 years’ absence), so simply playing a C major scale on it seemed almost sinful. This $115,000 (he said) model has only two extra keys at the bottom register - “white” keys - but they’re black! Honest. The man also had one digital - an EPiano (which I’d never heard of. He was trying to sell it to me, hammering away at its touch. He claimed many of his better playing customers “…have these EPianos in their offices because they love the touch.” Right. I want great sound, great touch, because this would be my only piano. So even at $1853 with a 2-year warranty, with its mediocre sound, it just wasn’t good enough. Thanks for mention of your new Roland 101. I’ll check it out. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-or-bad-are-todays-digital-pianos/351804/33 "2006-04-12T23:45:20Z")
And now I must admit to breaking my word. Though I promised **K364** I’d hold off buying a digital until the CP-300 came out, I couldn’t do it. So, tomorrow morning, I’m going to the Yamaha store to sign on the bottom line for the Yamaha CLP-270. ($3675 “sale price” minus whatever they give me for my old Story & Clark (maybe $300). I mention the price, because I’ve been asking everyone what they paid for their pianos. I just couldn’t resist, and now I’m so excited I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep tonight. And here’s the rub. I took lessons for maybe 1½ years, and was never pleased with my progress, even though I practiced my ass off. Sadly, I was practicing all the wrong ways. This time it will be different. (I hope.) Wish me luck. I’ll need all I can get!! :eek: :eek: :eek: ---
**Author:** ![eric\_lawstore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@eric\_lawstore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eric_lawstore)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-or-bad-are-todays-digital-pianos/351804/34 "2006-04-13T00:28:06Z")
> [@BarnOwl](#): > > And now I must admit to breaking my word. > > Though I promised **K364** I’d hold off buying a digital until the CP-300 came out, I couldn’t do it. So, tomorrow morning, I’m going to the Yamaha store to sign on the bottom line for the Yamaha CLP-270. ($3675 “sale price” minus whatever they give me for my old Story & Clark (maybe $300). I mention the price, because I’ve been asking everyone what they paid for their pianos. > > I just couldn’t resist, and now I’m so excited I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep tonight. > > And here’s the rub. I took lessons for maybe 1½ years, and was never pleased with my progress, even though I practiced my ass off. Sadly, I was practicing all the wrong ways. This time it will be different. (I hope.) > > Wish me luck. I’ll need all I can get!! :eek: :eek: :eek: You do know you can get a really great acoustic piano for the same price, or less, as: [http://www.musicplayer.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?/ubb/get\_topic/f/18/t/015766.html](http://www.musicplayer.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?/ubb/get_topic/f/18/t/015766.html). I see also the professional stage pianos mentioned above, but also some that people here might not know about, with more features, such as the GEM Promega 3. I’m surprised at the lack of response to this thread – there’s a _lot_ more out there than just the S90ES and true piano boards like the Promega and combination keyboard/stand/speaker units like the Yamaha P-80/Clavinova units. That said, my FIL bought a Clavinova. I think it’s a lot of good money, but it’s hard to deny that it’s a decent instrument, if very, very expensive for what it is. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-or-bad-are-todays-digital-pianos/351804/35 "2006-04-13T04:13:43Z")
> [@eric lawstore](#): > > You do know you can get a really great acoustic piano for the same price, or less, as: > > [http://www.musicplayer.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?/ubb/get\_topic/f/18/t/015766.html](http://www.musicplayer.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?/ubb/get_topic/f/18/t/015766.html). > > I see also the professional stage pianos mentioned above, but also some that people here might not know about, with more features, such as the GEM Promega 3. I’m surprised at the lack of response to this thread – there’s a _lot_ more out there than just the S90ES and true piano boards like the Promega and combination keyboard/stand/speaker units like the Yamaha P-80/Clavinova units. > > That said, my FIL bought a Clavinova. I think it’s a lot of good money, but it’s hard to deny that it’s a decent instrument, if very, very expensive for what it is. I looked around and finally decided that digital is what I want. I will play classical and Joplin rags. And when I want to accompany myself, I’ll record a piece - say the Piano II part and then play Piano I. There are any number of things I’ll do with my digital, and the prospects are all very very exciting. And my machine will never need to be tuned. I think your upright is handsome as hell, **Eric** , and I wish you a lifetime of happiness with it. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-or-bad-are-todays-digital-pianos/351804/36 "2006-04-13T13:00:31Z")
I happened to mention a wonderful resource to two accomplished piano players, yesterday, and I was shocked, **shocked** , that they’d never heard of it. So, although I’ll insult the musical sophistication of most of you, there will be at least one person in this thread who’ll be thrilled by this newfound knowledge. So without further ado… You can buy CDs of a full orchestral treatment of many, many wonderful pieces, just like any number of other audio CDs, except there will be one instrument missing — yours — for example. The CDs come with proper sheet music, and in some cases there’s even a training CD that’s plays the music at a slower tempo to help you learn the piece (a fact I was unaware of until my visit there yesterday). Then when you get good enough, you put on the CD that plays _a tempo_ and in the solitude of your room, you can pretend you’re Artur Rubenstein or Alicia de la Rocha. The site is called… [http://www.musicminusone.com/Default.htm](http://www.musicminusone.com/Default.htm) …click on the instrument of your choice — piano, guitar, jawbone of an ass, — and you’ll find a pleasant variety of jazz, and pop. But if you’re a classical music lover, you’ll be thrilled when you see what’s available by Mozart, Betthoven, et al. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-or-bad-are-todays-digital-pianos/351804/37 "2006-04-13T14:20:29Z")
I was just trying to be funny with the jawbone thing. It’s a genuine instrument in Latino music. However, what I was really thinking of (and couldn’t remember the term was the guiro. See it at [http://www.music123.com/Guiro-d694.music?src=&source=google&pw=guir](http://www.music123.com/Guiro-d694.music?src=&source=google&pw=guir) One of these days, I’m gonna get the Cosmic Fish Guiro, and spend the rest of my life serenading my ass (with his jawbone still in place, of course.) 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-or-bad-are-todays-digital-pianos/351804.md?page=1)