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High End Digital Pianos - anybody have data?

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by Doody, Jun 19, 2004.

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  1. Doody

    Doody F1 Veteran

    Nov 16, 2001
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    #1 Doody, Jun 19, 2004
    my parents never inflicted piano lessons on me, but as far as i can tell, they missed out on an important perk of parenthood ;) - so i'm not going to make that mistake!

    plus, the boss wants to learn, so i do what i'm told :).

    i don't want an upright. i do want a nice baby grand, and i haven't ruled it out, but it seems like quite an investment not knowing whether anybody in the house will ever really get into it.

    so i started looking at digital pianos. some of them have very impressive action, and really neat geek stuff to help you learn, etc. (this is a geek household, for the avoidance of doubt).

    thus far, the Yamaha Clavinova CLP series and Roland HP and KR series look intriguing. but i know JACK about this stuff, including who the hell makes these sorts of things. there seems to be minimal data on the high-end of the market online (unless you speak German or French - this stuff seems much more popular outside the states).

    if anybody knows anything about this stuff, i'm all ears.

    i'm not interested in a keyboard. i'm interested in a digital 88 key piano with realistic action, affixed pedals. the boss wants it to generally look like a piano - not some geekfest toy. i want something that is VERY like a real piano in terms of learning and playing. if the crew gets into it, i'll get the real deal. but i don't want cheesy action or plasticy keys, or crappy design to interrupt any learning process.

    tia!
    doody.
     
  2. UroTrash

    UroTrash Four Time F1 World Champ
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    #2 UroTrash, Jun 19, 2004
    You will likely not be disappointed by the Clavinova.

    I have 2 acoustic Yammies but I have a friend with a Clavinova, he is a real geek as well and is well pleased with his piano.
     
  3. LetsJet

    LetsJet F1 Veteran
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    #3 LetsJet, Jun 19, 2004
    I went through this question back at Christmas. My wife took piano when she was a child and wanted to start again. So, I went and looked at the baby grands, Claranova, uprights, and keyboards. I ended up going with a Roland Phantom S88. It was $2500+ but had the best key feel and sound of almost all I heard. One of the advantages is the ability to plug in headphones. A real advantage when practicing and you don't want people to suffer. It does look more at home at an Areosmith concert but I preferd it over the church look.

    Good luck
     
  4. whart

    whart F1 Veteran
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    Dec 5, 2001
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    William Maxwell Hart
    #4 whart, Jun 19, 2004
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Dood: Do yourself a favor and buy a real piano. Some can be had, restored, for a reasonable price. The Steinways definitely take a beating, the German ones are to some preferable, but there is a whole world of vintage pianos that is worth exploring, from old Mason-Hamlin (restored by Faust-Harrison in my neck of the woods) to Bosendorfer. The "best" modern piano for not much money is, I am informed by a reliable source, the Estonia. A great piano will hold value if you buy it used at the right price to begin with, and it is in fine condition, without needs. Not that i necessarily recommend buying thru it, but pianomart is like cycletrader, a web exchange consisting of dealers and private sellers. You can get a sense of the market. For amusement only, you should also look at the artcase pianos offered by Maxmilliann in New York.See http://www.pianomax.com/ Some of the cabinets are unbelievable, but then, so are his prices. These go into tony pads where it is the object, rather than the instrument, which is the focus. Here is a picture of one of my favorites, not for playing, but for artsake:
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  5. Doody

    Doody F1 Veteran

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    #5 Doody, Jun 20, 2004
    wow - that's gorgeous, bill! i wouldn't let the kids get anywhere near it though ;). i agree with you that a real piano is the right answer, and i haven't ruled it out, but the practicality of being able to plug in headphones in a household of non-players is, well, very very attractive! once the kids and the boss get someplace with it, then investing in something really nice makes more sense. for all i know the kids are tone deaf ;)

    i read some stuff on the fantom - it does seem great - but i want something more "furniture-y" and formal-ish to fit with the decor.

    doody!
     
  6. LetsJet

    LetsJet F1 Veteran
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    #6 LetsJet, Jun 20, 2004
    Doody,

    The ability to plug in headphones isn't just for the listener. It allows the player the freedom to make mistakes and not have to worry. I think this is a big advantage to a lot of people who are the perfectionist or shy type and don't want to practice in front of other people. I hope it will help her practice more and improve faster. There are times when she's practicing that she will call me in, unplug the headphones, and turn on the monitors and she is happy showing me. BTW - Monitors sound a lot better then the little speakers built into the digital pianos.

    One other issue, you mentioned kids. Do they want to learn piano? With what kids listen to today you might get a better response from them with a keyboard. I didn't want to play piano when I was a kid. I actually wasn't sure which my wife would want so I went to a music place that had both and a 30 day return policy. She opened it up on Christmas then we went to the store so she could see them all and decide what she wanted. She kept the Roland...

    In my case, we will get a baby grand Steinway, as soon as she's ready. For now, the keyboard is in her office. I agree that it isn't the look for a living room....unless your Van Halen.
     

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