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Leilani (my wife/music partner) plays guitar and Tactile MIDI controller but wants to expand her musical horizons by getting a digital piano.
She wants 88 weighted keys with good piano action and of course realistic piano sounds.
Being that it's a learning instrument, she doesn't want to go into the multi-thousand-dollar mode.
Any suggestions from people who also play acoustic piano?
Thanks,
Bob
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Hi I don’t play acoustic piano but I have a Yamaha Clavininova These are expensive, but last summer I bought my daughter a Yamaha Dgx 660 This has a full set of XG lite voices as well, and a good selection of built in Styles And very nice Piano section and action. If you take the 3 peddle option a very useful piano and more bang for bucks So a bit more than just a piano plenty of info on the web. Here is a link to the Yamaha site . https://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/musical_instruments/pianos/portable_grand/dgx-660/index.htmlalso a nice demo here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxwWS0xL_nAGood luck Mike
BIAB2021 UltraPlus,AsusN55S1Tbssd, W10/64,Akai EIEpro Yamaha CVP405,SquireStrat, CoolsoftVMidSynth Novatation Impulse61 Ctr kbd, Cwalk blab Kontakt http://mikesmusic.byethost16.com/
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Casio has a good line of inexpensive and light keyboards: https://www.sweetwater.com/c498--Casio--Keyboards_and_Synthesizers. I use a Casio PX 5s for gigging. 88 keys and only 24 lbs. Nord has a 73 key piano, only 22 lbs, which I would love to have, but it's $3500.00!
Last edited by raymb1; 11/10/18 06:15 AM.
Asus Q500A i7 Win 10 64 bit 8GB ram 750 HD 15.5" touch screen, BIAB 2017, Casio PX 5s, Xw P1, Center Point Stereo SS V3 and EWI 4000s.
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Leilani (my wife/music partner) plays guitar and Tactile MIDI controller but wants to expand her musical horizons by getting a digital piano.
She wants 88 weighted keys with good piano action and of course realistic piano sounds.
Being that it's a learning instrument, she doesn't want to go into the multi-thousand-dollar mode.
Any suggestions from people who also play acoustic piano?
Thanks,
Bob
Bob, you gonna want to save up a ton of cash because I recomend the Nord Piano 4 digital piano. It has real piano weight keybed, string residents simulation, spilt layering, 120 voice poliphony, 1gb for the Nord piano libray of free high quailty virtual pianos and keybord instruments. The Nord piano is ment to be treated as a digital traditional piano mean that you can only download harpsichord, electric piano, grand piano, and upright piano sounds.
Computer: Macbook Pro, 16 inch 2021
DAWs: Pro Tools, Logic, and Maschine
plays drums, percussion, bass, steel pan, keyboard,
music producer/engineer
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Yeah, you need to spend a couple of grand at least to get something with 88 keys and weighted action. Browse Sweetwater.com for the selection with the specs you want.
 Steve BIAB/RB 2022, Pro Tools 2020, Korg N5, JBL LSR 4328 Powered Monitors, AKG/Shure Mics.
PC: Win11 PRO, 4 TB M2 SSD, 2 TB HD, 128 GB Memory
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I did some study in this a while back when my son was looking to buy. The Casio and Yamaha have the best price point that we found. The conclusion for us was, they all sound fantastic at the medium price point. The real thing you are buying is the "feel and touch". My son plays, so he sat at a lot of them before he settled on the Yamaha.
BIAB – 2026, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud.
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The "touch and feel" of a keyboard is very subjective. You have to try them all to find one that feels good to you. One man's touch..........you know the rest.
Asus Q500A i7 Win 10 64 bit 8GB ram 750 HD 15.5" touch screen, BIAB 2017, Casio PX 5s, Xw P1, Center Point Stereo SS V3 and EWI 4000s.
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Dan, do you know what the model of the Yamaha is and the approximate price point?
Trev
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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Dan, do you know what the model of the Yamaha is and the approximate price point?
Trev
Yamaha P95 - Discontinued! https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/P95--yamaha-p-95No longer available. I don't recall for sure what we paid 4 years ago, likely around $299 USD? Has been a good investment based on the fact that he still plays this regularly.
BIAB – 2026, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud.
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Yamaha P95 - Discontinued!
These days it's the Yamaha P-125.
Martin
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FYI for only 30 minutes more from this post "stupid deal of hour" Roland FP-50 $799 normal 1299 https://www.musiciansfriend.com/stupid?source=3TP8LAK&mscr=2131386_58701Larry
Win10Pro,i9,64GB,2TBSSD+20TBHDDs,1080TI,BIAB'24,Scarlett18i8,Montage7,Fusion 8HD,QS8,Integra7,XV5080,QSR,SC-8850,SPLAT,FL21&others,Komp.14,IK suite&others, just a guitar player-AXE FX III &FM9T, FishmanTP, MIDIGuitar2, GK2/3'sw/GI20
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I have had a Yamaha DGX660 for about 6 months now. Replaced a Casio arranger and a Yamaha P115 in one instrument. Full 88 keyboard with accoustic piano feel and sound. Probably under $1000 in US. Yamaha have free 3 pedal unit with purchase.
Will take years to exhaust the amazing features of this machine.
Garth
Windows 11 i5 Laptop PC, Raspberry Pi4B 8gb running Linux and Windows 11. BB2022 Ultraplus. Sonar. Yamaha DGX 660 piano. Audacity. Irig Keys Controller.
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I've got a now discontinued Kurzweil Mk 10 Digital Piano. It feels like I'm playing a real acoustic piano, although the touch is a little light. For me, the Yamahas have a little bit of a spongy feel to them that I don't get with the Kurzweil. Of course mine is now about 20 years old, but it's going strong. Kurzweil sold to Young Chang (Korean instrument company), so I can't comment on their current offerings. It was about $3000 way back then.
John Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 12TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 12TB SATA BB2026/UMC204HD&404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/Notion/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com (under rehosting/construction)
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Something else you might want to consider is using a MIDI controller and a computer with a VSTi piano. Keyboard feel is a very personal thing - what works for one person might not work for another. I've played my share of weighted keyboards, and I've never warmed to them. I'd rather play an unweighted keyboard, as long as it had a nice velocity response. For years I had the good fortune to play on a grand with a very light touch - I loved it. Then again, I'm really just a hack guitarist who happens to play mostly chordal piano. I see fairly good reviews for the M-Audio Hammer 88, which is a weighted controller that lists in the $400 range. I haven't played it, I'm just mentioning it as an option. There are a lot of really good pianos VSTis out there, such as: There's a thread on another forum that discusses various piano VSTis. You already know that you'll want to have some awesome speakers, but I'll mention it anyway.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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I'm a "chord hack" like David in his post above mine. That being said, I have friends that are very serious keys players. Both own multiple keyboards from different manufacturers. Both settled on playing Yamaha PSR-910 series keyboards as their main daily player. I was the original owner of one and sold it to one of these guys and he's used it daily since he bought it from me. He prefers the piano voices and feel of a Roland he owns but chooses the Yamaha for it's versatility, size, weight and features.
I purchased a Yamaha PSR-670 from the other friend and absolutely love it. For me, it is a much better fit. Because it is newer than the 900 series that date back to around 2010, it has many updated features that address some of the changes that modern music have evolved to.
For you as well, these series of keyboards are workstations and are focused more on creating styles and songs than an arranger keyboard that focuses on having tons of styles and easy access for live performance. So one of these keyboards may be beneficial to your Norton Styles business when your wife isn't using it....
I also wouldn't be afraid to buy a used one. I had a older Korg for a while that only had 30 voices, but the piano sounds were awesome.
Last edited by Charlie Fogle; 11/11/18 01:57 AM.
BIAB 2025:RB 2025, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.
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If you are still looking, today's Stupid Deal might be a good choice - price-wise anyway.... https://www.musiciansfriend.com/stupidWilliams Rhapsody 2 88-Key Console Digital Piano The Williams Rhapsody 2 digital piano fills your home or studio with impressive looks, great sound, realistic feel and plenty of features. Rhapsody 2 is built around 12 custom sounds crafted from a world-renown grand piano, vintage electric pianos, organs, strings, synths and more. The new and improved weighted keybed provides a higher standard in realistic response and feel. Modulation/FX control provides realistic rotary and vibrato effects on select instruments. Includes 12 demo songs, USB MIDI port, 2-track recorder, and convenient features such as split/layer, transpose, metronome, plus separate headphone and stereo out jacks. Was: Regular Price $499.99 Savings: Your Savings $200.00 Your Price $299.99
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I got to agree with Floyd.... that's a crazy good deal on weighted 88 keys.
If you're not going to transport it to gigs, it would be a great keyboard to have. Can't beat weighted keys on a piano. My synths are all non-weighted and it doesn't "feel real". Touch sensitivity .... louder if you play harder and softer with a gentle touch would really cap that as a must have.
If she's gigging with it.... look for something more transportable even if it costs more.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Last edited by edshaw; 11/24/18 09:29 AM.
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Make SURE you get 120 Polyphony with whatever you decide. It makes a HUGE difference in the digital world.
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