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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 Professional & Windows 11, Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, 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 8TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 11TB SATA BB2026/UMC204HD&404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/Notion/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com (under rehosting and 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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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®
With your version 2026 for Windows Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
- The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
- MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
- Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
- Playable RealTracks Set 5
- RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
- SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
- Android Band-in-a-Box® App (included)
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
- 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
- FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
- MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
- Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
- RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
- SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
Video: New User Interface (GUI)
Join Tobin as he takes you on a tour of the new user interface in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®! This modern GUI redesign offers a sleek new look with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, and a smoother workflow. The brand-new side toolbar puts track selection, the MultiPicker Library, and other essential tools right at your fingertips. Plus, our upgraded Multi-View lets you layer multiple windows without overlap, giving you a highly flexible workspace. Many windows—including Tracks, Piano Roll, and more—have been redesigned for improved usability and a cleaner, more intuitive interface, and more!
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Windows Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 10 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.
Video: XPro Styles PAK 10 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 21 – Now Available for Windows Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest Xtra Styles PAK installment—the all new Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher)!
Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Energetic folk rock, raucous train beats, fast country boogies, acid jazz grooves, laid-back funky jams, a bevy of breezy jazz waltzes, calm electro funk, indie synth pop, industrial synth metal, and more bro country than could possibly fit in the back of a pickup truck!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 21 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 21 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 21.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 21 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 10 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.
Video: XPro Styles PAK 10 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
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