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Hi, i was wondering if i could get some help with this.
I'm upgrading from a Yamaha YDP140 and wonder what would be the next, best, cheapest option. I've seen a few; The Roland Rp101, KR103 and the Casio Ap500, but i don't know which one would be the best. Neither do i know wether there are any other digital pianos that have higher specs than the ydp140, and come for under £1000. I'm looking for something that feels and sounds better, so education and design don't matter to me.
Thanks.

You essentially cannot outgrow something like a YDP-140,
and so there's really no need to upgrade. This is
a grand piano-like instrument, and you can't really
outgrow a grand piano. The YDP-140 is about $1000 US.
I have a Williams Overture, which is $600, so your
piano is better than mine. I use the Overture to
work on big-time stuff like the Chopin op. 14, and
it works okay for me.

Ok thanks.

have you thought about Yamaha CLP300 series? if money is no object, then consider CLP380, otherwise, get a CLP340, which will still be far better than YDP140. the problem with YDP140 is the inferior action (GHS), Yamaha's entry level one, while CLP330-380 all have GH3 or NW action, which will be 2 or 3 levels up from GHS action and is more close to acoustic action. so, don't believe it if someone tells you, there's no difference between entry level and high end digital. there's some huge difference in both action and sound.

you should try some different DPs to get the feel of each one, so that you could compare it with your YDP140 to see for yourself if it's worth for an upgrade.

Or, if money is no object, one of Roland or Kawai's high-end models would be great. I'm particularly fond of the Roland HP-207 (about $3000) or HP-203 (around $2000). There are some advantages to the Rolands over the Yamahas in spec (string resonance, many more extra sounds, etc.) and many people, including me, actually prefer the sound and touch of the Rolands.

The RP-101 you mention is an ok unit, but not much better in spec than the YDP140. The HP models are much better.

Incidently, you have to go to a piano dealer and bargain to buy a Yama CLP or Roland HP. They're not sold in music stores or on-line in the US.

Thanks, i was thinking myself that the ydp doesn't feel very good to play. Problem is i can't spend above £1000 which most of the clp models are above, so the only one i could buy is a clp320. Does the clp320 have enough improvements to be worth the money?

Hopefully someone will contradict me if this is a bad digital piano but the Yamaha YPG 635 is on sale at Kraft for about $800 plus for $1015 you get a bundle with the 3 pedal attachment ($80) and the furniture style bench ($45) an extended warranty some headphones and other stuff thrown in. Free shipping for the rest of the month. And I'm hoping no sales tax (in CA that's worth another $100). I haven't decided for sure, but I just noted my favorite online Jazz/Blues/Boogie teacher Willie Myette is using this in his newer recorded lessons. He has a link to these on Amazon which is old, it's a YPG 625 for $1200, so prices have dropped.

It has a USB to host port, a flash drive port, and sounds pretty okay on the headphones. I really couldn't hear it well n the store.

Check out the rest of the bundles on Kraft also. Admittedly they add some stupid stuff but they are throwing in some good add-ons for the 635.

Alright i'll take a look thanks.





P.s anybody know what improvements the clp320 has compared to the ydp140?

The ydp-160 is the most direct upgrade from the 140: better keys (GH instead of GHS) and better speakers.
IMHO, it is a very decent DP and I enjoyed playing it at the local dealership.

The ydp-635 adds a lot of sounds but will not be an improvement to simulate a piano compared to the ydp-140: same keyboard (GHS), no dynamic steps, no half pedaling afaik.

Other options are for instance the P-140 and P-155, that you can get with a stand.

That's for Yamaha alone.