Sorry, I guess I should have explained my use of the phrase "get a horse." In my experience, it was used in this context........those who had horses felt that automobiles would never surpass the usefullness of a horse....a horse owners mock of the new technology of the automobile. I didn't use the phrase to put down those who prefer acoustic pianos. Although I do think it is elitist to knock a new technology as if I will never surpass the older, it's as short-sighted as the horse lovers were. The piano after all is STILL full of full of inadequacies......it's a constant battle to
keep it operating at it's full potential........unless it's tuned, regulated, and voiced on a very frequent basis. I still love it, but realize that unless you're very wealthy and patient person, it's impractical for most people. BTW, I also had my Steinway Model B signed (by John Steinway,my piano teacher knew him personally) and loved the instrument, however I spent many many months picking out my Model B........there were many, many very average instruments before I came upon the one I finally chose, and then I had to go to the New York Steinway Hall to finally find one that satisified me.

What amazes me now is that people who produce digital instruments still feel compelled to reproduce (in painful detail at times) all the inadequacies associated with the acoustic instrument, instead of realizing that a digital piano is capable of producing any sound.........beyond sampling.

Horses aren't out of favor, they are just for those who have the resources and time to maintain such a hobby........and they'll always have the subtleties associated with their uniqueness.........but in my opinion they will eventually be seen in the same light as the fortepiano.......a link in the evolutionary chain to pianistic perfection. I'm looking at the Roland V-Piano right now because they've broken past the boundaries of the acoustic piano mold..........this is one example of thinking outside of the acoustic box.
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Alright, back to the original question (sorry original poster, I wandered into another territory)

I believe that the Yamaha CLP 380 is very good, I've played the Yamaha Avant Grand, but feel that it's overly priced for the gimmick of reproducing the feel of the vibrations associated with the keys. I'm also facinated with the Roland V-Piano. These btw, are expensive $5,000 - $6,000......I'm sure there are many other good products for those who are either more computer literate, or more familiar with lower end products.

One other word to the wise, when purchasing a piano. In my experience, piano salesmen can be WORSE than used-car salesmen. They very frequently exaggerate, or outright lie in order to make a sale. Any piano salesman who promotes their instruments by trashing anothers is, in my opinion suspect. Yamaha has great technology, but I find their sampling inferior. The Roland V-Piano has no sampling, it's built on a model so a person can create their own sound........string wraps, lengths, hammer-felt densities, tuning.....etc..it's totally adjustable, which is why I'm interested in it. I've heard the Kawai makes a great digital, but, if the samples are similiar to the sound of their grands, I'd say no (MY opinion....I find most japanese or korean pianos too bright, including my yamaha) I've also heard that Korg produces some great keyboards, but they seem to be more for the stage than the home.

Hope this helps, and I hope I didn't step on anyones toes expressing my opinion. I like the saying "I may not agree with you, but I will fight for your right to have your own opinion."

Don't glom all acoustics into the same boat. I totally know where you're coming from about the B and the search for "that right one". However not all acoustics have that much variability, nor do all acoustics require this constant voicing and regulation. One should not assume that the (negative) attributes of what is admittedly considered the standard bearer are endemic to the instrument vs the manufacturer.

Hi!
Which DPs do you not find too bright?

Don't blame the manufacturers. Most of ther keyboards sold are NOT digital Pianos. Keyboradest have moved well past the piano sounds. In fact MOST have. The sample of musicians wel see here on the is forum is a nbiased sample. After all the name of this place is "pianoworld". But most keyboard plaers are into samples that they recorderd or found or analog synths or sampled analog synths. Just listen to any TV sound track or pop music non-piano sounds dominate. Those strings you here and that horn are maybe a Yamaha Motif or something like it.

The latest keybaord Korg is pushing now is sold as being able to play "vintage sounds" like Hammon B3, 60's electric pianos and so on.

bitWrangler. "Don't glom all acoustics into the same boat. I totally know where you're coming from about the B and the search for "that right one". However not all acoustics have that much variability, nor do all acoustics require this constant voicing and regulation. One should not assume that the (negative) attributes of what is admittedly considered the standard bearer are endemic to the instrument vs the manufacturer."
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Unfortunately, in my experience, (and I don't want to turn this into a contest, so I won't list them)if an acoustic piano doesn't need that kind of frequent attention, it also doesn't have the ability to perform to the standards of the Steinway B, or similar performing acoustic pianos.

Like higher end automobiles (Ferrari, Lamborghini....etc) most items that are high performance, (many are hand-crafted), have the down-side of higher maintenance and costs. I wish it weren't so, but that seems to be the way of things. Now, however it's about memory chips and reproducing the samples or bits reproducing those sounds, so it's not about the hand-made anymore...........just as in electric cars (Loremo, Fiskar) who are now breaking speed records past the gasoline powered ones............I'm quite sure these computer models with eventually surpass the acoustic instrument, and at a far smaller cost.

Huygens "Hi! Which DPs do you not find too bright?"
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Honestly I haven't played all the digital pianos to be able to say..........I was more less referring to the acoustic pianos the samples are derived from.......Steinway, Bosendorfer......etc. I prefer the non-Japanese, Korean piano samples because like the acoustic pianos, they tend to have the ability to express a wider range of emotion without the unpleasant harshness of a Japanese or Korean acoustic piano. (BTW, in all fairness, I haven't played an acoustic Samick, Kawai,Young Chang....etc... in a few years, so they MAY have made improvments, I'm basing my opinion now on the DPs which had their samples..(Kawai, Yamaha)....and I still found them too harsh.......so I'm assuming their acoustic instruments are still very bright).

My favorite piano is the 9' Steinway, although I've heard a Bosendorfer 11' Imperial grand that was unbelieveable also.(btw, these pianos were stage pianos, were perfectly tuned, regulated and voiced)...they should be, these are $100,000 + pianos. So in answer to your question, I guess I'd have to say the Roland digital pianos would probably be better suited to my tastes since they incorporate Bosendorfer, or Steinway samples into their digital pianos. However I now have a Yamaha CLP 380, because I was convinced at the time I purchased it, that I wasn't going to find a better piano playing experience. My feelings are after owning it for about a year, somewhat mixed..........it does have settings to soften the tone, but then, if you push it, it lacks the brilliance you find on a great acoustic piano. Which is why I'm interested in the Roland V-Piano. (I even went as far as to buy the Garritan Professional Steinway computer program and have played it through my Yamaha and am now convinced without a doubt that these acoustic piano companies (Yamaha, Steinway) aren't inclined to put in great samples, because they're afraid of cannibalizing their acoustic sales). The good news is that for the computer initiated, the technologies now exist that can enable the average person, for a very small amount of money, to have at your disposal the sounds of a concert grand piano for very little money.) One other reason I'm starting to gravitate towards Roland, or even a computer based keyboard and software. The companies which produce these products aren't reliant on acoustic piano sales (like Steinway, or Yamaha), so they're not going to hold back good samples or technologies.

Again, these are MY opinions, based on MY experiences.

I hope this answers your question to your satisfaction

Thanks, I'm looking for a digital pianos of the more mellow kind. I've now been to 2 shops and (in 1st shop) tried the Roland RD-700GX which was too bright to me, and (in 2nd shop) I've tried the RD-300GX (with some other kind of unknown setup), and the RD-300GX had surprisingly a more mellow tone.

One of my shopping attempts can be read in this forum.

I might be deaf, too.

Yes, trying a digital and then an acoustic is a great way to tell what is happening. Interesting thing to consider is that, the other day I tried 7-9 Yamaha grands (not the full size one, but the smaller ones) and then the various digital ones, including the Yamaha Modus, and found that in the acoustic grands that the lower notes sounded very disappointing and stodgy (unpleasing voice) worse than that of many Yamaha uprights. In the past I have rarely found some upright Yamaha with superb base - but that's another story.

Anyway, the Modus sampled from a better grand (CFIIIS) and I found that though the base notes more fake, but had the characteristics of a better piano, and so was actually 'better' in this regard.

So which do you prefer? A real acoustic grand with unsatisfactory sounds but with a real soundboard, or a digital with samples from a superior instrument but which sounds a bit more fake??