Greetings folks,

I'm new to both the forums and pianos.

I would love to learn playing piano and am currently looking for my first digital piano.

A couple of weeks ago I bought a Casio CTK-4000 keyboard (I was playing keyboard as a child for a few years) but I was rather disappointed with it and sent it back to get a refund.
A friend of mine who has been playing for 13 years inspired me to play piano instead and now here I am, searching through the endless list of available d-pianos.

What do you guys think about the:
- Casio PX800 -> 850€ -> $1286,5
- Kawai CL-35R -> 840€ -> $1271,4
- Yamaha YDP-140 -> 770€ -> $1165,4

(including taxes)
(or Hemmingway, which doesn't seem too great according to some posts here).

Before you mention it, I've already searched the forum for those three models and read most of the threads, but that didn't really help me with my decision...

The Casio seems to have the most technical features out of the three d-pianos, the Kawai is said to have a great keyboard and sound for the price and the Yamaha would be about 70€ cheaper. (but a bit bigger, and space is really limited in my apartement).

Any oppinions? I myself lean towards the Kawai, since it has more features than the Yamaha and I've had a bad experience with my latest product from Casio.

Thank you very much in advance,
Daedalos.

How come the P155 isn't up there? It is around the same price as those and the weighted keys are fabulous. I heard the Casio has a lot of features like a big sound bank or whatever, but they sound really fake, and in the long run, kind of useless. (still pretty cool for a beginner though)

I'm deciding between a Casio and a Yamaha too, but for me, money is a problem.. so I need to know if I should really buy a P155.

You're talking about the "Yamaha P-155 Stagepiano", aren't you?

I haven't mentioned it becaus it starts at 1350€ ($2035) here in Germany and I'm actually looking for a console type digital piano.
I can not spend more than max. 900€.

I was going to suggest the Korg SP350, however it does not appear to be available in Europe - at least it is not shown on the Thomann website.

Kind regards,
James
x

The Korg SP250 is in Sweden at least.

See also this link.

Edit: Some people warn about the YDP-140, there is some drawback, but I don't remember now and can't find the thread about the subject. I think the CLP-320 (or possible YDP-160) are better, but perhaps over your budget?

Edit2: Perhaps James was referring to Korg LP350?

Hi, James!
I looked at the Kawai CL-35 and it looked okay to me. Is there any reason to choose any other DP over the CL-35 (or is it because the CL-35 is used?)?

I don't believe YDP-160 is available in Europe (because it is so similar to the CLP-320, perhaps?).

Cheers,
James
x

The CLP-320 is a bit to pricy for me right now (1150€) - 850€ is really the most I can spend as a student.

Unfortunately the YDP-160 and the Korg SP350 are not available here in Germany.

Thank you very much for your input so far.

Any thoughts about the Kawai CL-35? I've heard somewhere that some Kawai models tend to get "clanky" overtime? (see This Thread for example)

See if this auction ends below 850, it would be better than any piano you mentioned: http://cgi.ebay.de/Yamaha-Clavinova-CLP-...=item25576c31fd

You have at www.dv247.com (UK) a Yamaha 155 at about EUR 1.070,00

http://www.dv247.com/keyboards-and-midi/yamaha-p155b--65160

Any of the three pianos you listed
would be fine. I think you
might have been too hasty in getting
rid of the CTK 4000, though. This
is a real piano in its own
way, and you could learn
on it just as well as on
an 88-key weighted digital.
It is not uncommon in the US for
students to take several
years of classical lessons
using a 61-key unweighted
portable keyboard. The piano
that J. S. Bach used had only
49 keys, and it had nothing like
that grand piano voice that
a modern 61-key portable has.
You can play all of Bach and most
if not all of Mozart on 61 keys,
more music than you could play
in several lifetimes.

I see nothing wrong with Hemingway
digital pianos. They would
be comparable to the big-name
brands. Hemingway digitals
have been around for years
now, and that would not be the
case if they were bad pianos.
Ignore what people say about
Hemingways, and other, lesser-
known brands like Suzuki,
Williams, etc. These people
have never played anything
but the big-name brands, and
so they knock lesser-known
brands when they've never
even played one. I use
a $600 Williams, and it's
okay for playing anything,
from jazz to concertos.

The catchy name of the Hemingways
is apparently what is attracting
you to them. This kind of
intangible factor--name, image,
appearance, pizzaz, etc.--is
not to be dismissed out of
hand. If being able to sit
down every day and play on
a piano with a name that conjures
up exciting images is what
appeals to you, then that's
the piano you should get.

The P155 is 2000? Holy...wow. Lol..
And it's not really a stage piano.. it could be but.. I don't consider it as one. I only consider those without speakers to be stage,lol.

Does anybody know why it's so much more expensiver in Europe? It is only around 1200 in USA and maybe 1400 in Canada. And that's without discounts.. strange.

I've wondered about that as well. Many d-pianos and keyboards are much cheaper in the us.

We are getting ripped off. Thats all

The Yamaha P85 is the digital piano recommended by most competent teachers. The stand is optional, but many dealers sell with the piano as a package deal.

The stand includes the three pedals.

It is a very well made instrument; no auto accompaniment to distract the student, and a marvelously smooth and beautifully weighted key-bed.

Best "bang for the buck" out there as stated by Long&McQuade Music.

Snazzy