Hey ya'll. This forum has already been super helpful so far... I do have some questions though.

My wife is a pretty well trained pianist (went to Brevard music school in NC growing up) , but since we've moved... she's not had a piano to play on. Her full sized Baldwin is at her Mom's house (we don't have room for it). In the mean time, I'd like for her to have something to play on.

That being said, I visited a local Yamaha dealer today. They have a brand new (unopened) CLP 115. I understand this is an older model, but they apparently have had it in their inventory, and it has not sold. They told me today they would let it go for $995. I'm going to try and get the price down some more... but is this in the ball park of a good deal?

My wife will probably get 3-5 years of solid use out of it before we get room for her Baldwin. She doesn't care about options, seeing as she simply wants to play the classical pieces she grew up playing.

I appreciate your thoughts.... sorry this is so long!

click this link.

Edit: You can also look the manual up <- link. The DP is from 2003, I regard it as being close to crap for being a new DP today. Nice speakers compared to a P-85 though.

Riiiiiiiiiiight...

So does anybody else have any thoughts on the CLP-115 model (new), and the pricing of $995?

You have to think about what else you can get for about $1,000. And then decide if the older DP is the best of those options.

Other options from Yamaha for about $1K are

(1) A P155 with stand
Much more modern sound generation, smaller speakers and modern vs. traditional furniture style.

(1) A YDP223
Newer and better and with the current "20% off" deal only about $300 more

(3) YDP160
Newer, better sound sample but less powerful speakers, about the same price.

All of the options, the CLP and the three above have identical key actions. The difference is in the sound generation electronics, the CLP was the oldest and P155 the newest and the shape and color of the case. and the speakers system the CLP and 223 have the best speakers. All are within a few $100

hehe, I just realized she is moving from a Baldwin to a DP. I really think she should be the one making the decision.

I agree with Huygens. While your wife may have expressed a disinterest in exactly which piano you purchase, I think she doesn't realize exactly what she is signing herself up for by making such a decision. If this is a 2-3 year decision, then it is in your wife's (and therefore your) best interest to have her choose. Choosing a "bad" piano now (regardless of price) can potentially be detrimental to your wife's technique if it's being use exclusively for that length of time.

Ditto on having the control tower pick the piano. Or else practice sitting up and begging, because you're headed for the doghouse if you pick this thing yourself.