I am a Worship Pastor in Wylie, Tx. We are in the process of finishing up our first building project....fully equipped with a new worship center...yeah!
I lead worship 75% of the time from my keyboard...Yamaha S90, which I love.
That said, we are looking into adding a digital grand on the stage....
I have looked at several models online, as well as played a few. But, I cannot always find the price. Our budget is $7500 or less. Are there some really good options out there for this price? Kawai, Kohler, Yamaha, Kurzweil???
Ideas and prices please.....thanks

No suggestions? Was hoping there were some experts on here!

The Avant Grand N3 is a tad over the OP's budget of $7500.

Why not get an old grand piano, and put the S90 inside it?

Snazzy

Not really an option, Snazzy, as I also like to face the congregation sometimes from my keyboard. My daughter's piano teacher has an Avant and I love it....but it is a little pricey. thanks -

Just curious, is there a specific reason you are looking for a digital grand vs an acoustic one? Is it purely based on price, or are you thinking that you would like to use some of the other voices (I'm assuming things like silent practicing are not a concern here). For example, would an acoustic grand with a player system suffice (assuming you could find one in your budget range of course).

Part of the problem you will run across is that digital grands just aren't as popular so not as many people have any direct experience with them. I know that up until the AG was released, I've pretty much ignored them myself since, unless you were willing to pay a pretty decent premium simply for the case, the value proposition on those units were very small (I understand that in your case the aesthetics are very important and therefore likely has significant value).

At my previous church, we had a Kawai digital grand and we loved it. It made life very easy on the sound engineer. Plus, it was easy to add pads, strings, etc.

And yes, aesthetically, it is very pleassing on stage.

Also, with the new speaker systems, the depth of sound is much better with newer models.

Yamaha CLP265 or Yamaha CLP295. Check these out! The Kawai product is great as well just closer to $10k or over.

Advantages of digitals in churches:
1. No service necessary in spite of typical poor environmental controls when build is not occupies.
2. Direct patch into sanctuary PA equipment without need to mic.
3. Additional instrument voices for contemporary praise and worship type services.
4. Recording and playback of the music piano service in case the pianist is sick.
5. Space and weight saving and movable.
and more.

GCRRFan - You might consider looking for a used digital grand. I recently bought a used Roland Digital Grand that I love. The (wealthy) person that I bought it from had actually bought 2 identical pianos: one for his church and one for himself (I bought the one in his home).

In my opinion the Roland, Kawai and Yamaha full-sized digital grands (mine is 5'3") would meet your requirements for excellent sound and also look pretty good.

It may take some time but there are deals out there on slightly used high-end digital grands.

I suspect that your budget is insufficient for a digital grand.

Lawrence