One of my friends is starting a music school, and he has asked me for some advice on purchasing a digital piano. Since he is a guitarist and not a pianist, his knowledge of pianos is understandably limited.

He asked for my thoughts on Yamaha's YDP160. Since I have not played one for myself, I can't say for certain if it would be a good choice, aside from the many positive reviews I've come across. But I do have many years of experience with my Yamaha s90, which has a keybed that I'm quite fond of.

Has anyone here played both?

I have never played a an s90. But I can tell you that the 160 ia an excellent instrument. I have also played a Yamaha 140, and the 160 is better in terms of the sound, touch and pedaling.

One thing you or your friend might do is compare specs for the 160 and the s90, you should be able to get an idea of how the keyboard differs, the speakers etc.

Also, if the s90 has been around for a while, the 160 will be a newer instrument. In other words, the technology that creates its touch and sound will be more advanced than an older instrument.

What is your friend's goal for a digital keyboard, and where will he put it? If he wants to "fool around" and do stuff with his guitar, maybe in a room dedicated to music, than a more keyboard-like instument may be better. If he wants to learn how to play the piano, and maybe put the instument in the living room, the 160 will be better.

The S90 is a synthesizer and the 160 is a digital piano. The S90 has balanced keys and the 160's are graded.

Comparing the spec's won't yield much, as these are like comparing apples to oranges.

I will say that the S90 is a great keyboard with an excellent sound and feel, but will he really need all the synth functions?

If I could get the S90 for the same price (or cheaper) than a 160 [which is unlikely seeing as the original S90 -not the ES or the XS- has long been discontinued] I would go for the S90, but then again I am mostly a synth guy.

Dare I say, the S90 is a better digital piano than the P85 and the like.

[S90 has no onboard speakers, so those can't be compared].

The keyaction in the S90 is much different. The ydp160 has a piano-like feel. The s90 is a more general purpose keyboard, the ydp is specialized to be a piano.

In a music studio I think if he wants a Yamaha and has the budget for a YDP160 he should look at a P155. The specs are all around better. The YDP series has a "wood look" case and stand that is designed to look like a traditional acoustic piano. You pay extra for those cosmetics that really look all most out of place in a studio. Buy the matching LP140 stand for the P155.

The other thing about the ydp160 are the controls, very hard to use without a user's manual because there use the piano keys as funtion keys "Hold a funtion button and play F# to set a parameter or D to adjust some other setting -- no one would remember that.) So if the YDP160 is to be used by others visting is studio he have to keep the book right there. Both the P155 and YDP223 have better user interfaces. All three, P155, yp160/223 have the same "GH" key action.

I didn't realize the s90 was a synth. it seems like th choice between these two instruments isn't the best, some other models should definitely be considered. Another thing is that the OP's friend needs to decide whether he wants something that's really one unit (i.e. built-in speakers, attached stand etc) or something needs to be, and can be, put together and taken apart.

And of course, the purchaser should try out a few different keyboards, because the difference between a weighted key and non-weighted is pretty dramatic.

Re the the 160's controls, they do get a bad rap, but the manual comes with a special guide (one sheet of thick-ish paper) that you can keep out by the piano. It's not a big deal after you use it a few times. The question is what you want, do you want a nice looking instrument (i.e. keep buttons to a minimum) or do you want more functionality (i.e. more buttons)?

S90 is not non-weighted, rather it has 'balanced hammer action' (vs. graded hammer action on YDP160 and others).

In my above most I meant *not unlikely* since you can probably find the S90 pretty cheap these days. Aside from being of non-graded weight, the S90 has a very pianistic action. I think it would be a better fit for a studio than a slab piano honestly. Hook it up to some software pianos and you have TONS of sonic control.