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Hi,

I am new to this forum, and I am hoping someone could help me make a decision. I am a beginner, never before played any intrument.I would like to buy a digital piano, but I am not sure which one to get. I would like it to sound and feel as close to an acoustic piano as possible. I don't care so much about extra bells and whistles. I would like to be able to record myself, hook up to the computer, and practice with head phones on. I can spend up to $600. Can i get anything decent for that price? I have been looking at Casio Privia PX 130, Yamaha P85 CONTEMPORARY, Yamaha P95 88-Key Digital Piano. Should i be looking at other brands?

I do appreciate your advice. Thank you.

As a beginner, I don;t think you can go too far wrong with the pianos you've listed. I have the PX-130 and it has a good piano-like action, and connects very easily to a computer via its USB.

You might also want to check out the Korg SP170 and SP250 (the 170 is the newer model, the 250 has the better action). Both are reasonably priced.

The only piano you left off you list that is in your budget is the Korg SP170.
If the goal is just to learn to play all you really need are 88 keys with weighted hammer action. Every feature after that is an "extra". I'd select the piano from all of those above based on which has the best key action. If you don't play it will be hard to know which is best. but spend some time and bring the beginner book and headphones with you and see which piano allows you to control the loudness best. also listen to the sound, piano loud notes sound different them soft ones, nots not just volume but tone too. When it comes down to it, buy the one you like. Don't read specs among those listed above it's a matter of opinion, neither is best. But do remember to test b plying over a large dynamic range. Look at the controls too. One thing I don't like is when they use the white kets for function keys. It makes the piano look clean but I can't remeber which white key does what. If you think you will use the metonome try setting it to some specific value (like say 116) , on some pianos you will find tou can't.

Thank you for your advise guys. I haven't bought anything yet, but I went to a music store on Sunday to check out a few instruments. I absolutely fell in love with the yamaha clavinova.Unfortunately it's a bit more than i was willing to spend. I will try to find a used one.

You can get the same key action and sound from a lower priced Yamaha. The YDP161, ydp181, P155 cp33, cp300 and cp50 are all worth looking at if you like the clavinova but don't want to spend so much.

Older models of the above or ydp160, p140.

The problem with used pianos is the technology moves fast. If you liked the new Clavinova you might not like a very much older one and one of the models above might be better

Actually, the piano technology moves at a snail's pace. Today's digital are scarcely different than the ones made 10 years ago. Some of the "high-end" features (higher polyphony, string resonance) have been moved down to the lower-priced models. But that was mostly because the software was already there, and all that was needed was a fast processor at low cost. (That processor was expensive 10 years ago.)

Outside of that, Dewster's rule applies: Things don't change very much.

Dewster seems annoyed by that. But the OP probably wouldn't care. He or she would do well with a Clav that's a couple of years old, selling for a price comparable to a new, but lesser grade Arius today.

Roland SN is something of a game changer.

Hey, I hope someone replies to this.... I have been considering a digital piano for some time. I had looked long and hard at a Yamaha YGP or ypg? 635 / 640 type piano where I could get my basic requirements of 88 weighted keys and something that is portable doesn't take up a ton of space and have options for a bench and 3 pedals. Now I have started considering other pianos, and think I want to get a Roland YP-7F the new one when it becomes available. From what I recall it seemed like the roland had a nicer key action / sound but then again, often more expensive than Yamaha but somewhat comparable..

The key difference is if I go with the yamaha I'm looking at < $1k and if I go with the Roland I'm looking at just over $2k

Worse case is that the piano may not get a ton of action but plan on trying to pick up something on the side and then primarily also get my kids involved in piano lessons. But really buying it because I want it! :-)

I considered the Roland and more expensive model for better key action and better sound, and stayed away from some of the other more traditional looking pianos because of their bulkyness or lack of portability although I probably won't move it around much I like having the option in case I want to take it to whereever to setup to play.

suggestions on models in the $800-2500 price range? $2500 is too much actually but I don't want to over spend, but I don't want to end up with an instrument that I am not happy with since I will probably keep this indefinitely...

I went through the same thinking in the last two months. In the the order of pricing I considered:
Yamaha YDP161 - nice touch, good entry piano, plastic keys
Roland HP302 - nice touch, cheapest piano wit Roland SN sound, PHA2 plastic keys
Roland FP7F - not yet available, portable version of flagship HP307, with PHA3 ivory keys
Roland HP305 - better speakers and ivory added to HP302 (same sound and look)

Funnily finally I bought the new Roland HPi-6F because I very much liked the VGA output built-in to show the sheet music. But it is basically a HP305 with a screen. My kids (3.5 year old twins) use the piano a lot, so I don't mind at all I bought a more robust console type. I don't care much about the better speakers because we use it mostly 1/3 volume, but the fake ivory was a good choice, it is very nice to touch.

I think the most important feature is the key action. I tried a few different keys and found I liked Yamaha's "GH", any non-Alpha Roland and all models of Kawai. I'd suggest anyone shopping for a DP make a list like that of "acceptable to you" key actions.

Next I looked at controls. I did not want to have to keep a user manual handy. Some of the pianos uses white piaon keys for funtions keys and I knew I'd never remember which was wich. I prefer a better user interface. But if you only play the first piano voice maybe you don't care. but try doing simple tasks you know yu will be doing and see of the interface is "right" like turning off "local control" or or splitting or transposing the keyboard.

The sound is importent too, I did not want to have to use a computer. All the DPs with the key actions I liked have good sound except for a couple older model Kawais.

After this, it was easy. I bought the lowest priced DP that had a "pass" in all the above. Turned out I have a Yamaha P155 on a Yamaha LP140 stand. There were other pianos I liked better but they were just "nice to have" type features at double the price.

I suppose my other quandary is looking at pianos at a piano store (Roland or yamaha primarily) where you look at a keyboard so to speak ypg 635 or roland 110 or equivalent and they quickly try to sell you up to a clavinova or HP / DP ?? whatever. I don't think I was able to find a YP155 but noticed that it looked nice in that it had 128 note polyphony compared to only 64 of the YPG 635. But the difficult thing is (1) most stores don't have roland and yamaha both next to each other to comapre and (2) some of the home models can only be found in retail locations from licensed vs online and other models can be found online, but I can't find in retail to try out e.g. I haven't seen a p155 in a store to try out or compare in sound playability, etc.

I think it is a good point about how difficult it is to change functions like Larry the cable guy talking about video games and isnt there a button for just Pass for football? versus x,x,o,right trigger, left toggle LOL

I saw that some of the nicer DPs come with escapement to mimic a real piano. Is that a good thing or pretty minor feature which doesn't account for much? I felt it on the cut out demo but on an actual piano I could barely tell the difference.

Polyphony won't be very important. But the difference in the keyboard action on these two models is much more important.
We all feel that pain.
Yes, that's the way it is in America. The high-priced units are only sold at piano dealers, never online nor at music stores. Sux.
Yes, the lack of a control panel on some of the midrange units is a nuisance, especially if you intend to frequently change voices or other features. But for someone who strictly plays one voice (piano) the lack of control buttons might not be so bad. It also means that you can get such a piano for less money. You have to make a choice.
It's just a gimmick. An acoustic piano has hammers striking strings, so they must have an escapement (which leads to the unfortunate "bump" that you feel in the keys, especially on a worn action). But a digital has no strings, so it has no need for escapement.

Roland adds a fake escapement, which does nothing but click/bump. Others have a more sophisticated mechanism. But no matter ... it's still utterly useless ... because it doesn't DO anything! It's just a sales gimmick. I wish they'd expend more effort on making real improvements, and less on gimmickry.