alright guys im new to the forums so please bear with me.
im ready to buy a dp for practice (i have a kawai spinet). and ive pretty much settled down with these 3:
yamaha ydp s31
korg lp350
casio px830

ive done the research for awhile now and these 3 seem to be the ones that fit my description. now i know all of you will tell me to go play it for yourself but where i live the local music stores lack these models, so i am forced to purchase sight unseen.

now from what ive seen is that the korg uses a fatar keyboard with little gaps inbetween the keys, which i dont know if that affects the quality of the playability of the keyboard. while casio is known for horrible quality keyboards i dont know if the new px830 is flawed with this as well. i dont want wobbly keys and i dont want it to break within a year as i need something sturdy and durable. and as far as the yamaha i really havent heard any bad news from them. im looking for a keyboard with a heavy touch specifically to build finger strength, while sound of the piano comes second (because i already have an acoustic) i want it to sound atleast decent, not the best seeing my budget is 1000usd. all of the bells and whistles are nice but not really concerned with.

please any insight would be great i know i may be asking for much but any help would be very appreciated.

Well not all your facts are correct, the action in the LP350 is Korg's own RH3 action which manufacture themselves in Kyoto, it's not made by Fatar. It does have gaps between some of the keys which are bigger than the rest but the difference is probably less than 1mm (I haven't measured it!) and won't affect anyone's playing in the slightest IMO. This piano probably has the best action of the 3 you mention though it's really a matter of personal taste. It's based on Korg's SP250 stage piano which is getting pretty old now and the samples and polyphony aren't great by today's standards. They're not bad though.

Casio don't make horrible quality keyboards, they are very good playable instruments that offer good value for money. It's true that there seem to be more complaints of faults in Casios than the other makes though. All Casio digital pianos (apart from the CDP series) use the same action and samples so quality wise the PX830 is no better than the PX130.

Yamahas are all well made and should be reliable but the YDP S31 uses Yamaha's cheapest GHS keybed, it's quite a light action but some people love it. I don't think it's quite as good as the Korg RH3 which comes closer in quality to Yamah's excellent GH action IMO.

Which one's the best for you? I've no idea! You really need to try them and see which you prefer, even if it means taking a day to travel to a city to audition some instruments properly.

I think your choice would come down to the Korg or the Casio as far as the action is concerned. I don't know anything about the LP-350 as I have never played one. I have played the Korg SP-250 which is nice and reasonably priced. The Casio PX-830 is also a strong contender. This is Casio's nicest Privia resembling more of a console piano. It is true that Casio Privias and Celvianos share the same actions and samples. So the PX-130 (the entry level Privia) has the same touch and feel as the PX-830 although the 830 adds an SD card slot Line Out Jacks, and Ivory Touch Keys. There's a better speaker and amp combination in the 830 as well but the sound source, samples, and touch are teh same as the PX-130 which sells for $499 USD. Casio does appear to be on the move these days to increase market share, but you should also realize they do have quality control issues with their products. However, they do seem to stand behind them.

As for the Yamaha, Graded Hammer Standard is Yamaha's cheapest digital piano action. It is on the light side weight wise. If you could find a P-95 or DGX/YPG 635/640, you would be able to sample the GHS action. Yamaha's sub $1000 pianos have a single layer piano sample which means they have less dynamic range than models from Casio and Korg. Yahama tries to simulate dynamic range through filtering and it's less convincing especially when you strike the keys harder. They get louder but you don't hear more overtones. You can however compensate for this limitation by plugging into a computer and using software for sounds which is always better anyway. The most important consideration in choosing a piano is the touch which is subjective and different for each individual.

even though yamahas ghs is their cheapest touch how does it compare to korgs rh3 and casios touch? just because its yamahas cheapest touch does that make it the most inferior one? has anyone had any exp with the s31? i have heard that the korgs touch in weight is noticeably lighter than yamahas ghs. is this true?

Well touch all comes down to personal taste. There is no good or bad touch. It comes down to what suits you. That's why it is important to play whatever your are considering. You should not rely on someone else's opinion. It's like buying a car, you get in and drive it to see if you like it. The same thing applies here. I would urge you to go someplace where you can try these even if it means you kill a whole day or two in the process. Buying sight unseen isn't a good idea. If you pick something you absolutely dread, you won't want to play it and it will retard your developement.

If there is a Best Buy near you, some of their stores sell musical instruments and have a section where you can try them. They don't stock the Korg LP-350, but they do have the PX-130, PX-330, and PX-830. They also carry the P-95 and DGX-640, both by Yamaha.

thanks for the input, now one more question, as far as the sound goes, i know that spec wise the yamaha has only 1 layer of sound while i think (not sure) the casio and korg has multiple layers. does this make a big difference? what i mean is does the korg and casios multiple layers outdo yamahas single layer? i talked to a kraftmusic rep and he told me that even though the yamaha only had 1 layer of sound that the sample used for the s31 is more fuller than the casio or korgs. thus making it superior because its better to have one good sample than multiple subpar samples. any input on these? im drawing to the conclusion that the s31 has the heaviest touch which is what i need but sound wise i still need help.

Nope I'd say the GHS is the lightest action of the 3, one of the lightest graded hammer actions on the market. It's a while since I directly compared the Korg and Casio actions but from memory I'd say they were about the same weight, maybe the Korg just a tad heavier. That isn't the most important thing though, it's how it feels to your hands.

I haven't played the S31 but if it uses the same samples as the P85 and P95 (which is likely as they have only one layer of samples too) then it will sound surprisingly good. Which sounds the best is really a matter of taste though. Theoretically the Casio should sound the best (as it is the latest instrument I believe and is also higher specced) but some prefer Yamaha's single layer sound. Yamaha use some clever processing to make it sound like there is a more dynamic range in the samples than there really is.

I seriously doubt the Yamaha has the best raw samples though, sounds to me like the salesman just wants to sell you the Yamaha.

I've actually played the S31 but didn't care for it. The action is quite light on this model. This is the same piano as the P-95 less a couple sounds. GHS us definatley lighter than the action on Korg or Casio. Regarding the sound quality, I wouldn't let some salesman tell me that a single layer sample sounds better than a multi level sample. In this case, it's not true. The Casio's 4 level sample to my ears is just as good as what Yamaha uses on the P-155, a $1200 digital piano. I had a chance to compare them side by side in a Sam Ash. Now, some people prefer Yamaha's brighter sounding samples to the other digital piano manufacturers, but don't let anyone tell you that Casio and Korg are using subpar samples in their pianos. Granted you might prefer the sound of one manufacturer over the other. Again, you seem intent on buying sight unseen which is not recommended.

i see, well i took a long drive down to a skips music. and i got to play the p95 which has the same keyboard as the s31 and the lp350. i have to say that the lp350 does seem a little on the light side compared to the yammie. i dont know if thats just me or thats because it was a floor model and maybe it saw some abuse seeing you have 100s of ppl that probably bang on it all day long. and i felt that the korgs keys were plasticy? rather the yammie had a nice polished finish and felt solid. i havent had a chance to play the privia yet.

so personally what would you guys go with? setting features aside. based solely on touch and tone.

i think the ghs varies on the actual keyboard for yamahas. because my teacher had the ypg 635 and it felt noticeably lighter than the p95. any thoughts on this?

Interesting that you thought the Korg felt lighter. I've played the SP250, which, as mentioned earlier, is the lp350 in a portable package, and it felt heavier than the p95 to me. I've not played the PX830 but I have played the PX330 and while the keys on that model feel cheap, the action is nice if you prefer a heavier one. I'd assume the PX830 has a more realistic feeling keyboard with the same action and better speakers. The YGP/DGXs do indeed feel lighter than the P series.

I'd go for the Korg if it were me, but you're the one who'll be playing it. It's got to be the one that feels and sounds best to you.

I've primarily spoken about a select few DP's here, but i've rarely spoken about some of the others that I quite admire, for some reason. I have a soft spot for the Korg LP350 but I don't really know why. It doesn't have the technology that many of the new DP's have but there is something very playable about it. I recommend playing it for a while and see if it has the same effect on you..!

Regards. Rimmer