Hi all

Hoping you can help me. I'm in the market for a digital piano and have done a fair bit of research, but I do find it confusing.

I am (was!) a Grade 8 pianist, used to an upright piano, but nothing fancy.

My requirements are:

- Looks like a traditional piano
- Has a good dynamic range (i.e. you press lighter or heavier to range from pp to ff) - some only seem to have 3 - quiet, medium and loud
- Has keys that are weighted heavier in the bass than the treble
- I have no need for multiple voices, USB outputs, etc.

I was recommended the Yamaha CLP 440 - and whilst I think this is a great looking instrument, it's a bit out of my price range. Can anyone recommend a similar (cheaper?) model, and highlight the main things I'd be missing if I went for a model or two down? I'd ideally be looking around the £1000 mark.

Thank you in advance.

Laura

Sorry, for non-UK readers, I guess £1000 is around $1500 USD.

Hoping someone can advise!

Thanks

Laura

In this price range, the digital pianos look like cheap acoustic consoles. For a bit more money you can get a nicer look. I guess it just depends on what you mean by "looks like a traditional piano".

As for dynamic range, forget it. Yes, most digital pianos today are touch-sensitive. They respond to variations in touch/velocity. And most will even vary the timbre according to the touch. But the dynamic range is severely limited. None of them at $1000 or $2000 or $3000 will give you the dynamic range of a proper acoustic piano.

You can improve that a bit by adding external speakers. I did that, but I still was not satisfied.

After three long years of suffering I finally decided to let a computer generate the sound. I connected the digital piano to a laptop PC running Synthogy Ivory. It sounds wonderful. It's not perfect, but if you want a digital piano to sound like an acoustic, you simply cannot get that from a digital piano under $5000.

Ivory runs about $350. There are also other suitable brands. The PC need not be a fancy, expensive one. Any of today's $500 laptops should do well.

Tie that into a console digital piano at $1000-$1500 and you should be good to go.

(If you'll relinquish the need for the console-piano appearance, you can get a keyboard unit at around $1000 that has an action mechanism better than a console at the same price.)

Checkout the Kawai CN33. The list price is just over your budget, but you may either get a discount or a bundle. No-one on these forums, from beginners to quite advanced players has a bad word to say about it. It meets your stated requirements, and if you try it you might like it.

The CN23 is also pretty good. I believe it has the same action as the CN33 but no USB or display. I played both recently, side by side, and found both adequate for practice.

MzrtFan, you are largely correct. The CN23 and CN33 utilise the same generation sound technology and keyboard action, and both have Ivory Touch key surfaces, however the CN33 also features let-off simulation.

The CN33 is a little more expensive than the CN23, and will probably exceed Laura's £1000 budget. If not, and she is willing to stretch a few hundred more, the CA13 with wooden key could also come into contention at £1500.

Kind regards,
James
x

Thank you - does the CN33 have a good dynamic range - or as a previous poster noted - is this something you only get in much more expensive keyboards. I was hoping for something a little more subtle than loud, medium and quiet when responding to touch.

Thanks

The loud/medium/quiet settings simply change the piano's sensitivity to your key strokes. The quiet setting, for example, means you must press harder to produce a loud tone. Regardless of the setting, the piano will produce a wide range of loudness.

Still, the dynamic range does not match that of a decent piano.

You can solve this by spending an additional $5000 to $10000 for a better piano. Or you can use computer-based piano tone generation.

If you don't want to do either of those, then just live with the piano's capabilities. It cannot match an acoustic piano, but it's not that bad.

Laura,

In my opinion, both have a nice sustain for a digital, and pretty good dynamic range. Just to give you a better idea, I played some Debussy and thought they did a good job handling the different dynamic levels. All digitals have their limitations though. I personally like the Kawai digitals in this price range better than Rolands and Yamahas.

Thank you all. I think I have narrowed my search down on the back of your advice and my research.

I'm now choosing between:

- The Yamaha CLP 440 (after saving for a bit longer!)
- The Yamaha CLP 430
- The Kawai CN33

Do the synthetic ivory keys make much difference? I learned on an upright piano with plastic keys...

Anything else I should bear in mind to make my decision?

Thanks again for all your help.

Laura