Hello

I am looking for a portable digital piano with 88 keys. I need a pedal, but I don't mind buying that seperately.
I'm looking for the most realistic feel I can get, especially in terms of weight.

I will be playing pieces like the Pathetique Sonata and Rhapsody in Blue.

My budget is not fixed, but it is very limited. I think anything between £100-£500. Please don't just immediately jump to the top of that budget, I really am looking for the minimum cost that I can "get away" with whilst still having a piano with a decent feel.

Thanks for any help.

You should consider the Casio PX-130, Yamaha P95, and Korg SP250.

Kind regards,
James
x

What he said ....

Agree...of the three I'd probably take the Casio

Is this for practice or for performance? I think the PX-130 only has USB and headphone jacks (no line in/out) which may impact on quality if you are going to be plugging into external speakers a lot.

That was one of my reasons for buying a 330 rather than a 130 (although I've yet to want to plug it into anything else, even when I have used it in public)

Well a bit controversy, but I tried the PX135 this WE, and I think action is a bit better than PX130. Price should be in par, except special discount to end of life of PX130.

Casio PX135 is high in your budget, but really you will have something with great value for the price. Compare to other models proposed, I also think is is the better choice

Least expensive weighted action 88 is probably Casio CDP-100. More expensive but still in budget would be Yamaha P95, Korg SP-170, maybe Casio PX-130/PX-330 (same feel, more sounds and features in the 330). Whether any of those feel more realistic than the CDP-100 is a matter of opinion.

You're forgetting one think:Polyphony.
The CDP-100 has a 28 notes polyphony,whilst the PX-130 has 128 notes.
I myself bought the PX-330,and yesterday I thought:"Ammm,maybe I should have bought the CDP-200".
Entered Casio's website,and the 330 has better polyphony,and has better piano samples.(At least on paper)
The major plus on the CDPs is the very useful LCD screen,which made me ruminate about my purchase.
Happy playing,whether it's on the CDP or PX.
Cheers,
Yohai.

Wow, thanks for the great response guys.

Unfortunately, I will be using this piano for both practice AND performance. Practice with headphones and performance with speakers (Edifier R1600Ts at the moment, but later on they could be higher-end)

I think that if I can 'get away' with the Casio CDP-100 then I should do that. If the feel is reasonably authentic then I think that would be enough. It just has to be weighted well enough that I can later on sit down at a grand piano and still transfer my playing skills. Another issue is dynamics, I would like to play some quite delicate, expressive pieces, and I don't want the dynamics to sound like they are brute-forced.

I trust the Yamaha P95B more at the moment, (brand loyalty maybe) but it doesn't have a dedicated line-out either! And the P95B MUST be worth the extra £176 over the CDP-100. This isn't a situation where I can throw my money away.

I don't know anything about the Korg range, but the SP170 does provide a middle ground between the CDP-100 and the P95B in terms of price.

Casio are probably the best value under £700 or so. But I'm not sure the keyboard would be up to the force required for something like Rhapsody in Blue or Beethoven piano Sonatas. Personally, I like the feel of the Casio but the Yamaha, with its GHS keyboard feels stronger - so does the Korg...of course, I don't KNOW that the Casio is weaker but it certainly feels like it. It's just another thing you need to consider because I know keys do break on digital pianos, so the one you choose must be able to handle repeated fortissimos.

Also, you'll need to check there is a way to get a line out to an external amplifier if you're doing performances. The speakers inside those models are just about adequate for practice, but little more, I think. The headphone out is not the same wattage as that supplying the speakers (at least on the piano I have), probably in order to protect your ears. But for line out, that might not be ideal, depending on your set up. Or to put it another way, the headphone out is at a much higher level than a dedicated line out, but not enough to drive speakers.

If it is going to be too difficult to find one with a line-out then I will just not use it for performances.

It is clear to me now that the rank in terms of weight and strength goes thusly:
#1 Yamaha P95
#2 Korg SP170
#3 Casio CDP-100

The only question is, how far up that ranking do I need to go, specifically for the Pathetique Sonata and Rhapsody in Blue?

CDP-100 has 32-note polyphony (though it drops to 16 on the stereo patches).

A couple of related points: polyphony is not cut-and-dried, as specific implementations differ. I can hear dropouts more quickly on the Yamaha MOX8 (64 note polyphony) than I can on the CDP-100 (32 note polyphony).

Also, I'd rather have 32-note polyphony on a board with a sound an action I liked better, compared to having 128-note polyphony on a board where I did not like the sound or action as much. Sound and feel are subjective, but all choices involve some trade-off, especially when you are choosing within a restricted budget. Personally, I'd take the CDP-100 over the PX-130, but I'm sure there are plenty of people who would do the opposite.

Someone will correct this if it's not true but I think a headphone out would do as a line out if you experiment with the main volume control on the digital piano when you're setting up so as to minimise distortion.

That is good to know, Toddy, I will try it out with my Edifiers anyway, maybe those speakers are easy enough to drive that it will work.

I've been watching videos of the CDP-100 and I love the sound. Not just the main piano ones, but the auxillary ones were good too.

I'm strongly considering the CDP-100 now. I'm just worried that it won't be able to handle the particular pieces I will be playing.

The Rhodes electric piano sound is terrific. Better than the PX-130 or P95... in fact, better than most much more expensive ones, IMO.

I had a little feel of a Korg SP170 today while some cables were made up for me. The shop also had SP250 and SV1 88 and 73. Strangely the 170 was the only one not to have ugly gaping gaps between some keys. Its gaps were perfect and the action felt pretty good actually - better than a Yamaha P95 I played the other day. Can't comment on sound of the 170 through headphones but it sounded pretty feeble through its onboard speakers which I suppose is to be expected at this price.

As an aside I played Roland FP-4F and RD-300NX and was very pleasantly surprised how much better the new action is compared to the older PHA-alpha II (which was rubbish in my opinion). I was rather impressed to be honest.

Steve

CDP 200 hasn't the 3 sensors keyboard of privia line, which allow half stroke for high speed playing. PX135 is supposed to have an improved key action compare to PX130 which seems a bit flimsy (more firm and more reliable, to be confirmed by others). No linout for PX130/5, you need to upgrade to PX330 to get one. Headphones are mini-jack on PX130. Concerning dynamics, the more you have layers the better for subbtil/delicate play. You will have plenty of "pianisso sampling" with "dynamic sound" of privia line. Yamaha has a "quality build" reputation Casio hasn't. Touch of sp-170 and P95 is less realistic than casio for me.

Well since the Casio CDP-100 has such a good price, that really is my main consideration at the moment.

I'm getting the opinion of another pianist who knows my playing style, but unless someone things I am making a big mistake, then I think the CDP-100 is the way to go for me.

Hmmm, I've been thinking that I would like to get into composing on the computer. Are there any digital pianos that are similar to the ones already in this thread that have midi-output? Because that would essentially give me an 88-key midi-controller.

If midi-output would be a lot more expensive then I am going to settle for this: (and probably the CDP-100 for the main piano)
Akai MPK MINI 25

EDIT: the CDP-100 does seem to have MIDI in/out according to some sources, and then some never mention it.
Can the CDP-100 be used as a midi-controller? And what does the midi-in mean? Can the sounds of the keyboard be changed using the midi-in?

Everything mentioned has MIDI output. Some, like the CDP-100, use standard MIDI connectors (preferable), and others use USB. Standard MIDI connectors are more universal, allowing you to easily connect to anything. You can get cheap adapters to convert standard MIDI to USB if you need to (i.e. to connect a standard MIDI keyboard to a computer). But keyboards that come only with USB do not easily adapt to non-computer MIDI uses.

FWIW, I was curious, and I found this USB to MIDI converter which really does allow a USB controller to connect to a MIDI device: http://www.sonicstate.com/news/2011/07/15/-connect-usb-to-5-pin-midi/ But yes, this type of converter is far less common than the style that plugs into the USB connector of a computer and has MIDI connectors on the other side, which then allows standard MIDI keyboards/controllers to connect to the computer.

Greg.

Yes... less common, more expensive, and still somewhat unknown in terms of reliability/compatibility. Keyboards that require custom drivers on your computer (i.e. are not "class compliant") may not work, for example. Beyond that, I just haven't heard much about real-world experiences with these things. I think it's great that these options now exist as possibilities for those who need them, but they are serving to solve a problem that you wouldn't have if you just bought a keyboard with standard MIDI connectors in the first place. Standard MIDI connectors have been around for almost 30 years, and everything works with everything else... it's the safe way to go.

That's fantastic, so I no longer need to buy a seperate keyboard midi controller.

Maybe I need to make a seperate thread for this, but I can't see the difference between these two midi to USB cables:
£4 Midi to USB cable from Amazon
£29.99 Midi to USB cable from M-Audio (via Scan)
Why is the M-audio one 7.5x more expensive?