Sudden change of plans:

Thank you all for your replies. Change of plans here though. When telling my parents i was about to buy a dp, they decided to help me out. Plus the selling of 2 electric guitars brings my budget around 2000-2400 euros. Tomorrow im going to try out the ca-65 and clp 440/470. I'm stoked!

After reading up on the forum its seems that the majority on the forum thinks the ca-65 is a better deal. If you've tried both, i would like to hear your opinion.




Old post:

Titel: €1000 dp - clp 990/clp 330 action vs px-750?

Hello to all!

Been reading up on this forum for the last month. And decided to make an account and ask you for your advise.

I am a beginning piano player (5 weeks) and currently play on a (very old) kawai digital piano 2000. Which is semi-weighted (feels like a keyboard) and sounds terrible.
I have a budget around €1000 and i want to hook my dp on my pc with ivory 2. So the original sound of the piano is not the main concern. Touch and feel (like a real) piano is!

I currently have an offer for a clp-330 for €900 and a clp-990 for €1000. I looked up the specs of both and the clp-990 seems to have been a flagship in piano-development in 2001. It says it has real wooden keys which is guess must be a plus. I'm wondering how these stack up against the newer piano under a grand, like the new px series?

I know testing them out in real life would be best, but that is kinda difficult for me.
I hope you guys can share some knowlegde with me!

Greetings from the Netherlands,
Sander

The CLP-990 looks really old (didn't find the info on release date) and has a GH action keyboard. The CLP-330 however has got the GH3 keyboard which makes it a no brainer compared to the CLP-990 in my opinion.

My advice would be to try out the CLP-330. If you love it -buy it! If doubtful, try out Rolands and Yamahas new models in that price range (and get a good warranty), and find something that appeals to you sound wise as well as action wise.

I think the CLP990 was Yamahas best piano in the CLP line back then, and in most respects it still is today.

Note, though, that it uses floppy disks for storage, instead of a USB stick. If you need to use the storage, floppies rather suck. Also, its connection to a PC is via serial port. Computers generally don't have such ports anymore.

My Clav uses a flash stick instead of floppy. But I don't even use it, so it wouldn't matter to me. Also, my piano has a USB connection. But I don't use it, so it wouldn't matter to me.

If those things don't matter to you, then concentrate on the condition of the piano, especially the keyboard. If it checks out, this would be a good choice.

Still, €1000 ($1600 USD) seems a bit high for an eleven-year-old piano.

@jhm the clp-990 is indeed pretty old, they where build as early as 2001. This one is from 2002. I'm not quit sure if it is 'just' a GH-action after reading this: http://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical-i...990/?mode=model
Send a mail to Yamaha if they can clarify this.

If my interpretation is correct it is a different action than the GH. Still, i can now get the CLP-330 for €850 incl. picking it up. Anyone on the forum who has playing experience with the action of the CLP-990 and how it stacks up against GH3 or other actions?

@MacMacMac I have a midi to usb-connector lying here. Is that a disadvantage compared to usb to usb, which is standard nowadays?

Hmm, i could also buy a px-750 or px-850 with my budget. How do you guys think that it fares against the clp-330?

The Privias could perhaps be compared to Yamahas YDP serie, but not really comparable with Clavinova imho. The only pro you get, is that a new Privia comes with a warranty. I would have picked the CLP-330. I can't help saying it, but for me Casio is still a calculator manufacturer.

That's ridiculous, just like saying IKEA make cheap mass produced low quality furniture. Oh, wait .....

Oke your opinions are clear
Still not quit sure about the buy of the clp-330. Im reading some good stuff about the kawai cl-36 which is €899 and would be a new piano. Gonna dive a bit deeper in the forums and google search!

The Privias could perhaps be compared to Yamahas YDP serie, but not really comparable with Clavinova imho.

What is the difference between the Yamaha YDPs and the CLPs? To me it's just market segmentation, and the YDP range is perfectly comparable with the Clavinovas - just that the YDP range slightly lags behind the Clavinovas in terms of features, and the Clavinovas are sold exclusively through piano shops.

For me, that would rather indicate that YDPs are preferable - at least in the mid range DP market.

The answer to that question is quite simple. The YDP-series are entry level products, the Clavinovas are not.

I gave an expression of my perception and opinion. I didn't claim this to be indisputable facts, so please keep that kind of smart remarks to yourself thank you very much.

Thank you all for your replies. Change of plans here though. When telling my parents i was about to buy a dp, they decided to help me out. Plus the selling of 2 electric guitars brings my budget around 2000-2400 euros. Tomorrow im going to try out the ca-65 and clp 440/470. I'm stoked!

After reading up on the forum its seems that the majority on the forum thinks the ca-65 is a better deal. If you've tried both, i would like to hear your opinion.

i have a ca95 and if the ca65 is mine with no soundboard (which essentially it is... apart from some odd bits and slight speaker changes..) then i would go for a ca65. Try them... but my opinion is the speakers,sound generation and keyboard response are all superior on a kawai... though the clp480 is a lovely machine... its essentially a 470 with better speakers.Get your mits on the keyboard actions and you'll feel a difference. None are rubbish so if you really prefer the yam then go with your heart... but i love my kawai.

I don't know if i will be able to tell a difference, and if i do i probably won't know which of the 2 actions is better. Simply because i have only played for 6 weeks now on a semi-weighted old kawai dp (from '88 i believe).

I've learned 'sur le fill' (beautifull song btw) in the last 2 weeks, plus some simple children songs which ill simply try on the dp's. After that it will probably come down to the sound and a gut feeling, i guess.

OT, Yann Tiersen's Sur le Fil including the middle section speed up and change of tempo is very impressive to learn in two weeks for a beginner.