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Except for our friend Dr Popper. I distinctly remember him saying he could play anything ;^)
Just by the way, does anyone know much about Seiler's "super magnetic" upright action? Does it perhaps provide something akin to double-escapement, or is it just very fast for normal full-stroke repeats?
I would say get the Kawai K3. It offers a real experience that digitals can't match. The action is fine for all but the most demanding classical repertoire. The DP industry likes to exaggerate the performance of its grand piano actions. They make it sound like a new upright action is terrible. This is not true! A K3 action will feel more real than any of the current DP actions, with the possible exception of the AG. But the K3 also offers much more connection to the sound than the AG - because it is directly making the sound, not triggering recordings.
+1
A Kawai K3 (or something equivalent from other brand) is a very nice and enjoyable piano... digitals are also nice, specially because are portable and can be played at night with headphones, but if I had to choose one and only one... I would keep my upright without hesitation. Luckily I can enjoy both and get the best from both worlds
What worries me about uprights actions is the possibility that it ends being a handicap for technique development. Not because it's not possible to play well when you already have the technique, but because it could be a too big step for acquiring it when you don't have it. So I don't want a particularly heavy action, just one that eases the way while being realistic enough.
I wouldn't worry about that too much. There are many very accomplished pianists who practice almost exclusively on uprights. It's what most people have historically had in their homes. I think even the best digitals are not better from a technique developement perspective than a good upright. They may repeat better, but then they fail in other, possibly more important ways.
The reasons to get a digital instead of an acoustic are price, portability, headphone play, easy recording, and alternative voices. Not technique development.
What worries me about uprights actions is the possibility that it ends being a handicap for technique development. Not because it's not possible to play well when you already have the technique, but because it could be a too big step for acquiring it when you don't have it. So I don't want a particularly heavy action, just one that eases the way while being realistic enough.
I wouldn't worry about that too much. There are many very accomplished pianists who practice almost exclusively on uprights. It's what most people have historically had in their homes. I think even the best digitals are not better from a technique developement perspective than a good upright. They may repeat better, but then they fail in other, possibly more important ways.
The reasons to get a digital instead of an acoustic are price, portability, headphone play, easy recording, and alternative voices. Not technique development.
+1. Seriously Carlos, you are not going to reach any limit in your development with a K3, unless you put in a great deal of practice and reach a very high standard indeed. Not to be negative, but as an adult beginner, it's unlikely you will reach that point - and if you did, you will have outgrown every digital on the planet too. You will benefit enormously from learning touch and tone with real strings and hammers. Classical music needs that sort of subtlety.
A humble upright in action. Yamaha, similar size to K3:
What worries me about uprights actions is the possibility that it ends being a handicap for technique development. Not because it's not possible to play well when you already have the technique, but because it could be a too big step for acquiring it when you don't have it. So I don't want a particularly heavy action, just one that eases the way while being realistic enough.
I wouldn't worry about that too much. There are many very accomplished pianists who practice almost exclusively on uprights. It's what most people have historically had in their homes. I think even the best digitals are not better from a technique developement perspective than a good upright. They may repeat better, but then they fail in other, possibly more important ways.
The reasons to get a digital instead of an acoustic are price, portability, headphone play, easy recording, and alternative voices. Not technique development.
+1. Seriously Carlos, you are not going to reach any limit in your development with a K3, unless you put in a great deal of practice and reach a very high standard indeed. Not to be negative, but as an adult beginner, it's unlikely you will reach that point - and if you did, you will have outgrown every digital on the planet too. You will benefit enormously from learning touch and tone with real strings and hammers. Classical music needs that sort of subtlety.
A humble upright in action. Yamaha, similar size to K3:
Thanks for all your comments and those interesting videos.
I suspect there are lots of advanced movements or techniques (for lack of a better word) that advanced pianists use that I don't even know exists. For example, recently I learned in this very forum about undampened trills and I was shocked because it was a sound I couldn't produce before and I thought it wasn't a technical issue but a problem with my piano samples. So I'm wondering what else I don't know that I should to properly judge the convenience of a piano.
I think I need to let all that info settle down, practice more and then go to a store and try my alternatives.
EssBrace: very interesting - I did actually think that it sounded more like a grand - I was impressed! (and FOOLED - I didn't pick that it was a digital sound!)
Interesting. Were you using just one hand or both alternating fingers?
Carlos
@Carlos,
Two hands combined, with one finger from each hand.
Oh, I was under mistaken impression that you were doing one-handed repeats, like 123123 etc. Now I'm less clear about how easy fast repeats are on the CA95. I can do two-handed repeats at the same speed on my upright U3 - the only difference is, the dampers touch down in between and make it sound a bit staccato. It's when you have to do one handed shallow repeats that really tests an actions repeating capability, IMO.
