Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Should I get a Yamaha CLP-511??

So I found one on Craigslist near me and it's in good condition. The cover on the bottom is broken off, but the pedals work fine (supposedly). He's selling it for $300 right now. I've tried the newer line of YDPs at Sam Ash and I like the feel of them. I know the YDP-161 has a Graded Hammer keyboard as opposed to the Action Effect of the CLPs. Does that make it worth that much more? I'm pretty used to playing the piano (not an expert though) and I'd like to have a piano that sounds good to practice on. I have an old Kohler upright, but it's kind of out of tune and one or two of the keys stick. It would also be nice to play any time of the day without worrying about waking anyone.

Also, he was originally selling it for $400, but after a couple days dropped the price. It seems like he really wants it out.. so should I try to lower the price a bit more? What could I tell him? That it came out in 1996 and it's depreciated a lot?

I had a 1998 CLP 820 which seemed bulletproof. No graded keyboard, just the hammer action. Graded keyboards are no more than a cheap gimmick imo, I can`t say I`ve noticed the difference in the piano I have now. Acoustic piano designers are trying to rid this feature from their pianos.

But it is a bit old. You need to try it out. Every note, and then barter. . . . The CLP 511 fits mid way in the range of CLPs introduced that year. They still fetch a high price on ebay, which is testament to their resilience. As long as you get it cheap, I think you`d enjoy. Best`o luck man!

You mean some are. Most aren't. There are only a few pianos being made that have the same touch across the keyboard. It's just the nature of the design - for most of us, it's not a problem. Some people will want the graded touch on their DP just because it is closer to what they will experience when they play a real grand piano. It's not necessary on a DP in itself, but there is a reason they market it as a feature - because it gets them closer to the realism of the vast majority of real pianos that do have graded actions.

How many people play or have regularly played decent grand pianos? I suppose that depends on your social circles/size of one`s house etc. But I reckon most settle for a half decent upright . . . I don`t know if the graded weight keyboard thing applies here. If it did on the ones I`ve played, I really never noticed.

Insensitive soul, aren`t I?

The problem with graded weight keyboards on DPs is that it is an easily defined authentic feature that is simple for the marketing people to itemize. This is OK as far as it goes but most people here agree that it is, at best, a minor feature. Much more important is the main part of the hammer action mechanism. But since this is harder to describe objectively, it sometimes isn't noted at all - that is until you play the keyboard and realise how good it is.

A good example of this is the keyboard on the Yamaha CP1 & CP5 etc. This is not 'graded' at all - nor is it much like a grand piano action imo, but many people comment that it is an excellent hammer-action keyboard.

I've had the opportunity to play on some decent grand pianos and I love the weight of the keys. However, I'm used to playing on an old upright and not-so-grand grand pianos. I can live with it bring similar to an upright for the price. Assuming everything checks ( keys and functions) like Peter mentions, then I need to ask, can this be disassembled? I heard from an employee at Sam Ash that the top and bottom of some console models can be.

I'm going sometime soon to check it out, possibly tonight.

Edit: After reading toddy's post, are there any other used digital pianos I should be looking at? If possible, I'd like something okay at not too great an expense...

The holy triumvirate is Yamaha, Kawai & Roland, with Casio's new pianos giving them all a run for their money especially in the under 1000 dollar/€ range.

If you can, check:

Kawai CA 65, CA 95, cn34 & ES7
Roland HP503, 505, 507, FP7f (which is about to be discontinued)
Yamaha p105 (much cheaper) and their YDP range
Casio PX and CDP range

I think you can get a rough idea of all of those from Thomann:
http://www.thomann.de/gb/yamaha_ydp161_b_set.htm
http://www.thomann.de/gb/kawai_cn_34_w.htm
http://www.thomann.de/gb/roland_hp_503_sb.htm
http://www.thomann.de/gb/casio_px_850_bkm_privia.htm

Ah well.. He told me that he just sold it today. I live near the Philadelphia area, so I've been searching Craigslist for a digital piano in Philadelphia, Lehigh Valley, Reading, and New Jersey. So far, I've seen a lot of Technics and other lower end brands.. If anyone has time, could you tell me if you happen to see anything good in those locations? I'll probably go through again and again to see if anything good pops up. I've heard that I probably shouldn't trust a Technics DP though.