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

BrainCramp, the Everett works fine. It's not broken. It's just not very good, and I don't like playing it very much. It has a thin sound, little to no damping, and an uneven action.

I'm not trying to fix it up. I'm trying to find a piano that's more fun to play.

Sorry Shepdave, I didn't mean to be pushy.

Your original post was titled "Should I get a digital?". But it sounds like it should have been "Which digital should I get?", since the other options you mentioned were never really options.

People here aren't mind readers, they're just trying to help.

shepdave, I have read your post, here:


BrainCramp, the Everett works fine. It's not broken. It's just not very good, and I don't like playing it very much. It has a thin sound, little to no damping, and an uneven action.

I'm not trying to fix it up. I'm trying to find a piano that's more fun to play.


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Thanks for the enlightenment. The difference between the digital and the acoustic is what the digital piano world call decay. It is an awesome word because it means when you hit or strike a key on the digital, by the count of 8, the sound has decayed (died a sad death). So if you play a piece and the note is a whole note and is to be held for 2 measures - the sound dies before the count of 8. The digital world will say, well, it depends on how slowly you count. Good, answer, except I disagree. Of course, you can do that test on your Everett and you can do it on whatever digital you play. You will find it interesting. Any note that decays before the count of 8, in my opinion, is a dead note, and I say if a note dies before its time, is a thin sound - something you were looking.

Having said that, I love my two digitals, and if they made a 48 weight keyed piano, I would buy it instantly - at almost any price - because I could take it with me anywhere on the planet 24/7/365 for the rest of my life.

cheers,

Michael_99, you can use the quote button when you reply. That way it's obvious to readers what is being quoted. The way you have been quoting people is confusing and hard to read.

gvfarns, I have read your post, here:

Originally Posted By: Michael_99
shepdave, I have read your post, here:


Michael_99, you can use the quote button when you reply. That way it's obvious to readers what is being quoted. The way you have been quoting people is confusing and hard to read.

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Thanks for your helpful suggestion. You should know that I am dyslexic. I have memory problems and I can't see the quoted material until I scroll it time and time again. Also it is darker background and size of font is smaller. It may work for the rest of the world, but it doesn't work for me. I appreciate that much of what I post is not understood and I accept that most people get confused of what I post, but as a dyslexic, that the is the price of trying to do ones best in the real world.

Michael_99, don't let these questions about your way of posting bother you. I, for one, fully understand, and accept your way of posting.

For all others: What we may see as an idiosyncrasy may be, for some, a rescue. We all have our own little oddities, in one way or the other.

I just went through the same question myself.

Agreed on the spinet. I don't think they were ever good pianos, or even ever could be. Just the physics of their small size no matter how well built. They aren't too heavy though, and I think maybe that's why they ever sold at all.

One major question is budget, and, will you remain at the same place for many years?

Electronic pianos don't need tuning, and you can carry them under your arm. If it has a stand, well, unscrew it, then you carry it under your arm. It's still feather light next to a full upright. Those are huge advantages. There are no tunings to pay for, and from what I've heard, the things that can go wrong (keys still have moving parts, sensors, motherboard, etc.), often really don't go wrong until after the piano has given its value anyway.

I opted for an acoustic... but it's still a dicey toss up. It was heavy and expensive to move, and (I did know ahead of time, don't worry), it needs repairs. It's a 5'6" grand piano, and the repairs are still just barely worth it, or maybe not quite worth it in fact. So I hear you on your spinet.
My 'new' grand is mahogany with ivory keys, and was at least once a decent piano, though never first-rate. It only needs bass strings to be playable. Whether i go further to improve tone or simply to invest in its lasting 3 more decades is up to me and my budget. It isn't a basket case, and I'm still being shot down by some in the piano technician threads But we don't all have $15000 for a new grand piano.

For the same money I could have had a casio px-850 at my door by now. I wouldn't have nearly as much fun fixing it... but that's just me. Buying a new digital is stress free. Buying a used upright is like buying a used car; maybe it's a fun game, or maybe it's frustrating and expensive.
ESPECIALLY if you're going to move soon, digital is very advantageous.
The actions are not bad if you have $900-$1500, and the sound is BETTER than you'll get in a 2nd hand worn-out acoustic for that same price range.

Like I said, I was looking at the px-850 for the best classical piano replacement (not a synthesizer, etc) in my budget. Musiciansfriend has another 15% off sale (maybe they do that every month) that keeps it at $850 delivered.
But there seem to be rave reviews over the kawai es7 for duplicating a concert grand really, really well. If you have nearly $1500.

maurus, I have read your post, here:

Michael_99, don't let these questions about your way of posting bother you. I, for one, fully understand, and accept your way of posting.

For all others: What we may see as an idiosyncrasy may be, for some, a rescue. We all have our own little oddities, in one way or the other.

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Thanks, maurus, for your kind thoughts. Your feedback is appreciated.

Shepdave, I have no advice, but just wanted to say that I get where you're at. I'm in a similar situation with my Lester 1940s-era "Betsy Ross" spinet. Different keys have been going defunct on it, the most recent being one right in mid-range. (This link describes the problem in case anyone is interested or thinking about telling me to get it fixed - looked into that already and it's totally not worth it given the cause of the problem: http://blog.mpstrax.net/piano-buying/run-away-now-pianos-part-2/ )

So anyway...I'm looking at digitals too now, needless to say. Just wanted to chime as someone who can relate.

Oh, maire8, when you typed the word "Lester," you took me back to my childhood. I was just telling my teacher on Saturday about the first piano my parents had in our house when I was a little kid. It was a Lester player upright. Just talking with my brother today, who is in town visiting, reminded me of that old player piano and the rolls my parents had (mostly Broadway show tunes from the 1940s).

It wasn't a very good instrument, of course, and my parents sold it for a ridiculously low price when we moved a few counties over right when I began 8th grade in school. But it was a player piano, and therefore had an enormous "cool factor" that I couldn't appreciate when I was a kid.

But, yeah, I imagine it would fall into that "not worth fixing up" category.

Incidentally, since I started this thread yesterday, I've talked with my wife about my idea of getting a decent DP in lieu of replacing the Everett. She seems pretty enthusiastic about that idea, so I guess that's what I'll do at some point in the next couple months.

If you like the action of the DGX640 you should know the Yamaha p105 has the same action.
The GHS action. But it is considered to be a cheaper end action.

The more expensive action is the GH action from Yamaha present in the p155.(Some have complained it is too heavy).

I personally don't mind the GHS action at all and my p105 is on it's way. But if your budget allows you probably should listen to others in this forum and try out the Roland digital pianos, namely fp50 and fp80..

I've read only good things about the FP80.(successor to the Fp7f)

Best thing is to go to the store and try them out with a headphones as others have said.
Good luck

You should probably at least give consideration to the Casio pianos as well. Many people like them and the action to me is very good. Whether or not that is because of the Tri-sensor design I don't know. But don't count them out in the under 1000US price range.

The PX850 is a furniture style piano with powerful speakers. I would imagine it is a very nice instrument. unfortunately there aren't any available locally. I myself have played the px130 and was very impressed with it's action.

At the end of the day you should pick what's right for you and what feels the best to you. Everything with digital pianos and how a piano should play and feel seems to be very subjective.

I have to say I find the GHS better than the GH which is something or nothing. But the 640 seems to differ from the P105 actionwise although they are both GHS.

If your wife's 'valuable heirloom' were discovered to have mice, who (1) had ruined it beyond repair by chewing up the felts to make nests, and (2) made it smell (urine soaking into the wood is the problem--- that, and a certain black mold they track in), you would be very far along with your agenda to oust it from your music room. If you read much in the Tuner/Tech forum, you will discover that it happens all the time--- it even happened in The Piano Shop on the West Bank... just in case your wife is the kind who will never believe it unless she reads it in a novel (and to a grandmother, too).

Point out that her grandmother would be the first one to call for the haulers to come take it away, and make it double-quick. IF you play your cards right, you can get a dealer to accept this as a trade-up for a new grand (he will be in on the arrangement, and will simply take the horrid spinet right to the dump... and he'll tell the wife that it will be reconditioned in a 'special shop' so that underprivileged children will have a piano to play).

While you're getting the grand, get the DP as well. I like the Kawai products like MP-10, but wifey might prefer one of their cabinet models (for more money, of course... but Grandmother would like it). But, there should be a bonus dealer discount for moving two items in one morning, with one negotiation and one delivery charge. You help them on their overhead, they help you on your invoice price. You buy the special Cory's Piano Polish, and they sternly warn her never to place a vase of flowers on the piano, even for a party or for the holidays.

Get in the showroom while they still have some RX-2's on the floor, and snap one up; they're changing the letters on the fallboard and are probably remaindering what they have left, so the new ones will have room.

Play your cards right, and wifey will be all a-twitter. Though, frankly, I think the music room is best bestowed in the man-cave.

PS- Do not make the mistake of using white laboratory mice; it is too obvious, and they might be thought 'cute.'

Jeff.. your post... the one up there...

I found myself in the same pickle. The upright piano belongs to the other half but it's arguably one of the most unrewarding instruments I've ever played. The BIL is a piano-tuner maintenance guy and has done his best but I'm afraid it is what it is and no amount of polishing will redeem it.

For the record, I bought a Casio px 150 which now sits tauntingly alongside its completely neglected progenitor. I did toy with the idea of an ES7 but my local stockist didn't do Kawai (casio/yamaha/roland abound but not Kawai - is this a uk thing?) so I grabbed the px 150 almost on impulse. I don't think I could be much happier with another action. The ES7 would probably feel different...but better? - I don't know. I'm sure the ES7 has a better sample set than the casio but honestly when I'm stuck into what I'm doing I'm not preoccupied in any way with real or imagined shortcomings in the sound. I only had 10 minutes in the store and was also impressed by the Yamaha P105 but I felt the Casio action had the edge.

As to sounds...
Grand: Decent enough and un-troubling when immersed in what you're doing. Very tweakable on touch response and brightness.
EPs: Reasonably good rhodes (Elec piano), wurlitzer (60's E.piano) and FM piano. The EP sounds lack a decent stereo pan so are not so much fun through headphones.
Organ: A single Jimmy Smith-ish setting. Not too bad. A couple of pop organs which are unlikely to move my local airwaves any time soon.

You can split the main RH sound with a string bass or string bass+ride cymbal which will turn you into a surprisngly convincing dinner-jazz trio.

A few other unexplored bells and whistles. There's no line out but I was able to get a clean undistorted output from the headphone socket into my laptop with the input record level drastically reduced (10 on a scale 100!). There's an internal record feature which I suspect is midi only but instead I use the casio to drive a software piano in the laptop - that works well (as it should!).

The casio is light in weight and I believe the yamaha p105 is also.

Unlike the acoustic here, the casio is very rewarding to play - I'm sure the yamaha would be also, both responding physically as you would want. Hope you enjoy your journey.

I imagine that approach does get a thing or two done in a relationship.

Wow, that's really cool! Player pianos fascinate me. It must have been really fun to have that in your home as a kid.

I'm glad to see someone else here also is fond of the ghs action.
Maybe I may desire something better in the future but to my hands I thought the ghs action was the logical choice. It was light and seemed to be very responsive.

Not that I really had a choice because I couldn't afford anything more than 500us

But if I had the choice between the p105 and the p155, I'm not sure what I'd have done.

The ghs, seems fine to me. Not sure if the price difference is worth it .. For me at least.

Many people seem to despise the ghs
Again, very subjective.


I do admit I was fond of the casio but thought it may be tiring to play for extended periods.

Due to my unique situation with my muscles the lighter action was the logical choice( don't mean to sound like Spock )

If I'm ever getting an acoustic I will go with a light action I'm sure. But that is a personal preference .

Are u sure the differences between the p105 and the dgx 640 is not the actual action, but the connection to the sound itself?

And it may appear that the action differs when in reality the action is the same,, weight wise,, but because the samples are different it feels as though the actual action differs?


Does that make any sense?

Btw someone should mention that the dgx 650 is out.

Looks decent.