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I believe in proper introduction posts when joining forums so be prepared for a wall of text! If you want to read the part where I get straight to the point you can scroll down to the bottom of this post.

I’ve been interested in music ever since I was 14 years of age and I’m now almost 26. I didn’t start delving into the recording of music till about 2014 and I’ve noticed that the more I play, the more I learn and the better I get. That being said, I haven’t properly learned to play piano or read music yet but I’ve always wanted to take the right steps in learning since I was 14 or 15.

My parents bought a really old 1968 era Spinet (yeah I know, a Spinet) in 1996 or 97. They didn’t have it tuned and only paid 200 USD for it. It’s in pretty terrible shape and I’ve decided to try and tune it as close as possible myself because it would probably cost way more than the usual 200 dollar tune up to get it working right and from my research, it isn’t worth it and it’s state as an instrument could be in such poor repair that a tuner/tech wouldn’t bother.

Since I’ve started recording music, I’ve been using a 7 year old Macbook Pro with a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo and 4GB DDR3 ram. Software includes Garageband 5 and the hardware is a Alesis QX49 which is a decent midi controller but horrible for learning piano especially without a stand. The keys are extremely springy and the key bed in general is too short for my liking.

You might be wondering why I haven’t been using Garageband 10 or even Logic X. Well, it’s simple. I don’t think the processor is the huge problem, it’s the 4GB of ram and as soon as I have spare cash someday I’ll go ahead and upgrade it to 8GB. You might be thinking… How the heck did you record anything at all with such an old computer? Well, a lot of patience ;D

I apologize if this post has been a little scattered but I’ll get on to the point!

I’ve watched some tutoring videos on YouTube involving learning piano and quickly set it aside because I don’t want the QX49 to get me into some bad habits. I’ve decided to save up and buy a DP as soon as possible and spent as much time as possible learning to properly play the piano/keyboard. I feel that a console type is best for the stand and bench so I learn proper posture and things like that.

I’m not one of those types that googled for Digital Piano’s with the hope of finding one that sounds like an acoustic because let’s be honest. An AP is an AP and a DP is a DP. I think there is no one to blame for the people expecting something other then a DP from a DP but the companies that make them. My views might be controversial and I don’t mean to offend anyone and please don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about those high end DPs that sound closer and closer to APs. I just know what I’m going to get when I buy a DP so I know I’m not going to be disappointed in that regard.
The reason I’m opting for a DP isn’t just because of space and money, it’s because I want something to learn piano on but I also want to replace my Midi Controller with something more comfortable to play. It’ll be the best of both worlds for me at the moment.

I’ve narrowed my search and budget down to two different Digital Pianos and 1,400 to 1,600 USD. It shouldn’t be too hard for me to save up this amount of money and the ram for the computer will come later.

The two pianos I’ve been considering are as follows.

Roland RP401R

Yamaha Arius YDP-163

From what I’ve gathered the Yammie is roughly a year or so newer than the Roland and the Roland is a tad bit more expensive then the YDP. I’ve done quite a lot of research on both and do plan on hopefully being able to play both with and without headphones at the nearest Guitar Center or something.
Someone told me to just buy a Williams Overture or something for 5 or 600 USD but to be honest, when I tried it, it felt horrible. I’m no keyboard snob but the slab pianos that are the same price or even a little cheaper felt like a much better experience. The Williams had weird sensitivity, the keys felt like they wobbled and some keys were noticeably louder than other whilst using the same pressure. In short, the only thing that looked somewhat decent is the cabinet. I’m no expert, but I believe people buy Digital Pianos for the Piano, not the Particle Board =P

I got a bit off track, rant done. I’ve heard some people say that the Roland keyboard is a little more expressive than the Yamaha but that the Yamaha keyboard is better for learning classical music. This is my main question… Suppose I played the Roland and absolutely preferred it over the YDP-163… How much difference would the keyboard make in my ability to learn and play classical songs? As much as I want a piano/midi controller combo I also want to make sure I can at least start to learn and play beginner and intermediate classical pieces on it. I’m talking Für Elise and things like that.

I’ve also realized that the speakers in the YDP are 2x20W instead of 2x12 but my room is small and as much as I’ll be using the built in speakers, I’ll also be using headphones so I’m not too worried about speakers.

Polyphony is something that confuses a lot of people but it doesn’t really confuse me and I’m pretty sure I understand that in most cases, the number of polyphony depends on the quality of the samples and the sound engine but nothing else. If I were to buy the Yamaha it wouldn’t be for the 192 poly over the Roland’s 128. Also, correct me if I’m wrong but, Roland’s sound engine only needs 128 anyway so the point is pretty much moot, yes?

Since I’ll be hoping to test these out before buying, these are pretty much the only questions I have. Is the Roland keyboard good enough compared to the Yamaha to learn and play classical pieces? If I can’t test both of these I may go with the only one I could play which if GC stocks anything, it’ll be Yamaha.

Someday when I have money I will absolutely be buying and AP even if it’s just a middle of the line upright. I’d love a decent baby grand but let’s be honest, that’ll depend on my financial wealth!

Just to recap:

I’ve narrowed down to Yamaha YDP-163 and Roland RP401R

I’m not looking or expecting my DP to sound/feel exactly like an acoustic.

I am looking for the better of these two keyboards for learning classical music. If the difference is small, I’ll go with the one I like the sound/feel/ look of most. Feel will come before sound and sound will come before looks ;D

I don’t care about polyphony mostly because it doesn’t confuse me. I can see where some people will obviously think more = better. If I pay 6,000 for a DP and it has 256 Poly I expect it to behave the same way as a 1,500 with 128 Poly with the only difference being better quality samples in the 256 poly board. As I mentioned before, with Roland’s SN engine, I believe 128 is all it’s going to need.

Thanks for reading and I apologize once again if this post is all jumbled up ;D

The best think to do is to try both of them and make your own mind.

About the polyphony, 128 and 256 voices will do exactly the same with a moderately demanding piece of music. The difference will start to appear when the sustain is pressed during multiple measures and many notes are played quickly... And the lack of voices will affect quietest notes and it will be hard to hear the difference.

Yes that does pretty much confirm what I had originally thought regarding Polyphony. I suppose my main question about the two keyboard for learning classical music comes from the fact that I don't really know how a keyboard should feel in a way. I'm sure the choice won't be too difficult.

I confess that the Kawai CE series seems tempting for 1800 USD but I doubt Guitar Center will have it stocked. If it is there, you can bet I'll give it a try. I played a Kawai upright (K3 I believe) when I was in Astoria a few years ago and quite enjoyed it. It wasn't too out of tune but the action felt really responsive and surprisingly quick. You could really jam on that thing!

Choose the piano whose keyboard feels best to you. (You were right to reject the Williams.)

When I first heard of the Williams I thought of the Pinball Machine company who I also believed published my first ever dark and violent game, Final Doom on the Sony Playstation in 1996 so I thought, huh, Williams! Must be good!

Boy was I wrong. I may be extremely picky or just a plain snob but, for the price they're asking, even if you're on a budget the Williams is astoundingly bad. I can't explain it. The velocity varies from key to key on the model I played and the action has a very sloppy feel. The sound of the piano isn't horrible but I saw Casio slabs at GC that sounded and felt much better and for the same price or less I suppose if you could buy it for 50 bucks it might be worth it but I'm not sure the space you'd need to set it up would be worth it =P