Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum How many of you own both digitals and acoustics?

I have a Kawai RX6, but sometimes I miss all the sounds that are available on a digital piano/synth. I play a lot of movie scores, so strings would really come in handy. For those who play both digitals and acoustics, do you find that going back and forth between the two messes with you technique?

I have an acoustic grand and a digital. I use the digital only on those few occasions when I want to play around with instrument sounds other than piano.

I am a classical pianist, and I find that even on its most resistant setting that the touch on my digital is too light for my taste; so I don't use it for practice.

Thanks. I would not use it for practicing piano pieces, and would probably never even use the piano sound unless I wanted to record on it. I just want to play around with all the other cool sounds. I'm considering the Casio PX360, and supposedly, the keys/action is pretty good.

I've never owned an acoustic (probably never will, unless someone gifted me with a mansion which will house a Bösendorfer 290......), and only started playing digitals six years ago, when I bought one for home use.

Prior to that, I played on good, bad and ugly acoustics exclusively (i.e. not exclusively one or the other ). Since acquiring my digital, my technique has improved immeasurably, though that might be something to do with the fact that I can practice anytime I want, for the first time in my long life. I even started a monthly classical recital series, playing a six-foot C. Bechstein grand - for which I do all my practice on my home digital.

Or, to put it another way, I practice exclusively on my digital and perform the pieces on the acoustic grand, with no adjustment required - or at least, no more than when playing two different acoustic grands. In fact, the transition is much easier than in my student days, when I was doing all my practicing on the uprights (mostly Yamaha) in the university's practice rooms and having lessons on my teacher's two grands (one Bechstein, one Blüthner) in his home.

But it's very important that if you're going to use a digital as well as an acoustic, that you treat the digital like an acoustic - play it at the right volume (i.e. set it to the same volume as your acoustic, and never change it), whether through headphones or speakers. Too many people (including some who should know better) mess up their piano technique by playing their digitals at ludicrously low volumes, which encourage them to bang away with impunity.......

I own both. My Grand piano (Cunningham Parlour Grand) is being held for me until I can move into my future home upon my retirement next year. I visit it monthly and play for hours at a time. There is most definitely a difference in touch and action from one to the other. I practice on my Yamaha NU1 which is in my residence (and I can use headphones for). Although it does a pretty good job of mimicking upright piano action, it is not the same. I feel my technique suffers a little. When I play the Grand for consecutive days, (about 2) I start to ounce back to where I am. Once I have retired and moved, I will use the digital for my music writing program (Sibelius) which I interface with my computer.

I own both and practice exclusively on the acoustic. But when I play for pleasure, I'm just as likely to sit at the digital as the acoustic. I enjoy the change in touch and sound.

I own a grand piano and digital instruments. For sure no DP can exactly emulate what happens on an acoustic piano, so there is an adaptation but it is certainly possible without messing your technique. For example, legato/staccato playing won't sound the same when you switch between acoustic/digital, same with pedals, etc. It is actually much easier to play evenly on a digital, since the dynamic range vs keyboard response is much more limited.

On the other hand, playing instruments like strings, guitars, brass, woodwind and so on using a keyboard as the interface needs one to use a given approach for each, otherwise it can not sound realistic even if you have the best sounds available. One has to imagine to be on the emulated instrument (after studying at least the basics of how the real thing works - range, what is possible/impossible to do, etc). For example, a common mistake is to use monophonic/channel pressure vibrato for string chords.

i have both a grand and a digital (yamaha CP33). of course most of the time is spent on the grand but occasionally use the digital for headphone play. someday may do some recording. the digital is kind of fun and does have some nice sounds and features. but i always love playing the grand after messing around on the digital for awhile.

gw

Sounds like both serve their purposes well and will come in handy =)

Grand and a digital. Grand is on the lower level, digital upstairs near the bedrooms, so I got something that can be quiet when I need it to be.

In the past year or so, I've upgraded first to a Kawai VPC1 (digital) and more recently to an acoustic upright (Essex EUP-123). While I was thrilled with the relative realism of the VPC1 (and still am), I've already found that there is no substitute for the acoustic upright (at least for me). Basically, I REALLY like the feel, and the tactile feedback from the upright, that a digital simply doesn't provide.

So, I spend most of my playing time now on the upright, and use the VPC1 only when recording and/or using some computer voices (the VPC1 has no native sounds). Of course, the digital provides LOTS of flexibility in both tone and feel (ie - velocity curves). One of the "drawbacks" of the acoustic is that I needed to adjust a bit to its feel, rather than having its feel changed to accommodate me (such as you can do with velocity curves on a digital with VST software). So now I'm again tweaking the velocity curve of the digital in an effort to better match the feel of the acoustic, hoping to achieve better consistency between the two.

Acoustic and Digitals each have their strengths and weaknesses. I'm glad that I'm able to have access to both.

I feel lucky to have two pianos, a Schimmel grand and a Roland digital. Since I got the Roland less than a year ago my piano skills have improved because I'm spending more time at the keyboard. The Roland has a lighter action but it all translates well. Yes, I keep the volume up. The Roland has good dynamics, 3 pedals, but does not have the expansiveness and complex undertones of the Schimmel. The Roland has some cool features that I don't use. I play mostly classical piano. I was surprised by the quality of the Roland - truly a great purchase that allows me to practice when other family members want some quiet time.

Yamaha C7D accoustic and a Yamaha P115 digital.

It may appear from the perspective of the beginner or even the semi intermediate player that playing these two different instruments requires a separate approach for each, but having played the piano for over half a century I can say that although each reproduce sound by different means and their actions aren't the same, I don't feel that they each require a different "technique" to play them...I just play them.

Regards,
Andy

The CP4 is for gigging mostly. Although I do practice vocals with it, my Neumann KMS-105 and headphones. The phones really put my voice under the microscope. I can't stand to hear an acoustic miced coming through phones.

The CP5 sits in our office next to our home (and only) computer. I use it for checking keys of something I hear on Youtube, or just check a chord voicing or right down a melody line or harmonic idea for a tune.

The D sits in a detached 20 X 20 studio space from the house. Having the CP5 in the house saves me the trouble of running out there, taking the cover off , putting the lid up and checking something. Lazy ? At 63, yeah. Or I could forget what popped into my mind by the time I get out there.

I have both an old Lyon & Healy baby grand and a CP4. I acquired the acoustic kind of by accident, and about half the furniture in the living room had to leave to make that happen. ("Hey - now we have something the size of a small car in the living room.") It's turned out well, though - it had good tone to begin with and my technician has done wonders with the action. Although it's still a work in progress, I play the acoustic whenever I can and the CP4 through headphones when I can't. That said, I really like the CP4, and I still play it through the monitors sometimes. The CP4 works great with Pianoteq, too. So it's really the best of both worlds. When I was actually a music student long ago I had no grand at my disposal whenever I wanted to practice, and no digital pianos. It was all uprights and electric keyboards.

I don't play other than for myself very often, but when I'm asked, it's as likely I'll be presented with a digital to play as an acoustic. And if it's an acoustic, it's often the "it hasn't been tuned in 20 years" variety.

I own an Estonia L-190 baby grand and a Yamaha P-80 digital.

BUT...
I also installed a ProRecord system in my Estonia which turns my acoustic baby grand into a midi controller.

I currently use it mainly for composing (output to Notation software, automatically converts my playing to printed sheet music).

In fact I like the system so much, I'm now offering installation as a service along with my tuning business.
More details here (www.ProRecord.info). And yes, I know that is promoting which is against the rules, but I own the place and advertising my services is part of how I support Piano World and myself.

I'm assuming this notation software would work with DPs, too? I've always wanted to just play something and have it auto converted to sheet music (somewhat accurately, of course).

me too, but from what I understand the technology is no where near ready??

Re the OP: my first piano was a digital (Yamaha ydp 120? that was 1999). I sold that when I got an acoustic, at the time it wouldn't have occurred to me to want two pianos, and our house was pretty tiny. Then we moved back to the US, so I had to sell the acoustic

Since we moved to an apartment here, I soon purchased a digital (Yamaha Arius ydp 160). I had that for 7 years, and now we are in a house again (yay!) and I have an acoustic (a recently purchased old-ish Petrof upright.)

I kept the digital when I got the acoustic, and I love having a house with two pianos in it! It seems like a special gift and I love seeing them (the digital is in the dining room, the acoustic is in the living room.)

Having said that, I play the acoustic almost exclusively just because I prefer the sound and the touch compared to the digital. I have recorded a bit on the digital even after I got the acoustic, it's much easier to get a clean sound using the line out (ok, headphone jack) on the digital and my Zoom is pretty old at this point, so recording on the acoustic doesn't sound all that great. Also, recording the acoustic seems to magnify any out-of-tune-ness, so thus far I haven't really recorded on it much.

I'm not really bothered by the difference when going back and forth between the digital and the acoustic. They're different instruments and I would expect to notice that. But I do feel that the digital just can't do what I want it to in terms of dynamics and that sort of thing (and I do have the volume up loud...)

Nevertheless, I think if possible I'll keep the digital even though I don't play it much.... besides the fact that I love having two pianos, that digital made it possible for me to continue playing and practicing when I otherwise wouldn't have been able to. For that, I'm grateful and quite attached to it.

Last year when I began participating in ABF Recitals I encountered the difficulties of recording a submission on an acoustic piano. The technical aspects were complicated, and the Zoom’s Red Dot was distracting. I couldn’t record unless I was alone in the house, because I didn’t want to torture my husband with endless unsuccessful attempts, and didn’t want him inadvertently interrupting an otherwise promising take. A hassle, but I persevered.

Then 3 months ago a family of crows arrived in our neighbourhood. They seemed to start up every time I turned on the Zoom; their cawing didn’t improve my rendition. Solution - dust off my P95 DP, untouched since I took delivery of my Yamaha grand, and record to my computer? No-one to hear my mistakes. No accompaniment of passing traffic, crows, neighbours’ motor mowers or banging doors. No Red Dot.

No beautiful C3-like sound, either. My digital needed a better voice. So I gave it one (or should I say several) with Pianoteq.

Now I play every day on my dream acoustic grand, and choose one of the amazing Pianoteq voices on my old digital when I want to record. For me, this is the best of both worlds.

Or you can sell the digital and add MIDI to your acoustic. Then you don't have 2 pianos taking up space. Plus you can record with the instrument that has the superior action. This is the best of both worlds.