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Does the P60 have "weighted key" action - does it feel like a real piano? I have a Yamaha Clavinova (CLP 120, I think) which has a great "feel". I'm thinking about buying a portable keyboard to take on vacation.

Bob

While a digital piano would be suitable for practice in your room, have you considered checking with a local church or other house of worship nearby your university? When I attended, I wanted to practice during the week. Since my father was a pastor, I was able to practice at a local church when services weren't in session. They were quite kind to let me do so, plus from time to time, the church workers would come in and listen to me practice.

It is Sam's first year, keep in mind. My first year was not very...hmm how to put this...taxing on my academic abilities ( ); I found I had quite a bit of free time. Of course, all programs and schools are different.

I guess I would recommend to just play around with your schedule for the first little bit, and see what your situation is like.

Heh, plenty of students find plenty of time to party and get drunk...

Since I won't be partying and getting drunk, I suppose I might as well spend that time playing the piano!

Bob,

The P-series Yamaha keyboards -- the stage pianos -- are the portable versions of the CLP-series, so the P-120 corresponds to your CLP-120. All have the same weighted keys. The P-60 has fewer bells and whistles than the P-120.

And also, if you're looking for a portable stage piano with hammer actions don't forget that there are a lot of GOOD alternatives to Yamaha and Roland such as the GEM Promega 3 and Promega 2 (these sound REALLY good), the Ketron GP-10, the Viscount Viva, plus a lot of Korg offerings (even though opinions about these are somewhat split)
- you should also take a look at the HC Keys, Synth and Samplers forum where I am a senior member (moniker: Rasmus-DK) and where stage pianos are frequently discussed..
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=18

tyrri,

I think that the GEM's use a Fatar action, which may not be the best choice for a piano student.

DavidH

Yes, it is manufactured by Fatar, but it's not the "old standard" Fatar hammer action - as far as I know, GEM and Fatar developed a lot of improvements in the action (such as a heavier touch in the bass region and vice versa - known from Yamaha actions and the Roland PA4 and PA5 actions) for the Promega series..

Also, digital piano and synth actions are, just as piano actions, a matter of taste and preference - some prefer Yamaha, others Roland, others Fatar (which produces for 80% of the remaining digital piano manufacturers (Korg, GEM, Kawai (apart from their MP9000/MP9500 series) etc.) with Chinese subcontractors getting into this market only recently)

Do you have a public community college near the university; you might check it out as an option. The small public college near by my house has multiple practice rooms available with Yamaha Consoles; no sign up list either.

Best to just walk into the music dept building and look for yourself rather than to ask any faculty members. And going in during non-peak times is better; as there is less noise and more choice of pianos to select from.

Hi,

I'm also in the SF Bay Area and also considering getting a P120. Can you give me a link to a new P120 for just under $1000? This will give me more backing than just "I have a few friends who got it under a grand." I couldn't find any places which offered new P120s for under $1200... considering that I'm also a college student - I don't think I can do over $1000.

Thanks!

I just did a Froogle search, and I'm not turning up as much as I did when I bought my P120 last Fall, but I did turn up this:


Yahama P120 for under $1,000

Then what I have feared is true... The era good deals on P120s is now over, and I will have to talk with the salesmen to see how much they can take off. I get there feeling that there used to be P120s for $999, but now, the only ones new that you can get are $1199 up.

Thank you for your effort, Aaron, but that P120 is a scratch and dent item.