Hi Everyone, Like a lot of other forum members I'm about to begin the search for a DP to replace the budget model I bought to help me on my return to piano playing. I'm in no rush and although cost isn't that much of a problem I don't really want to pay for a lot of electronic features and gizmos I'll never use, a good replica concert grand sound and a touch are my prime requirements; although I realise that the sound and touch of traditional acoustic grands vary greatly anyway so it's personal tastes at the end of the day. I shall not limit myself to looking at models in a particular price range because with the minimal feature requirements I'm looking for I could find that it's the less expensive model which fits the bill but it may be I will have to pay up for a "Bells & Whistles" job just to get the basics I want. Availabilty has to come to the fore and there are several dealers near here where I can try out the Yamaha, Roland and Casio range of pianos but not Kawai; I e-mailed Kawai-UK sales two weeks ago asking where I could try out their pianos and have received no reply so Kawai are no longer on my list. I guess the fun part will be reading all of the reviews, visiting dealers and trying out pianos, the eventual decision and purchase will be an anti-climax. All of that brings me to a question, has anyone any experience, or knowledge, of a "DIGINOVA CONCERTO V" DP? These pianos are retailed by a very reputable dealer here in the UK, I suspect they are made in the same factory in China as a lot of other "budget" pianos and dealers/importers just apply different names to them, does anyone recognise it? DIGINOVA CONCERT V

Never heard about this brand.......

I don't know much about these either. As near as I can tell, they seem to be very similar to Roland digital pianos.

You are correct to suspect there might be a certain amount of stenciling in the world of DPs.

If the dealer is really as reputable as you believe, then they should be able to provide this information for you, n'est pas?

If it were me, I'd go with a known brand.

ipgrunt: Your right, I notice that the switches and buttons, and their layout, on that Diginova piano are identical to the ones on this budget stage piano I have. I know the piano I have get's branded with at least three different names, mines just PDP220, but there's Rikter PDP220 and Bentley PDP220 also. I think they come from the same factory in China as the Diginova, but that doesn't mean to say they are are of very poor quality, I think they use mainline manufacturers discontinued models, they probably made them originally anyway.

I have to eat my words, Kawai eventually answered so they're back on my shopping list.

If you decide on Kawai, I suggest you buy from Cherubini in Rome. I recently bought a CA91 from them at 30% less than UK dealer price, including delivery and bank exchange charges. The warranty is valid for two years and IS honoured. [Mine has noisy keys, a known problem with the AWA ProII keyboard, but they are fixing it, on site] If you want the most acoustic piano-like touch this is probably the nearest you will get.

Hi maserman1, Thanks for the information, I'll check out Cherubini. Actually the name "Cherubini" reminds me of "Cherubino" the character in The Marriage of Figaro, my favourite aria, Voi che Sapete...I digress, sorry.

a known[/b] problem?... this alone would discourage me from buying a CA91, irrespective of the fact that I've played one and found the Grand Piano sound to be unlike any acoustic Grand I've ever heard. I was very disappointed when I tried this DP, especially after reading so much about the enhancing effect of the real wooden soundboard. Kawai apparently spent a long time developing this innovation; maybe they should have worked more on developing the tones they were trying to enhance... just MO, of course.

The Roland HP207 is top of my - very! - short list... with a keyboard which is arguably better (even more realistic) than the CA91's... each to his own

Known in as much as reported by two other forum members. I'm not suggesting they are all noisy. No manufacturer can claim their products are all perfect. Kawai do honour their warranty when there is a problem, just a pity they don't pay a bit more attention to quality control in the factory. As for sound, I have achieved a satisfactory result, spending some time with the virtual technician feature.

Of course, no DP will ever be a Fazioli.

I must admit I'm drawn to the Roland DP970, only on paper/websites so far though, I like it's asthetics and compactness but I understand Yamaha have a similar compact piano in their range but I haven't seen it yet.

Redcoat, I love that quote!

I can't remember where I half inched that saying from, but my family do refer to me as being an "Economical Skate" at times.

Back to DP's, I'm not discounting the Casio range, is it the XP800? that looks compact and has a good spec.,. needs playing though to try it out.