Here at my apartment, I have nothing to play on except an old 49 key Yamaha from the '70s or '80s. Obviously it's been VERY restrictive. Now I'm looking to upgrade to a digital piano. I've cruised through the forums until I thought I had made my decision (P70) but I'm beginning to rethink it. I'm going to test the products out before I make a purchase, but nobody really has a good selection where I live and the nearest Guitar Center is a couple hours away. So I come asking for input so I at least know what to limit my choices to.

I'm looking to record (will be using MIDI and will buy MIDI-USB adapter if necessary), write songs, and just practice and play in general (which means action is important as well as the "piano" sound sampling). How can I find the best balance between these purposes while also sticking to a budget of about $1000?

Some questions/concerns:

I've gathered that I shouldn't go for polyphony under 64 tones, especially if I'm going to be recording and MIDI sequencing. P70 is only 32 if I remember correctly...

Is the half-pedal effect important? How do I judge that?

Should I have any concerns about amp/monitor connectivity? I thought I read in a post that the P70 doesn't have good built-in speakers and that it would be best to use monitors. Which digital piano has decent speakers?

I'll be using an iBook G4 and Garageband for now. Will a USB to MIDI adapter work with this set up or is there anything else I should know regarding that?

Sorry for all the questions, but I want to make a good decision and I'm okay with spending more in order to do this right the first time (haha...but not TOO much). Can you tell I'm a newb? Thanks in advance!

although consoles (DP's in the cabinet that look likea traditional upright) can do what you require mostly, it sounds like your more after a stage piano, try looking at the RD (ROLAND) series, the MP4/5/8 (KAWAI), CP (yamaha) series stage piano's, these models have the connectivity to offer what you need, the piano sounds, touch/action and aesthetics are very subjective as you may gather from the same repeated arguemnt in many otehr threads.

aleigenceies aside (I have a yamaha which is why I listed it last) all big name brands do offer quality boards of one kind or another, but the question of which is best, is actually the best question to avoid, ultimately your ears, hands/fingers and eyes will tell you which model is for you so best to try out as many as you can for yourself to make a decision you'll be happier with in the end.

detailed specs should tell you about half pedalling ability of each board.

bult in speakers is another hot potato, where people are very opinionated and passionately protective. (your ears will make the decision for you here)

connectivity sounds fine. These boards are made for this type of work aswell as stage work.

good luck finding your board.

both 64 polyphony and half-pedal are important if you want to find a DP played like a real one. for Yamaha, i wouldn't get p70 rather would go for a P140 or CP33 (which needs external speakers) at least.

but try as many as possible and find the best one you can afford.

The P140 is something I'm interested in checking out. Seems to have a good balance of everything I'd need. My only concern is polyphony and if 64 would be enough for the recording I'll be doing. I'll read some threads about polyphony and see what's up. Thanks for the help!

If you're looking for high polypony - there's always Casio PX200 with polyphony of 128.

If you're planning on using your computer as sound generator (for example Ivory), then polyphony is not an issue at all (the only limit then is your computer's power).

You answered the question I was about to ask. Much appreciated. I'll be using whatever sounds Garageband has to offer for now...is that the same thing that you're talking about with using the computer as a sound generator?

My only goal now is to find something without all the superfluous stuff like built in lessons, variety of voices (unnecessary because I'll be using the computer), LED screen, etc. Don't even really need USB because I can always buy an adapter, and I especially don't need 16 channels or whatever since I don't even know what that means. : )

Dig the avatar, Eternal. ; )

Yes - it's the same. You press the key on your keyboard, and it sends a MIDI command to Garageband software on your computer, which then plays the sound.

You may want to look into Casio PX110 then - it's the cheapest option that matches up with your specs (about $400). Whatever piano you select though - I would strongly suggest you try plaing it first - you can't change the touch, and if you don't like it - you're stuck with it.