Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Best Digital Piano (Budget: 1000$ max) Urgent Help Needed!!!

Hi, I'm not familiar with digital pianos since I only play classical guitar and my 4 years old daughter is showing big interest in piano. Therefore I decided to teach her this wonderful instrument. Regarding my budget (1000$ max), I'm SERIOUSLY LOST in which DP to buy. I'm really not interested in voices, extras... All I need is a good realistic piano sound and touch. And the three pedals... I guess. Your help will be much appreciated. Thank you.

The DP world is divided roughly into the stage piano group and the home piano group. For your young daughter, I'm guessing you'll want the home piano.

Assuming you don't want toy quality stuff under $300 ...

There are inexpensive models in the $400 to $800 range. I would not be happy with one of those, but that might be adequate for a beginner/4-year-old. (It was good enough for my wife 20 years ago ... it was wise to spend only a little, since she gave it up after just a few months!)

From about $1000 to $1600, you can get better units, with better sound and a better keyboard touch and feel.

There is much difference in all aspects of the DPs across this range of prices. You (and your daughter) should try some out. Fortunately, in the $2000-and-under price range just about any music store will have units on display. Have a look.

People here seem to have mostly Rolands and Yamahas and Kawais. You can read through the old threads in this forum for opinions. There are plenty.

for $1000, you can look at Yamaha YDP140, a home piano with 3 pedals and half-pedal sustain as well.

you can check its specs here:

http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDetail/ModelSeriesDetail/0,,CNTID%25253D5012841%252526CTID%25253D205700,00.html

This is very subjective. For example, I think that my Yamaha P80 (originally $1000 8 yrs ago) sounds better than MANY digital pianos well over $2000. And I'm not alone on that sentiment.

I think Casio's Privia series is surprisingly nice and relatively inexpensive, certainly no less adequate for the beginner than other digitals. BTW, if you go to a retailer and don't see three pedals for a particular digital, don't fret. Many digitals have an optional 3-pedal unit available. So just ask the sales rep, and check the connections for extra pedal jacks (3 separate jacks, or 1 mono and 1 stereo pedal jack), or a single 3-pedal unit input jack.

Oh, and just to preempt the inevitable... stay far away from Williams.

I was checking Yamaha's and I saw two models that seemed to be interesting, The P-85 and the YDP-S30, how do you compare these to each other and to the YDP-140 suggested by Signa. Thanks for your help.

The Yamaha line also includes the DGX-630 in the sub-$1000 range.

Casio has PX-120, PX-320, PX-800 all under $1000.

Korg SP250 is about $900.

I'd go try them out to see what you get for the money. You basically get what you pay for in this price range because of market competition.

I don't believe you need all 3 pedals certainly for a beginner of that age.

I have a Casio PX-200 (prior version of PX-320) for over a year and it's been a nice instrument. Prior to that I had a Yamaha YPT-300 keyboard ($150) and it worked for awhile until I wanted an 88 weighted key instrument. In retrospect, the Yamaha keyboard was a very nice instrument and lots of fun.

Thanks guys, so until now I have the following models on my list to test:
- Yamaha YDP-140.
- Yamaha DGX-630
- Casio px series.
- Korg SP250.

If you still have any good model to advise please don't hesitate I will carry this list and go to test them all before I make my choice.
Have anyone tried one of these models: Yamaha P-85 or YDP-S30? Any experience? Thanks again!

i tried P85 and it felt decent, and it's good for the money and very portable. i would however object to YDPS30 because of its 3-step sustain pedal, which is not exactly 'half-pedal' as we desire. YDP140 is a much better model than that.

Actually I'm leaning more towards the P-85 But is the YDP140 much better than the p-85 too? Thanks.

YDP140 is better than P85, because of its 3-level dynamic sampling (which P85 doesn't have) and 3-pedal with half-pedal capacity. P85, though $600, is cheaper, but you have to include a stand plus at least a FC3 pedal or a 3-pedal option (LP-5), which would add up to over $800, such as this:

http://www.kraftmusic.com/catalog/digitalpianos/homepianos/index.asp?product=6120

but YDP140 is just over $100 away, like this:

http://www.kraftmusic.com/search/index.asp?query=Yamaha+Arius+YDP140

Thanks Signa and all the guys for your help. I have a good idea now on what models to check. If anyone has more ideas please don't hesitate on leaving a post. Thanks again.

I'm pretty a fan of yamaha, so for your <$1000 budget(this is the critical set up of our comments), only 2 models I'll recommend: home series arius ydp140 and contemporary p140.

Both are the best keyboards you may have with you money in terms of the balance of sound, touch and handy features.

Of course, you're not getting the best instrument (in fact in my opinion a pure musician should NOT even expect that and relay on any shinning tools rather on his hard earned skills) but you can begin your music journey right away. And that's the most lovely part of this whole thing for us.

Okay, start reading the reviews and you may get your hunting done and put the grills on. Here are the links to good reveiws and price comparison for:

Yamaha ydp140 digital piano ,

and

Yamaha p140 digital piano .

And you also want to check out this thread, quite a lot discussion about yamaha ydp140:

http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?/topic/6/5050.html#000022

Cheers,

Hi again, I went to visit some stores today and tested the YDP-140 and the YDP-160 and I found little difference in the sound between the two but the touch of the 160 is a little bit heavier. I decided to get the 160 but the store only had the floor model and they offered me the CLP-320 for a 100$ more. The latter comes with 5 years warranty against 1 year for the ydp-160. Regardless of the warranty difference, which one of the two is better according to you experts? Is the CLP-320 worth paying 100$ more? Thanks.

The YDP-160 generally sells for $1300.
How much for the CLP-320 ? $1400 ?

The more expensive CLP units have a nicer, richer cabinet than the YDP series. But not the CLP-320. It looks a lot like the YDP-160. So your NOT getting a nicer look for the extra $100.

You might be getting a bench, though.

As for the piano features, there's not a whole lot of difference in the specs. The CLP-320 has 128 polyphony, while the YDP-160 has only 64. But this won't matter to any but the finest musicians playing difficult pieces.

On the other hand, the YDP-160 has reverb and dual features, lacking on the CLP-320.

The CLP-320 has the GH keyboard, while the YDP-160 has the GHE. Try them out, see if you find a difference.

If you don't see/feel much difference, I'd say go with the YDP-160. Save $100.

Dear waljbt,

Since this is for your child I would like to give you something to think about.

Most people, even on this forum, think that the lower lines of digitals pianos are a cheap alternative to the real thing, so that they don't have to spend too much money on a real piano, and all they are really compromising is sound quality. and hey, if my kid is serious and shows commitment maybe in time I'll buy the real thing.

The problem with that kind of thinking is that it is patently incorrect. You see, the best teachers always recommend a real piano for practice at home for a few reasons:
The sound quality of an acoustic piano is far superior to a digital and inspires children to play, a fact that in itself would justify the investment in the instrument and the lessons. the child enjoys the instrument more therefore they will practice more and are more likely to stick with the instrument.
There is also the issue of ear fatigue, which means that when you hear the same sound over and over again your ear gets tired of it, and you stop enjoying it. An acoustic piano will always sound different every time you play it, so you will enjoy it for decades.
And the most important thing, finger practice is the most fundamental requirement of piano studies. If you don't have real piano action, the child does not get the practice they need to develop the correct technique. weighted keys are not the same as graded hammer action, they feel very very different.

I would seriously recommend that for your child's success you consider, if not a real piano, at least a digital piano that has a graded hammer and a GH3 keyboard that replicates real piano repetition. like the Clavinova CLP330.

The choice is yours of course, but for my 6 year old boy, I insisted on providing him with the best tools for success.

Another point to think about is the financial long term investment. the price of wood always goes up, but what's a 3 year old computer worth these days?... you see, in the long run a real piano will keep its value better than a digital.

For your consideration,

This is great advice if waljbt's budget allowed but he states a max of $1,000 which means he's probably hoping to stay far below that if possible.

In this situation, the low-end Casio and Yamaha models are perfectly adequate for a 4-yr old who is just showing interest. For about $600-800, he can get a weighted action DP with decent features.

There are many used acoustic pianos out there and he might find a fabulous deal in this price range so he should also consider that option but it sounds like he's made that decision already to go with a DP.

Electronics have changed the musical instrument arena drastically - does anyone consider an electric guitar to not be a 'real' guitar? The same skill set is used to play both but they obviously produce different sounds.

Digital pianos are soon to be in that same mindset with the technology improvements.

Whether that's good or bad is irrelevant, unfortunately.

Dear ohitpro,

I'm actually quite amused at your guitar comparison . If you were a guitar player you would know that it actually does take a very different skill set to play an electric guitar versus an acoustic guitar... it's a very different animal indeed.

also, what made you think that waljbt's son is 4 years old..? he never mentioned his age...and again, what's adequate? would you send your son to an art class with a box of crayons? budget is always a concern, but for me, I often make an adjustment to my budget if I find that there is greater value in something that is a bit more expensive than my original budget. we're not talking tens of thousands of dollars here...

Best wishes,

Hi David,

waljbt said this in his first post:

These are tough economic times and I feel there are good options in the sub-$1000 DP or used acoustic market.

Regards,
Tom

Oh ok, I missed that, thanks...

I personally, and I emphasize, this is my own personal view, is that my children's education is my top priority. no matter how much I compromise my lifestyle in these tough times, I will always try to give my kids the best tools for success. but Mr. waljbt will have to make up his own mind regarding that.

YDP-160 is a fine instrument. Although I picked up a 140 the other day cause I don't feel a difference and the price is $300 cheaper, I will say ydp-160 is a fine instrument for the budget.

However, I have to agree with David Brand. A person who is just beginning in the piano world definitely need an acoustic or the most acoustic alike instrument. There are very good digital pianos out there (I have personally tried CLP-340 and CLP-280, very very impressed. However the price is big thing.) or, maybe you can get a used acoustic (I see them on the craigslist all the time and they sell for cheap. Buy one for $500 and take it to a dealer to fix it, you can probably get a good acoustic piano for your budget. I don't know how much it takes to fix though.) An acoustic piano, unlike digital ones, will always last long as long as all the keys work and stay tuned.

For a beginner, he/she is just starting in the piano world and the first few years are very important cause a whole new impression is being build and reinforced. Digital piano is more suitable for a player that already have years of piano experience and will not be greatly influence. An acoustic piano is necessary to build proper techniques as well.