I was thinking about buying digital piano for my grandma. I would want something in the range of up to $1,500 with full piano keyboard (88 keys), lifelike sound, hard keys (I mean, similar in action and sound to the real piano), pedals and basic recording capabilities. The main reason going digital is volume control. The piano will not be moved a lot. Someone recommended Roland F-100 to me. Any ideas?

hi olondore,

If you do a search on past threads, time and again you'll come back to Yamaha. Clavinovas are worth checking out, but then again, the YDP223 looks like it could fit your budget.

Try out as many pianos as you can. Play them with sound off as well as on to get a better feel for the keys. If you can, bring a good set of headphones with you.

A lot of questions you could ask yourself: are you looking for a stage piano or furniture? The former's advantage is portability; the latter's is a more realistic appearance. What kind of action do you want? Polyphony may or may not be a big issue, depending on if you want to do some sequencing or just plain piano playing.

Don't forget to search through previous posts; you're bound to find some valuable information.

Best of luck!
-a

Oops, forgot to add...it's been said that Roland has a lighter touch than Yamaha. Something you might want to consider for your grandma. In fact, bring her along, since she's the one who's ultimately playing it. No need to rush the search, and in the end, go with what feels right.

-a

While this may be true on some models, I don't think this statement is true across the board.