Hi,
I have a Roland HP 103 PE that I purchased in Jan. 2007. Now I'm getting a small grand, Yamaha 5'3. Having the digital has given me the opportunity to practice at any hour. My original deal on the used grand was to trade it in at full value towards the purchase of the grand. Since I would like to have a digital just as a pracitce piano, should I trade it in and look for a less expensive digital. The one I have has graded hammer action.
Dot

How much do you get for trading it in?

Even if you get an acoustic piano, you
should still have a digital piano. Digitals
are superior for developing technique,
and so 90+% of your practicing should be
on the digital. Save the acoustic for
Sunday playing only.

If your digital has a non-graded weighted
action, that's no problem, because the
grading feature on digitals is very
slight, and there's little difference
between graded and non-graded actions.
So I would keep your current digital piano.

I'm not clear on what you're trading in
to get what, but regardless of what you're
doing, you should have a digital piano.

Gyro's on drugs and his blind love for DPs has been an inside joke around this board for a while. Disregard his so-called advice as a real piano has no equals for developing technique.

Having said that, I think you answered your own question. You want to be able to practice at any time of the day or night and a DP will give you that advantage. If you can find something of lesser value with the same or approximate touch, I'd suggest you go for it.

Either that or give up playing after a certain time.

Dot, I would keep the Roland, most definitely. No matter how much you like your new grand, you will miss the DP at times when you need privacy or feel you can't play the accoustic at all.

I live in a small apartment (condo), and I have almost zero privacy. Without being able to play at odd times at home, with earphones, my practice time would be cut to nill.

Now, if I lived in a big house, by myself, and I had no problems with neighbors, if I could practice any time of day for as long as I like AND had the money for a really fine grand AND the money to keep it regulated and tuned at all times, then I would use the grand at all times except when doing midi work, which requires a DP and a midi interface.

Before listening to the advice of other people, make sure they have the same limitations that you have (space and privacy).

If time will demand that you use the DP (late at night or while other people are around), you will want to kick yourself later if you trade in the one you have and get another that has an inferior action (to the one your present DP has).

Yes, get the grand. You can never fully develop your technique on a DP, but you can most certainly practice many things on it, keeping in mind what how it feels on the accoustic. On DPs it's useful to play at least a little down-tempo and be a bit forgiving if the notes don't "speak" as well as they do on the accoustics, because among other things DPs demand that you strike to the bottom each time you strike a key (which is the "unforgiving part", while accoustic actions only care about how fast the hammers are thrown into action before they escape.

To sum up: if at all possible, keep the DP. I'm almost sure you will miss it.

BUT:

Once you get the accoustic, play on it whenever possible, because if it is a good one, you will enjoy playing on it about 100 times more for the sound and feel!

I agree fully unless the real piano is a poor one, in which case it can be a far worse experience than playing on a good DP. I'm sure you've played on a few klunkers (not your own!) where keys stick, the action in general as absolutely no consistancy to it, and the instrument is badly out of tune. The worst of the beasts can't be tamed by the best technicians on the planet. And one other thing: people hear "grand" and automatically think "superior piano". Let's also remember that the smallest grands have rather short bass strings, and many of them hardly have great sound, so for those interested in recording themselves, the results may be very disappointing.

We are all also assuming that we are talking about fine pianos, the ones that allow us to do all the things we are capable of doing technically.
I agree with that, but it can be a tricky matter. Yes, DPs continue to improve, so their prices are going down, but there is also the matter of inflation, and it doesn't seem to me that I've seen the same huge jump in "bang for the buck" vs. quality over the last couple years. In the end, the expensive part of all these better DPs (or a large part of the expense) is the action, so I'd be very reluctant to get rid of one DP that feels good to me on the chance that I'll find another that will save me money in the long run. I think that's rather risky.

If, on the other hand, I found a new DP that was less expensive than an older one AND that played as well or better AND could get money for the old one, I might go for that. But that might (again) be risky. Like cars, trade-ins tend to be to the advantage of the "dealer".

In short, I'd be very sure that after a trade-in, I'd get something that was just as good (certainly not less good) AND that I would save money. I'm not sure Dot will find that kind of deal.

Either that or give up playing after a certain time. [/QB][/QUOTE]

Thanks for all your prompt replies.
Gyro, why do you think a digital is better for developing technique?
The Roland HP 103 is a very nice piano, it has was Roland calls a Progressive Hammer Action, along with several other nice features that I rarely use. There are 4 options, light, medium, heavy, and fixed. The medium option is supposed to be closet to an accoustic piano. So I'm thinking it is a little more than I need just for a practice piano with head phones. I'm getting $2,995 for the Roland as trade in towards the Yamaha 5'3" Grand. I live in a private house with my husband. He says he does not mind my practicing! However, we all know when you really want to work on scales, Hanon, or work on certain passages in any piece, you need repetition. I may ask the dealer if he has a used digital that has similar action, but not as many of the features as the HP 103. I'll keep you posted.
Dot

KEEP IT!

Salzdt, I grew up playing only acoustic
pianos, but since 1989 I've been playing
only digitals, and they have enabled me
to make progress that would have been
impossible on an acoustic. The biggest
advantage with a digital is the volume
control: you can turn the vol. down or
play with headphones and not disturb
anyone with your playing, and you can
tackle advanced pieces that you have
to go at note by note, which would get
you laughed out of the neighborhood on
an acoustic. I've worked up a big
concerto like this, which I could never
have done on an acoustic piano.

Also, digitals have much of the character
of the old silent keyboards that used to
be popular with concert pianists in the
1930's--Claudio Arrau used one
all his life. Silent keyboards were invented
because of the disadvantages inherent in
an acoustic: the noise, the cacophony, and
the weight. A silent keyboard enables
you to practice any time, and saves your
nerves, because it makes no sound--people
with very sharp hearing are actually
traumatized by the sound of an acoustic
piano at full volume. And it's portable,
which an acoustic is not.

Gyro,
Thanks, I'm really considering those issues. I returned to the piano after 40 yrs. I'm retired and have lots of time and a wonderful teacher. I'm working on the classics with her and tinker with popular on my own. My husband grew up in a household where his Mom and Sister played and practiced. He wears my parciticing would not bother him. Now he did mention about moving the digital upstairs if we keep it. I have a week or two before I take delivery of the grand. We'll look at the finances again, who knows, maybe I'll just bite the bullet and keep the Roland. Gyro, thanks again.
Dot

Hi Dot,

Congratulations on your new piano purchase, first of all. Might I suggest a different tack:

You're being offered a lot of money for the Roland as a used trade-in. But, you are likely to want to play your new acoustic piano the vast majority of the time. If you still want the occasional late-night usability of a digital, get a cheaper digital like a Casio Privia PX800 or similar. Costs about $800, and then you have the best of both worlds with less of a strain on your budget.

The flexibility of using my upright, upright w/ mute rail, or digital allows me no excuse to use the piano at any time. Although the Roland you have is a nice keyboard indeed, I completely disagree that it is superior to a new GC1/C1 as a tool for technical development. Best of luck!

Terminaldegree,
Your input was exactly what I was thinking. Since I see you teach piano, you know what I mean. There are times when I want to concentrate a few bars in a piece to get the technique down. The digital is nice for that reason alone. I'll checkout the Casio Priva PX 800. I'll keep you posted.
Dot

I too think a digital would be handy for practicing at odd times, etc. I also disagree with Gyro's theory that you can perfect passages/techniques that you could not do on an acoustic, if that were the case there would have been far fewer concert pianists trained prior to the invention of the electronic/digital piano. My wife has been a classically trained concert pianist for quite a few years, she never played a digital piano until she started teaching at a piano store several years ago. You can rest assured that her technique was developed entirely on acoustic pianos.
Clyde

Wildpaws,
I know exactly what you mean. I'm sure I will be using the acoustic grand a lot. But, there are times during the day that I just to practice without disturbing others in the house.
Dot

Hi Dot,

I read where you want a digital and your dilema is whether you should trade in the Roland and get a cheaper digital or keep the Roland.

There are many good digitals that are way less expensive that will give you what you need. I personally like the Yamaha YPG 625 and you can find them used. However I would get rid of the Roland simply because you mentioned it has a lot of features you don't use and get something less expensive.

Guitar Center and Sam Ash has a huge inventory of Yamaha and Casios.

By all means keep a digital on hand. We just had the experience of losing power for a day here in Florida when Fay came by and as I was playing my acoustic the hammers were swelling and rendered it impossible to play. I then plugged my digital into one of the extensions cords running from the generator and I was back in business.

And you can hook a digital piano to a computer, and really have fun composing and arranging your own music!

Meri

Thanks Oxfords Gal,
My Yamaha Grand arrived today. I did trade in the Roland and will take a look at the Yamaha YPG 625. I liked the Roland, but I now only need something to use late at night or early in the morning.
Dot

Salzdt,

Be carefull with the YAMAHA YPG-625.

Use the SEARCH function and you will discover that there are complaints about "clunking noise" making keys and the GHS action that is to light.

The GHS keyboard is very light and to different from a real accoustic. Yamaha's GH(E) system is more realistic but especially the GH3 keyboard is very good and offers more dynamic control.

If you want cheap AND good realistic keyboard consider the CASIO's.