Hi.
I am buying a first digital piano for my 7 year old son who is just about to start lessons. We are interested in a realistic feeling sturdy piano with pedals. The 2 reasons we are not getting an acoustic piano are the price and the noise in our apt (we like the headphone option). So we are most interested in a very piano looking, feeling, and playing digital piano. We also want built in recording and a built in metronome. Other bells and whistles aren't so important.

These are the models we are currently considering. I would like to hear what any of you have to say about them:

1. Roland MP-500
2. Roland F-100
3. Yamaha YDP223

Thank you.

Chamara

I am not familiar with those particular models. I have a Roland KR 577 and think that it is great. It has a nice look to it that fits in a living room and sounds and plays great. I did not try alot of different pianos for sound and feel as I live in a rural community without much access to a variety of instruments. I made my decision based mostly on internet research. My headphones get quite a lot of use. No one has to listen to my endless repetition of a peice. I think that it is hard to go wrong with Roland as their main bussiness is digital pianos. I see lots of Yamaha fans on internet pages as well.

Good luck

Our seven-year-old son prefers the family Roland over my personal Yamaha, as the Roland has an easier keytouch. I find the Yamaha to be a fair bit lighter than a real grand, and the Roland to me feels like a speedy, light, comfortable upright.

As far as quality, longevity, ease of use - either brand will do just fine.

So basically, you can't go wrong with any of those - though I seem to recall the F100 is a bit less "like furniture" and that seems to be a factor for you.(?) But keep in mind that the smaller pianos are MUCH easier to move around... my wife can easily move either of our/my digitals wherever/whenever she needs to - an important factor in our busy apartment.

-Lorenzo