Hello, I'm so glad I found this forum. It sounds like there is a wealth of knowledge out there.

I don't play the piano, but really really want to learn how. I'm in my early 40's and have a 6 yr old that I would like to learn as well.

Here are some of my criteria:
Love the baby grand look over an upright or keyboard. The smaller the better.(Also a nice piece of furniture in the family room)

Don't need a lot of bells and whistles because I will never take the time to read a manual. Also, the fewer toys the more we'll be inclined to just learn to play.

Other important reasons I am considering digital is no tuning required and headset capabilty, for my husbands sake.

Quality is important to me. Although it won't necessarily ever be an heirloom, I do need it to last. And ideally I would like it to sound and feel as close to an acoustic as possible.

Two I have found that I like as far as looks are teh Yamaha CLP 265G and CLP 295 GP. Although they are out of my price range.

Another one that I am considering is the Kurweil 112i. (More in my price range)

Does anyone have any feedback on any of these digitals? Or any other advise or suggestions? Should I only buy new, or is used a smart way to go on a digital?

Thanks a bunch!

My ideal price range is approx $2500.

I don't want anything to junky

i would doubt you can get any digital grand with $2500. it's just enough to get a Yamaha CLP240, which is not even high end one or grand.

yep, that's wishful thinking with the price range..no baby digital grands for 2500..but if you up that by just a little you can get any of the 3 best sounding and best feeling digital pianos on the planet :
1.Yamaha CLP 280
2.Roland HP 207
3.Kawain CA 91

I have the clp 280 myself and as a digital piano, it absolutely kicks royal butt when it comes to touch and tone..And did you realize that the clp280 is essentially the same instrument as the clp 295gp ? that's right, only difference is the fancy cabinet wich you are paying 2000k extra for
if you get the 295..so i would recommend you have a look at the clp280..!

In the YAMAHA CLP-295 they have put the speakers in a wooden soundboard which does seem to make a significant difference to the CLP-270/280, if you are willing to pay the huge extra price !

Interesting review here:
http://www.yamahapkowner.com/forum/index.php?topic=4095.0

You can of course consider the CLP-265 but then you only have a nice looking but very expensive CLP-230 !

it sounds like Yamaha CLP280 or Roland HP207 must be your natural choice. Kawai CA91 is a nice piano too but personally i prefer Yami and Roland.

what you have to expect is that no digital piano no matter how good this is can reproduce a real piano feel and sound.

I can think of at least three "digital grands" that can be purchased for $2500 (or less): -- the Suzuki, the Kohler and the River. I remember there was a guy selling the Kohlers on eBay. I think Terry Wilson (Piano Superstore) also sells these. I almost bought one (and may yet). I'm sure they are ok for the price -- I think they use the Fatar action and I believe I read they use the same sound sampling as the Kurzweil (perhaps an older model?). And they look nice. Should be fine for an adult beginner and a 6 year old.

I would encourage you to wait until you know how to play well enough to develop your own preference for touch and sound before spending so much money. There are good quality, new, inexpensive (<$500) choices in stage pianos that you could put in a bedroom out of sight for awhile, then sell and recover most of your money. Then buy a grand once you and your daughter know what feels good. She will probably learn much faster than you will and is likely to be the one you want to make the choice.

On the used side you could probably find something decent if you bide your time and wait. If you're familiar with ebay, go to musical instruments-> keyboard,piano->piano->digital and search for "grand" with a price range max of $2500. There might be a few things. If you check the box "completed items" you can see what's been offered in the last few months. You might also try craigslist for the major cities in your area.

This one gives you more of the look you want.
http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/Cont...TRIBUTE,00.html

Digital pianos are essentially computers and,
like personal computers, are assembled from
components that have been standardized to a
large extent. If you open up a digital piano,
all you'll see inside is a few computer chips
and other electical components connected to
the keyboard and speakers with wires. Thus,
any small company can buy the separate components
of a digital piano--weighted keyboard, computer
chips, speakers, etc.--and assemble a good
digital piano, which is why today many smaller
companies make digital pianos. You
see them selling under catchy names
like: Winchester, Hemingway, Vicount,
Williams, Diginova, Adagio, Galileo, etc.
These lesser-known brands typically sell
for less than the big brands, but not
always, because some of them are just as
good or better than the well-known brands.
One forum member likes Winchester digitals
more than any other brand.

This is similar to the situation with
personal computers. Today any small
company can assemble a personal computer
that's just as good or better than a
Dell or Hewlett-Packard.

Today you would have a hard time buying
a bad weighted-key digital piano. Even
ones in the $400 to $500 price range are
pretty good. And ordering lesser-known
brands sight-unseen online shoud be no
problem. The mini-grand type of digital
is the same as the console type, it's just
that the cabinet is in the grand piano
style. If you buy a mini-grand from one
of the big companies, they're going to
put the innards from one of their high-priced
consoles into a grand case. Such consoles
might cost in the neighborhood of $5000,
so after the grand case is added, you're
looking at about $10,000. This of course
will be a fine instrument, but this is
way too much to pay, in my opinion. Note
that you can get a good digital console for
even $500, so add the grand case and
you should be able to get something for
$2500 or less, new.

I believe there are lesser-known companies
that make mini grands for much less than
the big brands. These are not "junky" by
any means, because you would have a hard
time buying a bad weighted-key digital piano
today. So buying an inexpensive
mini grand from some leser-known company,
sight-unseen online, should be no problem
at all. Some of the companies that might
make inexpensive, but good, minis are
Valesta, Suzuki, Galileo, Viscount, and
Princeton.

For example, there's the Suzuki HG-425e
digital mini grand:

http://www.suzukimusic.com/hg-425e/index.html

This has a suggested price of $3495, so you
can probably get it for much less than that.

The specs of the SUZUKI HG-425e indeed look very good.

Here an advertissement from the United Kingdom where it seems to be very expensive at 2999£ or about 5900 US$ !?

http://www.suzukimusic.co.uk/piano/html/hg425-black.htm

Does anyone has experience with the touch and sound?

About the YAMAHA Nocturne N100 that dvcs cycles mentioned read this topic:

http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/6/4440.html

Hello,
Can anyone help me with choosing a digital piano, i have been looking at the Yamaha CLP-280-Roland HP-207-Kawai CA91, I wanted to know if the Kawai would last longer because of the full wooden keyboard, I have a Acoustic Kawai K-25 which i like very much, but i dont know much about there Digital Pianos, I have a Roland HP237RE at the moment, I had this for 5 an half years but now somthinks up with it, It seems to sound out of tune and somtimes the keys dont make a sound when pressed and when i hit the keys lightly the sound comes out loud, very strange, So any help would be great thanks