I bought a junk digital piano about a year ago for $200 and it was just painful to play on. Didn't even sound or feel remotely like a real piano (the cheap stand also wobbled ). I played for a few months and gave up. Now I'm looking to spend ~$1000 (can go up a little if it makes a difference) and hoping that can get me something decent that will last a while. I don't really care about hooking it up to a computer or doing any recording, I'm just interested in it having the sound and feel closest to a real piano. I think what I want is called a stage piano but I'm not sure. Any recommendations?

Bye $200. Try to sell it but IMO, no one in his right mind will want to buy that for half the price. Go for a decent used acoustic piano. It's a good investment to start with. Besides, your playing technique with regards to touch will improve better than getting used to the soft touch of the digital piano. And when you decide to sell it, you may ask for the same price you bought it for or higher if you compare it to the current market value of a new piece in the showroom.

JUNMER

I realize that the $200 piano was a waste so I was hoping spending $1000 on a better DP would be worth it. An acoustic wont really work for me at this point due to moving constraints and roommate issues.

If you want to save yourself some money go with Casio Privia PX110. It's the cheapest DP which has graded weighted action, and decent sound. It'll cost you around $400. If you want the best sound available, then hooking up your DP to a computer via MIDI is the most economical way. You can get great software pianos for around $300 (Synthogy's Ivory or Native Instruments Akoustik), and those piano libraries blow most Digital Piano sounds away.

Roland FP4 has the most realistic Steinway piano tone for $1,025. The Casios all sound metallic and artificial.

Roland FP-4 is 3 times the price of Casio - it better sound good. Though in my opinion Casio + Ivory > Roland.

Well, if he's going to spend $1,000, why steer him to the PX110? Wouldn't a PX800 or the Yamaha YDP213 be better? Or maybe even the P140, which I think dropped in price lately to $1,099 on an average online site. Or the Kawai MP5, but that would require a set of monitors. Or yea, the FP4, though the action wasn't to my personal liking.

But a nearby Guitar Center/SamAsh should help out a lot if you need.

Like my first sentence states: "If you want to save money...". Clearly if you're going to spend 3 times more you'll get more, and the only question then is whether it's worth the extra expense.

I went to Guitar Center yesterday and tried out a few of there pianos. I didn't really like the sound on any of the Casio's. I liked the Yamaha's, especially the ydp223 (which is out of my price range). They didn't have any rolands for me to try out though. Still not sure what to do.

did you try out the ypg 625 by any chance? I have one of those and I absolutely love it.

If you went to guitar center find out if any of their 2000.00 digitals pianos or keyboards on the floor are not in stock. If they're not you can get their demo for a lot less.

As a fellow adult beginner I would suggest you try the Yamaha P-70. I just purchased one because IMO they sound and feel like the real thing. They go for around $600. Some of the more seasoned players here may have better suggestions but I'm happy with my yamaha.

Good luck-

I would recommend trying the Yamaha P60 (actually I think that the P60 was replaced with the P70). I think it has the best piano sound and feel for the price range and it is actually even a little bit cheaper than what you are budgeting for. It is comparable in quality to some of the more expensive digital pianos. It's a very simple piano in terms of features (no bells and whistles). It seems that Yamaha just wanted to make a good sounding and responsive digital piano for those on a budget.
My best advice though is to try out as many digital pianos (that are in your price range)as you can, narrow down the ones you liked and go back to the stores and try them once again before you make your final decision.

Anyone have any thoughts on the CLP-220 compared to the Roland and the other Yamahas?

I went to a piano warehouse today and ended up picking up a Kawai CN21. I think I got an okay deal on it. I really liked the fact that it looked closer to a traditional piano. I liked the sound and feel as well, but to be honest my ears arent tuned well enough to tell the difference anyway. Anyone recommend a good pair of headphones? I was looking at the Sennheiser HD-555's.