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Hi everybody,

Just want a bit off feedback here, im considering purchasing a digi-piano
coz my acoustic piano "isn't worth restoring" the direct quote i got.

Anyway ive narrowed it down to a couple:

Yamaha P60 - can pick up a lil cheaper coz my local music store is selling
the floor model.
Casio PS20
Casio PX100

Well im really looking for sound quality and weighting over anything else
here.

Also i noted that the Yamaha has only 32 polyphony - compared to the Casios with 64; since im fairly new to this what does that exactly mean?

Cheers

If you search for polyphony on this board, you will find lots of info about it.

The casio ps-20 only has 32 note polyphony for it's stereo sounds, 64 for the mono ones. It's best grand piano sound in stereo is 32 and it sounds much better than the monophonic piano.

The px-100 only has 16 note polyphony for it's best piano sound, 32 for some of the other sounds.

As far as I know the yamaha has 32 for all sounds.

I like the weighting on the Yamaha P-90 and P-120... it's a bit on the heavier side. The P-120 has speakers, the P-90 doesn't, but the sound quality is nice. 64 polyphony too, and you can do half-sustain pedals!

Oh, and polyphony means the number of sounds the piano can play simultaneously. So if you play large glissandos with the pedal down, some notes in the 32 polyphony will cut out. 32 is fine for most basic piano stuff, but I'd recommend 64 if you can afford it.

if you want a digital piano:

$2000+: Yamaha PF500
$3500-4000+: Yamaha PF100 or CLP170/175

(they all have weighted key action and 128 polyphony as i read).

sorry, i mean "PF1000" (not PF100). don't even consider getting anything with 32 polyphony or less, or else you will soon regret buying it.

128 polyphony is a bit overkill... 64 is more than adequate for most pianist's needs. 128 polyphony is more for people who like to play multiple tracks at the same time (like record something, then play it back and play something else on top of it.) The P-90 and P-120 are also still relatively cheap (1000-1200 dollars).

Not necessarily. Manufacturers measure their polyphony in different ways. Some use stereo samples that use 2 voices, while others' stereo samples only use a single voice of polyphony. Also, many of the best piano patches are layered so that each note is using multiple voices of polyphony.

bottom line: I'd say 64-note is OK, but 128 is optimal if you can swing it.

Hey all.

Down in aus - the pricing on digi pianos arent quite priey indeed so i wouldnt be able to pick up a P120 for $1200(US dollar im assuming) down here it retails for around the $3000 Aussie Dollar mark -> just a tad out of my range .

I had a little chat to one of these guys at a speciality piano store, and he actually recommended the P-60 or the CLK115 for me, i had a tinker with the piano itself and they sound great, love the feel and myself didnt hear and note dropouts when i played a few pieces. Granted these are only 32 polyphony but i myself wouldnt and couldnt notice the difference (Me returning to the piano after playing the guitar for a fair while). Also these models i can pick up for around $1800; mabye slightly less(both in my <$2000 range).

Any thoughts

Try playing a piece with lots of chords/glissandos with the sustain pedal down. Most of the time in normal passages, 32 polyphony is adequate, but it's when you need lots of notes at the same time you notice the difference.

The P-90 is slightly cheaper than the P-120, but doesn't have speakers. For its price, the P-60 is a pretty good deal, though.