I'm a new piano player that is currently on the market for a digital piano, and as you might guess, I'm having trouble deciding. I've pretty much narrowed it down to the Roland KR377, Yamaha CLP ?, or Technics SX-PR703.

Each dealer that I have gone to says that the Technics is older technology and I would be better off with a Roland or Yamaha, but the sound seems to be so much more fuller and clearer on the Technics. Anyone else have any thoughts?

Also, I've found the prices to be phenomenal for pianos at www.pianodepot.com. Has anyone had any experiences with them? Any pluses or negatives to buying from the net as opposed to a dealer. I know I can save thousands from Piano Depot, but I'm wondering if there's a "gotcha" in there somewhere. Thanks. :rolleyes:

It can be really dangerous to buy online. I was shopping for a CLP9?? for a long time (well, 2 months), and I found a store in Europe online called musicproducts.com Turns out, they were there only as a "thorn in the side of Yamaha" because the man who runs the site is a former disgruntled worker of Yamaha. Pretty outrageous, huh?

As far as comparisons, I didn't like the Technics because the sound in the bottom octave is so processed. It just sounded "fake." I don't know if this helps, but I hope so.

This is the best site I know of for comparisons of digital piano samples:
http://www.purgatorycreek.com/pianocompare.html

MusicLover, buying online or from a mailorder catalog has plusses and minuses. The main benefit is that they are usually cheaper, however, you can't get to try the products out first. Some companys have a return policy if you don't like it. The biggest problem is it tends to put local music companys out of business. If you need something you just can't run down to the local store and get it, they are gone, and if you need it TODAY .... forget it. Shopping locally and buying online or from a catalog maybe a great deal for you, but it wastes the salespersons time and gives nothing in return to the local company. If you intend to make a major purchase online, be sure to make several other purchases locally, to support your local business. You can use the online price to try to get a better deal locally, but many companys simply cannot match their prices, but they may go down on the price some to get your business. As for which piano to get, my suggestion is to find the piano with the best action you can find. Many of the digitals simply do not feel like a real piano action. You feel resistance and the sensation of the key hitting the keybed, not the feeling of the hammer hitting a string and the mechanical workings within a real action. After you find the action you like, if the sound is not what you like, you take advantage of the MIDI output and get a piano module with the sound you do like. There are several companys that specialize in piano modules that offer excellent sound without the "geewiz" factor of sounds you may never use. (How many times do yo really need a helicopter sound?) As the technology improves, you can upgrade the module if you like with far less money than upgrading the entire keyboard.