I'm still unsure as to whether I want to go the digital route, but if I was, I'm particularly interested in the Yamaha P-250. It is advertised as having one of the closest touch to a grand piano.

Unfortunately, I can't even test out a P-250 any any of my local authorized Yamaha dealers since they don't carry it. They DID try to sell a plethora of Clavinova models, and I wasn't impressed. Without going into too much detail, it suffices to say that practicing on one of those will severely compromise my technique.

Anyone have any personal experiences using a P-250 as a substitute for an acoustic piano? One particular concern is the fact that this model does not have a stationary pedal. Does this pose as problematic for anyone (slipping/sliding)? How is the touch? Is practicing on this as gratifying as practicing on an acoustic piano?

Of course, I can hold out until some kind of opportunity for a CP-80 appears. I've found that CP-80s are very rare and it may be moot for me to even try to look. If anyone has any suggestions on where I can look, I'd be very thankful.

The touch is fairly decent, a bit on the stiff side though, be forewarned.

From the description of your experience, it sounds like you looked for a P-250 at a dealer of acoustic Yamaha pianos. They largely stock just the Clavinovas for digital products. To see a P-250 go to someplace like Guitar Center and look in the synthesizer section.

The pedal does slide if you don't secure it somehow. The P-250 also only comes with one pedal, but you can hook it up to any of the three standard pedal functions. You can get the other two and bolt them to a wood or metal plate to stop the movement, or you can fasten some carpet gripper material to the bottom of the single pedal to stop the motion.

Right, you'll only find the P250 at general music instrument stores (plus of course on the web). I've been looking for one to try out myself, but the three music stores in my area (Ted Brown's, Guitar Center, and Music 6000) don't have any in stock. I asked M6K to get one in so I could try it and they said they would call me when it arrived.

Hi,
If you are considering the P250, recommend you look at PF500. You can read about it on Yamaha's webpage. Guitar Center carries this superb piano. I believe from what you have written, this instrument may be what you are looking for.
Good Luck...

Again, I'm wondering if anyone might have any leads for me with regard to the Yamaha CP-80 piano.

Anyone?