Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards This Subforum Desperately Needs a FAQ

We get the same question at least one time every single day - namely "What is the best keyboard for a beginner" (or something to that effect)

It would be nice to create a FAQ thread that lists the options (like Privias and lower end Yamahas, and perhaps other brands/models), with their prices, pictures, good and bad sides etc. We could then list that thread in a sticky, and refer new posters to get their answers there. It would sure beat answering the same question in 20 different threads.

I know what you mean. It feels like the answer to every topic is Casio Privia PX110.

Kids say choose "C" in a multiple choice exam if you don't know the answer and have to guess.

I guess that "C" stands for Casio.

I have thought this for awhile.

Tuan, It's not so much that the answer is always Casio, it's that most of the time people who are just starting out are looking for a very reasonable starter dp, usually one that is under $500. In that price range the options I have found are:
- Casio Privia PX110, which may not be the perfect DP, but it is the best value out there.
- Williams pianos, which I don't think has a following on this forum.
- m-Audio, but you need an amp and speakers and that places it out of the price range of most beginners.
- Non-weighted keyboards, and we all know that if you want to play piano you need to practice on a weighted digital.

When you start looking at DP's at about the $750 - 1000 range, you open up a whole lot more options.

Rich

I agree. I don't even live in the US but know the going prices for all the low end DPs from the repeated topics.

Good observation - and perhaps that's how the proposed thread should be structured - by price ranges. DP's below $500; $500-$1000; $1000-$1500 etc.

I'd also like to see a basic discussion about weighted vs. non-weighted keys. Although, I can explain as much as I want, but it is Tuan's heartfelt comments that really make people understand.

If there's no mod, who would sticky it?

In the $2000-2500 range, my preference, based on a little experience, would be the Roland RD-700sx, or the Korg Triton Extreme.

Eternal, the problem is that the people who post those questions don't look at other threads before posting, so they won't try the FAQs first either.

On the piano forum, we sometimes refer people to the other threads.

You are right, Foggy.

There are many people out there who don't know about forum etiquette like the longer-term members do. I'm pretty sure that there are quite a few people who have registered to come here to ask a question, but have never used a message board or forum system before as well.

I think this is just partly due to human nature. Even I have a couple of times registered on other message boards and rashly made a new topic to ask a question without searching first. I recall I was in quite a rush to have some questions answered so that I could place some orders immediately. I don't do that anymore though, as I am more accustomed to message boards now and realize how easy it is to find information.

I think a sticky thread with BOLD RED FONT will capture the eyes of a few people and reduce the flooding of these threads... or it might blind them and drive them away. :p

I don't expect people to look at the FAQ first - hardly anyone does. But pasting a link to a FAQ when somebody asks a common question, is much easier/faster than giving a redundant answer again and again.

I agree, but referring them to other threads also works and it has the virtue of allowing for recent info. Digitals change faster than acoustics, so the recent threads referral just seems more viable.

Now if the issue is How do I record my DP, a FAQ would probably remain useful for a longer term.

You can keep updating the FAQ thread, as new models become available.

I'm new to this forum, but I've read many of the posts before taking the step to joining so that I could get more opinions on the manufacturers of Digital Pianos than I have seen written here. I'm looking to buy the best DP I can for $3000.

I am a member of Consumerreports.org to which I went first to get independent assessment of the manufacturers before I purchase my first DP. They had nothing.

So... I went to a local retail/lessons store where I was informed that Roland and Kawai were by far the better piano. He showed me the dismantled keyboards of a Roland vs a Yamaha and I saw the solid quality Roland metal stylings vs. the plastic fabrication of the Yamaha.

I go to other web sites, and they expound on the virtues of the Yamaha. I go to others (such as pianos.ca, and they do not even mention Roland.

Roland has a Home Play series with a build in screen that could enable my three kids to take lessons. I'm not seeing this discussed in these forums yet.

Many other of the posts do discuss sound and key strike, but not by way of comparing the manufacturers.

I understand the element of personal preference, and noone can dump all this data in a reply to this message, so where does one go to get comparisons of manufacture, and sound.

The piano is for home use. No travel required. Three kids to train.

Thanks for any help.

Keith

I think a faq, if well-labeled and well-placed on the website, could attract a lot of new visitors.

I'll volunteer to help write one.

Why not set up a private forum for those of interested? Realistically, we should be able to pull together a comprehensive faq over the next couple of months.

It's a great idea. I know of no other faq of this nature.