Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Beginner piano thoughts and question

First, a quick word about me. I'm 28, and have finally decided that I want to learn music and play the piano. These forums have been a great place to start my search for a digital piano, so thanks! I eventually want to get an acoustic, but it will probably be 2 years or so before I'll be able to do that. I'm focusing on $1,000 or less keyboards, but I did throw in a Clavinova in case I decided to get something really nice that I won't quickly grow out of.

Yesterday I went around town and checked out a handful of pianos, including the Casio PX-200/PX-800, Yamaha P-70/P-149, and the Clavinova CLP-240. In the sub $1,000 price range, I liked the PX-200 the most, due to its value and action. However, after I had left Guitar Center, someone directed me towards the Casio PX-575CS. I remember it having alot of nice features that could help me learn, but don't remember how the keyboard felt.

Does anyone know if the PX-575CS and PX-800 have the same keyboard?

I'll post more detailed thoughts on all the pianos I tried in the next post...

YAMAHA YPG-625($750.00 with stand), YAMAHA P-70 ($500.00, no stand): While
both had their advantages, the cheap feeling keys and actions made me lose
interest in them quickly.

YAMAHA P-140 ($999.00 no stand): Ah, much better. Of all the sub 1,000
dollar keyboards I tried, this one had the best sound in my opinion. The
keys felt good and it seemed to have solid construction. If portability was
a great concern to me, this one would probably be highest up on my list.

CASIO PX-200 ($500, no stand) and PX-800 ($900 with stand): I probably like
the action of these the most. The sound wasn't as full as the P-140, but it
still sounded good. I didn't like the light brown color of the PX-800
though. An interesting note that someone later shared with me is that the
stands for these do not have feet, which may cause stability problems on my
carpet. I'll investigate this next time I go to Guitar Center.

YAMAHA CLP-240 CLAVINOVA ($2,890): I tried this one last, about an hour
after I tried the others. The sound on this one was phenomenal, as was its
looks. Gorgeous! I'd love to say the action was worlds better than the
others I tried, but I can't. It certainly felt better, but not $1,500
better. This one is very tempting, but I was very much turned off by the
fact that the salesman told me the retail price was $3,100, and made a big
deal that he would discount it to $2,890 for me. Shipping and assembly not
included. I will not buy for this price, but may consider in the $2,300
range. Luckily we have another dealer in the area so I can probably get a
better price.

CASIO PX-575CS ($800, no stand): After I had left Guitar Center, someone had recommended
trying this one out. I'll have to take another look at it and test the
keyboard. I did like all the extras it had; some of them seem like they
could be very valuable in my learning and practicing, including the large
LCD screen. On the down side, the 32 note polyphony might age this keyboard
a bit quicker than the others. Still, if the keyboard action is the same as
the PX200, I'd probably get this one if I don't decide to bite the bullet and get the Clavinova.

Anyway, any addition thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Underdog

I would welcome you to the forums but I'm new here too so that probably wouldn't count for much. :p

However, I understand your problems trying to decide on a DP, I have had a few in the past and my latest is the Roland HP103eMP, I don't know how much you would get one for in dollars but it is now an older model, still cost me just over 1k but I like it.

The final choice however is a very personal thing, no matter what anyone tells you it's down to your fingers and ears to decide.

I thought I was set on the HP207 until I tried the 103, I prefered the action and sound. I expanded it with the JV1010 off ebay and now have a really nice setup going on.

I would say go for the best keyboard feel that you like first, sounds can always be added later.

Anyway, I hope you find what you're looking for and enjoy it when you do.

Instrumentpro.com is selling the P140 with the Yamaha stand for $999. I don't find the speakers in my P140 very useful. I would focus on getting the keyboard feel you want and forget the sound. Run it through an amp or computer if you don't use headphones. I prefer my P90 over the P140 in terms of feel and sound when using headphones. My stereo system is adequate for amplification in my home office. You'd need something more if you're going to play in a bigger room, of if you're an audiophile. I'm an audio caveman, as long as I can rattle the back on the file cabinet when I play loud I'm happy.

you could get a CLP240 around $2500, not close to $3000 which seems too much. but P140 would be a lesser choice if money is the concern.

Yeah, the CLP-240 has great sound and great feel, which is why I'm even considering it. I don't know if I'd bite for $2,500, but at $2,400 I'd be incredibly tempted.

For sub $1,000, my priorities are keyboard feel -> looks -> sound. The Casio PX-800 would probably be at the top of my list if I didn't actively dislike the looks of it, which is why I'm looking at the PX-575CS and PX-200.

My biggest concern is that I drop a fair amount of money into a keyboard that I outgrow in a year or so... well before I'll be ready to move onto an acoustic.

You didn't hear this from me but...

Wherever you are buying your digital piano (online or in stores), ask for discounts and freebies. I did this and scored big.

I bought a Yamaha P-140, stand, and bench for under the price of a standalone P-140.

See my post HERE

It's an awesome deal. You could also get the PX-200 instead though it would cost more.

You cannot really outgrow any weighted-key
digital piano, even ones selling for less
than $500 and/or with 32 note polyphony.
All weighted-key digitals have sound and
action based on a top-of-the-line concert
grand, so even the least expensive ones
will be satisfactory for playing anything
that's ever been composed. The monumental
problem in piano playing is reading and then
hitting the right notes in the right time at
speed, and you do that the same on a
$100,000 concert grand or on a $100,
61-key portable keyboard.

The PX575 is an older keyboard. It is also aimed at adding in synth and drawbar organ functions to the basic Privia line.

Thanks for the help so far. That deal on the Casio PX-310 is VERY tempting.

I went to Guitar Center to re-evaluate the Casio PX-575 and PX-310 compared to the PX-200.

I didn't like the action of the PX-575 that much - it's definitely different from the PX-200, and not in a good way. The PX-310's action was good. I think I liked the PX-200's feel a bit more, but that may have been due the difference in where the keyboards were hanging on the wall. The stands for the PX-200 and PX-310 seemed a bit wobbly without the feet, but I imagine I'm resourceful enough to think up a work-around, so no big deal.

OK, so I'm going to research the PX-310 a bit more, and see what I sacrifice for a savings of ~180.

That CLP-240 is still so very tempting, but I'm having a harder time justifying it.

The PX310 has only 32 / 16 polyphony (16 on stereo sounds like grand piano 1). It has no built in metronome, but it has both line in and line out.

The PX200 has 128 / 64 polyphony. It only has line out. The PX200 also is a newer model with a newer sound source and samples.

The upcoming PX320 is like the PX310 with the newer sound source, samples, and poly.

I often run my PX310 through truepianos for playing or recording. When I do this, my computer sets the limits on poly.

Rich

Thanks for your help! I ended up going for the Casio PX-200. It was a VERY difficult decision, as I really liked the Yamaha CLP-240. In the end, I started thinking about all the other things I can do with the $1800 difference, and the decision became a bit easier.

I figure worst case scenario, in a year I'll outgrow it, sell it for cheap, take the $300 (or so) loss, and get a really nice digital piano. At that time, I'll at least know what I like and want.

In the mean time, I'll pay to have my mom's upright tuned, and try to practice on that once a week just to get a feel for different pianos.

Edit: Sorry, posted reply in wrong thread

Feel free to delete.

Hey Underdog, did you buy the PX-200 using the coupon at Music123 I mentioned in the thread I linked to? Actually the discount will go up to $100 total off if you spend $500, so once again just add a dollar filler like in the PX310 deal to get full discount.

If your not in too much of a rush to buy I'd wait until you can try the new Casio PX-720, comes with a optional light or dark psuedo wood cabinet work. The speakers may be less powerful than the PX-800 but there are other improvements...like saving settings. Being a new model it will be awhile before the price is discounted though.

Actually, I ended up getting it at Guitar Center. I needed to get one ASAP because I've already started lessons. I did some research on music123, and while it seems like a decent enough place, alot of people were complaining about how long it took for them to receive their order.

Still, it WAS a fantastic deal, and if I wasn't in a hurry to begin I would have given it a shot.