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Hello knowledgeable DP folks,

It's looking like it time to replace my Yamaha p120, it's 10 years old and we had a lot of adventures together, but it's time to upgrade. I'm looking to keep it under 2k. I need to find a particular sweet spot of sound/action/feel, ruggedness, weight and price point:

- best piano sound/action I can afford. I didn't dislike the p120, but I never loved it either, although it was a huge upgrade from the keyboard I had before. I'm hoping to find something I can enjoy playing a little bit more. For the music I play (20's/30's jazz/swing, etc.) I don't really need other sounds, effects, etc.

- As rugged as it can be. I don't intend to subject it to abuse, but it will see a lot of in and out of the car. What the p120 might of lacked in sound/feel it more than made up for in durability, I never had a problem, even when the power in a venue was flaky, etc. I'll have a softsided case. I would like to store it upright when not in use. A friend of mine has a keyboard that has issues when stored upright, I'm staying away from that manufacturer - something like that makes me worried we'd show up for a show and it wouldn't play. And I had a controller that would occasionally just need to be reset. I never had to do anything like that with the p120.

- Light enough that I can carry. I'm a 5'2" gal, I can manage my p120 (I think it's about 40lbs), I think 50lbs would be my max.

Watched a bunch of videos, read a bunch of post, etc. and I'm leaning towards the Kawai ES7, but also considering the MP6, or a Roland RD300nx. Would love to hear your recommendations, I am still open to persuasion Thanks in advance!

I should add, I know my question is pretty much the same as this thread, https://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2077172/Kwai%20ES7,%20MP6,%20Roland%20FP-80%20or.html#Post2077172

It probably seemed like I hadn't read it, I had, but kind of overwelmed/sidetracked/confused. I just went back and reread it.

So maybe a better question is as someone who is taking their keyboard out and about, would your recs be any different than the recs on that thread, which was for primarily home use?

And I do know about the Yamaha p105, and it does seem like a pretty good piano for the price point. But I'm will to spend more to get something I enjoy more, given that I try to hold on to them for as long as possible.

Should add, I don't know how much testing driving I can do locally. Not Kawai, I'm afraid. Not sure about the Rolands. I had ruled out the FP-* due to weight, but I guess is I'm looking at the ES7, they aren't that much heavier. Maybe I should reconsider.

I've just been looking into this size/weight issue for my first DP, upgrading from a very old and very light Yamaha keyboard.

Any particular reason you would take the 300NX over the Roland FP-50? That's lighter than the others at 36lbs.

Enthusiast,
I think I should probably go back and look at it. I, like you, was thinking I would like built in speakers, is that the main difference between the 50 & 80? Maybe I just figured I'd do the 80 for the speakers. They are handy, on my p120. I use them as a monitor, not perfect, and maybe not necessary if I already have a monitor for my voice (another thing to upgrade). And I loved having speakers on the keyboard if I was having sound/pa issues I could verify the keyboard as working, but I guess I could just throw a pair of headphones into my bag.

I think both FP's have speakers. There's a detailed look at them with comparisons here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CvO5kVugbs
FP50 seems very light in that vid when he picks it up.

Another one to look at might be the Yamaha CP50 maybe. Don't think it has speakers but seems like another good one within your price/weight range.

For myself the ES7 seems very impressive but a bit lacking in sounds/features compared to some of the others. I don't think that's an issue for you though. The MP6 has many more features which I've had a try of but apparently there's a difference in the key action compared to the ES7. Maybe someone could elaborate further on that. ES7's is supposed to be a new improved version of that action.