Professinal Portable Digital Pianos

I am planning to buy a new portable piano (something that could fit in my car), but I don't have a music store anywhere near me, so I can't try any of them.

I want a piano which is about 40 pounds or less which has good built in speakers, 88 weighted keys, and is close to an acoustic grand.

I've been looking into Korg and Roland DPs but I still don't know what models I should be looking for.

If you have any advise on DPs I should be looking at, all ideas are welcome!

Random01, may I ask your estimated budget?

If you are on a limited budget (or indeed, even if you are not), the Casio Privia range represent excellent value for money. The PX-130 and PX-330 models offer a selection of reasonably good grand piano sounds, with onboard speakers, and an 88-key grade weighted action.

The Korg SP250 offers the necessary features at a similar price range, while the Yamaha P-155, Roland FP-4/FP-7 and KAWAI ES6/EP3 would also be great choices.

My recommendation would be to jump in your car and drive to the nearest musical instrument superstore, such as Musician's Friend, Sam Ash, etc. Really, looking at online brochures, product specifications, and indeed asking questions on this forum can be a great way to learn about each instrument. However, it is absolutely essential that you also play-test the various models extensively yourself - really, this is the only way that to ensure that you're buying the piano that is right for you.

Good luck with your purchase!

Cheers,
James
x

Also, what do you consider to be "professional"? Most pro stage pianos don't have speakers since they are expected to be plugged into a house PA system or a band's amplifier setup. If you're looking for a 40 pound board with a weighted action and a good enough sound system to play in a modest sized room, I think you're likely to be disappointed.

No, I'm not really on a budget, though saving up some money would be good, but I'm really looking at the features and the feel of a piano rather than the price tag.
I have looked over some of the Casio Privia models, but I wasn't sure if all of them had weighted action. I also want to ask you what the difference between the PX-130 and PX-330 is.

I'll be sure to check out all of those!



Thanks for your information James! It really helped me.

Oh, one more question, is there a possible digital piano which makes hardly any "thumping" sounds? It really annoys me when I play quietly at night, and the piano makes these weird noises once you press down.... Do all DPs have that sound? Or is there one without/hardly sounding keys?

Thanks once again!

My "professional" standards are what I noted above, it should have 88 weighted keys which has a feel of a grand piano... I don't think my standards are that high...

Thanks for the information!

Random01, I recently bought a px330 and was looking at the px130 as well so i can tell you, not that it's any big secret, that all the privias do have weighted action and in the case of the 130 and 330 (and soon to be released 730 and then 830 next year)they are the same as far as action as well as digital sampling goes. The 330 has alot more voices, rhythms instead of only metronome, 16 track recorder, line-in and outs and midi. I got the 330 because of a sale instead of just going with the 130 but haven't used the recorder yet, the rhythms are a nice touch for playing to pop music, and the extra voices are not so special in my opinion. You may be able to get the 130 for $399 at places like music123 if they'll still honor their last month's 20%...or the 330 for $560 with the 20% if they'll still do it. ----the 330 has the extra stuff i mentioned but what they took off that the 130 does have is 60 songs/scorebook.