need dig piano advice
HOLBROOK, JARRAD SHANE
am in college away from my pianos at home and I am looking to
buy a digital piano for my apartment. I have done some shopping
around and have asked many questions in the stores, but I would like
some real life advice. I found a Kurzweil RG-200 for $2000 and I
really liked it in the store (it is also in my price range).
Does anyone actually have one or know anything about them. If so,
please let me know. Or if you know of other good pianos in the
same price range (up to $2100), I would really appreciate any advice.
Thanx,
Shane
wa...@ari.net
digital for silent practice and portability. We recognized that, at this point in development, no digital comes remotely close to the sound of an accoustic
piano. Our criteria was touch, tone and price in that order.
We found three we liked:
Technics SX/PX 203: Good action, Steinway sampling, basic features include two track sampling, no brilliance or tempo control. Best price including
bench $2200 at local retailer. Retail list about $4000.
Roland HP2800: Good action, good sound, has brilliance control, two track sampling, tempo on playback. Best price including bench $2285 at local
retailer. Retail list about $4000.
Korg (forget the model): OK action, OK sound. priced right at about $1400. No sampling
We looked at Yamaha, but couldn't get past the tone, and were not too thrilled by the action.
We settled on the Technics, but still think positively about the Roland. Both have above average action for digitals, the Roland was a little softer. Too
bad we couldn't play them side by side! We did learn that many digital manufacturers use the same "Fatar" action. These include Kurzweil, Peavy, and
others. We felt the "Fatar" action rated third.
Now that we have played with the Technics for a few days, we are sorry we didn't take the time to fully investiagate all the "non-piano" features, and we
are not happy with the voicing/balance (left hand is far too powerful, right hand is far too soft). Keys are pretty slick plastic, not like the ivorys we are
used too. Dry fingers slide all over. These complaints are probably standard for most digitals, as we noticed that the right hand sound reproduction
seemed uniformly weak on everything we played (maybe we need better speakers, a few suggestions on this subject would be appreciated).
Bottom Line: Try the Technics and Roland models. Negotiate on price. If you can't get close to 50% off retail, go elsewhere. There are on-line groups
that will get you the price you want (Caruso Music comes to mind). Pay attention to the action first, because no digital is going to sound that good
anyway. Plan on whatever digital you buy being obsolete in two years, maybe less. Don't pay much more than $2000 for useless gadgets. Don't plan
on your digital ever being an acceptable piano substitute! Oh, and get a good set of headphones to test digitals with. Spend about $70 to $100.
Good Luck
KKFOGAL
New Hampshire. 1/3 down, 1/3 in 30, last 1/3 in 60 - no interest charges.
Also, no sales tax here.
Hope this helps as a comparison. I was only able to play on the RB100.
What is the action/feel of the 200 like?
Kathi
Michael Scott
: In article <24OCT95.14...@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>, "HOLBROOK, JARRAD
: SHANE" <JSH...@MUSIC.CC.UGA.EDU> wrote:
: > I have been playing acoustic pianos for over 10 years now. I
: > am in college away from my pianos at home and I am looking to
: > buy a digital piano for my apartment.
: Same here... I'm more interested in feel of the keyboard than
: the sound... let me know what you eventually decide on getting
: and any makes or models that have impressed you as far as the
: true feel of a broken in, weighted wooden strike action!
: Thanks,
: Andrew
Andrew --
You might want to try Kawai's line of digital--they're the only company
using actual wooden keys, to my knowledge. I don't care for the sound
of their instruments, and the action always seems a bit lightweight to me,
but it's wood and it feels like it!
-- Mike
NICKK3
>I'm striving for a Broken in feeling, moderate force needed to
>press down, but snaps up relatively quickly........
You may want to try a Kurzwiel product if you haven't aready - one comment
I frequently get about mine from other players is that it is alittle
heavy, but realistic. The sounds are quite good too... :-).
Nick
Tom Bullinger
: >I'd prefer an full key layout too...
: Nick
Nick,
Someone else here commented on problems they've had with the Kurzwiel,
something about the keyboard sticking after a relatively short amount
of time. Have you seen any problems with yours? Thanks!
TomB..
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------------+
| Thomas A. Bullinger | to...@cldx.com | The views expressed herein |
+----------------------+-----------------------+ do not reflect those of |
| Johnson & Johnson | Phone# (716)453-4078 | Johnson & Johnson. |
| Clinical Diagnostics | Fax# (716)453-4018 | |
+----------------------------------------------+-----------------------------+
Christoph Christ
Am Thursday November 02 1995 um 23:53 Uhr schrieb Michael Scott folgendes an
Aar001@acad Drake Edu:
MS> You might want to try Kawai's line of digital--they're the only
MS> company using actual wooden keys, to my knowledge. I don't care for
MS> the sound of their instruments, and the action always seems a bit
MS> lightweight to me, but it's wood and it feels like it!
Really? This is an intere4sting advice. I'm actually playing the Piano for 19
Years now and I'm searching for a good masterkeyboard. The best would be one
with wooden keys and dynamic touch.
Mit freundlichen Gruessen, usw.
_###_
- Christoph O O
------------------------------------- oOO-(_)-OOo ---------
Internet: Christop...@28.st.co.at
-----------------------------------------------------------
. You have the capacity to learn from mistakes. You'll learn a lot today.
Eric Luhta
in my experience, I've found that my favorite piano-action board is the
Roland RD-500. While it's really a stage-piano more than a digital one,
it's really excellent and the standard one used right now. If you're
strictly classical music, you may find a few shortcomings, but for
ANYTHING else, it rocks. It's price is reasonable - about 2 grand.
Check it out. Peace.
Eric Luhta
NICKK3
>something about the keyboard sticking after a relatively short amount
>of time. Have you seen any problems with yours? Thanks!
It's only 4 months old and no problem, so far - It's also a PC-88mx which
I'm not sure uses the same keyboard as the full "size" digital pianos -
but I'll keep you "posted" ;-).....
Nick
David DiGirolamo
key sticking problem after 6 months. Kurzweil replaced my keyboard
assembly and I have been trouble free ever since.
The Mark Series has a pretty decent piano sound and a lot of great
features (good sequencer, drums, Bass, other instruments, general
MIDI). The best sound I have heard in a digital is from a Technics.
They have a pricey one that is basically piano-only but sounds
great.
Brian McBrearty
(Aumer Michael) wrote:
> pia...@mail.halcyon.com meinte am 27.10.95
> zum Thema "Re: need dig piano advice":
>
> > The Kurzweil I've heard goes down (crashes) a lot. Which might be fine
> > for your apartment (it's havoc playing live). You might audition the
> > Technics. I played acoustic piano exclusively and bought a Technics for
> > the realism. It's the most realistic, I think. When I switched to
> > electric keyboards I found that it felt as though I was playing with
> > saran wrap around my fingers: the physical act of playing was not as
> > sensous. Without sounding too eoteric here.
>
>
> In my opinion the Yamaha PF-P100 sounds much more authentic. With it's EQ
> you can get all from a real funky Piano up to a Warm Jazz-Piano
>
>
> Ciao
> __________________________________________________________________________
> Michael Aumer
I think Yamaha just one-upped the p100 with a new chip and a new name, a
p-150 perhaps. Around the same money.
Brian
LakewoodQ
the last 7. Simply having wooden keys is not nearly enough to make be buy
a Kawai digital. There are too many other considerations, not the least of
which is sound. In my opinion, the Kawai digital sound is terrible.
I personally concur with several others, who say that Technics is their
personal favorite. I own a Technics product, and chose it over Yamaha,
Roland, Kawai, etc. (all of which I had access to through work). I must
admit, though, that the new Clavinovas are pretty nice.
Chris Honeck
sy...@theotherside.com
> I've been playing for 23 years, and I have sold pianos and digitals
> for
> the last 7. Simply having wooden keys is not nearly enough to make
> be buy
> a Kawai digital. There are too many other considerations, not the
> least of
> which is sound. In my opinion, the Kawai digital sound is terrible.
Sorry i haven't been following this one, but true the Kawai digital sound is
just that, digital. I have nver heard any manufacturers digital sound that was
up to snuff. The Kawai's "sampled" sounds are good. I perfer Kurzweil, but I
own them all. I too have been playing for 20 + years, and what it all should
come around to, is why buy digital at all ????
Sampled vs Digital, for Piano, there is no comparision !!!
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
((((( The Other Side - Music/Sound BBS )))))
(423)332-6122 / (423)332-2720
"The BBS run by musicians for musicians"
"Music is the positive opiate of the masses"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\