Piano Forum

Piano Board => Instruments => Topic started by: lorcar on October 17, 2021, 10:48:52 PM

Title: is there a consensus on best digital models?
Post by: lorcar on October 17, 2021, 10:48:52 PM
Hi everyone.
i guess I am not the typical forum's member.
46yo, haven't played piano for the last 5y, before that i had taken lesson and was practicing on a Yamaha Silent B1 (on rent).
Then new job, new life and stopped practicing and taking lessons. Moreover, i separated from my ex and moved into a new apartment. The piano (rented) is still in the old apartment allowing our 7yo daughter to practice her lessons.
I am now willing to pull the trigger on another piano in the new apartment, both for myself and my daughter.
Obvious choice would be to rent another Yamaha Silent B1. But i might constrained by dimensions. So I am now also thinking to digital pianos, although i hate the fake/plastic feeling and response. I guess technology has come long way in the meanwhile, however i still have some bias. But i dont think my daugther will even notices..
So the question: what is the consensus on best digital piano models? is it Yamaha Clavinova? or Casio? Roland? I assume i would mostly play with headphone anyhow, so touch/feeling is more important than "live sound" without headphones.
Moreover, i checked some prices, and holy cow i didnt expect digital pianos to be so expensive, so i will also check if i could rent one.

any hint is appreciated.
thank you very much in advance
Title: Re: is there a consensus on best digital models?
Post by: annonymouse2 on October 18, 2021, 07:34:34 AM
I don't understand you wanting  to rent a piano long term , surely it will be costly in he long term  adding on your piano lessons.  But on the other hand if you want to try out different models  it might be a good idea for a short period.   From my own experience I have always had a Yamaha digital for  lessons, at present I have a Clavinova CLP-645 , wooden housing and frame .  which is more than adequate for home  practice and lessons.   Nothing plastic about it,  has wooden, weighted keys,   I would never accept anything  plastic as  in my view it can cheapen  the sound and dampen ones enthusiasm for  learning.


Specifications for Yamaha  CLP-645....

https://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/musical_instruments/pianos/clavinova/clp-645/index.html#product-tabs
https://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/musical_instruments/pianos/clavinova/clp-645/specs.html#product-tabs
Title: Re: is there a consensus on best digital models?
Post by: jimroof on October 18, 2021, 12:41:22 PM
The Casio Celviano is a surprisingly good instrument, especially if you get one of the higher end models.  I played one a few years back and considered buying it since, at the time, my family did not share in my enthusiasm for serious practice on an acoustic instrument.

I do not recall the model I was looking at but it had a real action (plastic parts in the action, but it WAS a piano action that FELT like a piano action - minus the 'break' one feels in a grand action).  The only drawback was the speaker system, but honestly, how could any affordable instrument reproduce sound as if it was a 9 foot Steinway?  Through phones... it was marvelous.
Title: Re: is there a consensus on best digital models?
Post by: kosulin on October 18, 2021, 01:32:58 PM
Best digital piano are made by Yamaha and Kawai IMHO.
If you care about keeping the feeling of a true upright action, then Kawai NV5S, or Yamaha NU1X are your best bets.
NV10S, or N1X would have a real grand action, with NV10S also providing a realistic pedal behavior.

Second hand NU1, N1, NV5, NV10 are hard to find, but would be not as expensive as new models.

If you are looking for less expensive models, then both Kawai ES920 and Yamaha P-515 are not bad at all, but you would need to buy a 3 pedal set and stand separately.
VPC-1 is great as well, but it does not have built-in sound engine, and requires computer + VI to run.

Soundwise I would still prefer the real acoustic with silent system to any digital, but this is less relevant if you use headphones.
Title: Re: is there a consensus on best digital models?
Post by: lorcar on October 19, 2021, 11:56:10 AM
thank you everyone
Why renting: a new Clavinova is in excess of €1500, which means i could rent it for 3y before going break even. I hope that in 3y i will have a new apartment and can buy a used Silent real piano.
As far as the Yamaha CLP: i thought that the higher the number the more recent the model, so i found a CLP 760 which however is a 20y old model! so I am very confused. 

the Yamaha Avangrand is even more expensive! i didnt know these models, i thought that Yamaha digital meant Clavinova only. Dont understand how possible you can spend that much on a digital while for the same money you can get a very good real piano Silent.
 
Title: Re: is there a consensus on best digital models?
Post by: kosulin on October 19, 2021, 02:17:44 PM
AvantGrand and Novus are not conventional digital piano - they utilize a real acoustic (grand or upright depending on model) piano action, which is much more expensive to build than a usual digital action, but resembles the feeling of playing a real piano.
Title: Re: is there a consensus on best digital models?
Post by: annonymouse2 on October 19, 2021, 02:28:46 PM
thank you everyone
Why renting: a new Clavinova is in excess of €1500, which means i could rent it for 3y before going break even. I hope that in 3y i will have a new apartment and can buy a used Silent real piano.
As far as the Yamaha CLP: i thought that the higher the number the more recent the model, so i found a CLP 760 which however is a 20y old model! so I am very confused. 

the Yamaha Avangrand is even more expensive! i didnt know these models, i thought that Yamaha digital meant Clavinova only. Dont understand how possible you can spend that much on a digital while for the same money you can get a very good real piano Silent.


When I first started  out learning piano, I wasn't quite aware of  silent piano's .   More is the pity..  But  I would still consider buying one.
 :)