Ridiculously high key weight, should i worry?

[stoyo]

Hello, i was thinking about key weight so did some research and found that around 48-52 as a general guide is the proper weight. I did measure my digital piano keys, a 10+ years old Yamaha CLP-115, using coins and i found the weight to be around 80 grams to all keys... except the highest C which was like 72-75 . Thats the weight needed to make the keys start falling, not go all the way down. The upweight is 20 grams less.

I calculated with the official coin weights and its pretty simple thing to mess up the results.

My question is that since i dont see me buying an acoustic for next few years how worried should i be? If i didnt weight them i'd say they are ok but have a weird-harsh feeling/response but not that disturbing. Could they cause me trouble in my improvement in general or if i want to play on another instrument? Would you advise me to invest on another digital? Also i should mention that i cant remember the last time i played an acoustic... so i cant compare.

[michael_c]

The static down and up-weights are only part of the story. Even more important is the inertia. Most digital actions are lightweight affairs and so have lower inertia than typical acoustic actions.

Yamaha has usually tried to counteract the light feel that comes from low inertia by giving the action heavier static weight. The result of this is that very soft playing is harder to achieve, but louder playing requires less effort than on a typical acoustic piano. If you only practice on such an instrument, you'll probably not learn to play leggerissimo and when you encounter an acoustic piano you may find yourself using too much muscular effort in order to produce a forte or fortissimo.

Digital actions such as the Kawai Grand Feel or the action on the new Casio Grand Hybrid series are nearer in feel to typical acoustic actions. It would be worth trying out a few such models and see how you get on with them.

In any case, look for opportunities to play acoustic pianos, both uprights and grands. Try playing at both ends of the dynamic spectrum: very soft and very loud. See how well you can control a crescendo or diminuendo. There can be substantial differences between the feel of different pianos: the more varied your experience of different actions, the better-equipped you will be to cope with whatever instruments you may come across.

[stoyo]

You are spot on for the static down thing, also i remember i found my teachers piano keys heavier (and not only the weight, it was generally more difficult) than mine, i remember it even after a decade.

[indianajo]

I can't believe people buy these plastic toys.  What continent are you on?
There was a very nice sounding extremely beat up looking Baldwin Howard 40" console piano at Salvation Army in December, for $40.  That is what they charge for a bench by itself.  Probably went in the dumpster by now.  
All these consoles I play are about 50-55 grams downforce static.  Baldwin, Wurlitzer, Sohmer, amateur model Steinway, Everett, north Carolina produced Kawai.  I can go pp to ff with pretty consistent results on those brands, as long as they were produced before globalization moved the factories to ***** about 1985-1990.  A post 1990 Wurlitzer 40" was ****, totally inconsistent at pp.