Dilemma Acoustic/Digital

[themisconstruedparsnip]

Hello folks

I have long been a lurker here and have learnt loads and been inspired and influenced to make some pretty good decissions.

I am learning Piano, arriving late to the party, started 6 years ago and now in my early 60's though I swear I don't look a day over 21-ish 

I am learning on a Yamaha U10Bl piano, it's a U1 only difference is  the top opening being one whole piece instead of being divided into 2.   

Where I live there is a massive shortage of piano tuners, my regualar tuner fell ill and is no longer availble which means having to bus tuners who have to travel a good hour away to do so, the thing is the new tuner is expensive, plus there are travelling expenses incurred.  I would not mind so much if the person was as capable as my original tuner, to date this year I have spent around £300 in tuning and servicing and my piano could do with another fine tuning, more to do with my being fussy than it really needing it, I can and do, tune the odd string myself, I did an whole octave once which took me 7 hours and frazzled my poor soul,  last tuning the technician mentioned that the butt plate screws could do with a tightening, (the action was removed and replaced when serviced at the beginning of this year) so now the cost for me to get my piano tuned, voiced (the previous voicing was not maintained during the 2cd tuning later this year) and the butt plate screws sorted is now making me cry!! its too much, between £140-£180, so now I am looking at my piano like a second hand car one has to keep pouring money into to keep it on the road, hence the look at digitals.

From reading these boards, I am tempted with the Kawai CA99 or the 901, aesthetically I love the look of the Roland LX708 but not sure about the sound.

So if you guys could put yourself in my shoes and appreciate that I like most folk, are not minted with loads of money, but not exactly skint either, what would you do? 

The main points for me is that with the digital it would pay for itself within 5 years given the cost of tuning the piano but I would no longer have my acoustic which may or may not effect me spirtitually, the money I would get from selling my acoustic would most likely cover the cost of the digital and if it did not I would not be dipping too deep into my pockets,   

To put things further into perspective the previous piano tuner/techician charges would have been £65 for tuning and making my piano sound warmer if it needed it, as for the butt plate, maybe an extra £10 -£20 on top, so you can see the price differences are quite consderable.

Anyway I will leave this lenghty post here and thank you all for having the time to read this and respond.

Any questions feel free to ask. 

[shelal]

Hello Fellow Newbie

I have returned to piano very late, at 70, having learned as a child, so you're a youngster!  I am a very amateur player for pleasure and not a bit technical, so my remarks might not be much help to you, but here they are.  I put off trying to play again for years because I hated the thought of digital keyboards and we had neither room nor funds to get an acoustic piano but my husband eventually got tired of me dithering and bought me a Yamaha P45 digital piano.  I think it's pretty basic but it mimics the hammer action of an acoustic so it really feels as if you are playing one and I loved it.  Added to which I can use ear phones so everyone is spared the sound of my practising and I don't have to feel awful about playing something (badly) over and over again.  Judging from your technical know how, this may not be anything like good enough for you but in view of the money you are currently shelling out, it might be worth a try. 

[ego0720]

Digital pianos made the instrument accessible. It is my personal reason for coming back. To me they are awesome and have more benefits. The market also responded with 50% of the purchases coming from digitals. They will lose value over time bc they evolve by the year and getting better every time. I am all for DP and can recommend them strongly.

Acoustics are when you are serious. They are high maintenance. They are definitely awesome but not cost effective for most. If not maintained acoustics become little value and are not the same and I think irreversibly damaged. Impractical. It’s symbolic for opulence and upper class with extreme finesse.

[themisconstruedparsnip]

Thanks for the replies folks, and I realised I put this on the wrong website    but I do come here and glad I have as I have some questions regarding Brahms which I will post in another thread.

I did start my journey on a Yamaha YDP 143 and upgraded because I was/am getting pretty serious about playing Piano, I will copy my original and paste it on the other piano forum when I locate it, but again still glad I am here.

I have decided to tune the piano myself and should it prove too much of a task for me then maybe consider the digital or get the tuner in and fork out an arm and a leg for it to be done,  I do know digitals have come a long way in the last couple of years but to sway me, they would need to bring out a DP that had a battery back-up and could run from solar panels if and when needed, which is an idea I tried to pass on to the relevant departments in all the main players, but contacting them proved impossible, in my day it was much easier, you simply picked up the phone and got the details of the folk in the design department.  Not the case now, no one at either Yamaha or Roland could give me the contact details which I find remarkable as they really are missing out on some good ideas.

Still onwards and upwards, tuning hammer at the ready, I do remember very well tuning my first string, it really did feel like heaven had fallen into my lap when I had them perfect, skill comes from setting the pin though but that may come in time and who knows my ex piano tuners health may improve or someone more local to me may turn up.   Anyway thank you very much for the time you both have spent in reading and replying, and sorry to those who have been scratching their heads or searching this website for a discussion about the digital pianos I was alluring to in my original post.

Now off to find out what I can regarding Brahms.   

[martinn]

If I had space (and money), would I take an acoustic piano instead of my digital ? Yes, I would, but the thing is I don’t have the space, and I don’t want to bother my several apartment neighbors with my practicing. Those were the reasons to go with a digital. I went with Roland FP90x, a quite pleasurable sound and action. But I dream of the real thing.