Buying digital piano (500-600 GBP)

[Mich]

I've been saving up some money, and now I'm looking at getting myself a decent digital piano.

I'm looking for something that, first and foremost, comes very close to the sound a feel of an actual piano, so 88 hammer action keys, and high quality piano samples. I definitely want MIDI in/out, through USB if necessary (but actual MIDI ports preferred). I'd also like a decent range of instrument sounds to play around with, so preferably not _just_ piano.

I've got a budget of about 500~600 GBP (770~930 USD).

These are the models that I'm currently interested in (in order of how much I'm leaning to them)

1. Yamaha DGX-640
* 88 Graded hammer keys
* 535 Sound voices
* 64 max polyphony
* Bunch of fx (reverb / chorus / dsp / eq)
* Rhythmbox with 165 styles
* Settings banks
* 2x 6W speakers
* USB connectivity to computer (for MIDI and whatnot) as well as for flash drive memory
* Sequencer / song recorder
* No actual MIDI ports
* 502 GBP (775 USD)

2. Casio Privia PX-330
* 88 hammer action keys
* 250 Sound voices
* 128 max polyphony
* Some fx (Brilliance / reverb / chorus / dsp / acoustic resonance)
* Rhythmbox with 180 styles
* Settings banks
* 2x 8W speakers
* USB connectivity to computer
* Sequencer / song recorder
* MIDI in, MIDI out ports
* 500 GBP I think (772 USD)

3. M-AUDIO ProKeys 88
* 88 graded hammer action keys
* 14 Sound voices
* 126 max polyphony
* Some fx (reverb / chorus / tremolo / eq)
* No rhythmbox
* No settings banks (too few settings for that anyway)
* No built-in speakers? -> I think this might well be a dealbreaker
* USB connectivity for MIDI and lots of DAW control
* No sequencer
* MIDI in, MIDI out ports
* 440 GBP (680 USD)

Does anyone have experience with any of these? Or are there any others in the same kind of range you would recommend?

[BrokenDeck]

I'd recommend the Yamaha over all the others just because I know for a fact that the keyboard is going to be the most robust out of all of them.

The M-Audio keyboards have the largest rate of dead keys ( as in they get stuck in the pressed down position) out of the brands. I don't know if they've improved their manufacturing recently though.

However, Yamaha > All the others :P

[MetalRenard]

Yamahas are great but that one doesn't have midi in/out. It's a no-go in my book for that reason because that severely limits its use.

[Mich]

At 5/10/13 06:09 AM, BrokenDeck wrote: I'd recommend the Yamaha over all the others just because I know for a fact that the keyboard is going to be the most robust out of all of them.

The M-Audio keyboards have the largest rate of dead keys ( as in they get stuck in the pressed down position) out of the brands. I don't know if they've improved their manufacturing recently though.

However, Yamaha > All the others :P

I wasn't aware of the dead keys issue on m-audio gear. I've got a pair of AV40 speakers and they're excellent, but that of course is in no way an indication of the quality of their keys stuff.

@loansindi also mentioned that since Yamaha build actual pianos, they know their shit, and they'll have proper hammer action and all that.

At 5/10/13 08:34 AM, MetalRenard wrote: Yamahas are great but that one doesn't have midi in/out. It's a no-go in my book for that reason because that severely limits its use.

I'm pretty sure I will mostly be playing it on its own, or hooked up to a computer, so it's not a deal-breaker for me. Other than a shitty self-built synth I don't really own any stuff with MIDI inputs.

---

So far, I got quite a majority of people who recommend the Yamaha. I'm getting pretty certain that'll be the best idea. Tomorrow, I'm going to try getting to a music store that hopefully has one of these standing around, to try it out.

[midimachine]

maybe try finding a second hand roland rd-300sx? :v
nah, wishful thinking there haha

the privia's aren't bad though, some of them definitely look amazing
try the yamaha and the privia and go with the one which sounds better to you i guess :v

[Breed]

Oh god its michhimself

Loans was right. Yamaha is not only the only one of those companies that builds acoustic pianos, they are also the only ones that build their own keyboard beds. Everyone else outsources.

Also, the casio sounds are pretty cheesy, especially on the privia series stuff. You might consider getting a stage piano instead though. The DGX series stuff is less portable, less solid construction.

My suggestions:

- The P95 from yamaha has good construction, portability, and MIDI in/out. It also has line outs for connection to a PA or keyboard amp. The downside is that it only has a couple basic sounds. The plus side is that you can get it for about half your budget, leaving you plenty of room to get some software packs that are good for live use and ultimately having both better sound and construction, and portability.

- If you already have a PA/speakers/amp to plug into, then you might consider the yamaha MM8. Its going to have the solid construction that the P95 has but instead of paying for built in speakers you pay for having a relatively large arsenal of sounds. That one also pushes your budget a bit, but you should be able to haggle your way down to fit it.

[Breed]

Bonus suggestion:

If you wanna be a nerd like me you could use your monitors in conjuction with an MPK88 and some kickass sound packs.

That combo is technically the most powerful but obviously software prices differ greatly depending on what type of sounds you want.

The plus side - most control, ever expanding.

Downside - the action is not quite as good as yamaha, but still better then casio & m-audio.

[BrokenDeck]

At 5/10/13 08:34 AM, MetalRenard wrote: Yamahas are great but that one doesn't have midi in/out. It's a no-go in my book for that reason because that severely limits its use.

MIDI's pretty much been superseded by USB anyways.

[Mich]

At 5/10/13 12:56 PM, Breed wrote: Oh god its michhimself

Still alive and kicking.

Loans was right. Yamaha is not only the only one of those companies that builds acoustic pianos, they are also the only ones that build their own keyboard beds. Everyone else outsources.

Also, the casio sounds are pretty cheesy, especially on the privia series stuff. You might consider getting a stage piano instead though. The DGX series stuff is less portable, less solid construction.

I've played a Casio Privia (forgot the exact model) before, and the sound didn't strike me as cheesy, to be honest.

I'm actually not looking for anything portable; the purpose is to put it in my room and only move it when I move house. The only related concern is size, otherwise I might as well look for a second-hand upright, I think.

My suggestions:

- The P95 from yamaha has good construction, portability, and MIDI in/out. It also has line outs for connection to a PA or keyboard amp. The downside is that it only has a couple basic sounds. The plus side is that you can get it for about half your budget, leaving you plenty of room to get some software packs that are good for live use and ultimately having both better sound and construction, and portability.

This does look like a bit too minimal for my liking. While I'm primarily going for playing around with piano, a wider range of instruments is important to me. And since I mostly use Ubuntu for my day to day computing, getting the instruments out of software isn't as viable, as I'd have to specifically boot into Windows to play some music. That makes it discouraging.

- If you already have a PA/speakers/amp to plug into, then you might consider the yamaha MM8. Its going to have the solid construction that the P95 has but instead of paying for built in speakers you pay for having a relatively large arsenal of sounds. That one also pushes your budget a bit, but you should be able to haggle your way down to fit it.

This one is looking interesting. Not sure how I feel about the lack of speakers, might prove an annoying arrangement with my desktop AV40s.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[midimachine]

At 5/10/13 04:02 PM, BrokenDeck wrote:

At 5/10/13 08:34 AM, MetalRenard wrote: Yamahas are great but that one doesn't have midi in/out. It's a no-go in my book for that reason because that severely limits its use.

MIDI's pretty much been superseded by USB anyways.

does the yamaha have usb out?
and i wouldn't say it's been superseded, the protocol is exactly the same no matter which sort of cable you use.
it's more of a ease of use thing for people running one or two devices, so you don't need a separate midi loader. if you're running three or more and you need to daisy chain them (e.g. korg volcas!!) then usb isn't really an option

[Mich]

At 5/10/13 08:30 PM, midimachine wrote: does the yamaha have usb out?

Yep, it's got USB to computer as well as USB to storage medium.

and i wouldn't say it's been superseded, the protocol is exactly the same no matter which sort of cable you use.
it's more of a ease of use thing for people running one or two devices, so you don't need a separate midi loader. if you're running three or more and you need to daisy chain them (e.g. korg volcas!!) then usb isn't really an option

Mostly looking to hook it up to the computer for DAW usage every now and then, so USB should be fine. If anything, I could send the MIDI back out through my MIDI interface.

[Mich]

I just went for it and ordered the Yamaha DGX-640 (Walnut color). It'll be here on Monday. No buyers remorse yet.