Digital pianos?

[Flletcher]

So im looking to replace my non weighted non 88 key..non..decent sounding keyboard and of course i want to get the best deal i can but it turns out thats just not so damn simple..

So my decisions have come down to this;

since i'm in new zealand instead of ebay we have trademe.co.nz which is a small ebay like website for new zealand
theres a hardly used yamaha p35 with the amazingly nice stand for it, and a casio px-150, no stand no pedals (yamaha also does not have pedals)

So the yamaha (pre owned) comes with the awesome stand, and is 650 NZD (420 USD)

the casio px-150 (brand new) no stand, no pedal, no bullshit, you buy the damn piano The End. 800NZD (518 USD)

now comes the trade offs...oh the wonderful trade offs..

yamaha p35
Pros
general better sound, better speakers, less noisy,comes with stand

Cons
No usb connection, pre owned, worse keys than the casio (casio model has ebony and ivory simulated keys which i hear is nice) 32 note polyphony Dx

Casio px-150
Pros
as mentioned the keys are simulated ebony and ivory, usb connection, brand new, freakin 128 note polyphony which kicks yamahas ass

Cons
no stand :( which i dont really mind..okay maybe a little, keys sound a tiny bit too thin and bright for my tastes, i hear the speakers are lacking, louder keys from the action

So which do you think is the best one for my price? the yamaha is "barely used in excellent condition" and is a lot more affordable than a brand new casio but the casio is brand new... i do like the usb connection and the simulated ebondy and ivory but i value the sound of the yamaha and the speakers are apparently better but has no GOD DAMN USB CONNECTIONS

im seriously just going fuckin crazy..can someone please help me..

[Breed]

I would say go for the Yamaha. The Casio's Privia series action is not too great despite their efforts to make it sound like it is. It's really just a rough texture as apposed to smooth plastic on the key blocks themselves, but the action is mushy, and mushy keys are no fun. As for USB concerns, the Yamaha still has midi in/out so just pick up a midi uno or iconnectivity midi interface for 35-40USD if you need that. As for polyphony, I don't think that's really as big a deal as one might think unless you're specifically recording very fast movements, although 32 is pretty darn low. Their newer model the P45 doubles that, and the price shouldn't be much different if you can find one used. Either way I'd still rock the Yamaha over Casio at that pricepoint any day.

[BrokenDeck]

Yamaha keys are goig to outlast Casio keys any day. I can personally attest to Yamaha vs. Casio build quality.

[skyood]

Question: what is your computer situation like?

Reason I ask is that I was given this advice when I was looking for something similar: If you already have a mid-high end computer, particularly if you have a Mac, look for a controller rather than a "piano" and rely on the computer for the sound quality.

At the time when I was looking I already have a very nice (for the time) Macbook Pro. I spend $400 on a nice, weighted Yamaha KX8, spent $40 on Mainstage 3, and have loved the result for years. I've used it for piano and all kinds of synth sounds for approaching 5 years now (at church, so no it's not the same as paid, professional gigs-- but it's more than sitting in my living room think about how awesome it sounds).

In hindsight, the main benefit is the flexibility. Endlessly tweakable sounds and effects (even for basic piano sounds fiddling with the reverb can change a LOT). Don't like the overall, basic piano sound? Fork out more cash and buy a whole different set of samples (Alicia's Keys, The Giant are popular, etc).

Not exactly answering your question, but my 2c.

[Flletcher]

At 8/26/15 08:29 PM, skyood wrote: Question: what is your computer situation like?

my computer is pretty good

amd fx 8350 (hypercooler 212evo, because fuck the stock fan)
gtx 970 acx 2.0
16gb ram

and about 500gb space left on my hard drive

at the moment i do use FL studio for piano sounds, i use a plugin called Truepiano, eeehhh its not bad but its not great
but yea i would like to avoid stage piano's or midi controllers, and since yamaha has the MIDI in & MIDI out i should be able to connect it to my computer as i have 2 MIDI in & out plugs to USB and even if they dont work (had some problems earlier) i dont really mind