Digital Piano for €1000

cormie

Hi,
Posting this on behalf of a friend. She's looking for a digital piano and has a budget of about €1000. If she can get something for €600/700 that ticks all the boxes then that would be great. She'd prefer to buy 2nd hand as I'm sure there's a lot out there that have gotten very little use and you don't exactly need to take care of them as you would a standard upright.

Her needs are pretty simple. Something basic with volume control, earphone socket, 88 keys, pedals and with a stand and which looks nice enough (maybe something like the clavinova). And another thing would be proper weighted keys.

Would prefer one of the higher end brands like Yamaha and would like one that is popular enough with enough reviews to know it's a good one.

I was looking at the Yamaha P155 which seemed to tick a lot of boxes but it doesn't have the stand or pedals. Was also over budget so would be looking to get something along the same lines functionality, sound and key quality wise with a stand and pedals for around €1,000.

There's no need for the added functionality of digital such as connecting to computer, usb compatible, changing sounds or any other fancy things. This is just purely as a standard upright replacement.

There's a few on adverts.ie etc but there's so many models etc it's hard to know which is suitable.

Any feedback, suggestions or indeed links to adverts would be greatly appreciated

martinedwards

not an expert, but pedals can be added. there are a load of add ons that connect with a standard Jack plug.

cormie

Thanks for that. Yeah I saw the pedals could be added to the P155 but I'm just not sure if it would give the same "full piano" effect if you get me. She'd rather a one piece look than something that's been put together.

cormie

Bump? Any suggestions at all would be great, she's thinking she might just have to go to Waltons and buy new but would prefer to get something better for the same price by buying 2nd hand?

ITDept

I bought this type:
http://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/musical-instruments/keyboards/digitalpianos/arius_series/ydp-161/?mode=model

It was comfortably under €1000 (nearer €900 from memory) and is excellent as far as I'm concerned. I think it ticks all the boxes for your friend.

cormie

Thanks for the suggestion. It's just hard to know which to go for, there's so many different types, even Yamaha seems to have a tonne of different types, model numbers etc all within the same-ish price bracket. A little confusing and not easy to know you're going for the right one..

ITDept

The main reasons I went for that one were:
Sounds great - samples taken from one of their top concert pianos
Properly weighted keys
Dual headphone sockets - you can teach / learn without disturbing everyone else
Large number of sounds at once - think it's called polyphony by people who actually know what they're talking about - so you don't get some notes clipped off as you play the next
And, of course, the price - you can spend a fortune on these things if you really want to but the dearer ones had features I wasn't really looking for

Con41

I'm in the same boat, looking for a digital piano in the same price bracket. I've been looking at the Korg 280. I've spoken to a few music shops about it and reviews seem pretty good. You need a stand with it, but I'm sure you could get one cheap enough. Maybe worth a look?

Would you post which one your friend bought, would like to hear the review.

Thanks

Paddy Fields

Lidl have a Yamaha® YPT-230 from Monday for €99.99 but it's only 61 key. Stand is extra at €17.99.

cormie

Thanks for the suggestion but it would definitely need to be a full keyboard. She's coming from using a standard upright, so just wants the same functionality in digital

Will look into that one ITDept, but have also heard suggestions on the likes of the P155 Yamaha.

cormie

Oh and to add to the list of requirements would be touch sensitivity so it reproduces a louder tone if a key is pressed harder. Would most have that I wonder? Will be going to Waltons today, don't really know what to be looking for in the 2nd hand market on the likes of adverts/gumtree/donedeal so she may just end up going for a new one...

Nody

I have similar needs except I'm on the hunt for my wife who decided she wants to start playing again after 15 years. In the end I've settled for this package which is relatively cheap but suppose to have good sound and good touch for it's price comparable to mid 500s. If she then decides to get more serious I'll go for a Korg instead as it's suppose to have the closest to real life touch with really good sound but I don't want to over spend at the start if her heart leaves it in 6 months time.

cormie

Thanks again for the replies.

We took a visit to Waltons and checked out what was on offer. Got talking to one of the guys there who was explaining the difference between the different models and to be honest, it seems like the higher end models will give a much closer feel to a regular acoustic due to the progression of the weight in the keys, the double felt and a few other factors too.

She has almost decided to go for the Yamaha CLP-470 as it's a lot closer to the real thing and she does plan on getting years of use out of it so the extra investment will be worth it for her.

Have done a bit of research on it since being in Waltons and it does seem to be a pretty highly rated digital piano so it seems like a good choice and although it's over double what the thread title suggest the budget is at I think €2249, she's happy to spend the extra for something higher end now than having doubts in the future.

cormie

Ok, so there was no price tag on the 470 in waltons yesterday and when we asked a staff member, they said it was 2249, saw on the website it's 2649 so rang them up and they said it is 2649, checked thomann and it's 2333 delivered from there. Pity would have preferred to buy local and would have easily at 2249 but a €300 difference will mean ordering online.

Does anyone know if getting a digital from Thomann will it come flat packed and have to be assembled or do they have specialist delivery men who will assemble it?

Gaspode

Did you ask Waltons to price-match or haggle with them at all? IIMAX most shops will move on price if you badger them.

While I'm a big Thomann fan, something that expensive I would buy from a local shop so I could go batter some ears if there was a problem with it! Not so easy returning to Thomann.

cormie

I popped in again yesterday just to double check the pricing and model was right for the one we were looking at. Without even mentioning Thomann the guy said about having dropped the price before because it was cheaper on Thomann and they dropped it below Thomann's price. He gave a price of 2449, I said it's 2333 on Thomann with the bench and earphones and he said this would also include the bench and be delivered and set up by their guys, but didn't seem like he'd be able to drop it closer to Thomann's price. I don't know if an extra €116 is worth the local benefit. Would much rather give Waltons the business but it's not my money

Gaspode

In my opinion its definitely worth going local if the price difference has dropped that low. Keep asking and I reckon they woukd throw in headphones as well.

cormie

Yeah could try them again and see if they'll come closer to Thomann. Savinns.ie actually have it for 2399 too so that would strengthen the haggle