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Digital piano as a second piano

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lux79ita

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lux79ita

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Opening post by lux79ita

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Hi everyone,

considering that I need to start looking for the right grand piano and that this will take me time, and also that maybe later I will want to play outside of regular hours, I was thinking of getting a digital piano as support.

Being a support piano, the main purpose is playing with headphones for practice, so I would like to keep the cost down.

I have looked here in Switzerland and I would like to stay under 1000 CHF; if I spend less I am happier, but let's set that as roughly the limit.

Looking at prices around, I saw:

Casio:

PX860

PX760

AP460

AP260

AP250

It seems to me that all these pianos have the same Tri-sensor Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard II mechanism, whereas for the AP 250 keys it says Synthetic ebony and ivory keys while the others say Simulated ebony and ivory keys.

From the data sheet, the difference comes from the polyphony (128 on the older ones, 256 on the newer ones) and from other functions that seem secondary to me.

Kawai:

ES100

CL36

Here the ES100 has the AHA mechanism and the CL36 [sic] has RH and Ivory Touch white key surfaces. Furthermore, the sound system on the ES100 is HI and on the CL it is PHI. The CL has less polyphony anyway (96).

Now what I was wondering is:

- For the use I described, i.e., using it as a support piano for studying, does 256 polyphony make sense or would I really not notice it?

- For those who have tried them, are the CASIO mechanisms of the pianos described above, the Kawai AHA, and the Kawai RH very different?

- Is it correct that the AP250 and all the others are mechanically practically the same machine, only changing in accessories and polyphony?

Let's say the prices range from 600 to about 1000, so if for my intended purpose it is more or less irrelevant, I would keep the extra 400; otherwise, I will spend them.

One of the points regarding a digital right now is that for a few more months I won't have time to go around stores to try pianos, so I am postponing the choice of the grand piano for a bit, but at least I buy something on paper (imagining that digitals are all more similar to each other than acoustics).

Thanks

Luca

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Thesimon

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Reply 2 by Thesimon

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In reality, there is also a big difference even among digital pianos. Obviously, if you take all the digital pianos of the same brand, there cannot be major differences unless you categorize them by price. It is clear that a 500 euro digital piano cannot sound like one that costs 4000.

I really like CASIO actions, as well as those from Kawai; I have written this in other posts as well. It certainly always depends on the price range, but let's say that if you stay around 1000 euros, you start getting decent stuff.

Of the Casio models you mentioned, in my opinion, the Celviano series is slightly superior to the Privia, but that is just my personal consideration.

As far as polyphony is concerned, I think that in reality, if you don't need to play in multitrack, even 96 voices are more than enough. Even if you wanted to use the pedals for everything without ever lifting your foot, it would be difficult to reach 96 simultaneous voices. The number of polyphony starts to make sense when recording a multitrack. For example, you want to record the second pianist's part of a four-hand sonata on the keyboard to play over it later. Even in this case, however, it is very difficult. I would say that 128 voices will at least ensure you can practice without sound cut-offs.

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lux79ita

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Reply 3 by lux79ita

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Stans - Svizzera

Thanks Simone.

The fact is, more than anything, by comparing the specifications of the models (for example the PX860 and AP250) it would seem that:

.

-The action/mechanics are the same for both

-The sound source of the PX860 and AP250 is the same (Multi dimensional Morphing Air)

- The polyphony of the 250 is 128 while the other is 256

- The built-in tones of the 860 and 250 are the same

- The 860 has a hall simulator, the 250 does not

e so on...

In short, apart from some improvements and features like something regarding recording and the hall simulator, they seem to be the same instrument.

The comparison is not random simply because, since the 250 exists, there is also the 260; I found it for practically ā‚¬600 including a bench and headphones... so if the mechanical part and sound, which is what interests me most, are the same...

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Edited

Thesimon

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Reply 4 by Thesimon

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Exactly...

The sound is also relative. You connect the keyboard to a PC and load one library among the thousands available. However, try the mechanics. Clearly forget about those of acoustic pianos. To get a mechanism that simulates the one of acoustic pianos well, you must necessarily go for much more expensive digital pianos.

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lux79ita

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Reply 5 by lux79ita

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Stans - Svizzera

Sure, let's say this is for playing specifically when you can't play the acoustic and to keep me company a bit until I have a calm month to start looking for a grand piano... if I hadn't wanted to get an acoustic grand, I probably would have opted for a better digital one...

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