Support NeoGAF

[mrklaw]

I want to get my wife one for christmas. She used to play a lot, but that was when she was living with her folks.

She doesn't necessarily want trumpets and twiddly buttons. It just needs to sound like a piano, with proper sized keys and 'weight'. Digital so its smaller and so she can wear headphones when the kids are in bed.

Any recommendations? I know nothing about pianos BTW.

 

[Red Blaster]

What price range are you looking for?

 

[MrAngryFace]

I thought that said porno haha.

 

[DHGamer]

I always liked Yamaha keyboards and I'd say this Yamaha DGX505AD is about as good as you can get for a resonable price.

Matter of fact it's pretty dirt cheap compared to what it would of cost just a few years ago.

There's more pics and reviews over at Amazon

 

[Iceman]

but do the keys actually have weight to them on that yamaha? The description says that the keys are touch sensitive...

 

[MrAngryFace]

weighted keys are all I can use, I cant buy a keyboard till I can afford on with them.

 

[Red Blaster]

The Casio Privia is a nice choice, and the keys are weighted.

 

[DHGamer]

but do the keys actually have weight to them on that yamaha? The description says that the keys are touch sensitive...

Not fully weighted, they're somewhere inbetween.

 

[skip]

I just got a casio privia 310. $600, it's weighted keys with a bunch of neat effects. feels and sounds great.

 

[Mr. E. Yis]

There are big jumps in prices in digital pianos.

For the 100-300 price range, you get basic small keyboard with unweighted plastic feeling keys.

For the 300-600 price range you can get one like that Yamaha - it has 'light-weighted' keys, which has better feeling (and more realistic) keys. But it still has only 66 keys, not the full 88 of a piano. It also should have a higher polyphony (sp?), meaning that you can press more keys at the same time and still get a real sound.

For the 700-2000 price range you can get a full sized (88key), heavy weighted digital piano, with a really polyphony (I think 16). It's close enough to a real one. But for that price you might as well get a real piano used, if you don't mind the yearly tuning payments.

I have had a full size Roland FP-3 heavy weighted digital piano for about 5 years. I got it for around $900 . It sounds great and feels good. I also have an old upright piano I bought used about 15 yrs ago. It's been untuned for a few years, but the keys feel better than the digital piano and feel smoother too.

I suggest going into a local Guitar Center or music shop with keyboard displays and testing them out, and see which ones feel better. Find out what is more important- price or better weighted/feeling keys. But since it's a gift for someone else, that might be pretty hard to do.