Digi Piano - Euro 1000 max.

[briano.de.rhino]

My wife is about to give birth so I want to buy her a piano as a surprise. SHecant play and may not take it up but I still want to buy her a decent piano with weighted keys. I started off thinking of a soft topuch keyboard for 100 quid and now im looking at a grand for half decent model.but entry level digital.
I saw the Roland hp1 and Kurzweil markpro 1 for around 850-1000 euros. Theres also the worlde and suzuki models which are 650 euros around. I feel like going 1000 for the roland as it might retain some value if she decideds she doesnt want to continue and its reputation Can you give me some info on those cheap models please and maybe a reputable website to order from please.
All advice is greatly appreciated guys.

Briano.

[markymark]

I'm not very experienced with digital grands but what I will say is that a digital grand sitting around 1000 Euro is not going to be much of an instrument.

Some of the better CLP models can cost half as much again and I'm talking about the mid-range models when I say that. Don't be fooled into thinking the more impressive the instrument, the better. It just doesn't work that way, be it acoustic or digital.

Bearing this in mind, does it have to be a digital grand?

[briano.de.rhino]

Dont know if its a grand piano, that sounds huge.Its basically just a large keyboard size with stand-ish.
I was gonna opt for the Kurzweil mark pro 1s which is the synth/keyboard version with no legs but thought it might be nicer to actually go to the piano and sit.also, a keyboard on a stand might get damaged with kids in the apartment etc.
So, you reckon this clp model is a better buy? weighted keys was my only pre-requisite in buying. If not a digi-grand, what else do u recommend?

ps I just went to thomann.de and all theclp models are over E1000. there is thomanns own piano and a brand called hemingway at the E600 mark app. Im guessing you would recommend the Yamaha above the rest?

Thanks,

Briano.

[markymark]

I would recommend Yamaha above the rest. I recently purchased a Kurzweil SP3X as you may have read and there are lots of awesome sounds. While I like the piano samples on the Kurzweil, some of them do verge on OTT or slightly synthetic. I think, to greater or lesser extents, all manufacturers do this. The Clavinova range (CLP) from Yamaha do however stand out in their class as far as realism of touch and sound goes. Without knowing you, I would feel more confident recommending Yamaha because it is generally an all-round pleaser. As you say the downside is the price! You can pick up a CLP320 or 330 which would fall within your price range and has the same physical styling as the Kurzweil Pro 1.

Just out of interest, do you play the piano yourself?

Are you looking for an instrument that sounds good and feels very realistic or are you looking for something very basic where sound and touch don't really matter?

If you are looking for a digital piano that is more for fiddling around with, why not look at the YDP-140 or YDP160. The CLP-320 would be a step further into quality of sound and touch than the YDP-140. However, these are not digital grands. If the digital grand casing is so important to you, then I suggest you go for something in the cheaper end of the market like the Suzuki or local brands like Thomann, etc. Even then, I think you're being a bit hopeful to get something within the 1000 Euros mark.

I think I need some more info as pointed out earlier in the post. Basically what do you want out of your instrument?