I think these digital pianos can be had fairly cheaply, with weighted keys etc, but as they are quite old I wonder if they are still a reasonable substitute for an upright, e.g. touch, tone, polyphony.
The models are as follows:
Yamaha:
YFP-70
CVP-3
CVP-6
Casio AP-25
Many thanks,
Steve.
P.S. if anyone has a cheap digital, London area, please let me know!
Is an older digital piano any good?
Moderators: Feg, Gill the Piano, Melodytune
Old Digitals are dicey.
Depreciation in the first year is dire, the notable exceptions being the portable types used for pro-use such as the Yamaha P60.
Think of them as second hand computers. How much are they worth after 10 years' use? Digital 'Pianos' are computers with a piano keyboard. If you take their lifespan as being 10 years, a 10 year old digital is worth component value only.
A 10 year old TV, CD player, computer and digital piano will be living on borrowed time.
They have their uses, but buy'em cheap, chuck 'em away when they go wrong!
PG
Depreciation in the first year is dire, the notable exceptions being the portable types used for pro-use such as the Yamaha P60.
Think of them as second hand computers. How much are they worth after 10 years' use? Digital 'Pianos' are computers with a piano keyboard. If you take their lifespan as being 10 years, a 10 year old digital is worth component value only.
A 10 year old TV, CD player, computer and digital piano will be living on borrowed time.
They have their uses, but buy'em cheap, chuck 'em away when they go wrong!
PG
Hello - I have just bought a second one, as I like the early Rolands in partic. Mastered from a Bechstein (so the salesperson said, and it sounds like it, too), my HP100s and 800s are no bells-and-whistles, (and a good thing too), but touch sensitive, properly weighted, and the correct size for 88 keys. When I needed some new connector and computer bits in 2002 for the old 800s (new in 1986!), the factory still had them, and they were not expensive. In general the Roland is best for classical music, the Kawai next, and rather a distant third in my view the various Yamahas with their mushy feel and slow repetition. As to ease of use, you can easily detach the cabinetwork, and one person can put both in the Volvo wagon at once: and you can plug in the headphones and go your hardest without risking your lease... Not good news for piano tuners though...
HW
HW
Howard
Hi!
I've got a Yamaha YPF-1500 (I think that's the model no) which I bought new in 1990, and its still going great guns. If I sold it, I could not expect much at all for it, but I'm still happy with it, never went wrong once (I'm touching wood!). And I've got very young children who with their frinds haven't always been kind to it.
I'd expect there must be lots of the older digitals around, which should be picked up very cheap and will keep on going.
I wouldn't buy new if I have to replace it - I'm not interested in the gimmicks (or the prices!) of the new ones.
I've got a Yamaha YPF-1500 (I think that's the model no) which I bought new in 1990, and its still going great guns. If I sold it, I could not expect much at all for it, but I'm still happy with it, never went wrong once (I'm touching wood!). And I've got very young children who with their frinds haven't always been kind to it.
I'd expect there must be lots of the older digitals around, which should be picked up very cheap and will keep on going.
I wouldn't buy new if I have to replace it - I'm not interested in the gimmicks (or the prices!) of the new ones.
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are these SP8815 or SP8860's any good?? ive seen a few of these on the internet (ebay) etc for cheapish, but they dont really say the make or anything and when doing a search on the internet for research on them, almost nothing comes up!!
http://www.simplypianos.net/pages/4/index.htm
http://www.simplypianos.net/pages/4/index.htm
I think they're from Intermusic and often branded "Rikter". They're Chinese and the PDP200 portable is the only one I've met in the flesh. It suffers from flimsy build quality, but has a half decent tone and spec given the price. A common fault is a slight kinking of the top panel where the circuit board affixes beneath. This doesn't appear to affect function.
The touch is weighted and half decent, but a Yamaha P60 blows it out of the water. Costs a lot more though!
As for the models you list, I'd have thought that they are based around the same electronics but in a better box.
The touch is weighted and half decent, but a Yamaha P60 blows it out of the water. Costs a lot more though!
As for the models you list, I'd have thought that they are based around the same electronics but in a better box.