Real action with digital and MIDI?

[MarkEdmonds]

Hi Everyone,

Let me explain the background to this post:

I have being playing since I was 5 and have gained a moderately competent technique. It needs refining though and currently, I have no permanent access to a real piano. I play classical - mainly Beethoven, Mozart, Bach as well as Gershwin and the simpler Messiaen pieces.

I have a digital stage piano, a GEM Promega3 which plays wonderfully and has a real character but is let down by a poor action which though weighted, bears no resemblance to a real action. I can sense my fingers getting lazy with the action because it is light and without any sense of real physical interaction.

At my age, if I don't make an effort now to perfect my technique as best I can, I will never make it to the level I aspire to.

So, I need to buy a piano which has a real action but also has digital sound and MIDI support. I have a budget for this which I can push to 4.5K GBP if needs be.

A real piano would be very desirable but I have social considerations as well as technical ones that means, my dream acoustic piano will have to wait a few years - I'll have my Bosendorfer one day but not now!!!

I was wondering what the general view on the marrying of digital sound reproduction with a genuine physical action is. There are a few pianos built this way but not many.

I have a short list which is simply:

Kawai: CA1000 or CA1200 or CA7 or CA9
Yamaha: GT20 or GT2

The best bang for the buck is the CA1000 and I quite like the action on it. I have yet to try the Yahama Gran-Touch models and they are much more expensive (yet have ridiculous 32 note polyphony).

Are there any well known characteristics of any of these pianos that make them desirable or otherwise? For people who own any of those models, how have they been long term - have you found yourself regretting the purchase or not?

There are so many questions to ask and so much to talk about.

If anyone has any feedback on the above, I'll be very grateful to hear it.

Regards,

Mark

[Maff]

Hi,

Just a quick note to say that Kemble produce accoustic/digital pianos though they are likely to be similar to the Yamahas as Kemble is owned by Yamaha.

Matt

[MarkEdmonds]

Matt - thanks for the tip. I'll have a look at Kembles.

What is the tone like on a Kemble? Is it like a Yamaha? Although I've never played a Yamaha, from recordings I have, I'm not that enthusiastic about the tone. To my ears, it is a perhaps bright and jangly - good for jazz but off base for Beethoven.

I prefer a more deep, sonorous tone. One of the reasons why I am prepared to go without an acoustic at this stage is that I will probably never get the depth of tone I want from an upright (cannot afford or have space for a grand) and as long as I have MIDI, I can dial up a Fazioli or Steinway or Bosendorfer.

Mark

[Maff]

Hi,

I own a Kemble (although it is simply an accoustic piano)I choose the Kemble over the Yamaha because it sounded very mellow and in my opinion was a smooth deep tone in comparison to the Yamaha which I found to be too bright and sharp. I was surprised at how the two different pianos sounded considering that they are practically the same.

I have had no problems with the Piano since I bought it new and infact it seems to have mellowed further with age.

I still aspire to my grand but for now I am happy with what I have.

Matt

[MarkW19]

Mark - what about one of the Yamaha Silent Uprights (http://www.yamaha-europe.com/yamaha_eur ... index.html)? Best of both worlds.

I've currently got a C1LS grand on order (silent), and if the uprights are anything like the grands (which I'm sure they are) the sensitivity and sound are amazing.

Mark

[MarkW19]

Hi,

I take delivery of a Yamaha C1S tomorrow (Friday)!

Mark