Digital Piano Test with Simone Dinnerstein
Concert pianist Simone Dinnerstein shows you what to look for in a digital piano by putting a handful of models to the test.
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The Yamaha AV N2 may be wonderful, but at $15,000 it is not what most people are in the market for. In addition, I have yet to find a music store that has a floor model to try out.
I agree with Simone about the superior sound of a good acoustic piano. However, I also agree that it is nice to be able to practice with a headset on.
I think the digital piano sounds ok compared to the real acoustic piano, but it still leaves a little out. With that being said, if you can afford the 15K pricetag you are probably not worried about it.
I bought a Yamaha P96 keyboard a couple of years ago (less than $1,000) and I’ve found it useful for learning the notes/fingering, and for basic practicing with a headset. The music school I attend has Yamaha pianos and with a bit of practising on them at the school, I’ve been able to come up with some decent interpretations of some of Brahms’ intermezzos and the like. I don’t like listening to myself play when I’m still learning notes and fingering, so being able to turn down the volume (and use a headset) is great.
I am picking back up on playing piano after almost 50 years of playing guitar and bass. If you want a great sounding digital piano for yourself or your students for well under $1,000, you should definitely check out the Casio Privia PX-350M. It has graduated hammer key action, simulated ivory keys (vs plastic on similarly-priced models) and wider dynamics and longer decay/sustain time than comparable pianos, all of which result in an acoustic piano feel and sound. Not perfect, but an amazing sounding and feeling instrument for the money.
I have to respectfully disagree with the choice of digital piano, given what can be done with a Roland V-Piano, even to the point of dealing with specific keys/notes and the respective action/response.
One can do things on a Roland V-Piano with its modeling technology that Yamaha cannot even begin to compete with.
All-in-all, the negative comments about the Roland product do not really relate to the V-Piano. As already stated, try a V-Piano, head-to-head, next to any Yamaha product, and you’ll clearly hear and feel the difference.
Don’t like the intonation or action of a particular key/note? Adjust it. Make the entire sound board have triple silver strings, adjust hammer felt thickness, etc. The V-Piano has been and remains unrivaled, IMO, for years now.
Has anyone heard yet V-piano from Roland and compared it with acoustic grands.That would be nice because the concept is totally different: physical modelling instead of samples.
For $15K, I can get a really nice STEINWAY CONCERT GRAND, used of course., but as I live in Los Angeles, I was horrified to find out that there were so many grand and concert grands in storage, that they were destroying them. It just made me sick.
I’ve tried the digital piano’s. They are Ok, but a litle tinny for my ear.The one thing I do like is the varety of sounds you can get including an organ sound that I do like.
The Yamaha N2 does not cost $15000. You should be able to buy it for $9-10k without much negotiation.
One thing about the video of note. She condemns the Yamaha CLP-S408 keyboard, giving us the impression that it is virtually useless for learning. Later, she praises the Yamaha CLP-480, with a side comment that it feels a bit stiff. These two pianos have identical keyboards, the GH3 natural wood! This might be a situation where the sound of the piano is influencing how she thinks it feels. The sound of the 480 would be significantly louder and better overall.
Hey, does anyone know what music is she playing from 02:34 untill 2:40??? I love this music, I used to listen to it in my old YAMAHA keyboard but I never knew which music it is… :/
it would be a real waste to spend 15 K on a digital.you can have a good second hand acostic piano at that price(on ebay there are even refurbished Steynways at that price).a digital is suitable for a gigging musician to add in a keyboard set-up,or practicing.for practicing they are perfect .and that’s all.and for that the nord stage from Clavia or virtual piano from Roland,as well as some Yamaha or Kawai from the same range of price(2-3 thousand) are more than enough.aaa by the way ..the Roland V piano can be tuned string by string ,on each note ,change kind of string etc.nice machine.only acoustic pianos.second hand …about 4000 $.
Interesting, and no surprises. However, it was a very limited selection. Also, no mention of “virtual pianos” with software generated voices. Likely, one of these will be my next one – feeding the very good sound system I have on my present, somewhat old, GEM Pro1 stage piano.
As far as synthesized piano “sounds” go, I highly suggest one listen to
the 9 foot German Steinway D in Synthogy’s Ivory Grands 2 software package. With eighteen velocity samples per note, and beautiful tuning, this “piano sound” is the best I have heard so far, at a very reasonable price, compared to the pianos in the demo above.
It does require that one have a MIDI controller keyboard, to trigger the sounds. I don’t know enough about high-end key-board controllers to compare them. Perhaps someone could test those out for us, on behalf of pianostreet.com.
Hi, I had a Yamaha CVP 509 and traded it in for the mew 609. the sound I find is very tiny in mid to upper keys. There are all kinds of sound adjustments you can make and save but I still cant get rid of the tinny sound in spite of the “improved” speakers. I was think of buying an set of 8″ Yamaha monitor speakers. Any advice? I have a set of Senhauser HD 800 open head phones and the piano sounds great through them. I just want to reproduce the same piano sound through a set of speakers. Any suggestions?
The positive aspect of a digital for me would be the ability to record precise notes of complex improvisation, thus avoiding the time consuming task of working out what I was doing by ear. However, I do not actually feel a need to do this very often, so perhaps the advantage would be small. On the other hand, I find them difficult to play because their touch is so light it seems to require an entirely different technique. The initial elation of everything running away with me soon lapses into real problems with articulation. My Weinbach grand has a heavy touch and deep dip, and I have used a Virgil Practice Clavier almost for fifty years, so my observations might be highly individual. I suppose I could get used to anything given time.
Has anyone heard yet V-piano from Roland and compared it with acoustic grands.That would be nice because the concept is totally different: physical modelling instead of samples.
I agree with Simone about the superior sound of a good acoustic piano. However, I also agree that it is nice to be able to practice with a headset on.
I think the digital piano sounds ok compared to the real acoustic piano, but it still leaves a little out. With that being said, if you can afford the 15K pricetag you are probably not worried about it.