Digital baby grand : what is your experience
Hi folks. I am looking at getting the Yamaha CLP-795GP. I am wondering peoples experiences with these ā biggerā digital investments or with this piano in particular. Do the digital pianos last? Any other experiences. Positive or negative I have had a Yamaha p515 and am ready to step up. The digital is more affordable than an analogue baby grand and I like the ability to use headphones and have different types of piano sound. Any thoughts reflections experiences etc welcome
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I had a high quality full-size digital. Didnāt love the action and traded it for a Kawai Novus NV10s. Itās awesome and worth the extra for the grand piano action.
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Just today (!) I took delivery on a Yamaha N1X, which I had the chance to play a while back. The sound, the build quality, the keyboard (real Yamaha Grand keyboard action -- all that's missing is the strings), and the best engineered electronics I've ever seen. The darn thing weighs nearly 400 pounds! Several speakers, woofers/mid/tweeters, each with its own dedicated amplifier. After many years with a Kawai digital with "weighted keys" I too decided to step up to a digital with a true grand piano key mechanism. (I learned early on that the key mechanism is the "key" to being able to get that nuanced and varied tone.)The N1X is a bit pricey, but less than what I paid for my Steinway Model M, and me being in my 70s, it's probably my last piano.
From my own experience and that of several friends, the newer digital pianos (most particularly Yamaha, which most of my friends seemed to choose) will last a good long time, require minimum care, and are durable and very predictable over time. My only recommendation is, get one with the best keyboard assembly you can afford. With the Kawai, playing with my eyes closed, I always could feel that spinet action. With the Yamaha N1X, playing eyes closed feels like my Steinway did, only better regulated and with much more even response.
Once you get into the mid-range Yamahas, you almost can't go wrong. I wish you much happiness with your new piano.
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Joseph Boucher I have an older version, the Yamaha AvantGrand N1 which I bought about 15 years ago. It was a floor model, so I had to shell out "only" 8 k for it. Best investment I've ever made. Never any issues or malfunctions, gorgeous sound, great key action, and suitable for any type of literature - even the most complex and virtuosic classical and 20th/21th century pieces. Are there times when I wish I had a real grand piano to practice and play on? Sure. Especially on those rare occasions when I want to prepare a recording. But even a baby grand that offers a sound comparable to the hybrid I have now would set me back quite a bit financially and would have to be tuned, voiced, maintained... none of which I have to worry about with this little guy. I really don't miss having an acoustic grand piano anymore. I grew up with, and learned and trained on, my parents' cheap baby grand, and whenever I come home I am struck by how horrible it feels and sounds in comparison.
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I played on an upright Yamaha Clavinova when returning to the piano and felt really good about it and it helped me advance on my repertoire. Then I got an analogue Yamaha upright from one of the higher range, and now I can't imagine ever playing on a digital again. I think for me I'd probably invest in a good upright over a digital grand piano. Have you also considered pre-loved grands and uprights - some re- conditioned ones still sound and look good.
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Ching Lee Goh yes I thought long and hard about getting used. But Pianoteq has opened my eyes for the variety of sounds you can get with electronic. Eg I love playing Debussy with Steinway b felt. But I donāt think I would want that sound for a lot of pop music. I will be sad to not have analogue. I love the connection with history and the physical nature of it. It was tough decision.
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I have three digitals ā a Yamaha AvantGrand N2, a Roland RD-700NX and a Roland FP-90X. I use these instruments as controllers for Pianoteq, practicing with headphones. I have found that, for classical music, Pianoteq is a huge improvement over anything other than the Kawai internal sound found in the MP-11SE and Novus instruments. The reason is partly the 128 velocity layers provided by Pianoteq, which captures the nuances of classical touch/articulation. Regarding the Kawai MP-11SE ā that action can be uneven, generating MIDI velocities that are inconsistent among keys. Iāve found the Roland PHA actions to be more consistent, more durable and less fussy than the Kawai stage piano actions. (Novus is probably very good, however.)
For info on Pianoteq, check out the many Phil Best videos on YouTube. And note that heās using Roland keyboards as controllers.
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Christopher S Kippes Slightly off topic Christopher but you mentioned Pianoteq. I use this on my p515 and love the abillity to change instruments. I use a modern iPhone to run it and Iāve been wondering if sound quality would be even better if your from a Mac with a stronger processor ?
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Joseph Iāve not tried the new iOS Pianoteq platform. Iāve always liked the Pianoteq UI on the Mac and have stuck with a 2013 MacBook that is a dedicated Pianoteq machine that I can leave on the DP all the time. Itās a dual core i7 and is plenty powerful for Pianoteq. But I suspect my iPhone 14 is a more powerful computer, though I donāt know that for certain.
Another poster mentioned he owns a Steinway B but often prefers his DP. Iām in that camp too. I have a pretty nice 2003 NY Steinway B that I put a Hamburg action in back in 2019. But Pianoteq can be a sublime experience ā perfectly regulated and perfectly in tune. Acoustic pianos, especially Steinways, can be frustrating. Or maybe itās the difficulty of finding a great piano tech when you need one. These are complex machines. DPs can eliminate a lot of the frustrating problems endemic to these fussy devices.
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Hi Joseph,
I have a Steinway B grand piano but bought a Roland DP digital model a couple years ago so that I could practice with headphones on and not bother my wife. Iāve found that (Iām ashamed to say) I enjoy playing the Roland more than the Steinway. The sound and feel are incredible and they can be adjusted to your own specifications.
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My Yamaha digital (clavinova?) has lasted at least a decade. Very pleased. I use it for practice but I have found that some things donāt translate over to Steinway M for me (I have both). The acoustic touch is much more sensitive and keys less sticky feeling so I make more progress on the acoustic.
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I have the Yamaha NU1 and the Kawai NOVUS NV10S. I love playing on both, but the action and sound quality on the NV10S is superior. I use it to practice because I can turn down the volume and spare my ears a bit.
I tried the āgrand feelā action on the other brands and models, and it wasnāt for me. I feel much more comfortable with a real action, like the hybrids have. I find itās also easier to switch to the acoustic grand.
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If you have one piano....and you don't have neighbors...nothing has compared to to a good acoustic upright or grand piano. If you need to play with headphones or with a piano on the road the amount of polyphony the piano can handle is as important as the feel and weight of the action. If you are playing Chopin or Brahms you can lose notes if the polyphony is too small.
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STEPHEN TOBOLOWSKY If you play with Pianoteq you have unlimited polyphony, because it is modeled, not sampled!
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Hi there -
I have a Kawai and the action is weighted - of course you never get the vibrational feedback from these digital pianos, but the weighted keys are a great advancement.
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thanks for sharing this info on the Yamaha keyboards - this is great info
Richard
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I use Pianoteq with a Roland RP 501R -- not the top model, and not their top action, though it is weighted and I love it. A new friend, who is a virtuoso concert pianist from Russia, was visiting me. She had never used a digital piano and never heard of Pianoteq. When she played on my piano, she couldn't believe it. She said the sound was incredible. I asked her how the action compared to an acoustic grand, and she said it was "not perfect, but very good." Hearing her play Chopin and Rachmaninoff was astonishing. I will never again believe I need a better piano. I just need to work on my own pianistic skills!
My friend told me that in Russian music schools and conservatories they only use Bechstein pianos. When I had her play on the Pianoteq Bechstein she was astounded, and momentarily unsettled, because it replicated the sound of a Bechstein so perfectly.
Pianoteq provides unlimited polyphony, because it is modeled, not sampled. And it offers the same dynamic responsiveness and sensitivity as an acoustic piano, on both keys and pedals. I would no longer want to live in a world without Pianoteq.
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That is great to here. Sometimes I distrust my liking of Pianoteq sounds like I am too unsophisticated to appreciate the sound of a real piano. But I have turned exclusively to Pianoteq even though Yamaha p515 has great samples sounds for cfx grand and bosendorfer. But the ā trueā sampled sounds seem much less dense and textured
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I might be too late the party here, but regarding how long these pianos last, I've had a Yamaha Clavinova for about 20 years now which was used daily for at least 15 of those years. The only thing I've noticed is that 4 or five keys show a bit more resistance than the others. It's a bit annoying, but I presume that it could be fixed by opening up the keys and cleaning out a bit from the inside. I've never had any sound or electrical issues whatsoever.
So I suspect any quality digital piano can easily serve you for many decades.
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I spent some time last year searching for an digital/analog piano. I have a Kawai ES920 digital, which I honestly love, but wanted a proper analog piano too. After trying many more digitals and hybrids, I decided that the experience I was looking for would only come with a true analog piano. I ended up buying a wonderful upright. If I had the room I might have searched further for a baby grand, but no regrets at all. To be honest, after sitting and trying over a dozen hybrid digital/analog pianos, and the comparing them to real analog instruments or even the good digital ones, I did not thing they could one-up either of those others.
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Stu Harrison of Merriam Music has reviewed some of the digital grands. He raved about Roland's newest ones. His reviews are always worth checking out.
