While on vacation recently with friends, one of those friends was lamenting that when he was a younger man, he had spent a few years in London while his father was there for his employer. The home where he lived had a piano that he started to play as he was bored and felt lonely being removed from his friends at school. As he has aged he has decided that he wants to reconnect with this past. He also has decided, or rather his wife decided for him, that he would be better served with a digital piano. I must admit that as far as a straight digital piano is concerned, I have no real opinion as to which one would best suit his needs so I am reaching out to those here that would possess such knowledge. I am certain that he wants a full size keyboard with some decent natural touch to the keys. I would guess that he would only want to use onboard speakers for the sound as I believe that his wife would not want any amplifiers sitting around. Beyond that I know little of what he desires as I don't think he is sure as to that answer. Also, he tends to be quite frugal. I appreciate any and all suggestions.

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Casio Previa

Hey Dennis, how's it going?

The casio previa is used by a lot of pros that I know in Seattle. It's light weight (seriously light weight), has a good feel and a good sound, has built in speakers and all the normal in/outs like headphones, line outs, midi, usb, etc... The other nice thing about the Previa? It's on the low end of price and they are sold everywhere. I have no other digital piano to recommend, this one is just the best bang for the buck, by far.

If I'm not back in 24 hours, call the president.

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Casio Privia

I add a second to Scot's post. I owned one PX-310 for several years before upgrading to a Kurzweil PC1x. Another option would be the Yamaha P series, which I owned, and liked as well.

I can third that. I recently got a Casio Privia PX150 and LOVE it. I go to college and have a tiny bachelor apartment, so a digital piano was really my only option. I also play in a band and need a portable keyboard to bring around to gigs around the city, so it's also perfect for that.

It's got an really nice touch and love the sound, too. Plus, it didn't cost an arm and a leg, which is a huge plus.

I got mine on kijiji used and would definitely suggest buying used too, it can save a lot of money.

All that being said, I did read a comparison somebody wrote between the casio and a Yamaha p105. They actually preferred the yamaha for solo jazz piano. Really, it's a matter of personal taste, but in general, I think people prefer the casio. I certainly don't regret my purchase for a second.

Casio Privia PX-150, or Yamaha P-105

The Privia PX-150 gets a lot of love on forums, for good reason! I recently bought a Privia PX-160 (it's the next model after the 150). I got it for about $500. SUPER happy with it. At the store, I spent hours A/B testing it against the Yamaha P-105, which as this digital piano buyer's guide (http://equipboard.com/posts/the-best-digital-piano) says, is its primary competitor. I'm not a super advanced pianist and haven't spent enough time playing real acoustic pianos to really tell which of the two has a better grand piano sound. It mostly came down to that I liked the feel of the Casio better, and it just looks really good :) (I know, I know, that probably shouldn't be a criteria). I hope this helps. I haven't had the PX-160 long, but thus far I really love it.

A lot of pro's that I know carry them to gigs because they feel good, sound good, and are super easy to carry around.
If I'm not back in 24 hours, call the president.

Scot is available for skype jazz piano lessons (and google hangouts, phone call, etc...)
Use the contact link at the top of the page.
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