Keys that fit me.

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With Covid, it's difficult to go into a local store and try out the various options.. and honestly, there are so many options out there that no store has every option or every brand. I'm fighting over buying used or new, as well as what to go with.

Here is the bullet points of what I'm looking for:

Under $1,000 (Under $600 preferable)
Weighted Keys (preferably as close to a Grand Piano as possible, but not mandatory)
Voices: I don't really care about voices other than a very good Grand Piano reproduction, and perhaps a few other piano choices. I'm not looking to play bass or drums with my keyboard.
88 Key preferred
Volume: Don't really care if it has a great amp or a weak amp. I have a very nice Denon Surround Sound Receiver I can place into audio only Stereo mode and plug in that way to get louder sound if needed. Outside of that, I'm using it for myself.
Pedals: Would like to be able to have at the very least, a Sustain pedal. All 3 would be nice but not mandatory
Learning App: Not mandatory, but would definitely be helpful.

My background: I used to run sound for concerts, and have an extremely good ear. I'd be asked by professional guitarists for me to tune their guitar, as I could tune it better by ear than their electric tuner could (Granted, this was 20 years ago. I'm sure the tech is far superior to what it was back then).

My favorite instrument is the Grand Piano, and I find that most Keys (once again, my experience is far outdated) couldn't reproduce the sound. My interested play style is Classical and Jazz.

I'm a novice on the keys. I learned to play the basics by ear, and can also play Guitar by ear. That said, I have a lot of stress with Covid going on and my business collapsing. I though putting my nose into a set of keys rather than a bottle would be both more fulfilling and more productive, but with a failing business because of Covid and no income, I'd rather not break the bank on a set of keys. I'm open to used, and if I can find the right model for me, I can spend the time searching for the right piece used and buy it when I find it at a reasonable price.

In the end, I just want to feel like I'm playing the real deal, both sound and weight. If I learn to play a song on the Keys, I want to be able to walk up to a Grand Piano and have it feel very close to the same if I were to attempt to play the same piece, and not find that I'm hitting the keys too hard or not hard enough.

I've heard mixed reviews on the Alesis Concert 88. I've used used their other products which have been very good, but I've never used their keys. I know Blue has blown up in the past, in the microphone industry. Don't know if they ever started doing instruments. I'd be curious about keys made by them.

In the end, the brand doesn't matter so much as is the product reliable, and does it feel like you are playing the real deal. I don't need the ton of bells and whistles. Just the few focus points I'm going for.
 
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Best piano sound and action in a board with speakers for under $1,000, preferably under $600...

In a new model, I think the best choice is probably the Kawai ES110.
 
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Look at the Casio "Privia" line. Ticks about all of your requirements.

 
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The Kawai ES 110 does get the best reviews, BUT the one I tried had very, very noisy and clunky keys.

I would only buy one of these with a cast iron money back guarantee and that the vendor pays return postage.

Additionally I would say a Yamaha P125 (add on 3 pedal unit is also available) or a DGX 660 should be on your list to checkout further.

Search this forum for prior posts on the very subject.
 
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Look at the Casio "Privia" line. Ticks about all of your requirements.

There seem to be quite a few models in the Privia line. Is there a specific one you are referring to?
 
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Kawai, Casio, Yamaha and Roland are the main contenders, and three of the four have already been suggested by the first three responses! There's no one right answer, in part because sound and action is somewhat subjective, and in part because people can care more about different things.

My personal experience, which is based more on models a generation or two back from their most current models, is that I usually like Yamaha best for sound, Casio best for action, with Kawai as a good compromise and therefore arguably the most pleasing to play of the three (action better than Yamaha, sound better than Casio, it's basically "good enough" everywhere... at least that was my feeling about the ES100). I'm not much of a fan of most of the recent Roland pianos... I find the sound, while pleasant, less natural/authentic sounding than the others, and the actions usually a bit sluggish... but some people love them.

In all cases, I'm talking about using these pianos with their built-in sounds and playing through their built-in speakers. If you were going to use the board to trigger external pianos (from, say, a laptop or iPad), that could change things, and you did mention the possibility of using external amplification... if you opened up the field to models with no built in amp/speakers at all (so apart from headphones, you'd have no choice but to use external amp/speakers), that opens up additional possibilities that could be worth considering.

As to your question about which Casio model to look at, Casio uses what I would say are 2 1/2 different actions in their current models in your price range. The older ones in the line-up use the "Tri-sensor Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard II" action, the newer PX-S1000/S3000 use the "Smart Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard" while the lower-end newer models use what I *think* is physically the same but without the "Smart" part which I believe is a software enhancement... so whether or not it is a "different" action depends on how you look at it, if indeed it is physically the same but responds /plays differently. Regardless, some people prefer the older Tri-sensor Casio actions, some prefer the newer. I believe the newer design is quieter and less bouncy, but the older has a third sensor (allowing you to repeat a note without lifting it so high as to silence it first), and the old one also has a longer key design which allow it to play more evenly between the fronts of the keys and the backs. Casio's implementation of the third sensor is not as good as some others, but in this price range, Yamaha and Kawai don't have third sensors at all. (The Rolands do, though.) So I think it's not a clear call as to which Casio models have the best actions, it may depend on which "flaws" bother you more, though I think the PX-S1000/S3000 are supposed to have their best sound (I haven't heard them myself). And of those two, the 1000 is enough to have the things you care about. Which isn't to say you might not be perfecly satisfied by even the lesser CDP-S100/S150 (non-"smart" action, and I think an older piano sound).

If you want to add Roland to your eval list, the FP-10 looks sufficient (also sold by Costco as FRP-1).
 
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See my prior thread on a similar subject

https://www.keyboardforums.com/threads/digital-pianos-c£500-750-usd-€600-860-cnd-960-aud.30702/

I just wanted to have some time with a DP,

Nearly a year later am I happy? No, my Yamaha P121 (73 keys) works very well, the action is good, changing instrument voices is vastly superior and easier than its competitors. Yamaha piano sounds are the best but I miss not having an Arranger or at least Arranger features.

So sound wise, Yamaha wins in my book.

Keybed Action, its Roland, then Yamaha, then Casio and Korg following up the rear.

The Casio S1000 and S3000 look great but the action is not as good as that of a similar priced Roland or Yamaha. If you are considering these models do try them first.

Now if you want more that straight piano sounds, like arranger features then you are at the Casio S3000, Yamaha DGX 660 or Korg XE50 price points.

Good luck with your resarch
 
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So sound wise, Yamaha wins in my book.

Keybed Action, its Roland, then Yamaha, then Casio and Korg following up the rear.

Yeah, I usually like Yamaha's piano sounds best.

For action, the Roland is nice, I can see why some people prefer it, it's just not as "quick" feeling as I like. In the price range we're talking about, the Korgs with their RH3 action might be best of the bunch, but the only RH3 model under $1k (the D1) has no speakers. I think the actions of the other Korgs in this range are (at best) competitive with the Yamaha GHS models... at that point, I'd prefer the feel of the tri-sensor Casios, I'm not sure about the newer Casios since I've barely touched one.

Yamaha piano sounds are the best but I miss not having an Arranger or at least Arranger features....If you want more that straight piano sounds, like arranger features then you are at the Casio S3000, Yamaha DGX 660 or Korg XE50 price points.

OP doesn't seem to care about anything but piano sounds, but for you, there are some other Casio 88s that have arranger features. If you were to prefer Casio's previous action and/or the simpler interface of their touchscreen models, the PX-560 would be a possibility. If you want to keep the price lower, I think the CGP-700 could fit the bill as well. The lowest price Casio possibility is probably the CDP-S350, which has the pros and cons of their newer action design which I discussed in the previous post.
 
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Scott

Yes, I agree with your comments.

However a digital piano with inbuilt arranger functions will provide a far more versatile keyboard for the Op as their abilities improves.
 
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I want to qualify my previous statements about action by adding that sometimes a given action feels different on one board than another. Maybe not all models that have actions described by the same nomenclature are using actions that are actually identical, or maybe there are variations in feel based on how the action is mounted into a given chassis, or unit-to-unit variations, I don't know. But for example, I played a Yamaha MODX8 and a DGX660 side by side at a store, and while I think the MODX is a great board, I really didn't care for that GHS action on the 8, whereas I actually liked the GHS action on that DGX660. And it wasn't a matter of programming (sample mapping, velocity curves, whatever)... I could tell the difference even with the power off. (I liked the MODX enough that I bought a MODX7, though.)
 
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I finally got to test some of these keyboards side by side. I wasn't a fan of Casio. It felt too fake for me (at least the models in similar price points). The Yamaha's default piano sound was lack luster, but I found it had multiple versions and when I went to the second or third version (I believe I was trying the P125), it sounded much better. Slightly better than the Roland FP-30, but I liked the action on the FP-30 the best. Ended up getting the FP-30.

Thank you all for your help and suggestions!
 
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I finally got to test some of these keyboards side by side. I wasn't a fan of Casio. It felt too fake for me (at least the models in similar price points). The Yamaha's default piano sound was lack luster, but I found it had multiple versions and when I went to the second or third version (I believe I was trying the P125), it sounded much better. Slightly better than the Roland FP-30, but I liked the action on the FP-30 the best. Ended up getting the FP-30.

Thank you all for your help and suggestions!
Hey, how’s it going? Waiting for the video report. It's a little strange choice, to my mind, but I've never ever played on this model
 

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