Electronic keyboard - good piano sound

Lord_Gardener

Looking for a good quality keyboard for learning to play piano on. This is for our 11 year old daughter who likes both traditional and electronic keyboard sounds.


Thanks

LG

popapapa

Hi !

I was in the same predicament. Both mine are learning the piano and they enjoy using the digital keyboard the started on. We are not musical so we did not know what to buy as a long term solution.
My son (10) is doing Grade 1 this week and apparently a keyboard does not offer a wide range of tones/depth nor all the keys needed for studying.The teacher said that he needed a proper traditional piano and that a digital one could be an idea for when he'll be a teenager and keen to experiment with his own music. :mad:
Basically, I found out that a good Clavinova (digital piano) would cost about £ 2,200 and a new good quality piano (Yamaha U series) about the same.
I found out that the main music store in Norwich (my main city) does a rental scheme for the first 6 months, whereby you hire the piano that you eventually want to buy for a nominal fee (we paid £300) and after 6 months you can either settle (if your child proves to be putting in the effort in my case) or return it to the shop. You are looking at potentially wasting £300 but the kids will have something to work towards and we thought it would be worth it.

Good luck!

santana-mx3

I bought my wife a Yamaha DGX500 keyboard a couple of years ago for learning on. I think it has been replaced by the DGX505. Her sister has a Yamaha Clavinova (which our nephews are also now learning on) but there was no way we could afford that or even justify it (they started around £1100 and I think my SIL's model is nearer £2000). The reason I got the DGX500 was that it has the full complement of full-size keys, the reviews praised the piano sound and stated that it was suitable both for beginners and for more experienced players, and the stand is wooden rather than metal (so is a bit more furniture like than something with a metal stand). Also, I enquired in various stores about a keyboard suitable for a learner and several recommended this.

By the way my sister-in-law tried out our DGX500 and thought it was great (obviously not as good as her clavinova). Friends of ours whose kids are learning piano said they were advised to buy real pianos (not keyboards) which is what popapapa was also told though my cousin who is learning said she used a Yamaha keyboard alost identical to ours in school.

Lord_Gardener

Dear Both

Thanks for all your advice. Looks like I'll be out looking for a trad piano and lots of wrapping paper!!

LG