I’m looking for recommendations (online isn’t much help) for a keyboard or electronic piano that my daughter can take to college. She is going to be taking piano lessons and will have access to a piano at set times for practice. However, having something back in the apartment would be nice (kind of like dry fire practice). Online reviews are all over the place. I’m looking for the best bang for the buck. Put another way, I’m looking for a PPS M2, Shield, Nano, or G43/42 of the piano world.

Thanks!

We go this one for my wife 5 years ago. She really likes it. It was recommended by her instructor since it has a full keyboard and weighted keys. Its unfortunately discontinued, but maybe one of the models from the same series would work for her?

Craigslist. There's always a ton of really nice ones on there for cheap. Like with most musical instruments, the talent and time falls far short of the equipment, but larger instruments like electric pianos get sold off faster because they take up too much storage space to keep something not being used.

Look at Roland FP-10

Roland & Yamaha make some keyboards that feel close to a real piano.

Yamaha with weighted keys.

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Y...ion-Digital-Piano.gc

I have the Roland RD 700 NX and have had it for about six years.

Would I rather play a nine foot Steinway concert grand? Sure! Now since that is not possible, that's why I like a "stage piano" that plays like, feels like and sounds like the above. My Roland has an excellent weighted keyboard and plays with the touch and feel of a top of the line grand piano. It is always in tune and sounds great. All of the bells and whistles are secondary in stage pianos. Sometimes simpler is better. What you want is the right feel and the right sound. You do not want to buy a synthesizer. That is not a replacement for a piano.

Yamaha P115 fits the bill for me.

Agree with Yamaha or Roland as best brands.

Remember to budget for a good stand, too. The Qwik-Lok WS-540 or WS-8550 are both very sturdy and run under $100.

We have an old Roland/Rhodes MK-80 that is a battleship. Sitting on a WS-550 stand it is rock solid.

Someone else asked this a while back. Here was my reply:

"The two things that really matter for digital pianos is the keyboard action and the sound.

The RH3 weighted keys are are lighter than GHS action used by Yamaha's entry models (like the DGX 660). The lighter keys may be useful for beginners, but experienced pianists will generally prefer a heavier action which more closely mimics an acoustic grand piano. Someone who rarely plays a real piano and does a lot of work on synthesizers might prefer the lighter action.

My favorite is Roland. Their FP30 is around $600 and sounds phenomenal. Their professional digital pianos are among the best in the industry and the FP30 has a sound engine based on those. It also has good speakers on board. The action is on the firmer side. This is the one I would choose for myself if I were in your shoes.

They are also all usable as a MIDI controller, so if your daughter has any interest, she can cable it to her computer and use it to control software synthesizers to compose on software like Sebelius or produce music with something like ProTools, Logic or Ableton Live."

ChicagoSigMan is right.
When we were looking at them for our daughter, the Yamaha (don't remember the model, it was about $1300) had the best keyboard action. As far as I know that's still the case.

I have a Casio CT-370 that I bought about 30 years ago thinking I wanted to learn how to play the keyboard. Didn’t stick with it. Probably only used a dozen times or more. Still in the original box. Google it to see if it interests you. I could use the space it is stored in.

This is not my image. Just something I pulled from a Google search. If interested I’ll get it out and take some photos.

quote:

Originally posted by wingspar:
I have a Casio CT-370 that I bought about 30 years ago thinking I wanted to learn how to play the keyboard. Didn’t stick with it. Probably only used a dozen times or more. Still in the original box. Google it to see if it interests you. I could use the space it is stored in.

This is not my image. Just something I pulled from a Google search. If interested I’ll get it out and take some photos.

I appreciate the offer but she is classically trained/training. Anyway, she would need a full size keyboard (88 keys) and if I did the Google right it is only about 3 octaves. It was a very generous offer, however.

quote:

Originally posted by BB61:I appreciate the offer but she is classically trained/training. Anyway, she would need a full size keyboard (88 keys) and if I did the Google right it is only about 3 octaves. It was a very generous offer, however.

Not a problem. It’s something I haven’t thought about for years until I saw this thread. It’s old technology, but light and portable.

We've been pleased with the Yamaha PSRE443 we got our daughter. She's used it a lot in the last few years. Has headphones so she can practice without bothering others.