Boy that is just the opposite of my experience with digital pianos versus an acoustic. All I can get out of the digital is different instruments. I can't get the nuances of a good piano or the feedback. There isn't even a tiny bit of comparison to the pleasure of my acoustic...which is an ordinary Kawai KG500 Grand. David I. > Except for > classical music I don't care whether I am playing a piano or a > digital. And with a digital, if I want a remarkable pipe organ, B3, > harpsichord or electric piano sound, I have it all plus much more at a > touch of a button. > Anyone who pursues a career that involves piano playing, > except for the concert artist, will also play a digital keyboard > for part of his or her wages. When I tuned for Broadway type > musicals, there was always one or two or three electronic > keyboards in the pit. I don't know what the scale (Union) is > today but there is a lot of money to be made for players who can > double on "digitals", or, for those who can't, a lot of jobs out > of reach. > Today I tuned one of the last US made Wurlitzer consoles. I > couldn't ask what they paid for it as I was hired by the company > that sold it. But even if only $3,000 I would much rather spend > $2,000 on a digital and have 1,000 to buy a nice computer to hook it > up to. > In 2001 I purchased a Yamaha PSR-340 "portable keyboard". The > major gripe is only 61 notes, but the 3.5 floppy disk drive sold me > and the price was right, $360 after tax. I have had more fun with > that machine than any piano I have owned. What attracted my attention > was the piano sound. Clearly an "imitation" but great for playing > along with any of the 200 pre programmed rhythm patterns of a very > live sounding percussion section of 20 different instruments. > The question becomes, how much do you have to spend to get a > better piano than a $1,000 digital? So the market for the $4,000 and > under piano is being challenged by the digitals. Big deal. Think > about how the crappy pianos limp along for 40 or 60 years and get > tuned maybe 6 to 10 times if they are lucky. Is that what you call > loosing piano tuning business? I would rather see one high end piano > sold that will get tuned once a year, than 10 low end pianos sold that > will get tuned once every 6 years. > > Of course for a real quality piano that will retain its value you want > a grand between $10,000 and $20,000. If that price point is too high > then offer $1,500 for a certain Knabe upright in a cafe in Wessington > Springs SD, which 'as is', will blow the panels off most uprights in > existence, well except maybe the Bush and Lane in Platte SD, but that > has been refinished so you might need $2500. Vintage SnS uprights that > are as good are worth, what, $3,000 to $ 5,000? > While the sales of digitals might cut into the sale of > "acoustics" I think the interest generated by the digitals will > spur the interest of higher end pianos resulting in increased > sales of quality pianos. I think the bottom line of value is that > pianos will always have a potential for investment that "digitals" > never will. Actually I mean the bottom line of value is how good a > musical instrument sounds.---ric > > _______________________________________________ > pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
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