digital keyboards

[David Ilvedson]

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
> 
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