<html>  <head></head> <body>  <DIV></DIV> <P>They aren't pianos. They are electronic keyboards. Part of the appeal of a piano ( over a keyboard) include points you've correctly stated. However, add the element of an omni-directional soundwave ( which a piano produces) vs the 2 dimensional soundwave ( of any electronic device with a speaker)  and you have a stark difference in tonal ambiance. In the 70's there was much mumbling and groaning of the fact that the electronic keyboard's popularity would take over the piano industry by the year 2000. The prediction was for a demise of the piano industry soon after 2000. </P> <P>Well, well, well...that hasn't been the case. If anything, the introduction of the keyboard has helped put into perspective how nice a piano is. </P> <P>Add also the fact that the keyboard's lifespan is, what 5-8 yrs. And also to the fact that the value of the keyboard drops  as fast as a computer.</P> <P>The keyboards have their place. Our family owns one and we enjoy it for it's convience, it's mobility, and you can use headphones those moments. But that's as far as the positives go,I find keyboards very boring and unteresting to play. </P> <P>  </P> <P>Tom Servinsky<BR></P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">-------------- Original message from "Lorenzo Lacovara" <Lacovara@msn.com>: -------------- <BR><BR> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16587" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I originated this thread and feel that I did not articulate more clearly the problem I have with digital "pianos".</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>1. Touch sensitivity. I play the piano and have to date not found a single digital instrument that has the touch sensitivity of even the worst acoustical. This seems to do mostly with the length of the key and associated leverage. There are big differences between playing arpeggios on longer keys where the weight is more uniform because of the action geometry. and keys that are short and artificially loaded by springs.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>2. The sound board in an acoustical piano sums  (read capital Sigma) the vibrations that are transmitted to it via the bridge from all currently moving strings thus, providing the unique characteristics of individual instruments.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>For those more familiar with the artists of the "Golden age of piano"  is it possible to imagine Horowitz playing his version of the Liszt second Hungarian Rhapsody on a Beckstein?? Or more recently, Murray Perahia<STRONG> </STRONG> playing Mozart on a Bosendorfer Imperial?. Digital Instruments flatten them all out into the same glat-kultur sound.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Yes , digital instruments certainly do have a place, but certainly not as solo instruments.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I just have a real hard time calling them pianos.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Lorenzo Lacovara</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The Piano Exchange<BR>BUY  SELL  TUNING  REPAIRS<BR>Hoffman Town Square<BR>2225 Wyoming NE<BR>Albuquerque, NM 87110</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>  </body> </html>