thanks Trident that does sound much better

Thanks gents.

George, I found some specs and a picture of that new KB you mentioned. I think you're talking about the YPG625. Thanks for the lead -- very interesting!

A couple of places are advertising it for $779 in June. It has a 5 band "master EQ" but I don't see any SM card slot, so off hand, I don't think it quite competes with the Privia 400R. (I see 400CSs around for $599, which is the 400R less the stand and pedal, I think.)

I appreciate all your comments very much.

You know, the quality of a sound clip depends soooo much more on the musicianship of the artist(s) than the sounds in the KB. I was listening to clips of the DGX505 and the P250 on Yamaha's site, and they put, oh maybe FIFTY TIMES more effort into the P250 clips!! Honest to dog I'm not sure there's much difference in the sounds on the two KBs. I heard some good sounds coming from the 505, but geez ... for one thing, nearly all the 505 songs dragged like my great, great grampa (who happens to be dead).

You don't spose this would have anything to do with the fact the P250 is almost four times the dough, do you? They wouldn't try to steer us toward the high priced spread, would they???

I'm going to a Guitar Center to try a PX-555R today.

Thanks again,
Rick

Rick,
No doubt about it, hearing for yourself, the keyboards of interest to you, is always the best. As pointed out above, so many things can come into play that might falsely enhance or take away from the 'real' thing.

But its always good to throw the questions out there and hear from other's ideas and experiences. You then build a better plan with a checklist of things you want to pay attention to and confirm.

Have fun exploring, and good luck.

I meant to put my "Reflections on my trip to Guitar Center" post in this thread. In it, I mentioned my disappointment in the sounds other than piano on the Privia PX-555R, when compared to the Yamaha DGX505.

I did have one more question on the new weighted hammer DGX505 replacement (YPG625). Since I like the sounds so much on the 505 I tried, do you think the lack of a drive on the YPG625 will be a big deal? I mean, I guess I'm assuming the YPG625 will have enough memory onboard to hold a few songs I throw together at home? Like for when I go on break on a gig, or custom "Ta-dahs" for a pageant?

Would rather leave the laptop at home. One less thing to lug, lose or get stolen. Anybody? George? It'll be hard to wait 'til June!

Thx again,
Rick

I picked this up about 3 months ago, & I absolutely love it. Perfect for the house/studio, plus it can gig.
Korg SP250
Under a grand (Can.)So I would suspect $800 -$850 (U.S.)

http://www.korgmidwest.com/korg/pianos/SP250.htm

------------------
...shboom

Thanks for redirecting my attention to the SP-250, shboom. If the 32 note poly turns out to be a problem on the YPG625, then the SP-250 might well be it! I will miss the flute, saxs, and trumpets, though.

Rick

Hi,

I've tested several of them during Frankfurt Messe and one of the most natural sounding is Korg, or better the new line of Korg pianos.

I understand from some rumors that starting from SP250 and with the new C line (320-520-720) they have:
- new keybed (good for my taste, and with good feeling)
- new samples (a good and very natural sound).

It was a surprise for me, being a Pa1X owner but never satisfied with the Korg digital piano line (too poor/thin and unnaturally bright), finding these models. I strongly suggest you to check them out, especially if you play classical music.

Other comments regarding other brands top models:
- Yamaha: good sound, still a little too bright for my taste, good keybed.
- Casio: not so bad, but cheap construction (at the end it's Casio ....), keybed so and so.
- Kawai: good sound, a little too bright, the keybed is probably the best.
- Roland: a little step under Yamaha and Kawai, but the sound quality is much better than previous models, good keybed.

The competitors are really close and at the end what I like in the Korgies is that there is no emphasis in the high frequencies that others usually use to cut the mix, and especially played alone (sorry no choice to test it with a band at Messe) it's soooooo close to a traditional grand in IMHO.

Don't rely too much on specs, it's mainly the sound and keybed that make your choice.

Cheers.


[This message has been edited by Booby (edited 04-10-2006).]

Took another one hour drive to GC and deepened my impression. Figured out the reason I like the wind instruments so much better on the Yammie, compared to the Privia. The Privia 555R just has an attack and a decay. Two elements out of 4 in the ADSR envelope -- which is all you need, really, on a piano! But you really miss the flattening of tone after an attack, followed by a warm vibrato kicking in maybe half a second later.

I also noticed something about the 32 note polyphony. Think I'll start a new thread on that.

Thx,
Rick