Piano players. Is this a good one to get for my 8 year old daughter?

[OutHouse]

http://www.zzounds.com/item--KORSP200

 

[bleeb]

Thats kinda expensive... id say alway stick with a small upright. (ie. real mccoy) there is no substitute for gaining finger, and hand strength for playing a real piano rather than one of these keyboards.

 

[sillymofo]

Dude... that's wayyy too much for your 8 yrs old... get something else from Yamaha, way down the line.

 

[sillymofo]

Dude... that's wayyy too much for your 8 yrs old... get something else from Yamaha, way down the line.

edit: See how much I'm against this?

 

[OutHouse]

ill take a look at cheaper ones, but this one is awesome. the keys feel just like a real piano.

 

[Vertimus]

It depends on what you are planning for your daughter. If she is into rock bands, heavy metal, rap, etc, i have little knowledge on the type of piano needed. However, if she wants to become a classical/jazz piano player, do NOT buy any kind of electronic piano by all means. I am a classical piano player myself, and it feels extremely different playing on an accoustic upright/grand compared to an electronic one. In fact, it is nearly impossible to play any classical music on electronic piano well.

There are big differences between accoustic pianos. Uprights usually go below $5000 used. Personally, i favor yahama's uprights because of their hammer action, which are good for technique building on beginners. And you can get a lot of sound out of them, so they dont' sound muffled. You probably won't need a grand piano now, but depending on how far she progresses in the next 10 years, she might be more comfortable with a grand by high school.

There is no reason at all to buy a new piano. Used pianos come a lot cheaper, but pianos dont' really deteriorate much. It would be helpful to find a piano teacher who can point out pianos to you. Note how the finish/paint looks might affect the resell value, but the sound of the piano is what really matters for now.

 

[Supertastic Fool]

i would go with vert on this. He obviosly knew enough about it to register since it is his first post... also i played for about 8 years and he is right, you cant play clasical on a keyboard. It just isnt the same...

 

[BornStar]

Originally posted by: bleeb
Thats kinda expensive... id say alway stick with a small upright. (ie. real mccoy) there is no substitute for gaining finger, and hand strength for playing a real piano rather than one of these keyboards.

I'd rather get an electric keyboard than an upright. I think the sound from an upright is just grating and harsh, not at all enjoyable to listen to. Now grand pianos are just awesome. My parent's Boston sounds awesome.

 

[Vertimus]

Quick note: pianos dont' have to cost $5000. The Baldwin i currently use I bought for $850 back in a small shop in Knoxville. It was good for seven years, and it's still very good now. The hammer action is excellent, although not as good as Yahama uprights. I can get a lot of sound from the bass, although the treble is a bit bright. I'm moving toward a grand now, so i'm planning to get rid of it. Right now, I could probably trade it in for $1200.

 

[BornStar]

Originally posted by: Vertimus
Quick note: pianos dont' have to cost $5000. The Baldwin i currently use I bought for $850 back in a small shop in Knoxville. It was good for seven years, and it's still very good now. The hammer action is excellent, although not as good as Yahama uprights. I can get a lot of sound from the bass, although the treble is a bit bright. I'm moving toward a grand now, so i'm planning to get rid of it. Right now, I could probably trade it in for $1200.

Hey, our old baby grand was a Baldwin. Are those any good? We could find NO information on them. Granted, it was something like 40 years old and was in pretty bad shape appearance wise.

 

[Vertimus]

Originally posted by: BornStar18

Originally posted by: Vertimus
Quick note: pianos dont' have to cost $5000. The Baldwin i currently use I bought for $850 back in a small shop in Knoxville. It was good for seven years, and it's still very good now. The hammer action is excellent, although not as good as Yahama uprights. I can get a lot of sound from the bass, although the treble is a bit bright. I'm moving toward a grand now, so i'm planning to get rid of it. Right now, I could probably trade it in for $1200.

Hey, our old baby grand was a Baldwin. Are those any good? We could find NO information on them. Granted, it was something like 40 years old and was in pretty bad shape appearance wise.

Although I have some knowledge on Baldwins, I would rather not metion much because I cannot verify any of it. From what I heard, they were concidered one of the best, just a tier below Steinway, until they moved their plant from Illionis to Arkansas (for cheap labor) twenty years ago. Since then, they basically went bankrupt. Since your piano is 40 years old, i would guess it is quite good. Also, how good/bad it looks on the outside has nothing to do the sound of the piano. Sure, it might affect resell price, but it doesn't take much to fix up the finishings.

Most public libraries should have a book called "The Piano Book" which has prices on almost every kind of piano, upright or grand. That cannot tell you how good a piano is, but it is a good guide for the price.

 

[BornStar]

Originally posted by: Vertimus

Originally posted by: BornStar18

Originally posted by: Vertimus
Quick note: pianos dont' have to cost $5000. The Baldwin i currently use I bought for $850 back in a small shop in Knoxville. It was good for seven years, and it's still very good now. The hammer action is excellent, although not as good as Yahama uprights. I can get a lot of sound from the bass, although the treble is a bit bright. I'm moving toward a grand now, so i'm planning to get rid of it. Right now, I could probably trade it in for $1200.

Hey, our old baby grand was a Baldwin. Are those any good? We could find NO information on them. Granted, it was something like 40 years old and was in pretty bad shape appearance wise.

Although I have some knowledge on Baldwins, I would rather not metion much because I cannot verify any of it. From what I heard, they were concidered one of the best, just a tier below Steinway, until they moved their plant from Illionis to Arkansas (for cheap labor) twenty years ago. Since then, they basically went bankrupt. Since your piano is 40 years old, i would guess it is quite good. Also, how good/bad it looks on the outside has nothing to do the sound of the piano. Sure, it might affect resell price, but it doesn't take much to fix up the finishings.

Most public libraries should have a book called "The Piano Book" which has prices on almost every kind of piano, upright or grand. That cannot tell you how good a piano is, but it is a good guide for the price.

OK, hearing that, I'm beginning to think it wasn't a Baldwin because we just gave it away. We needed the room for the Boston which I think has 10x better sound.

 

[AsianriceX]

If you really think she'll be in it for the long run, consider getting a real piano. I myself started on a Yamaha upright piano my parents bought in Japan. I started when I was 9 and continued up until I was about 18. My parents bought me a Kurzweil PC2X(full sized, weighted keys) near the end of my playing years.

There's no substitute for the weighted keys of a real piano/professional keyboards. At this early point in time, I don't think it matters what style of music she'll be learning, because it'll probably be classical. I've always learned that you have to go through classical training first to get those basic skills down, then you can jump towards other styles of music.

 

[AEnigmaWI]

yah.. i have a Roland digital piano.. has great key action.. sounds fine.. nice because don't have to worry about tuning, which can be a major expense with an old upright piano.. unless you don't care about the nasty sounds

 

[Imdmn04]

If you are serious, and decides on going digital, then make sure the keyboard has weighted keys. Velocity sensored keys are simply not good enough, because they are way too light, and it just doesnt feel like a real piano. Weighted keys reproduces the real feel of a piano key, heavy on the low frequencies, and lighter on the higher keys.

 

[Pyromidion]

Even if you were to get a mid range digital piano, I don't believe the SP200 is a good choice. It does have the full range 88 keys, and weighted velocity action, but all the digital samples are the same for each velocity. Basically that means if you just tap it, or really pound on it, its the same sound, just louder or softer. I did look at that one because of its simplistic design, but decided to go with the Yamaha P80 (discontinued now, P90) because the velocity samples were more accurate.

-john

 

[johnjohn320]

Another vote for buy a used upright. I won't reiterate many of the reasons that have probably already been listed in this thread, but I will say that as a piano teacher I will not take any students who aren't able to practice on an actual piano.