I have an ancient Yamaha P-100 which I’ve been happily playing since I got it in the 90’s. some of the keys are going, and it seems smarter to get a new one rather than try to repair it. Seemed like a no-brainer - get a P-225. But now I see not everyone likes the action on the new KBD, so I see people recommend the DGX-670 or even a used P-125. Anyone got any insight here?
When initially looking, and not really knowing better I ended up with a Roland GTX-30. Really nice Fatar weighted keybed, but the sounds are mostly one-dimensional meh, the sustain is on-off switch only (completely spoiled by other instruments I have with continuous sustain) and it’s only basic as a MIDI controller. So basically yeah - it’s just a piano, and the sounds aren’t in the same class as the keybed. Shame, because it seems it could have been so much better.
When I was looking (like I say, a long time ago!), I thought the then current Fatars would be fine. But I discovered I was more picky than I had thought! I couldn’t really control the velocity with light playing on a lot the the things I tried. That’s why I ended up with the Yamaha. Now… ?
if I really care about the kb feeling I go to a shop (and probably with a pair of headphones I know well) 
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Yes, I didn’t think I cared that much, but at least in 1994 there was a huge range in feel. I will probably go to a local store…
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The Yamaha P-100 featured an AE (Area Effect (?)) Keybed which has been replaced by the GHS (Graded Hammer Standard) Keybed.
Hope that helps.
I guess I will see when I go try one out… I think the P-100 keyboard uses wooden keys, whereas the GHS keys are plastic. I guess the real question is how does a 30 year old “high end” keyboard compare to a current “beginners” keyboard? I’ll find out…
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Let us know what you settle on.
At some point I want to replace my Roland with something better – better sounds, more flexible sounds, better MIDI controller, but maybe I should be looking for a great MIDI controller and use external sound engines. I don’t like how some of them try to lock you into a brand ecosystem like NI.
Although it comes from their synth department rather than the digital piano folks (strong walls between those two sections of Yamaha or so I hear), you may find the CP-73/88 with its wooden keys to be worth a look.
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I will, but fair warning - my use case is atypical. I just want a piano, don’t use it as a controller for synths. I use a little Arthurian for that…
Any reason you don’t want an Acoustic piano if you don’t want to use it as a controller of any kind? Can’t beat the “keybed” of a real piano action. There’s lots of good reasons you might not want a real piano (noise, tuning, portability etc.) but I’m just curious if you’ve thought about it considering you don’t even need it as a controller.
It was over a decade ago, but when I was looking for a “piano” digital piano, since I wasn’t looking for a portable model, my local music store recommended the Kawai CN33. I don’t know how the sound and feel of their models evolved after that, but the CN33 piano sound (and also its electric piano sound) are very good in my opinion. And the weighted keys feel great. I was taking lessons at the time, and never felt like I had to adjust to the feeling of the keys between the Yamaha acoustic pianos at school or the Kawai digital at home. If I had to look for a new digital piano, I would definitely include Kawai in the comparison. But as was indicated before, I would want to be able to play the different options to get a feel for them.
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I had a real piano for a while. Noise and space main problems.
I believe my school had these to teach group piano classes. I can back up that these are pretty nice. The sound was totally serviceable and I remember they keys feeling great as well (very soft).
I’d love to have an acoustic piano to abuse (prepared piano, felting (and other materials)). Alas there’s no space in the studio, and the spouse has said no multiple times.