Rebecca Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 Does anyone know anything about yamaha clavinovas? Are they as good to learn on as an acoustic upright? If so, which model? Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSmomof2 Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 IMO, the Clavinova is a very good digital piano. I owned one when dh and I were relocating frequently and lived in apartments. It would be fine to learn on. However, I would always choose an acoustic piano over a digital, unless there was a reason I couldn't have an acoustic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Posted June 8, 2013 Author Share Posted June 8, 2013 Thank you very much for your reply! I am seriously finding it all very confusing. I guess if we didn't have to be concerned about expense- I would buy a quality acoustic upright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSmomof2 Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 I would think you could find a good quality used acoustic piano for the price of a Clavinova. My current piano, a Kohler & Campbell, was purchased used (about 10 years old), in excellent condition, for $1500. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 You can often find a used acoustic cheaper than a digital, but modern digital pianos with weighted keys are quite nice to play. We just bought a Kawai digital piano last fall, and I love it. Comparing the sound of the Yamaha with Kawai and Roland, my DH and I decided against the Yamaha. Funny thing is that the Kawai and Roland have more features for the same price as the Yamaha. When looking for a piano, I perused the piano world forums a lot ( on my phone, or I'd link - it's easy to find in Google). They have all kinds of reviews, prices paid, recommendations, etc. We specifically wanted a digital piano for various reasons, but if we had wanted an acoustic, I'd have checked a local dealer that sells used pianos. Sometimes you can get them free or cheap on Craigslist as well, but know what you're looking for. If the piano is free but is 100+ years old and can't be tuned, not worth it. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyndiLJ Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 Our church had a Clavinova which our 25+ years Music Director highly recommends. She is a very serious musician who is incredibly talented, and refuses to play a standard cheapie keyboard but absolutely loves the feel of a Clavinova as well as the variety of sounds it can produce. She'd rather have that to work with any day over an upright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalypso Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 The most awesome aspect of a digital piano is volume control. :) We have a Yamaha digital piano (not a Clavinova) and it has served us well. None of my kids have had trouble playing an acoustic piano after learning on the digital. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 I've had a Yamaha Clavinova CLP-240 for a few years now, and I'm happy with the choice. I love the volume control and the handy metronome. The UI isn't so great, so I needed to keep the manual handy at first. The manual itself is not so well written either. However, as my playing has advanced I do reach one technological barrier. It has a limited number of notes that can be played at one time. If you are using sustain and playing several chords one after the other, the first notes you play will drop out to be replaced by new ones. (This isn't an issue for beginners.) I'm searching through this manual now, but I can't find the information about this sustain issue right now. Honestly, the manual is so dense with features I never use on this thing, but I would love to hear all the notes I'm playing. Actually I think I've found on p. 85 of the manual...the max "polyphony" is 64, but to me it seems much less. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this, or is it all in my head? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Actually I think I've found on p. 85 of the manual...the max "polyphony" is 64, but to me it seems much less. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this, or is it all in my head? Yeah, most digital pianos now are way more than 64. :) The one I got is 192, and the next model up is 256. Even the "cheap" Kawai models are still 192 or 256. I guess some of the Yamahas are only 128. Take a look at other brands, like Kawai and Roland, in the price range of the Clavinova you're looking at. If you can find a local store that sells multiple brands that you can play side by side, that's your best bet. Compare features, sound, and how it feels to YOU when you play it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Posted June 14, 2013 Author Share Posted June 14, 2013 Great responses. Thank you so much. We are looking at used acoustic pianos right now as we can't afford the clavinova we would want at this time. My children have been learning on a Yamaha YPG portable grand for the last few years. It has the weighted keys and graded hammer action- but the keys are not wooden. We have really enjoyed the headphone feature and volume control and they have enjoyed all the fun "extras" it contains. I do think a digital piano would best serve our needs in terms of our family (head phone component) and so forth... but we are working within our limitations. Rebecca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Posted June 14, 2013 Author Share Posted June 14, 2013 Wow! Thanks for the Piano World forums recommendation! Great resource. Rebecca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted June 15, 2013 Share Posted June 15, 2013 Wow! Thanks for the Piano World forums recommendation! Great resource. Rebecca Make sure you check the prices paid spreadsheet in the digital piano forum. That's VERY useful in shopping! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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