Keyboards and Pianos

Personally, I have a Steinway grand (black high gloss <3). It plays like a dream, and I bought it for $20,000 thanks to the fact that I happened to work at a piano sales store at the time. It would probably sell for about $25,000 now. There are very few pianos that would cost $200,000 though. In the store I worked for, we had a fully refurbished Steinway grand from 1896 with a cherry satin polish that was, I think, 16 feet long and had the richest sound I've ever heard from a piano. It sold for $80,000.

My advice would be to determine how focused you are on your music and where you want to take it. If you're just looking for a substitute to an old electronic keyboard with multiple instrument sounds, go with another keyboard of the same ilk, such as a Roland. Many of them also come with MIDI programs that allow you to fine-tune recordings after the fact and to change pitch, volume, tone, and instrument after the fact too. Basically, a vast majority of bands these days have their keyboardists playing on Roland.

If you're actually planning to learn classical piano or use it for something more than simple composing or fun, then an actual piano would be a worthwhile investment. My advice is to avoid any piano made from across the Pacific. Specifically, Chinese. They are really cheap both in price and quality. The better instruments generally come from Europe still, where the tradition of hand-crafting hasn't been totally lost to the efficiency of machines yet. Steinway and Petroff are two great brands for both uprights and grands, if you can swing the prices. And if you find a product you like, make sure to test it before buying it! Bring along some music, sit down, and play it. Play something soft. Something fast. Something grand and exuberant. If it can't conform to all the styles you try, then it's not worth the pricetag. And, unlike a car, you can't return it quite as easily (moving fees), but it also generally GAINS value over time rather than loses it.

Hope that helps!

 

Price and quality range HEAPS, its all about finding the right deal.

I definitely suggest going secondhand.

I bought my first Piano (A Harpsburg Upright grand) for $110 from our local newspaper.

I bought an amazing digital piano once I got more serious so I could practise during the night easily and so I could move it for performances.

Now I have a century old refurbished Steinway grand.

 

I have a Yamaha P90 keyboard and a Yamaha upright at my parent's house. I prefer the sound of an acoustic piano of course, but I'm in a band.. so portability is key. If you are willing to spend about $2,000-$3,000, I would definitely recommend the Roland Fantom series keyboards. I used it the last time I was in the studio and the grand piano sound is absolutely amazing.

 

Don't forget that you don't have to actually buy a piano. Most stores have rental programs that will end up much cheaper in the long run unless you plan to have that exact piano for decades. The store I worked at generally rented for about $35 a month, which is quite low - less than my heating bill - and you get a decent quality piano out of it. And whenever you want to trade up or simply return it, there's no hassle in trying to find a new buyer since you just return it. In fact, here's the rather convincing math for why renting is a good idea.

Your monthly rental would be $35.
If the piano was priced at $5000 (which would be around what a nice upright would be, or a small grand if you're lucky), that would require 142 payments in order to actually start overpaying the value of the piano. And it takes 11.9 years to make that many payments. Basically, it would take 12 years to actually start losing money on the investment. By that time, you will probably either have decided to actually just buy that piano, chosen a new one, or stopped playing altogether.

 

I use a M-Audio MIDI keyboard
$100 and I get to use all the sounds in the world

 

My sister has [or had I can't remember which she sold] a Korg Trinity and oh my god they are fucking amazing! I can't play them like I tried and failed lol, but my sister is an amazing pianist [*coughmultitalentedbitchcough*] and that keyboard does sound absolutely amazing! Or Korg Triton is equally as good.
If you want something cheaper though I would recommend a Casio Tonebank. I think you can get them pretty damn cheap too but we've had the one I have now for about 10 years and it's still goin strong and sounds great!