Digital Piano help

Hlubocky

My fiancee used to play Piano all the time when she was growing up and I have an interest in learning piano to go alongside my guitar knowledge, so we plan on buying a digital piano this weekend. I figured we would just go into the nearest Guitar Center and bang around on what they have. Does anyone have any experience with this stuff? Are all brands about the same? The main thing we are looking for is something that feels like a piano (weighted keys?) and has support for pedals. We are looking to spend about $1000.

Thanks!
--Brian

edit: I also remember reading that just about anything at a Guitar Center can be haggled for. Is this true?

wasted pixels

My experience has been that Yamaha digital pianos are the best on a dollar-for-dollar basis, and incidentally, that's damn near all Guitar Center carries.

As for haggling at GC, my experience has been that most of the floor-level guys only have wiggle room when you're buying accessories too. I bought a Martin acoustic from them a while back, and they couldn't give an inch on the price if I was just buying the guitar. I tossed a stand and a couple packs of strings onto the order ($45 total), and then they were able to give me a $100 break on the whole purchase. They seem to just go by what the computer tells them they can shave off, and frankly, I get the feeling they don't know how it works either. I'd certainly ask them if there's anything they can do for you, but if you're not buying any accessories (and I don't see why you would be), it's hard to say if they'll be able to haggle.

mooshoepork

Here in Australia I've had luck paying cash. They shaved 100 bucks off my acoustic guitar (1500 dollar guitar)

Sharp10r

Guitar Center recently (if my local guy can be believed) has started a new policy eliminating haggling. So I hope that you're able to find a good price... Make sure you both like the feel of the keys. My wife doesn't like our KORG Full-size weighted key Triton, because it's "not the same" as a piano. She should test the piano by playing a piece that tests her endurance.

jorax

I purchased a Casio Privia digital piano a few years back and love it (model PX-110). It was only around $600 and was purchased from my local Guitar Center. Back then I did a lot of research, review reading, etc - and ended up deciding on this model for the good mix of feel, features, and price. Being only a novice, I can't find much to dislike about the model. Though now that I think about it, the pedal included with the PX-110 is pretty crappy (plastic on the end of a cord) but the rest of the package is of high quality.

I would recommend going into a store and trying out a few to see how they feel to you. Most digital pianos these days have weighted keys and don't feel like keyboards. Some of the higher end models had a lot of features I didn't need, but YMMV.

Hlubocky

I noticed online they seem to be split 50-50 between models that you put on a stand, versus ones that come in their own cabinet. I assumed I would get one that goes on a stand since it would be more portable.

I'll definitely have my fiancee come with since she is going to be the judge of how comfortable it is and how close to a real piano it feels.

MisterGrok

I used to work at a GC... for about three weeks but I happened to work in the Pro Audio/Keyboards section and Digital Pianos was my "Area of Responsibility" (even though I really wanted the analog synth corner). Typically, you're going to find that the ones that come in their own cabinets are going to be the most realistic feeling and have the best piano sound - this is because their hardware is dedicated strictly to being a digital piano. Other keyboards, though they may have weighted keys, have less specialization; they'll have less memory dedicated to piano samples and probably come with more bells and whistles than you really need. It depends on one's experience. Your fiancee, if she's anything like the piano players I've known, will have nits to pick about every digital piano.

I think the biggest question to ask yourself is why buy a digital piano when you can most likely get a free real piano off of Craigslist? I can list off some of the obvious reasons - space, noise (one can play digital piano with headphones, of course), and upkeep (don't have to tune a digital piano). Still, nothing beats having a real piano, I think, to learn on and enjoy.

As for haggling on price - there isn't a whole lot of wiggle room. It's all up to what the system tells the salesman and that's still with a decent margin on it. The example above with the discount with accessories was probably the salesguy shaving most of the price off of the accessories themselves. It's all up to the salesperson as to how they give out discounts. Personally, once I realized I was going to quit my job to play Neverwinter Nights (it had just come out!) until I went back to school, I just gave everyone who went to me as much of a discount as possible without worrying about my numbers (though the asshole wannabe musicians got less of a discount). So see if you can find the most apathetic guy there, there's always at least one.

TL;DR - Consider a free piano from CL. Otherwise, find an apathetic soul who seems ready to quit GC to get your best discount.

Hlubocky

Space is definitely a concern, as is portability, since we will be purchasing a new place soon. Either way, we live in Chicago and will likely move from one condo to another, so being able to turn the volume down is a requirement (I diddle around with the guitar and not being able to buy that Blues Jr. amp for fear of getting kicked out of the building is killing me). I'm definitely not that keen on all of the odd space sounds that most keyboards come with, so we'll have to keep in mind what MisterGrok said about the pianoish-looking ones being better at emulating a real piano.