Members pogo97 Posted October 19, 2014 Members Share Posted October 19, 2014 I practise on an old (1898) upright which has brisk, light action. My stage board at the moment is a Korg SP250, which has a significantly heavier touch. Sometimes that difference undermines my playing. So I'm looking for a <40lb keyboard with acceptable piano sounds (I mostly use Pianoteq for my sound, so having a decent sound is a safety feature only) and professional piano-centric features with a relatively light touch -- more like an upright than a grand. Ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AnotherScott Posted October 19, 2014 Members Share Posted October 19, 2014 Grand vs. upright has nothing to do with what you're asking about... both can vary a lot, and you can certainly find some uprights that have actions that feel heavier than some grands! If you're looking for something lightweight and low cost with a lighter feeling action than the SP250, I'd look at the Kawai ES100. A bit paradoxically, most of the boards with the best quality light feel actions are actually on the heavy side, beyond your 40 lb cutoff, as well as being quite a bit more expensive than your SP250 or the ES100. But some other boards you might enjoy playing, in order of increasing weight, are the Nord Piano 2HA, the Kawai MP7, and Roland FP80. Also the recently discontinued Yamaha CP5, which you might still find around. Even though they may be beyond or weight or budget parameters, if you find them in a store, you might want to check them out, just to get a sense of what some other light weighted actions feel like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JeffLearman Posted October 20, 2014 Members Share Posted October 20, 2014 Scott, I'm going to disagree with you, which is remarkably rare. Gravity works in entirely different ways on uprights versus grands, making most uprights dramatically lighter and with less dynamic control than most grands. In my experience, and I used to hunt pianos to play everywhere, it's very rare to find an upright that's heavier than a grand. The most common exceptions would be modern (post-1970) "grand-touch" uprights versus unusually light grands. Of course, there are some old uprights that have very slow action due to friction, but rarely do we see one with a "heavy" action. Furthermore, even when an upright has heavier action, it doesn't feel much like a grand piano action. A good DP feels more like a grand than most uprights, to me. DPs are built to feel and respond as much like grands as possible, since grands are simply more dynamically responsive and controllable than uprights. While it's fine for one to be used to uprights or prefer them, a good grand piano action is objectively better for control. (I'd also say that a good DP action is better than most uprights for control, but I'd get slammed because everyone knows real pianos are better than digitals. ;-) ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AnotherScott Posted October 20, 2014 Members Share Posted October 20, 2014 Scott' date=' I'm going to disagree with you, which is remarkably rare. Gravity works in entirely different ways on uprights versus grands, making most uprights dramatically lighter and with less dynamic control than most grands. In my experience, and I used to hunt pianos to play everywhere, it's very rare to find an upright that's heavier than a grand. [/quote'] As a whole, uprights may be lighter than grands, but there are "exceptions that prove the rule." I played a Yamaha grand last year, I think it was a G3, that was extremely light... too light for me, and I like light actions! It was very hard for me to play quietly on it. I was playing a cocktail hour kind of thing, and that's the piano they had there... I ended up using the soft pedal a lot, because it seemed like I barely had to breathe on the keys and it would be too loud! So that's really where I was coming from, that there's enough variation that you can't say that every upright is lighter than every grand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted October 22, 2014 Author Members Share Posted October 22, 2014 Thanks for the suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wesg Posted October 23, 2014 Members Share Posted October 23, 2014 If you're looking for something with an incredible action, you owe it to yourself to play something with the Yamaha NW-STAGE action. I play Yamaha CP5 regularly. The first time I played, I almost fell off my stool. It's THAT GOOD. I am hoping to buy a CP4 sometime in the next couple of years, because I really, really want that action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AnotherScott Posted October 23, 2014 Members Share Posted October 23, 2014 The CP4 is a nice board, but it does not use quite the same action as the CP5. The CP5 action feels lighter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wesg Posted October 24, 2014 Members Share Posted October 24, 2014 Thanks, Scott - I didn't realize that. I was led to believe they were both the same. Drat. This means I will have to audition the CP4 before I can buy it. I am really sensitive to action due to nerve issues. I actually prefer the GHS to the GH3 for that reason, although it's possible that a broken-in GH3 would suit me, too. Wes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JeffLearman Posted November 7, 2014 Members Share Posted November 7, 2014 As a whole, uprights may be lighter than grands, but there are "exceptions that prove the rule." I played a Yamaha grand last year, I think it was a G3, that was extremely light... too light for me, and I like light actions! It was very hard for me to play quietly on it. I was playing a cocktail hour kind of thing, and that's the piano they had there... I ended up using the soft pedal a lot, because it seemed like I barely had to breathe on the keys and it would be too loud! So that's really where I was coming from, that there's enough variation that you can't say that every upright is lighter than every grand. It probably had had the hammers shaved multiple times (or way down). Reducing the felt weight dramatically lightens up a grand. No doubt there are other adjustments. My Steinway M's action is light for a Steinway, and my tech said that was the reason. It's still nothing like a typical spinet (thank goodness). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members moogerfooger Posted November 20, 2014 Members Share Posted November 20, 2014 I have a CP 4 and the action is pretty nice. not heavy but not real light either, I also have a yamaha GB1 K grand which is a absolute joy to play. practicing on the CP4 is better for playing the grand than practicing on the grand is for playing the CP4 -- if that makes any sense......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members moogerfooger Posted November 20, 2014 Members Share Posted November 20, 2014 It probably had had the hammers shaved multiple times (or way down). Reducing the felt weight dramatically lightens up a grand. No doubt there are other adjustments. My Steinway M's action is light for a Steinway' date=' and my tech said that was the reason. It's still nothing like a typical spinet (thank goodness).[/quote'] I play a steinway D quite often, every other day or so - its action is super light. much lighter than my yamaha., not sure what its attributable to. I doubt the felts have ever been shaved. you could play it for hours and not get tired, beautiful instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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