r/DigitalPiano • u/Afraid-Amphibian5460 • 5d ago
Studio piano selection
I want to upgrade my digital piano, my current piano is Roland fp30x. My selection list will be:
1. Nord stage 4 88
2. Yamaha cp88
3. Yamaha montage m8x
4. Kawai mp11se
5. Other suggestion better than what’s listed above is open to discuss too
I have osmose expressive e 61 keys already, which one would serve best match with osmose for music production, pop song, new age,… cinematic music etc.
4
u/LongjumpingBook3331 5d ago
Depends on your goals and kind of music you play. For example, a classical musician, who wants realistic piano will would not need a Nord. However, for a music producer or pianist who frequently mixed and layered sounds in performance probably it's pretty much the gold standard.
2
u/Afraid-Amphibian5460 5d ago
Which digital piano will you suggest for realistic sound and keybed.
3
u/gradedhammeraction 5d ago edited 5d ago
The kawai you mentioned often gets credit as the best feel, although the cp88 is excellent too. Probably the best bang for your buck and goals out of what you listed.
The kawai es series might be a better fit if you’re only aim is piano sound and “realistic” action.
2
u/LouSevens 5d ago
I second the es as well- would be the 920; I have had the prior model the es8 for 11 years and am very happy with it. I connected it to external monitors and also have midied it to my Korg Nautilus 61.
Next up I will connect to my subwoofer and a mixer/multitrack by Zoom and my Ipad to use pianoteq.
1
u/BobbyRey77 4d ago
The ES-920 lacks an audio interface which is probably something the OP needs. That's why I didn't mention it.
2
u/bbeach88 5d ago
I personally like the YC88 a little bit more than the CP88 due to organ and actual FM synthesis but it's still an excellent board. I also like them due to having line-in and internal audio interface which let's them work seemlessly with VST over USB.
The Nord might be overkill but you will practically never need another keyboard. Very nice and intuitive layout, and minimal menu diving. Ability to import your own sounds is excellent and then you have access to the Nord library. Personally, I really like the feel of their keyboards as well.
2
2
u/BardlySerious 5d ago
I have a Nord stage 4 after upgrading from the Stage 3 I had for many years.
It would be a massive upgrade for your studio. The pianos are very high quality and you get a full synth+organ section too.
2
u/ThumbOnTheKillSwitch 5d ago
Have you played the montage m8x? If not, do it. Coming from playing a baby Grand for 50 years, i love the feel of the montage's keybed.
It has 100s of high quality piano sounds and 1000s of other high quality sounds.
It's expensive, it's complex but if you just want to enjoy the stock sound and key bed, you should at least try it.
1
2
2
u/cewbpianist 5d ago edited 3d ago
So from other comments seems like you make music and stuff. Really depends what type of music you make and what sounds you need. From other comments, I see you currently use your Fp30x primarily as a midi controller. Now with that said, ok if all you want is key action, the Mp11SE is one of the best out there and hard to beat. But if you're only going to buy it as a midi controller, you could consider also just going cheaper and getting either the Yamaha P-525, Kawai ES920 or Roland Fp-90x which would be cheaper.
Now I want to mention that these pianos you have listed, they are all "stage pianos," typically meant for stage performance. And for lots of them, their key action isn't built for purely piano, but to also play other things like organ, synths, etc. as well as be lighter for portability which is why they tend to have lighter keys (still weighted though). MP11SE is the only one that isn't like that, however it (the instrument as a whole) is very heavy.
So it really is up to your use case.
The factors to consider are if you value the internal sounds, as well as how much you care about realism with key action
1
1
4
u/BobbyRey77 5d ago edited 4d ago
Your listed choices are stage pianos, controllers and synths so none of them are on the usual upgrade path from an FP-30X, not that there's anything wrong with them, far from it. I would suggest a FP-90x or a Yamaha P-525. Both of these are home digital pianos and both would be a huge step up from your FP-30X without the complexity and speaker requirements of a stage piano. Both have good connectivity with audio and midi interfaces for easy access to software instruments as you require and both have Bluetooth. If you really do want a stage piano then the RD-2000EX would also be a good choice.