So…

The Sun is reporting that singer Susan Boyle, despite being on a £300-per-week allowance, has splashed out on a grand piano:

“Recent purchases include a grand piano, a top iPhone – worth £600 – and some new furniture from Edinburgh’s finest department store, Jenners, for her gaff in Blackburn, West Lothian.”

What amused me straight away is that journalist Gordon Smart obviously has no clue how much a grand piano costs. Note that he swoons at “a top iPhone worth £600″, yet an acoustic grand is likely to cost at least 20 times that.

If true, that’s quite some spend.

Portable But Smaller

The Piaggero series is one we’ve not seen before: its name derives from ‘piano’ and ‘leggero’ — which is Italian for ‘light’. In other words, the new NP-V60 and NP-V80 are portable digital pianos that don’t skimp on features or, most importantly, the sound and feel of a real acoustic piano.

What first aids in portability is the fact that these are 76-note keyboards, rather than full 88-notes that you’d expect on a full digital piano. You will decide whether those extra 12 notes (essentially an octave) are important.

Equally worth considering, if the feel is of great importance, is that Yamaha has employed its Graded Soft Touch system here, rather than the more authentic Graded Hammer Effect found on many of its other digital pianos. This makes the whole instrument lighter, but at the expense of some resistance in the keys when playing.

Polyphony

While the NP-V80 is the high-end model, it’s worth noting that, in my opinion, both don’t offer nearly enough polyphony — just 32 notes. For some playing styles, this may be fine, but even 64-note polyphony comes unstuck on more complex, sustained passages of music. Given how far sound technology has moved on, this is a bit of a disappointment, particularly from Yamaha.

Plenty of Features

So, perhaps we should look instead at the other features that make these keyboards more about all-round versatility.

Those after alternative voices will not be disappointed, as even the lower-end NP-V60 has 489 of them (500 on the NP-V80).

Interestingly, given my previous comments on notes, polyphony and overall feel, Yamaha has still allowed pedals capable of half-pedalling to be used with the instrument. To me, this would seem to be the least important feature to maintain, but maybe it’s more about what different features cost to implement, and how they affect keyboard weight.

There are a range of styles and effects, akin to what you’d find on Yamaha’s home keyboards. Nicely, though, for more beginner pianists (where I suspect these instruments are aimed) are a range of music lessons and performance assistants, including waiting, ‘your tempo’, the minus one system which takes out from an arrangement the part the pianist needs to play, repeat and learn, and a chord dictionary (very useful to have on board).

Sound Output

Two six-watt amplifiers combined with several speakers mean the built-in audio output should be more than adequate.

At first look, these aren’t bad pianos, perhaps more suited to those on a budget, those looking for a performance instrument where the quality of the digital piano is important but not paramountly so, and where there are enough other features to make it a good all-rounder.

If you’re looking for a new digital piano, synthesiser or home music keyboard, the Keyboard Finder is the tool for you.

Pick from a few simple options, such as the number and style of keys, whether it has a decent piano sound, number of sounds and accompaniments, educational features, and that all important price, and the Keyboard Finder will list the instruments that match your search.

Instead of being overwhelmed by a wealth of detailed specifications, we’ve narrowed it down to the most important ones.

Rather than visiting every manufacturer web site or online store, with varying layouts and ways of describing things, we’ve standardised everything in one place.

The database will be continually updated as new models come onto the market.

Check it out now. Keyboard Finder

Building on the DP990R digital piano launched this time last year, Roland has introduced two new digital pianos — the DP990F and DP990RF.

At-a-glance features include Roland’s SuperNATURAL piano engine for enhanced audio authenticity and sophistication, 337 onboard tones, the PHA II piano feel with escapement, twin-piano keyboard splitting feature, and cabinet with closable lid available in several finishes.

The DP990F features the standard PHA II keyboard while the DP990RF has “Ivory Feel”.

Cabinet finishes include medium cherry, satin black, and reflective polished ebony.

SuperNATURAL

Three key elements are dramatically improved: velocity response, note decay, and key-range behaviour. Where previous sample-based technology created coarse “stair-step” gaps in velocity and key range, and unnatural looping in note decay, SuperNATURAL bridges the gaps with perfectly smooth and natural three-dimensional sound and response.

PHA II

The DP990F is equipped with Roland’s acclaimed PHA II keyboard with Escapement. The DP990RF model features a PHA II keyboard with Escapement plus Ivory-Feel keys. The keyboard yields a heavier touch in the lower range and lighter touch in the upper, providing lighter resistance for pianissimo passages and stronger resistance for fortissimo. The escapement architecture of the DP keys reproduces the characteristic “click feel” of a grand piano for the ultimate in realistic performance and expression. The DP990RF’s Ivory-Feel key material provides a moisture-absorbent, secure touch.

Additional Features

Other features include USB compatibility, a range of play-along songs, and dual headphone outputs which can be assigned separately to the two keyboard zones if desired.

Full specifications below:

DP990F

DP990RF

• DP990F Product Page
• DP990RF Product Page

In a compact case design not dissimilar to the Privia PX-830, features include a four-layer dynamic stereo piano sample, 128 note polyphony, 88-note Tri-Sensor scaled hammer keyboard, plus a resonance effect that mimics the sound of the dampers being released from the strings.

Available from the spring with prices ranging from $899.99 to $1,399.99.

Casio has certainly pulled out all the stops with this one, which offers four-layer dynamic stereo piano samples with seamless transitions and a wide dynamic range — in other words, more realism.

In-built is the simulated sound of open strings when the dampers are raised, thanks to the Acoustic Resonance DSP.

128 notes of polyphony should ensure complex performances, pedal use, and layered sounds don’t result in dropped notes.

How an instrument feels to play is critically important, and Casio’s “Ivory Touch” Tri-Sensor scaled hammer action keys should satisfy in that department.

There are 16 tones built in, a duet mode that allows simultaneous playing by two people in the same range, plus a two-track recorder.

Available from April, with a price tag of $1799.99 for the black polished cabinet edition or $1399.99 for the black matte version.

Casio

The three models, including the full-size (9 foot) CFX concert grand, the CF4 (6’3″) and CF6 (7′), are based on extensive research and development including play testing with some of the world’s top classical performers.

The new CF Series is unique in that many artists got involved with the design,” said Mark Anderson, marketing director for Yamaha’s Keyboard Division. “Most excelled in all music genres, but the focus was on classical performance. The result is an instrument that will appeal to the world.”

“We compared prototypes on stage in large concert halls against the best our competition had to offer in order to evaluate their positive qualities, as well as their limitations. Using this knowledge, we can now offer players incredible artistic possibilities.”

The CFX replaces Yamaha’s acclaimed CFIIIS concert grand piano.

Full specifications and exact launch date are to be confirmed.

The top-of-line CP1 features the new NW-STAGE weighted wooden keys plus Yamaha’s new Spectral Component Modelling process which is touted to reproduce the sound and expressiveness of acoustic and vintage electronic pianos better than any previous audio technology.

It replicates the instrument’s physical components, including the hardness of the hammers, resonance of the sound board and the striking position of the hammers, for an ultra-realistic tone generation.

If that weren’t enough, there’s also Virtual Circuit Modelling which replicates the effect units, amplifiers, compressors, EQ and other equipment that were so essential in creating many of those legendary vintage sounds.

Finally, there’s a huge range of effects including VCM emulations of a number of historic pedals.

With all that on board, it’s good to know there’s 128-note polyphony to play with.

The CP5 and CP50 offer a slightly cut down range of features.

The CP1 is available now, while the CP5 and CP50 are expected in April.

Check out the full specifications of the keyboards below:

It attempts to bridge the gap between a high-quality digital piano and the versatility of other keyboards, by including a wide range of high-quality sounds and accompaniment styles as well as cutting edge digital piano touch and sound.

As you’d expect from Yamaha, you get a great 88-key Graded Hammer Standard action and AWM sounds. You also get some of the best from Yamaha’s other keyboard instruments, such as 131 voices that include Sweet, Cool and Live voices, 191 interactive auto-accompaniment styles, plus XGlite song file compatibility that allows professionally-produced MIDI files to be loaded on to the instrument.

Full specifications should be available nearer to launch date, expected March 2010. As well as the spinet style cabinet, the set up comes with a padded bench.

If you’re after a simple keyboard where attention has been paid more to the feel and sound than additional features, the SP170 could be for you.

The ten sounds — two acoustic pianos, two electric pianos, harpsichord, clavichord, vibraphone, pipe organ, electric organ and strings — are selectable via the keys themselves, eliminating the need for buttons and leaving more room for the two 10cm x 5cm oval speakers, driven by 9W x 2 amplifier. There’s a reasonable 120 note polyphony (60 notes per stereo channel).

Korg has implemented its Natural Weighted Hammer Action system which promises a realistic feel — keys in the lower range are more heavily weighted than those in the upper range. Then again, every digital piano manufacturer offers something like this now, so you’ll need to play one to see if the feel is right for you.

Other functions include transposition, pitch control, MIDI output and damper pedal jack (just one pedal, it seems). Also two headphone/line out jacks.

It’s available in either black or white finish, weighs in at just under 27lbs and measures 51.65″ (W) × 12.8″ (D) × 5.24″ (H).

It has a RRP of $499.99.

Product page