Yamaha or Casio Digital Piano - In Vietnam

[VietSAHM]

Hi all,

I would like to seek the opinions of all the experts out there on which brand of Digital Piano is better. I am a Singaporean and now based in HCMC (coz my hubby is working here). There are not many choices of digital pianos over here. I would like to buy one for my gal who is just starting to learn the piano.

I do not know anything about piano myself. Can any kind souls out there enlighten me? I only saw that there are Casios and Yahama digital pianos over here. I managed to find out that a Casio Previa 720 cost about USD$800 while the 800 series cost about USD$1000. Wonder is it much more expensive than in SG?? The Yahama ones seem to be much more expensive than the Casio ones. Like in the range of at least USD$1.8k and above.

My aim is just to have a decent piano for my gal to start her music lessons over here for the next 3 years when we are here. So if the piano can last around 3 years, i would be happy enough. I undestand the touch is very important. and many more things, which i dont understand at all.

Thanks a million

 

[Cheez]

Hi VietSAHM, I understand your pridicament since I also work in a developing country and getting a keyboard for my son's piano lessons doesn't come easy. At least you can find it in the shops. I had to get it sent by bus 12 hours away (on rocky roads) from another city.

For the best touch, I would recommend Yamaha digital pianos. Any of the P series would do.

As for Casio Privia, I used to be totally against it. But I ordered a Casio Privia PX-200 for a group of people in where I work, and I was actually quite surprised at the touch and sound. So a 720 should be OK if price is a concern. But in the end, I would still suggest finding a real piano. A digital piano is always different from a real one.

I'm currently back in Singapore for a short while waiting for the birth of our third child. My son is now playing on a real piano. The touch is so different from our Yamaha weghted synth. And he improved quite a bit since. When I'm back in where I work, I would try to find a real piano and get my son to at least play on it once a week. But for starting off, a digital piano is fine.

How old is your child?

 

[VietSAHM]

Hi Cheez,

Thanks for your reply. Yup, lucky i can still find digital pianos over here. My gal is only turning 5 soon. But I thought to start her earlier since there is nothing much to do in this place (unlike in SG). Even finding a piano teacher is a problem. They dont seem to follow any syllabus for the music lessons. i even had to do research myself on the web to check out what children starts off to try to advise the teachers. Haha, the teachers can play piano but teaching, mmmm, still not so good. Plus the language issues. But got no choice still i hardly can play at all.

I would need to go and check out the Yahama prices again to make a comparision. I also prefer a real piano. But the price can be very much higher. I am not sure whether that is a good investment in case my gal decides not to continue. Besides, the so-called 2nd hand ones which are cheaper, i am not an expert at all to listen to it. Hardly can trust the sales personnel. So i thought for me, the next best choice would be a digital piano. Most of such imported stuff are more expensive compared to SG.

But if Yamaha is really a better choice, i can still expand my budget a bit. I have a son who is 3 plus now. So in another year or so, maybe he can also start learning, that will make it more worthwhile to invest in a better digital piano.

 

[Cheez]

VietSAHM, if you're only going to be there for 3 years and you're not sure if your chidren will take on piano for long-term, then it may be prudent to go the cost-effective way - get a Casio Privia (higher end). The touch is acceptable for a child starting off. I got a Yamaha because I'm pretty sure I want my son to take it on full-time - plus I can also play on it .

Your daughter is in a good age to start. I started my son slightly younger. He's now 6. My younger is 3, and at that age it's hard for them to sit down and concentrate. He's just playing 5 notes everyday and finds that fun. So I left it at that.

And you're right. Can't find a teacher easily. I'm teaching my children myself.

Something off topic. Are you home schooling your children? It appears you intend to return to SG when your older child is going to primary one, right?

 

[VietSAHM]

i kind of decided to get a Casio Priva PX700 (though i saw on the web there is a newer model PX720 available but not found here yet) coz it's more economical for me. the price is about USD$800 over here. The P series for Yamaha dont seem to be very widely available over here. Cant find them after visiting a few shops. Actually, my plans are for my 2 kids to learn piano and they are encouraged not to drop this. But i cant really force them if they really have no interest. My music knowlegde is only minimum, learned a bit during secondary school days in the band. So cant teach them, unlike you as you can teach your son. But at least i can read notes. haha. that helps a bit.

I am not home-schooling them full time. They go to an international school over here. But the so-called international school's standard is quite bad. They hardly do any teaching. Basically, more for the kids to go for social interaction. So i try to help by doing some "real" work at home with them after school hours. Also they dont do chinese in school and that is a big problem for me now. I am trying to work on their chinese. Yup, we do plan to go back SG when my gal starts P1 in 2010.

Thanks for all advise. It really helps. Coz i was reading all the comments about the various brands of digital pianos and was rather confused by all the technical terms.

 

[Cheez]

I think that's a good choice - go for the PX-700. The price is about 100USD higher than the online prices. You should be able to bargain it down. Get a local to bargain - you know how it is. Foreigners with foreign accents always get to pay much higher!

At least your child is going to international school. Our children had to attend the local school. No international school here. Had to do half local school and half home schooling. My wife is doing most of the hard work...