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Comment by pquki4 | Hacker News Reader

> It accurately shows how tools are being replaced with digital and cloud.

No it doesn't.

Throwing away all other sentiments, I really would like to see a 100lb digital piano replacing a 500lb upright piano while keeping its action, feel and sound, if not a grand piano. That hasn't happened yet, not even remotely, after all these years of technology advancenent. Anyone who is serious in learning and performing piano would be doing that on a real piano. And of course iPad isn't even in the conversation -- what can you do with a touch screen?

Which is exactly why I find this ad ridiculous.

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You’re talking about whether an iPad can accurately reproduce the quality of the original tools.

While I would certainly agree, like it or not, many of these things are being replaced by iPads/iPhones and other smart devices.

Many people used to carry around point and shoot cameras, calculators, watches, flashlights, etc. but those things are just short of completely depreciated.

Sure, this ad included things that aren’t quite as deprecated, but the trend is in that direction, and not away.

> I really would like to see a 100lb digital piano replacing a 500lb upright piano while keeping its action, feel and sound, if not a grand piano.

I get the impression that you’ve not played a digital piano lately.

While purists will definitely not touch an electric, most casual players — and especially beginners — will be fine with, and are buying — and preferring! — a good electric piano over a grand or even uprights these days.

I wanted a grand myself for years, but couldn’t justify the cost or space consumption of a grand.

We’re now the happy owners of a Roland FP10, and it’s great! The sound, IMO is amazing, and about as close as an electric can get to the real thing.

We recently sold the digital piano after 3 years of playing on it and replaced it with a traditional piano (an upright). It's true that a digital piano works for beginners. But for someone with dedication, they outgrow digital pianos extremely quickly.

EDIT: it actually depends on what you play. We usually play traditional pieces, especially those by Chopin so a digital piano definitely doesn't cut it.

The r/piano subreddit is full of amateur pianists who own a high-quality digital piano who share their experiences playing a grand piano for the first time. 99% of the time, they express astonishment, amazement, and their wish to someday own a grand piano. 1% of the time, they complain that the grand piano they played on was way out of shape and was difficult to tame.

For a lot of people, and it seems yourself included, a digital piano is an excellent compromise. It gets the job done, but if all else were equal and circumstances permitted, such people would still prefer to own a grand piano, for significant and non-negligible reasons.

Without a doubt. I’ve played on a grand and upright, but I’d still call myself just barely above beginner. But I do have a good ear for appreciating music and acoustics, and agree that they’re definitely much better.

But it’s crazy the progress they’ve made in the past decade or so in reproducing the sound — and particularly the feel of the hammer action — of acoustic pianos.

And whether it’s budget, space, and/or experience level, a digital piano serves as a great replacement.

When world-class artists come to the NPR studio, a place with high end upright and grand pianos, to perform; many of them bring Nords Korgs or Rolands. Why do you think that is?

We are not talking about the same kind of piano here. And different artists value different things or just need other features, and the "authenticity" of an upright piano is very likely what they are looking for, which is totally fine. This really is another topic. Sorry.

Your question is why do they bring a compact piano to the tiny desk concert?

> I really would like to see a 100lb digital piano replacing a 500lb upright piano while keeping its action, feel and sound, if not a grand piano. That hasn't happened yet

It absolutely has. The sales of upright pianos are down, while sales of digital pianos are up. I'd call that replacing.

"Hybrid pianos have gained immense popularity among music lovers. These pianos are increasingly being used to provide keyboard lessons as they combine the electronic, mechanical and acoustic aspects of both acoustic and digital pianos. In addition, hybrid pianos take up limited space and can be easily moved due to their small size and lightness. In addition, these pianos require little maintenance. Temperature and humidity do not affect their configuration due to amplifiers and speakers. They can also be connected to digital interfaces, laptops, iPads and other devices. As a result, pianists are increasingly preferring hybrid pianos, prompting vendors to launch more innovative products that will boost market growth during the forecast period."

source: https://www.businessresearchinsights.com/market-reports/pian...

I know someone learning piano for fun. They carry their lightweight digital Yamaha to the couch, plug it in, and start paying, walk up to their room, play some more. Digital keyboards/pianos are great, if creating music is your concern, rather than the instrument.

>That hasn't happened yet, not even remotely

It has happened, you just can't afford the price tag of the digital replacement because close enough is good enough.

Would like to see the exact models and price tags and understand what you think I can't afford.

There are no price tags and models because these things are build from scratch per project.

If you can't afford to hire a contract EE, FPGA and acoustics engineer for two weeks + parts you're getting shit.

Dude, that's not an argument and not how you discuss things.

You need to at least put a link to some article that says someone built it, and other pianists agree it can replace both the ACTION and the SOUND of a piano. Oh, it should weigh about 100lb, not 500lb.

(And if such a thing exists, why wouldn't it commercially be available so that everyone can buy it? Plenty of people include me would want it. Why wouldn't Yamaha or Roland build this 20 years ago, as if they don't have the resources for that?)

Also, looks like your comment only focuses on the sound part of it -- if real at all -- and ignores the mechanical part of it. That's a big no.

Before seeing more evidence, I'll just assume such a thing does not exist.

There is the kawai novus5 which is a digital piano with the action and soundboard of a real upright piano and enough speakers to sound almost exactly like a real piano. There are also some new roland models I haven't tried. Many dealers lump these into their acoustic piano offering and don't market them differently because they are that good.

See https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4DaaafyAUqA and https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oLsPK2ATJcY. He is a pianist and he bought a novus5 to replace his own upright piano...

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