Recommendations sought in purchasing a keyboard for piano lessons!

[Scotslasslivinginfrance]

My DD turns 7 soon and she has asked for a piano for her birthday! Now as it happens we already have a piano which is in storage back in the UK, shipping it to France is not an option... However we would be happy to buy her a keyboard and start her with some piano lessons.

So my question is does anyone have advice on what type / size / price of keyboard we should be looking to buy for her. This is the first musical instrument she has shown an interest in playing and we are happy to support this, we don't want to spend a fortune as we do have a piano and will be moving back to the UK in the next couple of years however we do want to provide her with a suitable alternative to a real piano that meets with approval from a piano teacher?

We spent about £400 on a Casio keyboard with nicely weighted keys. I quite enjoy playing it, but am not a serious pianist. DS1 recently did his Grade 3 piano. We have friends whose daughter got up to Grade 7 with hers. Advantages: doesn't need tuning, you can adjust the volume/wear headphones.

This is the one we have:

www.casio.com/products/archive/Digital_Pianos_&_Keyboards/Privia_Digital_Pianos/PX-700/

I usually tell my students that it has to have weighted keys, not just touch sensitive, and that the keys have to be full sized.

The list-on-a-budget usually is:
Yamaha Arius series (digital piano) except the very cheapest one.
Yamaha DGX 640 or 650 - portable keyboards but have GHS keyboard same as the Arius series.
Casio Privia series as above.
Failing that... some of them just have regular keyboards. Grrrrr. But better than nothing especially when still working on 'right note at right time.'

While I mainly use the acoustic piano, I actually teach some of my lessons on a Yamaha Clavinova, which is a step up from the Arius and feels more like a piano to me. I wouldn't teach on the Arius but it's good enough to begin on.

Thank you ladies will definitely have a look at these options.

Reviving thread to ask whether anyone has any views on the Yamaha Arius YDPS51?

Haven't tried but the specification looks good.

Thanks - it's so hard to decide between the different models!

It's a Yamaha. It will pretty much have the same keyboard as the other Yamahas, but it has the proper graded hammer system, with lower notes requiring a slighter heavier touch than higher ones, which the cheapest specs don't have. It appears to have options for heavier/lighter or fixed touch - which my (very old) Clavinova doesn't have (I mainly use a piano that doesn't require plugging in, mind!). Apart from that, it'd be a case of how many different sounds/drums/whatever you want and what shape/size/colour fits your room.

Dd1 has an electric piano. It cost £400. Looks and sounds like a real piano.

Bonus is that it comes with headphones!

I think I'm down to the Yamaha ydp s51 vs the ydp 162 vs the Casio px850

Cost is an issue - and feel the most important thing. As far as I can work out the 162 has pretend ivory rather than plastic keys - can't work out whether that's worth an extra £100. I'm leaning towards the ydp s51

A few years ago my husband decided to learn piano - it was his third instrument at school and he got as far as grade two. He bought himself a Casio PX-135 and later added the pedal bar to it. He's taking his grade seven in the summer. Our limited space meant that it had to be a digital piano and it turned out to be a good move because it means he can play after DS is in bed.

His piano teacher has an upright, his last exam was on a baby grand and he says you just have to get used to the differences. The biggest trouble he was having at his lesson was with the pedals - after he got the pedal board that was no longer an issue.