Digital piano sound

I own a Fatar SL-880 controller - 88 weighted keys, velocity controls, etc. You know, it produces no sound and has no speakers. I was using it with Gigastudio, but with my studio small and cramped, and with the noise of the computer, I found that I don't get inspired to play piano. I want to be able to play piano for my wife and baby. I want something for the living room. No Gigastudio.

What should I do if I'm short on money?

1. Sell the Fatar and buy an all in one unit?
2. Keep the Fatar, buy a synth module and plug it into the stereo system? Would I blow the speakers?
3. Buy a cheap computer and configure it without a monitor to open up automatically to Gigastudio.

Does anyone know of any equipment that would fit the bill? Let's say that I don't want to spend more than $300 more.

Beakybird

Beakybird,
Generalmusic makes an 88key hammer weighted digital piano called the pRP7 digital piano. 50" long and 101/2" deep and weighs about 40 lbs. It has about 40 of the most popular digital piano sounds(acoustic pianos, electric pianos, clav, vibes, strings, guitar, jazz organ) and over 400 gm sounds which you access from a computer. It is 16 part multi timbre and has a pitch bend/modulation joy stick. It sells for $699.00. I think the studiologic 88 key controller is around $399.00 plus another $300.00 get you the Generalmusic keyboard. The sounds are very good and the feel of the piano is great.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California

I have a sound canvas (Roland SC7) that you can have really cheap. It's got a great piano sound for the money. Not up to the "best of today", byt certanly useable and pleasant. $50 takes it.GM/GS midi/PC sound module that is so small you can velcrow it right to the top of the amp.

Thank you Dave. That sounds like a good price. However, I want a piano that sounds even better than my PSR2100's piano sound, which is pretty good. I want to at least be able to fool undiscerning ears that I'm playing a real piano. I think I will sell my Fatar and go with something that incorporates a module. Then I'll splurge on some powered monitors.

Beakybird

My suggestion would be the Kurzweil MicroPiano module. It has much the same sound set as the Kurzweil Mark V series console pianos. I have a Mark V and have never found a piano sound that inspires me more. If you can't find one of those (check ebay) then I would suggest the ME-1 rack mount version of the current Kurzweil SB boards. Lastly, any good module would be better than a noisy PC - I like Roland, but Yamaha, Korg and Emu have great mods too. UD's offer is probably worth a try too - Roland pianos are usually very high quality.

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Cass Pawlowski - Motown
PSR2000, SC88, Cakewalk

I would suggest selling the Fatar and scraping up some cash and get a Promega2 by GEM. I have the Promega3 and find myself playing it all the time. It's truly the first digital piano that I enjoy playing. You must hear and play this instrument! What you need to do is play this instrument with a really GOOD set of headphones give yourself a half hour of playing on the instrument, then go listen to every other brand of digtal. If it's been a while playing a real grand piano, I would suggest you go to your local piano store and play a 7 - 9 foot quality grand, then check out the digitals.

Regards,

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Paul Davis
Generalmusic
Generalmusic.US