essele

Hi,

I'm trying to sort out a starter piano/keyboard for my daughter who has just started piano lessons. Through a bit of research we're pretty much sold on the Yamaha DGX-640 (with the essential requirement of a headphone socket :-))

We went to Thompsun Electronics yesterday and they have it for AED4150 which seems way overpriced compared to the UK, it's GBP450 on Amazon (with no VAT) and they claim to be able to deliver it in 2-4days for GBP23 + 5 import fees ... that's roughly AED2900 ... quite a saving!

We're going to call AKM today (it was shut when we got there yesterday).

Any other suggestions? And any comments about getting it from Amazon in the UK? Am I missing something?

Thanks,

essele

LaLaLayla

I am selling a piano, it's a Welmar in cherry wood. PM me if you're interested...

flares

don't budding pianists just download the i-pad piano app these days?

essele

Actually, I did suggest a stylophone ... but even though it's good enough for Rolf, it's apparently not good enough for the school!

Millhouse

Depending on the age, but as I understand it most teenagers still prefer to play with their organ than an i-pad app.

Norm_uk

Times haven't changed that much then - we all preferred to play with our organ when I was in my teens.

N.

Bahtatboy

My wife's a piano teacher. Her view is that a £450-quid electronic keyboard is not worth the expense: like trying to learn to scuba dive in the bath. If you have the option of a real piano, go for it.

archie159

Conversely... we had a close friend (now, alas, dead) who was an international conductor (in professional orchestras across Europe) and a musician, and he was all in favour of electronic pianos, especially for children. He reckoned that young boys, in particular, were motivated by all the buttons and settings to actually practice and enjoy the playing. We bought a Yamaha electronic piano based on his advice, albeit it was somewhat more expensive than GBP450 (though it was also 6-7 years ago, and I assume prices have dropped), and our son does enjoy learning on it. Once he's done his practice with it on the piano setting, then he can fiddle with all the switches and buttons to replay the music however he likes. My wife is a reasonably talented amateur pianist, and whilst she feels it is not quite "proper", even she admits it is pretty close to a real one. But I would suggest you try playing one before you select it as there are certainly some which feel & sound much less like a real piano.

The other great advantage of an electronic piano is if, like us, you move house every couple of years, then it is a lot easier/cheaper to take with you compared to a real one!

essele

Thanks for all the comments ... we did a fair bit of research on this, and this particular model is noted for being very close to the real thing, it even has weighted keys that properly reflect the different weighting on a real piano ... I didn't even realise they were different!

Plus, as you point out ... ultimately we are going to need to get this back to the UK, plus we don't really want to have to keep it tuned etc. That is assuming the kids don't completely destroy it.

We did try playing it ... but since none of us can manage much more than a poor version of chopsticks, I'm not sure that it really helped! It did feel exactly like the real piano next to it though.

I think we'll attempt the Amazon approach ... I'll post the success or futility in a few days for reference.

Anyway ... trying to build on Millhouse's comment earlier, I was reminded of the spoof episode of Rainbow, and whilst I can't post the youtube link due to corporate censoring, it's well worth a re-visit if you haven't seen it for a while.

Bahtatboy

Fair point. And it was a good few years since my wife voiced her comment, and no doubt technology has moved on. Archie's point is valid, too. As you were, then...

busybee2

hmmmmm dont think amazon will deliver anything other than books and dvds here.

busybee2

you will have to pay customs on top

flares

ooh don't know that one...I can do the Entertainer

Itinerant_Expat

Essele,
hi. we are moving to AD at the end of the month and have a piano to sell if you are interested in buying second-hand (in excellent condition). ive sent you a PM.

essele

Just to let everyone know we went down the Amazon route in the end, I was a bit nervous, but all was good!

Ordered on Sunday evening, it arrived on Wednesday afternoon via UPS, all in perfect condition and working well -- although we definitely need the headphones now! :-)

Total cost via amazon as per card statement: AED2921 ... cheapest I could find it here AED4150!

It's worth checking Amazon out for general stuff, there's a lot of categories that they will ship here (they won't do computing stuff which is a bit annoying.)

On the topic of import duty, you have to pay an import fees deposit to cover this cost, for the piano this was a massive £5.03. More info on this is here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/cus...49170&pop-up=1

Also worth checking the general international delivery info:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/cus...87631&pop-up=1

You can see on this latter link which items can be delivered here.

Overall I'm amazed, we'll certainly be using them for this kind of thing again.