And although I'm mostly a guitar/bass person, I thought about having at least a piano sound to play around with. But I know nothing about all the gadgets out there, and don't want some complex thing that requires a supercomputer, or something cheap that sounds like Nintendo.

'cuz your intuition is to ask for piano-buying help at a political website. That intuition won't get you farther than your luck. You might receive some sympathetic anecdotal advice that helps you out but you are relying on luck.
There are numerous buying guides out there, put together by people who have thought the issue out and have good knowledge of the technology. My advice is try one of these.
One other thing, once you have browsed a couple of these guides and understand the basic decision points, ask someone who plays piano well to help you out, maybe even go to a showroom with you to help you learn to "hear" the features that the buying guides describe.

If you want anecdote: I bought a Yamaha P-150 (not a current model) but there's no way I could explain it's pros/cons that would compare to these buying guides.

In no particular order, ( I scanned them; they all look useful)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/syltguides/fullview/R1B69G1JW14G6V
http://bestdigitalpianoguides.com
http://www.sweetwater.com/insync/home-keyboard-buying-guide/
http://www.digitalpianoreviewguide.com
http://thehub.musiciansfriend.com/keyboard-buying-guides/pianos-and-keyboards-how-to-choose
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/audio/buying-guide/bh-2009-digital-piano-buyers-guide
http://www.tuition.ridgwick.com/buying-a-piano.php
http://erpiano.wordpress.com/2013/02/05/best-digital-piano-between-1000-1500-px850-ydp142-f120-mp10/
http://digitalpianoreviewssite.com/digital-piano-buyers-guide-tips-on-purchasing-a-used-digital-piano/

So good luck!

My recommendation - http://www.korg.com/us/products/digitalpianos/sp_280/

Korg SP-280. I've got the previous model and it's been through hell and back and worked flawlessly. Excellent tone and touch.

Still at the high end of my price range, though. I know it takes money to save money, but ... right now I can't afford to save very much. Might be some used 250's out there at a decent price.

Or will synth action do? I'd recommend looking for a used Alesis QS-8.1 on the net. It's a full range synth, but is 88 weighted action keys. Fairly heavy, so not the easiest thing to move around.

I've had one for a long time. The action is not quite what one gets with a high end Roland or Korg, but is pretty good. And, it has a lot of other tremendous sounds and layers.

No super frills like recording or sequencing. It's just an instrument, not a workstation.

There were quite affordable new, so there might be some pretty cheap ones out on the market. And, i never had any operating issues with any Alesis gear i ever had.

I've seen them on the net for as little as 450 bucks.

Last edited Fri Jun 10, 2016, 10:56 AM - Edit history (1)

Interesting how my search for a new digital piano led me to this forum

Thanks fpublic for posting all those resources. I'm in between selecting a Casio and Yamaha in the $500-600 price range. The ones I'm strongly considering are the Yamaha P115B, and the Casio Privia PX160. I like the Yamaha brand better when it comes to musical instruments, as I still associate Casio with cheaper beginner keyboards. But the Casio PX160 is so well reviewed (as is its predecessor, the PX150).

Just wondering if you guys and girls looking for a new digital piano pulled the trigger, and if so, what did you get?

Edit: actually found another resource to add to the list above that's a little more up to date: http://equipboard.com/posts/the-best-digital-piano

The built in sounds aren't spectacular, but with a USB connection and a MIDI program (like Addictive Keys or TruePiano or any number of others) you can get the piano sound you want from your PC. That might now be practical for some people, but I find it very useful and have no real reason or desire to upgrade. It has 88 weighted keys, seems pretty durable; I would assume the same goes for the PX160.

If you're looking for a very good digital piano with touch sensitive keys, you will have to spend some money, although not too much.
I think the Yamaha YDP103R Arius Series Digital Console Piano is the best you can get for a decent price. It's quite big, so nothing you can carry around on an every day basis. But it's definitely with it's money and has earned it's place among the best digital pianos that are affordable

For me, any piano that doesn't require hired movers counts as 'portable enough'.

you can also check this out: https://pianospro.com/

I think they're supposed to be $, $$, and $$$, but all are $$$ for models ranging from $199 to $899.
Fortunately, the links to Amazon all work.