Guide Lamps vs. Y.E.S.

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Guide Lamps vs. Y.E.S.

Postby Emanon » Wed Nov 03, 2010 11:01 am

I'm considering buying a digital piano/keyboard for my wife for Christmas. A little background first - we visited friends who had a Clavinova with guide lamps (sorry don't know which model). I just about couldn't get my wife away from this instrument. A non musician being able to sit down and figure this out enough to play with accompaniment was truly surprising to me and captivating for her. We're not young pups, still working full time, but looking for outlets to de-stress from the day-to-day grind. So here's my dilemma, I don't want to spend 3-4 grand on a Clavinova only to find she loses interest after a short while and we wind up having to sell it. I studied classical percussion in college but am now a software developer/business analyst. I still play a little and have a vDrum set for recreational use. ...all this to say, I understand the terminology, MIDI, USB, software, music, etc... I live in a remote part of the country and have to rely upon the internet for information. I've been researching options over the past several weeks and have the following observations:

1) Yamaha appears to be the premier option for keyboards (piano and keyboards) with built in educational features (such as guide lamps and performance assistance).
2) There are a ton of different models and price points with very subtle differences and a somewhat confusing model numbering scheme to the uninformed.
3) There doesn't seem to be a market offering for adult learners who will likely never take piano lessons but want something to play with/learn on that isn't geared for a child.
4) Guide Lamp technology seems to be relegated to the very low end (child) offerings or the very high end (Clavinova Ensambles).

As an alternative to the Clavinova CVP I've been looking (on-line) at the DGX models as a possible lower cost alternative. I just can't seem to convince myself that the Y.E.S. and the Performance Assist technology is a suitable substitute for Guide Lamp technology with accompaniment in the CVP line.

Am I missing something here? Are there other options?

Any thoughts or help would be appreciated.

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