I need some advice from musicians, specifically piano players and more specifically those who have used digital pianos. I'm looking to get into piano and have absolutely no idea what to look for. I don't know what price ranges indicate "good", "great", or "crap" like I do with other products. What I do know is what I'm kind of looking for: 1) I live in an apartment so size and volume matter, hence my desire for a digital piano. They tend to be thinner (like this Yamaha) and can be played with headphones. 2) I'm not a piano player right now. I have been playing music for about 12 years now and taught myself guitar so I'm not too worried about the learning part; I just don't want to go all out on a piano right now in case I lose interest at some point. I eventually want something nice like that Yamaha, but don't want to drop the $1500-$2000 for it on my first piano. So any suggestions? I've seen some digital pianos (not in the fancy setup like that Yamaha I linked) for about $500-$600. Is that going to be a decent purchase? Should I care whether the output is MIDI or USB? Are there any features I should look for or avoid (i.e. bullets points that sound good but really aren't useful)? Semi-related, what good software is out there for Windows for recording from such an instrument? My only experience with recording software was GarageBand which was nice, but I no longer have a Mac. Thanks!

I'm not much of a piano player, but I've got a Casio WK-3000 which I love. It's a bit old by today's standards though, and I got it as a birthday present and didn't have much input in the purchase. It's great for what I use it for, which is mostly either playing it like a slightly smaller version of a piano, or playing with chords while improvising/composing melodies over the top.

One thing you might need to consider is how big a keyboard you want (my Casio is a 76-key, some are smaller, a full piano size is 88-key), and what feel you want with the keys. Some keyboards do a good job at mimicking a real piano's feel of pressing the keys, while others feel artificial and "springy". Personally I don't mind a bit of artificialness since I'm not primarily a real piano player, but you might want to go to a store and try a few out and see which you like the feel of.

I haven't hooked my Casio up to my computer via MIDI or USB, so I can't say what it's like. It was a bit too unwieldy to set it up. Instead I got a cheap M-Audio KeyStation USB keyboard interface. It's not that nice to play with, but it's small and cheap and fits on my desk and is adequate at the job if you're a hobbyist like me. Unfortunately I can't remember how well it works with Windows as I use a Mac.

I'm not a professional, but I have a Casio Privia CX-720, and I'm in love with it. It has a very realistic springless hammer system that feels just like a real piano. The sound is fantastic on the built-in speakers, and it has a 1/4" headphone jack.

As a bonus, it comes with a good-sized book of classical piano pieces, and can play one hand or the other or both as you practice along.

I bought it for about $700 at Costco last year.

Edit: Looks like you can get the PX-800 for just a little more, and it has somewhat better speakers and a USB interface rather than old MIDI. I'd probably get that if I were in the market today.