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And that's for a decent piano. My old upright got tuned every year and never sounded any different. After we left home, it never got tuned and still sounded the same. I eventually had it in my own home and dearly wished I'd kept it.

I only need tuning twice per year at the most - I could probably be fine with once per year if I didn't teach on it. Humidity here is pretty stable, and it's those swings that causes a piano to go out of tune. I pay $110 for a straight-up tuning. My piano is old (ca.1988) so I've had some work done on it which would not need to be done on a new instrument.

edited to add: For me, I do feel that my expenses for maintaining my piano are well worth it. But I understand it's not feasible for all, that's why digital pianos are great to have. Many of them are such high quality that it's accessible for most people. So I'm definitely not against digitals!

$125-150 in the Twin Cities area (MN) for a quality tuner. Regulation, voicing, etc. is typically not an annual event.

Peter, sounds like your old piano was a pro at keeping in tune. I'm sure many acoustic owners would be quite envious of that

Back to the VPC-1, I've had one for three years and have not needed to do any maintenance at all. In some ways it's been my most boring purchase. Bought it, plugged it in. It felt like a piano, and has ever since...

when I read your post I instantly thought : you DON'T want a VPC1. Because you don't want a midi controller. If you start the piano, "push a button and play" is what you want
besides, you say you want a small appartment and want to be able to move it : it's heavy and more fragile than plastic keybeds
it has a fantastic keyboard (by the way, all the Concert Artist pianos have wooden keybeds too), but you should really give a try to other keyboards, even 100% plastic, some are very good too. Kawai ES, Roland FP, Yamaha P255/P515 all pretty good at a decent price

and I'm not sure you understand what a MIDI controller is

For me the VPC1 has no alternatives.
The only upgrade would be a millennium action. (of course much more space and weight).
If you can try the mp11se somewhere, think that the VPC1 is a little harder but faster (in key response) + the overall weight is about 30kg (mp11 has 40kg).
With a dongle I can even use my iPhone for sounds. So why buying a DP with sounds that no one wants in 5 years...

+1 Also a happy VPC1 owner (for close to two years now). Used daily, no maintenance needed. And my unit was bought second hand

Thanks for the answers everyone. In the end, I have ordered a VPC1 and also bought PianoTeq 7.

Bought my VPC-1 sight unseen based on user reviews years ago, no regrets whatsoever. For me, a piano player, nothing else approaches the tactile feel and its ability to eek out subtle nuances of so many of the vst's. IMO it's thee pianist controller.

Congratulations, wise decision! When will it arrive?


I have done exactly the same. Unseen, untested, based solely on reviews. Still very happy with my choice!

I've been with my VPC1 for almost 18 months. In between, it has been through a move from Cincinnati to Bloomington, 2 hours by car. No damage and still working daily. With a Korg Nanokontrol on top, I've got my modulation andvolume sliders, plus a few more buttons that I'll have no use for. Congrats on your wise decision!!!

I've had my VPC1 for almost a year now. My Sweetwater sales rep called me the other day to check in. I told him that, of all the gear I've bought from Sweetwater over the years, the VPC1 is the best. My second-best purchase was PianoTeq.

Unlike some other people I could mention <cough>Animisha</cough>, I've never strayed from the straight and narrow path of VPC1 + PTQ...

Haha. PianoTeq certainly have its fans. I do have to say that after listening to what it can do with fortepianos, it is good with some things. However I still wouldn't trust it for grand pianos. It's still a bit artificial sounding.

I’m one of the apparently few exceptions that had terrible slip tape problems for over a year. Even with that hassle, I’m happy with the VPC1. I use it with Garritan CFX mostly. Hope you enjoy yours.

Well, that's because you're a pro, David, and I'm just a schlub!

For me, PianoTeq is the best solution because: it's relatively inexpensive; it's easy to install and set up; it takes up so little disk space that it doesn't even require its own external drive; it has no lag time even on my old, underpowered MacBook Pro; the VPC1 has a built-in velocity curve setting for it; and it sounds good to my tin ear!

People who can actually play may prefer something else, but for a beginner like me, it definitely fits the bill...

Yes! Some people cling anxiously to what the familiar, while others are open to a bit of experimentation.
But I must admit, the experimentation, even if it was on sale, was not worth it. I cannot even remember when I last used it.


I agree on all points, but you forgot one of its best features. If I have played something and I want to check how I sound, I can immediately and easily play it back.

Very true to the points above. So far, the interface on PianoTeq 7 is quite accessible, and things are all adjustable. I forgot the velocity curve on the VPC1, should give that a test sometime during my trial of the software.

Yes, that sounds like a great feature! I can't wait until I can play something that sounds good enough that I want to play it back...