What you need is a digital stage piano. Basically they are in the regular keyboard/ synth format i.e. not a piece of furniture like a Upright/ Grand Piano, more like a traditional arranger or workstation keyboard. Basically the size of what you see guys on stage using, but with the full-size 88 weighted hammer-action keys of a real piano.
Sorry I don't know how much you know about keyboards so I'm assuming I need to keep it simple.

Heres a couple of options:

-Yamaha P70 - A very basic stage piano with limited 32-note polyphony (the amount of simultaneous notes you can play - believe me when you're holding down the sustain pedal 32 notes come quickly and then the piano cuts off the notes) and only 10 voices (sounds). Sounds are pretty standard keyboard fair. One of the piano sounds was quite nice tho. I see them all over so they must be popular. Or they can't sell them! The build quality feels a bit cheap to me and the key feel isn't 100% realistic. But it is a Yamaha so it probably won't break. Don't know if you get any extras with it, probably a sustain pedal. Around R11000 from what I've seen.

-Korg SP250 - Looks very nice and build quality is pretty solid. Includes a nice stand & a sustain pedal as standard. 60 Note polyphony and 30 voices. Sounds are generally very good. The Piano sounds are the best I've heard in this price range. The key feel is very good. Really realistic feel, almost like a real piano (or as close as I've felt for under R20 000 IMO). This is the one I'd go for. Don't see as many around as some of the others, might be very popular or hard to get hold of. R9500

-Roland RD300 - The cheapest Roland I've seen . Very good feel with 128 Voice polyphony which is more than you'll need. Has USB for recording purposes and includes Sonar LE software. It's basically an arranger keyboard (with rythms, accompaniments and lots of sounds) in a digital piano chassis. Well-built and sounds good but expensive. Not seen more than a few of these in JHB, except for TOMS. R17495 (according to muz.co.za). Features and price disqualify it in this company)

There are also Casio Privia, Behringer and Clavitech stage pianos out there (alot of them),starting from around R5000. Avoid! Some of the Casios are Ok, but there are basically regular Casio keyboards in a digial piano chassis (with slightly better piano sounds). The key feel of all of these is inferior to the Roland, Korg and Yamaha stuff and I wouldn't trust the quality. Still I suppose it depends on your budget and how much you're willing to compromise.

That Korg sounds groovy but please educate -- what in the world does a piano need a sustain pedal for?

It's like a review I read earlier today for the JSX Mini Colossal -- guy used it as a harmonica amp as well. The mind boggles!

+1 on most of what Mr. M said.

For someone with classical training on a real piano, only a hammer action keyboard will do. Otherwise, If she is starting out weighted keys will be fine and less expensive. Synth style lightweight keys are usually cheapest and are often preferred by those who have learned on a keyboard.

We've got an older, bigger Yamaha Clavinova, which has hammer action (my wife is classically trained). It's on semi-permanent loan from someone who now lives on a yacht, otherwise If I had to buy one, I'd rather get a Roland - I know them and I know the backup is very good, plus I can get good prices on the Roland stuff. Ideally, I'd like a bigger stage piano like a Roland RD - few sounds, but they're all good and it's portable. Otherwise there is the F-50 home model at about R12K.

I'm not sure what the current equivalent is, but we have an EP-7 Digital piano too, synth keys and only a 76 key keyboard. Which is a good way to get into a digital pianos. This one has been working flawlessly for 15 years...

Norio wrote: That Korg sounds groovy but please educate -- what in the world does a piano need a sustain pedal for?

You really don't know pianos! No worries, it is a guitar forum after all so I wouldn't expect you to! I'm feeling lazy after all my long posts lately, so here's wikipedia on this one:

When pressed, the sustain pedal "sustains" all the strings on the piano, removing the dampers from all strings and allowing them to vibrate freely. This serves two purposes. First, it assists the pianist in producing a legato (playing smoothly connected notes) in passages where no fingering is available to make this otherwise possible. Secondly, raising the damper pedal causes all the strings to vibrate sympathetically with whichever notes are being played, which greatly enriches the piano's tone.

That explain it OK?

Once again I am really p'd off with my folks. They had a piano that my mum played for a couple of years and they just gave it away. Old US Strats, Marshall amps ... all gone cause they thought their kids were more intellectually inclined and wouldn't take up playing any musical instruments. Boy were they wrong. :'(

Yep, Mr M, makes plenty sense now, thanks ?

Both me and Tanya know nothing about piano except that they sound good and you push button and it goes "ding". About as much as I know about guitar before I started playing ?

As long as you feel better informed about it now, I'm happy.

Would be awesome for Tanya to start playing piano. Seriously though... I've got a yamaha (no idea which) it's over 10 years old, with little extras, but it does the job wonderfully. As long as it has a basic piano sounds, and a few added extras it should be fine. I really wouldn't go too far out with the first keyboard. Kinda like when you get your first guitar, we all start off crappy, then once we're certain it's what we want... we get something better ?

If you're looking for something quick and easy you could also look into the second hand pianos - the resale value isn't usually all that high if you find the right person and for starting out it would be pretty cool.

Some of the others sound amazing though ?

Lindy, I get what you're saying but it's just sooo frustrating to play on something crappy. I had a crappy keyboard many years ago and it didn't get much playtime because it was just too useless ?

Same goes with my crappy 1st electric -- getting the Ibanez got me into playing a LOT more and practising for hours on end.

Woklet, a 2nd-hand piano would be awesome but they take up too much space ? We live in a complex, so we need something we can pack up or generally stick on a table somewhere ?

just in case... Will swop low F-stop lenses for vintage Fender guitars ?

Guitarists shouldn't shy away from the Piano. It's my first instrument (been playing it since I was 7) and I still love it. Theory is far easier to understand on an instrument with keys layed (spelling?) out in a sequential order than on a stringed instrument, and you will find that you can discover many chords and where they come from in an easier way.

Tanya wants to learn to play piano so I'll take the opportunity, when I buy her one, to also practise on it. I think they can also be great for song-writing but I don't say that from experience.

Absolutely....Satriani has written a couple of songs on piano funny enough. He wrote Ten Words, one of my favourites on Piano.

I really enjoy playing piano, but the last time I had my paws on one was 2003, so I'm looking at getting hold of an electric unit at the end of the year...for my missus of course ?