In MMD 000724, Roger Waring mentioned the Yamaha Clavinova, and Robbie
suggested a small piano instead for Roger's friend who was seeking an
instrument.  I had a (musically) horrifying experience once with a
Clavinova, which I now feel compelled to relate:

In college, our choir used an acoustic Baldwin vertical piano for
rehearsal, but we also had a Clavinova, which was rarely used.  One
day, however, we were to be performing outdoors, so the Clavinova was
hooked up to some rather large speakers and away we went.  We were all
pretty excited, because the concert was being broadcast by the local
radio station -- live.

Well, this particular Clavinova model (of which there are several) had
what may have been a very useful feature: it could transpose.  To do
this, you had to press a small button to the right of the music desk,
and then the next note you played in the uppermost octave of the
keyboard would be the key you transposed into.

Our accompanist had all of her music in a ring binder, sitting on the
music desk and -- you guessed it -- also sitting on the transposing
button.  In the eight bars between verses of our first piece, this
malicious little PSO* transposed itself so many times the choir had no
earthly idea what key we were in, and needless to say the accompanist
was equally bewildered.

Troupers that we were, we all came in on the next verse, in what can
only be described as a very interesting harmonic palette.  Our director
mercifully stopped us shortly thereafter.  The radio station went to
a quick commercial, the cause of all this chaos was discovered (and
rectified), and the concert went on.  But to this day, I will take
a traditional piano over an electronic instrument any day; I know
what's gonna come out of IT every time...

* PSO = Piano-Shaped Object

Bryan Cather
Arlington, Texas, where it only got up to 93F yesterday!  :-)