Which electric piano should i buy

Our comprehensive buying advice will give you all the information you need to make an informed decision on what style of instrument is right for you, as well as cover whether you should buy online and even what to expect when your piano arrives. Looking for a great Black Friday music deal?

Check out our Black Friday keyboard piano deals page for all the latest news and the biggest piano offers. The best piano for you really depends on what you're after, what playing level you're at, and how you're looking to use it.

This stunning piano is simply one of the best-sounding, best-playing instruments on the market right now. If space is an issue, then it's worth checking out the slimline digital pianos on this list, and our go-to has to be the Casio Privia PX For a portable option, then you can't go wrong with the Yamaha P Younger players may get on better with the small size and soft key action on the Yamaha NP Although this is really a keyboard - not a piano - it's a great gateway instrument into the piano world.

Our top choice for an acoustic piano is the Kawai K Although its high price may place it beyond the reach of many, it's a beautifully crafted instrument with a stunning sound. More than just a great instrument, it would make a fabulous centrepiece in your home. We all know pianos aren't exactly small, and the sheer size of the instrument can be a stumbling block for many new players.

However, if you find yourself longing to play the piano, but don't have space for a full-sized upright, then the YPD range is for you. In our opinion, the Yamaha Arius YDP is one of the best digital pianos for beginners and offers the most bang for your buck in the Arius range. Designed to fit in almost any home, this stylish instrument offers the full piano experience in a far more compact size. Boasting all 88 notes, weighted keys, and three pedals, there is no need to compromise functionality.

The Arius may not come with as many sounds as the larger pianos on this list, but the ten sounds it does have, are all very usable. There isn't a sound on board that feels like it's just been added to make up the numbers. Roland describes the RPR as "your ideal first piano", but frankly, we think it's more than that.

While it's true that this piano is perfect for beginners and offers a range of fun features to keep you entertained while starting out on your musical journey, with the SuperNatural sound engine and ivory feel keys, it will also feel very similar to the more advanced player. As well as unlocking a wide range of extra voices, this handy app allows you access to a selection of rhythms that you can jam along with. This is extremely fun - prepare to lose hours of your life!

So if the HP series is simply too large for your home or just out of reach in terms of budget, then it's worth checking out the RPR. The Casio Privia PX may be the most affordable slimline pianos in this guide, but trust us, it can certainly hang with the big boys.

If you're a beginner looking to dip your toe into the water of piano, then this is easily one of the best pianos on the market for you. With its relatively affordable price point, it won't break the bank, while its small stature isn't too imposing in a small bedroom.

It may not have as many voices as the Roland, but the Multi-dimensional Morphing AiR Sound Source is designed to reproduce the dynamics of an acoustic piano, therefore the six core piano sounds are of exceptionally high quality, and let's face it, all you really need. Read our full Casio Privia PX review. The Korg C-1 Air proves that a small format piano doesn't need to compromise on style. Featuring a small, well-crafted frame, it would not look out of place in the most swanky of apartments.

In addition, the RH3 weighted action undeniably impresses with its smooth feel and responsiveness. The C-1 Air manages to mimic the heavier touch you expect on the lower notes of a piano and the lighter touch you would find on the upper register. This, coupled with the five sensitivity levels light, normal, heavy, stable, fixed , makes for a very satisfying playing experience.

The Bluetooth audio means playing along with your favourite songs is a breeze, while the 30 first-rate voices and studio-quality effects mean you'll never get bored while practising.

The term Clavinova is synonymous with digital pianos , to the point where some people use it as a blanket term to describe all digital pianos. Well, in fact, it's a series of Yamaha instruments. It is still one of their most popular lines of digital pianos since it debuted in - although the technology has changed significantly since then!

The new series might just be the most technologically advanced, best sounding, and best playing pianos Yamaha has ever put out, and that's why it tops our list. The Yamaha GrandTouch key action with Linear Graded Hammer emulation - modelled after the CFX grand piano - offers a truly authentic feel and a gratifying playing experience. Yamaha has also made marked improvements to the audio quality as well as the keys. Now sporting a redesigned speaker system, for added resonance, it comes loaded with newly re-recorded samples of the CFX grand, resulting in, frankly, the best sounding digital piano Yamaha has ever released, and easily one of the best pianos on the market.

As the name suggests, it gives the piano a very realistic and natural tone, which is streets ahead of the rest at this price point. Housed inside the elegant cabinet is the four-speaker Acoustic Projection System. Grouped in pairs, these clever speakers are designed to reproduce the complex dynamic range associated with an acoustic piano - and we must say they do a great job, especially when you consider the price of the Roland compared to others on the market.

The in-built Bluetooth really unlocks the piano's full potential. With the ability to listen to music, stream piano learning apps, or even create your own sounds via the Roland Piano Partner app, this is more than just a good-sounding piano. This is definitely a piano for the tech lover and worth a look if you enjoy digging a little deeper into the sounds of your new instrument. The name Casio conjures up images of calculator watches and beginner keyboards for most people, but that would certainly change if they played the Casio GP Grand Hybrid.

This groundbreaking piano really does offer the best of both worlds. It manages to combine the functionality of a digital piano with the real hammers of an acoustic upright. They say size doesn't matter, but Casio would beg to differ. This is the only digital piano on this list that includes 88 full-sized piano keys made in conjunction with C.

Bechstein and even built using the same materials! Top all of this off with the new six-speaker Grand Acoustic 2 system, and you have the most authentic piano for sound and playability that Casio has produced to date. Our guest writer, Lucas, is here to give you some tips on the seven things you need to consider when buying a digital piano! Do you need a fully-fledged digital piano, or will a portable key keyboard suffice?

Are you looking for something portable, or do you want something that resembles the look of an acoustic piano? This guide sets out criteria that will help you decide which digital piano is best for you.

While this list is not exhaustive, the aim is to give you an idea of what to take into consideration when spending your hard-earned money. This might sound like a no-brainer, but you need to pay close attention to the sound of your digital piano of choice. There are several things to pay attention to, including the speakers and the internal sound library.

The speakers are the primary sound output of your digital piano and you will most probably be relying on these when you play. Headphones are always an option, but if you want to perform in front of the family and friends, internal or external speakers are a must. Digital pianos often come with more than just a few types of sounds.

They are not just piano sounds either. While the focus is usually on piano tones, other instrument sounds can be a great way of spicing up your performance and exploring different genres and instruments.

Quick Fact: Entry-level keyboards and arrangers tend to have many more built-in sounds compared to digital pianos. However, the realism and quality of those sounds leave a lot to be desired, especially compared to a good digital piano. MIDI has become part and parcel of the music-making world, and it plays a bigger role than most people realize. It has opened up doors and created opportunities that were otherwise unheard of before. This would allow you to connect your digital piano to your Digital Audio Workstation DAW of choice to be able to record yourself playing, as well as make use of thousands of readily available plug-ins.

As a music producer, MIDI connectivity is a must-have for me and is amongst my chief considerations when looking for a new digital piano. Upright digital pianos are a sub-type of console digital pianos.

They feature big, fancy cabinets that are nearly identical to that of an upright piano. You get not only the design of an acoustic piano but also a sophisticated hammer action often with wooden keys , incredibly detailed samples, and a multi-speaker sound system.

Many digital grand pianos from the big brands e. Yamaha, Roland, and Kawai cost more than a new upright. Just as with upright-style digital pianos, these offer an uncompromising playing experience , delivering big, powerful sound via their state-of-the-art speaker systems. The big body of a grand piano helps this instrument produce an impressively deep, resonant sound that resembles the sound of a real grand piano.

To put it simply, an arranger digital piano is a digital piano portable OR console with features commonly found in arranger keyboards. What makes them different is that in addition to all those extra features, they still have detailed piano samples and 88 hammer action keys.

Unlike classic digital pianos, these instruments come with a whole world of built-in sounds, rhythms, songs, effects, and recording features. As a result, their control panels are often cluttered with buttons and dials, and also with displays to improve the user experience. All these extra features make these digital pianos an attractive option for non-professional music production, composing, and exploring a wide range of musical instruments and music styles.

Rather than try looking like an acoustic piano, they aim to be a compact, gig-friendly alternative for use on stage or in studio. The front panel is also a lot more streamlined, focusing on hands-on control, which allows you to make quick changes on the fly. To learn more about digital piano and keyboard types and their unique features, please refer to our in-depth Digital Piano vs Keyboard vs Synthesizer guide.

Portable keyboards a. A portable keyboard is usually the first thing beginners consider as their first instrument for learning the piano. The main reason for this is the affordability of portable keyboards. It uses a spring-loaded mechanism instead, adding resistance to the keys, but still feeling light, unrealistic, and in no way comparable to the real thing. Most of these keyboards are only lbs. You can put them on a table and stow them away when not in use. Another advantage of portable keyboards is all the extra features and functions they provide.

Most portable keyboards are loaded with hundreds of sounds, songs, rhythms, and other so-called bells and whistles. While I prefer quality over quantity , and many of the built-in tones sound plasticky and unrealistic, these features are definitely a plus for those who want to explore various instruments and styles and to have fun with interactive features.

In this case, practicing on a keyboard is better than not practicing at all! In this case, once you become committed to learning the piano, I recommend upgrading to a digital piano as soon as possible.

The comparison table below sums up the main differences between digital pianos and portable keyboards. A synthesizer is an electronic keyboard that generates or copies a wide variety of sounds and is commonly used in music production. Synths allow you to create virtually any kind of sound you can imagine, including sounds of musical instruments, voices, the wind, a burst, a siren, a car, and the list can go on forever. This allows composers and songwriters to create an accompaniment for a song quickly and easily without calling in musicians to play all instruments live.

They usually come with hundreds if not thousands of top-notch sound samples, which can be customized with knobs and sliders that allow you to control various sound parameters on the fly. Watch the video below to better understand the difference between keyboard workstations and professional arrangers:. They only track your key presses velocity, length, pressure and various control elements knobs, sliders, pads, etc.

That data is then sent to your computer or another musical keyboard that generates the actual sound. Most MIDI-controllers have non-weighted keys and are not designed to mimic the feel of an acoustic piano.

The non-weighted action facilitates non-piano sounds, like synths, organs, electric pianos, etc. These are giants in the world of digital musical instruments. Buying a digital piano from one these 7 brands will save you the time and headache of dealing with lesser-known brands that deliver poor build quality and provide an unrealistic sound and feel. Digital pianos from these manufacturers usually look good and are very affordable, but their sound realism and key action leaves a lot to be desired.

This, in turn, determines how much force is needed to press a key and how realistic the action will be compared to the feel of an acoustic piano keyboard. The synth action uses a basic spring-loaded mechanism. The keys are usually thin and small with a light plastic feel.

At the same time, for some types of music other than the piano synth action is preferred for its playability and light feel, which is perfect for playing synth leads, organ tunes, etc. A semi-weighted action feels similar to the synth action, yet it offers slightly more resistance and better control. It uses the same spring-loaded mechanism, but compared to synth action, the keys feel heavier thanks to either stiffer springs or additional weights. Even so, the action is far from what you get on an acoustic piano and is not recommended if you want to focus on piano playing.

Many semi-weighted keyboards have blocked-end keys that look like regular piano keys and can be confused easily with hammer action keyboards. A hammer action keyboard is designed to replicate the touch and feel of an acoustic piano. To achieve this goal, manufacturers have added little hammers under or behind each key to recreate mechanical movement similar to a real piano.

As a general rule, the higher the price of the instrument, the more sophisticated the hammer system it uses. High-end models often have real wooden keys with an escapement mechanism that recreate every nuance of an acoustic piano action, including the design of the hammers themselves.

This becomes more important as you develop your playing skills. The longer the length of the keys, the further back you can have the pivot point, which makes it much easier to play further up the keys. This is the only type of key action that facilitates developing proper finger strength and technique.

Moreover, it will make it much easier to transition to an acoustic piano further down the line if you decide to do so. Modern acoustic pianos have 88 keys. Most keyboards have 88, 76, 73, or In reality, 73 keys are enough to play most modern pieces. Some advanced pieces require a full set of 88 keys.

Most digital pianos have 88 full-sized keys, which means the size and the number of keys are the same as an acoustic piano. This gives the keys a nicer, less slippery feel, enhances control, and helps absorb moisture when playing in high humid conditions. All digital pianos have a touch-sensitive keyboard, which means the volume changes depending on how hard or soft you play the keys.

Digital pianos usually have adjustable touch sensitivity, which allows you to tweak the sensitivity of the keys. In other words, you can choose how much force you need to apply to produce the loudest sound. Sensors are used to detect the depth and velocity at which the keys are played.

In fact, I played many keyboards with 2-sensor systems that felt more realistic and responsive than those with 3-sensor systems. The keys on both acoustic and digital pianos inevitably produce some amount of noise when you play them.

On acoustic pianos, the noise is usually inaudible due to high volume levels of that the instrument. Some keyboard actions tend to be less noisy than others, but it all comes down to a particular keyboard. More expensive models usually have very quiet keyboard actions. The thing to remember is that all the keys should produce roughly the same amount of noise.

There are many new terms and names of technologies that you will encounter when looking for a digital keyboard. Here are some of the most common and important ones that you should know and understand to make an informed buying decision. Not only do digital pianos provide versatility and convenience not available with acoustic pianos, but they also come with a bunch of extra features that make playing and learning more enjoyable and fun.

A useful tool for practice that will help develop your rhythmic and timekeeping skills by providing a steady beat to play along with. Some digital pianos allow you to change the conventional clicking sound of the metronome to various drum rhythms.

You may wonder how it is possible to have 32, 64, or even notes playing at the same time, if there are only 88 keys and you will never play them all at once. Furthermore, using the sustain pedal, sound effects Reverb, Chorus , dual-mode layering , and even the metronome ticking sound takes up additional notes of polyphony.

When you reach the polyphony cap, the piano starts to drop the earliest played notes to free up memory for new notes, which in turn affects the quality and fullness of the sound.

For example, you can play guitar with your left hand and piano with your right, both at the same time. For example, you can layer strings with the piano sound or combine whatever sounds you like to get some new, intriguing sounds. Duet Play, Partner Mode, Twin Piano — divides the keyboard into two halves with identical pitch ranges two middle C s , allowing two people to sit together and play the same notes at the same time.

Duet Play is particularly useful when you use it with your teacher or tutor so they can play some tunes on one side of the keyboard while you follow along on the other side, playing the exact same notes.

Some digital pianos come with preset temperaments, which means you can change the standard Equal Temperament tuning to tuning systems that are better suited for playing certain styles of music Indian, Arabian, classical, etc. Some digital pianos allow you to turn off the left- or right-hand part track of a song built-in or downloaded from the internet and practice it while listening to the playback of the other part. Pianos that have this function usually have a multi-track MIDI recorder.

A MIDI recorder allows you to record and play back your own performances right onboard needing additional software or hardware. A multi-track recorder 2 or more tracks allows you to record several musical parts on separate tracks and to play them back as a single song. A MIDI recording is not the recording of the actual instrument sound. You can then share your recording on social media, upload it to SoundCloud, burn it to a CD, etc.

Instead, you get a CD-quality audio recording of your performance that you can easily play back on most modern devices. The auto-accompaniment function can enrich your performance by adding a full backing band rhythm, bass, and harmony that will follow your playing and turn it into a full-fledged song.

Some instruments offer alternative methods of chord specifying, for example, using the full range of the keyboard. So, for example, if you know how to play a song in F major , you can transpose and play the song in C major without actually learning it in a new key.

You can also transpose a song written in a difficult key e. The tone of an acoustic piano is quite complex and consists of many different elements. Depending on the model, digital pianos reproduce various nuances of an acoustic piano sound to get even closer to the sound of a real acoustic piano.

Some digital pianos also allow you to adjust these parameters to better suit your preferences more resonance, less hammer noise, etc. When you depress the damper aka sustain pedal on an acoustic piano and start playing, you can hear the notes continuing to sound after you release the keys. This happens because when you press the damper pedal, the dampers lift from the strings, allowing them to resonate freely until you release the pedal.

When you play an acoustic piano, the sound it produces is not only associated with the played keys and their corresponding strings. The other strings with closely related frequencies also resonate sympathetically, making the sound richer and fuller, which is known as string resonance or sympathetic string resonance.

This function removes the sense of notes being dry and separated from each other. First, it helps you build finger strength while practicing a spring-based action only minimally addresses this. Second, it allows for more variation and musicality in the way you play a note.

Hammer action best replicates those possibilities. Once we established the basic parameters, I reached out to colleagues who are piano teachers or musical directors to get a sense of what models were in highest rotation in the professional world.

This step gave me a list of 21 models from nine different companies. I then set off to a few Los Angeles music stores to get my hands on some keys, talk to the store employees—who work around these instruments every day—and whittle down the list.

After contacting manufacturers to request samples and to get suggestions on pianos that might better fit our guidelines, we narrowed the list down to seven keyboards. For our original tests, we evaluated all the keyboards in our Los Angeles office. After unboxing them and setting them up, I invited the panel testers to come in and try them out. I asked them to rate the key action and the sound of each piano and to evaluate features from the perspective of a beginner.

After playing through all of them over a couple hours, we talked through the pros and cons of each keyboard, and our panelists gave me their top three choices. In , we brought in a few more keyboards that had been released since the initial publication of this guide.

Due to pandemic restrictions, we could not conduct our testing with everyone together; instead, Brent Butterworth, Phil Metzler, and I individually played the keyboards at an isolated location, and I then conversed with them separately to get their opinions. The Casio CDP-S is an excellent keyboard for anyone in search of a light, compact, key option for their home. The action feels similar to that of an acoustic piano, and the included sounds are very good—in particular, we love the grand piano sounds.

The small size and light weight make the CDP-S easy to stow away when necessary. In our most recent round of testing, all three testers ranked this keyboard first or second. The keybed felt a little shallow, though, so overall I found the touch to be a bit light and lacking in the depth my fingers are used to, especially as my fingers got closer to the keyboard body between the black keys.

Phil said that the sound of the upper keys seemed a bit artificial and less natural compared with that of the rest of the keyboard, though still very acceptable, and both he and Brent thought the lighter touch felt great and suitable for their styles of playing Brent ranked the Casio as his favorite.

It took Phil some getting used to, but he ended up really liking the texture, as did I. The CDP-S has 10 total sounds, and the three grand piano sounds—standard, mellow, and bright—were the best of the bunch. The electric piano and organ sounds were also very good. Brent particularly liked the B3 organ sound, and I thought the rotary-speaker sound effect added to the realism.

The two 8-watt, 4. Instead, the available adjustments including sounds, reverb, chorus, and the like are labeled above certain keys; by pressing the function button and the appropriate key, you can make that particular adjustment. You can return to the grand piano sound with a single press of the function button, and the keyboard also has a dedicated button for starting and stopping the record feature. The volume dial feels firm and moves smoothly, with no chance of your changing the volume unintentionally.

Through the app you can change everything that you can control with the keyboard buttons, but in a much more pleasing way.