Digital Pianos | The Ultimate Digital Piano Buying Guide | Yamaha, Roland, Kawai, Casio & More

 

Pianos, both digital and acoustic, come in many shapes, sizes, prices, and brands, while also being extremely versatile instruments. They can be played solo, as a part of a band, or in front of an orchestra. With a piano, you can create rhythm, harmony, and melody all at once. It's one of the reasons it often has the nickname King of instruments.

It’s fair to say that the crop of Digital Pianos currently available on the market is consistently achieving levels that would have been totally unthinkable a mere decade ago. Never before has the consumer had so many excellent, highly realistic options available at a variety of price points.

While no one would argue this isn’t a great thing for those well-versed in digital pianos and those simply looking to get in for the first, knowing where to start can be quite intimidating and even off-putting.

In today’s video and article, we’re going to be serving you with a general digital piano keyboard buying guide, providing you with the lay of the land in terms of what’s available, and what kind of price ranges we’re looking at.

For the purposes of this article and video, we’ll be focusing on 88-key weighted action digital pianos.

 

Overview

When it comes to shopping for a piano, shoppers are going to encounter a large industry that is high on romance, but when it comes to actually drilling down and understanding what certain specs actually mean and what the focus should be on, confusion can ensue.

To help in filling in that gap, we've laid out a number of various categories and price ranges that you are likely to encounter once you’ve started your shopping. This should help in narrowing down your search, and help you zero in on a particular area.

Let’s jump right into our first category.

 

Portable Digital Pianos & Beginner Digital Pianos

This is by far one of the most popular parts of the digital piano market, with really high volumes of these instruments being sold worldwide every year. And it makes sense - for folks who are just starting out, or for parents looking for a practice instrument for their child who just started piano lessons, this category represents a relatively low financial risk for a potentially big reward.

Price Range

The pianos available in this category will generally run from about $500-$1,500 USD. These entry-level 88-key portable keyboards are affordable and a heck of a lot better than they used to be only several years ago, especially with regards to the authenticity of the weighted keys.

For families that don't have a lot of experience with musical instruments, particularly within homes, entry-level digital pianos serve a great purpose. Now, you'll often hear from pianists who have learned on acoustic pianos that a digital piano and certainly a basic digital piano just simply can't compare to a traditional one.

And while in the long-term this is still the case and most people studying classical music would agree with this, for the vast majority, entry-level digitals are a perfectly fine way to test somebody's appetite for piano lessons and begin to develop basic technique and musical understanding.

 

Why Buy a Piano From this Category?

All of the major manufacturers offer products in this category, including Kawai, Yamaha, Casio, Roland, Korg, and Alesis. Manufacturing quality has dramatically increased in this category over the last several years, largely driven by the Casio Privia PX series and Casio CDP series along with Yamaha's success with their Yamaha P-45 and Yamaha P-125. Both Roland and Kawai have followed suit with strong contenders of their own, namely the Roland FP-10 and Roland FP-30 digital piano, as well as Kawai's ES110 and ES520.

All in all, pianos in this category are designed for normal household use or very light professional use the most obvious limitations are the power and quality of the onboard speakers, tone quality, lighter construction, and lack of connectivity beyond basics like MIDI and headphone jacks. As such, these instruments have a shorter lifespan than more expensive options.

 

How Long Will a Piano From this Category Last?

Expect a piano from this category to serve a starter player through their first two to three years' worth of instruction before most teachers are probably going to recommend an upgrade to a more advanced digital piano or an acoustic piano to ensure the player can keep progressing.

Arranger Keyboard Options

There are also some great value arranger keyboards available at this price point such as the Yamaha DGX-660, which offers tons of onboard features with otherwise entry-level tone and touch. Some even allow you to forgo the power adapter and use battery power instead., such as the Casio PX-S1000 digital keyboard.

Summary

To summarize; on the positive side, the instruments in this category are relatively low cost, lightweight, portable, and make for a really great way to test the waters for whoever in your household is thinking about piano. On the negative side, these pianos are not suitable for advanced instruction or classical repertoire, they have a slightly shorter lifespan as well as limited resale value in most markets.

Home Digital Pianos

Our next category of digital pianos is referred to as home digital pianos or console digital pianos. The typical buyer for a piano from this category tends to be an adult or newer piano student with parents looking for more of a three to five-year solution as opposed to a shorter-term entry-level option.

Price Range

Prices in this category tend to range from about $1,500-$3,000 USD, which is still less expensive than a new Japanese acoustic upright piano.

If the decision has been made that piano lessons are going to be a fixture in your family's life and the parents are mostly driving the bus on this one, a home digital piano probably makes more sense to jump into than a portable digital piano. This is enough time to get through the basics of instruction, and will let you evaluate whether your child needs a quality longer-term instrument, all while still managing to save several thousands of dollars off the top.

These also make excellent instruments for adult learners who are looking for a hobbyist instrument that strikes the right balance between quality and price

Why Buy a Piano From this Category?

The advantage of these pianos is that they have a longer shelf life and are more musically capable compared with the portable digitals from the first category. We typically recommend families that go down this path to upgrade to an upright or grand piano at the point that they sense piano lessons will probably be a 10-year thing to maximize on trade-in value.

Many dealers offer high trade-in values of digital pianos towards an acoustic piano within the first few years of ownership, to the point that owning a piano in this category ends up costing very little if an upgrade is in the cards.

These instruments don't focus on high-quality cabinetry, but they can still sit in a living room and look pretty stylish. At the upper end of this category, can also access some of the better key sensors, hammer action keyboards, and tone generators in the industry. In other words, some of the best internal core features, but without the bells and whistles or high-end cabinetry of the premium tier models.

Examples of the lower end of this category would be the Yamaha Arius YDP and Clavinova series or Roland RP102, while some examples of the top of this class would include the Roland DP603 or Kawai CA79.

 

How Long Will a Piano From this Category Last?

Pianos from this category tend to be solid options for the average student for about 3 to 5 years or so. This means the average beginner will be able to progress through about 3 to 5 years of piano lessons with an instrument from this category.

Summary

To summarize; the pros of this category include the fact that these instruments still cost less than an acoustic piano, have great onboard sound, have lots of connectivity options (such as Bluetooth), and actually look like a proper piece of furniture. The cons include the fact that they still have a shorter lifespan than an acoustic piano, are still going to be musically limiting to an advanced player, and you lose out on the portability of the first category.

High-End & Hybrid Digital Pianos

The third digital category we're going to look at is the high-end digital piano or hybrid digital piano category. Typical buyers in this category tend to be experienced players who perhaps have space constraints, want certain modern technological features, or simply somebody who wants a fantastic instrument with maximum sound management and minimal maintenance requirements.

Price Range

The price range for this category starts at around $3,000 and can run north of $20,000. Acoustic pianos are not always the ultimate solution for every player, even when the budget is not an issue. Sometimes the appeal of zero maintenance, playing with headphones, or just a smaller physical footprint are all more important than the purity of the tone or touch that you get with a real piano. Everything has to be balanced out.

Why Buy a Piano From this Category?

The top digital pianos are getting close to authentically mimicking both the piano sound with sophisticated sound engines and the touch of an acoustic instrument with very satisfying results. To serve this growing segment of buyers, a quickly evolving class of digital pianos known as hybrid pianos is emerging.

Hybrid pianos fuse both acoustic and digital piano elements, resulting in instruments that can offer certain consumers the best of both worlds. Price-wise, these instruments aren’t actually going to cost any less than an entry-level or mid-range acoustic piano and can be seen rather as an alternative option as opposed to a compromise.

Here are some reasons why more and more buyers are considering this direction. First of all, wooden keys. Even though springs and good geometric design can simulate the static weight of a piano key, plastic-based actions can’t fully simulate the dynamic weight of a key.

Most premium digitals and hybrids use some type of wood key technology to increase that authentic dynamic touch of the piano to make it feel more like a real piano.

Another big reason is the presence of high-end speakers and amplifiers. Digital pianos have very limited volume ranges. Even at maximum volume, most digital pianos can't compete with the full volume of an acoustic piano, which is one of the reasons it's difficult to learn on a digital and then perform on an acoustic.

Premium digital and hybrid pianos are starting to close this gap and now deliver a similar volume range to that of a smaller upright piano.

Of course, we can’t discount the appeal that a premium cabinet will have to some folks. The majority of the instruments in this category are available in the same high polished polyester finishes that you’ll find with acoustic pianos.

Lastly, the extensive selection of high-quality onboard sounds, from electric pianos to organs to strings and beyond, plus the ability to stream music wirelessly through the instrument’s premium features are all compelling reasons for some people to go with a high-end digital piano instead of an acoustic piano.

 

How Long Will a Piano From this Category Last?

Pianos in this category are built as a legitimate alternative to an acoustic piano, so one, in theory, could probably do the bulk of their studies on a piano from this category.

Summary

To summarize; on the plus side, we've got a wide range of cabinet options, high-quality construction that should last 10 to 15 years (not to mention great warranty coverage), plus the most authentic tone and touch currently available. On the negative side, the price is very similar to an acoustic piano without the same resale potential, and given the nature of technology, currently advanced technological features will one day be obsolete.

 

Professional Portable Digital Pianos

Next up we have a bit of a niche category - professional portable digital pianos. It’s typically semi-professional players who need an instrument for performance, rehearsal or recording situations who shop within this category. College university students will typically explore options here if they require portability and accessibility without compromising quality, as well as families that need a second instrument if they have multiple pianists in the household.

Price Range

Pianos in this category will generally range from $1,000 to $2,500 USD. Professional portable digital pianos offer a more compact, flexible approach as opposed to home digitals, while generally occupying about the same price range.

Why Buy a Piano From this Category?

We don't see as many first-time family buyers going down this road for several reasons. For example, these instruments are less physically sturdy, and they don’t look as nice in a living room.

The typical features for this category include the option to add a furniture-type wooden stand and pedals (as opposed to a single damper or sustain pedal) if there will be periods where your piano is remaining stationary, but of course, you have the option of going with a collapsible keyboard stand if you are on the go.

You’ll typically find more connectivity options here and many of these pianos also include basic rhythm accompaniments, basic recording capability, and built-in music stands. Dollar for dollar, this category will usually deliver a slightly better action and sound processor for about the same price as their home digital counterparts, with the compromise coming on speaker size and aesthetics.

 

How Long Will a Piano From this Category Last?

An instrument from this category will serve the average piano student for about 4-7 years through lessons before an upgrade would need to be considered.

 

Summary

The pros for this category include the fact that many options represent a cost-effective way to get a versatile, great-quality piano that works well with headphones and amps while taking up minimal space. The cons include the fact that these options are not great for larger spaces, the speakers tend to be smaller than their stationary counterparts and they simply lack the same aesthetic appeal.

 

Professional Stage Pianos

Our final category for this piece is the professional digital stage piano. The typical buyer for these instruments is going to be professional players who need a gigging or studio instrument, as well as audiophile enthusiasts.

 

Price Range

These pianos tend to start around $2,000 and can go up to $5,000 or more. You can think of these as the souped-up laptops of the piano industry. Most of the major manufacturers are represented, and there are also companies that specialize in this area such as Nord.

 

Why Buy a Piano From this Category?

They tend to be somewhat compact and are loaded with features that are built for specific professional uses like stage performance or studio recording. In most cases, speakers aren’t present in an attempt to keep the weight down so these are going to need to be operated with an amp, PA speakers, or headphones.

Popular options in this category are the Yamaha CP88, as well as the Roland RD-2000.

For most end-users, this category isn't really that relevant. There’s a steep learning curve and fairly sophisticated level of understanding of synthesizer concepts required to really use these instruments that goes way beyond what most amateur or even classical and hobbyist players have. On the other hand, there is of course enough of a subset of consumers purchasing instruments from this category to justify its existence.

 

How Long Will a Piano From this Category Last?

A piano from this category wouldn’t really make a ton of sense for a beginner looking to take piano lessons, but in theory, a piano from here would probably serve the average student for about 4-7 years.

 

Summary

Positives for this category include the fact these instruments generally have the most leading-edge technology in the whole industry presented in a wide variety of formats and price ranges and are entirely targeted toward pro users. Negatives are the steep learning curves and hyper specificity of the instruments.

 

Closing Thoughts

Thanks for sticking with us here at Merriam Music through this detailed article. Our hope is that this piece should provide some clarity and help you when searching on Amazon and other online retailers.

Depending on your own unique situation, there will likely be a category that stands out as the right fit for you. Once you’ve got the category sorted, it’s pretty fun to narrow things down from there.

Shop more pianos here

The post Digital Pianos | The Ultimate Digital Piano Buying Guide | Yamaha, Roland, Kawai, Casio & More first appeared on Merriam Pianos

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Upright Piano Buyers Guide | How to Choose an Upright Piano

When it comes to acoustic pianos, there are a lot of 'best of' lists and new piano buying guides out there with a ton of different information on different models. What these lists tend to neglect is a systematic way that you, the buyer, can sort through this information and zero in on the most important considerations affecting your decision.

In today's article and video, we're going to list the things you should be considering when looking for an upright piano and placing them in a very specific order of importance. We've already done the same thing for digital pianos, and we received positive feedback that people really found that helpful.

We're confident that if you apply our formula to your shopping process, you're not only ensured to be thrilled with the piano you end up with, but you'll also do so in much less time.

Piano Dimensions

The very first thing that we're going to suggest you start with is size. Not budget, not country of origin, but size. Here's why. The size of an upright piano directly determines its volume and the fullness and clarity of the bass register. It doesn't matter how well a piano is made - If it's not loud enough or it doesn't have a clear enough bass, there are no other factors that can ever make up for that.

There are upright pianos that can be as small as about 42" in height, and they generally get to be as tall as about 53" with sostenuto pedals. Although that only sounds like about a 20% difference, the proportional difference in string length is actually much larger. This is why that height difference can have such a big impact on how full the tone is and how much sound you need the piano to produce.

Be careful if you're looking at a small used piano as you'll want to ensure it isn't a Baldwin Spinet model - these instruments feature highly antiquated action designs and should be avoided.

There are several factors which might influence your needs in this area. One could be the size and acoustic makeup of the room where you'll be placing your piano. If you're planning on putting your upright piano into a very large space with high ceilings, you might have the need for a larger piano. If you're going to be recording with this instrument, you'll probably desire strong bass clarity, so you're not going to want to go lower than about 47" in height for example.

What are the risks here if you pick the wrong size piano? If you pick a piano that's too small for your needs, you are going to be training yourself to operate an instrument that behaves very differently than other pianos that you might experience out there. This is more of a consideration for students and professionals who might be doing recitals or performances on a concert grand piano, which offers an experience that is very different than that of a small upright.

If your needs really are a 48" upright, then don't go looking for a 42" by trying to exchange size for a more high-quality instrument - if you need a taller instrument, don't compromise here.

Sound Quality and Tonal Profile

After you've established the size that's appropriate for you, the next thing you'll want to focus on is picking a tone that satisfies your ear and excites your musical soul. Sometimes we can't explain why we like the tones that we like, but the point is, you want to pick something that is going to truly excite you and make you want to play.

Several things go into what gives a piano its tone. Country of origin can have an indirect influence because certain countries' piano industries are known for construction practices, designs, and overall quality control. If you buy a piano from Germany, you know that you're going to get a piano with great tonal clarity due to the quality of craftsmanship that's consistent across German piano manufacturing. If you have the ear for it, you'll be able to hear the difference between a very clear tone and a tone that's a little dirtier, and this is a compromise you may be unwilling to make.

The style of the piano may also come into play as there are certain instruments which are designed to create a maximum level of color and dynamic response. Bechstein upright pianos come to mind for example when you hear this type of description. Other instruments known for extreme clarity and beautiful shimmering sustain would be Schimmel uprights.

Things like hammer selection, soundboard material, and scale design also go a long way in determining sound quality and tonal profile.

In a mid-range price category, Kawai uprights are one example with a very colorful sound profile. Yamaha won the other hand would be a little clearer with less color.

So, it's important to understand what you want out of the tone of your piano as finding the sound you connect with will really inspires you to play. You may find that there's consistency either in a country of origin or possibly in a specific piano brand that does this for you. Check out the video to hear some playing examples of different uprights with very different sounds.

Piano Action (Touch and Response)

Once we know how big the piano needs to be and we're centered in on a style of tone that we really resonate with, our next focus should be on how we physically interface with the piano - in other words, the piano action.

Some people might suggest that touch is the most important consideration, especially for piano technicians, but we've put it third for a reason - great touch is never going to make up for bad tone. It's also never going to be able to compensate for missing volume or bass presence that only a certain type of piano can provide.

Touch can be described in a variety of ways. People will say use terms like light touch or heavy touch, but this is often actually referring to the dynamic response of a given instrument. A piano could actually have a fairly heavy touch, but if it has an immediate and big dynamic response, your mind might still perceive that as a light touch.

So, this is more of a perception thing as opposed to something totally objective. A medium sensation is usually the balance people look for between a sense of control and a sense of ease with the dynamic range. The heavier you perceive a piano's touch to be, the harder you'll have to play to get access to the full dynamic range. When an action feels too light, it will typically have a huge dynamic range, and this is quite difficult to control in the lower dynamic ranges.

Figuring out how heavy or how light you want the sense of touch to be is quite important and has less to do with quality and more to do with stylistic subjective differences from builder to builder. Even two German-made upright pianos of the same general quality level can have radically different feeling actions.

We would definitely suggest that if you're in the market for a premium upright of any kind, spend an extended period of time in the showroom or music store to make sure that that sense of weight and resistance is going to be comfortable for you over long periods of time.

Another thing that almost never gets talked about is the surface of the piano keys and how rounded the edges of the keys are. You might not think this is a big deal, but if you don't like how the keys feel, this is something that will pop up very soon after you have the instrument at home. You're going to want to make sure that you like the actual tactile feel of the keys on your fingers, along with the rest of how the action feels.

Your Budget

The fourth consideration to look at is budget. The reason budget is fourth and not first is that if you follow our first three considerations in order, you're going to come into a subset of instruments that still has a fairly wide range of prices.

When our salespeople consult with customers on their piano buying musical journey, whether it's their first time and first piano or fifth piano, we go through the above-noted considerations and sometimes wind up at a range as wide as $8,000 up to $40,000 of pianos that will fit the needs of the customer based on the above criteria.

Once you've got that subset of instruments down, this is where budget should come into play. You now know the flavor you want, and from here it's just a matter of how refined you want that flavor to be, and potentially how long you'd like your piano to last.

The quality of a piano definitely does have an impact on its longevity. Budget usually reflects this because as you move up in price, the piano is generally made with better materials and a good quality piano design that will maintain its integrity over a longer period of time.

Whether the budget is strict or flexible, at this point in the process you'll be able to refine things down to the best piano for your budget.

Resale Value (Used Market & Brand Considerations)

The fifth and final consideration you'll want to make is resale value. This has less of an impact when shopping for a baby grand piano, but it has a very large impact when you're shopping for an upright piano.

Upright pianos, in terms of brands and in terms of models, have a much higher rate of turnover in the piano industry than grand pianos do. Because upright pianos are not often thought of as aesthetic complements to a home in the way grand pianos are, people will only pay top dollar for an upright used piano that has brand recognition or model acclaim.

You're simply not going to get good resale value if you go with a brand which is either quite new to the market, unknown to the market, or is from a company known for churning brands put pretty consistently like some of the stencil brands that come from China.

Now, we're not saying pianos that fit this above description can't offer really great value. What we are saying is that if you think there's a high likelihood that you will be selling or upgrading your instrument within 5 to 10 years of purchase, this is where brand and model selection can have a major impact on resale.

Here's an example. If you were to buy an upright from an unknown brand for about $7,000 or $8,000 and you cared for that instrument really well to the point that it was in perfect condition for 10 years and you decide to sell, there's a good chance that you will have to sell that piano for $3,000 to $4,000, or possibly even less.

We're talking about a 50% hit to your original investment. If you'd spent the same amount of money on a known model or something with brand recognition, there's a good chance that you'd be able to sell that piano for within 20% to 30 less than what you bought it for, meaning you've preserved 70% to 80% of your original investment.

Follow these 5 considerations, in this specific order, and we're confident you'll end up with the right piano for you. Now, here's a list of some of our favorite upright pianos from every price range.

Merriam Music's List of Notable Upright Pianos

This is hardly an exhaustive list, but these are some models we think would be deserving of a closer look. We carry over 50 upright pianos here at Merriam Pianos and there are close to 100 out there in the wider piano universe.

Here are some favorites that we're sure you'll come across in your research.

Starting at the entry level, we've had positive experiences with the Pearl River 118 and 121 sizes as well as their premium Ritmuller UP and UH models. Kawai has the ND21 model, which is a 48-inch Indonesian-built instrument which has been highly popular in Europe, Australia, and here in Canada. It's generally not available in the United States, but if you can find one, it's pretty much impossible to beat for the price when you consider what it offers musically, plus Kawai's excellent warranty coverage.

Moving up to the mid-range and we've got the Kawai K300 and the Yamaha U1 - probably the most fierce upright piano matchup in the industry. There's also the taller Kawai K500 and the Yamaha U3, which is another great rivalry. These four instruments simply dominate the mid-range piano market due to the fact that they're all very well built, professional quality instruments with highly musical playing experiences, yet cost a fraction of a German instrument. Piano tuners love servicing these pianos too.

Moving up into the European range, the W. Hoffmann T122 along with the Wilhelm Schimmel W118 are two instruments that have been immensely popular. The W. Hoffmann is made in the Czech Republic, while the Wilhelm Schimmel is made in Poland meaning the manufacturers here are able to take advantage of slightly more affordable Eastern European labor, but still deliver fantastic material and quality control from their German parent companies, Schimmel and Bechstein.

Once we move into the premium range, the Bechstein A124 has been a huge hit all around the world. Bechstein reps have told us that they simply cannot build enough of these particular instruments to meet global demand.

Right at the very top of the industry we've got the C. Bechstein Concert 8, Bosendorfer 130, Steinway & Sons K52, and the Schimmel Konzert Series - these are simply some of the best instruments money can buy.

Of course, there are many other great upright pianos out there, these are just some we have had excellent personal experiences with.

Final Thoughts

Thanks very much for reading. We hope that you'll check out the video as well for an even more in-depth explanation of the top considerations you should make when choosing an upright piano, as well as some playing examples of fine musical instruments.

We truly believe that if you follow the guidelines above, you'll have a wonderfully productive experience next time you visit a piano retailer.

The post Upright Piano Buyers Guide | How to Choose an Upright Piano first appeared on Merriam Pianos

2359 Bristol Cir #200, Oakville, ON L6H 6P8

merriammusic.com

(905) 829-2020