Is The Digital Piano Suitable For You?

Compared to a decade ago, there is a much wider range of options available for anyone looking to purchase a digital piano today. Not only are the higher-end modern digital pianos much better at simulating the feel and sound of the acoustic pianos than they were in the past, the cheaper ones now have features which were previously unheard of in digital pianos costing less than a thousand dollars.

A digital piano is highly suitable for anyone who's keen on becoming a pianist, but have a fairly limited budget. With additional features including the ability to switch instrumental “voices” or digital tones (e.g. guitar, organ, harpsichord, harp, or even drums), the ability to connect headphones (allowing you to play to your heart's content in the middle of the night without worrying about bothering others) and recording of your playings (which can aid greatly in learning the piano as you can easily listen to your mistakes after playing), the digital piano is a great alternative to the traditional piano. Even advanced piano players can consider a digital piano replacement if they have limited room space for an upright piano, or are looking for a much more portable option. As the sounds on a digital piano are produced electronically instead of acoustically, no tuning is required at all, which is yet another reason to consider the digital piano.

A digital piano can be thought of as a special class of electronic keyboards. Sound is reproduced electronically instead of acoustically as on a traditional piano. Unlike a typical electronic keyboard which usually does not even come with the full set of 88 piano keys, a digital piano tries to emulate the touch and the natural sound of the traditional piano as closely as possible. Fully weighted keys with proper resistance (with the lower keys feeling slightly heavier than the higher keys, as on a true acoustic piano) and realistic piano tone are the two key features to look out for when purchasing a digital piano. Happily enough, with advances in technology and innovations by various digital piano brands, most digital pianos today, even the cheaper ones, are highly adequate for the piano novice.

Two brands with some of the widest variety of digital pianos in the market today are Yamaha and Casio. While quanity does not necessary equate with quality, these brands are wildly popular, with plenty of satisfied customers. Other quality brands include Korg, Roland and Kawai. With such a huge variety of options available, a brand new shopper might be completely overwhelmed and confused, especially since each brand has its own family of digital pianos, and even uses its own terminology occasionally (for example, Yamaha uses the term “voices” to refer to the different instrumental sounds in its digital pianos, while Casio uses the term “tones”), making comparison across different brands rather challenging.

As a maker of acoustic pianos, Yamaha is a highly reputable brand. You can absolutely trust in the sound quality of all Yamaha digital pianos, even the cheaper entry-level ones, as they have had plenty of time and experience refining the electronic reproduction of the acoustic piano sound. A good example is the Yamaha DGX-640 digital piano which has a wide range of quality instrumental sounds. In the past, Yamaha was the leader when it came to basic, entry-level digital pianos. Roland and Korg were considered the higher quality brands, along with a higher premium. Casio was relatively unheard of when it came to digital pianos.

Even today, if you try asking someone what they associate with the Casio brand, watches and calculators or perhaps toy electronic keyboards are what typically come to mind. Nevertheless, don't let popular opinion sway you. Casio has pushed the boundaries of the digital piano market, and have even made bold claims that their pianos have “redefine[d] the digital piano category”, and they are not lying. With their innovative technology, they have managed to capture the essence of the acoustic piano (realistic touch and sound) in their line of digital pianos, and have made digital pianos much more affordable today. An excellent example is the Casio Privia PX-330 digital piano, which is one of the most affordable portable digital pianos around today with realistic touch and sound.

While the acoustic piano still remains unmatched in the beauty of its sound, its elegant style, and continues to be regarded in high esteem, digital piano manufacturers have been edging closer and closer to reproducing the realistic piano touch and feel over the years. Digital pianos are no longer toy instruments to scoff at. They are a perfectly legitimate, less expensive alternative to the acoustic piano, whether you're a student (or planning to become one), or an accomplished pianist looking for a more portable replacement, and now is a great time to look into buying one.