Top 5 Best Digital Pianos in 2020 Reviews

digital piano buying guideAre you fed up with your out of tune acoustic piano? Is your family tired of hearing your loud practicing? Would you like to record yourself while you play and even choose between different sounds (organ, piano, harp, and more)? If you can answer “yes” to any one of the above questions, then you need to get hold of an electric piano.

Here on the page we have made a complete guide to buying your first electric piano. I want to share my many years of experience working as a piano teacher on a daily basis.

Top 5 Best Digital Pianos

I have selected the digital pianos that I think are among the best on the market. Common to them all is their outstanding quality, and I can therefore assure you that no matter which one you choose, your money will be well spent. Here you will find the right piano for any player, advanced or beginner, and instruments suitable for either home or stage use.

Overall Winner: Best Digital Piano Right Now


Best Digital Piano for Beginners


Best Digital Piano for Intermediate Players


Best Digital Piano for Advanced Pianists


Best Digital Piano for Home Use


Best Digital Piano for Students


Different types of digital pianos

Generally speaking, there are three types of digital pianos. The main difference between these types has do to with appearance and not with functionality or number of features:

piano keyboardPiano Keyboard

The piano keyboard may remind you of a traditional piano in many ways, but there is a big difference.  The difference between an electric keyboard and a traditional piano is the size and weight of the instrument itself. The lightweight electric keyboard is flexible and is therefore a smart choice if you plan to move the instrument often. It could also be ideal to own a keyboard if you frequently appear on stage with a piano. While the keyboard is not functionally inferior to the other types, the fact is if you want a really good electric piano, then you should look into other options. The best piano keyboard is shown in our top picks at the top of the page.

home digital pianoHome Digital Piano

The traditional digital piano is characterized by its legs and pedals, set up to look very similar to a normal upright piano. The overall quality of this type of digital piano is often higher than that of a simple keyboard. On the other hand, it is not quite easy to move around with, and therefore you must be prepared to make a permanent place in your home or studio for the instrument. Another advantage of the digital piano is the inclusion of 3 pedals, the same 3 pedals found on a traditional acoustic piano. Thus, you have the same possibilities as on a traditional piano. The best digital piano for home use is shown in our top picks at the top of the page.

Electric grand piano/digital grand piano

digital grand pianoA fully electric grand piano? Believe it or not, these actually exist! Personally, I have to say that if I were to have a grand piano it would be a traditional grand piano. A true concert grand just gives a whole other feeling when you play it, but some like the digital grand piano as it offers some other options a traditional grand can not. Among other things, this is found in the number of functions available. Be careful, as quality varies a lot from brand to brand; you will want to shop the whole market before making your final decision. The digital grand piano has the same functions as an ordinary piano (sound and polyphony). The best digital grand piano is shown in our top picks at the top of the page.

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Digital piano features

So what features does a powerhouse digital piano have? Let’s take a closer look at them:

Sound effects

An electric keyboard always has a bank of built-in sounds to choose from. The most common ones, for example, are a grand piano sound and a regular piano sound. But there are other, more diverse sounds, such as Fender Rhodes. In some cases, the piano can actually also act as a synthesizer, playing tones that don’t sound like a piano at all. Generally speaking, the sounds the electric piano contains are based on samples of real instruments taken by the manufacturer. Since these sounds are stored on the “hard drive” of the piano, the piano will always play in tune. The sounds recorded by the producer are very accurate and are always of the highest quality. The producers spend a great deal of money recording the sounds used for electric keyboards. Some electric keyboards even contain mathematical formulas that produce the sounds on the spot. This often gives a more authentic character to the sound, and the notes become more free and independent. Over the past few years, great technological advances have been achieved in relation to electricity storage and digital keyboard tone production. For example, a modern electric piano will be able to add reverberation and acoustic effects, without the need for an extra amplifier!

Other features

For the composer, a huge bonus to owning a digital piano is the recording function which makes it possible to record one’s piano playing and listen back to it immediately. In addition, these electric pianos are also equipped with a metronome feature, which makes it easier to keep time and play rhythms accurately. For beginners, there are also many helpful features to note. Some electric keyboards have luminous keys and built-in songs. This means that by either inserting your own MIDI data or using the existing songs, you can learn to play piano by touching the keys as they light up in time. The MIDI function altogether is also a very important tool that one finds on electric keyboards. This feature allows you to control or be controlled by a MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) device. The electric keyboard often has a disk drive in which one can insert MIDI data, which the piano can then play back for you.

Electric piano buying guide

When choosing your electric piano, there are a number of factors and aspects that you should consider. Let’s take a closer look at them:

Keys

One of the most important things to think about when choosing an electric piano is the keys. If you are hoping for the full piano experience, make sure your electric piano has 88 keys. In addition, you must also be sure that your piano has weighted keys. This means that there is resistance in the keyboard, just like on a regular piano. Touch sensitivity is another very important thing when pickign out your instrument. Fortunately, the vast majority of electric keyboards are equipped with touch sensitive keys. Graded hammer action, meaning the deep tones have slightly more heavy keys and are slightly heavier to play on the high notes, is what you want. If you buy a Yamaha piano, you will want to go for the GH3 or NWX, as these keys will be the most likely to remind you of a traditional acoustic piano.

Sound

First of all, we should just get ahold of the speakers. I usually say that your speakers should be 2x12W or above. If you have speakers that are smaller than this, you will not be able to play very loudly. Polyphony is also quite important to consider if you are an experienced pianist. Polyphony determines how many tones you can play simultaneously. If you are a beginner, you need not pay attention to it. I recommend between 64 and 128-tone polyphony or above. You should also choose a piano that offers a reasonable number of sounds. Here I think of organ, flute, harp, and a few others – the more, the better, really.

Features

As a starting point, you must have the following functions on the electric keyboard you buy:

  • Metronome
  • Record Function
  • Transposing Function

Design

For some, the design can mean more than the piano’s quality, its appearance may be very important to you perhaps, and this is alright. Of course, I would advise you to choose a piano based on its functionality and quality over its design. These manufacturers, however, make some beautiful pianos, so you should be able to find a high quality instrument that also looks right to you.

Price

Price and quality are related in this industry. However, it is still possible to find a good digital piano at a low price (see my recommendations further down). If you want an electric piano of decent quality, my experience tells me that you should spend at least 3000 kroner. Everything below that I will have difficulty speaking for.

Brands

The two largest  brands in electric pianos are Yamaha and Roland. Among these two brands, I like Yamaha the best. I have a Yamaha piano and have never had any problems with it. At the cheaper end, we have brands like Korg, Casio, and Ringway. Of these brands I like Korg and Casio. They make some decent pianos at low prices. A brand that many people overlook is Kawai. I believe that is a shame because they also make some really fine instruments. I have personally played 2 pianos from the brand. Kawais strong suit is that they only make pianos (and have since their inception in 1927) and for that reason have made great strides developing quality pianos and perfecting their design, unlike many other brands that produce many different musical instruments.

Free help and advice

As always, you are more than welcome to contact us if you need help choosing your musical instrument. We can both be contacted by mail and live chat. Remember that our advice is free and we always help with a smile! 🙂

kasperdtb
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