Hey everyone,
My sister wants to get a digital piano or keyboard, so I thought I'd ask for advice on here since I know nothing at all about them- we both used to play acoustic upright piano, but don't know anything about the digital gear.
How much do you have to pay to get something which is "good enough" if you're used to a half-decent upright piano? We were hoping around sort of £300 to £500 might do it, because at that kind of money we could buy one and not worry too much about it, whereas with a more expensive one, we'll think about it for ages and maybe never get round to getting one at all
How important is having a weighted action? If it is important, what is the "best" version of it? (Since I see lots of different terms for it.) Can you turn off the weighted action if you don't like it?
I think it'd be better to get a more portable one which can be put away when not in use, but I think it's still best to get one with the proper 88 keys. (It's just for use at home, not gigging.)
Finally, what's the difference between a digital piano and a keyboard? I might be wrong, but to me it seems like a digital piano is maybe better if getting something as close as possible to a "real" piano is the aim, whereas a keyboard is better for more different types of sounds, having the ability to bend the pitch etc.. Do I have that right? Is either one considered to be a better idea, or is it just whichever one suits what you want better (I assume the latter)?
If you have any recommendations for brands which are known to be good and specific models, that would be great.
Thanks in advance for your help,
Dave.
Comments
Getting a Roland or Yamaha from Gumtree or Reverb should get you into sub £500 territory.
You cannot 'turn off' keyboard weighting.
It either has it or it doesn't.
'Best' largely depends on your experience and your expectation.
My main home (digital upright) piano is a Yamaha CLP685- I love the action but some people find them a bit heavy.
You can spend a lot more than £500 for anything top shelf so under £500 you will get something good, maybe even 'very good'.
If buying new then a Roland FP30 or a Yamaha P125 are worth a shot.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Weighted keys are exactly that. Plastic, weighted by a small lump of metal and pivoting against a return spring. They are fine for polyphonic synthesizers but can feel “wrong” for piano, organ and, arguably, classic monosynths.
If piano is the aim, only 88 hammer action keys will feel right. Touch sensitivity is critical to dynamic control.
Probably wisest for your sister to visit a music shop and get her digits onto a few different pianos to form an opinion on what will suit.
And yeah I realise you can spend a lot more money than £500- we were hoping for "good enough" (to be worth buying and not just be a waste of money) rather than exceptional. I'm guessing if you're used to your Yamaha that nothing under £500 new might qualify, though, lol.
Thanks again for your help.
We did try a few digital pianos a few months ago, but we hadn't really started looking then so we didn't really know the model numbers and stuff like that. I guess now we have a few more concrete ones to look at that trying them would be the thing.
Honestly, go try them.
I've never played them side by side.
If you aren't a pro player then you will probably be fine with either, but it depends on how nuanced your technique is.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Thanks again for your help, everyone
If you might want to gig it then make sure you get one with proper outputs, not just headphones.
If you want to connect it to other stuff then check the midi connectivity.
I have a px5s as my only proper piano action keyboard. It's great but I wouldn't recommend it as a basic home piano as it has no speakers built in and their cheaper options would prob suit better. It's good as a light gigging piano though and the splitting / layering / realtime controls / synth engine etc are all great in that context.
If it's broader than just piano, then there are other options, and I'd say don't get too hung up on 88 keys - I've played most of my piano gigging in bands and recording in the last few years on a 5 octave semi-weighted keyboard, albeit a nice one (and I say that as someone who first learnt on an upright piano as a kid). I sometimes have to compromise a bit, but think I'd be fine with 73 keys, and depending on your level and what you're playing you might only ever need 5 octaves.
When I heard them being played side by side in the shop I leant toward the Rolands (despite having gone in with a hankering for a more expensive Yamaha) and the Bluetooth controllability of the FP30/RP102 is fab (I went for the latter as I is posh innit)
Any thoughts on that one? It's jumped to the top of the heap so far, I thought we were going to have to choose between a digital piano and a keyboard, but those Casios seem to be the best of both worlds, so being slightly over budget isn't really a problem in that case- better to pay £700 for something which does everything we want than £500 for something which only does half of it...
I think my honest view is that you do get a lot for your money with these casios, but you can kind of tell in that they don't feel like premium products in the same way a Nord does for example. Although to be honest when I had a Roland vr-09 its keyboard wasn't very nice to play, and my casio mzx500 is nicer in that regard, so building down to a price point isn't just limited to casio.
I do have more posh kit too, but when I briefly played in a bon jovi tribute I used the px5s rather than my Nord electro as it was a better tool for that job.
That's interesting you mentioned Bon Jovi- I imagine that'd be the type of thing I'd want the more keyboard side of the thing for, whereas with a digital piano, you don't really get that at all.
As I say there are lots of good options, and most can cover different ground.