Best Digital Piano: 5 Reviews and 2018 Buyer’s Guide

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Best Digital Piano 2018 – Buyer’s Guide

Digital piano is a brilliant invention that makes piano accessible to everyone.

However, to pick out the best digital piano that fits your needs isn’t an easy job.

So, in this guide, we’ll first investigate the list of 5 best digital pianos base on their touch, sound, and price.

Then, we’ll learn more about how to choose a proper digital piano that meets your needs.

Let’s get started.

Best Digital Piano 2018

*swipe left or right to see full table

Digital Piano Name	Touch	Sound	Weight (lb)	​
Yamaha P71	Fully-weighted keys with Yamaha’s GHS	3.7/5	25
Yamaha DGX-660	Fully-weighted keys with Yamaha’s GHS	4.5/5	87.8
Yamaha P115	Fully-weighted keys with Yamaha’s GHS	4/5	26
Yamaha Arius YDP-181	Fully-weighted keys with Yamaha’s GHS	4.6/5	149
Alesis Recital	Semi-weighted keys	3/5	15.65

1. Yamaha P71 – Best Portable Digital Piano Under $500 For Minimalists

Yamaha P71 is our top pick for the range under $500.

Despite the relatively low price, P71 provides smoother sounds and even richer than a cheap upright piano.

It also has fully weighted keys, which somewhat mimics the feeling of playing on an acoustic piano.

P71 is fantastic for the price and perfect for practice. Suited best for beginners with a budget.

Now, let’s talk about the 2 most important elements of any digital piano: Touch and Sound.

Touch

P71 has Yamaha’s Graded Hammer Standard (GHS) action for the keys. It makes the touch slightly heavier in the low end and a bit lighter in the high end just like the hammers in an acoustic piano.

So, it can help you build up the proper finger technique if you want to transfer to an acoustic piano.

You can learn more about Yamaha’s GHS by watching the short video below.

Yamaha GHS Mechanism

Sound

P71’s sound is sampled and recorded from Yamaha’s world-renowned concert pianos, which brings you full, rich and realistic sounds.

Yet, for professional pianists, its sound is just decent. But for beginners, it’s totally good enough!

Please note that: According to Yamaha, the Yamaha P71 and P45 are identical. The difference is P71 is an Amazon-Exclusive.

This video below shows you the sound quality of P71:

Yamaha P-45 Sound Demo

Highlight Features

This digital piano is specifically designed for piano practice:

• 88 fully weighted keys
• 64-note polyphony
• Built-in metronome
• 10 different high-quality voices: Helps to concentrate on the piano
• Record and playback function
• Headphones for silent practice
• Slim, simple, and compact design: Its weight just 25 lbs, you can easily move it. It also takes up very little space
• 3-year manufacturer’s warranty

Yamaha P71 helps you stay away from distraction and focus on practice.

Buying Package

The cheapest option includes both power adapter and sustain pedal. There are 2 more bundles which include a stand and an adjustable bench.

However, a wiser decision is to purchase the stand and bench separately since they are somewhat better than the ones in the bundles and less expensive.

Other Advice On Yamaha P71

The pedal: Some experience the reverse effect: If you press the pedal the sound isn’t sustained, but if you release it, the sound is sustained. To solve that problem, you need to plug in the sustain pedal before turning the digital piano on.

Otherwise, if you plug it in while the digital piano is already on, the sustain pedal will do the opposite like described above and cause a headache.

The sustain pedal comes with Yamaha P71 is good but it’s much lighter than one of an acoustic piano. If you’re a serious learner, you should look for a heavier pedal.

Product Registration: It seems that Yamaha doesn’t have a registration option for P71. You should go to their site and register like you’re using the Yamaha P45.(Aforementioned, According to Yamaha, the Yamaha P71 and P45 are identical. The difference is P71 is an Amazon-Exclusive)

The Headphone Jack: In order to use the earbuds or headphones, you must have a 3.5mm stereo jack to 1/4″ stereo plug adapter.

Also, every masterpiece has imperfect elements. In this case, it’s the headphone jack’s location. It’s in the back of the keyboard.

So, you shouldn’t place this digital piano too close to the wall. Otherwise, it would be a huge pain when you want to plug in the headphones: To find the jack by feeling or pull the piano away from the wall to see it.

Pros	Cons
Very little space needed and easy to move Fully weighted keys with GHS Minimal design for just practice checkThe volume can go very low checkPerfect for the price	Features and sounds are limited The headphone jack is quite difficult to access The sound can’t be as loud as an acoustic piano

2. Yamaha DGX-660 – Best Grand Portable Digital Piano Under $1000 For Learning, Practicing, and Making Music

Yamaha DGX-660 isn’t a normal electric piano, it’s the convergence of a grand piano, a digital piano, and an arranger keyboard. 

Its piano sound is recorded from Yamaha 9′ CFIII Concert Grand Piano – No.1 Natural! Grand Piano sound.

DGX-660 comes with a vast array of tones, styles, songs, rhythms, and superb connectivities (includes wireless connection).

Yamaha DGX-660 is great for both beginners and experienced players for multiple usages: learning, music making, or just playing the piano.

Touch

DGX-660 is also built with Yamaha’s GHS. It simulates the keyboard feel of an acoustic piano closely. 

You can learn more about Yamaha’s GHS in the buying guide section below.

Moreover, you can adjust the touch-sensitivity of the keyboard by choosing from Soft, Medium, Hard, and Fixed.

For piano practice, you should choose Hard-Touch in order to build up your finger technique and strength.

If you choose Fixed-Touch, the sounds will be the same no matter how hard or soft you press the keys. In the beginning, beginners tend to use Fixed-Touch since their fingers are still weak. You shouldn’t select that option because it won’t help you develop your finger strength and technique.

Sound

Despite being digital, DGX-660’s piano sound is realistic and even better than many low range upright pianos.

DGX-660 use Pure CF Sound Engine. It reproduces genuinely the recorded sound from Yamaha CFIII 9’ Concert Grand Piano – No.1 Natural! Grand Piano sound. Hundreds of other sounds also simulate closely the original instruments.

You can listen to the video below to have an idea of how good the DGX-660’s sounds are:

Yamaha DGX-660 Sound and Style

Highlight Features

DGX-660 comes with lots of features. Below are some highlights:

• 88 fully weighted keys with black keys made from matte: It prevents slippery if your fingers are moist
• 192-note polyphony
• Piano Room Mode: Pianists would love this function. You can even choose whether to close or open the lid on the 9′ piano!
• LED Screen: It makes using this digital piano much easier and funnier.
• A vast array of tones, styles, rhythms, and preset songs: 554 tones, 205 styles,100 preset songs
• Contains all necessary connections: USB to Host, USB to Device, Headphone jack, Aux In, Mic In, Sustain jack
• Great microphone input: You can simultaneously record your voice and the melody and store it in an external drive.
• Wireless Connection: You can download a bunch of apps by Yahama in your tablet or smartphone and connect with DGX-660 wirelessly. It will definitely enhance your piano playing experience!
• 3-year manufacturer’s warranty

Buying Package

It comes with 3 buying options. The lowest one just includes the digital piano itself and a stand. The 2 advanced options have in addition: an adjustable bench, headphones, and a sustain pedal or a full set of 3 pedals.

If you want to make DGX-660 more portable, you should look for purchasing an X-stand separately. Also, it’s quite stronger than the one in the bundles. Below are 3 great X-stands which are suitable for DGX-660:

• Knox Gear Z Style
• RockJam Xfinity
• World Tour Double X

Other Advice On Yamaha DGX-660

The pedal: It sometimes has the reserve effects as the P71: The sound is automatically sustained without pressing the pedal. Otherwise, if you push it down, the sound is clear. The solution is the same: Plug in the sustain pedal before turning on the digital piano.

And although the full set of 3 pedals in the bundle is good, I still recommend you invest in a better one if you’re serious in your piano learning.

Assembling: It’s not so hard to assemble all the parts together, but the piano itself is quite heavy (46.3 lbs). You probably need someone to help you set it up.

Headphone Jack: This is also a huge pain as the Yamaha P71: the jack is still in the back of the keyboard. However, you can set the output speaker on the LED Screen. So, you just need to plug the headphone jack in once. 

For more convenient, you should use a 3.5mm Male to Female Stereo Audio Cable to lengthen the headphones’ cord.

The weight: It’s much heavier than other portable digital pianos: Others usually weigh around 25 to 30 lbs, while DGX-660 is 46.3 lbs. It won’t be easy for you to move it around. But compare to the quality it brings, I think it worths the extra effort to carry it to the show.

Pros	Cons
Realistic sound by Pure CF Sound Engine checkGHS system for the keyboard Multiple usages: Learning, practicing, and making music Lots of modes and functions to choose from checkUseful LED Screen checkMicrophone input for recording singing and playing at the same time	banThe internal memory of just 1.7 MBs. You should need to buy an external storage to expand its capacity A bit heavy

3. Yamaha P115 – Upgrade Of P71 With Higher Sound Quality

P115 is at the mid-range of Yamaha P series. It also has minimal and simple design as the P71, which will help you focus only on piano practice.

The main difference is its sound quality is better than P71 with Pure CF Sound Engine. It reproduces closely the sampled sounds from Yamaha 9′ CFIIIS concert grand piano.

However, if you’re looking for tons of voices and fancy features, DGX-660 is still a better choice.

P115 is like the upgrade of P71 with higher sound quality and some additional features. It’s worth the extra money.

Touch

P115 is also built with Yamaha’s GHS system. The keys are heavier than most uprights and comparable to average grand pianos.

Sound

Sound quality is the most significant difference between P115 and P71.

P115 also uses Pure CF Sound Engine as DGX-660. It also contains more voices than P71 (14 tones)

You could listen to the video below to get an idea of P115’s sounds:

Yamaha P115 Sound Demo

Touch

P115 is also built with Yamaha’s GHS system. The keys are heavier than most uprights and comparable to average grand pianos.

Highlight Features

• 192-note polyphony
• Controller App for iOS devices: It makes navigation and configuration much quicker and easier.
• 14 different high-quality tones: Helps to stay focus on piano.
• Slim and simple design: At the first glance, P115 looks like the P71. However, the headphone jack of P115 is in front of the keyboard! It makes using headphones now much more convenient.
• 3-year manufacturer’s warranty

Buying Package

P115 comes with less buying options than their brothers. Only includes the piano itself, PA150 power supply, and a sustain pedal.

In order to use it with utmost convenience, you should purchase in addition:

• An adjustable bench
• An X-stand or Z-stand or Yamaha L85 stand
• A 3.5mm stereo jack to 1/4″ stereo plug adapter to use the earbuds or headphones

Other Advice On Yamaha P115

The pedal: It also has the problem like the 2 above: Opposite effect with the sustain pedal. The solution: Plug in the sustain pedal before turning on the digital piano.

The keys aren’t very durable: Some experienced defective broken or sticking keys after about 1-2 years. This probably the only downside of P115 compares to P71. However, by purchasing from Amazon, they ensure the 3-year warranty from Yamaha. So, it’s not a huge problem.

Headphone Jack: P115 has a “huge” improve on the headphone jack: Now it’s located in front of the keyboard! What a convenient! However, you still need a  3.5mm stereo jack to 1/4″ stereo plug adapter to use the earbuds or headphones.

Pros	Cons
Realistic sound by Pure CF Sound Engine checkGHS system for the keyboard Compact design for mobility checkPerfect for practice	banNo MIDI No transpose function like the P71 banThe sound comes from internal speaker is quite at the full volume

4. Yamaha Arius YDP-181 – Best Console Digital Piano Under $2000 of Arius Series

Yamaha Arius series has been recommended by educators over time because of its sturdy design, stable functions, and of course, the realistic sounds and GHS keyboard.

And Yamaha Arius YDP-181 is probably the best digital piano under $2000 from the series.

Unlike the 3 above, YDP 181 is a console-style digital piano. It’s designed for home use, which is less mobility but also provides better realistic playing experience.

It also comes with the furniture-style cabinet and 3 pedals. So, you don’t need to purchase additional pedals or stand. Moreover, the sound is often fuller and richer than portable ones because of the resonance effect from the cabinet.

Its appearances are also better than the portable ones. It’s can be a nice decor to your home.

Touch

YDP-181 is also built with Yamaha’s GHS system. The bass keys are heavier than the treble ones.

You can also adjust the weight of keys by choosing from 4 options like the Yamaha DGX-660 above: Soft, Medium, Hard and Fixed.

Sound

YDP-181 also uses Pure CF Sound Engine, which sampled the sounds from Yamaha’s CFX 9’ concert grand piano. 

Moreover, YDP-181’s sounds are richer, fuller, and bolder than the 3 above because of the resonance effects comes from the cabinet aforementioned.

The video below shows you how good the sounds of Yamaha Arius YDP-181:

Yamaha Arius YDP-181 Sound Demo

Highlight Features

• 192-note polyphony
• iOS Compatibility: You can connect YDP-181 with iOS devices by Lightning-USB Camera Adaptor or wirelessly using the Yamaha UD-BT01
• 14 different high-quality voices: It’s just like the Yamaha P115 and P71: Stay focus on the piano
• “Half-pedal” ability: The amount of sustain will increase by how firmly you press down the pedal
• Cabinet enhances the sounds’ quality
• 10 demo songs and 50 play-along songs with a songbook
• 7-segment LED screen
• 2 headphone jacks: This feature is brilliant: Only you and your teacher can listen to the sounds of the piano. You can even use one jack for listening, one jack to connect with your computer to record the sounds directly on it
• Elegant and simple design: It’s covered by dark rosewood, which will be a great decor to your room
• 3-year manufacturer’s warranty

Buying Package

The piano with furniture-style cabinet, a 3-pedal, a songbook, and the bench are included in the buying package. You don’t need to spend extra money on other things.

Other Advice On Yamaha P115

I think the only downside of YDP-181 is when playing lightly or softly it’s a bit too stiff. Yes, the keys are sturdy and quite, but it doesn’t press down as easily as most uprights.

It has both advantage and disadvantage: Your fingers will be stronger but it’s quite hard for young children.

Pros	Cons
Realistic sound by Pure CF Sound Engine and the cabinet checkGHS system for the keyboard check2 headphone jacks check“Half-pedal” ability Elegant and simple design checkPerfect for practice	banNot very portable banMaybe out of budget for beginners

5. Alesis Recital – Best Affordable Digital Piano

Yes, the last one is from Alesis, not Yamaha.

Digital pianos often come from $400 to $2000 and Alesis Recital is an exception. It just costs around $200-$300 (for full accessories).

Of course, it can’t compete in all aspects with the 4 above but you will get what you pay for.

It still has decent touch and sound, a great starting digital piano for beginners.

Touch

Alesis Recital is built with full 88 semi-weighted keys: It adds more resistance when pressing the keys.

You can adjust the touch level of the keys in the Advanced Function Mode.

I have to note that the feeling can’t be as realistic as fully-weighted keys like the 4 digital pianos above. However, it’s still good for beginners since their fingers aren’t really strong.

Sound

Although Alesis has premium sounds and 20-watt built-in speakers, the resonance effect is limited. So, the feeling of playing the real piano isn’t really good.

However, Its sounds are better if you use the headphones.

So, you will find that the sounds are neither a toy nor a grand concert piano.

And below is a demo video of Alesis Recital:

Alesis Recital 88-Key Digital Piano

Highlight Features

• Fully portable use with D batteries
• 128-note polyphony
• Skoove 3-month premium subscription: This is a great deal for beginners to learn with interactive online lessons
• Have all necessary connections: USB-MIDI connectivity, headphone jack, pedal input, stereo aux output
• 5 different voices

Buying Package

It comes with 2 options: The cheapest one just have the digital piano and the power adapter. The second option has a bench, a stand, and a sustain pedal.

However, it would be cheaper (maybe even better quality) if you buy the stand and sustain pedal separately.

Other Advice On Alesis Recital

The volume: Many reports that the sound was too quiet after working for a period of time. It mostly because the volume setting has been changed accidentally in ADVANCED mode. You can simply reset the setting by following the instruction in the user manual.

Feeling of the keys: The keys are somehow like the plastic ones from a keyboard. It can be slippery if your fingers are moist.

The advanced setting: There are many adjustable setting on this keyboard. You have to read the user manual closely to know how to access the things you need. It can be confusing for many.

Pros	Cons
Great for the price checkSemi-weighted keyboard checkEnough functions for practice checkSimple and compact design Small space needed and easy to move	banThe adjustable setting isn’t friendly

Digital Piano Buyer’s Guide

Digital pianos are designed for 2 major purposes:

1. Practicing and developing piano techniques – an affordable alternative to an acoustic piano
2. Making and producing music

Depends on the 2 purposes above, we will have a clear look at what are the most important things when choosing a digital piano.

The following aspects of a digital piano are listed from most important ones to the least:

1. Types of Digital Piano

Below is a comparison table shows you the differences between 4 digital piano types:

	Compact/portable digital piano	Console-style digital piano	Stage digital piano	Digital grand piano
Price	$200-$800	$800-$2000	$2000-$5000	$5000+
Mobility	Easy	Easy	Easy	Difficult
Lifespan	5-10 years	5-10 years	10+ years	10+ years
Space needed	2-3 feet width 4-5 feet length	2-3 feet width 4-5 feet length	2-3 feet width 4-5 feet length	5 feet width 5-8 feet length
Best Use For	Furniture for home; beginners, intermediates, and even advanced players	Beginners and intermediates on a budget	Advanced performers and music producers	Luxury decoration; intermediate and advanced pianists.

2. Number of Keys

A standard keyboard of an acoustic piano has 88 keys. Electric keyboards and digital pianos often have 88, 76, or 61 keys.

For music production, 76 keys are enough since 99% of modern pieces aren’t difficult enough the use all of 88 keys.

For piano practice, 88-key is the must.

3. Action Type

1. Non-weighted: Most organs and entry-level keyboards have non-weighted keys. It does not good for both piano practice and music making.

2. Semi-weighted: Spring-loaded mechanism makes pressing the keys more resistance than the non-weighted. It’s decent for music making, ok for beginner pianists.

3. Fully-weighted (hammer action): This type of action is designed to replicate the action of an acoustic piano. It’s ideal for piano practice!

One of the best fully-weighted mechanism is produced by Yamaha: It’s the Yamaha’ Grade Hammer Standard: The keys on the low end are heavier than ones on the high end.

4. Touch-sensitivity

It’s a must feature of every digital piano, which means the volume comes from the instrument will be loud or quite depending on how hard or soft you press the keys.

Most $150+ keyboards have touch-sensitivity regardless of the action type. However, all fully-weighted digital pianos have the ability to adjust the touch-sensitivity.

5. Sound Quality

For music production, we should look for the one which has many tones and features. The quality of sounds doesn’t need to be super realistic. However, the higher the sounds’ quality, the better.

For piano practice, we don’t need a ton of voices. The most important tone is the piano sound. It must simulate the sounds of an acoustic piano as realistic as possible.

5 features above are the must-knows for both music production and piano practice purposes.

And below are 6 additional features which will enhance the playing and learning experience, especially for music making. They aren’t the requirements for piano practice.

6. Other Features

6.1. Polyphony

Polyphony is the number of notes a digital piano can produce at the same time.

Most digital pianos have 64, 128, and 192 or 256-note polyphony

Let’s see how a digital piano uses polyphony memory:

1. Using sustain pedal, sound effects (reverb, chorus), dual mode, or metronome will use up the notes of polyphony. For instance, when you’re pressing the pedal, the earliest notes continue to sound while you are adding new ones. The digital piano uses its memory capacity to keep all the notes sounding.

2. Playing along with a song playback or auto-accompaniment.

The digital piano will start to drop the earliest played notesif reaching the polyphony cap to free up memory for the new ones.

if you’re using a digital piano for piano practice, you won’t need to worry much about polyphony. Because we only use piano tone and sustain pedal for some beats.

Otherwise, for music production, 128 notes of polyphony or more are desirable.

6.2. MIDI Recorder

MIDI recorder is important for music production. It allows you to record several instrument sounds and play them back as a single song.

MIDI-recording captures the MIDI data: a sequence of notes, their duration, their dynamics, etc. Which means you can change the instrument sound after recording.

6.3. Audio Recorder

This function allows you to record the audio of the instrument and save it to the internal memory of the digital piano or external drive.

It records the audio purely and easily shares it on many platform.

6.4. Transpose and Tuning

It’s also an important function for music maker and accompaniment.

Transpose function allows you to increase or decrease all the pitch of the keyboard in semitone steps.

For instance, you’re familiar with all the chords in the key of C major but the singer is singing in the key of E major. You can just increase 4 semitone steps and play the chords in the key of C major!

Tuning function allows you to adjust the standard 440 Hz tuning in 0.1Hz or 0.2Hz. It is used to accompany well with other instruments.

6.5. Accompaniment

Accompaniment function are included in most electric keyboards and digital piano for music making. It allows you to make a complete song with rhythm, bass, harmony. It’s just like a full band playing a song together.

Your left hand plays the chords, while the other plays the main melody.

Needless to say, this function is worthless if your goal is practicing piano.

6.6. Modes

There are 3 common modes in a digital piano for playing 2 instrument sounds at the same time:

1. Duo (or duet): This mode allows two people play the same pitch at the same time. It is useful when learning with a piano teacher: your teacher plays on the left side, and you play the exact same keys on the right side.

2. Dual (or layering): When you press a key, two different instrument will sound simultaneously. The most common combination is piano and string. You can try any kind of combination to create new interesting sound.

3. Split: Half of the keyboard is one instrument and the other is another instrument. This mode is commonly used in Jazz.

6.7. Lesson Function

Some digital pianos have built-in lessons and some are connected with other devices with many online learning platforms.

Conclusion

The digital piano which managed to stand out to us is Yamaha DGX-660.

It has a reasonable price and suitable for both practicing piano and making music.

In case you feel that we left out some other great digital piano, don’t hesitate to let us know.

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