Digital Piano Reviews - Best Digital Pianos of 2014
UPDATED REVIEW - June 25, 2014
Best Digital Pianos under $1000US
UPDATED REVIEW: June 25, 2014 - Yamaha, Roland, Kawai, Casio, Suzuki, Korg, etc...which one is best and which one should you buy?! Hello to everyone shopping for a digital piano. My name is Tim Praskins and I am a digital piano expert and have been teaching & playing on them for over 40 years (started teaching as a young teen:) and have taught 1000's of students during my extensive music career. I play acoustic concert grand pianos, digital pianos, and pro keyboards professionally (as well as play and teach guitar & organ) and do free digital piano consultations for schools, churches, piano teachers, studios, and families all over the world to help you decide what piano might be best for you in your price range. There are some people out there who say they specialize in digital pianos or have had some experience on them, but that does not necessarily mean they know what they are talking about (many don't). However, I do know what I am talking about when it comes to hundreds of different models of digital pianos now and in the past, and I am willing to share that info with you at no charge and explain it on your level and give you free personal advice. I do not have a retail store or warehouse because as a teacher & pro musician, I work out of a music studio and offer advice without needing to "sell" pianos.
There are 4 brands of digital pianos that I recommend right now which, in my opinion, are acceptable as good 88-key piano type weighted key action brands in the lower price range under $1000US. Those brands are Yamaha, Casio, Kawai, and Roland. There are other brands in the lower price range, but at this point don't have what it takes to make my acceptable list. There are some specific 2014 models under $1000 internet discount price that are currently available which I especially recommend. You can certainly get a good piano playing experience in this lower price range and it may not be necessary for you to spend more money (over $1000) on a digital piano, even if someone else says that you need to spend more money to get a proper piano. However, if you do have the budget to spend more than $1000 (up to $2000 or more), the quality of piano sound & key action reproduction in a few of those models are really good and can be even more enjoyable to play, especially if you have a higher playing skill level or just want a piano that sounds and plays even more like a real acoustic piano. *If you would like to learn more about the best digital pianos between $1000-$2000, go to my review of those pianos at the following link:
New Digital Pianos under $2000
Casio offers 7 models of piano type weighted key digital pianos under $1000US internet discount price including the basic CDP120 ($449US), the Casio PX150 ($499US), Casio PX350 ($699US), PX750 compact cabinet model ($799US - lower left pic), PX780 compact cabinet model ($999US internet discount price), and the AP250 full size cabinet model ($999US internet price - above left pic). Casio also offers a new Pro Digital Stage Piano called the PX5S at $999US internet price which has no built-in speakers and is primarily for people who want to perform on stage, church, in studio, etc, and will be using their own powered monitors or speakers, but want something a bit more flexible in terms of live instrument sound and effects along with controlling capabilities. Go here for my full PX5S review: Casio PX5S Review.
Yamaha currently offers 4 models including the P35 ($449US internet price), P105 ($599US - left pic), the new DGX650 at $799US), and the P155 portable piano ($999US internet price not incl stand, pedals, or bench). I recommend all of the Casio's and Yamaha's mentioned here although the Yamaha P35 and Casio CDP120 models are quite basic and use a lower priced key action, piano sound chip, speaker system, and pedal system. But they can be adequate for awhile depending on the need and budget.
Korg SP170S
Korg offers 4 models under $1000 including the SP170S ($499US), SP280 ($699US), the new LP180 ($699 internet price), and the LP380 ($999 internet price). I really don't recommend the Korg models (except for the LP380) because I just don't like the key action, dynamic range, and velocity sound response of the lower priced NH key action) as compared to other brands in this price range (although the regular piano sound itself is good), and these are the most important aspects in picking out digital pianos. The SP280 is the replacement of the older SP250 but unfortunately Korg changed the key action and downgraded it while putting the prior (better) key action on its higher priced models over $1000. So the best piano options in the lower price range are either the newer Yamaha or Casio pianos. Some of the Yamaha & Casio pianos I recommend are portable so you would need to purchase an optional furniture style stand (or cheaper metal stand), pedals, and bench to make it more complete. But even that expense should not put you over (or much over) $1000 if that's where you need to be.
Kawai ES100 w/opt stand & pedals
Kawai offers 1 new 2014 model that just came out which is called the ES100 portable digital piano at $799US internet discount price (not including optional 3-pedal crossbar unit and furniture stand). This is the first time the Kawai piano company has had a digital piano available in the US for under $1000 and I must say that it is very impressive. The ES100 hammer weighted action and acoustic piano type sound is excellent in it's price range and just may be be the best in its class. The ES100 is designed to be a lightweight portable piano replacement because of its minimalistic design and lack of some of the "bells & whistles" other pianos have. But if you don't need or want much in the way of extra features and just want a great piano playing experience in a low price range, the Kawai would be one to pick. It is better overall in my opinion than the Casio PX150 & Yamaha P105, (and also the higher price P155 - $999US), but the ES100 is also $200-$300 more than the Casio PX150 and Yamaha P105. But as they say, you don't get something for nothing in this world (unless you're the U.S. government:). Go to the link below to read my ES100 review.
Roland F20 with optional stand
Roland also just came out with a new 2014 portable digital piano with weighted key action which is the first one they've had under $1000, and it's called the F20 ($899US internet price) and has an optional furniture stand that's not included. It comes in two colors which are black & dark walnut (not available in the US) and also has a minimalistic control panel design with function buttons on the left side above the keys. The Roland F20 is loosely based off their F120R/RP301R digital pianos which have been out for a couple of years and the F20 has many of their features including the same key action and piano sound, same USB output and flash input, many of the same cool functions including wireless capability, but in a compact portable cabinet with a smaller internal speaker system including a nice metal damper/sustain pedal. At $899 the new F20 is Roland's lowest price digital piano and a much better product than the slightly higher priced F120 ($1299 internet price) in my opinion. However, I am not a fan of the F20/F120/RP301 key action that Roland calls Ivory Feel-G keyboard. I have played that key action many times in other Roland models and it feels sluggish, a bit unbalanced, and the key action is quite noisy (clunky going down) when you press the keys harder and more aggressively. The knocking noise that it creates when the keys hit bottom is quite distracting, especially at lower speaker volume. To me the key action is the single most important thing to get and that's where this piano primarily falls short (not a good place to fall short), but this new model does have some very nice features.
Adagio digital piano
All of these brands & models I mentioned here are the piano style weighted 88-key digital pianos, although the key action movement will be slightly different from one brand & model to another. They all have built-in speakers although the power & quality of the speaker system vary, and generally all of my recommended pianos are acceptable depending on your musical goals and experience. However, there are other brands and models out there in the lower price ranges that I recommend against because they are of much lower quality and do not play like a piano for student practice or recreational playing with regard to key action, piano sound, and pedaling. These pianos are what I call "off-brands" and they include (but are not limited to) Adagio, Suzuki, Williams, Adams, Robson, Artesia, as well as any spring action (non-weighted/semi-weighted) digital pianos such as the Yamaha DGX505, Yamaha YPG535, Kurzweil SP4-7, Yamaha Piagerro, etc. So be careful when looking for inexpensive pianos because the attractive cabinet you see on the outside may not reflect what's actually on the inside. I have seen some positive piano owner recommendations/reviews and on popular music store web sites for these "off-brand" pianos, but in my opinion these pianos are only a PSO's (piano shaped object) and other than cabinet design, do not resemble what an acoustic piano should play and sound like. If you have little experience playing real acoustic or digital pianos and purchase one of these off-brands, you may not discover or realize what you actually bought (how bad it is) until it's too late.
Artesia AP8 digital piano
Most of the off-brand digital pianos will create and foster bad playing habits in piano students because of the deficiencies in these pianos concerning their key actions, piano sound response, pedaling, and other aspects of piano playing. The Suzuki, Adagio, and Artesia brands (which I do not recommend) are normally found primarily at Costco on-line in the US, but that does not mean they are good musical instruments just because they are sold there. Nice, attractive exterior cabinets in digital pianos do not always mean those digital pianos are good for playing music correctly...even at minimum standards. Just because a digital piano is attractive on the outside does not it good on the inside with regard to key action, sound, realism, electronics, reliability, etc. In fact, some of the more basic looking pianos for less money in the good recommended brands do a much better job than some of the more attractive deluxe furniture style cabinet brands in the off-brands such as Artesia available at Costco US. I would suggest you stay away from these off-brands if you want a good piano playing experience.
Yamaha YDP135R
Of the four brands mentioned in the lower price range here, I believe Casio overall offers a noticeably better piano playing key action experience than Yamaha or Korg, although Yamaha has some very nice models at $1500US and above. The lower priced Yamaha P105 & DGX650 are also quite fun to play and certainly worth looking at and I do like them, but the new Kawai ES100 portable piano key action and piano sound is better in my opinion than Roland, Yamaha, Korg, and Kurzweil portable pianos under $900. But ultimately, all of these models I mentioned here would be fine, although everyone I talk to pretty much wants the closest reproduction a regular piano as they can get for the least amount of money. For many beginner or recreational piano players and students, it can be difficult for them to determine which piano actually does do the better job in terms of the piano touch, tone, and pedaling realism because sound and touch are normally a subjective thing. Also, to make matters more difficult, it's not likely you'll find all of these pianos in one place at one time to try them out, or even find some of them locally at all. One of the best things to do in my opinion is to your research and then listen to an experienced expert like myself and then you'll get a better idea of what might work best for you and your family.
With regard to beginner piano students and their music education, as a long time private & group piano & keyboard teacher, this is something I know a lot about. It is never too early or too late to start piano lessons and enter into the exciting & rewarding world of playing music. I teach and have taught students from 4 years old to 94 years old. Whether you play piano as a recreational hobby, or go on to do it professionally as many of my friends and some students have done, it's always a tremendous blessing for me to see people at any age enjoy the piano playing experience and bring music into their lives in a very personal way. The little girl in the left picture (she's my granddaughter:) is involved in piano lessons and she loves it whether she's playing on a big concert grand piano such as the Steinway 9' grand she is sitting at (above left pic), or whether it's at a digital piano utilizing iPad apps to further enhance the learning and playing experience.
If you want important info on the best way to proceed as far as lessons and learning go as well wanting to be sure you're getting the right instrument for your needs and budget, please contact me and I'll be happy to answer your questions. Also, click on the links below to read my reviews on these pianos under $1000.
Casio AP250 Review
Casio PX150 Review
Casio PX350 Review
Casio PX780 Review
Casio PX750 Review
Casio PX5S Review
Korg SP170S Review
Korg SP280/LP380 Review
Yamaha P105 Review
Yamaha DGX650 Review
Yamaha P155 Review
Roland F20 review
Kawai ES100 review
*Artesia AP8 Review
*Williams Rhapsody Review
*Williams Symphony Review
*Suzuki SD10 Review
*Yamaha YPG535 Review
* means not recommended
Casio PX780
Of all the digital pianos out there under $1000 I would say overall my favorite new cabinet piano under $1000US internet discount price right now is the 2013 model Casio Privia PX780 at $999US internet discount price (left pic). This piano really surprised me for its low price after I played it because it has a nicely designed compact cabinet with the 3 built-in full function pedals and slide out key cover, and it had a pretty big sounding acoustic piano tone with a wide dynamic range. The key action has a three sensor key technology not normally found in less expensive cabinet digital pianos until you get above $1600 in other brands (the Yamaha Arius series does not have this in any model). The Casio PX780 also has the synthetic ivory & ebony keys (normally found on pianos in higher price ranges), 128-note polyphony piano memory (which is more than sufficient in most cases), half-pedal recognition damper sustain pedal (a good feature for piano students and players), fairly realistic acoustic piano hammer (graded piano weighted) key action, direct USB output for instant connectivity with laptop and iPad (go to the following link to learn more about iPad apps: iPad Apps and learning piano), and hundreds of useful built-in educational features.
iPad app
There are some people who equate the name Casio and its lower prices with lower quality, and it is true that sometimes lower price CAN mean lower quality (especially in key action & piano sound) such as what I have experienced with the Williams, Artesia, and Suzuki digital pianos. When it comes to recognizable & respected brand names in the acoustic piano world, Yamaha & Kawai pianos have always been known to be in that recognized group and many pianists, piano teachers, churches, schools, and families do own Yamaha & Kawai acoustic pianos. But competitive Yamaha & Kawai digital pianos right now cost far more money than the new Casio pianos depending on the model. Casio actually is a highly respected Japanese technology company which has been in business approx 60 years (that's a very long time) having produced millions of electronic products including keyboards & digital pianos for about 30 years. Casio is not necessarily my favorite digital piano company because I don't actually have a favorite. Kawai, Roland, Yamaha, & Casio are all my favorites but each one does better in different price ranges and it also depends on your musical goals and budget as to which brand and model will be best for you.
Casio PX780 digital piano
In my opinion any of these name brand recommended pianos I mentioned under $1000 would be fun to own and play, but the Casio company has really outdone themselves with their new PX780 at $999US internet price and the only downside to the PX780 right now is that it seems to be selling out in the US quite fast based on what I am seeing lately and it's difficult to find one in person to see. However from the response I am getting from people who own them, it looks like this model is a "home run." But...even with all that being said, the Casio PX780 still may not be the right instrument for you. There may be a better option depending on your particular needs & musical goals so contact me before you make a piano purchase anywhere and I will give you free expert advice. Go to the following link to read my recent review on the Casio PX780: Casio PX780 review. Also, for just $100 more you might want to take a look at the Casio PX850 at $1099US internet discount price which I also recommend and is very popular throughout the US. You can read my review of that model at the following link: Casio PX850 review.
If you want more info on these and other pianos and lower prices than internet or store discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call me direct at 602-571-1864
* I recommend eMedia educational software. If you decide to make a purchase after clicking on link below, I have arranged a big discount for you direct with eMedia for their educational software and that discount price is displayed through this link only! I want to see everyone learn to play and enjoy piano!