You have weighed up the pros and cons, all the types of piano, and you have decided that a digital piano will meet all of your needs. The problem is that all of the music shops give you different advice and you aren't sure which way to go! How can you decide which are the best digital pianos? You may have tried printing out information on the various models from various web sites, and taken them to your local music shop, but you found that you are still struggling. So what's the problem here?
A typical music shop will have many different digital pianos -- different makes, each with different sizes, control arrangements, and capabilities. Some of them look reasonably simple, with just a keyboard and little else; others are covered with controls, buttons, sliders -- it's all too much!
You are likely to find that each shop will recommend a different keyboard. In one store they may suggest that the Yamaha, and provide a demonstration that "proves" their assertion. Then you go to another store and they say that the Roland is the best, and provide various pieces of evidence that "proves" their assertion. You ask this store why the previous one said the opposite, and they say that the other store doesn't know the market, they don't understand the technical details or your requirements, or they may have a different deal with the manufacturers or suppliers.
You might think that you could ask a storekeeper for advice, but most of the large stores will tend to pressure you into buying the piano they have overstocked, or that they make most profit on, or that the manufacturer has provided incentives for -- the point is that you cannot always rely on them being independent and impartial.
I have looked over a range of digital pianos, and here are my findings:
The most popular digital piano is made by Yamaha -- it is the best-selling digital piano by a large margin. Yamaha have been making musical instruments for a long time -- take a look at the symbol on a Yamaha motor bike: it's a tuning fork! Yamaha build their digital pianos so that they give the player an experience that is very close to playing a real piano, and the sound it makes is based on a sample from one of their concert pianos. Yamaha digital pianos are an excellent buy.
Another keyboard manufacturer that has the same name as a motorbike manufacturer (but in this case is not related) is Suzuki (as in the Suzuki Musical Teaching Method that you may have heard of). Many of the musical instruments that Suzuki make are very fine -- such as guitars, violins, recorders, and harmonicas -- however I was very disappointed indeed with their digital keyboards: they have a poor action, the sound quality is poor, and they just feel cheap to me. I would avoid.
One of the popular digital keyboard manufacturers is Casio , and their first products were almost toys, and were more oriented towards children and dabblers. Now, however, their quality has improved enormously and Casio digital keyboards are one of the best on the market. They remain excellent value for money -- not as good as the Yamaha or the Roland, perhaps -- and are a great way to start playing the piano.
Digital pianos from Roland are quality-built, and the piano tone is very good. Roland has an extremely high quality brand, and rate their quality above offering lower prices. Roland digital pianos' sound is based on samples from a Steinway grand piano, and is a good quality piano to buy.
Korg produce digital pianos at the top end of the market, as well as concert pianos; their digital pianos are similar in function to those produced by Casio. Their price is reasonable, but in general their sound quality and performance are not really as high as Casio, Yamaha, and Roland.
Ketron is another manufacturer of good quality digital pianos, but they tend to be much more expensive than the others we have considered here.
A third "K" digital piano manufacturer is Kurzweil . They produce good quality digital pianos, but I know they are not to everyone's taste. Probably best to try one out before buying.
You may also see Kawai and Gem digital pianos for sale, but in my opinion their sound quality and keyboard action tend to be poor, and I would tend to avoid them.
On balance, then, when it comes to the best digital pianos, I would suggest going for a Yamaha or Roland if you can afford one; a Casio is a very good compromise if you cannot.
When you have your digital piano, you will want to learn how to play it properly so that you get full enjoyment out of your investment. If going to actual piano lessons with a real person doesn't appeal to you, there are some excellent courses available from web sites on the Internet. Try to make sure the course you choose allows you to go at your own pace , and provides a large number of sound samples for you to play along to -- and ideally has video elements too, so that you can see what you are supposed to do.
