Electric Piano Reviews

electric-pianos You can find all the electric piano reviews I’ve researched for and written about on the right-side menu of this page or in the chart below. You should come away with a better grasp of what type of electronic piano you want after looking at them.

There’s quite a large selection of keyboards available on the market, all with their strengths and weaknesses. The following sections highlight features to be aware of when trying to make a choice between different electric pianos.

You can also look at the comparison chart below to find out what features each piano has. Finally, you can compare prices at different web vendors to get the best deal possible.

Here’s a Comparison of Electric Pianos Currently On the Market:

(refresh this page to see other models)

General
	#1	#2	#3	#4	#5	#6
	Yamaha CP33	Yamaha YDP 181	Yamaha CP1	Korg SV-1	Yamaha P155	Casio CDP 100
Read Review
Compare Prices
Weight	39 lbs, 11 oz	110 lbs, 4 oz	59 lbs, 15 oz	73-key = 38.5 lbs 88-key = 45.3 lbs	37 lbs, 1 oz	24.7 lbs
Height	5-15/16 in.	33-9/16 in.	6.8 in.	6.1 in.	5-1/2 in.	5-3/16 in.
Depth	13 in.	20.25 in.	16.5 in.	13.66 in.	13-13/16 in.	10-15/16 in.
Width	51-2/3 in.	53-11/16 in.	54.5 in.	73-key = 45 in. 88-key = 53.3 in.	52-1/2 in.	52-2/16 in.
Main Features
# of Keys	88	88	88	73 or 88	88	88
Weighted Keys Weighted Keys: Weighted keys mimic the keys of an acoustic piano. They will be lighter on the lower notes, heavier on the higher ones
Touch Sensitivity Touch Sensitivity: Touch sensitivity means the harder or softer a key is pressed, the louder or softer the sound will be. Conversely, a piano with no sensitivity will have the same degree of loudness no matter how hard the keys are pressed.
Built-In Speakers Built-In Speakers: For pianos without speakers, either a pair of headphones must be used, or amplified speakers must be connected via the line-out jack	No	20W x 2	No	No	12W x 2	8W x 2
Polyphony Polyphony: The number of notes or sounds the piano can play simultaneously	64-notes	128-notes	128-notes	80-notes	128-notes	32
# of Voices # of Voices: Voices are the different types of pianos or other musical instruments (such as harp, organ, etc) that the piano can play	28	14	17	36	17	5
Reverb Effects Reverb Effects: Echo effects that can simulate playing the piano in different venues, such as a hall or an auditorium
Built-in Songs
Built-in Recorder Built-in Recorder: Does the device have built-in storage to save songs? If not, the piano can still save songs to a computer using either a MIDI or USB port
Metronome
Available Colors	Black	Rosewood	Black	Black with red/brown trim	Mahogany, Ebony, or Cherry	Black
Connections
USB Port
MIDI Connector
Headphone Jack
Line-Out Jack
Accessories
Footswitch Included
Power Supply Included
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	Yamaha CP33	Yamaha YDP 181	Yamaha CP1	Korg SV-1	Yamaha P155	Casio CDP 100

Why Buy an Electronic Piano?

The main reason someone is usually interested in electric pianos is because they want an easy way to bring the sound and feel of a real piano into their home, while avoiding the challenges an acoustic grand piano brings. There are also many features that a digital piano has that can’t be matched with a regular piano:

An authentic grand piano is VERY expensive, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars. Conversely, an digital piano is affordable for everyone

The real piano needs to be tuned regularly, adding more expense. Electric pianos need no tuning

Grand pianos are huge and you need lots of space to own one. An electronic piano keyboard can be put anywhere or stored away when not in use

Finally, the grand piano weighs almost a grand (well, at least in excess of 600 pounds). Your average keyboard weighs 50 pounds or less, meaning it can leave the house and go wherever you want

Here’s a short video of an electric piano, the Casio CDP-100, in action:

Grand Piano-Like Keys

Most digital keyboards employ keys that have the same ‘weight’ to them as an acoustic, meaning that as you play the lower notes, the keys will be more resistant, or heavy, as opposed to the higher notes. This feature will serve you well if you ever actually play on a grand piano – you’ll be used to the feel.

A lot of digital pianos will allow you to tailor the keys to your liking. In other words, you can adjust their sensitivity so that you get different levels of volume in relation to how hard you press the keys.

Keyboards Can Show You How to Play Piano

Some keyboard pianos can educate you on how to actually play piano, even if you have no experience. They do this by having you play along to built-in songs and lighting LED lights above the keys as each note is played. This way you can see the keys that you should press, and you can go as slow (or as fast) as you like as you start to figure things out. That’s money in your pocket you’re not shelling out for lessons

Can You Name That Tune?

More or less every keyboard these days has other musical instrument ‘voices’ that you can play as, not just the piano. Want to play the piano instead as a guitar, flute, or church organ? No problem, just flick a switch and you’re there.

Change the Depth of Field

Another standard feature on many pianos is being able to adjust the sound as if you are playing in a different environment. For example, even though you’re playing in just your regular old living room, you can make it sound like you’re in a grand old concert hall or large venue. On some you can even adjust the sound to be more happy-sounding or “bright”, as well as more subdued.

Your Own Music Studio

Lots of electric pianos give you the ability to mix together different tracks of music (like the voices mentioned above) and layer them with your playing in order to create your own unique multi-instrument compositions. Couple this with being able to hook the piano up to your computer and you can save your music, edit it later, and give it to friends to show off

What Else Should It Have?

Every keyboard nowadays is going to have a headphone jack. This comes in handy as you can use this in place of the built-in speakers when it’s late at night and everyone’s gone to sleep.

You also want to be sure there’s a line-out option so that you can connect your own set of speakers or a powered amplifier to the piano in case you need to boost it’s sound if you’re playing in a large space and want to make sure everyone gets the full effect of your performance.

Who Makes the Best Digital Pianos?

I’ve concluded that there are three major players on the electric piano playing field – Yamaha, Casio, and Korg. They offer many different types of models, most of which encompass many of the features I’ve mentioned here.

What’s Everyone Saying About These Pianos?

I read many an owner review about digital keyboards in general, and here are some highlights:

“The tone is ‘nearly’ perfect”

“The feel of the keys is close to that of a real piano”

“It sounds and feels great for a digital piano”

“…highly recommend this as a piano for people who don’t have the money/space for a real piano…”

What’s the Downside?

Well, not much to be honest. True aficionados will be able to discern the difference between an acoustic and an electric. Let’s face it, an electronic piano will never be able to TRULY match the feel and sound of the real deal.

That being said, most people won’t know the difference, and for those that do, most likely it won’t be a deal breaker, for I’m willing to bet that anyone that “in-tune” (pun intended) with the sound, already owns an acoustic and would have no need for a digital counterpart. The electric piano comes VERY close to getting it just right, and that, coupled with all its other advantages, makes it a more than acceptable choice.

(some links here are sponsored affiliate links. The owner makes commission if you buy after clicking these links. The owner is not a bona fide user of this product, but has thoroughly researched it and provided his personal opinion only)

Digital Piano Critic