How good are electronic 'pianos' these days?

Question

What advantages do they have over traditional pianos? Which are the best - in terms of quality, and of value?

Answer 1

They are very good. In particular, the action on my Yamaha Clavinova is pretty indistinguishable from the feel of a 'real' piano, so much so that for practice purposes you probably won't be able to tell the difference. In terms of sound, you have to pay a lot more to get one that really sounds identical to a real piano, but again for practice the lower-end ones (about £900) are perfectly fine.

The advantages are that they take up less space, are much less heavy, never need tuning, and you can use headphones if you don't want to disturb anyone.

Answer 2

All other things being equal, a real acoustic piano is always the ideal choice to learn on (there are some great deals out there on good used ones). Besides not being distracted by the 'jukebox' features and other bells and whistles found on many electronic keyboards, there is just no replacement (only substitutes) for the real action and sound of the hammer hitting the strings.

That said, a good digital piano is a good choice as well. You should look for touch/velocity sensitive weighted keys (you want it to feel close to a real piano). The two I'd recommend in order are:

1. Yamaha P-90
(The P-120 is the same but with built in speakers)

2. Korg SP-200

Neither one has built in sound, but you'll be able to use headphones right away. And you can add whatever quality of PA system you want beyond that.

This is just based on what I knew from about a year ago and are the ones that I would personally choose if I were you. There are surely other options out there but you can't go wrong with either of those. I think you can probably find any of those new or in good condition on ebay for around $1000 or less. Good luck!

Answer 3

They're fantastic basically and the more you spend, the better they get. I do a lot of work in studios and when we need a pianist, they'll usually turn up with their own. Normally Yamaha or Roland in the £900 - £1400 bracket, but you don't have to spend that much for something great. You'll get something very good from about £400 and up and then there's always second hand. The advantages are that they are portable and you won't need a piano tuner. Also an electronic piano is going to give you many different piano options from Baby Grand to Honky Tonk. There's a lot of snobbery involve from the purists and they'll tell you that one doesn't sound as good as the other etc etc...but I guarantee they'll sound great to you (you can't even give a piano away these days).

Answer 4

Actually, it's really hard to find an electric piano that plays similar to a traditional piano... for one, the weighting of the keys is completely different, so it's a different feel when you play and it takes a while to get used to how much more reactive electric pianos are to the touch. The tone quality is completely different naturally, because it is a recording of sound that you're getting when you play, but the benefit of that is that you won't ever have to tune it. Test out a few, the sound quality varies with every model, even within specific makes. It really depends on how much you want to spend, but I have a Yamaha P-120, and the weighting of its keys are much more similar to a regular piano than most electric pianos are. Plus, it's a lot more portable than a regular piano lol ;)
Comes in really handy and has a lot of features that are great, like a built in metronome, tone brilliance control (great to have so your tone doesn't clash with the acoustics of a room) and can record 3 tracks (that's more for fun for most people though lol), also allows you to change the sensitivity of the keys to your touch, which is great if you are a heavy handed player.
It's about $2500 though, so it really depends on how much you're willing to pay, but mine sounds great, and plays wonderfully. Good luck piano hunting! :)

Answer 5

The quality is really good. They sound as authentic as is possible, and tend to have other sounds too, such as harsichord and organ etc. The plus with an electric is it never needs tuning so will last a lifetime and wont need maintaining. They are easy to clean and a lot lighter than a piano.

If you want a genuine sound then you will have to buy a real piano. However an electric will give you an authentic feeling for a lot less of a price tag.

Answer 6

Depends on how much you spend. But mine is wonderful!except elecrtic pianos are not that good as actuals pianos because well...Remeber me you answered my question yesterday. i try to send you an email but it says that you havent confirmed your email so it wont go through. Plz confirm it so i can talk to you more about the sitiation. Bye, oh im also a pianist. im no Moztart but i get the job done lol.

Answer 7

It depends how much you spend.

Visit your local Roland dealer and ask them to demo one..
Personally I think they sound great!