Digital Piano Guide – What to Look for When Shopping

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Buying the best digital piano can be a very difficult endeavor—especially if you don’t know much about the instrument in the first place.  This guide is written to help you choose the best piano for your needs.

To begin with, you need to realize that the digital piano isn’t the same thing as an “acoustic” piano.  A digital is a copy of a classic piano is.  However, instead of hammers and strings, it uses digital sounds, speakers, and amps.  It was made as a means to imitate the real sound of the classic piano.  Many people refer to it as a digital piano due to its portability, volume adjuster, voice controls, and so forth.

What you need to realize when buying a digital piano is how closely it resembles the acoustic piano in terms of sound and “feel”.  Do the keys move under your fingertips the same as those of an acoustic piano?  Sometimes, most digitals have damaged spring action on the keys.  This means the sound of the tone could be affected.

One thing you can do is bring a good set of headphones with you.  That way, you can practice a bit and check the sound out.  Furthermore, headphones can help you to distinguish faint defects that even the speakers wouldn’t be able to detect.  Don’t hesitate to try out different brands so that you can compare the sounds.  Don’t worry about the brand or price so much as how you feel about the sound when buying digital piano.

Don’t forget to check out the tone range, either.  Does the tone seem to change whenever you turn up the volume?  About when do you have to turn it down?  The digital piano must be consistent with its tone, no matter how high or low the volume is.  Always listen to how the sound ends.  Does it fade easily or linger too long?  If there is an acoustic nearby, try comparing the sounds of the two by playing a note and then a chord.  Listen for time lapses of the sound and sense for repeating patterns or loops.

Keep in mind also that the trebles should come from the right side and the bass should come from the left.  Hold down the sustain pedal and play two low C’s, if you can, in order to check out the harmony or polyphony.  It’s good if you can distinguish between the two low C’s when played simultaneously when looking for the best digital piano.  Most inferior quality digital pianos cut off one tone while being played.   Extremely poor quality digital pianos actually drop both notes prematurely!

Another thing you should check for the user-friendliness.  You should be able to understand the layout of the model.  Also, check to ensure that the buttons are functional.  The “special effects” buttons shouldn’t be very close to the keyboard, as you may hit one by accident and mess all the settings up.

Check the manual for alternate tunings, adjustable decay lengths, variable harmonics, etc.  These special effects can be useful when you play in a group.  You won’t have to go through any lengthy adjustment process with these facilities.  Sometimes a digital and best electronic piano offer various voices and tones for diversity in voice effects.  Some even have echoes, whistles, guitars, and other non-piano sounds!

Also, other accessories such as speakers and amps must be compatible with the brand or model you choose so that the sound produced will be great.  If you don’t think you’re capable of choosing a good piano, ask a friend or acquaintance to help you determine the sound-quality.  Still, you should ultimately go with whichever digital piano is comfortable for you to play.



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