{"id":284,"date":"2020-04-19T06:45:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-19T13:45:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2023-01-11T14:23:28","modified_gmt":"2023-01-11T22:23:28","slug":"cheap-vs-expensive-pianos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/cheap-vs-expensive-pianos\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Price Matter? (Cheap vs. Expensive Digital Pianos)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Does price matter? I\u2019m asked all the time which keyboard or piano is better for a beginner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And if you&#8217;ve ever looked for a new piano, you&#8217;ll know that there are a LOT of options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And things can quickly get &#8230; expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><video src=\"https:\/\/media.giphy.com\/media\/W1ScqStoh2xlqSIRYu\/giphy.mp4\" autoplay=\"autoplay\" loop=\"loop\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\" height=\"150\"><\/video><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Does it have to be that way?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>We&#8217;re going to put some to the test!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When it comes to finding the right <a href=\"https:\/\/imp.i114863.net\/O6MMr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">digital piano or keyboard<\/a> for you, everybody&#8217;s different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And if you&#8217;re a beginner it can be hard to know what is worth the money, and what&#8217;s just a waste of money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I&#8217;ve recruited <a href=\"\/blog\/november-vlog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kaitlyn<\/a> to test 6 different digital pianos and rate them out of 5 on how expensive she thinks they are! She has no idea which ones are the cheaper ones and which ones cost more than a used car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The goal is to determine whether the price matters! Especially for a beginner who might be looking for their own keyboard or piano. I&#8217;ll write out some of her reactions to each piano she tried, and then we&#8217;ll put the results at the bottom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong>Piano #1 &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/imp.i114863.net\/RyPrGg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Roland Go:KEYS<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kaitlyn&#8217;s notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It&#8217;s small (only 61 keys)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Has a nice springy feel, which makes it easy to play<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kaitlyn&#8217;s rating: 2 <\/strong>(1 is cheap, 5 is expensive)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong>Piano #2 &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/imp.i114863.net\/MXnqKK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Roland FP-90<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kaitlyn&#8217;s notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Beautiful to look at. Aesthetically pleasing<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A lot smoother to play than the Go:KEYS. Nice touch<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lots of cool buttons and features<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kaitlyn&#8217;s rating: 4<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong>Piano #3 &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/imp.i114863.net\/qnDKWy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Yamaha MX-61<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kaitlyn&#8217;s notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Small but has a LOT of features (it&#8217;s a synthesizer)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Keys aren&#8217;t as heavy &#8211; so it&#8217;s easy to play loud but harder to play soft<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nice feeling overall<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kaitlyn&#8217;s rating: 2.5 &#8211; 3<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong>Piano #4 &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/imp.i114863.net\/DV06Wn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Casio XW-G1<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kaitlyn&#8217;s notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Feel is nice &#8211; soft keys again (it&#8217;s also a synthesizer)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Don&#8217;t like the sound &#8211; doesn&#8217;t sound very &#8220;full&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Easy to play<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kaitlyn&#8217;s rating: 2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong>Piano #5 &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/imp.i114863.net\/0JQ7MR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Casio Privia PXS3000<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kaitlyn&#8217;s notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Feels like an acoustic piano<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Much heavier keys<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Keys look like real wood &#8211; which is nice<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kaitlyn&#8217;s rating: 3.5<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong>Piano #6 &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/imp.i114863.net\/P0jQzY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Roland RD-2000<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kaitlyn&#8217;s notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Feels like a higher-end piano<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Beautiful touch and feel<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>LOTS of features (which means $$$)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kaitlyn&#8217;s rating: She didn&#8217;t actually give one, but did guess this was the most expensive. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>The Results!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Out of all the pianos she tested, Kaitlyn chose the <a href=\"https:\/\/imp.i114863.net\/MXnqKK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Roland FP-90<\/strong><\/a> as her favorite and the one she would buy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But was that the most expensive?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are all the pianos listed in order from cheapest to most expensive. Did you guess them correctly?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/imp.i114863.net\/RyPrGg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Roland Go:KEYS<\/a> &#8211; $329<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/imp.i114863.net\/DV06Wn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Casio XW-G1<\/a> &#8211; $699<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/imp.i114863.net\/qnDKWy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Yamaha MX-61<\/a> &#8211; $769<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/imp.i114863.net\/0JQ7MR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Casio Privia PXS3000<\/a> &#8211; $849<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/imp.i114863.net\/MXnqKK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Roland FP-90<\/a> &#8211; $1949<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/imp.i114863.net\/P0jQzY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Roland RD-2000<\/a> &#8211; $2599<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong>Tips for buying a piano:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>At the end of the day, buying a piano comes down to personal choice as well as budget. But I do have a <a href=\"\/blog\/october-vlog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">few tips<\/a> that I always give students looking for a piano.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you can, try and <a href=\"https:\/\/imp.i114863.net\/kjgK4d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">get 88 keys<\/a>. It&#8217;s a completely different experience and the weighted keys are much better for helping you develop your finger strength and muscle memory. If you can&#8217;t afford an 88 key piano, then don&#8217;t go any lower than <a href=\"https:\/\/imp.i114863.net\/a1RoNM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">61 keys<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And make sure it is touch-sensitive. That means when you play it softly, the sound is soft. It&#8217;s almost impossible to develop your touch and feel without a touch-sensitive piano.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And finally, make sure you&#8217;re only paying for the features you NEED and will actually USE. A lot of the pianos we tested here have so many features that the average beginner might never need. If you&#8217;re not going to use it &#8212; don&#8217;t pay for it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you have any other pianos that you would like us to test? Or any tips for someone looking for their own piano? Comment to let me know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And as always, have fun!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>*This article contains affiliate links, which means we might earn a small commission from the product seller if you make a purchase. For more info, check out our <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/privacy\"><em>privacy page.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<iframe class=\"email-form-include-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/weekly-email\" frameborder=\"none\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is a piano better because it costs more? We put some to the test&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1108],"tags":[865,1069],"class_list":["post-284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musicianship","tag-affiliate","tag-gsotp"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10629,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284\/revisions\/10629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}