10 reasons to buy a digital piano

I confess, up until pretty recently I was not a fan of the digital piano. In fact I would go so far as to say I was a digital piano snob... I would hear piano friends of mine extolling the virtues and I poo-pooed it all safely from behind the mahogany luxury of my gorgeous Steinway.

Maybe it is a reflection of my age - digital pianos were first introduced just over 25 years ago when I was a wee slip of a girl learning the piano.  And to be honest although they were seductively new and deliciously twinkly and addictive when they were first brought out they were frankly pretty terrible.  Even as I was flogging my way up the Associated Board Piano grades I could tell that the keys were much too light, plasticky, flimsy and spongy in their feel and nothing like a real piano. The touch sensitivity was non existent or if it did occur was so terrible as to be worse than nothing. The sound was incredibly bright and the sampling appalling. You couldn't really argue that it sounded much like a piano at all. Piano-shaped object (PSO) would be more accurate.

These digital PSOs also looked nothing like a real piano either, they were horrid-looking and  ugly, plasticky cases that didn't match any type of furniture in the room. Certainly not a thing of beauty to have in your home.

But, things have changed, and considerably for the better. I am a convert, and if your digital piano skepticism is a hangoverfrom your upbringing in a world of PSOs that played Fur Elise on continuous loop, then read on.

I'm not saying we should ditch all the lovely wonderful beautiful strokable real pianos in the world. More that I can see that they have their place, and that a good digital piano is a million million times better choice than a ropey real piano. Here's why...

I am a music lover, and a piano-junkie. I just love the sound and feel of a traditional top class piano. But there's the rub... I love the sound and feel of a top class piano. I HATE the sound and feel of a shonky honky tonky piece of junk that noone has ever loved or cared for and that hasn't been tuned for ages. A bad piano is a horrible thing. And a bad piano is so often what kids and beginners have to start out learning on - and it is hard enough to learn the piano anyway. Why do we make it so much harder by giving the people who need reliability the most a piece of kit with uneven touch and notes that don't sound properly?

And that is one of the wonderful things about a really good digital piano. It is a bit like buying new world wine over a bottle of Bordeaux. You are unlikely to come up with that hidden gem, but it won't be a real howler either... It will be good and reliable and of exactly the type and quality you are expecting. Oh, and since it is electronic and makes annoying noises, your kids will love it, and might even want to do their practice a bit more!

1. You want a piano but you don't have enough space - digital pianos come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, just make sure you choose one with a full keyboard and full size keys.
2. You don't want the maintenance of a real piano - no need to tune a digital piano, saving £80-120 per year.
3. Your budget is limited - you can get a decent digital piano for £500.  An upright piano of the same budget would be very very unlikely to be of a similar playable quality, unless you havea benevolent uncle or piano store willing to do you an extremely generous deal.
4. You need to be able to move your piano around at home or put it away in a cupboard - buy a digital stage piano, for the same keyboard technology without the wooden casing
5. You want to be able to practice without making too much noise - digital pianos come with a volume control and a headphone socket so you can practice all night without disturbing the neighbours or waking the kids.
6. You want to record yourself playing - most digital pianos have a record and playback function so you can record yourself playing and then play another part along at the same time when the piano is in playback mode. Great for practicing the left hand and then the right.
7. You want the aditional flexibility of other sounds and effects - a digital piano will give you lots of other sounds to fiddle about with. What's more, your kids will love it, and they may just spend so much time fiddling about with the noises that they don't even notice they have done their piano practice at the same time!
8. You are a music student who needs to do a bit of composition - a digital piano is a great tool for students who want to transpose pieces, check their chord sequences or try out passages.
9. You fancy helping out at the school Christmas carol concert or playing at the old people's home - have digital keyboard will travel.  Pick a good quality stage piano, pack it into the boot of your car and you are away - carols at will wherever you can find a plug socket.
10. You want to be able to integrate your piano playing and music making with your PC - many digital pianos have USB ports which allow you to download new sounds or to upload your music into your computer.

All things are not made equal in the world of digital pianos, and by and large it is true to say that in this area as in most, you get what you pay for. Sad to say, that although some gorgeous digitalpianos exist on the market with all sorts of combinations of specifications to suit everyone, there are still some hideous PSOs around to trick and trap the unwary.

Sure, occasionally you might pay a little bit more for a known name than an unknown, but why is that? Probably because the quality control at the factory of the known name is better, as may be the quality of the components, workmanship and hence the quality of the end product.

Good names to look out for when buying a digital piano are - Yamaha, Roland, Korg, Classenti, Kawai and Casio.

Also, be aware of the following:

1. A digital piano will depreciate in value far faster than an acoustic piano - with new models coming out all the time technology moves on and your digital piano may be harder to resell than an acoustic equivalent.
2. If there is a problem with an acoustic piano a good piano tuner/repairer can usually fix it at relatively small cost.  This is not so with a digital piano.
3. Acoustic pianos coume with long warranties - digital pianos with much shorter warranties if bought new, and often no warranty at all if bought second hand or from EBay etc

Always buy from a reputable seller and if at all possible try before you buy.

Happy Playing!