There are many types of digital piano brands available on the market for both home and professional use, but what are the best piano keyboard brands? Many brands share key features, such as polyphony, keyboard action, touch response, and sound quality. But, these can vary a great deal, and getting the right mix of these features within your budget requires a little research. A full buying guide is beyond the scope of this particular article; here we will focus on six well known digital piano manufacturers and find the brand that offers the best balance of features.
Best Piano Keyboard Brands: Yamaha
Yamaha has been making compact electric pianos and keyboards since 1983, and they are a well respected brand in this field. The designs are elegant, the keyboard action is excellent across the entire range, and the selection of tones are modeled on some of the finest pianos ever made. The current Yamaha lineup is split into three distinct product lines; they are Portables, Arius and Clavinova.
The Portables range includes the: P-45, P-121, P-125, DGX-660, and the flagship P-515. This is the cheapest range of digital pianos, the sounds are modeled on the Yamaha CFX concert grand, with built-in speakers, a matching furniture stand and plenty of connections.
The Arius range includes the: YDP-103, YDP-S34, YDP-144, YDP-S54, YDP-164, and the flagship YDP-184 model. This range is also modeled on the Yamaha CFX concert grand, but the form factor is more like a traditional upright piano. Every Arius digital piano has an authentic acoustic piano feel, three pedals for more expressive playing, and a pair of headphone outputs.
The Clavinova range includes the: CLP, CSP, and CVP series. These advanced models have tones modeled on the Yamaha CFX and Bösendorfer Imperial concert grands. Depending on the specific model, they may have built-in piano teachers, color touchscreens, and other features to enhance your playing experience.
For more details of our revew of Yamaha digital piano or keyboards, please check Best Yamaha 88-key Digital Piano and Which is Better? the Yamaha p115 vs Yamaha p125.
Best Piano Keyboard Brands: Roland
Roland is well known for its keyboards, synthesizers, and digital pianos, and they have an extensive lineup of high quality products. The entry level FP series are portable digital pianos that offer the ability to create your music anywhere. The FP 10, FP 30, FP 50, FP 60, and FP 90 all offer great keyboard action and a wide variety of tones to choose from. Each model has built-in speakers making them an ideal choice for smaller venues, and of course, there is connectivity for further amplification.
For those needing a more extensive or robust instrument, Roland offers three different stage pianos.
The RD-300NX is a state of the art, electronic piano that uses the well regarded SuperNATURAL sound engine used in many Roland products. The tones layers can be edited individually using a free app, and the action is very natural thanks to the Ivory Feel-G key bed.
The RD-2000 is a digital piano with a premium feel keyboard action for full expression, a pair of high quality sound engines, and advanced control features. This is an excellent master keyboard for a studio or live set with plenty of connectivity options. A pair of expansion slots are available to expand the sound palette further if you need more sounds.
The V-Piano is part of the popular V-series range of instruments such as drums, bass, guitar, synthesizer, and even accordions. This is a living instrument with a full ivory feel keyboard, plenty of stunning piano sounds, and all the connections that you will ever need. Every piano tone is digitally modeled and fully customizable to recreate many pianos or even a piano that has never existed.
Best Piano Keyboard Brands: Kawai
Kawai has incorporated a great deal of innovative technology into their digital piano instruments, but they have not lost sight of what’s important to the player. Many instruments in their lineup feature wooden key actions, fully weighted keys, soundboard speaker systems, USB, and Bluetooth digital audio and harmonic imaging sound technology.
The MP Series features the MP7SE and its larger sibling, the MP11SE. These are professional digital stage pianos with fantastic real time control features, hundred of great piano sounds, and a keyboard action that’s hard to beat. These instruments are a great option for players that need a roadworthy digital piano, but they also look great in a home studio or apartment for more casual players.
For those players that want a more traditional piano configuration, the CA, CN, CS Series, or ES Portables may be a better option. As the name would suggest, the ES Portables are easier to move around, and the other options are designed to stay in place. The CP Series is the largest in the range with a baby grand style that is wonderful to play and easy on the eye.
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Best Piano Keyboard Brands: Korg
Korg is a well regarded instrument manufacturer, and they have a wide selection of digital pianos from the tinyPiano (a toy piano for kids) right up to their flagship Korg Grandstage 88 Stage Piano.
The SP-170S is a fantastic example of a feature rich digital piano at the lower end of the Korg pricing spectrum. It has a stylish and simple design with a satisfying sound and a comfortable key bed. There are ten high quality tones available, including a pair of excellent concert grand pianos, and an instant recall button gets your sounds loaded quickly. The Naturally Weighted Hammer Action (NH) accurately simulates a real piano action, and the sensitivity can be adjusted for different playing styles.
For serious players, the Korg Grandstage 88 offers fully weighted hammer action, seven different sound engines, and advance performance controls. There are 500 sounds available at the touch of a button, including classic pianos, vintage analog synthesizers, and tonewheel organs. The acoustic piano engine is the SGX-2, which offers a natural and stunning tone, and every sound can be tweaked to meet your needs.
Best Piano Keyboard Brands: Nord
Nord has a well deserved reputation as manufacturers of instruments that are well thought and built to exacting specifications. Nord instruments are built by hand in Sweden, and they are professional grade products that command a higher price. But for many people, the attention to detail and higher quality is worth the additional premium.
The best way to access Nord digital piano sounds at a lower pricepoint is the Nord Electro 6. This instrument can create a wide variety of tones, including some excellent piano simulations. The acoustic, digital, and electric pianos from the Nord Piano Library are all present, and they can be layered with other patches. The “Advanced String Resonance” and new piano filters can accentuate brilliance or softness as needed. There are four dynamic curves to adjust and a soft release mode that make legato playing as realistic as you can get from a digital instrument.
Best Piano Keyboard Brands: Casio
Many piano and keyboard players will have started out with a cheaper portable Casio instrument. Casio has continued to make these entry level instruments such as their Casiotone range, but they also have some interesting Console and Stage Pianos that are well worth considering for those that want a little more.
Casio has 16 different Console Piano models from the entry level CGP-700 up to the PX-780. These instruments are stylish, they sound great, and they have a host of useful features such as color touchscreens, great key action, and built-in speakers.
Casio has 11 Stage Digital Pianos from the PX-160 up to the flagship CDP-350 with 88 keys and full hammer action. These stage pianos are designed to be light and easy to transport for those that want to play live or move the instruments around the home. They offer plenty of value to those that want to explore more serious playing on a modest budget.
Note that we have done plenty of research and collected the best casio digital piano and keyboard.
Final Decision
For this reviewer, the best piano keyboard brand is Yamaha at the moment. They have the widest range of instruments available, and there is a product to suit every budget. However, the quality of sounds and the keyboard action are high across the entire range.