When shopping for equipment a lot of questions arise especially when you contrast and compare different equipment based on price.
One of the popular questions I get from a number of music producers especially those are quite new to the production is “are digital pianos expensive?”
The truth is, yes, digital pianos are expensive and the reason for this is that the material and technology used to construct them is expensive. Onboard technology that comes with digital pianos to make them sound as real as possible is user friendly enough to give the best possible experience to the user. This high tech doesn’t come cheap which makes a lot of industry manufactures especially reputable ones to set the price high for digital pianos.
So, you have to brace yourself when looking to purchase a digital piano because more than likely be faced with an expensive price.
Digital Pianos and Prices
With digital pianos, there are basically three physical styles namely the slab, console and the grand. Picking which one is be best for you will be in accordance with your space limitations, furniture requirements and price.
Price being a huge deciding factor in choosing.
Slab pianos
Slab pianos usually range between $200 to over $10,000 depending on various specifications. Choosing a not so cheap and not so expensive option is really the best way to go because you can eliminate various issues that you may run into with cheaper models.
Console pianos
Console pianos usually come with their own stands as well as built-in pedal assemblies. They look just like upright acoustic pianos.
It’s quite common for console piano models in this category to be available in multiple finish options, including synthetic wood grain, real-wood veneers, and lustrous polished ebony often found on acoustic pianos which are fairly better models. Most console pianos range between $500 and $15,000.
As I earlier mentioned with slab pianos, going for a mid range price can be a good option for starters.
Grand style pianos
Grand style digital pianos are basically meant for large spaces.
These pianos are known for their elegant style which makes them the piano of choice for most highly furnished spaces.
They are quite pricey as compared to slab and console pianos. Grand style digital pianos usually start from $1500 and upwards.
Considerations
In the case of a fine digital piano, there are a number of factors that contribute to replicate the actual experience of making music on a fine acoustic grand piano plus adding enough functionality for them to be more than one instrument emulator.
The bare minimum is that the instrument should have 88 full-sized keys and a weighted touch-responsive keyboard which is a very key factor because it contributes a lot to the play-ability of the piano.
Enough to sound like the actual REAL instrument.
There are certainly several factors that have to be considered in selecting an instrument of this type.
One of these is the actual key weight referred to as “graded hammers”.
A highly experienced piano player or pianist would expect there to be a standard degree of key weight throughout the keyboard and for the weight of each key to slightly vary from the lowest keys to the upper register.
An experienced player of this nature can easily tell whether a digital piano is lacking or sufficient enough to pass for the real thing.
Furthermore, the lower keys are slightly heavier than the upper keys because the hammers on a grand piano vary from larger in the bass section to smaller in the treble.
Another factor is the sensitivity of the repetition speed of the keyboard.
A typical pianist requires that each key move quickly to allow for fast repetition found in complex finger movements.
It is important to choose an instrument that has three level of sensitivity to allow for repetition speed.
A third factor is the dynamic response of the keyboard or Volume.
Let’s face it, Music (especially when played on piano) requires that many varying levels of volume be achieved by the amount of pressure applied to each key.
That expressive nature of music can only be achieved when the keyboard properly responds to each nuance commanded by the pianists fingers.
The quality and sensitivity of a weighted keyboard can differ greatly by the experience of the manufacturer and the quality of the components and precision of the engineering.
It is for this reason that the pricing set by manufacturers differs.
Final Thoughts
The technology that goes into building digital pianos is advanced enough to make realism achievable. It is for this reason that most, if not all digital pianos are quite expensive.
