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Reasons to buy a digital upright piano
Digital upright pianos imitate the look and feel of an acoustic upright piano, such as this one:
They also had added features, such as different sound effects, internal metronome, and transposition, that are not featured in an acoustic upright piano.
The newest models of digital upright pianos are superior in the fact that they feel and sound just like a real piano! There are also certain reasons to look at for purchasing a digital upright piano. By reading the following, you will gain an understanding of the good reasons to buy a digital upright piano.
Cost – Generally, a good quality upright piano usually starts at around 3000 dollars. With the additional cost of maintenance fees, such as tuning and key repairs, you will also spend extra money to keep an acoustic upright piano in shape. The best upright piano featured in this article costs a little more than 3000 dollars, but is in many ways superior to an acoustic upright piano. You also will not have to spend so much money on repairs and maintenance fees. It is also an excellent decision to buy a digital upright piano if you are a beginner, and you can experiment to see if you would later want to invest more money into buying a high quality acoustic piano.
Privacy – Acoustic pianos are loud, and can be frustrating for neighbors to hear! If you live in a setting where you need to practice in silence, then a digital upright piano is the right type of piano to purchase. You can use the headphone jack in the electric upright piano so you do not disturb others as you are playing!
6 Best Digital Upright Pianos
These best electric upright pianos were chosen based on price, affordability, quality, and customer satisfaction. Please take a thorough read through each best electronic upright piano to learn more about the digital upright piano you may purchase!
Roland
As of 2019, Roland has 5 different series of digital upright pianos. Let’s take a lot at each of them!
Roland LX Series
The Roland LX is the most expensive Roland digital upright pianos.
Features:
- Authentic feel of a real piano with ebony/ivory feel and superb keyboard action
- Bluetooth speaker system
- SuperNATURAL Piano Modeling technology – sound is created by the instrument and not from a sample
Personally, I feel that this feels like a real acoustic piano, and has superb sound. I really enjoy this piano!
You can see a recording of Liszt’s La Campanella on the Roland LX 17 here:
Roland HP
Features include
- Headphones 3D Ambience – special audio setting for optimal headphone experience
- Wood sides on weighted keys
- Bluetooth capability
You can see a comparison between the Roland HP and LX here:
Roland DP
Roland really outdid itself with this high quality digital upright piano.
The keyboard on the Roland DP 90SE has Escapement, which really gives it an authentic piano feel. Other digital piano keyboards that do not feel quite realistic usually do not have the escapement feature. The escapement is the heart of piano keyboard action, and without it, you are left with a clumsy feeling keyboard. The keyboard also has a Ivory Feel, so your fingers will really have the sensation of playing on an authentic piano.
With Note Voicing, a controller in the Roland system that allows you to change volume, pitch, and tone for each piano key, you will have supreme control over the instrument.
This keyboard is also compatible with Roland’s Apple apps.
By clicking on this link for the Roland DP – 90SE, you can read more about this excellent digital upright piano and even watch video performances on it from the Roland website.
You can also watch this demo of the Roland DP – 90SE –
Click here for reviews and pricing on Amazon.com!
Roland RP
This Roland digital upright piano has teaching functionality! With its low pricing, this digital upright piano is very good for beginners!
The Roland RP series is the most affordable Roland digital upright piano.
Features:
- Use with Piano Partner 2 app with bluetooth connection.
- Weighs around 80 lbs.
Click here for Reviews and pricing on Amazon.com!
Roland F
The Roland F Series digital uprights are the most compact uprights in the Roland series.
Features include:
- Progressive Hammer Action (PHA-4) Keys and feel of Ivory.
- SuperNATURAL Piano sound engine
- Bluetooth connection
Click here for reviews and pricing on Amazon.com!
Yamaha Clavinova
The Yamaha Clavinova series of digital upright pianos are a classy and luxuries series. In comparison to the Arius Series, these upright digital pianos are of a higher quality and are pricier.
There are 3 type of Clavinova pianos, the CLP, the CSP, and the CVP.
Let’s look briefly at each group!
Yamaha CLP
It features GrandTouch Keyboard action that has similar keyboard weights used in Yamaha grand pianos for a very realistic feel.
Uses 300W Spruce Cone speakers. Yes, the speakers contain Spruce Cone Wood, the same wood used in Yamaha acoustic pianos.
Yamaha CSP
The Yamaha CSP are trainer pianos. This means they are built with instructional aids, such as light up keys.
The CSP 170 is the higher quality of the two. It has wooden keys, more powerful speakers and amplifier.
The CSP 150 is the most affordable Yamaha CSP Clavinova. The keys are made of plastic.
You can see a review of the Yamaha CSP here:
Yamaha CVP
The CLP is the most quality of the Clavinova series. The reason why it is placed at the bottom of the Clavinova series is because of the pricing. At this price range, I personally recommend going for an acoustic piano.
This piano series
Some key features are:
- NWX or Natural Wood X keyboard. The keyboard has escapement as well!
- Keys made of synthetic ivory for realistic feel
Yamaha Arius
Yamaha offers a few different series of digital piano uprights. We will be looking at the series set at intermediate pricing and is the most affordable.
The Yamaha Arius is a very well known and popular digital upright piano. The Yamaha Arius is the most affordable digital piano series of Yamaha. As of 2019, there are 10 different models of the Arius digital upright pianos.
The YDP stands for “Yamaha Digital Piano”.
Consider looking at these digital uprights if you were originally planning for a used acoustic upright.
Yamaha Arius YDP 103
The Yamaha Arius YDP 103 is the most affordable Yamaha Arius. Consider buying this if your budget is under 1000 and you really want a digital upright piano.
Features include:
- Graded Hammer Standard Keys. These keys are weighted and the weight is different depending on the note.
- Half sustain pedal
With a 6W Amplifier, this best digital keyboard will not produce much sound. I recommend using headphones with this keyboard.
Click here for reviews and pricing on Amazon.com!
Yamaha Arius YDP162B
The Yamaha Arius YDP-162 has Graded Hammer action that is weighted to emulate the action of a real acoustic piano. The Synthetic Ivory keys also gives this best digital upright piano the feel of a high quality acoustic piano.
With Yamaha’s PureCF Sound Engine, this digital piano reproduces a very realistic piano sound. Yamaha created this sound engine by capturing audio from their concert grand pianos.
The Acoustic Optimizer in the Yamaha Arius enriches the overall sound by adjusting frequency and resonance. The 128 polyphony also helps with creating a rich and powerful sound.
You can read more about the Yamaha Arius YDP-162 on Yamaha’s website.
Watch this expert review by Adam Berzowski of the Yamaha Arius YDP162
Click here for reviews and pricing on Amazon.com!
Artesia DP-7 Deluxe Digital Upright Piano
The Artesia DP -7, a best digital upright piano by Virgin Musical Instruments has a beautiful cabinet finish design.
Virgin Musical Instruments has several other digital upright pianos that may be worth your time to look at.
This Artesia digital upright piano has weighted keys with excellent response so you can have sensitive playing with this musical instrument.
The internal metronome in this digital piano allows you to choose from many time signatures, such as 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, etc and many different tempos for quality practicing.
There is a USB port to plug in other devices such as a phone.
This device also has a keyboard split function, in which one side of the keyboard can have one sound effect, and the other side of the keyboard has another. The transposition feature allows you to easily change keys while playing.
The power safe mode is another excellent feature. If you forget to turn off this instrument after playing it, the instrument will turn itself off, which allows you to save a large amount of money from energy costs.
Watch this video to see a demonstration of the Artesia DP-7
Click here for reviews and pricing on Amazon.com!
MEDELI DP760K
The Medeli DP760K is superior from other digital upright pianos with its complex interface. With a LCD Touch Screen, you will be able to easily navigate through the 600 different sound effects that this instrument has to offer! There are also many features on the interface, such as transposition and drum effects, which gives this digital upright piano the same features of a high quality keyboard synthesizer!
You can see close up pictures of the Medeli DP760K here:
The Medeli DP760K also has an excellent recording feature, which allows you to record with a 16 track sequencer and make a large number of recordings. This is most ideal for serious musicians who wish to record their performances on this quality instrument
With the weighted keyboard K Tri Sensor Piano action and superior interface, you have a combination of a digital upright piano and synthesizer with the Medeli DP760K!
You can see a demonstration of the Medeli DP760K with this following video:
Click here for reviews and pricing on Amazon.com!
Williams Rhapsody 2
The Williams Rhapsody 2 digital piano is the most affordable digital piano on this list! This is an excellent starting piano for those who are beginning on the piano.
The Williams Rhapsody 2 has everything to need to play the piano – weighted keys, sustain and soft pedals, music stand, stereo speakers, and 64 polyphony. In addition, there are vibrato and modulation features which gives you more options to play with.
You can also choose from 12 different sound effects for a more interesting musical experience.
Also included is a USB/MIDI connection for phones and mp3 players, quarter inch jack, and head phone jack for private playing.
You can see this demonstration of the Williams Rhapsody 2 with this YouTube video:
Click here for reviews and pricing on Amazon.com!
