If you’re looking for the best portable digital piano to take to lessons or the homes of your friends or family (or even to gigs!), we’ve done the work for you.
We spent dozens of hours choosing the top digital pianos, and in our opinion the best-value model is the Hamzer 61-Key Digital Musical Piano Keyboard. The Hamzer has a range of features at a rock-bottom price.
The two other models that round out our top 3 are:
- Best portable stage piano: Casio PX350
- Best portable piano under 2000: Korg SV188BK
Our Picks:
Best Cheap Portable Keyboard
Hamzer 61-Key Digital Music Piano Keyboard
If you are looking for an excellent range of sound that is authentic without having to spend a lot of money, this portable digital piano from Hamzer is probably our top pick for the best cheap portable digital piano.
In fact, it will cost you less than $100, and it is loaded with cool features. This is an ideal beginner’s keyboard, with an integrated learning system with three teaching modes and 11 notes that are marked specifically for learning.
It has 61 standard sized keys, and loads of great features, including 100 timbres, 100 rhythms, 61 keyboard percussions, and 10 demo songs.
Best Portable Stage Piano
Casio PX350
The Casio PX350 is the next generation of the Privia line of digital pianos, with a powerful sound engine that gives you the perfect sound with full detail and expression. The keyboard action gives you the grand piano experience, in a portable version that you can take anywhere.
This digital piano has 88 keys made from simulated ebony and ivory, each with three sensors that allow you to play quickly and accurately.
This is a great portable digital piano for advanced pianists, with loads of cool features, including 250 built-in instrument tones, making this our pick for top portable digital piano under $1,000, as well as the quality portable digital piano with weighted keys.
Best Portable Piano Under 2000
KORG SV188BK
Another popular name in digital pianos is KORG, and the SV188BK shows us why: this has a sound that is one of the closest you will find to an acoustic piano. In fact, it has three piano sounds, one upright, and two grands.
It also has 36 of the most popular vintage keyboard sounds, and of course, a full 88 keys with RH3 graded hammer action. It also has a three-band equalizer, six pre-FX, six amp models, six modulation FX, six reverb/delays, and a valve reactor.
It comes with a damper pedal, and has stereo outputs and inputs, as well as a headphone output. It is our top pick for best 88-key portable digital piano.
How to Choose a Quality Portable Digital Piano
Having a full-sized digital or acoustic piano is a wonderful thing, but it can also be inconvenient, because the only place you can play it is at home.
Fortunately, there are so many great portable digital pianos out there that you’ll have no problem finding one that has the same feel and sound quality as a full-sized piano – and you can take it pretty much anywhere!
There are several factors to consider when choosing the portable digital piano for your needs:
There are several factors to consider when choosing the top portable digital piano for your needs:
- No matter what level of playing you are at, you need something that has great sound quality
- The piano should also have as many keys as possible – preferably a full 88 keys, just like a traditional acoustic piano
Other features to look for when choosing a quality portable digital piano include:
Tones and Sounds | ||||
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Tones and Sounds | |||
Tones and Sounds | ||||
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Some digital pianos come with hundreds of tones and sounds. But, to be perfectly honest, it is highly unlikely that you will ever use more than a dozen or so of each, once you find a combination that you like. |
Polyphony | ||||
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Polyphony | |||
Polyphony | ||||
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The number of notes that the digital piano can produce simultaneously should be at the maximum. The best number is 128, but you can find some keyboards that offer 256-note polyphony. |
Touch Response | ||||
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Touch Response | |||
Touch Response | ||||
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Don’t focus on the bells and whistles. Instead, see what kind of touch response a keyboard has. There should be a bit of resistance, rather than a hammer effect. Also, don’t bother with “touch sensitive” keyboards that tend to have poor sound quality. |
Weighted Keys | ||||
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Weighted Keys | |||
Weighted Keys | ||||
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A quality digital piano will have weighted keys that will let bass notes play heavier, while allowing the higher notes to play lighter, so you get just the right sound every time you play. |
Health Benefits of Playing the Piano
Did you know that there are health benefits from playing the piano?
- For starters, it helps to relieve stress. It is true that music does soothe the savage beast!
- It can help to improve concentration, as well as split concentration.
- Playing the piano can help to stimulate the brain, thereby improving the neural connections.
- It also helps to strengthen the muscles in the hands, and it can even stimulate growth hormones in children.
Learning how to play the piano, or any other musical instrument, is good for your health, at any age!
Best Digital Pianos Under $1,000 (Summary Table)
Top Portable Digital Piano Reviews
The purpose of this guide is to give you the information you need to make the best decision about a portable digital piano purchase. Many of the models that we are discussing today are not exactly inexpensive, and if you are going to spend a few hundred dollars or even a couple of thousand, you need to be sure that you are getting something that you will still be using for many years to come. Check out our in-depth reviews of our top five portable digital pianos below…
Best Cheap Portable Keyboard:
Hamzer 61-Key Digital Music Piano Keyboard
This 61-key digital music piano keyboard from Hamzer is the ideal choice if you are looking for something for your kids to start learning on. It is priced at less than $100 and has all kinds of features that they will have loads of fun with, including 10 demo songs that they can play along with. It has stereo outputs and a headphone jack, as well as a USB jack for MP3 audio playback.
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Summary
If you don’t want to spend a lot of money before you know for certain that your kids are going to enjoy playing the piano, this is a great choice. It is fun to play and has great learning features.
Best Portable Stage Piano:
Casio PX350
Another famous and popular name in digital pianos is Casio, and the PX350 is the next step in the evolution of the Casio Privia line. This digital piano combines the latest keyboard action technology with a new and powerful sound engine that gives you the best sound experience. This digital piano has the award-winning piano sound found in the Privia, but it is new and improved. The AiR (Acoustic and Intelligent Resonator) makes the sounds extremely realistic.
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Summary
We love the Casio P350, for several reasons. It has amazing sound quality, and it is a full, 88-key keyboard with loads of cool effects.
Best Portable Digital Piano Under 2000:
KORG SV188BK
The KORG SV188BK is the next in the SV line and has two wonderful grand piano sounds: European and Japanese. This is an 88-key digital piano with graded hammer action has an intuitive “LIVE” front panel that has single-function knobs for ease of operation. The favorites buttons are easy to set, just like a car radio. There are 36 piano and vintage keyboard sounds, an assignable foot switch and foot pedal, and more.
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Summary
KORG is well-known for quality keyboards, and the SV188BK is no exception. It has amazing sound quality, and it is easy to use. This is a digital piano that is ideal for players of all levels.
Alternative Product
As promised, we would like to tell you about an alternative product, just to give you another excellent option. The Yamaha P255 is an 88-key, professional, weighted action digital piano that has the feel of an acoustic grand piano.
It has 256-note polyphony, and there is a special feature, the Controller App for iOS, which lets you easily adjust settings with your touch screen.
This is the only digital piano in this series to have the P-255 controller app for iOS and a sound boost button, and the EQ sliders let you set just the right tone for your personal style.
Digital Piano Buying Guide
Conclusion
Having a portable digital piano is extremely convenient. You can play anywhere, and you don’t have to worry about lugging any heavy amplifiers or other gear. All you have to do with these keyboards is plug them in and start playing!
All of the above-mentioned digital pianos are ideal for players of all levels, and they have many features that make them stand out above models by other brands.
