Digital piano keyboard weighted keys

Many digital pianos have some form of weighted keys. But what exactly is it? Weighted keys are designed to replicate the natural resistance you feel in the keys of an acoustic piano due to their interior mechanisms. This feeling under the keys is called action.

In the past few years, several major manufacturers Yamaha, Casio, Roland introduced updated versions of their mid-range digital pianos with 88 fully weighted keys. The bad news is that as the market grows and becomes more saturated, it becomes more difficult to decide what instrument is right for YOU. All those fancy marketing terms that manufacturers use when promoting their instruments make things even more confusing. In this article, we are going to get to the bottom of it and find out what are the best digital pianos with fully weighted keys that are suited for intermediate players as well as progressing beginners. Note: This article includes only portable slab digital pianos.

Digital piano keyboard weighted keys

A very simplified way of describing what happens on an acoustic piano but more than adequate for this post is that when you press a key which is actually like a long see-saw you can only see the front of on an acoustic piano, it swings a hammer that strikes a string that vibrates and that makes the sound you hear. If you want a more detailed explanation of how keys work on an acoustic piano, this is a great animation you can check out: How Does A Grand Piano Work? So in a digital piano, manufacturers try to mimic the feel of swinging that hammer by adding a counterweight to each key — so when you press the key, it has to lift the counterweight; this lifting of a counterweight depending on the quality can come pretty close to mimicking the feeling of swinging the hammer on an acoustic piano. As you would expect, this is also usually the most expensive type of weighted action. Note that not all fully weighted graded hammer action keyboards are created equal. So for example, the first quarter of the keyboard will all have the same weight, and the next quarter all have the same slightly lighter weight and so on. These usually tend to be slightly less expensive. This is the next step down, where the keys are fully weighted, but all keys have the same weight across the keyboard. These are usually weighted with the weight you would find in the centre area of the keyboard so the lower notes may be a tiny bit easier to play than on an acoustic piano, and the higher notes may be slightly harder to play. Fully weighted graded hammer action keys with individual weights per key will give you the closest approximation to playing an acoustic piano. As you go down to a piano that is fully weighted but not graded like the Alesis Recital Pro or the Inovus i88 the difference will be more noticeable; once again an experienced pianist will almost surely notice this, and someone at my level? When you step down to a semi-weighted typically spring action digital piano, the difference between that an acoustic piano is huge. You are still getting SOME resistance when you play so yes, it is better than NO resistance , but the amount of resistance and even more so how the resistance feels will be immediately noticeable. This means that the transition from a semi-weighted digital piano to an acoustic piano would be pretty significant.

Keyboard action: RH-Compact Polyphony: In-built sounds: 25 piano x 9, electric piano x 4, organ x 3, vibraphone, harpsichord, bass x 3, pad, choir, strings x 2 Effects: Reverb Kawai are famous for their acoustic upright and grand pianos.

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Digital piano keyboard weighted keys

Many digital pianos have some form of weighted keys. But what exactly is it? Weighted keys are designed to replicate the natural resistance you feel in the keys of an acoustic piano due to their interior mechanisms. This feeling under the keys is called action. In an acoustic piano, each key moves a hammer and a series of levers.

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Ashikur Rahman January 10, Polyphony The number of notes a piano can play at once. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. If after reading this review you still have doubts about what instrument to choose, take a look at our Digital Piano Buying Guide and other popular articles listed below:. Hey David, Both as solid options for sure. However, the sounds programmed into your piano are likely to be more premium with weighted keyboards and will sound better. If you want a more detailed explanation of how keys work on an acoustic piano, this is a great animation you can check out: How Does A Grand Piano Work? Lucas Welter December 3, Thank you so much for the help. Most digital pianos and keyboards have 88, 76, 73, or 61 keys. Jack April 17, The noise is about the same or lower compared to other similar key actions in this price range. Graded hammer action — similar to hammer but the lower notes feel heavier and higher notes feel lighter, replicating the different hammer weights on an acoustic piano. Keyboard action: Smart Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard Polyphony: In-built sounds: 18 Grand piano x 3, piano x 3, electric piano x 3, harpsichord, vibraphone, strings x 2, organ x 4, bass Effects: Acoustic simulator, hall simulator x4, surround x 2, chorus x 4, brilliance and DSP effects The Casio PX S Digital Piano is another extremely slimline piano that still offers hammer action. For example, you can record the right-hand part of the song on track 1, and the left-hand part on track two while listening to the playback of the first track.

Full size pianos are certainly a thing of real beauty, and are one of the most distinctive and charismatic instruments.

Some keyboards tend to be noisier than others and some people are more sensitive to these noises than others. Fully weighted graded hammer action keys with individual weights per key will give you the closest approximation to playing an acoustic piano. Check the current price Yamaha P Digital Piano Great quality sounds and action in a beginner-friendly model. I just bring my Yamaha PA system for weddings and such. The DGX has some features that set it very much apart from the other pianos on this list. As of the time of writing, the PX-S is also the slimmest digital piano in the world. MIDI-recording is not the recording of the actual sound of the instrument. Very responsive and easy-to-play RHC action A wide selection of quality piano tones Good sound tweaking capabilities note polyphony preset drum rhythms 9 built-in lesson books Bluetooth connectivity Dedicated line out jacks. If after reading this review you still have doubts about what instrument to choose, take a look at our Digital Piano Buying Guide and other popular articles listed below:. In an acoustic piano, each key moves a hammer and a series of levers. Is it normal? Hammer action keys may not feel responsive enough for rhythmically tight styles of music like jazz or funk. I was lost in the digital piano alternatives.