Top 8 Best Digital Grand Piano

How do you fit a grand piano, or even a baby grand piano into your life? Unless you have a lot of space in your house and an understanding family, it’s unlikely to be at the top of your list of things to purchase. However, a realistic solution could be a digital grand piano.

Otherwise known as an electric grand piano, these instruments take up significantly less space and come packed with features to help you become a more accomplished musician.

There are a range of instruments to choose from, so let’s look at some of the best options in our Best Digital Grand Piano Reviews…

Top 8 Best Digital Grand Piano In 2020 Reviews

1 The ONE Smart Piano

We’ll start off our best Digital Grand Piano Reviews with this digital grand piano that has 88 weighted keys and professional stereo sound from built-in MP3 speakers. It has three piano pedals, 64 note polyphony, and includes a built-in metronome and volume control.

And the Smart App learning system is available on both iOS and Android.

Beginners will really like the video lessons and the games that use the light up keys to help you learn how to play. More experienced players can use the many pages of sheet music included in the app, along with the 128 instrument sounds to develop their skills.

There is a bidirectional USB MIDI port that is compatible with other MIDI devices plus a headphone jack.

2 Suzuki Digital Piano MDG-300-B

This digital grand piano is much more traditional in look, but underneath are a feast of performance features. The keyboard has 88 keys and 128 note polyphony with a six speaker stereo sound system to give you a fantastic sound quality. Plus, you can sound sculpt your performance to your personal style and taste with the onboard Digital signal processing.

The different piano functions with sound control a beautiful, rich, full sounding instrumentation. At only 2’4” deep, the digital piano won’t take up too much space in your home and will fit in with any decor. The instrument is simply jam packed with technology.

There is a full color LCD control screen to organize your selected features and a 3 track sequencer to record your own compositions. Your recordings can then be transferred to the onboard SD card or connect a device via Bluetooth, wireless, or MIDI to transfer them to your own device.

3 Casio PX-870 Black Digital Piano

This digital grand piano looks like a cross between a traditional upright piano and an electric piano but hides underneath a versatile digital instrument. There is an 88 key fully weighted keyboard with simulated ivory and ebony keys. And the touch sensitive keyboard has three levels and can be turned off, giving you a very versatile playing experience.

The three pedals work in the same way as a traditional piano with the sustain pedal supporting half pedal operation. The instrument has 256 note polyphony and 19 voices, including five different grand piano sounds.

And the Casio AiR system ensures that the voices are as realistic as possible, while the four speaker 40W sound system can produce sound almost as loud as a grand piano providing a real and natural listening experience.

There is an onboard music library to play along with, plus a recording and playback option. It also includes a metronome and a useful headphone mode. Standard headphone jacks are located on the front of the digital piano, together with USB and MIDI connections. The Casio Chordana App, available in iOS and Android, allows you to connect with the piano, learn different pieces, and control various settings.

If you need even more information, then please take a look at our in-depth Casio Privia PX 870 Digital Piano review.

4 Yamaha YDP103 Arius Series Digital Console Piano

This digital piano is the baby in the series of Arius digital pianos, but this doesn’t mean that it’s not a good choice. It has the same 88 graded hammer action weighted keys as the rest of the range.

The graded hammer action gives a lighter touch at the top end of the keyboard and a heavier touch at the lower end of the keyboard, to give a playing action more similar to an acoustic piano. The black keys have a special moisture control surface to remain tactile during extended use. It has the three pedals normally found on an acoustic piano too.

The digital piano sounds are created using the Yamaha AWM stereo sampling technique. This uses actual recordings of a grand piano to naturally capture the range of a traditional instrument. There are two grand piano sounds together with eight other pianos that you can use with 64 voice polyphony.

There are two speakers providing an output of 12W. This is not the loudest but can fill a medium sized room nicely. There are also two stereo headphone jacks and a USB to host port. There is also an iOS app that can be used to control the piano.

Find out even more in our in-depth Yamaha YDP 103 review.

5 Williams Rhapsody 2 88-Key Console Digital Piano

This console digital piano comes with a quality stand. And the two pedals – Sustain and Sostenuto – are built into the stand, making it look much more like a traditional upright piano. It has 88 fully hammer weighted keys to give outstanding feel and response to your playing style.

There are 12 different instruments, including four piano choices with 64 voice polyphony. These include two Grand Pianos – Grand for classical and Bright for rock-n-roll, two Electric Pianos, two Organs, a Nylon Strung Guitar, two Basses – Upright and Electric, Strings, Synth Pad and Vibes. 

This is a more basic budget choice but still includes 12 demo songs to play along with, a 2 track recorder, LCD control screen, USB/MIDI connection and stereo jacks.

For more information on the excellent budge option, please check out our in-depth Williams Rhapsody 2 review.

6 Korg Lifestyle Piano LP180BK

This digital grand piano has the look of an electronic keyboard rather than a traditional piano. However, the choice of black or white means it will fit into any room, and the keyboard cover is included.

The 88 keys naturally reproduce the touch of an acoustic piano with their natural weighted hammer action. The same three pedal unit found on an acoustic piano comes as standard. And there are ten high-quality sounds with additional reverb and chorus effects with 120 voice polyphony.

The speaker system is two 11W speakers, so should be loud enough for a small room. While headphone sockets allow for private practice, and there is a MIDI out to connect other devices.

We haven’t done a full review of this piano on this site yet, but it shares many of its features with its brother, which you can read about in our Korg LP380 88 Key Digital Piano review.

7 Kawai CE220 Digital Piano

This digital grand piano looks like a traditional piano with it’s more cabinet like shape and build quality. It is the only digital piano on this list to offer wooden keys with graded hammer action technology that can be tailored to the individual musician.

There are 22 voices with 192 note polyphony with a range of effects that can be added.

It features a USB, so an external device can be added for recording purposes. This allows the composition to then be played on another instrument, or loaded into a computer for printing a score, or for emailing to a friend or teacher.

It also features a Dual Mode, in which two sounds are played at the same time. As well as a Split mode, which allows one sound to be played on the left side of the keyboard while another sound plays on the right side. It also features a special 4-Hands Mode that creates two identical 44-note pianos across the keyboard, which is great for piano lessons or for duets.

It also has a convenient Balance Slider on the top panel that controls the balance in a Dual or Split Keyboard mode. As well as two headphone jacks, and a built-in metronome with a variety of time signatures. It also features 100 built-in rhythms, 29 classic piano songs stored inside, along with a music book for learning. For connections, it features MIDI, Line In, Line Out jacks, and an extra USB jack.

To find out even more, please take a look at our in-depth Kawai CE220 review.

8 Yamaha DGX660 Digital Piano

This is Yamaha’s premium portable digital piano. It features their 88 key graded hammer standard keyboard with the Yamaha Pure CF sound engine sampling the sound of their world-class acoustic 9 foot grand piano. There are 554 voice options with 192 note polyphony.

The Piano Room feature lets you tailor sounds to create your own personal piano environment. The four speaker system is powerful and clear. The LCD screen can show music or lyrics for any MIDI song that’s playing. Plus, there are 100 songs built-in, or others can be added via the USB.

A nice feature of this digital piano is the ability to connect a microphone to sing along with your own songs or pre-recorded ones. And you can record via the 6 track audio recorder to USB. There are stereo output jacks, Aux-in, USB to host, and USB to device. So whatever you want to connect to should be covered.

If you want to find out more about the features of this digital piano, please check out our in-depth Yamaha DGX 660 review.

Best Digital Grand Piano Buying Guide

There are three main areas to compare when purchasing a digital grand piano. These are

So let’s look at each item in turn…

The Musical Specification of The Digital Grand Piano

There are many types of keyboard. A traditional acoustic piano has hammers and strings; the hammer strikes the strings, which then causes the string to vibrate. This vibration is what makes the noise, which is eventually heard as a note.

The hammer that is used to strike these strings is connected to the key by a lever type system. And the lever has a natural weight or resistance, which can be felt when you play an acoustic piano. This weight automatically feels more ‘natural’ when you play a piano and helps gauge how hard you need to press or hit a key to get the sound required.

If you press softly, the note will resonant softly, or press harder, and the increased pressure, along with the weight of the lever will force the hammer to hit the strings harder, thus making a louder sound.

You don’t actually need t have weighted keys to get this level of expression, as the computer inside automatically detects how hard and how fast the keys are pressed, providing the correct sound. However, some digital pianos are made with weights built into the keys to emulate the feel of an acoustic piano.

Most digital pianos have some kind of plastic keys, some with treated surfaces to feel more like a traditional keyboard, and there are a few that have wooden keys.

The pedals on a traditional piano change the sound of the piano in various ways. Most traditional pianos have three pedals that are the soft pedal, the sustain pedal, and the damper pedals. Digital grand pianos may have all of these pedals or none.

A traditional piano has polyphony built-in. When you hit a key, the hammer hits the strings to create the note, and it doesn’t matter how many keys you hit at the same time. Every key pressed will sound a note. This is called polyphony. In a digital piano, the sound is created by the computer inside and the polyphony, i.e., the amount of keys that can be pressed at the same time, is determined by how good the computer is.

The Versatility of The Instrument & The Speaker System It Contains

The sound of a digital grand piano comes from the electronics it contains, rather than the hammer hitting the strings as in a traditional piano. This means that it can be much more versatile in the sounds that it can make. The amount of sounds depends on the particular model of keyboard.

There are some that stick to the more traditional piano sounds and some that offer a full range of orchestral sounds, plus extra percussion and other electronic sounds. There are also effects that can be added, such as reverb and chorus, to further customize the sound of the instrument.

Speaker systems also vary according to the model. Some are more suitable for home use and small rooms, whereas others can be used for schools, churches or even concerts. Most will have a headphone jack so you can rehearse privately. It’s important to think about where you will use your instrument.

The size and weight of digital pianos can vary. Some are more portable than others, so this needs to be taken into account if you plan to move it regularly.

The Technology Incorporated Into The Digital Grand Piano

The basic models of digital grand piano will include at least a headphone jack and normally a MIDI output. More advanced models can include different inputs and outputs, such as external speakers, microphones, USB, and Bluetooth.

Musical technology can include a built-in metronome, a recorder, LCD screens for showing music, and even light up keys to help you learn to play. And some manufacturers include access to an app that contains further lessons, music, and songs to learn to play and control systems for advanced features on the instrument.

Ask yourself, what am I going to use this digital piano for? How experienced are the people who are going to use this instrument? What devices do I want to connect to? Do I want to use this digital piano for recording? The answers to these questions will help you to find the right model for you.

Grand vs. Upright Piano

So, why a digital grand piano rather than a traditional upright piano?

Easier To Care For

An upright piano needs pretty constant temperature and humidity to stay cared for and in tune. Even if this is the case, it will need tuning occasionally. A digital piano will never need tuning and should not be affected by changes in the weather or humidity.

Portability

It’s pretty much impossible to move a traditional upright piano unless you use a specialist mover, and it can take up a lot of space in your home. A digital piano is much more portable, even if you only need to move it once or twice a year. They are much easier to tuck into a corner of a room when not in use, especially when space at home is an issue.

Versatility

A traditional upright piano has one job. It does that job very well, but it can only do that one thing. A digital piano can be used for so many other things. It can sound like a number of different instruments. Or it can be a teaching resource. It can even be an advanced instrument in a recording studio, or it can be an instrument everyone in the household can use.

So unless you specifically require a traditional upright piano, a digital grand piano is a fantastic replacement that offers significantly more features than a traditional piano.

Conclusion

So which is the best digital grand piano? Packed with features the…

…heads the list. With its customizable wooden keyboard, many teaching modes, number of voices and effects, and the range of connectivity, it ticks all the boxes you may need. This is a very versatile instrument that is suitable for beginners and experienced musicians alike.