Best Digital Piano Reviews & News in the USA by Tim & Erik Praskins – The #1 Place for Expert Info and Advice
Hello to all our music friends out there! My name is Tim Praskins and I created this piano review and news blog many years ago as a way to provide my 40 plus years of piano and teaching expertise & experience to the public. I am a real person based in Phoenix, Arizona USA and I review and talk about digital and acoustic pianos, piano and keyboard lessons, and help piano shoppers in the USA and around the world in deciding which digital piano would be best for them.
My son Erik, who is in his early 40’s, is quite musical (plays piano, guitar, drums) and has learned about digital pianos from me and through his own personal experience. He works with me and has his own studio and is very knowledgeable with digital pianos (like Father, like son:) and is definitely capable of helping you with your questions too. Erik and his wife have a younger son who is battling brain damage from his fight with Leukemia that he got when he was an infant. You can read more about my Grandson, Dylan, by going to his story on the right side of this blog page.
The following is a brief overview of what you can expect from my in-depth detailed piano blog and reviews:
AZ Piano Reviews – Please read
We are independent of any digital piano manufacturer and work out of our music studios and do not have a store, warehouse, or shopping cart for selling pianos. We don’t link to Amazon or eBay to get you to buy pianos to make us money (like so many others do). Our goal is to focus on giving out real, organic piano buying advice from our studios to people all over the USA, and the world, to help you purchase the right digital piano for you, and for less money than anywhere else if you live in the USA. All of my digital piano reviews are completely unique, unfiltered, organic, and updated regularly and I have thoroughly played all of the pianos I have reviewed unless otherwise noted.
Be careful out there, do your research and homework when shopping, and be sure you contact us first before making a buying decision and we’ll give you the advice you need, and we do not charge for that advice. It is a labor of love and after nearly 40 years of working around and playing digital (and acoustic) pianos for a living, and seeing two of my children become accomplished piano teachers and musicians, I still love it:).
What is a Digital Piano?
A digital piano is generally thought of as having an 88-key piano keyboard with piano weighted keys that move up and down like an acoustic piano. Digital pianos can also be referred to as an electric piano although the term digital piano is the world-wide accepted description. This instrument can be lightweight and portable, stationary with built-in internal speakers, having no speakers, having an upright piano shape, grand piano shape, or smaller compact piano shape, as well as being a hybrid version with a combination of acoustic and digital piano features.
Digital Keyboards:
A keyboard is missing one or more of those digital piano elements. It may sound like an acoustic piano, but not feel like one (unweighted or semi-weighted keys). It may feel like an acoustic piano but not sound like one, or it may feel, sound, and operate like a digital piano but not have 88 black and white keys (maybe just 49, 61, or 76). Please go to the following link to learn more about the differences between digital pianos and digital keyboards: Digital Keyboard vs Digital Piano – What’s the difference?
Why Choose a Digital Piano over an Acoustic Piano?
Choosing between a digital piano and traditional acoustic piano can be a bit confusing because there are different opinions out there depending on what a person’s musical experience is. A piano teacher you talk with may have a different opinion than another experienced piano teacher. A piano store salesperson may differ with a general music store salesperson, whereas a professional musician may agree or disagree with all of them. So it really just depends upon your musical goals, skill level, budget, and expectations when it comes to playing piano for yourself and/or for your children. I happen to like both acoustic and digital pianos but I am more fond of digital pianos when it comes to overall music learning and piano playing pleasure.
However, playing on a top quality real acoustic grand piano is a fabulous experience especially if that grand piano is a Steinway, Yamaha, Kawai, Bosendorfer, Boston, Essex, or any fine grand piano. However unlike digital pianos, you cannot plug in headphones to a regular acoustic piano for private practice, you need to regularly tune an acoustic piano, and you are limited to just one single piano sound as opposed to a variety of great piano sounds and features that good digital pianos have these days. Go here for more info on differences between an acoustic and digital piano: Digital Piano or Acoustic Piano – What should you buy?
Which Digital Piano Should I Buy?
Everyone has different goals when purchasing a digital piano which is based on your experience, how you intend to use it, your musical goals, budget factors, and other reasons. We openly encourage all readers of this blog who are considering buying a digital piano to contact us first. We can help you get lower prices in the US on new top name brand digital pianos that best fits your needs and your budget. Check out our shopping tips article at the following link Shopping Tips. You can also email us directly, or call us if you live in the US. Again, welcome to…AZ Piano Reviews, a place where you can learn a lot about digital pianos as well as piano lessons, educational iPad apps, and so much more. Talk to us…we are the pro’s who know what they are talking about. Completely free advice with “no strings attached!”
Popular Review Posts on this site that you can find on our “Search Reviews” page:
– Casio AP-S450 Digital Piano Review
– Casio PX-870 Digital Piano Review
– Yamaha YDP184 Digital Piano Review
– Yamaha CLP735, CLP745, CLP765GP Review
– Roland F701/RP Digital Piano Review
– Roland HP704 Review
– Kawai CN201 Review
– Kawai ES920 Digital Piano Review
– Kawai CA501 Digital Piano Review
– Kawai ES120 Digital Piano Review
– Korg G1 Air Digital Piano Review
– Orla Grand 500 Review
– UNDER $1000
– UNDER $2000
– Digital Piano Review Comparison between $3000 – $7500
If you want more info on new digital pianos and Lower Prices than internet, Amazon, and US store prices, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.
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Hi Tim
I have been reading all your reviews and learned a lot. I like to know for piano learning with app would you favor Yamaha NoteStar or Roland DigiScore since each is a propitiatory software or is it better to get and new Ipad pro and use other teaching apps?
Thanks for your help
Truly
Paul
Roland Digiscore is not really an educational app (it does basic flash cards) and can only be used with certain Roland pianos for music playalong. Yamaha Notestar is a music playalong app based on a huge variety of sheet music and songs which can be purchased in a on-line sheet music store and the Notestar app works for all USB capable digital pianos of all brands. 3rd part instructional apps can be used for any digital piano with USB compliant output connection.
Hi – thanks for writing such informative reviews ad comments. I have a Korg C-15 which I played poorly but enjoyed. It is over 20 years old and the electronics stopped working – I brought it to a local repair shop who cleaned up some leaking capacitors and it played well for a couple of weeks. It is now back in the shop and I doubt that it can be fixed. I am looking for something basic, with a good sound, weighted keys, not lots of bells and whistles, that looks as good as the Korg did in the living room, and would cost under $1500 (which is about $2000 Cdn these days). I would prefer to buy it locally (Montreal Canada). I read your recent column on pianos between $1000 and $2000 which is very helpful. Once I make a decision, where would you advise me to buy it and are there ways to find what I want at a lower price? Joyeux fêtes.