Church Digital Pianos – REVIEW | 2024 Top 10 | LOWER PRICE

I have played Steinway, Yamaha, Kawai, Baldwin, Roland, Korg, Bosendorfer, Kimball, Samick, Fazioli, Young Chang, Mason

Hamlin, Casio, Kurzweil, Roland, Korg, and many others. I have also played organ as well as guitar in a variety of churches over the years and I know what churches need when it comes to musical instruments as I have also been involved in many church music ministries as well as been on some church “search committees” when it came to trying to make the right decision in what piano would be best for the church. Churches definitely have special needs when it comes to choosing the right piano or musical instrument for their music ministry as the decision is dependent on a lot of things. 

Some of things would include budget, the music ability and playing skill level of the church pianist(s), the comfort level of the

church pianist in using digital technology, the types of instruments that will be needed in the digital pianos to play the style of music of that church such as acoustic pianos, organs, electric pianos, strings, brass, woodwinds, guitars, drum rhythm patterns, etc, the cabinet size and design of the piano, and other considerations. Sometimes there are church committees that are given the role of piano decision making, or there is an individual who plays piano and has knowledge of digital pianos who will make the purchase decision on behalf of the church, or maybe there’s a church member who makes a large monetary donation specifically for the music ministry. If the church is a large one then an external sound system will likely need to be connected to the digital piano so that the piano can be heard easily throughout the building and the volume can be controlled by the audio people at the mixing board.

I quickly want to mention before we go any further…the best definition of a digital piano is “an 88-key piano keyboard instrument that has a piano-type weighted key-action movement that feels as much like an acoustic piano key action as possible with smooth touch sensitivity along with acoustic piano sound and even dynamic tonal changes. A digital piano can be in a more traditional upright or grand piano furniture cabinet like a real piano except that piano has built-in speakers. A digital piano can also be portable and not in a furniture cabinet and the portable digital pianos can have built-in speakers or no built-in speakers. The digital pianos without built-in speakers are called “stage digital pianos” and those models always need to be connected to an external speaker system and most of those stage pianos need an optional metal stand to put them on. 

Sometimes people refer to a “portable” or stage digital pianos as “keyboards” which is OK because they are keyboard instruments and they have keys in them. But the actual definition of a keyboard is having a lightweight “spring” key action movement with flat, thin plastic keys as opposed to a piano weighted key movement with full size longer rectangular keys made of either wood or plastic or a combination of both. Also, keyboards (and some digital pianos) can be less than 88-keys which include 76-key models, 73-key, and 61 key models, but the 61-note keyboards would normally not be enough keys to play piano on. 

There are a few “digital pianos with weighted piano-type keys” out there with 73 keys and 76 keys which can work for some church music ministry situations…but it’s generally agreed that when you are wanting a digital piano for a church it needs to be 88-keys with piano weighted type key action regardless of whether that digital piano is in a furniture cabinet or portable. One last thing…a few of the portable 88-key digital pianos have an optional furniture type stand and triple pedal unit available at an additional cost to make that portable model look a bit more like a real piano. But a furniture cabinet model is one that, by default, has an attractive stand and full pedal-board or pedal lyre already with the piano.

There is one more thing concerning the definition of a digital pianos that is also important…and that’s the pedals. A traditional acoustic piano has 3 pedals…damper-sustain, sostenuto, and soft (soft-una corda on acoustic grand pianos). On furniture cabinet digital upright and grand pianos you will always get 3 pedals that work pretty much like traditional acoustic pianos. Portable digital pianos typically come with 1pedal for sustaining the piano sound and for a lot of people that 1 pedal

function is enough to play music at a church with no problem. Some of the portable digital pianos come with a cheaper, small plastic single on/off sustain piano pedal which is definitely not suitable for church music over a long span of time because they will either break or they won’t be very stable. A full size metal piano sustain pedal is necessary and can be purchased optionally if not already included with the piano. 

Some of the portable pianos have an optional 3-pedal unit that replicates the 3 pedals on furniture cabinet digital pianos. This means that if you need a portable digital piano but want all 3 pedals with the ability to trigger the half-damper effect, on some (but not all) portable or stage digital pianos you can get it. But pedals and the way they operate on a digital piano are very important so you want to be sure you get a digital piano that has good pedal realism and response and that will hold up well over time. This is true of upright, grand, and portable digital pianos so be sure to pay attention to that.

*It is important to note right now that not only can I help churches get a lower price on new digital pianos than internet/Amazon discount pricing, but I can also get you “extra church discounts” direct from the manufacturer or distributor warehouse. So before you make any decision to purchase anything from anyone, please contact me to talk about what would be the best digital piano for your needs and the very low pricing I can help you get. As a church pianist and musician, I know the importance of purchasing the “right” instrument for your church music ministry so that it satisfies the music needs now and into the future and will be a reliable product that will hold up well over time. Investing “wisely” is the key to good stewardship and is true when it comes to a piano purchase as well.

Kawai MP11SE stage piano

In reality when it comes to getting a “digital” piano for a church, in some ways it depends on the type of church you have as to what music you might be playing and what digital piano may be more suited in doing a better job reproducing that type of music. It also depends somewhat on the physical size of the church, the size of the congregation, and of course, your budget or how much funds you can raise in a given period of time to purchase the instrument. But in reality, the truth is just about any good digital piano can be suitable for a church music program but you definitely don’t want to under-spend for an instrument nor should you over-spend for one either. To make sure you are making the right decision definitely takes some research but you can also contact me directly as I offer free piano shopping and buying advice to churches on all brands and models with regard to which one would best meet all your needs.

Yamaha NU1XA digital upright

Asking yourself appropriate questions such as “will this be the only instrument we use in our church service,” or “will this be an additional instrument to add to the over musical listening experience of the church audience?” Your church may already have an acoustic grand piano and so you want some contemporary or non-piano sounds to add to the music. Maybe your church has an organ but want to add some additional sounds to that listening experience such as harpsichord, choir, strings, brass, percussion, etc…or your church has both an acoustic piano & organ but now you want these more contemporary sounds in addition to what you have at the moment. Or perhaps you are thinking that you want to do away with all your traditional instruments and just get a good size furniture cabinet digital piano that can play all the traditional sounds such as grand piano, pipe/church organ, string symphony tones…and even a concert choir sound should you not already have a real choir at church.

There is really no one “pat answer” for what a church needs when it comes to an electronic piano/keyboard instrument because each church has it’s own requirements and musical goals. This includes the church sound system or lack of it which could necessitate the need for a good speaker already built into the digital piano, or even needing additional speakers if the church is physically large and has a big congregation of people to absorb all the sound. Maybe your church does not have its own building and you meet in a school or other facility that does not belong to you so you need the digital piano to be portable and easily moved and be transportable. 

Again, there are so many different needs a church may have when it comes to getting a piano/keyboard instrument such as an 88-key digital piano. Even the design of the cabinet is a “big deal” for some churches because they want the piano to have an attractive appearance more like a traditional upright of grand piano, so then the digital piano would need to have a furniture type cabinet along with being functional and easy to navigate.

Speaking of being functional, some churches have lots of pianists who can play piano while other churches have maybe 1 or 2 pianists (piano players) at the most. Even though those specific piano players can play a regular acoustic piano that does not mean they are familiar with digital piano technology and maybe they don’t really care to use it or learn it…they just want to play piano. But that’s OK too because then you focus on digital digital that focus on the “piano playing experience” and don’t have extra technology that won’t be used or may get in the way of those specific piano players in your church. 

Just because the digital piano has a lot of “cool” features does not mean those features get used, depending on who is normally playing that instrument. In that case it won’t do you any good to get a digital piano with more than you need on it. Every new digital piano these days comes with some “bells & whistles” when it comes to various functions and features. However, some models come with more of them than others so you need to do your homework to see if you will take advantage of “extra” digital features or functions or not use them often or at all.

When it comes to churches and their music programs/ministries, I’ve seen it all, done it all, and been involved with it first hand for many years. I know what I am talking about and am willing to help guide you in your church’s quest to get the right digital piano, and at the right price. As I mentioned earlier, just about any new digital piano (from the top brands) could be a good choice for your church…but it depends on all those factors I have previously

mentioned and what would be the “best bang for the church’s buck”…so to speak for YOUR church. In this review I am listing what I believe are the 10 best choices that would work well in a church setting for variety of musical needs along with the instrument needing to be from a good manufacturer and having a reputation for product reliability. 

The following models are not

listed in any particular order since are all different and for different uses and purposes, but will overall work and perform great in a church setting (depending on your specific church and their music needs) including churches with big buildings, small buildings, no building, big budget, limited budget, high energy services, low energy services, traditional music, contemporary music, and so on. You will find something in this TOP 10 list that will work for you and your church. I am not listing all digital pianos that might work because there are too many of them for this review but instead I am listing a couple of the most popular models in each top brand that church ministries would love to have. Typically the most popular models are in the middle up to top of the line, so given that fact you can either spend a bit more money or a bit less money to go up or down in the line for that brand. 

It’s also important to note that I am primarily listing models that have audio line outputs so that those instruments can also be run through an external sound system in your church to increase volume if that would be needed. In that way you can make any of those pianos sound bigger and fuller than what their internal sound systems would otherwise do by themselves, assuming they already have built-in speakers. If they don’t have built-in internal speakers then you would definitely need an external speaker system for the piano. 

– Kawai ES920 portable 88-key digital piano, $1899 discount price matte black or matte white (not including optional furniture stand & triple pedal unit) – The Kawai ES920 is one of the best “all-in-one” pro quality digital pianos for churches, institutions, and others these days when it comes to a portable “self-contained” digital piano that can also be made to look more like a “traditional piano.” It has an optional furniture stand and furniture triple pedal bar and comes with a very nice music rack. What I mean by “self-contained” is that it has a good built-in speaker system that can produce a fairly loud sound with high quality tone so that you don’t need to connect an external speaker system…unless you are in a larger room and have more people in that room…then you do need external speakers as well. 

The Kawai company is known as an outstanding acoustic piano maker and their ES920 digital piano has HD (high definition) sampled tones that comes directly from their Kawai acoustic grand pianos. Beyond those grand pianos are a few very good organs sounds, strings, choirs, and vintage electric pianos, and a few more tones.  

If you want a digital piano to be flexible in portability as well as focusing mostly on piano playing with a few extra instrumental sounds and you also want internal speakers, this might be the perfect piano for your church. In my opinion the $1799 price is very reasonable for what you are getting and I highly recommend this model. Great key action, grand piano sounds and pedaling response, and quite intuitive (overall) to use coming from a high quality company. Go to the following link to read my detailed review on the Kawai ES920: Kawai ES920 Review

– Yamaha Clavinova CLP-745 furniture cabinet digital piano, $3799 internet discount price for matte finish, $4299 for polished ebony finish – This current model Clavinova furniture cabinet digital piano is Yamaha’s most popular model because it combines their latest grand piano sound chip with a very playable key action that most people really enjoy. It has all the basics that churches look for which is beautiful cabinet, dependability, great piano tone, responsive key action, and usable digital features such as being able to layer two sounds together such as piano/organ, harpsichord/.strings, piano/choir, along with being able to electronically transpose (modulate) the key your playing in. The pedaling response is very good and offers long sustain/decay time for beautiful legato piano tones for both the Yamaha grand piano and Bosendorfer Concert piano sounds that are included in this model. 

The CLP-745 also has audio outputs to connect to an external speaker system if necessary along with Bluetooth audio capability for streaming music through the internal speaker system. The CLP-745 is simple to use. satisfying to play, will last many years without need of repair based on the Yamaha reliability track record, and the name Yamaha holds it’s value better than many other brands. Go to the following link to read my detailed review on the CLP-745: Yamaha CLP-745 Review 

– Roland HP704 furniture cabinet digital piano, $2899 discount price in matte cabinet finishes, polished ebony finish for more money – Roland is a well known, popular digital piano company and has been producing great digital pianos for decades. Their current lineup of furniture cabinet digital pianos for the church market includes 7 models with 2 of them having baby grand piano cabinets. The Roland HP704 is in the middle of the upright style lineup and has the features that a church would find satisfying including responsive key action, acoustic piano tone reproduction, and impressive pedaling and long sustain/decay time when using the sustain pedal. The cabinet looks quite attractive and comes in a variety of colors. There are a number of instrument sounds and features on this model and the internal speaker system puts out some impressive sound and volume, although some larger churches  will want to connect it to their external church sound system to help cover a larger area. 

You can do most things on this piano that you can on other good digital pianos including selecting from a nice library of instrument tones, being able to layer/mix and split any two sounds, and also record what you are playing and then play it back. The recording feature is nice if you don’t have a pianist on a given day and then you can play back any of the songs they have recorded…but that’s also true of the other furniture digital pianos as well. Roland is known as a reliable brand and carries an extensive factory warranty. You can check out my review of the Roland HP704 at the following link: Roland HP704 Review  

– Kawai CA501 furniture cabinet digital piano, – $3999 internet discount price in satin black, rosewood, or white finish. As I mentioned earlier, the Kawai company produces well known acoustic upright and grand pianos so they have decades of experience in producing pianos along with digital pianos. The new CA501 is a great choice for a church because it offers an all wood, longer key grand piano style key action as compared to other digital pianos. The up & down movement on the CA501 keys is quite realistic and if you have played a real acoustic piano before then you will likely be impressed. With 4 speakers built in going through 100 watts total stereo power, the CA501 has a good amount of volume and presence for a medium size room to a large room and you can connect the piano to an external sound system for even more volume in a large venue. The piano sound technology uses Kawai high-end sampling from their acoustic grand pianos along with some physical modeling which adds a bit more of the organic tonal elements that are more difficult to reproduce with sampling alone. 

The CA501 also has an easy-to-use interactive  control panel located to the left side of the keyboard to control the internal functions of the piano. There are 45 internal instrument sounds covering a big variety of organs, strings, choirs, electric pianos, etc along with 13 separate acoustic piano sounds. The CA501 would be Kawai’s latest and most popular model that resides in the middle of their furniture cabinet digital pianos. I have played this model many times already and if you want to learn more about this impressive digital piano, please go to the following link: Kawai CA501 Review

– Korg G1 Air furniture cabinet digital piano, $1799 internet discount price (after $200 instant rebate – available in matte black, rosewood, or white). This is a great alternative to the higher priced digital pianos over $3000 because this model can put out a piano tone and key action touch that rivals some of those other pianos that cost twice as much money. The Korg G1 Air has a very responsive big sounding internal speaker system for smaller churches who may not have an external sound system and can fill up a room very well. However, for those churches that do have an external “house” speaker system, the G1 Air can connect to that system with an audio output connection built into the piano. This model is simplistic to use because it has some basic buttons that are in the center of the upper control panel and when you want a piano sound or other instrument sound you just press the button and you get that sound. The realism of the piano samples and key action touch is very impressive, especially for its low internet discount price and the design and appearance of the cabinet is contemporary with a smaller footprint but yet somewhat elegant at the same time. 

If you are looking for a “no frills” digital piano with great piano sound, graded and weighted piano style key action, and pedaling for quick sustain response and long piano sustain-decay time, then the Korg G1 could be a great choice. It even has “Bluetooth” wireless audio connectivity built into the piano so that you can play music wirelessly from your favorite church music MP3 or wav file digital music library for prelude or postlude music if you don’t want or need a person to play music before and after the church service. When you add it all up, the Korg G1 Air is worth serious consideration. Go to the following link to read my detailed review on the Korg G1 Air: Korg G1 Air Review

Casio PX-S6000 portable 88-key digital piano, $1799 internet discount price – The new Casio PX-S6000 would be a great addition to a church music program whether you would want it as a main piano instrument or a secondary instrument to add additional acoustic piano sounds along with up to 350 instrumental tones such as organs, strings, choirs, electric pianos, brass, guitars, pads, synths, special effects, and many more. The PX-S6000 is unique in its lower price range under $2000 because it is really one of the first portable pianos ever that has a very small footprint but puts out high quality tones coming through its own internal stereo 3D sound system and a super responsive hybrid wood key action. This instrument can be used in traditional church music, contemporary church music, special events, outside ministries, and even in places without electric power because this model also works on 6 AA batteries and can be powered that way for up to 4 hours. 

The PX-S6000 is intuitive to use, looks very impressive with its smooth control surface, and can be connected to external devices in a number of ways which will support just about any music played in any room that you can think of. The new PXS piano weighted key action feels natural and organic in a way that no other key action in this price range under $2000 feels like in my opinion. The acoustic piano tones generation uses all new HD technology which allows for a full, more natural acoustic piano sound than ever before in a Casio digital piano along with professional tones, features, and functions not available before in this price range. 

Even the optional, portable triple pedal unit works well and the sustain pedal decay-sustain time is noticeably long, resonate, and full, just like you would experience on a real acoustic piano. When you put it altogether, for churches who are on a tighter budget or need a secondary instrument to add to and round out their music ministry, the PX-S6000 would be in my top 3 choices for portable digital pianos under $2000. Go to the following link to read my detailed review on the Casio PX-S6000:  Casio PX-S6000 Review

Yamaha AvantGrand N1X & N3X furniture cabinet digital “hybrid” upright & grand pianos, $9999 & $17,800 discount prices. I have chosen these two digital pianos in the upper price ranges because they do something that no other digital piano company has done. Yamaha has produced these specific pianos to replicate an actual “Yamaha” acoustic grand piano key action playing experience with an actual Yamaha acoustic piano key action along with an actual Yamaha Grand piano sound in a digital piano. That is why they are called “hybrids,”…primarily because of the acoustic wooden key action installed within a digital piano cabinet with internal speakers. The N3X does this in a 4′ deep

grand piano shaped cabinet and the N1X does the same thing but in a smaller “upright” style smaller footprint piano cabinet with both of them available in shiny polished ebony cabinets. 

For some churches the goal is to have an actual acoustic grand piano…and that can be a very good thing depending on church budget, extra funds that may be donated, and the ability of the church and the building weather environment for the acoustic piano to stay in tune and not have to be serviced all the time. A good digital piano for a church can have many positive benefits over an acoustic piano including never having to tune it (that saves thousands of dollars over a period of time), never having to worry about humidity or dryness negatively affecting a traditional wood soundboard because digital pianos primarily use an internal speaker system instead of a conventional acoustic piano soundboard, having the ability to regulate overall piano volume with a master volume control depending on room size, being able to directly connect to an external sound system if necessary instead of using microphones to amplify sound, being able to digitally record your music directly from the piano as you are playing it, being able to play other instruments within the digital piano “live” such as harpsichords & electric pianos depending on the music you want to play, and more. 

But it’s the “Grand Piano” playing experience with no or low maintenance that draws piano players towards these models. The N1X is especially impressive for a church to have as part of its music ministry because it gives you nearly (but not all) everything you would get on the $17,000 N3X model but for $8000 less, which puts it well under $10,000 brand new with the Yamaha grand piano key action. If your budget permits it, I would highly recommend you check out these AvantGrand pianos and read my review and let me know what you think: Yamaha AvantGrand Review

Roland GP609 furniture cabinet digital grand piano, $8,999 internet price – The Roland GP609 digital baby grand piano measures 5′ deep from front to back and is the largest digital piano grand shaped cabinet under $15,000 of all the major brands. There are some churches who want the largest grand piano cabinet they can get in a digital piano and the Roland GP609 would definitely qualify for that need and it also has a satisfying piano key action and piano sound. In fact, it has the same piano sound chip, same key action, and same digital features as the low price HP704 that I talked about earlier. 

The difference is the big grand piano cabinet and the huge internal speaker system built into it. So for another approx $5000 over the less expensive HP704 you can get a 5′ deep grand piano version of that instrument. However, the Roland GP609 is offered only in a higher priced polished ebony cabinet with proprietary wood tone interior which also boosts up the price whereas the HP704 has an option for a lower priced matte finish cabinet in different colors. The key action on the Roland GP609 is not an actual hybrid key action like the Yamaha N3X nor is the key action on the Roland anything like a real acoustic grand piano…they are much different. 

Nevertheless, the GP609 is an enjoyable piano to play and has all the necessary instrument tones, recording functions, audio and USB outputs, and a beautiful appearance in any church setting. If you want to know more about the GP609, you can also refer to the GP607 which is the smaller 3′ deep mini-grand version of the GP609. 

Although I have not done a specific review of the GP609, you can read my review of the GP607 and then you’ll know all about the GP609 because they are identical in every way...with the exception of the cabinet and the GP609 internal speaker system which has 7 speakers (1 of them being a 10 sub bass speaker enclosed in its own speaker box within the piano) going through a total 66 watts of rated power. Roland rates it’s power much differently (using a different rating method) to all other digital piano manufacturers, so the fullness and volume of the piano is actually much higher than the specification would otherwise suggest. Check out my GP607 review at the following link  Roland GP607/609 Review 

Casio AP-710

There are a few more digital pianos from Yamaha, Roland, Kawai, Casio, and Korg that I believe would be good choices for a variety of churches depending on the musical need, building configuration, and budget. But the ones I have listed are in the top 10 based on my experience with all of these digital pianos and from my experience playing digital pianos in churches for a number of years…so I know what works and what does not work. The Yamaha NU1XA digital hybrid upright piano ($7399 internet price for polished ebony) would make a good choice as well as would a newer Casio AP-710 furniture cabinet model ($2799 internet price), the new Kawai CN301 at $3099, and I should not forget the Kawai MP11SE portable “stage” digital piano ($3499 internet price) that is specifically made to bring the “grand piano” playing experience to a church that has a limited budget and wants a smaller “portable” type digital piano that you would put on a metal stand z-stand and plug into an external speaker system. 

The Kawai MP11SE gives the piano player a full wood extended key action closest to that of a real grand piano out of all brands and models for under $3500, and is focused on piano playing with a few useable (but not many) extra “bells & whistles.” So there are certainly a few other choices out there and I have done reviews on all those models (except for the new Kawai CN301, although that review should be done soon) if you want to read about them.

If you represent a church in some capacity and helping to make a purchase decision of a piano for your music ministry, be sure to seriously consider all the pianos I have mentioned here. They are the in the top choices out there, and at least one or more of

them could be the perfect piano for your church. Be sure to contact me before buying any piano from anyone so that you can know for sure you are making the correct choice and also getting the lowest price possible. Also, with regard to getting a low price, please ask me if there might be special factory direct “church discounts” in addition to the regular discount prices that are out there. 

 I can definitely help your church get an extra “church discount” price reduction direct from the manufacturer US warehouse. But most importantly, we are here to help your church get the “right piano” for your budget because we love helping church music ministries and we understand how important that situation is to the life and health of a church! So please contact us more more info.

If you want more info on new digital pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet discounts, Amazon, or store discount prices please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.