Looking for information on the cheapest 88-key digital pianos? Then you are definitely in the right place. Buying a digital piano is a huge investment.
It requires a lot of research as well as the utmost consideration. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned pianist, you need to be very careful to ensure you purchase a piano that is completely suitable for you.
Often, when people are on a budget, they tend to settle for low-quality digital pianos. Although most people view cheap as a bad option, what you need to know is that ‘Cheap’ does not necessarily mean ‘Low quality’.
Here, we’ve sampled 5 cheapest 88-key digital pianos that are readily available in the market. Therefore, this comprehensive review is aimed at educating you on the availability of good quality pianos/keyboards at a fair price.
1. Kawai ES-100 88 Key Digital Piano
Recently, Kawai released a new product in its famous ES-line –The Kawai ES-100. Which makes it their first-ever 88-key weighted hammer action digital piano under $1000.
This is actually the cheapest 88-key digital piano for beginners you can consider. Manufactured for piano students, pianists, and pro musicians, the Kawai ES-100 is arguably the best choice in its price range and delivers one of the most realistic piano experiences.
Features
The ES-100 has a weighted keyboard that uses Advanced Hammer Action IV-F to give you a lighter feel on the high end and heavier feel in the lower notes. The Graded Hammer Action present provides learners with an authentic feel that helps them adapt to the style needed when playing an acoustic piano.
Kawai ES-100 also uses the Harmonic Imaging Sound Technology, which maintains the tone of each note in different voices, such as the organs, bass, pianos, strings, and many more. With a maximum of 192-polyphony notes, the Kawai ES-100 ensures that not a single note is clipped during complex pieces.
It has 19 preset voices and 100 drum rhythms, which allow you to enhance your personal expression. To monitor play, capture compositions, ideas, and progress during practice, the ES-100 song recorder unit comes with a 3-song recorder capability. It also has the cheapest 88-key digital piano amplifier.
The piano features MIDI In and Out jacks to connect to PC and various digital devices as well as headphone jacks. It boasts of both Dual and Split Modes, which allow you to share the piano one-on-one or in group lessons.
There is also an in-built Metronome function to cater to better the practice experience. The Kawai ES-100 is a very lightweight digital piano which makes it quite flexible and portable enough for frequent gigs.
2. Casio Privia PX350 BK 88-Key Digital Piano
The Casio Privia range has long been making strides to compete with some of the top digital piano manufacturers in the market. Casio’s latest offering, the Casio PX350, hosts tons of features that attempt to emulate those of an acoustic piano and also features from a wide range of instruments.
The brand has managed to roll out these great capabilities into one instrument, and at a very affordable price. The PX350 still stands as one of Casio’s best sounding, and most playable keyboards to date, considering that you can use it both as a digital piano and keyboard as well.
The Privia is among the cheapest 88-key digital piano keyboard on the market. It features a simple design, with a key-bed that occupies most of the area of the piano. It has a compact display screen, with the interface being slim-lined and combines buttons for each category.
The PX350 comes in a variety of two colors, which are Black and White. The sleek, matte black finish is further complemented by ebony and ivory textured keys.
With the white finish, the PX350 has a more professional and bold look. You can also opt for a custom-built stand in the Casio CS-67, which is available in a matte black or white color, and a 3-pedal unit is included.
The touch of this Privia PX350 does well to mimic the action of a real piano. It has 88-keys Tri-Sensor scaled hammer action key-bed. The hammer adds to the realism of the keyboard, with a lighter weight towards the treble and a heavier weight towards the base. Casio equipped the PX350 with maximum 128-polyphony notes, which fully enable the instrument to sustain whatever you throw at it.
Sound is one feature the PX350 covers very well. It uses Casio’s AiR sound technology. It has a total of 250 tones to choose from, which makes the piano standout in its sound capabilities. The tones are rich and are some of the best found in any Casio keyboard.
The Casio PX350 digital piano has a USB compliant connection that approves the connection to tablets, computers and you can also use it as a MIDI connector. It also has LINE IN and LINE OUT jacks, which connects the piano to external sound systems. For a private practice or Duet sessions, the piano has two ¼ ” headphone jacks.
3. Yamaha YPG-535 88-Key Portable Grand Piano
Although the YPG-535 88-key digital piano is a little bit outdated, it is still registering high sales due to new features added to it by Yamaha in the recent releases. The piano features a total of 88 soft-touch semi-weighted keys.
Therefore, this keyboard is perfect for clavinet playing, organ playing, and many others. Most of the products released under this line have full 88-note keyboards and aim in combining portability and the closest feel of a grand piano. The YPG-535 is absolutely no different as it tries to incorporate this ability as well.
YPG-535 digital piano weighs 37 pounds, which is quite a reasonable weight in case you want to travel with it. When the stand is included, the piano measures 4-feet long and 2 and ½ feet high. The finishing comprises of a distinctive color that Yamaha likes to call Champagne Gold, which is an intuitive color that most keyboards lack.
It has two built-in speakers, each measuring 12cm with 6 Watt amplifiers. The key-bed casing has a nice black color lining that goes well with a matching black stand if you choose to get it.
The finishing comprises of a distinctive color that Yamaha likes to call Champagne Gold, which is an intuitive color that most keyboards lack. It has two built-in speakers, each measuring 12cm with 6 Watt amplifiers.
The key-bed casing has a nice black color lining that goes well with a matching black stand if you choose to get it.
YPG-535 Playing Experience
The feel of the 88-keys is very light, mainly because of the Semi-weighted action which we pointed out earlier. Normally, Yamaha uses a number of varying keyboard actions, ranging from Graded Soft Touch, Graded Hammer Standard and Graded Hammer 3 among others.
The GST, which the YPG-535 uses, is at the bottom of these Hammer systems. Therefore, you tend to hear a lot of clicking when playing the piano, since its action system is the one mostly used in a lot of low-end models from Yamaha.
However, the piano still uses Yamaha’s Advanced Wave Memory Stereo Sampling technology. What this means is that the YPG-535 takes 3 different layers of concert piano samples and matches them with exactly how you play.
YPG-535 Sound
Well, the YPG-535 has a whooping number of voices to choose from. It features over 500 voices, which range from drums, instruments, bass and string sections, along with the grand piano sound. It has a total of 127-panel voices, with SFX kits and 12 different drums to choose from.
The YPG-535 digital piano also includes the 361 XGlite voices. The feature has Yamaha’s signature ‘Sweet’, ‘Cool’, and ‘Live’ voices. The YPG-535 has 9 different types of reverb effects, 4 types of chorus effects, and a Master EQ system. It also has a 6-track recording system, which enables you to record and save your work.
The piano also has two USB ports. The USB to host-connects with a computer, transfers or records MIDI material. The USB to Device-connects with flash drives to transfer recorded files or bring in data from the drives.
The piano comes with a lyric and chord notation display. There is also the inclusion of the Yamaha Education Suite with 30-100 songs to learn with. The only downside of the Yamaha YPG-535 is the GST action and the 32-polyphony notes.
ALSO READ: 7 Things You Should Know Before Your Child Begins Playing the Piano
4. Williams Allegro 2 Digital Piano
For any beginner that aspires to master the art of skillful playing, the Williams Allegro 2 digital piano is good option to consider. What led us to include this instrument on the list is the use of the weighted hammer action keys.
But, note that, the only product available in the box is the Williams Allegro 2 keyboard and its music rest. You, therefore, have to purchase the power supply and the sustain pedal separately.
Fortunately, the ESS1 pack allows you to acquire all the needed accessories for an extremely affordable price. You may also use the piano with 6 D-type cell batteries. But only if you are not close to the power source or perhaps on the go.
The piano features a professional design and only weighs 29.8pounds. It has an elegant chassis that is available only in a matte black finish. The interface includes a power switch, volume knob, Metronome, Transpose and Octave function options. There are also song and record modes, an LCD display, and Layer/split modes. What’s more there are 6 buttons to manage the 10 present sounds.
The effects section includes the Reverb, Chorus and Modulations for better sound expressions. The back panel hosts a USB port for MIDI utilization. A sustain jack equipped with automatic polarity sensor, headphone jack, stereo outputs, and the power jack.
This particular model is an advanced one from the previous one which was quite disappointing. It also has seen some major boost in its sound quality. It now offers 10’ 2†concert grand piano sound. The sound is sampled with 3 different velocity layers.
Williams Allegro 2 also has 8 different available sounds. These include 2 organs, 2 electric pianos, 2 basses, and 2 pads. The piano also enables Layering where you can balance between two sounds, and even the Split mode, where you can select the different sounds for each side. It has a maximum of 64- polyphony notes.
5. LAGRIMA Digital Piano
If you are looking to add ambiance and beauty to your home while playing the piano, then the Lagrima 88-key electric keyboard is the right choice. It comprises of features convenient for a digital piano, and in an attractive console that looks amazing and feels even more acoustic.
The beautiful console is available in both black and white colors. To care for your keys, the piano is featured with a flip cover that helps to keep the keys clean and free from hazards. It features a traditional design, with a built-in pedalboard and a sheet music stand that adds to your home décor.
The full-size, 88-key keyboard utilizes the GHS action, which provides lighter weight on the high ends and heavier weight on the lower notes. Â This action truly replicates the feel and touch of the hammer action present in an acoustic piano.
With this type of weight, your finger strength and precision is further advanced and more familiarized with playing an acoustic piano. The Lagrima digital piano also features Touch-sensitivity, which allows you to adjust the key volume in consideration of how hard you press the key.
You may also turn off this feature if you prefer a more consistent volume during playtime. The keyboard may also be split into two halves for tutoring lessons. The piano possesses the DSP2000 sound sample, which offers clear, vivid and expressive sound reproduction. The sound is backed-up by built-in stereo speakers.
The speakers provide a well-balanced sound, which resonates from beneath the cabinet similar to an upright piano. Also, the piano comes with a choice of 480 tones. There are also 128 MIDI tones, 200 preset rhythms, and an additional 80 demo songs.
The polyphony count reaches a maximum of 64-notes, again making it stand out from many of its competitors that have much lesser count. Â For connectivity options, the Lagrima digital piano has 2 headphone jacks, convenient for private lessons or duet sessions.
It also enables you to connect to external digital devices, with a USB port onboard. The piano also facilitates MIDI devices with the availability of both MIDI input and output.
Conclusion
Our cheapest 88-key digital pianos review has provided you with the right information. Each of the pianos we’ve discussed here can be said to be the best cheap digital piano with weighted keys. As you’ve seen, most of them are not meant for the busy stage life, but a more practical and home type of environment.
They are the cheapest 88-key digital pianos and they also have an easy-to-use interface where the learner is able to navigate easily, as he/she further sharpen their playing skill.
For more information, check out our guide on how to get a digital piano cheap.
