The best 61-keys digital pianos are some of the most sought-after pianos. They are perfect for gigs, small events, and the right choice for your practicing sessions.
If you are looking for a quality digital piano – a robust yet still simple piano to practice and make music flawlessly with, then it doesn’t get easier than this list.
We have made it easier for you with our comprehensive list of the top 5 best 61-keys digital pianos.
Read on to get informed on what kind of instrument is best suited to your needs.
1. Yamaha EZ-220 61-Keys Digital Piano
The Yamaha EZ-220 digital piano is a 61 touch-sensitive keyboard with lighted keys, in-built wireless connectivity with 100 preset songs making it the perfect learn-to-play keyboard.
The piano also contains a wide variety of voices onboard totaling up to 392, which lets you play strings, brass, guitars, drums, synthesizers, and many more instruments.
Being a Yamaha keyboard, the EZ-220 features the Yamaha Education Suite, which offers even more ways to learn, especially for beginners. The EZ-220 has Yamaha Music DeLights, which is a group music program that uses the technology of a CVP-705 Clavinova and the lighted keys of the EZ-220 keyboard so that anyone can experience the joy of making music flawlessly.
The piano comes in an all-black finish and weighs in at 4.4kgs (9lbs) when batteries are absent. Dimensions measure 37-3/16″ in Width, 4-3/8″ in height, and 13-11/16″ in Depth. Therefore, it is a standard built digital piano that has the advantage of taking up as minimal space as possible.
The control interface is made up of the 61-keys, which are organ type with the touch-response. For display, the EZ-220 offers an LCD screen, which measures 92mm x 32mm (3-5/8″ x 1-1/4″).
Yamaha featured the EZ-220 with AWM Stereo Sampling Tone Generation Technology, to facilitate the 392 voices onboard. It also has 2.5W speakers, which makes it convenient to practice around the house.
Since it is a beginner digital piano, the EZ-220 only has a polyphony count of 32-notes, which makes for easy learning. On to the keyboard, the Yamaha EZ-220 features a sensitive keyboard that lacks the Hammer Action in most Yamaha pianos.
The keys are made of plastic and are spaced conventionally, not to confuse the novice. So, the basics are observed here, which makes this piano very useful.
Connectivity features include a USB MIDI to Host connection that allows you to connect the piano to a music editing program. Through this connection, you can record MIDI tracks, which you can later on transfer to the music sheet directly.
Although the EZ-220 digital piano brings with it a connection to plug a sustain pedal, it doesn’t include a pedal, and so you are forced to purchase one separately.
To make it possible for quiet practicing, the piano has an output for headphones but doesn’t include an exit line. Therefore, if you wish to connect the EZ-220 to an amplification system, you’ll have to use the output of headphones.
Additional features include XG-Lite compatibility with the 392 in-built voices, the Lesson Function, and Yamaha’s Page Turner application for iPad. The page-turner application, as the name suggests, turns the pages automatically, which allows you to only focus on the music.
On top of that, the app is also capable of recording the audio of your playing and singing. You can also play the piano without using a power source with its battery capabilities. Therefore, you can use the instrument from anywhere without the worry of power supply.
If you want a digital piano that is easy and fast to assemble, then we highly recommend the Yamaha EZ-220.
2. Yamaha PSR-E353 Digital Piano
Taking the second place on our list of the top 5 best 61 keys digital pianos is the PSR-E353 from the Yamaha PSR beginner series. The keyboard is well suited for beginners and offers enough features as well as capabilities to fully facilitate a novice.
So, if you’ve just started your piano journey, then the PSR-E353 is one instrument you can’t afford to overlook. Here we’ll show you why this digital piano can be your best starting point.
The control interface features an LCD that enables you to monitor the keyboard status while selecting your desired settings with relative ease. It, of course, features a 61-note keyboard equipped with touch sensitivity.
At a glance, it’s hard to tell that the Yamaha PSR-E353 digital piano is a beginner’s instrument. Yamaha did some excellent job of decorating it with black and gray colors, with a very sharp, angular and rigid frame. The piano looks very professional and has little to no rounded edges. Just like the EZ-220, the PSR-E353 also uses the AWM Sampling Technology for the piano’s tone generation.
Therefore, you can hear a comprehensive and dynamic range of the many piano tones. The PSR-E353 comes with 573 sounds to choose from, with only a maximum polyphony count of 32-notes.
These sounds are in a wide variety ranging from the grand pianos, organs, electric pianos, brass, drums, among others. The selection of these sounds has also been made easy as you can scroll through them individually or select patches manually.
With this piano, you can play along to different chords, rhythms, as well as genres, all from the press of a button, thanks to the 158 backing styles available. The speaker system is the same as that of the Yamaha EZ-220, with two (2) 2.5W speakers.
Since the keyboard doesn’t have the weighted action, the 61 keys on the E353 are lighter to the touch, hence, more comfortable to press. So, for those who prefer lighter keys, this piano will serve you just fine. It is also the best key action for beginners who haven’t quite gathered the finger strength needed to play on a fully-weighted keyboard.
The PSR-E353 digital piano Yamaha has many effects to add more flavor to your music creating process. These effects include a Reverb effect, Chorus effect, Master EQ effect, Harmony, Ultra-wide Stereo effect, and 150 types of Arpeggio effects to liven up the classical ballads.
The keyboard functions include the Dual Layer Effect as well as the Split Mode, where you can divide the piano into two halves.
For connections, the PSR-E353 comes with a USB to Host, which allows you to connect to a computer, a headphone jack, AUX In that will enable you to play along to any song, a Sustain Pedal input, and a DC IN 12V for power supply. Weighing at only 9.7lbs, the Yamaha PSR-E353 is a very portable digital piano.
At its price range, don’t accept to settle for anything less while the PSR-E353 is readily affordable for you.
3. Casio CT-X700 Digital Piano
The Casio CT-X700 digital piano is a budget-friendly digital piano equipped with many useful features to enhance playability. It is one of the pianos in Casio’s new CT-X line, which is an upgrade from the company’s well known CT-K line of portable keyboards.
On to its design, the CT-X700 is a beautiful looking digital piano with sleek black finishing. Its dimensions measure 4.3″ in Height, 37.3″ in Width, and 13.8″ in Depth, respectively. The piano only weighs in at 9.5lbs, which shows that it’s a lightweight keyboard and very portable.
The keyboard features 61 velocity-sensitive keys, and are below a series of controls for switching the playback controls and keyboard’s tones. You’ll find speakers on both ends of the keyboard, and next to the left speaker, there is a list of rhythms, sounds, and song backs.
When it comes to sound capabilities, the CT-X700 digital doesn’t disappoint. It comes with 600 built-in instrument tones, 195 built-in rhythms, 310 music presets, an onboard library of 160 songs, and 100 types of Arpeggio. You can also add your melodies and rhythms to create your own presets, as well as record and playback your performances.
Even better, the CT-X700 digital piano features Casio’s new AiX Sound Engine that produces fantastic instrument voices accompanied by excellent memory handling. With this engine, you get higher quality sound samples and better audio performance.
The piano has a polyphony count of 48-notes, making it one of the best 61-keys digital pianos at its price range. Effects onboard include the Master EQ, Chorus, and the Reverb effect. Additionally, there are 110 song demos and 50 practice exercises, making the keyboard a solid choice for beginners looking to learn how to play.
The keyboard has a few different modes to help beginners along too- there’s an “easy” mode, and songs, which you can separate by hand.
The CT-X700 also hosts the following functions: Keyboard layering and split functions, transpose, tuning, and octave shift functions, and finally, a registration function.
Connectivity features include Audio Input for connecting external gear, class-compliant USB-MIDI port, which connects to any Mac, PC, Android, or iOS device (no drivers or installation required), and 1 x 1/4″ Audio Output for connecting your headphones.
One additional feature of the Casio CT-X700 digital piano is it comes with Digital Signal Processor (DSP) effects that combine algorithms for the ultimate performance in each instrument sound.
Furthermore, the keyboard also has a registration function that allows you to save different set-ups, tones, and rhythms. The registration function lets you switch set-ups without the need for reconfiguring settings every time.
In summation, the Casio CT-X700 piano digital offers a wide array of features and capabilities. The piano is the best choice for a committed beginner and promises a lot of help with the lesson functions on board.
ALSO READ: The Best Digital Piano Under $1000
4. Yamaha PSR-E453 Digital Piano
The Yamaha PSR-E453 digital piano is arguably one of the best 61-keys digital pianos. It features superb sound quality as well as backing accompaniments.
The E453 is designed for music students and composers. It is an all-round keyboard ideal for beginners but can also work well as an alternative for experienced players in search of advanced features. The design features a matte black color with standard black and white keys. Its body consists of plastic, which makes the PSR-E453 a very lightweight digital piano.
The piano weighs about 6.6kgs (14lbs), and the dimensions measure 5-1/2″ High, 15-15/16″ Deep, and 37-1/4″ in Width. As for the control interface, you get a pitch bend, control knobs, and an LCD screen which lights up blue and makes it easy for you to read the contents. There are also two 6W speakers, one on each end and both covered in a mesh-like speaker cover.
The piano features the standard full-size 61-key touch response keyboard, excellent for beginners. Its touch response is also the right choice for players who prefer a lighter touch on the keys as compared to the weighted action keyboards.
So what features does the PSR-E453 have, which make it one of the best 61-keys digital pianos?
The PSR-E453 piano digital comes with a whopping 758 high-quality voices, ranging from electric to acoustic instruments. Also, this piano features 8 Sweet! Voices and 3 Cool! Voices that use Yamaha’s AWM Sampling Technology to capture the specific characteristics and realism of each sound played.
To ensure that essential notes don’t drop immaturely, the PSR-E453 has a 48-note polyphony that allows you to perform complex passages. You also get two assignable real-time knobs for filtering and adjusting the sound. The piano also offers ten brand new DSP effects that can be assigned and controlled by the knobs for expressive and dynamic live performance.
For sounds like the Guitar, Sax, and Trumpet to be heard clearly, you can use the Pitch Bend Wheel, which adjusts the pitch of each of the sounds. As you’ve seen, the PSR-E453 offers fantastic sound capabilities to suit any level of piano players.
For connectivity options, Yamaha also performed well with this digital piano. It features audio transfer through the USB to Host terminal, which allows you to record and your performance to your PC or smart device. There is also the USB to Device terminal that lets you load and save your settings to a USB flash drive, and transfer data to your PC.
For better private practicing sessions, the PSR-E453 comes with a 1x Headphone jack, which can also act as an output jack. The PSR-E453 also comes with a Sustain Pedal. One additional feature that we liked was Yamaha’s Music Database, which automatically selects for you the best accompaniment and voices when you choose a song.
The Yamaha PSR-E453 digital piano is a fantastic digital piano that is ideal as a starter instrument but proves that it can still be of great use to experienced players.
5. Casio LK-280 Digital Piano
Winding up on our list is the Casio LK-280 digital piano. It is one of a kind virtual music teacher that services you 24/7 with integrated Set-Up lesson System. The keyboard is available at an extremely affordable price that doesn’t exceed $200. So, this is a budget-friendly instrument that still offers advanced features for fantastic playability.
The piano’s design features a lightweight, silver chassis along with two slots fitted with two 2.5W speakers. In the middle of the frame is a large display that provides you with all of the most crucial details within the piano’s settings.
However, the screen isn’t back-lighted, and this denies you the chance to play the piano in a darkened room.
The control interface also features the power switch and volume knob, the Song/Rhythm section, the Set-Up lesson section, and an additional number of buttons to control the Metronome, built-in recorder, the Sing-along Mode among other functions.
On to the rear side of the Casio LK-280 digital piano, you’ll find an SD-card slot, a Microphone input along with its volume knob, a Sustain jack, a USB to Host port, a Phones/Output as well as an additional audio input.
The piano features 61 touch-responsive lighted keys that make it super easy to use for beginners and intermediate pianists as well. An overwhelming advantage to beginners is that this is a light-up keyboard piano.
It means that the keyboard allows you to learn at your own pace by following the lighted keys until you master them all.
Sound is, of course, a significant factor in any digital piano, and the LK-280 offers a fantastic selection of voices. The keyboard has a total of 600 built-in tones, 152 preset songs, and a 5-song recorder. With 48 polyphony notes, this piano allows you to play intricate music pieces quite well.
The sound effects onboard include ten types of Reverbs and five types of Choruses. Therefore, the sustain effect enables the fullest expressiveness of the LK-280 digital piano.
The piano uses the AHL Sound Engine’s piano sampling technology, which makes the LK-280 sound just the same as other Casio pianos. The AHL Sound Engine includes a built-in DSP that is responsible for adding the available effects to the mix.
Additionally, there is an Arpeggiator with 90 different patterns as well as an Auto-Harmonizer. Sound is an advantage when it comes to the Casio LK-280 digital piano.
If you are in search of a digital piano that will assist you well in your learning journey, then we highly recommend the Casio LK-280. It is among the topmost preferred entry-level keyboards, and it promises to set a strong foundation with beginners’ music basics.
Is a 61 Key Piano Bad?
A small keyboard with 61 keys is mostly ideal for beginners to start learning and playing all kinds of music. This type of piano allows you to play all contemporary styles like pop & rock. However, you also get the chance to play jazz. Additionally, a 61-key digital piano enables you to play classical music.
Can You Play Moonlight Sonata on a 61-key Keyboard?
Yes, you can play Moonlight Sonata on a 61-key keyboard. They are both only two movements each, which means you don’t need half a year to learn the notes. Except for maybe 3 or 4 non-essential notes on the left hand. Therefore, it’s easy to play them on a 61-key digital piano.
Conclusion
So, there you have it – our well-researched list of the top 5 best 61-keys digital pianos on the market. The keyboards reviewed here come with advanced features to set the right pace for aspiring players as well as intermediate level pianists.
The pianos are also quite affordable and host a ton of helpful features. These features provide room for creativity in both learning and composing music.
