BUYING GUIDE: How to choose the perfect keyboard

Piano or Keyboard?

Got 5+k to spend, plenty of space and are passionate about authentic piano playing - get an acoustic piano and never look back.

Worried the kids will be more into playing xbox than the piano? Enter the keyboard. She won’t take up as much room, she can produce a wealth of sounds, can make practice silent through headphones, can come equipped with learning tools and she’ll be cheaper to run.

 

The keyboard features you need to care about:

Number of keys - how do you like to play? Large range of tones? Go 88 keys. Want portability? You can get away with a 66 keys. Think about how a smaller number of keys might limit your playing.

Weight - When playing, how hard you press the keys should drastically change the sound. In a real piano the keys have weight to them as the internal hammer is held up from hitting the strings. This tension between the hammer and strings is used to control how soft or punchy the tones are that you make. This is no.1 to consider if you want your playing to inspire any kind of emotion. You need the feeling in your fingers of how hard you are hitting virtual strings to play somewhat seriously. Otherwise you’ll end up with a flat technique. Parents, don’t get distracted by flashy displays and a huge number of sounds. Look for something well weighted. Semi weighted will do for a beginner, but fully weighted is encouraged here.

The basics - Ok, check these off if you need them:

Learning features - practice is, well, umm, if you don’t, you will suck. So if you can make it easier to learn then that is dollars well spent.

Unless you like keyboards as ornaments?

Learning features like metronomes for timing, backing tracks and screens with finger guides are all helpful. Some keyboards allow you to record yourself and export tracks so you can quickly review where you go wrong or show off your talent.

What’s not helpful is having 1000’s of sounds. It’s fun exploring them all for a day and making weird noises like kids laughing and windows smashing every time you hit a key but it won’t last. Your hopes of raising the next great pianist will loose out to the xbox.

This graph from Findthebest.com shows that the top pianos don’t have a lot a sounds to be great. You want quality over quantity:

 

Polyphony

Poly- what? Digital Piano Polyphony is the number of individual notes that a digital piano can play at the same time. You want at least 64 notes. 128 is ideal. How do you play 128 notes at the same time without lying down on keyboard? You use a sustain pedal. To get that full, heart-warming sound from your keyboard you will need a high maximum polyphony. Then we can go and woo people with your beautiful melodies.

C’mon, now we know let’s look at the types of keyboard, so you can choose what’s best for you. Let’s break down these mystical creatures of keys.

 

Types of keyboard

 

Portable Keyboards

Portable keyboards are loaded with features. Many of which are geared toward learning and becoming a better player. And at a portable size, it’s no wonder this is the most popular type of keyboard available.

If learning, this is the way to go. There’s some cheaper/ more affordable options which is often the biggest decider. The tools to help you learn will make you love playing because you can pick things up yourself.
 

MIDI

‘Musical Instrument Digital Interface’ is the brain that allows your instrument to talk to a computer or module. MIDIs connected to computers or modules with the right software you can create any sound imaginable. Think of the most whacked-out sound you can right now - you could create this using the right software and a midi controlled keyboard.

My midi keyboard connects via USB. When plugged into Logic Pro or similar software I can create guitar tracks, drums, strings, synths etc. by assigning instruments to the keys or pads and playing away.

 

Synthesizer

To be clear, the synthesizer is the part that actually makes the noise from a MIDI. Usually a keyboard comes with a synthesizer but you can buy a synth on its own. This is called a sound or synth module.

For example, my MIDI keyboard can only make sound when plugged into my laptop, which when acting as a synthesizer (through software), makes the tones. That makes MIDIs a lot cheaper but then you have to have a synth to produce the sound.

According to Giovanni Giorgio, the synthesizer is “The sound of the future”.
 

Keyboard Workstations and Arrangers

I think a keyboard workstation sounds self explanatory - it’s got everything you need to record an album and make it to number 1 on itunes. That’s a lie. But it does have a lot of things.

They all vary in features so I can’t claim too many specifics. I can say the place of workstation is changing to become the ultimate tool for recording music ideas quickly.

 

Digital Pianos

I guess this is the best of both worlds. Often reflected in the price, digital pianos often have wooden keys, are fully weighted and look more like pianos. Only, they’re digital as well!

 

2. Define your keyboard/piano needs

Now you’ve got the basics, define what YOU need in a piano keyboard, set your budget and get shopping.

Learning, with not too much space, don’t want to spend more that $300 go for this.

An experienced player wanting the best of both worlds with a budget or $1000 got for this beautiful Beale DP500 Digitla Piano.

You actually just want to make tracks, edit music and explore get this Roland MIDI keyboard with pads for $279.

Performing? Stand out with a NORD.

Need a keyboard Amp then check the range here.


What's your favourite keyboard?

In the comments let us know your thoughts. What's your favourite keyboard and why did you choose it?