So you are in the market for a digital keyboard that mimics an acoustic piano. Congrats! The piano is a beautiful instrument and there’s nothing else like it. Here are my suggestions for how to go about your search, and what my favorites are thus far.
A few things first:
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You want weighted keys (which take a little more pressure to press down on them, and don’t snap back up as quickly as unweighted keys will), since that’s how pianos feel. Key feel is very important. If you practice on an unweighted keyboard, transferring your skills to an acoustic piano will be more difficult.
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You’ll want to go in and try a few keyboards in person to see how they sound and feel. Something that’s particularly important to me is that the sound mimics the “swoosh” of the keys after they’re pressed, like a real piano would. You’ll find that some keyboards or even entire brands just sound weird to you – and this is hard to tell from YouTube videos.
Yamaha, while a popular brand, has a very particular soundstage built into their digital pianos. I don’t like the sound of most Yamaha keyboards, but you might. I thought the older DGX-620 sounded “not bad” for the price, but the keys weren’t weighted enough. I was disgusted at the P-515’s sound, and had to sell my P-45 because I couldn’t stand listening to it. To be honest, I made a mistake in being too cheap by buying the P-45. “Buy cheap, buy twice”, as they say.
Anything under $500 MSRP is suspect to me. Unless you are an absolute beginner on a budget, try to hit the $500+ mark, you won’t regret it.
My recommendation is to buy a Roland. The Roland F-107 has a beautiful, crisp sound to it, and the keys are weighted properly. It is by far my favorite keyboard piano for sound and touch feel.
I’ve also tried the RD-88, which I was impressed by. I tried out the FP-30X and FP-60X but was very neutral about their sound – they seemed muffled.
Absolutely crushing Guns N Roses on the Yamaha DGX-620.
Good luck – please go in and try instruments in person before you buy! Take advantage of Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist to score good deals on second hand gear. Most Guitar Centers also have used equipment in-store.
Daniel