Eighty-eight keys, and what they weigh
A digital piano is bought for its sound and lived with for its keys, its pedal socket and its headphone jack. Eighty-eight keys with a hammer action feel like an instrument; sixty-one springy keys feel like a controller with speakers, and no amount of onboard voices closes that gap. We compare key count and action type, stated polyphony, whether the pedal input takes a single footswitch or a three-pedal unit, and whether the headphone output is a 3.5 mm socket or a full 6.35 mm jack — the detail that decides which cable you also need to buy.
88 touch-sensitive keys · 480 sounds · full accessory bundle
Not a weighted piano and not sold as one: 88 full-size touch-sensitive keys, 480 sounds, and a bundle that includes the stand, pedal, headphones, bag and adapter. The most complete box in this lot.
Best for: A first instrument for someone who is not yet sure they will keep playing.
≈ $190 / £150 / 190 €
88 weighted keys · 10 sounds · pedal and stand included
A slim 88-key board with Casio’s Scaled Hammer Action II and, unusually at this price, the SP-3 pedal, music rest and power adapter already in the box. Ten sounds rather than hundreds — the money went into the keys.
Best for: A first weighted piano where the pedal and adapter should not be a second order.
≈ 300 €
88 keys · SuperNATURAL · headphone output
Roland’s entry into the FP series: 88 keys with an ivory-feel surface, the SuperNATURAL engine, and a keyboard mechanism Roland describes as quiet in itself — the detail that decides whether a flat-dweller can practise at night.
Best for: Someone who will practise mostly in headphones and wants the action to be the strong part.
≈ $500 / £390 / 400 €
88 GHS keys · three pedals · console cabinet
A console piano rather than a portable one: 88 Graded Hammer Standard keys, three pedals and a cabinet that stays where you put it. Yamaha also fits a volume limiter, which sets a ceiling on output.
Best for: A permanent practice piano in a room where it can stay assembled.
≈ 700 €
