In this article, we break down five best 88-key weighted keyboards on the market you can get nowadays. Whether you’re an aspiring piano student or you’re looking for a portable version of an acoustic piano, you can find what you need here.
An 88-key weighted keyboard is probably the best version to replace an acoustic piano compared with 61-key or 76-key non-weighted keyboards. This kind of keyboards is aiming at imitating the feel and the sound of a real piano while offering a wide range of digital benefits, including portable and compact design, tech features and no tuning required.
Normally, an 88-key weighted keyboard won’t cost you an arm or a leg. As the techniques of keyboards and digital pianos advances, they are designed to be closer to an acoustic piano while at an affordable price.
88 hammer-action keys with ivory and ebony key surfaces
Portable and compact
Onboard 2-track recorder
60 built-in songs with Lesson function
Best weighted digital piano under $500
Watch out for
Poor quality sustain pedal included
The sound quality is not the best
Casio Privia PX-160 is an 88-key hammer action weighted digital piano, offering responsive keys and some powerful features you would associated with more advanced model. It’s a famous model from Casio’s ‘Privia’ series, which is quite popular among beginners and intermediate players as well as gigging musicians for its high-quality piano essentials and portable design, etc.
When it comes to the weighted key action, Casio Privia PX-160 shines in this class. The model is equipped with Casio’s famous Tri-Sensor Scaled Hammer Action II weighted action, which uses three individual sensors for each key. It ensures you can get authentic feels and incredibly responsive keys while playing.
Additionally, it’s not common to get ivory and ebony key surfaces at this price range. But Casio Privia PX-160 exactly does have. It’s a kind of simulated key finish on the top of keys for improving the authentic feel of the keys.
Recording function is a useful tool for players from all levels of practice. The keyboard comes with a 2-track recorder. So, you can record your performance anytime and playback to check if somewhere goes wrong or use 2 tracks to practice two hands separately. (Check the full review here)
Incredible high-quality stereo sound with 192-note popular
Line-out jacks, 2 headphone jacks
Table EQ feature
Boosted sound system with 2 newly-improved speaker system
Portable and compact
Free Smart Pianist app
Watch out for
No ivory and ebony key surfaces
Weighted action may a bit light for advanced players
Are you looking for the best sounding 88-key weighted keyboard? Yamaha P-125 is your choice. This keyboard uses loads of ways to improve the quality of the sound, aiming at offering rich and spacious stereo sound.
The Yamaha P-125 is more piano oriented without providing lots of fancy features. The manufacturer put the highest priority on piano essentials, especially sound quality. Therefore, it perfectly fits for beginners and intermediate players who wish to buy an 88-key weighted keyboard for practicing and learning on.
The model is equipped with the Pure CF sound engine, which is Yamaha’s mid-range sound engine. The sampling was recorded from Yamaha’s famous 9-foot CFIIIS concert grand piano.
Impressively, the P-125 comes with 192-note polyphony and a newly improved 2-way speaker system, which contributes a lot to the quality of the sound as well. There are 4 speakers built-in, including two 12 cm full-size speakers and two 4m speakers. So, you can get the ultimate playing experiences with incredible boosted sound.
What is polyphony number?
Polyphony number means the maximum number of notes a digital piano can produce simultaneously. It usually works with sustain pedal and sound effects.
When you use sustain pedal, the notes need enough polyphony number to keep all the notes sounding as you continually add more notes.
Additionally, sometimes a digital piano needs two notes for one key to generate sound because of the use of stereo samples.
Yamaha P-125 is from the ‘P’ series which stands out for portable. From the first glance of this 88-key weighted keyboard, you can see the sleek and clean appearance it has. Weighing at only 26 pounds, it’s chosen to be one of the best portable keyboards on the market. Together with loads of jacks for hooking up with external devices, it’s a solid option for gigging musicians and on-the-go musicians.
Just like Casio Privia PX-160, Casio PX-S1000 is coming in as an 88-key weighted keyboard under $500 as well. This model is a very affordable keyboard with loads of useful features and functions waiting for you to explore.
Casio PX-S1000 Digital Piano is a versatile digital piano that not only features high-quality piano essentials but also the functions of synthesizers.
It comes with weighted keys and grand piano sound, which ensures you get pleasant playing experiences.
Not like other 88-key weighted keyboards with few voices and rhythms, Casio PX-S1000 is loaded with a wide range of voices and rhythms, including 700 voices and 200 rhythms. If you’re a fan of music creating, you can use them to spark your music creativity and get some inspirations.
It can be used as a MIDI controller to work with DAWs or other software for music creating, learning, or music editing, etc. The keyboard can be found automatically on your computer or tablet.
Casio PX-S1000 comes with 88 weighted keys. There are 3 levels of weight for you to choose from. You can use the proper weight while practicing to improve your finger strength and use the low weight while doing music creating.
There are also educational features integrated into the keyboard for beginners to learn on. Step-up lessons can make your learning process more engaging and Music Challenges offers lots of game for learning.
Overall, Casio PX-S1000 is quite like a synthesizer while also offers high-quality piano essentials. So, you can use it without sacrificing the quality of piano playing experiences. It’s a great 88-key weighted keyboard for you to create music or use it as a MIDI controller.
Roland FP-10 comes with a sleek and compact appearance, which makes it a solid option for those who live in a small apartment.
The Roland FP-10 is marketed as a digital piano for beginners and it also comes with some advanced features for giving you more room to improve.
The keyboard uses the same sound engine and weighted keyboard as Roland FP-30, a more advanced model from Roland ‘FP’ series. It makes Roland FP-10 become one of the best 88-key weighted keyboards in this price range.
It features 88 hammer-action weighted keys, which means the higher up the registers you go, the lighter it feels to hit the keys. You’ll get authentic weighted action, just like an acoustic piano. For players from all levels, you can use it to practice your finger techniques properly.
The model comes with 5 levels of touch sensitivity in contrast with 3 levels of other digital pianos in this class. You can adjust it to suit your own preference or music styles.
What is touch sensitivity?
A touch-sensitive keyboard means the volume is not controlled. The harder you press the keys, the louder sound you’ll get. It’s a feature that imitates acoustic pianos, giving you the feel of responsive keys and accurate dynamic control.
Impressively, what makes the FP-10 shine is the Bluetooth connectivity. It allows you to connect to your smart devices wirelessly instead of using a cable.
Plus, the App Piano Partner 2 can be used as a remote controller to operate your keyboard in case you get lost in which setting you are at. Additionally, the app has some unique features that are excellent for beginners. For example, Flash Card games allow you to train your basic music skills.
Yamaha P71 has received a high rating on Amazon and it’s one of the best sellers in the piano department.
By using Yamaha’s famous GHS weighted action, it has become one of the best 88-key keyboards with weighted keys, offering you realistic responsive keys and it’s a perfect instrument to train your finger strength for when it comes to performing on an acoustic piano.
Yamaha P71 is a simple digital piano that is equipped with high-quality sound and keys feel without bells and whistles to distract you while practicing. If you really want a keyboard to learn on and practice, you can end up choosing the P71.
The keyboard is super compact and portable, weighing at only 25 lbs. So, if you’re a college student who needs to commute a lot or live in a roomy apartment, Yamaha P-71 is a solid option to go for.
To conclude, the best 88-key weighted keyboard listed comes with different features and functions that fit your needs. If you want to have realistic playing experiences like on a real piano, an 88-key keyboard with weighted keys are important to you.
Make sure you’ve set your goals before choosing any keyboards or digital pianos. So that you can get the right one for you.
