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There’s nothing better than having a full keyboard if you play piano, I have limped around on a 61-note synth and even on a 73-note board it feels like there’s “something missing.”
Some traditionalists bristle at the mention of anything but an acoustic stringed piano, but modern technology has certainly overcome a lot of the naysayers. Digital pianos have been available for a few decades now and usually are designed for the living room.
We want to cut the weight and take this on the road. Let’s look at some contenders in the field of 88 key weighted keyboards.
A Note on Tone
I don’t want to gloss over an important part of this discussion, but I am going to omit any descriptors of tone in this review. Each of the research and design teams we are working with have invested innumerable hours in studio sampling sessions, painstaking keyboard zone assignment, and years of midnight editing to make their sounds as realistic and compelling as possible — and they all do a FANTASTIC job.
Back in the bad old days of some of the first digital pianos, some brands touted their sounds as superior to others. After 40 years of development, nowadays you can expect the grands to sound grand, and strings to sound like strings. And, yes, they are shimmering. We’re going to focus on features with this list of the best 88-key weighted keyboards.
Best Yamaha 88-Key Weighted Keyboards
Yamaha really deserves to be our first stop because they’re one of the pioneers of digital pianos.
Based in Hamamatsu, Japan, Yamaha has been in business since 1887. They introduced some of the first digital pianos with their Clavinova line in 1987. After 38+ years of development, it’s safe to say they have figured out a few things.
Yamaha P45
The Yamaha P45 is the most affordable 88 note keyboard in Yamaha’s offerings. The weighted keybed is graduated from heavy on the bass side to light on the treble side, just like an acoustic piano, making this keyboard ideal for students planning on performing on acoustic piano. The P45 can also be run in “Dual” mode, so a student and teacher can play side by side.
The selection of 10 different sounds can be layered (piano/strings etc), and the dual headphone jack mutes the 12 watt/2x5” internal speakers for silent practice. All in all, this represents a solid value from a company with a great reputation.
Yamaha P225
Yamaha P225 88 Key Weighted Action Digital Piano in Black
Special Price $749.99
The team at Yamaha can always be counted on to put up a solid effort, and no less is true of the P225.
Available in black or white, the Yamaha P225’s sleek modern design makes this piano at home in the living room, on the deck, or at the coffeehouse. Yamaha packs this one with a ton of cool features: Graded hammer action keys accurately replicate the acoustic piano feel, and the half-damper sustain pedal feature allows extended nuance to your playing.
Yamaha also has some cool apps to get you up and running: The “Smart Pianist” app helps you access all the features of the instrument, and the “Rec and Share” app allows you to easily record a performance and share online with your teacher or social media.
Yamaha MODX M8
Yamaha describes the MODX M8 as a synthesizer in their press releases, but the piano aspect of this instrument is massive, and it has 88 graded hammer-action keys, so we definitely thinks it counts as one of the best 88-key weighted keyboards.
Yamah recently released the newest iteration of the insanely successful MODX series that launched in 2018. The new edition features huge upgrades in the available memory and real time controls, but probably the most noticeable upgrade is the size and weight.
The slimmer, lighter MODX M8 is packing a whopping 10.7 GB of wave samples (when converted to 16-bit linear format), so you can scroll through sounds for days. It’s hard to describe the scope of the editing in this instrument, there are features like sound morphing between several samples in real time, a built-in 16-track sequencer for building out arrangements, and the new “super knob” which allows simultaneous control over several assignable parameters. The large touch screen display and eight assignable encoders allow quick access to the extensive editing screens.
Yamaha’s capable Motion Control Synthesis Engine is teamed up with their famous FM-X synth engine and their AXN3 oscillator based synth engine to allow creators an unlimited blank canvas to dream up new soundscapes.
Of course, Yamaha knows how to piano, and the MODX 8M would make an excellent choice for a stage piano with miles of extras tagging along.
Best Roland 88-Key Weighted Keyboards
Let’s linger in the land of the rising sun a little longer and visit Roland Corporation, another legacy powerhouse in all matters digital.
Founded in Osaka, Japan in 1971, Roland relocated to the musical hotbed of Hamamatsu in 2005. This team came up with world’s first touch-sensitive electric piano and pretty much invented the stage piano market when they introduced their wildly successful “RD” series of stage pianos in 1986. Constant innovation in this line for 39 years has resulted some spectacular offerings for home, stage and studio.
Roland FP Series
Five models comprise the FP Series: FP10, FP30, FP50, FP60 and FP90X. Ranging in price from $499.00 to $2,299.00, these keyboards offer a ton of value for a wallet friendly budget.
All models feature Roland’s proprietary SuperNATURAL piano sound engine, which was the result a ferocious amount of research and development at their mad scientist’s lair. The result is a lush immersive tone, with special attention given to the harmonic interaction between the strings of an acoustic piano as well as the resonance of the afternotes when damping the strings.
FP keyboards all feature onboard speakers, which are muted when headphones are in use, and PHA-4 Standard graded hammer-action keybed for authentic piano feel. The keys are specially treated to have a dusty feel like a real (now illegal) ivory and ebony keyset.
Bluetooth and MIDI connectivity allows you to expand your creativity by connecting to a digital audio workstation (DAW) and apps ranging from Apple GarageBand to Roland’s Piano Partner 2. While Roland markets these as “Digital Stage Pianos” their compact design fits neatly into a living-room format with optional furniture style stands.
Roland RD08
Now stepping into the RD line proper, the Roland RD08 is a compact design for easy transport and setup on crowded stages — but still with 88 keys.
The rugged metal chassis should survive the rigors of gigging for years. The layout is simple and intuitive with controls for transpose, sound selections, and volume on the top panel clearly marked. The display is not glaring, but some might call it a bit small.
Roland stays with the wooden graded hammer-action PHA-4 keybed for authentic feel and the SuperNATURAL sound engine, offering stunning grands, uprights, clavs, and vibes modeled in incredible detail.
The RD series also features Roland’s formidable ZEN-CORE sound engine with 3,000 more sounds like synths , strings, bass, and brass. If you visit the Roland Cloud, you can purchase an optional expansion pack for even more sounds. Onboard stereo 2-way speakers are powered by two 6-watt amps for enough sound to practice and even play small venues.
Roland RD88EX
The Roland RD88EX expands on the same chassis size as the RD08, so it’s super compact and easy to sneak into crowded stages and portable enough to take to the summer cabin.
Once you get there, you will enjoy the two 6-watt onboard powered speakers for room filling sound. The controls are intuitively grouped on the top of the piano, making instant access to banks and sounds with dedicated select buttons. The large backlit LCD display gives detailed info on settings, transposition, key splits, and layers.
Where the RD88EX sets itself apart from the 08 is the addition of powerful new sound engines: SuperNATURAL pianos, SuperNATURAL E electric pianos, and ZENcore, with 3,000 synths and supporting patches.
The RD88EX makes a great stage piano but is also studio friendly with DAW control and full MIDI and USB implementation including USB file playback for onboard backing tracks. Speaking of backing tracks, there’s also a built-in rhythm section for quick access to some cool beats: a useful writing tool. Multi-effects, EQ, and “Tone Color” can be assigned to three independent zones.
This 88-key weighted keyboard puts a lot of horsepower at your fingertips at a wallet-friendly price.
Roland RD2000EX
Now landing in the RD hot zone proper, the Roland RD2000 is Rolands’s flagship stage piano. They pretty much threw everything they have at it and then shoved in some more: two independent sound engines, Roland V-Piano, SuperNATURAL, and their new Virtual Tonewheel Organ and PCM synth give this instrument an almost limitless range of tone. The addition of two Wave Expansion Slots allow you to visit their Axial site and peruse the growing library of classic vintage and modern sounds.
As if all that wasn’t cool enough, throw in 9 independent key zones for splits and layers, 9 sliders, and 8 encoders for instant real time control. My favorite pitch controller is their famous paddle/lever combo, but they also give you two assignable wheel controllers for modulation or pitch.
I could probably write a separate article about the effects processor; safe to say it is deep and easy to tweak small details in real time. The RD2000 is a fully functional 24-bit/192 kHz USB audio/MIDI interface, making it right at home in your studio and for live recording applications.
On the backside you’ll find balanced XLR and two ¼” stereo outputs, so you can run balanced to the mains and have two monitor outputs for stage (your sound engineer will give you cookies), inputs for damper (DP10 included) and optional expression pedals, stereo aux input for outboard audio, full-size MIDI I/0 and USB, and a full-size headphone jack so you can leave that little adapter in your ditty bag.
Gotta give the Roland team a lot of respect for staying at the wheel for such a long time with this series. Their hard work is wonderfully evident.
Roland V-STAGE88
The Roland V-STAGE88 takes a very different approach to stage performance compared to their industry-famous RD series. The controls are grouped into four sections left to right, and each of the sections has its own dedicated sound engine, and dedicated control panel allowing the player to turn the section on, adjust the volume, and quickly select key zone and octave to build splits on the fly.
One of the cool features here is that you can adjust the sounds and effects in any section without having the section turned on, so you can “pre-stage” a sound before introducing it into the mix.
The whole idea is to create a seamless environment for performing. Subtle changes can made in real time without diving into menus or scrolling through options. There’s a dedicated control on the keyboard for almost any function you would care about.
The center LCD display is flanked by quick access buttons for tempo, transpose, and menu access, and a bank of buttons below allows instant scene access and assignable control encoders.
The V-Stage88 really is the culmination of the decades of research and development at Team Roland.
Best Korg 88-Key Weighted Keyboards
Founded in 1967, Korg Electronics is the “new kid on the block” in the Japanese electronic community. They started out making drum machines and synthesizers and added their first stage piano, the Korg LP10, to their catalog in 1980.
By 1986 They were in the digital piano game with the release of the SG1, their first digitally sampled piano. They may be the new kids, but dreaming up techno wizardry for 58 years has resulted in some amazing tools for making music.
Korg D1
Coming in at just under $1K, the D1 is Korg’s most affordable 88-key weighted keyboard — but that doesn’t mean they cut corners.
The Korg D1 features a Japanese-made RH3 wooden keybed, properly weighted from low to high. The compact chassis is just over ten inches deep, making this piano easy to fit in tight stages or living rooms.
Korg has taken care to faithfully recreate the sympathetic vibrations of open strings when sustaining a chord, and five types of touch sensitivity allows you to dial the keyboard in for beginners with small hands. 30 sounds with 3 effects make getting cool tone easy. The sustain pedal supports “half damping” just like an acoustic piano. The Korg D1 offers a lot of value for the price point.
Korg SV288
Korg introduced the wildly successful Stage Vintage series in 2000. The design mission was to create an electric piano with some funky soul to it, kind of like an old Wurlitzer or Rhodes.
The Korg SV288 is the result of 26 years of tweaking that approach, and the instrument has a lot of cool aesthetic and technical prowess to show for it.
74 pristine sounds can be user edited and stored in 64 “user favorite” locations. Each favorite can also include its own zones, splits, and layers, with up to three different timbres in each zone.
Sticking with the vintage vibe, the SV288 has no display screen or menus to crawl through. But the panel controls offer quick, intuitive access to the editing functions and recall of favorites. The SV288 also doesn’t have built-in speakers (vintage, again), but the SV288SP does!
Korg Grandstage X
The Korg Grandstage X shares the weighted wooden keybed and many of the features of the Stage Vintage model. But for this one, Korg absolutely throws the book at it with a sleek striking architectural design.
Under the polished two-tone ivory hood resides all 7 of Korg’s independent sound engines, allowing for 700 internal sounds to work with. Korg does a cool trick with their approach to sampling: Most manufacturers boast of having stereo samples for their piano sounds. Korg engineers realized that for many performances a mono sample would “sit in the mix” more genuinely, having less aliasing or phase issues than a stereo sample set — clever. Of course the Grandstage X still has killer stereo sample sets as well.
It’s also worth pointing out that many digital pianos will play a sample and, when decaying, the sample will start looping to save memory: The Grandstage X uses non-looping samples, which are incredibly memory hungry, but provide natural, true decay.
All in all, the Korg Grandstage X is a statement piece and deserves the flagship ranking it holds.
Best Nord 88-Key Weighted Keyboards
Stockholm, Sweden is home to the Nord design and manufacturing team. Having lived in Stockholm for some time, I can assure you that when it’s dark for half the year, you have a lot of time on your hands to think things over. It seems like Hans Nordelius and the team at Nord have had enough time to think about making some of the most sought-after stage pianos in the world.
A “must have” for the Worship community, Nord’s commitment to quality runs very deep. They are not afraid of the price tag, and only make awesome products. And while they offer a ton of amazing products, there’s really one Nord 88-key weighted keyboard that rises above the rest.
Nord Piano 6
At the beginning of this piece, I mentioned not talking about tone, but I am going to have to suspend that promise when it comes to the Nord Piano 6. Their general operating principle is to give you the purest tones in the industry. They are very down to earth about not having 900 presets. In fact, they don’t have that many sounds compared with the competition.
Instead, they offer massive, meticulously curated sample sets. There are control panels dedicated to the piano section and the pad section. There is a dedicated control panel for the effects section. A very modest display guides you through sound selection, but otherwise there’s a physical knob or fader for just about any parameter you would care to adjust on the fly.
Nord has also figured out a cool thing they call Dyna-Comp, which compresses the output a little more the harder you play and gets out of the way completely when you play softly.
The graded hammer-action wooden keybed is made by Fatar, and features triple sensors in each key, so the note release is sensed sooner, allowing for seamless trills and more accurate velocity sensitivity.
The Swedish build quality is rock solid. The Piano 6 ships with Nord’s NTP-2 triple control pedal.
Ready to Find the Best 88-Key Weighted Keyboard for You?
Who needs to lug a giant acoustic piano around? When modern performers want to bring realistic piano tone and feel to their shows, they reach for one of these keyboards. There are tons of 88-key weighted keyboards out there.
And if you’ve been thinking about a new piano for stage, studio, or living room, you know where to go (it’s AMS). Plus, with our 0% interest financing and VERY fast shipping, you can get the keyboard of your dreams as soon as tomorrow. Have questions? Call our gear nerds standing by at 800-458-4076.
