| You can save money on a piano without sacrificing | | | | is faithfully rendered onto a digital piano, but it's more |
| quality, feel, and beauty by getting a digital upright piano. | | | | important for you to hear the piano for yourself. Then |
| These pianos come in built-in cabinets with nice wood | | | | determine if you like its sound. If you are at the piano |
| grain or ebony finishes. They are attractive, and | | | | store you can play an acoustic piano and then play a |
| generally cheaper, alternatives to buying an acoustic | | | | digital piano to have a direct comparison. And if you |
| upright piano. And since they sit in a built-in cabinet, they | | | | think your ears are not going to be capable of |
| usually have 3 foot pedals that are also attached to | | | | choosing the best sounding digital upright piano, then |
| the cabinet stand. So you don't have to worry about a | | | | take a friend along that has more experience. |
| foot pedal sliding on the floor during play like with | | | | Ultimately, if you can't tell a big difference in sound |
| portable digital stage pianos. | | | | quality across various digital pianos, then you'll probably |
| Before you buy a digital upright piano, there are certain | | | | be happy with any good quality digital piano. |
| features you need to make sure it has. So what are a | | | | Manufacturers have become so much better at |
| these features? | | | | recreating the sound that you will probably get a good |
| Realistic Keyboard Action | | | | quality acoustic rendering. And as long as it pleases |
| Any digital upright piano you purchase should faithfully | | | | your ears that's what is important. |
| recreate the keyboard action of an acoustic upright | | | | Aesthetic Beauty |
| piano. So this means you should automatically be | | | | A lot of upright digital pianos made today are very |
| looking for digital pianos with weighted keys. But don't | | | | beautiful pieces of work. They can have nice wood |
| stop just there. Make sure that the digital upright piano | | | | grain finishes or a classy ebony finish. More than likely, |
| you get has Weighted Graded Hammer Action. | | | | if you are considering an upright digital piano, looks will |
| Hammer action keyboards use a hammer simulating | | | | be important to you. |
| mechanism to recreate the feel of an acoustic piano | | | | There are different types of styles you can go for. |
| keyboard. Some even have real hammers to recreate | | | | The Yamaha MODUS series offers modern styles |
| the feel. On an acoustic piano, when you hit a key a | | | | that make a bold statement. Or you can go with a |
| hammer mechanism is pressed. The hammer strikes | | | | more traditional style. You will want a sliding keyboard |
| the strings. The weight of the hammer, as well as the | | | | cover to not only provide an elegant look when the |
| momentum from bouncing off the string, produces the | | | | piano is not being played, but to also protect the keys |
| acoustic piano "touch." This is what you want your | | | | from dust. |
| digital upright piano to recreate. And the best way to | | | | Some digital pianos have a lot of buttons on the |
| do that is to get weighted hammer action. | | | | console that activate different features. If you think this |
| But you also want the "graded" effect too. This | | | | looks too busy there are plenty of digital pianos with |
| feature makes the lower notes feel a little heavier to | | | | more simplistic designs. A simple design that comes to |
| press and the upper notes a little easier to press. This | | | | mind is the Yamaha Nocturne N100. But you can find |
| simulates the feel of a grand piano. | | | | others as well. |
| So if you combine all these phrases together you get | | | | Other Bells and Whistles |
| "Weighted Graded Hammer Action." After narrowing | | | | Finally, go for an upright digital piano that has other |
| down your search to those digital pianos with this | | | | features important to you. One of the big advantages |
| feature, be sure to try them out yourself. Keyboard | | | | of getting a digital piano over an acoustic is all the |
| action can be very subjective, so while it's good to | | | | electronic features such as multiple voices, built-in |
| read reviews by other people, you ultimately have to | | | | rhythms, recording capabilities, digital effects, and more. |
| trust your own opinion. | | | | Some of these features you need and others you |
| Realistic Sound Recreation | | | | may not need. So you can determine how far to go |
| This feature is a close second behind keyboard action. | | | | on the bells and whistles. |
| If a digital piano does not sound similar to a real piano, | | | | Some more advanced digital pianos even include |
| the chances of it becoming a dust collector are | | | | entertainment features such as karaoke. This is fun for |
| greater. No one wants to play a piano that doesn't | | | | the whole family. But before paying the extra for a |
| sound like a piano. | | | | feature like this, seriously consider if you would really |
| Digital piano manufacturers have come a long way in | | | | use it in real life. There are other features such as |
| improving their digital piano sounds to make them more | | | | DVD players. These are helpful with piano lessons. |
| comparable to an acoustic piano. The sounds are | | | | Just hook up a monitor to the piano and pop in a DVD |
| derived from recordings of real acoustic pianos in a | | | | piano lesson. It's a great way for kids or adults to learn |
| studio. | | | | how to play. Also, internet connectivity is becoming |
| The manufacturers do their best to emulate the sound | | | | more common. This allows you to download songs |
| of an acoustic piano. They record the same note at | | | | and sheet music from the internet to play and learn on |
| different volume levels, make sure the note "decays" | | | | your own. |
| properly, record the note while being sustained, and | | | | Conclusion |
| other methods to ensure a realistic simulation of an | | | | These tips should give you a good starting point when |
| acoustic piano sound. | | | | determining what kind of features you need before |
| I could go into more details of how an acoustic sound | | | | purchasing a digital upright piano. |