REVIEW - Digital Pianos Under $2000 - Yamaha YDP181, Yamaha YDP162, Yamaha YDPC71, Roland RP301, Kawai KDP90, Samick SG110, Kawai CE220, Casio PX850, Yamaha YDP142, Kurzweil MP10, Kawai CN24, Roland F120 - "Traditional Style Piano Cabinet"

UPDATED REVIEW - November 3, 2013- BEST CABINET DIGITAL PIANOS Between $1000to $2000 - I am an expert when it comes to playing, teaching on, and knowing about digital pianos. I have been working with all the brands and models for over 40 years and offer free consultations no matter where you live. Just email me with your questions and I'll be happy to get back to you. I do not have a store or warehouse, but I work out of a large music studio that I own, and I play & teach on acoustic & digital pianos, keyboards, synthesizer, organ, and a variety of guitars. I understand what digital pianos are supposed to do and which ones that will give you a realistic piano playing experience (based on my vast experience with acoustic pianos including concert grands as well as all the name brand digital pianos). There are many new model digital pianos being offered by the top piano manufacturers these days and sometimes it can be very confusing as to what the best digital piano is for a particular price range. So I have written this blog article (and others) to help out people looking for good furniture cabinet digital pianos between $1000 - $2000. There are also nice portable style digital pianos available that I also recommend and can tell you about. I also have done a review comparison of new digital pianos under $1000 which you can also read about on my blog at the following link: Digital Pianos under $1000

I consider the top (and better) digital piano manufacturers for the US market that make a wide selection of digital pianos to include Kawai, Casio, Yamaha, Roland, and Samick, & Kurzweil. The Korg keyboard company used to be a very good digital piano brand with full size furniture style cabinets, but they only have one home cabinet model remaining which is OK and it's called the LP380. Go to the following link to read my review on that model:  Korg LP380 review The Kurzweil keyboard company has made furniture style digital pianos for many years but lately are not (in my opinion) very competitive in the under $2000 price range (especially for key action, the most important thing) although that may hopefully change in the future since they do have some impressive instrument sound technology. Go to the following link to read my review on the Kurzweil MP10 cabinet digital piano:  Kurzweil MP10 Review.

Almost all other brands of digital pianos (with a couple of exceptions) that may be available in some piano stores, on-line web sites, or consumer store web sites (like Costco) are what I consider to be "off brands." I would not recommend these brands by such names as Suzuki, Williams, Adams, Adagio, and a few others that I have seen. Stay away from them regardless of how inexpensive the price may be or how attractive the piano may look if you want a good piano playing experience, especially in these mini/micro digital baby grands that are out there. Most of them are just plain bad when it comes to key action response, dynamics, key action noise, durability, etc. I have written reviews on many of these brands and models so if you want more info, take a look at some of my other blog reviews.

In this blog article I will be referring only to furniture "cabinet style" models (including portable pianos with nice furniture stands & pedals) and only those that have an internet or regular store discount price for under $2000 which is where most consumers want to be when looking for a new digital piano.

Roland digital pianos are generally fine instruments and that company has three furniture cabinet models that sell for under $2000 and they're called the RP301R ($1999 store discount price), RP301 ($1699 internet price), and F120 compact cabinet version of the RP301 ($1299 internet price). All three pianos are the same as far a s key action, piano sound and speaker system, and all three pianos have 128-notes of polyphony. The key action (ivory feel-G) is nicely weighted but has a somewhat sluggish movement as compared to the other digital piano brands and real pianos. The action unfortunately is also noisy and distracting (because of that) as the keys go down and touch bottom when playing in a harder more dynamic manner. It's like the keys don't have enough felt underneath them. The other brands here do not have this issue as the keys hit the keybed underneath, and I have played all the brands and models. Most of the other Roland cabinet model pianos (they're all well over $2000) have a key action touch that is much more realistic than the RP301 and also much quieter. I do like the piano tone overall although it's a bit thin and tinny in the middle to higher octaves. The RP301 and 301R piano have buttons across the front panel so it's easy to operate and has a nice selection of realistic instrument and percussion tones which is good although their stereo amplifier speaker system puts out a total of just 24 watts which OK but the sound in the middle octaves is a bit tinny. The RP301 & F120 do not have a USB output connector (just standard MIDI connectors), and although USB would be more convenient, a MIDI to USB adapter can be purchased to make the connection. Overall I think these Roland pianos good in some ways but are a bit overpriced for what they're offering as compared to other brands. I have a detailed blog reviews of these Roland models here on my blogsite if you want to read more.

Samick SG110

Samick Piano Company is a well known South Korean piano & musical instrument manufacturer which has been making acoustic grand and upright pianos for over 50 years. Their line of acoustic piano products include the Samick brand as well as Kohler & Campbell, Seiler, Pramberger, Knabe, and others. Samick is offering a 2.5 foot deep mini baby grand style piano with quiet action movement and good dynamic response called the SG110 offered in a an attractive high gloss polished ebony. The normal store discount pricing of this model is about $3000 but but it's possible to purchase one for slightly more than $2000, so that's why I am including it here in this review. I should also mention that Samick makes a nice looking and good performing 4' deep digital piano in a very attractive cabinet and it's possible to get that one for less than $3000. Although the SG110 model has just 64 notes of polyphony which is generally sufficient for many playing situations (128 would have been better), it does include some very cool interactive educational features for piano lessons using a USB flashdrive along with a vast array of fun instrument sounds. It also has a strong sounding built-in speaker system along with a record-playback function and LCD display screen. This model is best suited for piano students and recreational piano players, but for more advanced students or players I would recommend something else. You can certainly spend a lot more money on a piano like this and move up in sound quality & features in the more popular name brands including Yamaha, Roland, etc. But for the price right now on this Samick SG110, in my opinion it is a good choice in a mini baby grand cabinet, especially in key action movement and piano sound response than the typical low price smaller sized digital baby grands you'll find in the off-brands including Suzuki, Williams, Adagio, and many others. The key action movement and response is the heart of any digital or acoustic piano and this Samick model is using one of the better key actions in the business from the European company Fatar. Go here to read my review on this model: Samick SG110 review