Acoustic vs. Digital Pianos: Which is Right for You?

[@lennwel]

On the comment if you spend more you spend more time: I do agree. I got my first piano (digital) for 1000 bucks. I worked a year for it (earned 20$ every saturday). Now I played this thing a lot! And now I’m on a Kawai CA701. This piano encourages me even more to play. And I may end on a Shigeru Kawai some day😅

[@BensMusicDojo]

If you can afford a house that accommodates a grand piano, I can understand wanting an acoustic. They are incredible feats of craftsmanship even if it’s not a completely hand built concert grand. That said, digitals are so good, an acoustic is a completely unnecessary luxury. Left to my own devices without my wife having a say, my living room would have a billiards table and a grand piano. As it is, we don’t have the space for an acoustic piano that would sound better than a digital. Another thing is, most people don’t get their pianos tuned frequently enough, and living in Missouri with a fluctuating climate, a piano in someone’s house is always in various degrees of being out of tune. I would have no qualms with tuning my own piano, but for some reason, most people still believe that you need a pro to turn a tuning hammer.

[@guyjordan8201]

Any house with an eat-in kitchen and a dining room can have a grand piano take over the dining room. It’s just a choice. A crowded house is common.

[@DeanHorak]

I returned to playing about 8 years ago and acquired a DGX-650. I played it (and still play it) every chance I get. However, it wasn’t a grand - something i decided was on my bucket list. So I played my digital hard and learned to play advanced pieces to the point that I felt I was seriously committed enough to justify the expense of a grand. Finally last year I made the commitment (a new Yamaha GB1K) and I love it. I love my DGX because it got me where I wanted to be - but there’s just something special about directly manipulating the mechanisms to summon just the right tone from those strings.

[@pedrod.7576]

That is awesome. Congrats on the purchase! I have the same dream! I currently own a Yamaha CLP 775, and I play on it daily. Hopefully I can get there someday!

[@jacquelinerubin8274]

You’re presentation is very informative to anyone interested in buying a piano. Both acoustic and digital have positives as well as negatives. Ideally, having both pianos in the house would suit me. If I had to choose it would depend upon my living situation and budget. Ted, I’m with you, growing up I would have loved to have been able to practice 24 hours a day without anyone hearing me. Digital pianos did not exist back then. But if you have the proper living space and budget why not have a beautiful and expensive acoustic piano? And add a digital of good quality too for the voices and volume control as well headphones. I prefer having the 2 pianos rather than the silent version of the acoustic, too much for the acoustic if anything goes wrong. I am a very happy owner of a Yamaha N1X Avant Grand. It’s a true hybrid with the actual Grand piano action. It suits my needs and keeps me practicing for the hours that I need to because of its beautiful tone and choices of voices. The action is quite firm and is excellent for building and maintaining finger/hand strength. When I play on an acoustic the transition is seamless. Thank you for this Video.

[@tedbarsalou833]

thank you for your insight and comments

[@midnight4109]

I like them both. As much time as I spend digitally, it always inspires me to play a good acoustic. There is something special about both and I'm glad I don't have to limit myself to either one. When I travel in our RV I take a keyboard along which fits nicely into the work station. I haven't found an acoustic that I could even get into the RV much have a place to play it.

[@trainroomgary]

I prefer an acoustic piano because the sound is coming off the strings and sound board. "Live" - I am a home pianist. The house is filled with live music. ♬. I live near 3 piano bars and they all have acoustic grand pianos. I play on a Kawai 5'-10" / Satin Ebony, purchased new in 1991and still sounds great. A poor man's Steinway. 🎹 • Cheers from the Detroit & Mackinac Railway 🚂

[@marcusholder495]

Thank you for the wonderful video

[@bnwww]

Value not Price, *thank you*, that is exactly the question. I am shopping for our first piano for my 7 year old daughter who has just started lessons. I want to purchase a piano with the ability to *inspire wonder* and a drive to lifelong play. The price of the piano is much less relevant to me, within reason; A $60k Kawai GX-3 is not on the cards! I would rather spend $20,000 on a piano that fills her with wonder at the sound and feel and inspires a lifetime of play, than $2k on a piano that she doesn't find particularly interesting and causes her to give up on piano within a year or two. Acoustic would be a shoe-in, except for Ted's very good point made at @17:30: digital grants the ability to practice at any time of day and no matter what others in the house may be doing. Are acoustic hybrids the answer?

[@BUJU2007]

I prefer a the sound of a grand piano. But i cant afford one. I dont really like the sound of upright pianos. I actually prefer the sound of a virtual instrument piano over an acoustic upright piano. Right now im using tue Native Instruments - Noire virtual instrument.

[@joedaq6678]

Piano ... My best friend calls my digital boards colorful. But my Studio Grand ? A box of 88 Crayons ... My preferred stage rig is built on Roland RD-2000 My Studio grand a 1961 Baldwin totally rebuilt, 6ft 3in. With standard copper strings. Totally agree Both Digital and Acoustic have their advantages.

[@DeanHorak]

Holding its value is the main reason for investing in an acoustic. A 10 year old digital loses most of its value (despite playing identically as it did day 1), because newer instruments get more realistic and cheaper. In 10 years, my $12k baby grand will probably pull for what I paid because pianos go up in price and inflation lowers the value of the dollar. Also, an acoustic piano is an heirloom and can be passed down through the family for generations.

[@matthewgaines10]

There are much better investment vehicles than musical instruments. You buy an acoustic because you want it, can afford it, and have the environment for it.

[@DeanHorak]

@@matthewgaines10 The point is not that it’s a good investment (if your goal is to make money), but that - an acoustic will hold its value better than a digital. Other reasons for choosing an acoustic (action, sound quality, etc) aren’t really valid unless you’re talking about a very high end acoustic. A budget acoustic (especially a used one) can’t match a high end digital for the same money.

[@actie-reactie]

Ass I stated before, digitals will surpass acoustic ones....because they can evolve much more and much faster, and also can evolve much cheaper!

[@BensMusicDojo]

Agreed, but digital manufacturers don’t push much real innovation. My ideal piano would have modular speakers with surround sound, effects and voices that take advantage of the field of sound that would offer. It would also have a legitimate touch screen, with an hdmi output that allowed for audience interaction. Pretty much, combine a high end portable slab, a hi-fi surround sound system, a guitar amplifier/effects modeller, and a PS5 into one machine and that would be my ultimate machine.