The year 2018 has been a great one for me so far. And I do hope it’s been pleasant for you as well.
My inner pianist doesn’t forbid me to try every new piano on the market and If I’m not wrong, I’ve literally tried and tested over 50 different types of pianos, both digital and acoustic during the past 4.5 years.
I know you’re imagining me as a professional ‘retard’ pianist with long curly hair, rough sleeves and puffy eyes, banging the piano keys hard 24/7.
To some extent, YES but I maintain attractive looks year round.
Anyhow, coming to our discussion, we’ll be going through some of the best digital pianos under $500 that come equipped with some cool and useful features.
Table of Contents
Best Digital Piano Under 500
One thing I like about digital pianos is that they are easily portable. Unlike the acoustic models, bulky and heavy, they are slim, lightweight, affordable and can be carried anywhere you want.
Moreover, the sound quality of digital pianos is far better and feels more realistic. That being said, here are 5 of my best picks for 2018.
Yamaha P-45
Yamaha P-45 tops my list of best digit piano under 500 because of ultra-realistic sound and feel. It is a great grand piano that comes at a very reasonable price.
It comes with Graded Hammer Standard keybed which has the time tested AWM stereo sound engine. This way, you’ll get a natural feel and sound that enhances the result of whatever you play or listen to.
There is a USB/MIDI connectivity port integrated on its board, allowing plug & play feature of recorded music files.
Your first experience will be a memorable one. The moment you’ll put your fingers on its keys, you’ll be satisfied with your investment. Not only do these keys feel great and comfortable, they also have a light response and a progressively heavier action as you play them.
One of its best features is the AWM sampling and built-in speaker system that gives you the feel of a realistic grand piano sound.
It has 12W speaker system and you don’t have to connect any external gear. This saves you from the fuss of carrying extra speakers when going for a concert or onstage performance.
While all of its features are noteworthy, this piano is lightweight, compact and with a contemporary design, giving you the ease of storage and an effortless portability that you’ll love. This equipment is super easy to use and comes with a simple streamlined interface that helps you put up a great concert with your band or even solo.
Your P-45 also comes with other built in features like electric piano, organs, harpsichord, vibraphone and much more.
Overall, if you are looking for an affordable digital piano option with ton loads of features, the P-45 model is the one to close your eyes and grab it.
Pros
- 88 Graded Hammer Standard keys
- Built in full stereo AWM sampling
- 4 reverb effect styles
- Duo mode, sustain footswitch with music rest
- Easy to use
- Can be carried easily, thanks to its lightweight design
- Compact and comes with multiple built-in features
Cons
- The keys are extremely soft and comfortable to play but sometimes they may feel loose and confuse you
Yamaha P71
The P71 is another 88 key realistic weighted digital piano and its keys have been held by Yamaha’s Graded Hammer Standard, giving you the highest quality material and feel. When you buy the P71, you’ll have the option to spend a few extra bucks and also get your hands on add-on pieces which include effects pedal, piano stand and headphones.
Its body is quite slim and lightweight and has a depth of roughly 13 inches, making it an extremely easy to play or carry around. What’s good is that this piano doesn’t hold inside any overly complex mechanisms that might bother you getting familiar with.
Even if you are a complete beginner, you won’t have any trouble getting along with this digital piano. The company has nicely put together the concept of keeping the customer and instrument together for a much better understanding of their product.
Moreover, Yamaha also teamed up with Amazon to make this instrument more user-friendly. You’ll get to know this once you use the piano. It is simply plug ‘n play. And since the user gets more control over the touch of keyboard, you’ll never feel getting tired or fed up.
Its interface itself is straightforward to understand. Though there is a user-manual inside to guide you, however, if you’ve already used a digital piano in the past, you won’t have any trouble getting familiar with its controls.
This piano comes loaded with multiple voices and also allows you to record your own. You can use its Duel Mode to play back your songs alongside your music.
The sound coming out of its speakers is outstanding, soft, clear and with a surround sound effect.
Connecting your P71 to any computer or laptop is like plugging a switch into a socket. Use the USB to computer cable. You can also plug-in a headphone in the audio out jacket or even into an amplifier or a speaker system for an outstanding performance.
P71 and P-45 have a lot of similarities one of which is the price tag and the key bed. Overall, the P71 is regarded as a more beginner friendly digital piano to start with.
Pros
- Exclusive 88 key model made for beginners
- Lightweight, compact and easily portable
- Comes with 10 different voices with dual mode allowing to combine two voices together
- Slim, sleek and stylish design
Cons
- No drawbacks
Yamaha YPG-235
YPG-235 comes with a wide range of features and sounds with portable grands that gives you a more realistic piano experience. It is one of Yamaha’s portable grands with a much compact design and a lightweight feel.
The only difference it has as compared to P71 and P-45 is key bed. It contains only 76 buts they are enough to rock a concert.
Its graded soft touch technology not only gives you a comfortable feel as you play, it also gives the feel of a real piano and allows and easy transition to acoustic for the serious pianists. To be honest, its overall appearance and build is outstanding and doesn’t feel overcomplicated.
The interface is pretty simple and easy to navigate. Also, the piano has a unique champagne gold color which is quite new on the market and has a glossy finish that complements perfectly with the black and white keys.
While the piano is loaded with tons of features but you’ll be surprised to know that it only weighs 8.3 kg and is extremely easy to carry, making it portable. Just in case you are someone who travels frequently with his musical instruments, this option is perfect for you.
For a great sound, this piano comes with a 2-way speaker system with two sets of woofers and tweeters that produce the best quality sound as you play. Not to mention, its Bass Boost System help to add a bit of an additional bass to your music with a touch of surround sound feel.
When it comes to connectivity, the YPG-235 once again makes it easier than ever. You can easily connect it to your computer or laptop via the USB cable that comes along with your purchase. It also has pre-loaded 500 sounds and voices and 361 signature Yamaha XGLite voices. This makes it easier for you to find some great sounds in any situation.
Its six-track recording system is also noteworthy, allowing you to piece together different layers of instruments and effects on these six unique tracks.
Overall, whether you are a beginner, intermediate or an expert pianist, the YPG-235 digital piano will help to improve your skills and get your hands on something new.
Pros
- Lightweight and easily portable
- Features a graded soft touch and includes Yamaha’s exclusive education suite
- Comes with USB to Host connectivity
- High quality speakers with woofers, tweeters and bass producing system
Cons
- Contains only 76 key bed
- No MIDI Connectivity
Williams Allegro 2
The brand is known to offer some of the most affordable digital pianos with loads of features. In fact, Williams Allegro 2 has been one of top competitors of Yamaha. Though in the past, when they first stepped into the market, they didn’t receive a good feedback from its customers. The piano didn’t sound good and the 88-key hammer action key bed had many flaws.
However, over the years, the company has drastically enhanced the quality of their digital pianos and also introduced several models. The Allegro is one of their top-sellers and was first launched back in March 2015. Since then, it has taken the market by storm!
It features 88-key digital piano key bed, a music rest, owner’s manual, battery operation guide and includes AC adapter, headphones and sustain pedal.
Above all, it has an extremely affordable price, almost half of any of the Yamaha’s pianos mentioned above.
It has unique aesthetics and color with a more professional touch. Though it may be slightly heavier than YPG-235 but you can still lift it and carry around easily.
Its user-friendly interface includes power switch, volume knob, Metronome, Transpose, Octave and function options along with LCD display, Song and Record Modes, six buttons to control ten pre-loaded sounds, layer/split mode and a cool effect sections with additional features.
Allegro 2 also has a USB port, sustain input, headphone jack, stereo outputs and a power jack for connecting your AC adapter (sold separately).
When it comes to performance, you’ll get the best sound quality which is clear and of high-definition. Its soft-touch 88-key graded hammer action keyboard gives you a comfortable feel the moment you put your fingers on it.
In addition to that, the piano has eight pre-loaded sounds which include electric pianos, two organs, two pads and two basses which can be mixed and played with other sounds.
With a 4/5 rating on Amazon and a very reasonable price tag, the Allegro 2 is probably your best digital piano under 500.
Pros
- Very easy to use and get familiar with
- Portable
- Comes with pre-programmed music
- Realistic sound and highly-responsive
- Touch sensitive keys
Cons
- No power cord or AC adapter included. You have to buy it separately
Yamaha YPG-535
I’ll end our today’s discussion with another Yamaha’s model, which is the YPG-535 and according to Yamaha, this version is better than their DGX-530 and rivals DGX-640. This piano is unique of its own kind. Whether you are just starting out or already a pro-pianist, you’ll get the most out of YPG-535.
It has a fairly compact size and is highly portable. Though it might appear bulky but the structure is extremely light to carry around. Don’t worry, it is durable and can handle those unexpected bumps into the sides.
It comes with a nice set of speakers with 6-watt amps, producing a great sound and comes with 32 notes of polyphony, fair enough for the price paid. Just like any other Yamaha model, you can choose from one of the 500 different voices from various instruments, 127 panel voices, 12 drum and SFK kits and mix it with your music for a great blend.
It has a USB port on its main-board which allows MIDI connectivity and the ability to transfer music files to-and-from your computer or laptop. You can also download recorded songs from the Internet on a USB flash memory, connect it your piano and transfer it with ease.
On the main LCD, you’ll also see a lyric and chord notation display. This is a great feature the company has introduced for the beginners who need help with music notation and hand placement for different types of songs.
Pros
- 88-key graded soft touch key bed
- USB port for connectivity and file transfer
- Backlit LCD with chords and notation display
- Exclusive Performance Assistant Technology
- Amazon’s Choice
Cons
- Though advertised as graded soft-touch key bed, it doesn’t feel very soft
Conclusion
So that’s it for today pianists. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Though much of the recommendations here are of Yamaha, and undoubtedly they are the best in the market, still if you have any confusions, please feel free to leave them in the comment section. We’ll get back to you ASAP.