$499 Digital Piano vs $50,000 Grand Piano - Can You Tell the Difference?

The Yamaha P45 digital ($499) vs the Yamaha C6 grand piano ($ Don't ask...)

[vuhuy]

Having a digital piano is better than having no piano. I swear.

[gothamelliott]

I acquired a Yamaha P-125 electronic piano a few weeks ago. I live in a smallish Manhattan apartment and would have difficulty accommodating a full-size acoustic piano. I was a conservatory graduate in piano many years ago, and am dreaming of re-acquiring the skills I had back then. I am having no problem working on the Yamaha from a pianist's standpoint. I do not feel deprived as a musician. I am slowly re-establishing the brain-finger connections and the electronic piano is producing a sound quality sufficient to hold my determination to continue.

[randyfisher]

I have played for years, and I could tell right away which was digital and which was acoustic. Thanks for that demonstration. Nothing beats the real thing unless you are tight on budget and space.

[therainmakerusa]

I have no musical background and thought the 2nd tune (2/3) was the real one, but was surprised to hear all 3 were from the digital.

[milllworks]

Really nice little concept and comparison. My wife bought me a Yamaha P45 this Fall to begin learning on and have to say I do love it. We had the room and could have afforded a conventional piano, and we almost nearly did a baby grand, but in the end I really gravitated to the space and the reduced level of commitment required by this little digital wonder, and the fact that it didn’t make such an overt statement in the house. In other words I wasn’t going to feel too guilty if I didn’t like practicing on any given day. I also love the fact that I can play wearing headphones, which by the way is a very satisfying experience, so as not to disturb her as I do my scales, and the fact that I can switch to another type of instrument (ie. electric piano, strings, or organ) to change up the feel and sound which has the added benefit of keeping my interest up while practicing. I do feel part of the perceived problem with the digital piano (P45 in this case) might just be the on board speakers which though quite adequate in a small room, sound a bit thin especially compared to the voluminous Yamaha Grand you compared it to. Headphones certainly ameliorate this issue, but I have considered adding a pair of decent powered monitors (speakers) just to have a more immersive experience when I play. Will probably do this once I’m a bit better, say in another year or so. If I do get a lot better, and am able to play real music like I hope to down the line the baby grand might still find home in our house. But until then I don’t see myself suffering from Grand Piano envy. Thanks so much for your comparison.

[ridemywheelie]

Someone once described the best digital piano as the best sound coming through a speaker. But a real piano, especially a grand, really resonates. Huge difference in my opinion. And it is difficult to appreciate when heard through computer speakers.

[juantita]

It was always my dream to get an acoustic piano, but because we couldn't afford one, I've always practiced on a keyboard. My piano teacher has a Kawai grand piano, which I absolutely love. I have to say, there is a huge difference between them. You can feel and hear the richness of the grand piano, while the keyboard to me is much more plain in these senses.

[AKrn]

The main difference to me is the digital piano will always be heard through a speaker. You can't capture that difference in a video.

[landonp]

Possibly in this case, yes - however, if you pair a $500 midi controller with a very good piano VST like the 1955 Walker that clocks in at almost 200GB of samples, the difference would be hard to tell.

[Ralphjons]

The thing I notice between real and digital pianos is that there is lots more upper harmonics with real pianos. Although manufacturers have done a great deal with digital pianos they can't quite copy that sound. Real pianos have "attitude". If you play jazz and use closed voicings they don't sound the same on a digital piano and I've played a lot including vst instruments. I have a theory that its because the mid section of a real piano actually has three strings per note which have to be ever so slightly tuned "out" from one another to avoid "beating". this mean that when you play two notes next to one another a semi-tone apart there is actually 6 notes fighting one another. Its not an unpleasant sound but certainly has that jazzy tension built in. I have never heard this recreated on any digital piano.

[lunalovett]

I have played piano for about 50 years and teach (classical music only). The difference between the two is obvious. I could immediately tell the 1st 3 were the digital. It is a copy of a tone. So perfect each tone yes but lacks the subtle differences in harmonics, resonance, partials and sonority that an acoustic piano brings. They sing! The digital is nice but its lifeless in comparison. Also the tactile connection between the player and the instrument is lost. Its like taking a picture or video of someone compared to seeing that person in person. It is not necessary to keep a piano precisely in tune. Some beautiful sounds can be had in a piano at times if some notes are a little out of tune - but not to the point of any notes sounding dissonant of course. If you can keep your instrument at a fairly constant temperature and humidity (a tall order for where you live) the tune will hold better. My pianos (I own 5) here in southern Florida under pretty steady temperature and humidity (always under AC) hold tune a long time. By the way - you play beautifully Ed... Dan B., Boynton Beach, FL

[davidparadis]

There is a great documentary showing how Steinway pianos are made from start to finish...after you see that video, there is no question why they cost that much...absolutely amazing process

[johnnydiamondsmusic]

When you say the real one has a bigger fuller sound. A P-45 recorded plugged direct into the desk with the right settings and then a touch of stereo reverb it sounds a lot better than its built in speakers. I have the P45 in my home studio and it sounds great for my limited piano skills.

[dutchcountryman]

Yeah, the C6 sounds fuller, richer, more intimate, etc. But is the difference worth $49, 500? My son is a music ed and piano performance double major and it kills me that he can't own a quality baby grand. The prices are criminal.

[jamesonjabiru]

Im an astronomer and a musician. I found you through astronomy, but I love your piano vids just as much. Thank you for the great content and your virtual company.

[GaryMCurran]

A year and a half after you posted this, I've finally watched it. I'm more interested in your astronomy videos, but I do play keyboards, and I've seen the C6 in the background of your videos, so I wanted to look at some of your music videos. This was the first of those.

A couple of things.
1. Sample size is important. On a $500 keyboard, even today with cheap memory pricing, you're still not going to get a lot of samples or multi-samples. The manufacturer is just not going to put that kind of time and effort into a $500 piece of gear. I have a Korg PA800, marketed in 2009, and I get a better piano sound than this newer P45. But, then again, when I bought my PA800, way back in 2009, it was seven times the price of the P45. Of course, it's more than a piano, it's an arranger keyboard.

2. Yamaha is notorious for adding effects to its samples. Technically, it is supposed to make it 'sound better', particularly if you're using the speakers in a room environment, but it is not the same as a acoustic instrument in a live setting, and it makes a difference.

3. When I was selling this stuff, way back in the 1980's, the Yamaha Clavinovas were probably the best thing on the market for home digital audio, and we had a blind player come by. He thought he was listening to an acoustic piano (this was back with digital sampling first came out and all the bugs had been ironed out). He sat down to play it, and he could tell it was not a real acoustic. Yamaha worked very hard on their 'Action Express' keybed and action, and it felt really nice. But, he noticed that it wasn't an acoustic action, and that the sound, albeit good, was not that of an acoustic piano. This was a $3, 000+ piano back in the late 80s, not a $500 keyboard.

[EdwardRLyons]

As a non-musician, the direct comparison showed a very marked difference to my ears. There's really no contest.
The initial three examples, I tried to tell if there was a difference (in tone) between them, but they were all the same. Even the background sounds (the clicks of the keys?) were the same. The direct comparison again showed a marked difference in those background sounds.
Very interesting comparison.

[scottweaverphotovideo]

Wonderful demonstration. Thank you! I had a 6ft Steinway for several years while I studied piano in my late teens. I haven't played now for almost 50 years but I recently became very interested in acquiring a digital piano and did not realize the quality of sound and capabilities. I am about to purchase one but it's been tough selecting between the Kawai and Yamaha models. They are both so fine! This time I will not be setting up standards for my playing that I cannot meet, and do not need to meet. I will be playing purely for my own enjoyment and for the pleasure of revisiting the music I grew up loving.

[hobesmcgee]

Though I only play a guitar, I could easily distinguish between the two, and the C6 (to me) sounds grades above the P45. Great playing and choice of pieces by the way!

[floridaredneck]

I'm so glad other people got to hear this; not glad I did though. I'm tortured to go through time without the grand piano I used to have and forever since have tried to find something that could replicate it in a digital simulator. Well, that doesn't exist as you point out, simply because they aren't the same; how could they be? Yet, they have succeeded in the closest thing possible I guess, and since I am resigned to my Roland PF-30X, I have to love it because there isn't a choice right now. I think the acceptance of the differences makes them more tolerable, although you simply can't beat the portability and size of a digital unit. For me, I can't be without a piano of some kind; I just can't. Sure, the type does matter and it matters a lot, but to be without one completely just isn't optional, at least for me. In starting out( again), the best way is to appreciate what you have, and move up as you can as though you were walking up a hill, not climbing a mountain. Thank you for your video. Your piano is beautiful.