Best Beginner Keyboards - Don't Buy Wrong & Regret

I have made more than 500 keyboard and digital piano reviews, comparisons and tutorials and here are 14 of my favorite keyboards, arranger workstations and digital pianos.

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[JeremySee]

I have made more than 500 keyboard and digital piano reviews, comparisons and tutorials and here are 14 of my favorite keyboards, arranger workstations and digital pianos.

📱 Best Piano Apps (Android/iOS)
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✔ Free 30 Days Piano Course

- Best $100+ Beginner Keyboard
- Best Value Keyboard under $200
- Best $200 Key Action & Sound
- Best Key-Lighting Learning Keyboard
- Best Lightweight Ultra-Portable 88-Keys
- Best Budget Weighted 88-Keys
- Best Weighted 88-Keys under $400
- Best 76-Key Workstation Arranger
- Cheapest Weighted Yamaha 88-Keys
- Best 88-Key Action & Sound under $600
- Best 88-Key Workstation Arranger Digital Piano
- Best Key Action & Grand Piano Sound under $900
- Best 88-Key Weighted MIDI Music Production Keyboard
- Best Home Digital Piano for $1, 000

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[sabr]

Time Stamps:
0:00 Intro
1 0:53 Best $100+ Beginner Keyboard
2 3:21 Best Value Keyboard under $200
3 6:54 Best $200 Key Action & Sound
4 9:27 Best Key-Lighting Learning Keyboard
5 11:46 Best Lightweight Ultra-Portable 88-Keys
6 14:25 Best Budget Weighted 88-Keys
7 16:00 Best Weighted 88-Keys under $400
8 18:22 Best 76-Key Workstation Arranger
9 22:42 Cheapest Weighted Yamaha 88-Keys
10 24:57 Best 88-Key Action & Sound under $600
11 27:56 Best 88-Key Workstation Arranger Digital Piano
12 31:25 Best Key Action & Grand Piano Sound under $900
13 34:30 Best 88-Key Weighted MIDI Music Production Keyboard
14 36:36 Best Home Digital Piano for $1, 000
38:03 Outro

[harleycharley]

I’ve had my DGX-670 for 2 yrs. I never get tired of playing it. I’m 73 and have been playing for 66 yrs.

[kfvmokp]

Update for 2024: Don’t buy the CT-S300 anymore. The price is now inflated to $240. Instead, get a CT-X700 for $199, with the better AiX sound engine. The CT-S300 is now officially a bad keyboard for what it costs and how it sounds.

[shirleykaye]

Hi Jeremy! I still appreciate the help you gave me a few years ago on the Roland FP-10. I don’t kiss it goodnight every night now, but I do Pat it when I walk by it. This piano has helped me in my healing from mental health challenges. If I get upset, I can play my piano and feel better. I still need to take lessons, but have learned enough to please myself, which is important. Now I’m looking for a portable 61 key to take outside, so this review helped a lot. Thank you for all that you do to help us, both new players and accomplished ones. Your kindness is invaluable. ❤

[Frank-in-NY]

Amazing collections of reviews. You can't go wrong listening to Jeremy's review. With Jeremy's recommendations, I picked up a Yamaha PSR-EW310 for it's portability, and great sounds. Still having fun!

[musikmann]

Jeremy. Thanks for your informative and entertaining reviews. Nobody does it better. Based solely on your reviews, I traded in my 61 key Yamaha PSR-273 for the 76 key Yamaha PSR-EW310 keyboard and have no regrets. In the not too distant future I hope to upgrade to an 88 key Yamaha. I am trying to work up to your level of pianistic accomplishment, which will take a long time and lots of effort. Please keep up the great videos and I will continue to recommend that others subscribe to your site.

[jjacob]

A great overview of keyboards, Jeremy, with meticulous spot on details that hit the nail on the head to address practically every want, need, or budget. Despite that, you still have, and will probably have many more people asking which is the right keyboard to choose, when you address everything in all your videos, especially in this one.

I have commented in detail several times about this, and another key factor is availability, especially in certain areas of the world, where distribution, marketing and servicing is not optimal, or the production numbers simply cannot keep up with the demand, like for the Uber popular Roland FP-10, as well as most of the FP series, though the others are much more pricey.

The Casio CT-S300 was great for when it came out for everything you said it is. Although the sounds are not the best, they are more than decent for the price, especially several years later. And the built in handle makes it the ideal for the take everywhere you go just to have a keyboard to play with battery power and practice wherever you go, and not take another more expensive keyboard out l, except for gigs and other purposes.

I would go into detail about most of the other keyboards, as you stated those points clearly, and I have commented about them in the individual review videos for those specific instruments..

Each has their unique perks, pros and cons, but you must take into consideration their respective price points.

Yamaha has always been great for putting cutting edge sounds and features in keyboards and each competitive price point, but Casio tends to be more portable and compact and easier to use with its simpler user interface.

All the other keyboard manufacturers have great instrument offerings with their own spin on sound, features, format and other perks, like connectivity and bonus software and such. That makes it more difficult to choose, though one must evaluate their needs, wants, and budgets, but also decide if they want something they will later upgrade, or wait and get a better one that they will keep longer.

As you get to the last few keyboards, it gets more pricey and discriminating, with better action, sound, build quality, and a myriad of features and capabilities. They each address a specific niche in the keyboard market, like the Yamaha DGX-670 as the best all around weighted action arranger with lots of other treasures, the Kawaii ES120 for all the various nuances and adjustability to minute details for a serious, formally trained pianist for sound and tactile feel. The Arturia is an incredible controller for a professional production setup with comparable other high level gear and software, and that Yamaha at the end, as a great digital version of a traditional console type home piano with all the perks of a digital I have mentioned in the past. However, the Casio PX series are also great.

I really like several of them, that I would have considered buying. But like everything else, I believe I made the best choices for myself, and highly scrutinized my choices for specific reasons, with a lot of research and evaluation.

Albeit a mini key instrument, my Yamaha PSS-A50 is a power house for an even more portable $100 keyboard with the ability to do so many things. Masataka Kono is the master of that Mini Keys and demonstrates what it can do marvelously in all his videos.

My CT-S1 is unmatched at its price point for spot on bread and butter sounds, features, compact portability and clean design. It's my number one recommended keyboard for beginners, aspiring keyboardists, and even advanced players to relax and play with away from their more expensive rigs, and just to have a decent set of keys to take on the go, or travel with.

My Roland Go:Keys is incredible, though more expensive than the CT-S1, it is similar yet more diverse. They both have great sound tones, but the Go:Keys has much more of them, 128 note polyphony, and built in BT connectivity, and it's Sampled Phrase Loop feature is an alternative approach BYO the auto arranger, with much more variation and sounds more authentic, compared to the stigma ambiance that arrangers get, though sometimes you want that vintage type sound and feel for effect. It is a great production keyboard for the price paired with a computer, etc.

My Roland JD-Xi is much more pricey, and in a while other category as an Analog digital synth, vocorder and 4 thack backing. It can go deep into sound and versatility. Yohan Kim uses it often and exemplifies its capabilities.

Other than the Yamaha Reface CP, there's not much other keyboards I can think of in the under $1000 range.

With that said, my previous band for the buck keyboards entering the professional level are all Roland keyboards. Each is incredible in its own way.

The V Combo VR-09B is a jack of all trades performance and production 61 keyboard for gigging and bread and butter sounds, and a phrase loop sampler feature.

The RD 88 is a great kid brother to the Flagship RD2000 at about have the price, lighter and more compact fir portability and has the Zen Core sound capabilities.

Likewise, the Fantom 0 Series is a more affordable and compact version of the heavier and bulky flagship workstation series without many features not everyone needs.

I like all of those three, but more recently, I was considering opting for the RD 88 at $1200.00 as my go to keyboard when I want to get a serious 88 weighted key flagship for my setup or church. But Roland blew away the competition with their latest blockbuster keyboard.

Drum 🥁 roll....

The FP-E50!

At $999.99 Under $1000 Roland has their renown 88 weighted action keyboard, 1081 on board Supernatural and Zen Core sounds with more Zen Core expansion and an arranger with future expansion styles.

It's like having the best of the Yamaha DGX-670, Roland RD 88 and Fantom 0 Series on one keyboard under $1000!

And the arranger functions has features that automatically adjust to your playing the more complex you play to sound like a real band, and a whole lot more.

I thought the RD 88 was the ideal dream keyboard for the price with 88 keys, like I mentioned previously, but this makes it hard to beat for the price or even for much more. Also with a microphone input with effects.

I never have been more excited about a new keyboard than now. I don't need it now, but I definitely am glad I waited and I tend to get this in a few months. Ideally two later. To keep one at church, and one at home.

There's never been a better time to get a new keyboard with all the choices and price points for whatever you need. And you're the one that makes the videos to watch to help decide.

[ShellyAnderson]

Excellent comparative review! I agree with your choices and if I could choose only one of the keyboards in these examples, I would also choose the DGX-670 for many good reasons but especially for the mic input. I love singing and playing and that one would be perfect. I didn't know it had such a great speaker system until i saw this video! My PSR-E473 is kind of a budget version, but it has met the need. I really wish I had gone for the 76 key PSR-EW425 but that was a $120 difference (something I would have felt at the time). In my little world the DGX-670 is the stuff of dreams ...🥰👍

[adrianlw]

Alesis Recital Pro - bought following your recommendation two years ago, continues to give me a lot of pleasure, very pleased with what it offers, how it feels, looks, and sounds (I use quality headphones) for a price that seals the deal. I’m not interested in accompaniments, or zillions of voices. The most used voices for me are the piano, strings and organs. That it doesn’t have graded keys matters not to me, the touch sensitive action is perfectly adequate.

A great recommendation - thank you!👍🙂

[jamesreardon]

Thanks very much for this "wrap up" video, Jeremy. The list in the description has a few glitches. It mixes up the description of the Alesis 88-key instrument, nor the Yamaha 76-key EZ300 (PSR-E383) next in the list.
Based on your reviews, I bought a Yamaha PSR-E373 and love it.

[LoneTiger]

As a Yamaha DGX-670 owner, 2 years going, and have not become bored with it, still learning all it can do and doing daily Hanon exercises or practicing a piece, switching to other voices is a pleasure to add variety when playing / practicing.
Even after taking a week's break and returning the following to continue learning, it still feels great. 👍

[sfirmmr]

you should post a list of all the songs you played. Great choices

[Brian-iilc]

Hi, Jeremy! I just bought the Yamaha PSR E373 bundle on Amazon with stand, power cord, headphones, and USB cable for $256!!! Thank you for your review! I think I got an amazing deal!

[zartogan]

Hi Jeremy thank you so much for your great informative reviews. I have bought a Casiotone LK-S450 based on your reviews and planning to learn playing keyboard. Millions of years ago used to play mandolin now as a middle aged person looking forward to having a good level of keyboard skill and enjoying a jam with my musician friends and relatives. I would love to do that. Wishing you all the best.

[LanceCampeau]

I've had my DGX-670 for about a year now...
This piano is the single greatest piece of musical equipment I have ever laid my hands on. The most functional, the most expressive, the best value and the most productive.
My only complaint is that this unit lacks a sufficient quantity of electric piano tones. I solve this by using the 670 to control my Roland Juno-Di (which has an amazing array of EP tones).

[ThePianoJourneyMusic]

Always love your Content Jeremy!!
Brilliant Video!!

[Carman]

I bought my casio ct-s1 thanks to you, very good keyboard. Thanks so much Jeremy

[alexandergover]

I watched this or maybe another video of yours, and bought the Casio ct, I love it. Great to start on. Now I need a bit of a bigger one as 62 keys isn’t enough anymore, but this guide saved me wasting money on a bad one I was looking at before. I didn’t know these existed before this video

[enribeni]

Great video thanks for sharing your knowledge, question
Is The ONE piano the best 88 key illuminated keyboard piano?