Best digital pianos over $1,000: How to get that premium digital piano sound

Digital pianos have never sounded better. No matter your budget, you can find one that sounds and feels great while meeting all of your needs. We reviewed the best digital pianos under $1,000, but if you happen to be working with a healthy spend you can find a model that comes with best-in-class sounds and features as well as being easily mobile to move from sessions to shows.

Here are some of the best digital pianos out there, all coming in at a price point of over $1,000.

Best digital piano overall – Nord Grand

Best digital piano overall

Nord Grand

Nord sets the standard for high-end digital pianos with every model. From their realistic feel, to the peerless sound libraries, to the onboard FX processing.

Pros

Responsive hammer and Ivory Touch adds the realistic feel of an acoustic piano

Digital and acoustic sounds

Onboard effects processing

Cons

Expensive

Risk of damage or theft might deter some from using it on the road

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Nord has been at the top of the heap for quite a while. Their products are extremely well-built, packed with amazing sounds and features, and are easily portable.

The Grand comes with Kawai’s Responsive Hammer and Ivory Touch features, providing a true acoustic piano feel. Advanced String Resonance technology offers authentic grand and upright piano sounds.

It’s packed with a plethora of realistic digital and electric piano sounds in the Piano Library but also comes with a host of other patches like synths, strings, brass, percussion, and more. There are also multiple filters and effects on board so there are no impediments to getting the sounds you want right from the source.

It’s not inexpensive, but considering the quality and variety of sounds, feel, and build there are few other options that can stand up to what it can do.

Best digital piano for the stage: Kurzweil SP7 Grand

Best digital piano for the stage

Kurzweil SP7 Grand

The SP7 is an 88-key digital piano with weighted action that has a large library of onboard sounds that functions as a MIDI controller and audio interface.

Pros

Full 88-key octave range

Weighted keys

2GB sound library

Onboard effects

MIDI controller and 2-channel audio interface

Cons

Expensive

Not as easy to transport as other options

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Different players look for different things in a digital piano for the stage, and the SP7 offers some of the best features in a model that’s meant to be played live. It has 88 keys with fully-weighted Fatar hammer action that gives it authentic feel and articulation.

It sports 256-voice polyphony over 2GB of onboard sounds that includes a German “D” Concert Grand piano taken directly from the K2700. The 7″ color touchscreen lets dial in sounds and settings through an easy visual reference.

And you can use is as an 8-zone MIDI controller to trigger virtual instrument plugins and audio interface with dual inputs and outputs. This makes it just as useful in the studio as it is for the stage.

It’s a little pricey, but if you’re looking for a digital piano that’s easily portable with all the additional features you could ask for this is a fine option from one of the best names in the business.

Best digital piano sound library: Roland RD-2000

Best digital piano sound library

Roland RD-2000

The RD-2000 offers an insane sound library of 1,100 patches powered by dual sound engines.

Pros

1,100 patch sound library

Integrates with third party sound modules

Dual sound engines

Cons

The large sound library might seem overwhelming at first

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The RD-2000 is powered by dual sound engines. Thanks to Roland’s V-Piano technology the provided piano sound libraries are robust, realistic, and pretty much unparalleled in the digital piano world. The company’s SUPERnatural sound library serves up 1,100 highly evolved patches across many different instruments.

It has integration with external and 3^rd party sound modules, libraries, and virtual instruments for an almost unlimited amount of sounds. Along with the standard stereo TRS outputs there are USB and MIDI I/O, so no matter what scenario you need it for it’s simple to use and connect it however you need.

Best digital piano with weighted keys: KORG Grandstage

Best digital piano with weighted keys

KORG Grandstage

Running on seven different sound engines, this model offers fully-weighted, hammer action keys, onboard processing, and 73 and 88 key versions.

Pros

Fully-weighted, hammer action keys

Runs on seven different sound engines

Onboard EQ, delay, and reverb

Available in 73 and 88 key versions

Cons

Not as mobile as other options due to size

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Another company at the forefront of digital piano innovation is Korg. Their Grandstage model runs on 7 different sound engines that equip you with an armada of fantastic acoustic and electric pianos, organs, vox, clavinet, even Mellotron!

The RH3 fully-weighted hammer action provides the feel and response of an authentic high end piano to capture the distinct nuances of your playing. It on-board effects include a 3-band EQ, delay, and reverb. A Dynamics knob lets you adjust the feel to whatever suits you. Smooth Sound Transition technology aids in making sure that all sounds blend together perfectly.

It can be used as a sophisticated MIDI controller for triggering plugins or you can use it to control parameters in your DAW if it’s compatible. The Grandstage is also available in 73 or 88 key versions.

Best I/O digital piano: Casio Privia Pro PX-560

Best I/O digital piano

Casio Privia Pro PX-560

This lightweight Casio model can play 256 polyphonic notes. The sounds run on A.i.R. technology, and the scaled hammer action keys give the ideal feel of playing an acoustic piano.

Pros

256 polyphonic notes

Modules run on A.i.R. technology

Scaled hammer action provides feel and response of an acoustic piano

Lightweight

Cons

Not the highest-quality option in this price range

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sam ash

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It’s well known that Casio makes great “prosumer” and lower end digital pianos and keyboarrds. But it might be surprising to some that they also make plenty of high end digital pianos, and their technology can hang with the best. The grand piano modules run on A.i.R. technology across 256 available polyphonic notes.

The PX-560’s Tri-Sensor scaled hammer action provides the dynamics and articulation of a real piano. And the ebony/ivory key textures give a tactile representation of playing the real thing. Resonance can be controlled with damper and control of the strings. Hammer response is also adjustable.

It comes packed with 600 presets so you can dive right in or change them up to . You can also save any custom sounds you create across 400 additional patches as well as split/layer the sounds.

There is stereo ¼” I/O and an auxiliary input for playing along to lessons or your favorite songs. USB and MIDI I/O make it useful in a number of scenarios, and two headphone outputs make it a great tool for teaching or learning.

You can even plug in an expression pedal if you’d like to add an additional layer of customization. Being road-friendly, it is incredibly lightweight at just 26lbs.

Best digital piano with MIDI: Korg SP-280

Best digital piano with MIDI

Korg SP-280

An ergonomic 88-key piano with weighted keys and three touch sensitivities that’s easy to transport.

Pros

Weighted keys

3 touch sensitivities

Internal speakers have good volume

Portable for an 88-key model

Versatile I/O

Includes stand

Cons

Small interface for dialing in sounds and settings

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This 88-key digital piano comes with a Natural Weighted Hammer Action keybed and cascading action. This means the keys are heavier in the low end and get lighter as you play toward the high register for a realistic acoustic piano feel.

It includes 30 onboard sounds that cover acoustic and electric pianos, organs, strings, to more esoteric instruments like harpsichord and more. Players will appreciate the versatile range of options in the quality of the sound library.

The keyboard can be split, which is useful for MIDI integration. Overall the I/O is useful for a variety of situations. It includes 1/4″ TS outputs, 1/8″ auxiliary input, and headphone output.

Best digital piano for grand piano sounds: Kawai MP11SE

Best digital piano for grand piano sounds

Kawai MP11SE

If you’re looking for realistic acoustic piano sounds this is one of the best options. Every parameter is customizable, and you can even record directly to it.

Pros

Good acoustic grand piano sounds

All sound parameters are customizable

Onboard recording

Weighted keys

Cons

Not as mobile as other options

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sam ash

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Kawai is another big player in the digital piano space. There are a number of genuine sounds across 40 distinct presets via proprietary Harmonic Imaging XL software. It houses some of Kawai’s best acoustic concert grand piano sounds like those from the EX, SK-5, and SK-EX models. The easy-to-use Virtual Technician interface lets you customize every facet of the sound so you can dial in exactly what you’re looking for.

Realistic feel comes through Grand Feel weighted action keys. Atmosphere can be added through six different reverbs and over 129 effects that all have parameter controls. As for I/O, it has balanced and unbalanced XLR outputs with ¼” inputs with an input gain fader, and MIDI in/out/thru. It has an on-board recording function that can output to WAV, MP3, and MIDI.

Best 88-key digital piano: Nord Stage 3

Best 88-key digital piano

Nord Stage 3

If you need a full-scale digital piano this is one of the best choices on the market. It has a huge sound library, a lot of memory for adding your own samples, and if you want to trigger organ sounds it even offers drawbars like the real thing.

Pros

State-of-the-art sounds through the sound engine

No lag when switching programs

Fully-weighted keys with hammer action

Cons

Incredibly expensive

Large format so it’s not as mobile as other models

Buy From

musician’s friend

guitar center

reverb

sam ash

amazon

This fifth-generation of Nord’s Stage series is as good as an 88-key digital piano gets. It features all of their latest tech, like the Lead A1 Synth Engine. It has sample playback and even includes sounds from Nord’s beloved C2D organ.

You can change programs on the fly and won’t ever have to worry about running out of storage space with 2GB of memory that holds their incredible sample libraries.

Whether you need pianos, synths, organs, or a full orchestra this thing can do it all. It’s incredibly expensive, but the quality can’t be challenged. Nord is at the top of the heap for a reason.

Conclusion

If you think about it, it’s amazing how far digital pianos and keyboards have come since their introduction decades ago. Some of them have sound libraries modeled so well that if you didn’t know you’d think it was the original instruments.

FAQ

Which digital piano is most like a real piano?

Any model over $1,000 should have great sound libraries for digital piano sounds. They don’t all offer them, but they’re in demand so you shouldn’t have trouble finding one that does.

In terms of the feel of a real piano you want something with weighted keys, preferably fully-weighted.

Which digital piano do professionals use?

It depends on what they need in their digital pianos, but Nord, Yamaha, and Korg make some of the best. There are plenty of professionals using even midrange models and making best-selling songs. Always remember, it’s what you do with the tools that matter.

Which digital piano is most like a real piano?

In our selections it’s either the Kawai MP11SE or the Korg Grandstage. You shouldn’t have any issues finding one with good acoustic piano patches, but not all models even in this price range offer fully-weighted keys.

What’s the difference between digital pianos and keyboards?

Digital pianos mostly focus on providing an acoustic piano feel and sound. Keyboards usually have more sound variety and portability. You can find models in both categories that offer overlapping features like sound libraries, different types of I/O, and onboard speakers.