Do you think that all portable keyboards look awful because they look like a big piece of cheap plastic? Well, as it is the case in almost all fields of technology, the development of portable pianos has revolutionized music totally. You could be surprised at how good some of them look and you may be astounded to see how well some portable pianos sound. There are many choices today when it comes to buying portable keyboards. Some portable pianos are absolutely gorgeous.
Portable keyboards are great for learning how to play a piano. While portable keyboards are the most inexpensive they generally come with some pretty amazing features. One of the desirable things about owning one of these keyboards is that they are more versatile than grand or other large pianos. Depending on the model and type, you can also plug them into computers, record directly into the keyboard itself, and store it as memory. Portable pianos are a good practice instrument for beginners or just for entertainment.
The following are features of the best portable pianos:
- Body and Keyboard Size:
Portable keyboards normally weigh 20 lbs and below hence are portable. Their range is also smaller. They are generally small and compact and therefore don’t take up a lot of space unlike acoustic pianos. The most common portable keyboard models are 49 and 61-key. Though optional, keyboard stands are offered with together with the instrument of course at an extra cost. They are also easily stored.
- Light-weight and Portable:
A portable keyboard is light-weight and hence portable as opposed to huge upright pianos which are so difficult to move around. In fact portable keyboard can be taken just about anywhere. In case you want to carry it along to play with a group of friends or for some stage show, you can easily do so with your portable keyboard.
- Keys and Sensitivity:
The keys of portable keyboards are plasticity and light compared to digital or acoustic pianos. Most portable keyboards are touch-sensitive hence allows for change of the volume depending on how hard the keys are pressed.
- Voices and Song Banks:
Portable pianos come with hundreds of built-in songs, rhythms and voices which include a number of, woodwinds, bells, organs and percussion; together with wonderful random sound-effects.
- Price Comparison:
Portable keyboards are a bit cheaper depending on, brand, keyboard size and its features. They are generally, much cheaper than acoustic pianos.
- Variety:
Portable pianos are available in a wide variety. There is upright and grand piano look, weighted, semi-weighted, graded hammer or hammer action for you to choose from.
- MIDI:
You can turn your computer into a recording studio. You can even load midi songs into your portable piano.
- Most come with headphones so you can play the musical keyboard and you can play without disturbing others with the sound. This also enhances privacy.
- Many electronic keyboards today have the ability to record so if you are an aspiring composer, you can easily save all the music you create.
- Another benefit of these keyboards is that they don’t need any tuning since they have no strings. Acoustic pianos need to be tuned regularly so this might get very expensive in the long run, and also troublesome. In addition they are easy to maintain, clean and store.
However, few individuals have claimed that the voices of portable pianos can sound like coming from the speakers of a phone and the speaker volume is limited in some cases.
As you might anticipate, portable pianos offer these advantages; expensive models will have higher quality sound and more features whereas less expensive models offer less features and lower quality.
Portable pianos nowadays have all the features that you would find on a musical keyboard. Most of them have hundreds of voices, musical styles and come with several effects. They even come with a built-in sequencer to let you record and arrange your own songs. Doing your research is the most important thing to do before you buy a portable keyboard, this way you will be sure to be happy with the item that you purchased. As stated above the decision rests on you to decide features that you desire most, and use them as a checklist as you shop to buy your piano. . One of the best ways to make a good purchase of the best portable piano is to read reviews from others that have purchased the same instrument. They will tell you very honestly what they like and don’t like and save you the frustration of making a bad purchase.