Best Digital Piano Under $500
For many pianists, it just isnât practical to own a grand piano. If having your own traditional piano isnât an option due to space requirements or budget constraints, a digital piano under 500 is the next best thing. Whether youâre looking for a quieter, more portable option for your practice sessions or a keyboardist on tour, the electric piano can be a powerful tool to have in your musical arsenal. There are tons of different options out there and trying to pick out the right instrument can seem like a dizzying task. To help you find the right instrument, weâve tested out five different models to find the best digital piano under 500.
We gave the Yamaha P115 a 9/10. It serves a wide range of people well. The hammer action is really realistic, because of the level of resistance. The sounds are beautiful, and the speakers are quite powerful. It has plenty of features, including recording and great connectivity too. We wish it had a few more sounds, but overall, this keyboard is an excellent choice.
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★★★★★
More details +
$500.00
We gave the Yamaha P115 a 9/10. It serves a wide range of people well. The hammer action is really realistic, because of the level of resistance. The sounds are beautiful, and the speakers are quite powerful. It has plenty of features, including recording and great connectivity too. We wish it had a few more sounds, but overall, this keyboard is an excellent choice.
PROS:
- The piano grand piano sound and feel is excellent. The piano has a controller App facilitates better usage of the piano
- Excellent value for the price point
- The pianist Styles makes playing a song quick and rich-sounding
CONS:
- Recording is limited to one song, 2 tracks, and can easily be overwritten
- The 14 voice selection is good quality, but limited.
We rated the Yamaha P45 a 9/10. This portable digital piano is an excellent starter instrument that many private music teachers recommend. The resistance of the P45 sets up students for success later down the line. The demo songs, along with dual and duo mode, add to this instruments educational value. We took off just one point, because this keyboard has a small sound bank, and doesnât have a record feature.
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★★★★★
More details +
$500.00
We rated the Yamaha P45 a 9/10. This portable digital piano is an excellent starter instrument that many private music teachers recommend. The resistance of the P45 sets up students for success later down the line. The demo songs, along with dual and duo mode, add to this instruments educational value. We took off just one point, because this keyboard has a small sound bank, and doesnât have a record feature.
PROS:
- 88 fully weighted, graded hammer action, touch sensitive keys
- AWM sampling gives realistic piano sound
- Very portable at 25lbs
- Long lasting first piano for the beginner to intermediate pianist
CONS:
- Only ten instrument sounds can be a drawback for some
- No built-in recording capability
- Limited buttons makes selecting functions a bit clumsy
Because of this shiny new model's stunning sound bank, onboard sampling, fresh new tone generator, and overall versatility, we couldnât help but give this one a 10/10. Youâre not going to find a portable Yamaha keyboard with more features for this good of a price. And while we canât recommend it to classical folks who are going to be delving into hefty literature, we will definitely recommend it to nearly everyone else!
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★★★★★
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$499.99
Because of this shiny new model's stunning sound bank, onboard sampling, fresh new tone generator, and overall versatility, we couldnât help but give this one a 10/10. Youâre not going to find a portable Yamaha keyboard with more features for this good of a price. And while we canât recommend it to classical folks who are going to be delving into hefty literature, we will definitely recommend it to nearly everyone else!
PROS:
- Itâs super light and portable
- It features a new tone generator
- It has tons of effects and cool voices
- The sampling and recording features give you a TON of bang for your buck
- It is an accessible and economical instrument
- It has both DC power and battery-powered options
- This model is the first of the PSR-E line to feature two FX channels
CONS:
- The polyphony is relatively low
- The size of the keybed will limit what repertoire you can play on it
- You canât auto record when the instrument is running off of batteries
- The Record âNâ Share app feature could be better
We rated this synthesizer a full 10/10. While monophonic/paraphonic synths only play one to two note at a time, that doesnât mean that theyâll spark less creativity!Â
We found that the Novation Bass Station was a beautiful station with an intuitive design and an (especially) impressive arpeggiator. If you are a rock or electronic instrument in the market for a small synth that will help propel your creative flow, then look no further than this model! The Novation Bass Station is a portable and timeless little synth that has powerful bass soundsâŠplus, it has a build that will last you a lifetime.
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★★★★★
More details +
$499.99
We rated this synthesizer a full 10/10. While monophonic/paraphonic synths only play one to two note at a time, that doesnât mean that theyâll spark less creativity!
We found that the Novation Bass Station was a beautiful station with an intuitive design and an (especially) impressive arpeggiator. If you are a rock or electronic instrument in the market for a small synth that will help propel your creative flow, then look no further than this model! The Novation Bass Station is a portable and timeless little synth that has powerful bass soundsâŠplus, it has a build that will last you a lifetime.
PROS:
- This model is set up to give you enormous bass sounds
- Mono synths give you a different creative result than writing on poly synths
- Light enough to wear on your person
- Portable yet packs a punch
- It has a large variety of sounds
- Great for studios/songwriting/live performances
- It has aftertouch
- Patches are easy to tweak/fine-tune
- Capable of unique sounds and effects, such as portamento
- It can play up to two notes at a time with the new update
CONS:
- Itâs monophonic (unless you get the 2.5 version with the paraphonic upgrade)
- Itâs over 10 years since its release