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Tips for Buying Digital Pianos and Keyboards
By
Ismael D. Tabije
Buying a digital piano could be a very delicate attempt, especially if you have no idea
about pianos in the first place. This article is written to help you out how to choose
the best digital piano.
For starters, digital piano is different from an “acoustic” piano in many ways.
A digital piano is a copy of what the “acoustic" or original piano is. However,
instead of strings and hammers, it uses “digitally sampled” sounds, amplifiers and
speakers. It was made to imitate the real sound of that of the original piano. Many
people now prefer digital pianos. It is because of its portability, low-to-almost
non-maintenance, volume adjuster and various voices.
What you need to know in buying a digital piano is how closely it resembles the
“acoustical piano” in terms of the sound, and its total piano-like feel. Do the keys
move under your fingers almost the same as the acoustical piano keys do? Sometimes, most
digital pianos have damaged spring action on the keys thus they could affect the tone
of the piano. Always see to it, when you are in a hunt for a good digital piano, you
should bring a good set of headphones. It is one of the advantages the digital piano has
compared to an acoustical piano.
When a player wants to play loud but his surroundings
are opposed to the noise it could bring, he could only attach the headphones and play as
loud as his heart desires without causing another’s eardrums to bash but his own. Other
than that, the headphones could help distinguish faint defects that the speakers couldn’t
detect.
Do not hesitate to try as many brands as you like to compare and choose which sounds
better. It is not in the brand or price range that the piano is considered good. It
actually depends on the buyer whether he feels good about the sound of the digital piano
he chooses.
Do not forget to check out the range of the tone. Does the tone change when you turn up
the volume? And what about when you turn it down? The digital piano should be consistent
in its tone no matter how low or high the volume is. Also check out the sound as it ends.
Does it linger too long or fades easily? If there is an acoustical piano nearby, do try
comparing the sound as you play a note and then a chord. Check out the time lapse of the
sound as it ends and sense for repeating patterns or loops.
Check out where the notes come from when you play a scale or chord successively. The
trebles should be coming from the right side and the bass should be coming from the left
side.
Try holding down the sustain pedal and play the two low C’s to check out the polyphony or
the harmony of the notes. It is good if you can distinguish the two low C’s played
simultaneously. Most not-so-good quality digital pianos would cut off one tone while
being played. Poor quality digital pianos drop both notes prematurely.
Is the digital piano user-friendly? Check out the design and see if you can understand
the lay-out of the model. Check out the buttons and if they are functional. Be sure that
the “special-effects” buttons are not that close to the keyboard or you might accidentally
hit one and then change the entire settings of your piano while you’re playing.
Check the manual for other fine-tuning facilities. Some digital pianos come with other
special effects such as alternate tunings, variable harmonics and adjustable decay (fading)
lengths. These effects can be very useful when you play with a group. You wouldn’t necessar
ily go to lengthy process in adjusting to the level of the group.
Also, other accessories such as amplifiers and speakers must be compatible with the brand
or model you have. The digital piano you purchased may be a good quality but when attached
with an incompatible amplifier or bigger sound boxes, the sound projected may not be very
good.
Lastly, if you doubt your capability to choose for yourself a good piano, ask a friend who
plays piano, or even better yet, a professional to help you determine a sound-quality
digital piano. However, you must not rely totally on what they say. It is because what is
good for them may not be good for you. Buy a digital piano that you are going to be
comfortable playing with.
About the Author:The Writer, Ismael D. Tabije, runs the website
http://pianos.e-mart4all.com that markets a wide
choice of high-quality digital pianos and accessories at the lowest prices in the online
market. Brands sold include Casio, Yamaha, Korg, Kurzweil and Roland. The website also
features interesting piano articles about piano humor, trivia, myths and facts and even
piano lessons and instructions.
Article Source:http://www.Article City.com
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