Musically, you need to select a piano that has the key touch and musical tone that you like. Whatever the reason (professional or hobby), it’s difficult to define what “perfect” is. Instead of looking for the “perfect piano”, start looking for the perfect piano for you. What’s right for one person won’t be right for another.
I’m going to tell you my thoughts with my experience. But most importantly, play it yourself and pick what you like.
Three Primary Types of Pianos
1. Upright Pianos: The upright piano is the most common acoustic piano.
When you press the keyboard, the hammer hits the string and makes a sound by vertical actions. It’s a great all-rounder in terms of sound and less expensive than a grand piano.
2.Grand Pianos: A grand piano action is the way a hammer strikes under a string. Grand actions tend to be faster and more responsive than vertical actions. Makes action better, and the sound too.
» Acoustic (Upright and Grand) Piano Tuning is the act of adjusting the tension of the strings of an acoustic piano so that the musical Strings, hammers, and keys are the parts that actually produce the sound in an acoustic piano. When you press a key, a hammer attached to it strikes a corresponding string, which vibrates and makes a sound. Normally need it once a year or every two years depends on how many you play the piano.
3. Digital Pianos/Electronic Pianos: These are great for starting out.
The price is much cheaper than the piano and the sound can be reduced as much as you want. Small in size, good for space utilization. you don’t need to tuning. On the other hand, he keyboard is lighter than the piano and it can not be used for a long time than piano. Digital pianos don’t have strings, and hammers are used only to add extra weight to the keys and recreate.
Buying Piano and Check Point
Acoustic Piano
1. The Keyboard: Choose a piano keyboard that is moderately weighted with the same pressure of every single keyboard of piano. Ensure that the keys have a smooth surface and are free of damages and cracks.
2. The Pedals: The right pedal is pressed gently and quickly returns to its original state
3. Sounds: A good piano sound is round and full. I do not recommend that he sound is hollow and of an electronic sound like.
Piano is that the longer the strings are more deep sound and louder.
(Grand piano> Upright piano> Console piano)
Used Acoustic Piano
1 Check the status of the sound board: A piano that has been kept in a dry state for a long time may crack on the scapula. These pianos are musically problematic and cost a lot to repair.
2. Check the status of the hammer: When you open the lid and look inside, you can see the hammer. If the hammer looks too small or the mark is too deep, you may have a problem with durability due to the piano you use a lot.
3. Check the color of the action: The wood color of the action part of a well-managed piano looks bright and classy. If the color is dark, dirty or moldy, it may be discolored due to moisture or spilled drinks.
4. Avoid too old piano: If you search the Internet, you can see the year of manufacture of the piano through the serial number. Excessively old pianos may be somewhat durable and should be avoided.
Digital / Electronic Pianos
1. Choose the keyboard that has a good hammer action function
2. Choose the 88 keys with 2 or 3 pedals and the one that keyboard is as weighted as possible.
3. Choose a product that has a good A/S. I don’t recommend used one.
4. You do not need to buy the keyboard that has a lot of function if you want to use it for piano practice.
“Yamaha YDP series and Kawai KDP90 are good products as I have experienced.
But Nowadays, there are a lot of good products with tri-sensor scaled hammer action keyboard that are similar to a piano in sense of touch and tone expression.
Please try playing other products yourself and choose what you like.