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The Cheapest 6 Upright Pianos
Upright Pianos are designed to take up less space in the house, as Grand Pianos often take up so much space that they are not suitable for use in any home. If you are trying to buy an upright piano, you probably have an intermediate budget – say between 2000 or 3500 euros. Evidently, the title of this article says “cheap,” so when we talk about these figures, we are already moving a bit away from that term. But don’t worry! we’re going to teach you options in that budget and much less. You just have to keep reading to the end.
I’m sure you’ll be interested in…
- See this section for possible discounts and offers
- Ranking with the best digital pianos in quality-price ratio
- The cheapest musical keyboards for beginners
- Learn piano by yourself and for free
Does Chinese manufacturing mean poor quality?
This is one of the first myths that must be denied. Today, in this country, there are manufactured pianos of high quality and low quality, indistinctly. It depends on what you’re willing to pay for.
Today, most beginner’s and mid-range pianos are manufactured in China, and this happens in almost all brands.
And haven’t you thought about a portable digital piano? They are cheaper and have many advantages. Don’t miss our selection of the best Digital Pianos from BuscarInstrumentos.com:
Today’s best-known brands are in a position of superiority in marketing by brand value, but today that no longer has to be guaranteed. Although for us it’s Yamaha.
Is a piano worth more than 2500 Euros only for the first few years of study?
Well, it’s true that pianos, because of their technical and mechanical complexity, are instruments of a more expensive nature; but to say that something that costs you 3000 € is going to sound bad and that it will only be worth you for the first years of study… that’s a trick for people who can afford to spend more money and renew the piano. It’s about “creating the need,” pure marketing.
Another important option is to buy a quality digital piano. Current technology has made the touch of the keys almost the same as that of an acoustic piano.
Normally the classical music world is very conservative, but more and more modern and conservatory teachers are recommending digital pianos because of their many advantages, such as being able to study in silence.
Digital pianos have many advantages, if you are going to buy a good one it will be worth it for many years, and in addition it’s very portable. Aside from all the money you’ll save on maintenance. Although for the touch to be sufficient to study, it must be one of the good ones; in the list we have included some very recommendable ones.
The ideal would be for everyone to study with a €20000 grand piano, but as that can’t be and budgets don’t usually exceed €3000, the quality digital piano option is increasingly recommended instead of a low-end upright piano. And by being digital and being sure that each one will sound the same, you can save a lot of money by buying them online. We hope we broke some taboos about the world of the piano. Here is our selection:
Best Upright Pianos on Price and Quality
Yamaha B1 PE (Acoustic)
Made in Yamaha’s facilities in Indonesia, this is an interesting option – usually around 2800 €. Although, it is always possible to look for second hand. The good thing about Yamaha is that they are very scrupulous in the process of fine-tuning and quality testing. Yamaha instruments are famous for being totally ready to play right out of the box, perfectly tuned and without the need for minor adjustments.
If you’re looking for a second-hand piano, don’t skimp on paying a private teacher to come with you to try out the piano. It will cost you about 40€ and two hours of your time, but will save you a lot of headaches later.
Yamaha Arius YDP 144 (Old Yamaha YDP 143)(Digital Piano)
A really good option for around 700 €. And now you have the new model Yamaha YDP 144. The only difference for the Yamaha YDP 144 vs Yamaha YDP 143, is the sound quality that is a new sampling technology.
It has features below:
- 88 keys – Yamaha keyboard with Hammer Action GHS 88 system with top of matte black keys
- Pure CF Sound Engine (improved in Yamaha YDP 144)
- Intelligent Acoustic Control (IAC): A system that mimics even the vibrations of an acoustic piano so that the experience is totally real; all this acts together with the acoustic optimizer
- 192 voices-polyphony with which you can play any work of medium and higher grade at conservatory
- 10 Piano sounds with good quality
- Reberv and Chorus effects
- Recording function
- Split mode to make one sound on one half of the keyboard and a different sound on the other half (usually the combination is usually piano + strings)
- Duet and layering mode to mix two different sounds
- Triple Pedal: It is necessary to have the three pedals for certain works of higher grade at conservatory
- Appearance of upright piano with very nice finishes
- Dimmensions of 1357 x 815 x 422mm and weight of 38kg
The way you see it, it is a very complete piano. It also has a double helmet outlet so that you can even give a piano lesson with the teacher in silence. Or practice a duet on the same piano.
It also has a USB MIDI output so you can connect it to your computer. This allows you to do things like record a track and then with a single click export what you played to a score… very powerful. The speakers are designed for the studio. With 6 W they are good for home study or a small rehearsal room. As for its dimensions;
Here’s a video review in English for you to get to know this top seller. You can also read our full review of the Yamaha YDP 144 where we explain what is new in the Yamaha YDP 144.
Yamaha YDP S54 (Old Yamaha YDP S52)Digital Piano Arius
Our favorite from afar, because we’ve tried it and it’s great. Its feel is… simply amazing. Voucher for beginners and professionals.
The price is usually around 1000 € (around 1200 USD), but it is the perfect combination between the price of an acoustic vertical and a digital one.
It’s good for everyone, it’s very durable, and as we’ve said before, Yamaha is always such a reliable brand that you can buy it online without any problems, knowing that it will arrive in perfect condition and ready to go.
Don´t miss my review of this digital piano where with compare it with several options.
Korg LP180 Digital Pianos
The Korg brand has been a reference in musical instruments for a long time. This model excels in its Hammer Action Grand Piano system, a natural weighted hammer system to simulate the touch of an acoustic piano, and you won’t notice any difference. It usually costs less than 600 € and we have met many elementary and middle grade students studying with it. It’s also used by many professionals for its enormous portability and low weight.
Don´t miss our review of this piano.
Pearl River 118 Digital Piano(Acoustic)
Chinese manufacturing is one of the largest producers today. Highly demanded and with a great value for money in the lower-middle range, usually around 2500 €. If you decide on a vertical acoustic and you are willing to invest a little in tuning it from time to time, and keep your pieces, it is a great option. As we recommend before, try to find it second-hand and pay a couple of hours of time to a teacher to accompany you and give you a diagnosis of how the piano is, you can save a lot of money!
Digital Piano Casio Celviano AP-470 (old AP-460)
This is the new model of the Casio Celviano AP460. It brings back:
- Two new piano sounds
- Steinway D
- Steinway Boston
- 4 New accompaniments for layering and playing encuma
- Spatial audio
- Key on and key off simulations
- Best speaker system
- Best HALL simulations
This piano is the latest and most expensive of all the digital pianos we have selected. It is not the most bought, but it is a real hidden jewel at a good price.
The Celvians are much appreciated by many piano teachers for their students. Casio has overcome itself with the sound of this piano. It’s a tremendous sense of reality because it has one of the most advanced digital Hammer Action systems out there. Don’t be fooled by its modest appearance, it’s one of the best digital pianos ever.
It has strings and sticks to simulate a real piano, and the digital sound that comes out of your system doesn’t lose quality in compression. Its price is a little higher than the other models we have presented, but its proximity to the feeling of playing a real piano is tremendous.
It has MIDI support, synthetic ebony and ivory keys, recording and USB port, metronome, three pedals, 20W speakers, and headphone outputs. They’ve worked their way up to the top so it doesn’t get dusty. Apart from all the features that a digital piano of this price usually has, what is tremendous is its “Tri-Sensor II” system of massifs and velocity sensitivity. For now, the most powerful digital acoustic Hammer Action system on the market. We summarize its features here:
- 88 action keys Scaled Hammer Action II (Tri-Sensor) ebony/synthetic ivory
- 22 piano sounds with the new ones we have shown you before
- Multi-Dimensional Morphing AiR
- 256 polyphony voices (very powerful)
- Partition and layer functions
- DSP, chorus, ‘Brilliance’ and ‘Hall’ simulation
- 2 track sequencer
- It has a resonance effect and a hammer effect to better simulate the sensation of a real piano; imitating the vibrations you feel when you touch a real piano
- Cover and key deactivation simulator
- Audio Recording/Playback
- Of course it has metronome, transpositor, etc, etc, etc.
- Triple pedal for play in any level
- 2 headphone jacks
- USB to Host (this is the MIDI)
- USB to device
- 2 line outputs (L/Mono, R) with what it is worth to play live if necessary, although it is a little heavy compared to the portable digital pianos of the beginning
- 4 x 2 x 20W 2-way speakers (better than AP 460)
- Dimensions including music holder: 1417 x 427 x 861mm (height x width x depth)
- A weight of 43 kg compared to 150 that normal upright pianos can weigh; includes score book, music stand, headphone hook and AD-E24250LW power supply – although it has to be said that it doesn’t come with a stool.
The best place to buy this piano is Thomann Europe and your Amazon website:
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A funny journey back to the origin and history of the piano. Who invented the piano?
We supossed you’re here because you want to deepen in the history and origin of this instrument that today has a great importance.
The inventor of the original piano mechanism is attributed to the Italian Bartolomeo Cristofori. Although curiously despite being its Italian inventor this country turned its back on this instrument for quite some time. Its main development is in Germany, so it is in that country where the Piano or Pianoforte is developed.
In Italian piano is slow or loose and forte is strong. That’s why the piano has the ability to sound louder or looser based on the force with which you press the key is also called PianoForte.
I’m sure you’ll be interested in…
- Ranking with the best digital pianos in quality-price ratio
- The cheapest musical keyboards for beginners
- Learn piano by yourself and for free
Before the piano, there were some keys instruments very popular like the Harpsichord, but they didn’t have the main characteristic of the piano. Which was to be able to regulate the volume of the note depending on how strong or weak the key was pressed. In this way the piano changed the way it even played the music.
Well, we’re lying to you, the Harpsichord did allow you to regulate the volume and add expressiveness to what you were playing, but it had very little power and volume. So it didn’t work for the new kind of music that was being created. Much more expressive and sentimental.
And what year was the piano invented?
Bartolomeo Cristofori began to make his invention back in 1698, almost three hundred years ago. Although it wasn’t the piano as we know it now, it had about 4 octaves and no pedals to maintain the note. And since then, the hammer action system has been improved.
You want to know what the harpsichord sounded like? It was the most popular instrument when the piano was created, and it still took a long time for the piano to surpass it in popularity.
The Harpsichord
And how was the piano becoming so popular?
How we really named the piano before began to develop in Germany, and at first it was ignored in Italy. It was a somewhat eccentric character called Gottfried Silbermann who built the piano in Germany.
Silberman was a renowned harpsichord maker, but he was also a very joking and risk-taker. On one occasion he had to leave Freiburg at full speed because he had tried to kidnap a nun in a very shabby way and had to go into hiding in Strasbourg. He was a very skillful person for business but his taste for the opposite sex got him into a lot of trouble, in a few words, musicians…..
Silberman heard about Cristofori’s system and built one of the first pianos that existed. Some of them belonged to Frederick the Great himself. The same Johann Sebastian Bach came to try the invention but curiously he did not like it much at first but then gave his approval years later.
Even so, the piano took a long time to prevail over other keyboard instruments, but it was because baroque music was still dominated by polyphony and counterpoint.
Silberman’s piano was later developed in England by other manufacturers who reduced the size of the instrument and simplified the mechanism so that it became affordable for the middle classes. This greatly influenced its development and extended its use and popularity.
The great piano players
As the piano gained popularity at the end of the Baroque and the beginning of Romanticism, the great composers began to compose for this powerful and expressive instrument. In history, J.S. Bach and Dussek stand out as pioneers, but Mozart is the first of the greats. There is also talk of Clementi as one of the creators of the new way of playing and the piano.
Mozart discovered in the piano how to express feelings with volume changes. Creating a world of incomparable beauty, but it was Beethoven who transgressed everything. Beethoven played in a way never before seen, wild. You could say it was Jimmy Hendrix’s version of his time, a real rockstar. It was very normal that he would destroy the keyboards with his energetic way of playing.
Of course, very important figures would arrive later and each one of them contributed their stamp on the music composed for piano. Artists such as Joseph Haydn, Schubert. Basically they were closing the Baroque and opened the door to a new music with a much more singable melody. And there were also singers in their evenings…
AND SUDDENLY THE PIANO BECOMES THE MOST POPULAR INSTRUMENT DURING THE 19TH CENTURY.
Throughout the nineteenth century the piano became popular to incredible levels. The middle classes are beginning to acquire them and all over the world there is no house that does not have a piano in its living room. Of course, all this is helped by the fact that much cheaper and less space-consuming models such as upright pianos emerge. Which has the whole mechanism mounted in the vertical plane. To make them sound louder, the top cover is opened.
We have to keep in mind that these times there was no television, no consoles, no radio. The piano became the center of meetings. It kept people entertained and was wonderful because it prevented arguments about politics from ending up with a tray on someone’s head. This highlights the importance of the piano as a social element.
It is said that in the mid-19th century alone in Paris there were more than 15,000 piano teachers. Brands like Steinway export their pianos halfway around the world and in this way we can see scenes of camels transporting them.
We can say that the 19th century is the golden age of the piano. In all styles it was the most played instrument. El Vals, popular music of all kinds… not to mention his role in military music. Very popular this style during the nineteenth century, whose function was to give glory to the military campaigns and increase the morale of the population. In some cases the notes could imitate elements of the war, such as cannon fire.
Schubert for example composed military music, here a sample.
Schubert Military music nº 1 Op 51
And in the wild west it also becomes very popular, there was always a piano in the typical cowboy bar. Which will then be the soundtrack of this genre. This was already at the end of the 19th century.
20th Century: Jazz and Swing
Like the 20th century, the piano is still at its peak. Especially at the beginning of the 20th century, there’s no bar or house without a piano. However, new styles of music are beginning that are still very much alive today. These are Swing and Jazz.
We can say that Swing is a type of Jazz, but it is also related to the style of dance that became so popular in the United States during the first half of the 20th century.
The piano begins in this time to share starring with the guitar as the main harmonic instrument, but it still shines by itself. In addition, the piano is usually the reference instrument for composition and learning harmony because it is much more visual in that sense.
It is true that all kinds of piano music are still being composed during the 20th century but we cannot avoid highlighting Jazz and the introduction of modern harmony. This change is so great that today there are conservatories of “Classic” and others of “Modern”Music. This is due to the introduction of modern harmony, which is developed and created as the geniuses of Jazz of the 20th century emerge. The rules of classical harmony are broken, creating new rules and playing with dissonances.
Some names that change the rules of music are Bill Evans, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk
The 70’s and the arrival of the digital piano and synthesizers
In the ’70s comes something that will revolutionize music. This is synthesizers and piano keyboards. By means of digital technology it is possible to produce sounds from scratch and to modify their waves. This opens up an incredible number of possibilities for musicians. It’s the beginning of electronic music and those keyboard players surrounded by synth keyboards everywhere. An example of this new world is Herbie Hancock.
Herbie Hancock is one of the best examples of innovative pianist. Great Jazz musician does not hesitate to experiment with new technologies and becomes a great fan of synthesizers and disco music. Next we leave you a video where you can see the jump of planet that some keyboardists give.
Well, this post is coming to an end, obviously we have left many things but we hope to have entertained you and have given you an overview of the history and evolution of this wonderful instrument. If you liked this article and you think someone might like it, don’t hesitate to share it.
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Top 7 Best Cheap Digital Piano In 2021 Reviews【2020】
In this section we will make an analysis of the cheapest electronic keyboards but with a basic and acceptable quality. Keep in mind that we are talking about musical keyboards for beginners.
| Model |
Link |
|---|---|
|
Yamaha PSR E363 (old E353) Velocity Sensitivity keyboard Sustain Pedal |
Check Thomann Bundles: |
|
Casio CT S300 (Old 3500) Velocity Sensitivity keyboard Sustain Pedal
|
Check Thomann:
|
|
Yamaha PSR E263 (old E253) NOT Velocity Sensitivity keyboard Sustain Pedal |
|
|
Yamaha YPT 260 (old 255) NOT Velocity Sensitivity keyboard Sustain Pedal |
Although these keyboards don’t have to be thrown away later, they are very useful because they are very light.
Although in the future you should study with other models, you can use them to take them to music sessions as they usually weigh 4 kg, at most – compared to the 12 kg of other digital pianos. You can then use them to connect them to your computer as MIDI controllers as well.
If you are thinking about learning to play the piano and you want a piano that will suit you for the first 5 or 7 years, check out the guide with the best digital piano of the season; in it you have digital pianos with weighted keys for even less than 400 euros such as the Yamaha P45 or the Casio CDP S100.
The musical keyboards in this selection can be used perfectly to see if you like to play the piano and experience the sensations of playing a musical instrument.
It’s not a bad strategy to acquire one of these keyboards and later buy a better one. Well, having said that, here we go with our selection: There are several brands, but without any the ones that stand out are usually CASIO, or YAMAHA. Although as you will see there are other very acceptable options.
YAMAHA PSR E363 (old E353)
I’m sure you’ll be interested in…
- See this section for possible discounts and offers
- Ranking with the best digital pianos in quality-price ratio
- The cheapest musical keyboards for beginners
- Learn piano by yourself and for free
This is our favorite. It is difficult to find something so balanced for a budget between 100 and 200 €. It has velocity sensitivity (without Hammer Action, also called weighted keys), sustain pedal input, USB MIDI for MIDI controller and 61 keys. And like other PSR it weighs only 4 kg. It’s got it all.
The Yamaha PSR E353 had a maximum polyphony of 32 notes that was a little short but the new Yamaha PSR E363 already has 48 notes. Which puts it on a par with his competitor. The Casio CTK 3500.
Of course it’s a bit more expensive than the Yamaha PSR 253 mentioned below, but the difference is very small and the USB MIDI connection is worth it.
It will help us to record MIDI track in the computer and then export them to score with programs such as CUBASE, Ableton, Sibelius and so forth. If you have the money, don’t hesitate to buy this or the following Casio that we talk about below.
It has demo songs at home and acceptable loudspeakers.
Here you have our in-depth analysis of the Yamaha PSR E363 and its previous version, the Yamaha PSR E353.
Below the shops you can Buy it:
CASIO CT S300 (Old CTK 3500)
This keyboard is the one we recommend the most together with the Yamaha PSR E363. They are tough competitors and many people do not know which to decide on. The Casio CTK CTS 3300 is the new model of the Casio CTK 3500.
This keyboard has 61 sensitive keys, it supports a sustain pedal that serves to sustain the note in time even when the key is released, and it only weighs 3.4 kg. It has 48 note polyphony which is quite good for its price and is a very important aspect of piano sound quality. It has many sounds available (more than 400) although the important thing is that it has an acceptable piano sound quality. It includes MIDI to connect it to the computer like the Yamaha PSR E363 and equals it in all other functions.
Buy the Yamaha PSR E363 or Casio CT S300 both are good choices for a similar price. If you want to know more do not hesitate to visit our review about the Casio CT S300.
Watch following video with the characteristics of the Casio CT S300.
Below the shops you can Buy it:
Yamaha PSR E263 (old Yamaha PSR E253)
Attention to this one that although it surpasses the 100 € it is that it has almost everything for that price.
What we love about it is that it’s got a pedal input. Apart from that, the Yamaha brand is very powerful, as we have already said, it has 61 keys and a weight of 4 kg that is more than acceptable. It’s a very attractive offer and its sound like piano is not bad at all.
Yamaha YPT 260 (old Yamaha YPT 255)
We like this Yamaha model very much and we’ll tell you why. It’s still very affordable as it’s barely over €100 and it also supports a pedal.
The pedal is important when playing a song on piano because it allows to keep the note in time. Otherwise it has Yamaha quality, which is a guarantee that you will have the best quality that can be given for that price.
It also has many self-learning functions. And because it supports the pedal, you will have more time for higher levels of learning without having to buy a higher range; the best choice if you can afford it. Well, it’ll last you longer. In addition the charger is included although the bad thing is that it does not have USB-MIDI port. Only headphones output that you can use to record but not for the piano to be understood with learning software. Below we also show you which pedal is compatible with this keyboard.
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