Having a Yamaha P70 digital piano at home is a great delight to thousands of people.  There has been much debate over whether to buy a digital or a traditional acoustic piano.  However, for the most part, when you are doing a digital piano comparison, it is a matter of personal preference.  There are pros and cons to both.

1.      A digital piano keyboard is typically smaller than its acoustic counterpart.  Therefore, you can fit it into virtually any space.  You don’t have to have a large dedicated area for a it.  My sister has her piano in her entry way, and my piano barely takes up 8 square feet in my living room.

2.      Digital pianos often have many prerecorded songs, & different instruments, etc.  This is one of my favorite features of my piano.  I have 3 little girls 6, 4, and 2 and they love to turn on the prerecorded songs and dance.

3.      Digital pianos have the ability to record the music that you play and replay for your listening enjoyment.  This is a huge advantage to composers as well as beginners.  It makes a big difference to hear yourself play, you can hear your trouble spots and where you can improve in rhythm and feeling.

4.      Headphone capabilities are a definite plus for millions of parents.  An acoustic piano cannot be turned down during a busy day, or when a noisy child is practicing their lessons.

5.      You don’t have to get it tuned EVER!  Tuning a piano can be expensive (up to $200 for each tuning) and should be done a minimum of one time per year.

6.      Digital pianos are usually a great starter piano.  You can usually find a high quality digital piano keyboard for a very decent price, while an acoustic would be much more expensive (though you can find used uprights for good prices, but they are typically in much need of repair).

1.      The digital piano keyboard feels very different than an acoustic piano keyboard.  The piano I learned on growing up was very easy to play.  The keys had no resistance.  I also could get no volume difference from pounding on the keys versus pressing on them softly.  The resistance in the keyboard much more closely resembled an organ than a piano.  When I had to switch over to play on an acoustic piano it was really difficult for me.  The keys on the upright piano were so much harder for me to play that it took me hours of practice to be able to play a familiar song on a traditional piano. 

2.      You don’t have a damper.  A damper is key to piano playing.  It adds feeling and depth to music.  Without a damper, you are stuck playing primarily pop music (and not all of that is can be played properly either).

3.      A digital piano keyboard cannot reproduce the same sound quality that an upright piano has. 

4.      A traditional upright or grand piano will hold their value & even increase over the years as long as proper care is taken of it.  The digital counterpart however, is not an investment in that sense as it goes down in value each year.

Since 1980, when digital pianos first hit a wave of popularity, there have been huge advancements in technology lessening the effects of the disadvantages of a digital piano.

For instance: Yamaha has developed what they call the Graded Hammer Standard Keyboard (GHS). The Yamaha P70 digital piano responds to your playing. It recreates the feel of a grand piano. Though the technology isn’t perfect, the transition from the Yamaha P70 88 key to an acoustic piano is usually as smooth as if you learned to play on a traditional upright.

Also, the sound quality has vastly improved over the years. And with the improvements, there has been an evolution of the piano in general. We are seeing more and more digital pianos mixing music and becoming key instruments in pop music all over the world, as well as a combo piano where you can get the best of both the digital & acoustic. However, these units are very expensive (though they are very nice).

Yamaha used the Advanced Wave Memory (AWM) stereo sampling to develop the sound in the Yamaha P70 digital piano. Using stereo sampling allows them to more closely replicate the depth and warmth of an acoustic piano. They also record the sounds directly from the instruments giving the sound a quality very close to the “real thing”. Because of their unique recording style the Yamaha digital piano has a sound quality that rivals some of the most expensive digital units available.

The last main draw back in the digital piano comparison is the lack of a damper. Now, however, some come with an accessory foot pedal. The Yamaha P70 88 key has Half Continuous Pedaling Capability. Though it is not exactly like the original instrument, it responds to 127 different levels of depth, and allows for much more fluidity & control closely replicating the effects of the damper pedal.

The moral? Both digital & acoustic pianos are great, depending on your needs, desires, and abilities. If you decide a digital piano, do your homework. Make sure you get quality digital pianos like the Yamaha P70 88 key you can cherish for years to come.