Digital Pianos (Yamaha, Casio, Roland, Kawai, Korg) - An introduction for Digital Piano Shoppers

Yamaha is the prolific manufacturer with over 200 different digital piano models. Casio clocks in a distant second with fewer than fifty models. Roland, Kawai, and Korg are much more modest in their options. There are several other minor manufacturers, but these five manufacturers control more than 95% of the digital piano market in the US. Yamaha bags the undisputed brand premium, the fruit of extensive investment in research and development over a long period of time.

A note on pricing:

Most digital pianos are available either online or through national retailers. This convenience allows consumers to do comparison-shopping and realize lower margins compared to acoustic pianos purchased through a dealer. Of course, for acoustic pianos, dealers provide valuable service – the weight of the piece (upwards of 500 pounds), the professional tuning they require and setup make online and national retailing take a rear seat. On the other hand, the weight of digital pianos rarely exceed 150 pounds (even the cabinet models that look like an acoustic piano), and requires no special tuning or setup thereby diminishing the services of the dealer. That said, for the high-end cabinet digital piano models, some consumers prefer the services of a dealer for a hands-off transaction.

While the Internet and national retailing has allowed for freewheeling for the consumer, the piano dealers have been hammered by revenue loss. With the market penetration achieved by the digital piano manufacturers, acoustic piano sales volume has declined. To stem the bleeding, piano dealers applied pressure on piano manufacturers for dealer-exclusivity. As a result, in the USA, only Yamaha’s portable piano models and the ARIUS/YDP cabinet piano models are available both online and through retailers. The remainder of Yamaha’s pianos (Clavinovas and MODUS) is available only through dealers. Similar agreements apply for higher end models of Roland and Kawai. In Europe and other parts of the world, this dealer-only policy is not applicable. In the comparison spreadsheets below, we include both the list price and the best price online – for higher end models, these prices are based on what these go for outside the US.

Variety and choices are aplenty in the digital piano models. Yamaha has 200-odd and counting digital piano models. Casio, Roland, Kawai, and Korg also have several models. In general, the manufacturers use a few brands/series to classify the offerings. The series/brand choices from each manufacturer are:

Casio (Privia PX, AP, and CDP) :

1. The Casio Privia PX (current models - 110, 120, 130, 320, 330, 3, 800, and 830) series models are primarily portable digital pianos with the only exceptions being the PX-800 & the newer PX-830 which come with an integrated stand.
2. The Casio AP (current models - 220, 420, 620) is the Cabinet Digital Piano line which are non-portable home digital pianos.
3. The Casio CDP-100 forms the low-end of Casio's portable digital piano line.

Yamaha (P, Nocturne N100, YPG, CP, ARIUS YDP, Clavinova CLP, and CLAVINOVA CVP & MODUS) :

1. The Yamaha P (current models - 85/85S, 95B/95S, P-155) series models are portable digital pianos.
2. The Yamaha YPG (current models - 635, 640)series are piano-focused portable keyboards and form the low-end of Yamaha's portable line.
3. The Yamaha CP (current models - 1, 5, 300, 50, 33) series are professional stage pianos and form Yamaha's high-end of the portable digital piano line.
4. The Yamaha ARIUS YDP (current models - S31, 140, 141, 160, 161) & YDP (current models - 223, 181, V240) series are home (non-portable cabinet) digital pianos and form Yamaha's low-end of the home piano line. These are the only non-portable Yamaha piano models that are avaialable from nationwide retailers & online stores.
   
5. The Yamaha Clavinova CLP (current models - 320, 330, 340, 370, 380, s306, s308, 265GP, 295GP) series are traditional digital pianos (non-portable cabinet) and form Yamaha's low-end of home pianos sold exclusively through dealers.
6. The Yamaha Clavinova CVP (current models - 501, 503, 505, 509, 401, 403, 405, 407, 409, 409GP, CGP1000) series are ensemble digital pianos (non-portable cabinet) and are Yamaha's premium home pianos sold exclusively through dealers.
7. The Yamaha MODUS (current models - F01, F11, H01, H11, R01) series are designer pianos (non-portable designer cabinet) and form Yamaha's high-end of home pianos sold exclusively through dealers.

Roland (RD, FP, RP, LX, RM, HP, DP, F, HPi, KR, and RG) :

1. The FP-4 & FP-7 are portable digital pianos and form the low-end of Roland's line.
2. The RD (current models - 300SX, 300 GX, 700SX, and 700GX) are portable stage digital pianos.
3. The RP-101, LX-10, RM-7000, HP (201, 203, 207, 302, 305, 307), DP (990, 990-R, 990F 990RF), F-110, HPi (Digital Interactive - 6S, 7S), and KR (Digital Intelligent - 103, 105, and 107) series models are termed Roland's upright cabinet (non-portable) digital pianos.
4. The KR (Digital Intelligent - 117M, 115M, 115, and 111) and RG (1, 3, 3M, 7, and 7-R) are termed Roland's digital grand pianos and form the high-end of Roland's line.

Kawai (CL, CN, EP, ES, CA, MP, and CP) CE, and CE - Digital Piano, CA - Concert Artist Digital Piano, CP - Digital Ensemble Piano) :

1. The EP3 & ES6 are Kawai's portable digital pianos.
2. The MP8II & MP5 are Kawai's portable stage pianos.
3. The CL25, CN (current models - 22, 32, 42), and CE200 are cabinet (non-portable) digital pianos and form Kawai's low-end of the cabinet piano line.
4. The CA (current models - 63, 93) are Concert Artist series cabinet (non-portable) digital pianos and are Kawai's premium cabinet digital pianos.
5. The CP (current models - 119, 139, 179, 209) are Concert Performer series cabinet (non-portable) digital pianos and are Kawai's high-end cabinet digital pianos.

Korg (SP, LP, and SV):

1. The SP250 is Korg's flagship portable digital piano.
2. The SV1 is Korg's new Stage (portable) digital piano.
3. The LP350 is Korg's flagship upright (non portable) digital piano.

Summary:

Roland home pianos (non-portable) have the best warranty - 5 year parts and 1 year labor. The Yamaha's & Kawai's have a 3-year warranty and that compares very well with the Casio's, Korg's, and the Roland portable digital piano models which have just a one-year warranty. The Roland's and Korg's enjoy good reputation among piano enthusiasts. Yamaha's & Kawai's are the popular choice among institutions. The Casio's have excellent market share because of their value pricing.

Please check out our best value comparative reviews of Portable and Home Digital Pianos by following the links below.

Last Updated: 08/2010.

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