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A "digital" piano is an instrument that duplicates the sound and feel of playing an acoustic piano. It uses digitally sampled sounds, amplifiers, and speakers instead of strings and hammers to produce the piano-like sound. Over the past 10 years, digital piano manufacturers have made leaps and bounds, constantly updating their technologies - inching closer and closer to perfecting both the sound and feel of their pianos. In short, today's digital pianos really do play and sound like an acoustic grand piano.
A quality digital piano consists of the following: a keyboard with a weighted key action which detects the velocity with which you strike the keys, a digitized sound bank, an amplifier, two or more speakers, and speakers/headphone jacks. Usually the sound for each note has been sampled off a high-quality acoustic piano or other musical instruments. When a key is pressed, the sensors detect the key's velocity, and a microchip produces the note with corresponding loudness (the faster, or harder you hit the keys, the louder), just like a piano. Keys are usually weighted to approximate the feel of an acoustic piano's keyboard.
Most digital pianos also offer far more than just piano sounds (such as pipe organ, harpsichord, guitar, drums, etc.). Some models can offer over 2,000 sampled sounds! Other features incorporated in many digital pianos are 3.5 floppy drives, touch screens, microphone inputs, CD-Player piano functions, built-in learning tools, and even karaoke! Since all the sounds are stored in electronic form, you can listen to the piano through headphones instead of speakers, thereby allowing you to play the piano without anyone else hearing it. The biggest advantages of digital pianos are:
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Does not need tuning. If you have a traditional acoustic piano, you will usually have to tune it once or twice a year. The sounds for a digital piano are recorded and stored "digitally" within the hardware, so it does not go out of tune - ever.
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Option to play silently. By using headphones, you can play a digital piano as loud as you want whenever you want without producing any sound which others can hear ( except for your fingers hitting the keys and some low-level noise from the keys moving). If you live in close-quarters or in an apartment with poor sound insulation, this silencing ability is very useful.
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Relatively low maintenance. Beyond the usual practices of keeping liquids away, and occasional dusting, etc., digital pianos are virtually maintenance-free.
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Electronic interface. Many digital piano models have a MIDI interface capability, which allows you to connect the piano to your favorite computer or other MIDI hardware and enjoy the benefits of digital technology. As you pay more, the built-in recording and playback capability available will become more elaborate.
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Many voices. Most digital pianos come with several different types of piano sounds, plus the sounds of other instruments. For example, with a press of a button you can make it sound like a harpsichord, a pipe organ or any other musical instrument. The variety of sounds you get differs among models, but generally the higher end models have more voices. Some models come with a full orchestra sound, allowing you to compose a symphony right on your piano! As for *manufacturers*, they usually differ in:
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how they sampled the sounds,
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key action design,
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sound output design,
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overall appearance.
Thus each company's product line has a distinctly different feel and sound. There are many makers out there. Kawai, Roland , Korg, Alesis, and Yamaha - to name a few. The best way to decide what these differences mean to you is to go to a local dealer and try out the different brands for yourself.
Usually, the main differences between various models within the *same maker* are in:
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the weighted key action (how the keys feel),
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amplifier power,
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number and size of speakers,
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number of voices (piano and non-piano sounds),
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polyphony (how many notes you can play simultaneously),
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the miscellaneous added features(disk drive, lyric readout, microphone, ect.)
Feel free to contact us for further assistance with your piano questions - be it our pianos or others, we're here to help!
PHONE: (205) 979-4463
FAX: (205) 979-2229
ADDRESS: 1550 Montgomery Hwy.
Birmingham, AL 35216
EMAIL: General Information
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