Acoustic or Digital, which piano should I choose???

In life, we are faced with many decisions to make. Some simple and some complicated. Whether it is about choosing a career path, the colour of your new car, or even what to have for lunch! It doesn’t get any easier when you need to decide between buying an acoustic or digital piano for your home. Have no fear as we at Nippon Piano are here to help you decide on the perfect piano for your needs.

Acoustic Piano

The traditional acoustic piano has been around since the 1700s. Its construction is a beautiful work of engineering and art. The piano is a stringed musical instrument. It produces sound by way of mechanical action. When a key is pressed by the player’s finger on the keyboard, a felt padded hammer then strikes the strings and rebounds off them. The strings then vibrate at its resonant frequency. The volume of the notes and tonal character changes according to the player’s touch response. Many other factors contribute to a piano’s rich timbre such as the different kinds of wood used, construction methods, the acoustics of its surroundings and of course the tuning.

The experience of playing a good acoustic piano is a fascinating one. The touch of the keyboard mechanism gives you a very wide range of expression and articulation. An acoustic piano’s sound is harmonically complex and beautiful. Its natural and earthy tones just soothes the soul. A certain connection happens when you play an acoustic and it responds back to you in the manner of feel and sounds. When comparing an acoustic piano to a basic digital piano, sound-wise the acoustic is superior in many cases. This is because a digital piano can only reproduce the sound and feel of an acoustic to a finite level. This limitation may reduce the playing nuances and dynamic range as compared to an acoustic. An acoustic piano would typically retain its resale value much better as compared to a digital piano if you are looking at it as an investment. Hence, the acoustic piano is still relevant today despite being around for hundreds of years.

Typically, acoustic pianos are available in 2 forms i.e an acoustic grand or an upright. Grand pianos have been used for classical solos, chamber music or even in the pop and jazz context. Whereas, an upright piano is much more compact and suitable for home or music school practice rooms. However that doesn’t stop professional musicians from using uprights for concerts or on recordings. A good number of artistes have used old upright pianos that sound honky-tonk and bright due to worn hammers and slightly out of tune strings. Just listen to the piano sound on the song Penny Lane by The Beatles.

Be it grand pianos or uprights, Nippon Piano has a wide range for you to choose from. We carry fine German designed pianos made by Schonbrunn, Wilh. Steinberg and reconditioned pianos of various makes.

 

Digital Piano

Companies such as Roland and Yamaha have spent decades developing digital piano technology. At this point in time, most digital pianos generate their sounds through a series of sensors from the keyboard that triggers audio samples from a sound module within the piano. The sounds are then amplified via a set of speakers to emulate the way an acoustic piano projects its sound. High resolution PCM stereo digital audio samples of acoustic pianos are stored in the sound module’s ROM memory. They typically can store a variety of different piano samples and even other instrument sounds as well.

Generally, it is a more practical solution for when situations are less than ideal. Some advantages of digital pianos are:

–           Lower price in comparison to equivalent quality acoustic piano.

–           Lower maintenance cost. You will never need to tune a digital piano.

–           You can practice with headphones on and not annoy your neighbours at night.

–           Most are slimmer than an acoustic piano. Hence they are more space saving.

Nippon Piano is an authorised dealer for quality digital pianos from Roland, Yamaha and Casio. These are some of the most reputable brands available in the market. Shop with confidence with us!

 

What Works Best For You…

As you can see, there are pros and cons to both acoustic and digital. The deciding factor should be what works best for you. If you have the budget and a big house without noise level issues, probably an acoustic grand piano would be good for you. Otherwise, if you live in a condominium where space and volume is an issue, most likely a digital piano would be best instead. So, come on over to our showroom and try all the pianos you want. Our friendly sales representatives would be happy to consult you on your next purchase.