Best Popular Digital Piano Under $500 – Buyer’s Guide

How’s it going? it’s time to take stock of the best keyboards! So lets check this best digital piano under $500 in depth review.

The best digital piano  as well as the best MIDI controller of the year that you can get for under $500

My regular visitor will know by now that I am absolutely focused on getting the best bang for your buck and not about spending lots of money to get the latest cutting-edge music instruments.

I will only talk about instruments that I have owned I have bought them myself all manufacturers have very kindly sent them to me to review on my blog and they don’t influence. What I say smaller brands that are not so well known and not very well distributed will not be found in this list because there will usually be issues with after sales support as well as product warranty.

Because these may not be so commonly found in all markets and if you would like greater information on these keyboards, digital pianos and controllers that I’ve talked about in this post.

I will be living links in the post and you can check out more detailed information as well as the updated pricing because these prices is correct at the time of writing this post but may change the first category.

Best Beginner Digital Piano Under $500

1. Casio CT-X700 : 61-Key Portable Keyboard

Where to buy

So the Casio CT-X700 is extremely well built and really bests packed at this price it has literally everything that a beginner will need for many years.

This Casio CT-X700 comes with 61 full-sized touch sensitive keys. As well as incorporating the latest AIX sound chip which is impressive and a big leap from the previous generation.

IHL sound chip from Casio which although alright didn’t sound the best and the latest AIX sound chip corrects that so the CT-X700 comes with 600 tones.

Many of them bread and butter sounds which are really dynamic sounding and is suitable for all kinds of genres of music.

You also get 195 rhythms as well as 150 up aviators on top of that. I love the fact that there is a dedicated piano and organ button

So that when you’re performing you can very quickly just switch to a default piano sound or a default organ sound.

You can also find pretty advanced features such as the ability to layer dual voices, as well as split the sounds on the keyboard into. Two different size and for this price you get a very decent 6 track recorder.

If you decide to do multi track recording and if you want to save your different voices rhythms as well as effects for recall later on.

In future performances there are 32 slots or registration memory for you to save all your user presets and you get very flexible options for powering up this Casio CT-X700.

You can power it either using the bundle DC adapter or via batteries you can also find a USB mini jack for you to connect to your computer or your iPad or iPhone to run your digital audio workstation programs.

There is also a headphones for you to plug in your headphones. If you do not want to disturb your family members or your neighbors and there is also an auxilary inject that you can plug in your mobile phones in stream music of death.

There is also an option to connect a sustain pedal.

If you decide to play it more pianist tickly so is the Casio CT-X700 the perfect keyboard, not really close to it but really and there are two points that I,don’t really like and first one is the ability to adjust individual volumes of the duo sound layers and also the user interface of the Casio CT-X series can really just be a little bit more intuitive and user-friendly.

As of now it is not the most user-friendly also the user manual isn’t the very best written.

2. Yamaha PSR-E363: 61-Key Touch Sensitive Portable Keyboard

Where to buy

The second category I have for you is the best easy to use beginner budget keyboard. It also goes for 199 US dollars and comes with a power supply extent as well as headphones for you to get started.

This is a 61 full-sized touch sensitive keys keyboard and is superbly built and in my opinion this is a little bit better built than the Casio CT-X700.

Although it might not pack as much features and functions as the casio CT-X and you can find in the Yamaha PSR-E363, 6-3 Yamaha’s iconic awm sound sampling technology and because of this the acoustic instrument does sound sweeter than the competitor and there is also a very convenient piano button for you to default to a standard piano sound.

You can find 574 voices 165 rhythms although not as many as the casio CT-X series but it definitely sounds a little sweeter and seems to my ears as better program.

You can find the usual ports here for you to plug in a pair of headphones. It’s a stain panel as well as to plug in an auxiliary cable for you to stream music of your mobile devices.

This USB port also transmit audio data and you connected directly to your dog without an additional audio interface and this is something which is not even found in very expensive Yamaha arranger keyboards.

Like me five thousand US dollars Gino’s for example my bloating I have been a very in-depth review on the Yamaha PSR-E363. If you wants to find out a lot more about this keyboard and I’ll leave a link right here.

As well as find the latest updated price for the Yamaha PSR-E363 really one of the more requested comments I get on my blog.

3. Akai Professional MPK Mini MKII: 25 Key USB MIDI Keyboard Controller With 8 Drum Pads, 8 Assignable Q-Link Knobs and Pro Software Suite Included

Where to buy

Is to talk about my favorite MIDI controller and here we have one of the best beginner MIDI keyboard controller and that is the Akai Professional MPK Mini MKII.

This doesn’t have any sounds on its own as it is meant to control voices that you have on your door. However this costs just 99 US dollars and it comes with 25 touch sensitive keys.

You also get eight different knobs that you can map to different parameters for modifying your a levels your cut-offs your different filters to modify your sounds on the fly.

I also love D handy buttons where you can use to transpose as well as move to selected octaves up or down. You can also find a joystick where you can control your pitch and your modulation changes and there is also a built-in app ag8 very useful.

If electronic dance music is your kind of thing what I really love about this is that, it is so super small so super light and extremely portable and it comes out-of-the-box compatible with many dear w’s out there and because the Akai Professional MPK Mini MKII is USB bus powered.

You don’t have to put in any kind of freeze or plug into any kind of power just plug in via USB to your computer your laptop and you are good to go.

What I really like at this price point of 99 u.s. dollars is that the Akai Professional MPK Mini MKII has the ability for you to plug in a sustain pedal and that is usually not found in a controller keyboard of the size and this price.

4. Yamaha PSS-A50: Mini-key Portable Keyboard

Where to buy

The next category is that of the best super portable beginner hybrid keyboard so why do I call the Yamaha PSS-A50 a hybrid keyboard because a usual MIDI controller doesn’t come with on board sounds.

However the Yamaha PSS-A50 comes with a set of very decent MIDI controller specific features as well as on board sounds and for a bonus you get on the boat speakers as well that allows you to just carry this.

Wherever you go to jam or little ideas as well as to sketch out creative riffs that you have in your head. Wherever you are so MIDI controllers usually do not have on what sounds neither do they have a built-in speaker.

On the Yamaha PSS-A50 you get 40 different voices as well as two drum kits for you to jot out your musical ideas. You get loads of different up pages and patterns for you to mix and match.

As well as a whole bunch of effect control patterns that you can use to modify your phrases as well as your chords and on this mini hybrid keyboard you get a phrase recorder as well as a headphone.

Check that you can plug in and play anywhere without disturbing anyone one of the features that I really like on this keyboard is that it runs off a USB power bank and you don’t need to plug it to a wall plug. If you don’t want to it also runs on batteries if that is your choice.

5. Yamaha Remie PSS-E30: Mini-key Portable Keyboard

Where to buy

We have the best beginner keyboard for young children but wait this is not just made for young children because myself and a few of my students actually get this.

Because it is just really useful as a practice tool and it’s just so cheap you can carry it around and not be afraid that you would damage it at 64 US dollars.

The Yamaha Remie PSS-E30 has 37 mini keys and although these mini keys are not touch sensitive. They are of the same quality as those found on the PSS-A50. As well as the $500 Yamaha Reface keyboards and these keys being not touch sensitive is great for very young children because your finger muscles as well as their coordination is not as well developed and on the Yamaha Remie PSS-E30 you can find 50 different voices.

As well as twenty eight rhythms that are from Yamaha Spears are eseries keyboards which costs literally tree to four hundred percent more than this keyboard and they are really of a very decent quality at this price point.

In this keyboard are also 30 very familiar children’s tunes for young kids to sing and learn along with and children can have fun and develop their music years using the music quizzes that is built into this keyboard.

There is also a headphone jack if the children want to practice quietly without disturbing those around them and the Yamaha Remie PSS-E30 is so portable because it is powered by batteries or by a USB power bank and you can literally carry it everywhere and this keyboard comes with child.

Specific features and one of those that I like very much is the ability to limit the maximum volume on this keyboard.

Children’s years are still developing so you want to protect terriers by not having them play the keyboard.

Lovely I have made a very Terra in-depth review of the Yamaha Remie PSS-E30 keyboard which I’ll leave a link here and I bought this keyboard with my own money and that is my unbiased independent review do check out the links for more updated pricing.

6. Roland FP10: 88-key Entry Level Digital Keyboard with Bluetooth

Where to buy

Let’s talk about the best value beginner 88 weighted Keys digital pianos. So do not be mistaken josuke knows which doesn’t have weighted keys for example you’re rolling gold piano your Yamaha NP 12 MP 32.

These are excluded from the list because we are talking about pianos with 88 weighted keys and they should also have greater touch or a scale hammer action and coming in at 499 US dollars.

We have the Roland FP10 so this FP10 has 88 full-sized weighted and graded action piano keys. Which means the keys feels heavier on the lower registers and gets lighter as you move towards. The higher registers this keyboard also supports half pedaling for more expressive piano playing.

I also like the fact that there is string resonance damper resonance as well as key on resonance these are the features found in significantly more expensive digital pianos.

However I don’t really like that you are not able to control the amount of string resonance damper. Resonance or key on resonance but at 499 u.s. dollars you know I’m not complaining and really at this price.

This piano comes with 15 different tones although it might seem like there isn’t a lot of tones of voices compared to the previous key. Ones I’ve talked about but this 15 tones are your bread and butter sounds they have a variety of pianos. Electric pianos strings as well as choirs and really that is all you really need.

In addition to the 15 sounds found on the Roland FP10 there are also 14 different rhythms for you to practice a long wave at this price point.

You get bluetooth connectivity usually not found from all the competitors brand and you can stream your music from your mobile devices to the built-in speakers and what is surprising at this price point is that the Bluetooth not only transmit audio it also transmit MIDI.

So if you have a proper wireless Bluetooth MIDI setup. You can connect to your DW your laptop your computer without any wires. In between you can also find a usual headphone jack for choir practice as well as a sustain pedal input.

You should know is that this piano is no battery operated if that is something you’re looking for then this FP10 by Roland is not for you.

You might want to look at the pianos by Casio which can be powered of batteries.

I have made a very in-depth digital piano comparison review and I’ll leave a link right here

7. Korg EK 50: 61-Key Arranger

Where to buy

I will be talking about the best value performance oriented keyboard so the Korg EK 50 is branded as an entertainer keyboard and there is no mistaking that this is really good for playing live for busking for entertaining friends at 450 u.s. dollars.

This keyboard comes with 61 full-sized touch sensitive keys you can find more than seven hundred songs.

As well as user created rhythms from the PA series at this price point you get the ability to layer up to three different voices which makes the voice really rich thick and lush and there is no keyboard at this price point which can do that.

Sets where songs has been set up for you ready to start busking stop playing start entertaining where dynamic on-the-fly voice and rhythm changes are just needed.

You can tell that this keyboard is inclined to its performance because you get proper quarter-inch left right stereo outputs that you can connect to an external PA system and at this price point.

He called Korg EK 50 also supports half pad with the appropriate paddle. As well as the addition of an expression panel for you to play and control your organ voices more realistically.

You can also store your different sound settings your accompaniment settings.

As well as your different effects settings into 40 available registration slots for easy color. When you are performing live and the on-board built in trough track sequencer allow you to build really lush arrangements track by track and you can find a usual headphone jack as well as a USB MIDI port for you to communicate with your da W.

For your ease of reference in addition do check out the links  where you can find the updated prices as well as more information on the Entertainer keyboard by Korg EK 50.

8. Casio CT X5000: 61-Key Keyboard Bundle with Adjustable Stand, Bench, Sustain Pedal, Austin Bazaar Instructional DVD, and Polishing Cloth

Where to buy

Which is the very best value arranger keyboard that you can get for under five hundred US dollars.

And that award goes to the Casio CT X5000 at just four hundred and ninety nine US dollars in a bundle package that includes the power adapter a keyboard and a keyboard bench as well as an online lessons package.

This really is just massive value for money Casio has decided to throw everything into this keyboard other than the kitchen sink.

You can find 61 full-size touch-sensitive keys and this keyboard comes with 64 knots of polyphony.

So you are not run out of notes when playing your music this keyboard also has massive amount of tones.  You get 800 different tones as well as 235 rhythms and there are really just a whole slew of tools that you can use to edit your tones edit your rhythm create your own rhythms from scratch.

So it is not very user friendly to use not the most intuitive because of its small LCD screen. So this keyboard is really feature packed and is best value for money but you need to do the heavy lifting and to make sure you study a manual to figure how to properly extract full value from this keyboard.

It also doesn’t help that the keyboard user manual isn’t the most well written. So you might have to fumble around as well as watch lots of YouTube videos to learn how to use this keyboard but this keyboard definitely comes with lots of features and functions which you can only find on keyboards.

Conclusion

Choosing the best piano is not that simple now a day, and as a beginner, this task turns ever so difficult. But I did the job for you. Hope you have loved my writings.

There’re many excellent digital pianos on this guide and picking out the best digital piano was a tough task to pull off.
I will say most digital pianos in this price range are lightweight and compact. They are very easy to use and anybody can get all the expected features within this price range.
I am also a fanatic fan of the piano in this price range.

I honestly can say with $500 you can anticipate getting a digital piano well suited for practicing and even making music more at home.

Leave a comment below tell me what is your favorite keyboard and why is it your favorite keyboard. Take care and make a delightful life with the music industry.

It’s tough to say bye now. I was in the best mode for you. But I have to say bye. I will come with other good topics that you want to hear from me.

Bye for today.

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