Top Rated Piano Keyboards

Although acoustic pianos may be the prevalent instrument in producing higher caliber notes, electric piano keyboards can still yield a significant assortment of rhythms and sounds. As far as the average consumer is concerned, it's not likely for one to take a local trip to the mall looking for an acoustic piano. That doesn't mean you're getting shortchanged by opting for the more reasonably priced or convenient piano as there are several electric keyboards on the market with stunning quality.

Casio CTK-3000

With a 61 key piano-style keyboard, the Casio CTK-3000 is ideal for someone who is still learning. It includes a number of features, including 400 total on-board tones, 150 rhythms and digital effects, audio inputs for an MP3 player and 110 built-in songs to help further hone your musical skills. Having the option of using an AC adapter or battery power, this is a convenient instrument for a great price.

Roland is one of the best brands, and its Fantom-X series in particular churns out the most state-of-the-art keyboards. The Fantom X-8 is equipped with a sound generator chip that plays expressive four-tone patches with 128-voice polyphony and raises the waveform capacity to approximately 1GB when fully expanded. The synthesis section includes a variety of different waves, and the memory allows for features such as being able to store music and files in the keyboard. A bit on the expensive side, this one isn't for beginners. For seasoned musicians, it's a full package.

The convenient and easy to carry Yamaha NP30 offers quality and value for its price. With a light-touch keyboard and built-in speakers, it produces amazing digital piano sound plus 10 voices and 32 notes of polyphony. Voices include grand piano, organ, harpsichord and others. The keyboard operates on six AA batteries, which makes it portable. Great for someone who is just beginning.

Self-proclaimed as the world's most expressive synthesizer, the Roland V Synth delivers with a staggering number of sound technologies including Elastic Audio Synthesis, Vocal Designer and PCM wave sampling and playback. With a USB port and hard drive memory, the Synth can be connected to your PC as well. It sets a standard for sound design, but is a bit pricey. Not for beginners.