Should I Buy an Electric Piano or an Acoustic Piano?
Should I Buy an Electric Piano or an Acoustic Piano?
Electric pianos sound nothing like a real piano. acoustic pianos
take up too much room. There is a lot of conflicting advice
floating around. I will give you the right piano buying advice
so you can make your own decision on whether the electric piano
or the acoustic piano is right for your needs.
A brief history of the electric piano.
Electric Pianos
Electric pianos were invented about 20 years ago and when they
where first introduced they were pretty terrible, the keys were
much too light, spongy and nothing like a real piano. The sound
was incredibly bright and the sampling was quite dreadful. You
couldn't really say that it sounded much like a piano at all.
These electric pianos also looked nothing like a real acoustic
piano, they had ugly, plastic looking cases that didn't match
any type of furniture in the room. If guests came around it was
almost an embarrassment to have this ugly plastic looking
machine in the living room. My how things have changed over the
last 20 years!
A brief history of the acoustic piano.
Acoustic Pianos
The acoustic piano was invented in 1709 by the Italian
Cristofori. It was a four octave instrument compared to the
seven and a quarter octave instrument of today, with hammers
striking the strings just as they do on a modern acoustic piano.
The instrument was invented to meet the need to control dynamics
by touch, which could not be achieved on the harpsichord. The
early acoustic piano went through many changes before it emerged
as the instrument we all know today. The Cristofori piano was
wing shaped like grand pianos, it had a curved body and a lid
that could be elevated. There were also square pianos in which
the strings ran from left to right as on the clavichord. And by
1800, there were acoustic pianos whose strings ran perpendicular
to the keyboard. Other names commonly used are: vertical piano
or acoustic piano, they mean essentially the same thing. A
typical old fashioned acoustic piano, tall acoustic standing,
ivory keys, beautiful wood, moulded carvings, stylish legs and
brass candlestick holders. The old pianos always had a beautiful
warm tone because they were made with quality materials and real
wood. The soundboard was seasoned for ages which in turn created
a resonant and sustaining tone. The superior quality meant that
your piano would easily last a lifetime.
Moving on to modern times These days your typical starter
piano is mass produced in China, Indonesia or Korea with very
cheap materials, soundboards made out of trees that were
probably knocked down the day before and thrown together as
quickly as possible to get distributed around the world. Well
maybe it is not quite as bad as this, but anyway i am sure you
get my point.
You can find a list of electric pianos here: Electric Pianos For Sale in the UK. Lots of
information
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF ACOUSTIC AND ELECTRIC
PIANOS
Advantages of Electric Pianos:
1) You can plug in headphones so nobody can hear you play. 2)
You can turn the volume up or down. 3) You can record your music
on the instrument itself, or to disc, smart media, floppy etc.
4) You can experiment with lots of different instrument sounds
5) Due to their light weight, electric pianos can easily be
moved from room to room 6) Your electric piano will never need
tuning or maintenance, which will save you a small fortune. 7)
You can download songs from the web and play them on your
instrument. (Normally the more expensive electric pianos offer
this facility). 8) Electric pianos are very reasonably priced
for what they are. You can pick one up from as little as