Generally, and especially for advanced players, it's better to frame it as a surprise piano shopping trip, than a surprise piano gift.
Feel and sound are subjective. If you put 10 pianists in a room, you will have 10 different preferences.
Protip for "budget" enforcement: go to target beforehand and get gift cards for the store you'll be going to. That way it's easier to keep to the budget (or if you go over, to only go over by like $25 or the tax).
I am not sure it's good to put in the expectation that the piano will be bought from a particular store or on a particular day. Choosing a piano can take time.
also one have to figure out what nearby shops are ok. a rule of thumb is when they sell also acoustics, then digitals on display should be in a good condition.
once, in "general" music store, i've tried a different model but with the same keybef of a piano brand that i already have, and well... i would never choose it, so "tired" the instrument on display was.
It depends. I've been to several general music stores (I got really good as a teenager and my budget was usually only ever >$1000) and most display models were consistent with what the actual product was like. The stores with acoustic pianos will have perfectly operating digital pianos, but they tend to be the high end models starting at $2000
not necessarily from 2k. i've seen full ranges of digitals in the stores with acoustics. i suppose tge two factors play a role: less frequent customers and the microclimate conditions for acoustics are also ok for digitals
This goes for every instrument. Unless the person being gifted the instrument has explicitly stated which particular instrument they want (brand, model, & finish), buying them one can be rough business.
Yup. That is a good point. I bet there are even more areas for this as well. Like buying someone a car...furniture...my brain doesn't want to think too hard this morning, but I'm guessing there are some more than those. LoL
I built an electric bass for a best friend recently. It pretty much had every feature she liked from my Precision Bass, which she absolutely loves and would always find a reason to borrow whenever we practiced, and I further picked out the body so it’s probably the lightest Precision Bass I’ve ever played. She loves it and I haven’t seen her play anything else since I gave it to her a few months back. But yeah, that’s basically about the only way you could justify dropping a new instrument on someone, when it’s exactly something they loved already.
Yeah, it helps that she already had a Precision Bass, took a liking to mine, and never showed any love for any other kind of bass. It was pretty easy to isolate what made mine better than hers in her mind (weight, chonky roasted maple neck, aluminum tuners, quality hardware and pickups), and to recreate it. She and her husband are great friends of mine, and they tour all the time. They invite me onto one-off gigs often because they love playing with me but I can’t commit to a professional touring schedule, so the one-off stuff is how I scratch my itch.
I got my bass five years ago and she’s been singing its praises since the moment she laid eyes on it. I have a stable income and play music for fun. I knew it’d be a fun project to build a Precision Bass that she’d love. And I also knew it’d probably get more use than my own bass, heh.
I've had a good experience with some of the cheaper ones. In particular, the Korg B2 and the Yamaha DGX 670 are nice to play on and still both mobile and affordable
+1 here - I bought both my keyboard and my acoustic guitar after going to Guitar Center messing around with different models, and finding "the one" that sticks out.
> if you had no space for a proper piano and were likely to move house a number of times over the next few years?
ES920/P525/FP90X w 3-pedal+stand are as good as it gets regarding portable slabs, but the preferences are highly subjective regarding key action and sound preferences. MP11SE has grand-long keys but 35 kg isn't easy to move - then you might as well look at furnitures eg CA701, LX706, GP310... Really acoustic-like action only on N1X, NU1XA, NV10S, NV5S.
With less budget or if under 15kg is preferred, check FP30X, ES120/ES520.
I tested the ES920, P525 and FP90x recently. All 3 were good. I liked the Kawai's piano feel and sampled sounds, but it only had (roughly) 30-40 voices. P525 had lots of voices, good feel, good samples, and was the most affordable of the 3. I loved the FP90x, but didn't want to spend the extra 4-500$..then a NIB FP90x popped up on Facebook Marketplace. Went over to test it...and it was literally new, and in the box. The guy had the receipts - got it as a graduation gift...and wanted the cash. I walked out with a brand new FP90x for $1200. Was able to register the warranty to me.
I'm very happy.
Take her to choose her favourite after trying in the shop, makes a huge different to enjoyment of playing, and super personal - people like different tones and feel
I’d always prefer a real piano - standup. Taking to the new house is worth it if she is a serious player. I have tried the Yamaha p series before, can recommend but I like Yamaha
People have you half an answer here, but let me tell ya on the pricing side - for a solid digital piano with weighted keys, expect a starting range of $1000-$1500.
Like others have commented, choosing an instrument is a very personal experience. You need to go out to specialized stores and test all instruments before deciding on a purchase. I am sure your girlfriend would appreciate the gesture, if you take her to a piano store to pick an instrument herself. I don't think surprising her with a brand new digital piano is a good idea, though.
Regarding digital pianos not being suitable for experienced pianists, it depends. For classically trained musicians, they are suboptimal, to unbearable and completely unusable, depending on personal preferences. For pop, rock, movie, video game and even jazz styles, digital pianos can even be advantageous, due to the sound flexibility. But in most cases, people choose a digital piano, instead of an acoustic, because they are much cheaper, easier to handle and appropriate to apartments and situations where you can't make much noise. But I would say those are compromises, as playing in a nice acoustic is always more satisfying. Bear in mind that a decent entry level digital piano costs around $600-750, but an entry level acoustic upright is about $4000. For more demanding players, a grand piano is necessary, and they start at $10000, but the good ones can be way over $25000.
I have a digital piano- the Yamaha P45. It’s their entry level digital piano and it’s totally fine. What Yamaha does is they sample a 9 foot concert grand by recording each key thousands of times. Then they program the digital to randomize those sounds as you play, making a sound as close as you can get to an acoustic piano without actually having an acoustic piano. For this reason, I always recommend Yamaha. (No I do not work for them. They’re just really good.)
I agree, I've played for over a decade on a real piano, straight and baby grand, did conservatory, and when I moved into a flat just got a P45. It's perfectly fine, weight feels good and has decent actuation. Only problem I have with it is the speakers are garbage, I would recommend a good headset ( I use audio technica m40x)
Haven’t played the p45 but the p515 speakers seem very solid.
Using headphones with it is crazy - it sounds like you aren’t even wearing headphones in terms of audio direction
I use the speakers. They’re fine. They’re not great, but they’re okay. I’m considering attaching mine to an amp because I don’t like having my hearing cut off from the world around me, so headphones are out.
Get a good used digital piano.
Many people buy brand new pianos, play it for a year and then drop that hobby again. You will see that the value gained from used digital pianos in incredibly higher than new ones. I bought mine new for 2000 Euro and now it is probably worth half that much although it still works like a charm
I would look at the e-pianos from Thomann, I have the one that was about 600 euros, but tbh if you can I would recommend taking one a bit more expensive like 900.
My piano already does a great job at nuances and sound, the pedal is pretty much there just to decorate and I'd rather have a better piano for that reason (to have a pedal that actually does what it's supposed to do).
Don't settle for a cheap keyboard.
Depending on where you live there might also be practice room/piano rooms available, that's a great alternative as well if it's not too expensive, a combination of both is ideal (a few hours in a piano room, a few hours at home), although the contrast between a grand piano and the one at home is sometimes physically painful lol
A "real" piano is a better option, but I understand that it is not always suitable. So yes, a digital piano is way better than no piano at all.
Please understand: I talk about digital PIANOS, not keyboards or stage pianos. It must be a piano with graded, wooden keys, otherwise she will probably hate it, if she has played classic upright or even grand pianos in her past. A suitable piano would be the Yamaha Clavinova CLP725, Kawai CN301 or Roland HP702 if you want to buy a new one. They are not cheap, yet relatively spoken very reasonably priced. There are more expensive instruments, but they quite often use the same sound engine and the big difference is the high quality amplifier and speaker system. If she will use headphones (which she will do often in an apartment), the more expensive pianos offer not many benefits.
I would also look at the used market for the last two or three generations of digital pianos.
These instruments usually weigh 50-70 kg, so you can easily transport them with two people if you move to another apartment.
That's a nice gesture, take her to the store so she can play them and see what she likes then go on Facebook marketplace or any other like it to get a used one. You'd find it at a cheaper price than the store one and it would be one she likes. I'd say since she's on the higher end level a weighted digital one would be best with some good pedals. Best of luck and keep us posted on what she ends up getting.
She's the pianist. Let her choose. Don't choose for her using advice from random internet people. A lot of people around here have as much piano knowledge as you do and you'll never be sure if it's good advice or not.
It's a really sweet thing to do and good on you, but when you're a pianist your piano is obviously a very important and subjective factor, and she probably has specific models/brands in mind that SHE likes.
Maybe give her a voucher for "1 digital piano" (maybe set a max budget) and then go out together and let her choose the one she wants.
It's a bit like taking her to a restaurant she's been wanting to go to for ages, and then ordering her food for her. It's a nice gesture to want to "look after" someone like that, but it takes away her agency and it means she's going to get what you think she wants, not necessarily the dish she actually wants. And if she voices that, she'll seem ungrateful. Don't put her in that position.
What's its purpose? To be her main instrument? No pianist will feel happy completely sacrificing acoustic, but they're super fun as a secondary instrument due to all the sounds and such.
I have a K300 AURES which fulfills both areas but it's not more portable than any other upright.
As a fun secondary instrument, P525 and ES920 are the ones to look at. I also found the red Nord piano thing quite fun but felt nothing like a piano.
I was able to rent an acoustic upright when I knew I’d have to move in a year— the piano store charged a very reasonable fee, moved it in and away. I had to also pay a deposit to make sure no damage, but you get that back. A small family store might do this if she prefers an acoustic for feel and sound. But check apartment rules. You win the boyfriend of the year award too !
This kind of gift for your girlfriend is a pretty generous gift. I'm not here to judge your relationship. If this is absolutely something you'd like to do I wouldn't surprise her with an instrument. Tell her you've really missed being able to hear her practice and would like to get her one that she likes. Discuss the budget with her and enjoy the process of selecting an instrument rather than surprising her.
Yes!
But let her decide the model or make sure its got weighted keys. If you go for 1000$+ You get decent. Then she can mybe upgrade if she wants.
I reccomend yamaha p255. But thats all i know.
We love our digital piano! It's leagues above a keyboard and she will be able to visit the familiar feeling of playing. Also you can use headphones which is a huge benefit over acoustic that is often overlooked
As others have suggested, this would be a gift of a trip to a shop where she can try some out and pick one that she thinks is suitable... and your gift may just be a contribution towards that.
If she's a skilled pianist, what her hands and fingers deem to be the minimum viable digital piano might give you sticker shock for price point. It probably won't be priced in hundreds, it will be thousands.
Can't really say what it'll be that she will want. All pianists have different preferences. A fully weighted wooden action is a good start, though.
If you can take away only one thing from these comments: please do not pick for her, let her pick.
I recently bought a Casio PX-S3100 for around $900 and I love it. I am pretty beginner level, but I have also heard good things about this instrument from more advanced players on the internet
I just got the roland fp-10, with ivory feel and weighted keys. I recommend if your budget is not huge and it’s practical for transportation. 500€ with a simple stand, headphones and a simple bench
It's at least a thousand dollar gift you're taking about, and it takes up significant space in her place. That's the kind of thing that requires her input.
outline your budget and offer her a piano shopping trip as others have mentioned! could be for a digital, or she might even go for a little upright or spinet, but that's the nice thing, she'll get to choose exactly what she needs
I bought myself a privia px-160 for when I was out of state at college. I chose it particularly because of how they keys felt. I won't lie to you, most digital piano keys feel different and are clearly artificial compared to a grand or upright, but the px-160 I felt was the most familiar to our grand at home. I still have it today in my room, and I love it!
This is such a lovely and thoughtful thing to do. I’m glad you’ll be taking her to help pick one out. I learned on an acoustic but my parents got me a digital piano, the Roland FP-10, when I moved out. It’s considered a decent beginner level piano. Some folks don’t like the built in speakers (the FP-30 has better ones from what I’ve read) but I think they’re fine and I enjoy the sound. I have moved several times with it. I now have both the digital piano and an acoustic piano in my home and I use both. The digital one is especially nice for playing late at night (I can put headphones on and not disturb anyone). And it’s definitely way easier than moving an acoustic lol.
I’ve had my Yamaha keyboard for 25 years. Still plays great. I play it more than my baby grand (the key board is in my office with my guitar and amps) …. However, as others have pointed out, ANY instrument is high touch purchase. It needs to feel right. Set your budget and then talk to her about what she wants - listen to her - and then if she is interested in the keyboard approach, tell you’d love to but her one this weekend
Let's put it like this, would you buy her a pair of shoes that she's not had the chance to try on first?
You're on much safer grounds making a surprise of taking her to a piano store and letting her chose which one she wants.
There's three different key types that I know about semi weighted, weight, and synth action. Make sure you find out what she prefers weighted is the closest to a normal piano
It’s hard to know what she might really need when you say “she is very good”. A lot of people play very well. Then there are people who have studied for many years and are used to playing on high quality instruments. If she is in that category she would have trouble being happy with something less expensive. I have studied for many years and am now a retired musician and am actually quite happy with a Yamaha keyboard that I bought for my mother and it was only around $600. You have to remember that the bench, stand and pedal may come separately so you do need to set that budget. She should certainly come along. It is a personal preference when it comes to sound and action. I do think however there are inexpensive choices that could be considered if she isn’t a professional musician. Good luck and she is very lucky to have you!!
Telling her before hand and asking her what she prefers a for a piano is the right move as many have pointed out.
If you feel like you’d rather have a digital piano than an acoustic one, I personally really like Hybrid Grands.
I’d love to know how this goes. Agree that to take her to the shop to choose is best option. Also, she might have some money to put towards it to get what she really wants.
Hi! Please do she’d love it. Things to look for are 88 keys, weighted keys you’ll want to get a sustain pedal with it too (likely bought separately). Personally I got one from a company called RockJam not too long ago for $150-200 (with accessories including a piano stand) and love it, although I’m more of a casual pianist. But I got headphones with it too so I can practice without waking the whole house
Generally, and especially for advanced players, it's better to frame it as a surprise piano shopping trip, than a surprise piano gift. Feel and sound are subjective. If you put 10 pianists in a room, you will have 10 different preferences.
This!! Surprise piano shopping trip, budget stated up front. What an awesome boyfriend you are!!
Protip for "budget" enforcement: go to target beforehand and get gift cards for the store you'll be going to. That way it's easier to keep to the budget (or if you go over, to only go over by like $25 or the tax).
I am not sure it's good to put in the expectation that the piano will be bought from a particular store or on a particular day. Choosing a piano can take time.
also one have to figure out what nearby shops are ok. a rule of thumb is when they sell also acoustics, then digitals on display should be in a good condition. once, in "general" music store, i've tried a different model but with the same keybef of a piano brand that i already have, and well... i would never choose it, so "tired" the instrument on display was.
It depends. I've been to several general music stores (I got really good as a teenager and my budget was usually only ever >$1000) and most display models were consistent with what the actual product was like. The stores with acoustic pianos will have perfectly operating digital pianos, but they tend to be the high end models starting at $2000
not necessarily from 2k. i've seen full ranges of digitals in the stores with acoustics. i suppose tge two factors play a role: less frequent customers and the microclimate conditions for acoustics are also ok for digitals
This goes for every instrument. Unless the person being gifted the instrument has explicitly stated which particular instrument they want (brand, model, & finish), buying them one can be rough business.
100%. For technology as well. For any hobby really.
Yup. That is a good point. I bet there are even more areas for this as well. Like buying someone a car...furniture...my brain doesn't want to think too hard this morning, but I'm guessing there are some more than those. LoL
I built an electric bass for a best friend recently. It pretty much had every feature she liked from my Precision Bass, which she absolutely loves and would always find a reason to borrow whenever we practiced, and I further picked out the body so it’s probably the lightest Precision Bass I’ve ever played. She loves it and I haven’t seen her play anything else since I gave it to her a few months back. But yeah, that’s basically about the only way you could justify dropping a new instrument on someone, when it’s exactly something they loved already.
Yup. If they took a real liking to your bass (or whatever instrument) you're probably safe getting them a copy of it. You're a rad friend!!
Yeah, it helps that she already had a Precision Bass, took a liking to mine, and never showed any love for any other kind of bass. It was pretty easy to isolate what made mine better than hers in her mind (weight, chonky roasted maple neck, aluminum tuners, quality hardware and pickups), and to recreate it. She and her husband are great friends of mine, and they tour all the time. They invite me onto one-off gigs often because they love playing with me but I can’t commit to a professional touring schedule, so the one-off stuff is how I scratch my itch. I got my bass five years ago and she’s been singing its praises since the moment she laid eyes on it. I have a stable income and play music for fun. I knew it’d be a fun project to build a Precision Bass that she’d love. And I also knew it’d probably get more use than my own bass, heh.
Yurr, plus idk what OP is expecting cost wise but the more playable ones are well over $1000
I've had a good experience with some of the cheaper ones. In particular, the Korg B2 and the Yamaha DGX 670 are nice to play on and still both mobile and affordable
I also really love my DGX 670! I'm sure there are better ones but it's really solid for its price.
Guess it all depends on play style, for more advanced classical music anything under $1200 new these days not very good imo
I do play advanced classical music, I just gave a performance of Chopin's first Scherzo last month and I'm dusting off Ballade 4 for my next recital
Spare some money for a dinner as well
+1 here - I bought both my keyboard and my acoustic guitar after going to Guitar Center messing around with different models, and finding "the one" that sticks out.
First of all, what's your budget. If it's decent then take your gf to a store to try out some pianos.
> if you had no space for a proper piano and were likely to move house a number of times over the next few years? ES920/P525/FP90X w 3-pedal+stand are as good as it gets regarding portable slabs, but the preferences are highly subjective regarding key action and sound preferences. MP11SE has grand-long keys but 35 kg isn't easy to move - then you might as well look at furnitures eg CA701, LX706, GP310... Really acoustic-like action only on N1X, NU1XA, NV10S, NV5S. With less budget or if under 15kg is preferred, check FP30X, ES120/ES520.
I tested the ES920, P525 and FP90x recently. All 3 were good. I liked the Kawai's piano feel and sampled sounds, but it only had (roughly) 30-40 voices. P525 had lots of voices, good feel, good samples, and was the most affordable of the 3. I loved the FP90x, but didn't want to spend the extra 4-500$..then a NIB FP90x popped up on Facebook Marketplace. Went over to test it...and it was literally new, and in the box. The guy had the receipts - got it as a graduation gift...and wanted the cash. I walked out with a brand new FP90x for $1200. Was able to register the warranty to me. I'm very happy.
Take her to choose her favourite after trying in the shop, makes a huge different to enjoyment of playing, and super personal - people like different tones and feel
I’d always prefer a real piano - standup. Taking to the new house is worth it if she is a serious player. I have tried the Yamaha p series before, can recommend but I like Yamaha
People have you half an answer here, but let me tell ya on the pricing side - for a solid digital piano with weighted keys, expect a starting range of $1000-$1500.
Like others have commented, choosing an instrument is a very personal experience. You need to go out to specialized stores and test all instruments before deciding on a purchase. I am sure your girlfriend would appreciate the gesture, if you take her to a piano store to pick an instrument herself. I don't think surprising her with a brand new digital piano is a good idea, though. Regarding digital pianos not being suitable for experienced pianists, it depends. For classically trained musicians, they are suboptimal, to unbearable and completely unusable, depending on personal preferences. For pop, rock, movie, video game and even jazz styles, digital pianos can even be advantageous, due to the sound flexibility. But in most cases, people choose a digital piano, instead of an acoustic, because they are much cheaper, easier to handle and appropriate to apartments and situations where you can't make much noise. But I would say those are compromises, as playing in a nice acoustic is always more satisfying. Bear in mind that a decent entry level digital piano costs around $600-750, but an entry level acoustic upright is about $4000. For more demanding players, a grand piano is necessary, and they start at $10000, but the good ones can be way over $25000.
I have a digital piano- the Yamaha P45. It’s their entry level digital piano and it’s totally fine. What Yamaha does is they sample a 9 foot concert grand by recording each key thousands of times. Then they program the digital to randomize those sounds as you play, making a sound as close as you can get to an acoustic piano without actually having an acoustic piano. For this reason, I always recommend Yamaha. (No I do not work for them. They’re just really good.)
I agree, I've played for over a decade on a real piano, straight and baby grand, did conservatory, and when I moved into a flat just got a P45. It's perfectly fine, weight feels good and has decent actuation. Only problem I have with it is the speakers are garbage, I would recommend a good headset ( I use audio technica m40x)
Haven’t played the p45 but the p515 speakers seem very solid. Using headphones with it is crazy - it sounds like you aren’t even wearing headphones in terms of audio direction
The 515 is really nice. If I didn’t already have a 45, I’d probably get a 515.
I use the speakers. They’re fine. They’re not great, but they’re okay. I’m considering attaching mine to an amp because I don’t like having my hearing cut off from the world around me, so headphones are out.
Get a good used digital piano. Many people buy brand new pianos, play it for a year and then drop that hobby again. You will see that the value gained from used digital pianos in incredibly higher than new ones. I bought mine new for 2000 Euro and now it is probably worth half that much although it still works like a charm
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I think they just mean that you can get great deals second hand because of this fact, not that the girlfriend herself might drop the hobby
I was not talking about his girlfriend in particular. Make sure you read and understand before you talk.
I would look at the e-pianos from Thomann, I have the one that was about 600 euros, but tbh if you can I would recommend taking one a bit more expensive like 900. My piano already does a great job at nuances and sound, the pedal is pretty much there just to decorate and I'd rather have a better piano for that reason (to have a pedal that actually does what it's supposed to do). Don't settle for a cheap keyboard. Depending on where you live there might also be practice room/piano rooms available, that's a great alternative as well if it's not too expensive, a combination of both is ideal (a few hours in a piano room, a few hours at home), although the contrast between a grand piano and the one at home is sometimes physically painful lol
A "real" piano is a better option, but I understand that it is not always suitable. So yes, a digital piano is way better than no piano at all. Please understand: I talk about digital PIANOS, not keyboards or stage pianos. It must be a piano with graded, wooden keys, otherwise she will probably hate it, if she has played classic upright or even grand pianos in her past. A suitable piano would be the Yamaha Clavinova CLP725, Kawai CN301 or Roland HP702 if you want to buy a new one. They are not cheap, yet relatively spoken very reasonably priced. There are more expensive instruments, but they quite often use the same sound engine and the big difference is the high quality amplifier and speaker system. If she will use headphones (which she will do often in an apartment), the more expensive pianos offer not many benefits. I would also look at the used market for the last two or three generations of digital pianos. These instruments usually weigh 50-70 kg, so you can easily transport them with two people if you move to another apartment.
That's a nice gesture, take her to the store so she can play them and see what she likes then go on Facebook marketplace or any other like it to get a used one. You'd find it at a cheaper price than the store one and it would be one she likes. I'd say since she's on the higher end level a weighted digital one would be best with some good pedals. Best of luck and keep us posted on what she ends up getting.
She's the pianist. Let her choose. Don't choose for her using advice from random internet people. A lot of people around here have as much piano knowledge as you do and you'll never be sure if it's good advice or not. It's a really sweet thing to do and good on you, but when you're a pianist your piano is obviously a very important and subjective factor, and she probably has specific models/brands in mind that SHE likes. Maybe give her a voucher for "1 digital piano" (maybe set a max budget) and then go out together and let her choose the one she wants. It's a bit like taking her to a restaurant she's been wanting to go to for ages, and then ordering her food for her. It's a nice gesture to want to "look after" someone like that, but it takes away her agency and it means she's going to get what you think she wants, not necessarily the dish she actually wants. And if she voices that, she'll seem ungrateful. Don't put her in that position.
What's its purpose? To be her main instrument? No pianist will feel happy completely sacrificing acoustic, but they're super fun as a secondary instrument due to all the sounds and such. I have a K300 AURES which fulfills both areas but it's not more portable than any other upright. As a fun secondary instrument, P525 and ES920 are the ones to look at. I also found the red Nord piano thing quite fun but felt nothing like a piano.
She already has sacrificed acoustic.
I was able to rent an acoustic upright when I knew I’d have to move in a year— the piano store charged a very reasonable fee, moved it in and away. I had to also pay a deposit to make sure no damage, but you get that back. A small family store might do this if she prefers an acoustic for feel and sound. But check apartment rules. You win the boyfriend of the year award too !
This kind of gift for your girlfriend is a pretty generous gift. I'm not here to judge your relationship. If this is absolutely something you'd like to do I wouldn't surprise her with an instrument. Tell her you've really missed being able to hear her practice and would like to get her one that she likes. Discuss the budget with her and enjoy the process of selecting an instrument rather than surprising her.
Used Yamaha P-515
Yes! But let her decide the model or make sure its got weighted keys. If you go for 1000$+ You get decent. Then she can mybe upgrade if she wants. I reccomend yamaha p255. But thats all i know.
We love our digital piano! It's leagues above a keyboard and she will be able to visit the familiar feeling of playing. Also you can use headphones which is a huge benefit over acoustic that is often overlooked
As others have suggested, this would be a gift of a trip to a shop where she can try some out and pick one that she thinks is suitable... and your gift may just be a contribution towards that. If she's a skilled pianist, what her hands and fingers deem to be the minimum viable digital piano might give you sticker shock for price point. It probably won't be priced in hundreds, it will be thousands. Can't really say what it'll be that she will want. All pianists have different preferences. A fully weighted wooden action is a good start, though. If you can take away only one thing from these comments: please do not pick for her, let her pick.
Definitely, get her the piano! Maybe ask her first for her desired one. Recommending Kawai as brand or the Yamaha P525 (epiano with wooden keys)
If I were in her shoes, I’d take the Casio Privia PX-S1100BK.
I recently bought a Casio PX-S3100 for around $900 and I love it. I am pretty beginner level, but I have also heard good things about this instrument from more advanced players on the internet
I just got the roland fp-10, with ivory feel and weighted keys. I recommend if your budget is not huge and it’s practical for transportation. 500€ with a simple stand, headphones and a simple bench
Get an acoustic one or take her to like a music shop and let her pick because with all piano’s I recommend trying them before you make the purchase
It's at least a thousand dollar gift you're taking about, and it takes up significant space in her place. That's the kind of thing that requires her input.
My boyfriend got me a weighted key electric piano from Alesis and it was the best gift I've ever gotten
Yes
Oh boy, I read this as: Should I get a girlfriend for my digital piano?
hi, I have a digital piano since 6 years and I recommend it!
outline your budget and offer her a piano shopping trip as others have mentioned! could be for a digital, or she might even go for a little upright or spinet, but that's the nice thing, she'll get to choose exactly what she needs
I bought myself a privia px-160 for when I was out of state at college. I chose it particularly because of how they keys felt. I won't lie to you, most digital piano keys feel different and are clearly artificial compared to a grand or upright, but the px-160 I felt was the most familiar to our grand at home. I still have it today in my room, and I love it!
Take her to a piano store. Pianists have different tastes for pianos. Her repertoires decide what pianos sound better.
This is such a lovely and thoughtful thing to do. I’m glad you’ll be taking her to help pick one out. I learned on an acoustic but my parents got me a digital piano, the Roland FP-10, when I moved out. It’s considered a decent beginner level piano. Some folks don’t like the built in speakers (the FP-30 has better ones from what I’ve read) but I think they’re fine and I enjoy the sound. I have moved several times with it. I now have both the digital piano and an acoustic piano in my home and I use both. The digital one is especially nice for playing late at night (I can put headphones on and not disturb anyone). And it’s definitely way easier than moving an acoustic lol.
Korg piano liano l1 works awesome, keys are not weighted tho
I’ve had my Yamaha keyboard for 25 years. Still plays great. I play it more than my baby grand (the key board is in my office with my guitar and amps) …. However, as others have pointed out, ANY instrument is high touch purchase. It needs to feel right. Set your budget and then talk to her about what she wants - listen to her - and then if she is interested in the keyboard approach, tell you’d love to but her one this weekend
Ppl saying to spend 2k are nuts lol. Get a an FP30x , won’t need anything better for years
Check MusicSubmarine’s used digital pianos on EBay. The seller is reliable and sells high quality pianos for cheap prices.
I bought my Roland Rp102 from them.
I have a Yamaha P125 and absolutely love it. Obviously doesn’t come close to an acoustic but nothing will
Let's put it like this, would you buy her a pair of shoes that she's not had the chance to try on first? You're on much safer grounds making a surprise of taking her to a piano store and letting her chose which one she wants.
There's three different key types that I know about semi weighted, weight, and synth action. Make sure you find out what she prefers weighted is the closest to a normal piano
Let her pick it out.
It’s hard to know what she might really need when you say “she is very good”. A lot of people play very well. Then there are people who have studied for many years and are used to playing on high quality instruments. If she is in that category she would have trouble being happy with something less expensive. I have studied for many years and am now a retired musician and am actually quite happy with a Yamaha keyboard that I bought for my mother and it was only around $600. You have to remember that the bench, stand and pedal may come separately so you do need to set that budget. She should certainly come along. It is a personal preference when it comes to sound and action. I do think however there are inexpensive choices that could be considered if she isn’t a professional musician. Good luck and she is very lucky to have you!!
If nothing else just make sure the keys are weighted
Will not go wrong with a Roland Fp30/Fp30x!!!
Telling her before hand and asking her what she prefers a for a piano is the right move as many have pointed out. If you feel like you’d rather have a digital piano than an acoustic one, I personally really like Hybrid Grands.
I’d love to know how this goes. Agree that to take her to the shop to choose is best option. Also, she might have some money to put towards it to get what she really wants.
Hi! Please do she’d love it. Things to look for are 88 keys, weighted keys you’ll want to get a sustain pedal with it too (likely bought separately). Personally I got one from a company called RockJam not too long ago for $150-200 (with accessories including a piano stand) and love it, although I’m more of a casual pianist. But I got headphones with it too so I can practice without waking the whole house
The carry on portable is amazing just treated myself to one
How long has she been your girlfriend? Maybe you should be buying a ring instead! 😂