10 Best 88 Key Digital Keyboards in 2024 [Buying Guide] - Music Critic (2024)

88Key Keyboard Buying Guide

What To Look For When Buying an 88 Key Keyboard

Before you can make a decision, it always helps to know exactly what you’re looking at with our buying guide. With this in mind, we’ve put together this buyers guide that reflects the various categories that we’ve reviewed each keyboard on.

Features

This is going to be one of the most important considerations to make because it’s the factor that really differentiates most keyboards from one another.

Being electronic, there are a lot of different features that can be potentially packed in. Let’s take a look at some of the most common ones that you might want.

Realistic keys are an absolute must for a lot of players because they feel much nicer to play. They aim to replicate the weight on each key as the hammer would move on a real piano, and change as you move from lower to higher notes.

Lesson modes and metronomes may be important functions for some, which can help beginners either learn to play or fine-tune their skills.

Connectivity is likely to be fairly important to a lot of players too. You might wish to output the audio from the keyboard into your headphones with a headphone jack, a PA or even your computer. As a result, you should always check to see what connection options are available on the keyboards you’re looking at.

Sound

The sound is incredibly important for acoustic pianos, and manufacturers will strive to craft the very best sound by using specialist techniques, materials, and designs. When it comes to keyboards, things are a little bit different, because there is no acoustic sound being produced at all. The keyboard is simply playing a sample from a genuine piano, which is electronically altered. See the differences, pros, and cons between a digital and acoustic piano here.

As a result, when you’re thinking about the sound you’re going to get from your keyboard, you’re not going to be thinking about the usual considerations. The first thing that you might want to look at it how the sample has been acquired - Yamaha, for instance, take their electronic sounds from recordings of their most prestigious concert grand pianos. Higher end products will use better samples. You’ll then also want to consider the sound options you get on the keyboard - from the different voices to the effects you can place on them.

Finally, there are the built-in speakers. These can make quite a large difference to the quality of the sound that’s produced if you’re not using headphones. The better the speakers, the clearer the sound will be, and the better it will be able to reproduce the feel of a real piano. You’ll be able to feel deeper low notes and crisper highs. Note that many MIDI keyboards don’t have speakers built in; they’re designed to be used with other hardware. However, the higher-end MIDI controllers do sometimes.

Quality

As with all instruments, quality is an important thing to think about. Keyboards that haven’t been made particularly well might not stand up to the rigours of being moved about a lot, which is something that keyboards often have to do if you're putting them in and out of storage, taking them to practice elsewhere, or even playing at a concert. Check out user reviews of older models to get an idea.

Design

Design won’t be important to everyone, but given that instruments can be works of art in their own right, it’s always worth thinking about. Do you prefer your electronics to be sleek and minimalist, or do you like the look of banks of switches, sliders, and knobs? There’s plenty to choose from, and although most electric keyboards come in the usual black, look out for the couple on this list that is also available in white.

Value

It doesn’t matter what you’re buying - everyone wants value. We’ve briefly mentioned this in each and every one of our reviews to help you decide if you’re spending your money well.

Budget options are naturally attractive, but that doesn’t always mean they’re a great value.

Some mid-range products that are a bit more expensive are an actually great value because they pack in a lot of features or have great quality.

What is an 88 Key Keyboard?

Quite simply, an 88 key keyboard is one that has the full size scaled hammer action, with 52 white keys and 36 black keys. It’s the most common type, though many other sizes are available.

How Many Keys On Piano?

A standard, full-size piano has 88 keys, comprised of 52 white keys and 36 black keys, which translates to seven full octaves plus a minor third. Some older pianos did have fewer keys, and some synthesizers can have as few as 25.

How Many Piano Keys Do I Need On A Keyboard?

This is a question that gets asked quite a lot, especially when space is a real constraining factor.

To fully be able to play the keyboard well, you are going to need the full 88 keys. However, beginners can get away with smaller 76 or 61 key instruments if they’re just learning the basics. Having a smaller piano can be better for people with smaller hands, as this study suggests.

Best piano keyboard for beginners

Beginners are going to want a few specific things from their keyboard. Overly complex functions and options can be confusing, but there are some features that are designed to help people learn. These functions include things like play-along songs, light-up keys, and split boards to share with a teacher. Lesson modes are fairly common, even on lower end keyboards, so you should have no trouble finding something suitable.

Conclusion

Now you’ve been through and seen exactly what you should look for in an 88 key keyboard, and you’ve got a good idea what some of the options might be, you should be in a great position to find your next instrument. The best way of doing this is to sit down and draw up a list of all the things that are really important to you, whether it’s amazing value or piano-like authenticity, and then cross-check these against the reviews. Eventually, you’ll find the keyboard that’s right for you, and you can be sure that you’ve made a great choice! See the effects of owning a keyboard in this study.

Expert Tip:

Lots of 88 key keyboards can be bought in bundles that include things like stands, stools and more. Look out for these to get a great deal.

Did you know?

Electric pianos have been around for around 90 years, with the first well known instrument being produced in 1929.

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