Top 5 Digital Pianos Under £3000

Digital pianos have been incredibly popular over the last decade or so. Having one means you can enjoy the delights of the piano but without ever having to tune it. You can also control the volume to your liking and even use headphones for silent practice. Digital pianos have also come a long way in recent years with many of them offering players an authentic piano playing experience, with a similar sound and feel to that of an acoustic piano.

There are a great many brands out there selling various digital pianos with all sorts of different features. So, what do you need when looking for a digital piano under £3000? Obviously, a great piano sound and authentic feel but what other functions you need will vary from player to player. This list will consider 5 great options and outline what makes them different from one another so you can choose the best digital piano under £3000 that’s right for you.

Please note that all of these come with free mainland UK home installation, delivered and set up by one of our experienced professionals.

Yamaha Clavinova CLP585

The Yamaha Clavinova range has been one of our biggest sellers. As you might expect, Yamaha sample their own acoustic pianos, which are played in some of the most prestigious concert halls and on some of the biggest stages in the world. This particular model, the CLP585 has many features that render it one of the best digital pianos under £3000. Like the model below it, the slightly cheaper CLP575, it boasts the sound of two of the world’s finest grand pianos; the Yamaha CFX and the Bosendorfer Imperial. It uses Virtual Resonance Modelling to recreate the natural reverberation that occurs from the strings within an acoustic grand, and uses modern technology to ensure that you get rich bass and treble frequencies even when playing at very low levels, or with headphones. It’s also got an authentic feeling natural wood keyboard with synthetic ivory keycaps to recreate the feel of an acoustic piano.

The CLP585 has a few features that the previous model doesn’t. The keys have small counterweights that provide the optimum balance and mean that it plays more like an acoustic grand. It also means that you get a more dynamic and authentic feel when playing softly. The CLP585 also features better speakers; these aren’t just more powerful, they’re separated so they represent bass, middle and treble frequencies individually, plus they will also give a clearer sound sound at lower volumes too. It’s also got more voices so you can get more creative, and more preset songs to play along to. The sound and feel is very close to that of an acoustic piano, plus it’s chock full of features to please both modern and conventional style players alike. The Yamaha CLP585 is available in Black Walnut and, though a little over £3000, Polished Ebony.

Roland LX7

The Roland LX7 is one of their more recent offerings. Sound-wise, compared to a Yamaha or Kawai, it’s slightly softer and warmer, and is driven by the most recent version of their unique technology, SuperNATURAL. With this, the instrument models how an acoustic piano would behave to get an authentic and realistic sound. They also sample each one of the 88 keys to capture each note’s slightly unique tonal characteristic. Click for more information on Roland SuperNATURAL. It’s got a massive 307 different tones to choose from and you can store 25 of your favourite setups for easy recall. Similar to the CLP585, the speakers on the LX7 project different frequencies as well as resonant nuances from different parts of the piano to recreate the feeling of sitting at an acoustic.

The LX7 also features a new keyboard action – PHA50. The keys are partly made from wood, and party from plastic. This means you get the feel of a wooden key, like on an acoustic piano but because of the plastic, you don’t have any of the maintenance worries; it blends authenticity with longevity and reliability. Each key also has a stabilising pin to ensure that it goes down and returns exactly how it should, resulting in seamless and authentic playability. You can connect your smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth to aid practice too; this is especially good for younger players learning to play the piano. What also great about the LX7 is that it comes with a 10 year warranty so you can have complete peace of mind that you can enjoy your instrument for years to come. Combining the updated SuperNATURAL with the PHA-50 keyboard action helps make the LX7 play and respond like an acoustic piano. This, with all the on board features earns the Roland LX7 a place in our list of best digital pianos under £3000. It’s available in Contemporary Black, Brown Walnut and Polished Ebony.
To read our review on the Roland LX7, click here.

Yamaha Clavinova CVP701

The CVP701 is still very much a Clavinova in the sense that it provides an incredible, realistic piano sound and feel, it just has a lot more extra features on it. Compared to the CLP585, the speakers on the CVP701 aren’t quite as good, nor does it have the counterweighted keys. However, it does have a lot of other things.

The CVP701 is ideal for players that as well as an authentic piano sound, want to able to call upon a host of other instruments or even a virtual band that plays along with you. It features the realistic grand piano touch of the GH3X keyboard action and an enormous 777 voices, including the Yamaha CFX and Bosendorfer Imperial grands. Included in these extra voices are 49 Super Articulation voices; these add in realistic player’s touches that you would hear were someone actually playing the instrument. So with the guitar voice, you get fret noise and with wind instruments you hear the subtle inhales and exhales that you would with a real player. Playing around with these results in some very realistic sounds, plus it’s great fun!

You also have the ability to call up three virtual musicians that can play along with you in 40 different musical styles. So, if you want to play jazz piano, why not make it a trio with just a few pushes of a button? You’ve also got full orchestras that can follow your chords so if you want to recreate the sound of a group of musicians just by yourself, the CVP701 allows you to do so, with realistic clarity. For this reason alone, we consider it one of the best digital pianos under £3000. This piano also has some learning facilities such as guide lamps above the keys that tell a player exactly which note to press, and any backing you have will wait until you get it right. You can also plug a microphone in to the piano and sing along whilst you play; a great tool for singer songwriters and solo players. Straight up pianists might prefer the touch of the CLP585 but if you want plenty of functions and features that can help you create slightly more contemporary music, or just have fun with, the CVP701 is definitely worth a look. It’s available in Black and Polished Ebony.

Kawai CA97

Kawai’s offering in our list of best digital pianos under £3000 is the CA97 which features their Grand Feel II piano action. This has full length, all wooden keys for authentic feel as well as a pivot point in the middle of the key to make playing the CA97 feel as close to playing an acoustic grand piano as possible. Also unique to Kawai is the solid spruce soundboard speaker system that’s on the back of the piano. Instead of a regular paper speaker cone carrying the resonance of the bass and middle frequencies, a large piece of solid spruce helps to do it, again like on an acoustic piano. The treble frequencies are created through the top speakers. Like Yamaha, Kawai sample their own acoustic pianos and included on the CA97 are their most sought after Shigeru SK grand pianos.

Using Kawai’s famous Harmonic Imaging XL, every note on this piano has been sampled 128 times; that means there are 128 different tonal variations for each note depending on how you press it, making this piano a very responsive and dynamic instrument. Including the fantastic piano sounds, the CA97 has 80 voices that you can get creative with by splitting and layering them, as well as basic recording features and MIDI and USB connectivity. The feel of the piano is exceptional, thanks to their Grand Feel II keyboard action and, when played dynamically, sounds very authentic too. Available in Satin Black, Satin White and Rosewood.

Yamaha Clavinova CLP565GP

This is for those that want the look of a grand piano as well the sound and feel of one, with all of the benefits of it being a digital instrument. The mini grand cabinet design looks incredible; a centrepiece in any room. It also sounds as good as it looks. Spec-wise it’s probably somewhere in-between the aforementioned CVP701 and CLP585. It doesn’t have the counterweights as featured on the 585 and the speakers are an upgrade from the 701 but not quite as powerful as those in the 585. The sound however is crystal clear and is plenty loud enough for any room; if you want more volume, simply link it up to an amplifier.

The CLP565GP features the GH3X keyboard action that replicates the feel and response of an acoustic grand, allowing for incredibly expressive playing. Like the other Clavinovas, the 565GP boasts the two world renowned grand piano sounds, and has a total of 34 voices that cover pretty much most bases musically. This piano sounds and feels like an acoustic grand, both the sound engine and the keyboard action are a credit to Yamaha’s manufacturing team. It lacks a few of the other features as seen on some others but it still certainly caters for both modern and contemporary players alike. What it does have however, is the look of a small grand piano. Available in both polished ebony and polished white, the CLP565GP is an incredible touch to any home, studio or concert space. It’s available in Polished Ebony and, at just over £3000, Polished White.