Another great keyboard under $1000

One of the major advantages of buying keyboard is that you can expect to save a lot of money as compared with the purchase of a traditional piano. This is why many people look for the "best keyboard under $1000" and so on and so forth.

So what is the best keyboard under $1000? It's an impossible question to answer definitively. If you consult five different keyboard experts, you'll probably get five different answers. But one of the main candidates for the title is surely the Yamaha DGX-640, which retails for just under $800 (brand new). If you're lucky, you can also get your hands on a used version for half that amount, which is an extraordinary deal when you consider what you get for the money.

One thing should be pointed out immediately - different people use different terms to describe this instrument. Some people call it a "digital piano." Others call it a "keyboard." Yet the term we apply is not the most crucial thing. Rather we should focus on its features. And the most significant of these is the graded hammer action, which basically amounts to "weighted keys." This is one of the most highly sought after features of any keyboard (or digital piano, for that matter). With the DGX-640, you can experience something very similar to the acoustic piano feel - heavy keys on one end, and lighter keys on the other.

Interestingly, it's actually quite rare to find an affordable keyboard that not only sounds authentic but also has truly "weighted keys." Often cheaper keyboards employ cheaper keyboard mechanisms, and in many cases this just doesn't feel good at all. This is one of the reasons why the DGX-640 is such a good keyboard - the Graded Hammer Standard keyboard more or less ensures that the instrument feels like a true piano. This not only makes the playing experience more satisfying, but it also more adequately prepares the user for acoustic pianos, should (s)he ever choose to make the transition.

In terms of sound, the Yamaha DGX-640 also scores highly (sound being the other major area for keyboards). The resemblance to a so-called "real" piano is pleasing and the variety and number of voices on offer should be enough to keep any user entertained for months, if not years. As far as keyboards go, therefore, the DGX-640 is certainly one of the more impressive models out there at the moment.