Best Stage Pianos and Arranger Keyboards of 2024
New Stage Pianos and Keyboards for Every Budget
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Which new stage pianos and arranger keyboards impressed us the most in 2024? From entry-level home keyboards to professional stage pianos, there was something for everyone this year. Let’s take a look at the best new stage pianos and keyboards of the year.
Best Stage Pianos and Arranger Keyboards
Roland RD-08: The RD Series Gets More Affordable
Roland’s RD series stage pianos have been a favorite of gigging pianists for decades. This year, the manufacturer added the new RD-08 to the line-up. As a more affordable alternative to the RD-88 and RD-2000, the RD-08 is a great choice for beginners and pros looking for a compact and lightweight stage piano.
In addition to acoustic and electric piano sounds from the SuperNATURAL engine, the Roland RD-08 offers a vast selection of ZEN Core sounds, so you can cover a wide spectrum of genres on stage. All in all, there are 100 scenes and more than 3000 tones, expandable via Roland Cloud. Moreover, the Roland RD-08 boasts a versatile effects section with four multi effects, chorus, delay, reverb, compressor, and EQ.
The Roland RD-08 is available here*.
KORG Grandstage X: The Flagship Stage Piano Gets a Makeover
KORG introduced the new Grandstage X at NAMM in January 2024. The manufacturer’s flagship stage piano got a complete makeover with a fresh, eye-catching design and an intuitive user interface.
With seven sound engines, the KORG Grandstage X can deliver anything from acoustic and electric pianos to organs to virtual-analog synths in high quality. In many cases, this means that you can leave your other keyboards at home. Keyboard splits and layers are easy to set up and control.
With unlooped samples of all keys, up to 12 velocity layers, damper resonance, and other state-of-the-art features, the SGX-2 piano engine delivers an authentic sound. The stage piano also includes the EP-1 electric piano engine, as well as three organ models (CX-3, VOX, FC-1), PCM sounds (HD-1), and virtual analog synthesis (AL-1). It’s also got an effects section with reverb, delay, and a Nutube-based saturation stage.
The KORG Grandstage X is available here*.
Kurzweil KaE1: New Affordable Stage Piano with Kurzweil Sounds
Kurzweil added the affordable KaE1 to its line-up of compact digital pianos this year. Thanks to built-in speakers and a stereo line output, you can use it both on stage and for practicing at home. The 4-zone graded hammer-action keyboard offers three velocity curves for adapting the action to your needs.
The Kurzweil KaE1 offers 20 sounds from the KORE 1.0 library, including newly optimized German D piano samples, electric pianos, and a range of other instruments. You can combine two sounds using the split, layer, and duo modes with adjustable split point. Reverb and chorus effects are also available.
While the Kurzweil KaE1 doesn’t offer all the bells and whistles of a professional stage piano, it does have a good selection of essential features like USB, MIDI, Bluetooth, and a line output. If you don’t need much more than a decent piano sound and a hammer-action keyboard in a portable format, this one fits the bill nicely.
The Kurzweil KaE1 is available in black or white. You’ll find both versions here*.
Roland’s Stage Pianos Get an Upgrade: RD-88 EX and RD-2000 EX
While the RD-08 was the only brand-new stage piano from Roland this year, the larger RD-88 and RD-2000 each got an upgrade and an “EX” added to their name.
While the RD-88 EX is the same instrument as the predecessor in terms of hardware, it comes with the SuperNATURAL Acoustic Piano 3 expansion pre-installed. This expansion adds 15 new tones and 20 scenes to the RD-88.
The RD-2000 EX boasts two new V-Piano expansions. German Concert V-Piano is inspired by famous concert grand pianos and includes 17 new tones. Essential Upright V-Piano delivers the characteristic tone and unique spatial quality of a high-quality upright piano. The sounds are adjustable in great detail using the Piano Designer feature.
Good news: if you own an original RD-88 or RD-2000, there’s no need to buy a new instrument to get these new expansions. Both stage pianos can be upgraded to the EX versions through Roland Cloud. The RD-88 EX upgrade is $99; the RD-2000 EX upgrade will set you back $199.
The new Roland RD-2000 EX and RD-88 EX are available here*.
Yamaha PSR-SX920 and PSR-SX720: Expressive Midrange Arranger Keyboards
2024 brought about some new arranger workstations, as well. Yamaha upgraded its midrange with the new PSR-SX920 and PSR-SX720. Both new keyboards come with lots of new voices and styles, many of which provide instrument-specific articulations for a higher level of expressiveness. The PSR-SX920 even includes twelve “Super Articulation 2 Voices” from the Genos 2.
The new “Style Dynamics Control” feature lets you dynamically control the playing intensity of the arranger tracks, rather than simply adjusting their volume. This makes for a much more authentic and believable accompaniment.
The Yamaha PSR-SX920 and PSR-SX720 arranger workstations are available here*.
Nord Grand 2: Second-Generation Luxury Stage Piano
Nord Keyboards unveiled the Nord Grand 2 at NAMM 2024. Among many other improvements, the new generation of the Swedish flagship stage piano features an improved action, which was once again developed by Kawai.
The sound engine was also expanded and now offers two independent piano layers and two sample synths. This structure, which originated in the Nord Stage, lets you create much more complex split and layer configurations, which are easy to adjust on the fly using LED faders for each layer.
Each layer also gets its own effects section with a bunch of new effects, including Spring, Booth, and Cathedral reverbs, a Spin effect, and an improved delay. Moreover, the Nord Grand 2 also inherited the compressor from the Nord Stage 4.
The Nord Grand 2 is available here*.
Roland GO:KEYS: Beginner Keyboards with ZEN Core Sounds
Roland is back in the entry-level arranger segment with the new GO:KEYS series. Both keyboards feature an expandable ZEN Core sound engine previously only found in much more expensive instruments. 1100 sounds and 74 drum kits are included; additional sounds and styles can be purchased via Roland Cloud.
Both models have 61 velocity-sensitive keys, a headphone output, a sustain pedal jack, and two USB ports, as well as wireless Bluetooth connectivity.
In addition to this, the GO:KEYS 5 offers a more powerful speaker system, a microphone input with effects, and expanded connectivity, including a stereo line output, stereo input, expression pedal jack, and a third USB connector for the optional Roland Cloud Connect adapter.
The new Roland GO:KEYS series is available here*.
*This post about the best stage pianos and keyboards of 2024 contains affiliate links and/or widgets. When you buy a product via our affiliate partner, we receive a small commission that helps support what we do. Don’t worry, you pay the same price. Thanks for your support!
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