Top of my list is the recent evolution of Korg’s modern classic, the SV1, into the SV2. It’s an impressive electric piano with a vintage vibe makes for one groovy instrument. The SV2 is a welcome refresh of the idea that expands the original in every direction.

The SV2 has a much-deeper memory with over 10 times the sample data of the original. That means that the quality and authenticity of the sounds are taken to new heights. There’s more room for presets and storing your own sounds. You can split a layer up to 3 tones and save it in one of the 64 user slots for instant recall. The polyphony has been raised to 128 notes so even when playing multiple layers there’s no danger of running out of notes.

The front panel gives you instant access to all the parameters you need for tweaking the tone and handling effects. There’s no menu diving or screens to worry about — just fabulously vintage sounds and hands-on controls. Having said that, you can access an expanded set of controls via the SV2 app which is also where you can configure layers and splits.

Inside, you’ll find 72 compelling sounds sampled to the highest quality and covering a large range of internationally acclaimed acoustic pianos as well as the fattest sounding electric piano sounds from across the decades.

Its distinctive look and curved lines are further enhanced by the integration of K-Array speakers into the SV2SP version, so it can operate as a standalone instrument and a stunning piece of furniture.

Korg SV2 73 Street Price: $1,999
Korg SV2 88 Street Price: $2,199
Korg SV2 SP 88 Street Price: $2,449
Korg SV2

The Yamaha YC61 is a deliciously interactive piano that brings all the control to the front in a thoroughly modern implementation. Amongst all the knobs and buttons, what stands out the most are the drawbars.

Using Virtual Circuitry Modeling (VCM) Yamaha has captured the character of a range of instruments and effects. Special attention is being paid to the organs. There are 3 flavors of tonewheel organ inside this piano and 2 types of rotary speaker.

The nine drawbars on the YC61 have the footages and ratcheting you expect in an organ but there’s more going on here. The drawbars are backlit and change color to make it easy to see differences between the upper and lower configurations. The rest of the front is divided into keyboard tweaking and effects. There are a display and menu for digging into finer details, but the majority of control is right there at your fingertips.

For premium pianos, you start with the Yamaha CFX and S700 concert grands along with upright pianos and a nice range of electric pianos. All the funky, dirty, Rhodes and Reed pianos are present and offer a wonderfully warm sound.

The Yamaha YC61 is a great all-round stage piano which is brilliantly versatile and great for gigging and the studio.

Street Price: $1,999
Yamaha YC61

The RD-88 is a wonderfully uncomplicated piano that gives you what you need rather than expecting you to craft your own sounds. The RD range from Roland has been a popular choice for over 30 years and the RD-88 brings that acclaimed sound in the lighter and most accessible version ever.

The focus is on the keyboard and the sound. The “Ivory feel” keyboard is known for its awesome playability whereas the “SuperNATURAL” piano sound has been celebrated over the decades and continues to impress.

On the front panel, you’ll find a row of buttons for instant access to the piano, electric piano, organ, clav, strings, and other sounds. Just a button with no fuss or mess. You’ve got a little bit of effects, some tone and EQ controls, and levels for splits and layers. It’s refreshingly simple.

However, if you wanted to dig behind the scenes you’ll find that through an app you can get access to a huge library of sounds via the Roland Zen-Core technology. The RD-88 is fully compatible with this next-generation synthesizer technology.

It has built-in speakers and yet a wonderfully narrow footprint so it’ll not dominate a desk or studio space. It’s the most economical way of getting 88 weighted keys into your house.

Street Price: $1,499
Roland RD-88

If you can’t find the piano that caters to your exact requirements then how about this modular stage piano from Viscount? The Legend ’70s lets you customize the instrument according to your needs by swapping out sound modules on the front panel.

The Viscount Legend ’70s looks like a chunky electric piano with a vintage vibe and good hands-on controls. But that row of controls on the front panel can be completely customized with sound modules and effect units of your choice. You can choose from a physically modeled E.Piano module or a sample-based Sound Collection module. There’s a Clav module and an A.Piano module. These can be mixed and matched and arranged however you like on the front panel.

The quality of the sounds is superb, taken from legendary instruments, and modeled with the utmost care and attention to detail. The piano as a whole offers EQ, Reverb, and Modulation effects. You can create splits and layers between modules and configure deeper details in a software editor.

The Viscount Legend ’70s is a hefty stage piano with a superb keyboard and a unique approach to sound selection which will expand over time.

Street Price: $1,995+
Viscount Legend ’70s

If you want the ultimate digital piano for stage and studio then the Nord Stage 4 in a rather stunning red is the one for you. Nord keyboards standout in every scenario not just in terms of looks but also in sound, longevity and versatility. The Stage 4 drives home the dominance of Nord as a high-end keyboard solution that’s far more than a piano.

The heart of the Stage 4 is the state-of-the-art sampling system and techniques that capture the character and nuance of the instruments under analysis. Technology like Advanced String Resonance and Dynamic Pedal Noise delivers a truly authentic sound and stunning expressiveness. It comes with a large selection of pianos, with uprights, grand and electrics that come from the exclusive Nord Piano Library and playable from a fully weighted triple sensor keybed with aftertouch.

That’s not all. Stage 4 has three sound engines with separate dedicated controls poured over the front panel. Along with the piano engine is a comprehensive synthesizer section with virtual analog, FM, wavetable and an expanded sampling capability. On the other side is a section dedicated to Organs including simulations of the B3 Tonewheel, B3 Bass, classic Vox and Farfisa as well as pipe organs. The controls are complete with physical draws bars for authentic control.

There’s nothing quite like the Stage 4. It has a huge range of sound, a massive hands-on control system and could provide any sound for any gig or production you can imagine.

Street Price: $5,299
Nord Stage 4

In a similar design but a very different palette to the Nord, Dexibell is bringing Italian style to the stage piano with the Vivo S7 Pro.

The S7 Pro has 88 hammer action keys with graded weight, triple contact, and an ivory feel. Internally the sound engine is called T2L (True-to-Life) and combines 24bit 48kHz sampling and modeling with binaural sound recordings that are loopless over 15 seconds of sustain.

It has 320 oscillators with unlimited note polyphony and models the Staccato, String, and Damper resonances and mechanical noises. There’s a wave memory of 1.5GB loaded via USB and is SoundFont compatible. But it also comes with 113 internal sounds and technology to ensure seamless changes between presets. There are 81 spare slots for your own sounds.

There’s a large audio effects section with 8 independent DSP effects and master effects. The keyboard can be split into 4 zones or 4 layers and is fully programmable. Unusually, it has balanced XLR outputs along with USB and Bluetooth audio, MIDI, and 4 pedal inputs. The body is pure aluminum with wooden sides handmade in Italy. A free editor is available as an iOS app.

The Vivo S7 Pro is an unusual keyboard with a style of its own that focuses on the purity of the sound with seamless sound selection and endless polyphony.

Street Price: $2,499
Dexibell Vivo S7 Pro

Casio has a completely different vibe going on with the PX-S3100. Casio tends to target the home user far more than the studio or stage but the PX-S3100 has the ability to function brilliantly in all these environments and has a surprisingly varied “next-generation” sound engine.

Using their latest AiR (Acoustic and intelligent Resonator) sound engine, the PX-S3000 comes with 700 tones and 200 rhythms. Rhythms are not the sort of thing we usually find in stage pianos but it’s part of Casio’s heritage to build in some home-keyboard workstation elements.

The all-important piano sounds come with advanced string resonance for harmonics and damper resonance for depth and richness. They’ve added all sorts of mechanical sounds taken from acoustic pianos to deliver the illusion of playing something much greater than a digital piano.

Other sounds cover the usual electric pianos, organs, strings, and synthesizer tones all routed through a decent bunch of digital effects. There’s a 3-track recorder for songwriting and you can access deeper features via the Chordana Play app.

The 88 keys have an authentic feeling from simulated ebony and ivory key textures and Casio’s Smart Scaled Hammer Action which is like nothing else in this size and form factor. It also houses a powerful stereo speaker system, dual headphones, and a USB audio interface.

It has Bluetooth for connecting to a wireless speaker system. And it can run on batteries.

The look is streamlined and elegant with an almost featureless top that comes alive with touch sensor controls and lit parameters that all fade to black when powered off.

The PX-S3100 is impressive, great-sounding, versatile, and has all the connectivity to work well in a studio environment at a quite remarkable price. The PX-S1100 uses almost the same hardware features but sticks to just the piano sounds and is a great alternative if piano is all you need.

Casio Privia PX-S3100 Street Price: $879.99
Casio Privia PX-S1100 Street Price: $699.99
Casio Privia PX Series