For a more authentic feel, electric piano keyboards – usually made of plastic – have certain acoustic piano characteristics. An Ivory Feel keyboard ensures that your fingers have a good grip on the key surfaces. However, a good electric piano keyboard is characterized by many more features.
A good keyboard is essential for playing, practicing, and learning – be it on an acoustic or a digital piano. Whether it’s an entry-level electric piano or a top-of-the-line digital piano, the keys should provide an authentic piano touch that comes as close as possible to an acoustic instrument. Of course, quality varies across price ranges, and not all digital pianos feature an Ivory Feel keyboard.
These are all different names for the same thing. Manufacturers each have their own term: Kawai calls it Ivory Touch, Roland Ivory Feel, while Yamaha tends to use the term synthetic ivory and ebony keytops.
You can tell one important characteristic by the name: It is not real ivory, which has been replaced by high-quality synthetic surfaces in piano manufacturing for decades. Of course, the key surfaces of digital pianos are also made of synthetic material – even if it says “wooden keyboard”.
The term “Ivory Feel keyboard” describes the feel of the keys, which is rather rough on an upright or grand piano. In contrast, the surfaces of conventional plastic keys on keyboards and electric pianos are smooth.
Unsurprisingly, you will find the best Ivory Feel keyboards on more expensive digital pianos and hybrid digital pianos. Nevertheless, there are good examples of entry-level digital pianos with an Ivory Feel keyboard. These include the Kawai models KDP-120 and ES-120, even if the manufacturer’s product description calls it “matt plastic”.
Casio brings the cheapest electric pianos with Ivory Touch to the market. The CDP-S110 is the most affordable model we can recommend in this context. The CDP-S series and the PX-S models from Casio are generally great choices if you don’t want to spend more than 1,000 Euros on a digital piano.
If you want to purchase a Yamaha instrument, you’ll have to dig a little bit deeper into your pocket. The cheapest electric piano with synthetic Ivory keytops is the Arius YDP-165. Its “Graded Hammer 3” keyboard (GH3) is Yamaha’s cheapest keyboard with synthetic ivory and ebony key surfaces. The keytops here basically feel the same as the ones on the much more expensive Clavinova models, although the construction of the keyboard is different.
In the entry-level segment, Roland uses the PHA-4 keyboard, which offers Ivory Feel and a let-off mechanism at an affordable price point. You can find it on the FP-10, FP-30X, and F701 home piano models, all of which will impress you with their piano sound and feel.
Most inexpensive digital pianos with Ivory Feel keyboards are portable pianos. Nevertheless, there are examples of affordable, good instruments in home piano design. We can recommend the DP-51 and DP-140 U models of Thomann’s own-brand range, whose hammer-action keyboards benefit from the high-quality Ivory Feel.
Keyboards on digital pianos offer various features and quality characteristics, with Ivory Touch being just one of them. The graded hammer action and weighting of the keys, the let-off mechanism, and the key travel – in fact, the entire construction of the keyboard – are just as important to an authentic playing experience. For example: Is it a digital piano with a wooden keyboard or a conventional digital piano keyboard operating on hinges? All this has to be taken into account. In general, you can say that every digital piano from the mid-range beginner models upwards has an Ivory Feel keyboard.
There are also high-quality electric piano keyboards that do not have synthetic Ivory surfaces. For example, the inexpensive Kawai electric pianos – the KDP-120 and ES-120 models – are good examples. Although both electric pianos have textured keys, the manufacturer labels them differently.
The specifications say “matt plastic” – presumably to distinguish them from the more expensive models of the CN and CA series. The Kawai KDP-120 is equipped with the “Real Hammer Compact II” keyboard (RH-C II), which still benefits from the advantages of having an Ivory Touch-like surface.
If you tend to have sweaty fingers, you will notice how slippery smooth plastic keys can be. This disturbs the playing flow. Well-crafted Ivory Feel surfaces are not only textured, but they are also sweat-absorbent.
This characteristic comes from traditional piano manufacturing and is not just intended to make the keyboard feel better. Above all, the sweat-absorbing effect has a positive effect on the playing characteristics of a keyboard.
A piano does not only have white but also black keys. Some manufacturers seem to ignore this and build keyboards where only the white keys are roughened (while the surfaces of the black keys are made of smooth plastic). Ivory Feel is best implemented by manufacturers who benefit from the experience of many years of piano manufacturing, such as Kawai and Yamaha. The close cooperation with the piano manufacturer Bechstein can also be felt in Casio’s Grand Hybrid models.
This is difficult for beginners to judge. First of all, Ivory Feel is not a must for entry-level models, but rather an option. Instead, these (mandatory) features should always be at the forefront when buying a digital piano:
*Affiliate link. These “advertising links” help us finance our website. If you purchase a product through one of these links, we receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. The PIANOO.com team thanks you for your support!
In fall 2024, Yamaha announced the new CLP-800 series. The key refinements concern the sound generation and playback systems.
With a scaled-down cabinet and speaker system, a portable piano under $2,000 offers a great keyboard and sound engine.
The Italian manufacturer has introduced the new models of the Studiologic SL-mk2 series with new features and improved details.
Speakers and piano sound — does your digital piano sound better when you're using headphones? Find out why here.
With their high-quality playability, the digital pianos in the Kawai CN series inspire both demanding beginners and advanced players.
Piano or digital piano? The Yamaha TransAcoustic piano offers the best of both worlds. The perfect blend of acoustic and digital piano.
Acoustic soundboard, grand piano action, and wooden keys: A hybrid digital piano combines maximum playing comfort with high-quality sound.
Play the piano with headphones - a hybrid piano combines an acoustic piano with a mute function and an electronic sound generation.
Buying high-quality headphones for digital piano: Why invest in good digital piano headphones and how much do they cost?
The Kawai ES Series is popular with beginners and advanced players alike: High-quality features at prices ranging from $400 to $1,200.
Wireless MIDI systems are useful when the instruments themselves are not Bluetooth-compatible. But what makes a good Wireless MIDI adapter?
The Studiologic SL series offers USB MIDI controllers with high-qualtiy hammer action keyboards for MIDI studio and live use.
You are currently viewing a placeholder content from Facebook. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou are currently viewing a placeholder content from Instagram. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou are currently viewing a placeholder content from X. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More Information
