7 Best Upright Pianos of 2023 + Types of Upright Pianos

Nov 12, 2023

You are here:

by Allison Johnson March 3, 2023, 10:43 am

When shopping for pianos, there are three types to consider: upright, grand, and electronic (or digital). We rounded up 7 of the best upright pianos for beginner and experienced players. These are a mixture of new and used pianos you can check out from some of our favorite retailers, Guitar Center, Reverb, and Donner. We made sure to consider budget and shipping and pickup options when gathering our list.

Below you’ll find various upright pianos that are popular—take the Yamaha U1, for example. The Yamaha U1 (like all Yamaha products) is known for being well-built and lasting for generations. The quality is of the best for its price, and it's easy to find used U1s online for a fair price, including U3s. We also included picks from Roland. Roland is one of the best brands for electronic musical instruments. When picking digital pianos, we wanted to make sure we went with a trusted brand known for emulating the sounds and feel of acoustic instruments that don't have a delay when playing. We also included a pick from Donner, a fantastic musical instrument brand for quality, budget-friendly instruments.

Shop our picks and see which upright piano is the best pick for your home studio.

Yamaha's U10 piano is a great pick for anyone looking for a vintage Yamaha Piano. The 1988 piano is used but comes in mint condition from a seller based in Los Angeles. FYI: Some Reverb sellers ship and some only offer local pickup! Be sure to budget shipping, which isn't cheap. Sellers are careful when shipping pianos to your home and definitely don't go cheap to make sure it arrives at your home safely.

The 88-key piano has a punchy bright tone and comes with a bench. And yes, it's on wheels, so it’ll roll whenever you need to move it around your studio. All U Series soundboards and ribs are made of solid spruce from Japan, giving their pianos a richer and more resonant voice and evenly balanced timbre across the keyboard.

Yamaha's U1 is one of the best pianos for professionals. If you’re looking for a piano that you’ll play for decades, this is a great investment. Most upright acoustic Yamaha pianos will last between 10-20 years with proper maintenance. The seller notes that this piano is under 10 years old, so you have plenty of life left on it. The 88-key piano is available for under $2,600. Not too bad at all.

The U1 is the ultimate piano for the professional—the tone and touch can't be matched. If you’re learning and will be performing any time soon, you ought to get familiar with a U1. It's an industry-standard piano that will reign for years to come.

Precise, ultra-responsive touch, clear, full-bodied tone and a reputation for reliability have made U Series pianos the choice of professional musicians, conservatories, teachers, students, and music lovers, the world over. Add to that our legendary attention to every detail of every piano, and it's no surprise that the U Series has been the world's most popular upright for over half a century.

While the U1 is the top pick for the most famous upright piano, we’ll say that the U3 comes in second (at least from Yamaha). The piano is a top pick for professionals, ranging from industry professionals to teachers, and more. It's a U Series piano that you’ll often see in studios, theaters, and classrooms.

Pianists love the touch of this piano. The made-in-Japan piano is made of quality solid spruce (which makes soundboards vibrate and have a quality tone you don't get with most cheap pianos). Yamaha sources the best of the best wood! Like the other U-Series pianos, Yamaha uses seasoned spruce, acrypet, and phenolic resin (AKA top-quality plastic).

If it's not obvious already, we love Roland at American Songwriter. From keyboards to electronic drums, they know how to make electronic instruments. They do a great job of making them feel and sound authentic, too —so when you finally get on an acoustic instrument you’re not lost hitting keys or drums. Getting a quality digital piano will make all the difference. The keys are very responsive.

It has authentic piano tones and onboard ambiance effects. Something we love about Roland is their practice and tutorial features. You can use the features to get some lessons and rehearsal time in. Practice makes perfect. Hearing yourself play through the 4-speaker system will get you excited to play every time. Use headphones to play quietly or stream music for covers. This beauty isn't too big either, it's perfect for apartments.

This slim piano is smaller and more affordable than the LX705, but it still boasts an authentic feel and sound. The authentic grand piano touch from the new PHA-50 Progressive Hammer action keyboard with escapement combines the look and feel of wood. It's super stylish and will look great in any room. We love that it only weighs 100 pounds. Keep in mind that a piano can weigh well over 500 pounds, this is great if you move often.

The 88-key piano has more detailed grand piano sounds. Get to playing those must-learn songs by streaming from your smartphone. Use Bluetooth to connect to learning apps. If you need a recommendation, consider Pianote. You can also use Roland's Piano Partner 2. Overall, this is a great digital piano for under $3,500. There are 307 total sounds and 363 preset songs, along with plenty of effects—reverb, delay, equalizer, arpeggio, and more.

Donner is new to the game, but they’ve proven over the decade their instruments are able to compete with the best. Musicians often opt for their electronic drums and digital pianos when they’re on a budget. In terms of pricing, a simple electronic drum set might go for $300 less than Roland's. So if you’re looking to spend half the price of Roland's digital pianos, consider Donner. This 88-key digital piano has the realistic sound of a grand piano and is perfect for beginners.

This piano can be used with headphones and has tones sampled from real acoustic grand pianos. You’ll love the easy-to-use control panel and the ability to use a built-in amp for external sound. (This is great for sharing covers.) The piano likely isn't made of the same wood Yamaha is using, but for the price, it's not a bad investment for beginners. However, 3 pedals make this one special.

Here's another affordable pick from Donner. It won't take up too much space in your home and is a great starter piano, especially if you’ll be taking online lessons. It comes with free video lessons on Donner Music APP.

The 88-key piano features 200 rhythms and 238 high-quality tones. The weight keys are sensitive, which is exactly what you want so the transition to an acoustic piano feels natural and not so strange. However, the hammer-action keys can be adjusted to your playing style. It comes with a furniture stand and 3 pedals. Use the speakers or headphones for jamming, and feel free to use it as a MIDI controller when plugged into your MacBook.

Roland, Yamaha, and Kawai are some great brands to shop for. They will definitely be more expensive than Donner, Alesis, or other more affordable brands, but when you take durability and precision into account, these brands are the best. Our friends at Sweetwater say there are others that you should consider as well, such as Korg and Dexibell.

See more

Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log In.

June 6, 2023, 1:35 pm

June 6, 2023, 1:25 pm

June 6, 2023, 1:20 pm

June 6, 2023, 9:20 am

June 5, 2023, 5:41 pm

June 5, 2023, 5:40 pm

March 3, 2023, 12:32 pm

June 6, 2023, 4:02 pm

June 6, 2023, 3:54 pm

June 6, 2023, 3:32 pm

June 6, 2023, 3:15 pm

June 6, 2023, 3:04 pm

Read More

Read More

Read More

Read More

Read More

Read More