AlesisRecital – 88 Key Digital Piano Keyboard with Semi Weighted Keys, 2x20W Speakers, 5 Voices, Split, Layer and Lesson Mode, FX and Piano Lessons

I purchased this keyboard for beginning piano students. That is important as I will be judging this keyboard based on it meeting the criteria for a beginning student.I played through all the keys up and down and on all the select instrument options. I heard no rattling of the shell, very little clicking of the keys. It's solid and seems well built.The sound is not professional quality, nor even close, but it's good enough that it doesn't sound excessively fake. I did not like the other instruments (Electric Piano, Organ, Synth, and Bass). The organ sound especially doesn't sound like an organ to me, and is completely ineffective in the lower register. Same with the synth and somewhat with the bass. These are small problems to me, as the piano registers clear throughout the range but does seem a little faint in the upper register. This Alesis keyboard is designed to be a low-end professional keyboard, hence it doesn't have the myriad synthesized sound options that most keyboards have. However, at a professional level it falls very short. They should have just added more instruments anyway. My only regret is that my beginning students won't be able to play around with the many synthesized instruments that other electronic keyboards have.Others reviewers have had trouble with volume. I haven't encountered that yet. Still testing.The keys are springy, they do not feel like a piano at all, but they are much better feeling than most synthesizers. For a student practicing scales, arpeggios and other technical studies the instrument will serve much better than most keyboards. The fact that it is 88 keys is helpful, but not necessary for beginners. It's a plus.I have played some other inexpensive low quality keyboards, and so far this one is the best bang for the buck. I am happy with it, though I am thinking that it might be too expensive for a starting student. However, it meets all the criteria that I needed for my students, and so 5-stars.

6 MONTH UPDATE:So, I have had this piano now for close to 6 months and couldn't be happier. Just the starter piano you would give a child to get them started. Sound quality and volume is fantastic. Only gripe so far has been that keys aren't as well weighted but for the price, that is easy to overlook.I noticed that several reviewers have issues with the volume and have returned the piano because it wasn't loud enough and Alesis is to sorely blame for that. Turns out that the Piano has 5 different volume levels and:1. The default Factory settings are not set at the 'loudest'.2. It is easy to set the volume to a different level unknowingly (If you enter Advanced Functions mode inadvertently/ younger kids do that when playing with the keys, pressing the middle C (the most frequently used keys) will put the piano to its lowest volume level.)Here are the steps to get the Piano into its loudest volume level1. Press the Metronome and Lesson keys simultaneously to enter Advanced Functions mode. The two keys should light up.2. Press the E3 Key once. It should make click sound (it won't play the instrument) sound.3. Press the Metronome and Lesson keys simultaneously again to exit Advanced Functions mode.4. Your piano should be set to the loudest volume now.Do try these steps before you consider returning this piano. Its a nifty little instrument, the Alesis!==========================I was looking around for a good piano for my 5 year old daughter to practice at home as she has just started with Piano lessons. My 2 other shortlists were the Yamaha P71 ($399) and the Casio Previa PX 160 ($499). Ultimately, decided on the Alesis based on the reviews and espeically the price as it was less than half the cost of the other 2. My thinking was that once she develops some skill at playing and retains her interest in learning the piano, we could always upgrade to a better one.Once I got the piano, I couldn't be happier. What I really liked was:1. Good sound, especially for the Piano.2. Semi-weighted keys offer good feel and volume response.3. Very light and easy to cart around4. Included Power adapter.5. And of course, the price for a full 88-Key Piano - you can't beat that.Things that I feel could be improved are:1. Volume - one needs to keep the volume control at around 75% to 80% of the max volume setting to get decent sound.2. It has a ton of features that can be customized, like Tempo, Metronome, Metronome Volume, etc. but all of these need to be accessed using a combination of Piano keys. Very difficult to remember and I find myself opening the user manual every now and then.