Let the war begin...
There is a comment section below, so feel free to dispute me or give your thoughts on this topic. I know people have disputed over which brand is the best for years now. This is just my experience and what I believe are the budgets people tend to spend on a starter keyboard.
We will only consider keyboards that have 88 keys. I assume your interested in playing either solo piano or wide range orchestra pieces (vst's). Also yes...for a couple hundred dollars more you will enter the hammer-action keyboard range. Most people starting out only want to spend a couple hundred bucks though.
**I am not sponsored by any pianos....sadly lol this is just my honest thoughts**
Budget
If you found this article through Google, it must have been that you typed 'Alesis recital vs blank' into the search bar. I'll be honest. Not only did I do the same thing at one point, but there were ZERO reviews at the time of my purchase. I rolled the dice and got snake eyes.
Is Alesis recital the best price for an 88 key, semi-weighted keyboard? Quick answer is yes. They're might be a lot of keyboards that come close, but for $230 it's the clear winner. Most keyboards that come even close in price only have 61 keys. Alesis also has the recital pro for $150 more which comes with Hammer-action. Still comes in at the lower price, but not by much. Throughout this article we will see each pro and con for which led me to this answer.
Battle of the sounds
Let's talk about authentic piano sound. I wouldn't recommend any of these brands at this price bracket for live playing. While I think it beats or compares closely with most of them, including the infamous yamaha and Casio selection, all of them just aren't built for this.
Other brands offer more voices (instrument presets), but this is their downfall. While you may want to play a violin that sounds like a dying robocat, it's just not worth it. Alesis took a separate approach to this. Too keep cost down they focused on five sounds. Acoustic piano, electric piano, organ, synth, and bass. The acoustic piano in my opinion sounds closer to real than the other brands. Second favorite is the synth, and third is the organ. I don't think they take a clear win outside of the acoustic piano sound though.
One negative that the recital doesn't have is a record button. Other brands take the win in this area. Kind of shocked with this one, but I guess you get what you pay for.
They're all pretty much the same with 128 polyphony. For me it's a good number for even higher end pianos. Definitely for classical solo piano playing.
Some reviewers say that the speakers volume isn't loud enough. I don't know if they got a botched product, but I think it's perfect. I mean it has 20 watt speakers which is pretty impressive for the price. Also like I said earlier, none of these are great stage pianos.
Now MIDI plays a big part of this too. If your like me and want to record through the computer than none of this per say matters. Most keyboards have this in today's world. If this is you plan than the next section will mean more to you.
Key Weight
The weight on on the keys are great for semi-weight. Remember that these keys are not graded, so the weight is equal across the board. people might have a problem with what I'm about to say, but...fully-weighted keyboards that are not graded, suck. This is because the higher keys should weigh less, so you can glide quickly and softly over them. Semi-weighted keyboards are slightly too light on the bass notes and slightly too heavy on the high notes. I can learn to work with 'slight', but too much or too little resistance ruins it for me.
I think they nailed the weight compared to other brands. With that said, I will take into account the other reviewers saying it's too light. It's true, but it's only a tad lighter. I personally like it for this reason. Most songs require faster high notes than lower, so compensating with the left hand is more doable in my opinion. A couple said it was too heavy, but my guess is they came from a no weight keyboard. Gross lol
Even if you don't prefer the slightly lighter keys like I do, my argument stills comes down to price. All the keys feel equal with no weak spots, so it's a clear winner for me.
Feel
I will try my best not to go too hard here because I have switched to the Alesis Prestige (graded, action-hammer, fully weighted) and I play 90% on acoustic piano. Feel is extremely important me and sadly no semi-weighted keyboards stand up to the challenge. Definitely not in this price range.
With that said, I think it compares with all of the other brands. There's there's no action-hammer so they all feel kind of springy to me. The keys are the correct size, they don't don't bottom out hard, and they return to position quickly. The one win I give Alesis is the keys and body feel sturdy and durable, which does add a little to the experience.
While I was recording I did find controlling the accent hard, definitely on soft spots. Problem is though without grading they all, in my opinion fail here.
I have felt cheap semi-weighted keyboards and this is definitely not one of them. Lines up with the other brands. Tie for feel, win for price.
Final Thoughts
I have composed many songs on the Alesis Recital and it has served me very well. I have sadly outgrown this keyboard and upgraded to the Alesis Prestige, but not out of spite. I'm still using the same brand, so you can tell I respect there products. My sister is now the proud owner of this beauty and it still sounds great. All the keys work perfectly with not one feeling loose or less sensitive.
This Piano also has been out for a while too, so I would try to even grab one of these bad boy's used. Probably could snag a used on for a little over $100 if your lucky.
It may not win every category, but for the price....it's damn hard to beat.
If you want to check out my keyboard recorded songs click here :)