Alesis Recital vs Pro: Which Keyboard is Better?
Have you looked at keyboards but can’t decide on which one works best for you? Maybe you’ve narrowed it down to the Alesis brand but can’t decide between the Alesis Recital and the Recital Pro. On the surface, they seem to look similar, but the prices are pretty different. So what makes these worth different prices, and is one better than the other?
The short answer is yes, one is better than the other.
Keep reading to learn more about the Alesis Recital and the Alesis Recital Pro as well as which one we would choose every time.
Alesis Recital Vs. Alesis Recital Pro at a Glance
Here’s a quick summary of the key advantages and disadvantages of both the Recital and Recital Pro by Alesis. There are a few main differences between these two keyboards but despite their similarities and coming from the same company, there are features that make them distinct.
Alesis Recital Advantages:
- Lightweight. The Alesis Recital weighs only around 15 pounds, compared to 26 pounds of the Recital Pro. It is also an inch or two shorter in every dimension, making it easier to carry around.
- Affordable. While prices vary and fluctuate, the Alesis Recital tends to stay about 100 to 150 dollars cheaper compared to the Recital Pro.
- Onboard Sounds. Comes with onboard sounds, which many others in the price range don’t include. While the Pro does include them, it is a good addition for the cost.
Alesis Recital Disadvantages:
- No recording mode available. Unlike the Recital Pro, the Recital has no recording mode to allow you to play or listen back to any of your songs or practices.
- Small sound library. Doesn’t have a lot of variety in the sound library. Though it is okay for the price range, it only comes with 5 voices. The Recital Pro comes with 12 voices, making it a clear winner.
- Minimal effects. Only has reverb and chorus features, as well as a possible resonance feature, whereas the Recital Pro has additional modulation sound effects.
Alesis Recital Pro Advantages:
- High-quality speakers. Despite the price range, and the fact that the speakers can play the same levels and polyphony as the Recital, the Recital Pro’s speakers sound a lot better and more full.
- Various Modes. Has split, layering, and duo modes so that you can play around with your sound composition easily and get the effects and sounds you want. You can even combine multiple voices in the layer mode to get a unique sound to fit your needs.
- Large sound library. Unlike the Recital, the Recital Pro has a much larger sound library with 12 premium voices. These include Acoustic Piano, Acoustic Piano (Bright), Electric Piano, Vibraphone, Organ, Church Organ, Harpsichord, Clavi, Synth, Strings, Acoustic Bass, and Fingered Bass.
Alesis Recital Pro Disadvantages:
- Key texture. Despite claiming to be hammer keys, they don’t feel quite right. Their padding and resistance are just a little off compared to other keyboards that offer hammer keys.
- Lacking features. While compared to the Recital, it has a definite increase in features, compared to the others available in this price range, it does seem to be lacking in some areas such as the number of voices and effects. Meanwhile, the Recital, while lacking some features, has a good amount compared to others in its price range, almost making it better here.
- Bulky and heavy. It weighs over 10 pounds more than the Recital Pro and is a bit bigger, making it much harder to transport or move around than the Recital. Even if you live in a small space, you may find yourself struggling to fit it somewhere comfortably.
Overall, both have some positives and negatives. However, there is a clear winner between these two thanks to all the additional care and features placed on them.
Winner: Don’t want to read the full article? The editor’s choice is the Alesis Recital Pro.
We’ve broken some of their many advantages and disadvantages down above, but keep reading to learn more about the specifics and why we chose the Alesis Recital Pro as our clear winner.
What’s the Difference Between the Recital and Recital Pro?
Key Type
For digital keyboards, there are four main types of keys which are fully weighted keys, semi-weighted keys, unweighted keys, and hammer action keys. The Alesis Recital uses semi-weighted keys while the Alesis Recital Pro uses hammer keys.
Out of these options, unweighted is the worst for the most realistic playstyle while the hammer is the best. However, hammers are often traditionally more expensive and heavier. Due to the way the hammer works, the keys, and therefore the keyboard, are a bit longer.
Like regular acoustic keys, the hammer keys have different weights depending on what kind they are. For example, the bass keys are usually heavier while the treble keys are generally a bit lighter. Hammer keys mimic this instead of having all the keys have the same weight and feel.
Weighted keys are the next best. It has a high resistance that makes the bounce of the keys feel better and allows the player to practice endurance. Semi-weighted are similar, but lack the same level of resistance, and are slow to come back up.
If you want the feel of a traditional piano, the hammer keys are the way to go. For the price range, this is very impressive, as most keyboards in the same ballpark don’t offer hammer keys.
However, that being said, and while Recital Pro is still the clear winner here, it is worth noting that these hammer keys don’t feel like traditional hammer keys. So if you’ve used hammer keys in the past, you may find that this doesn’t work quite the same as some of those.
Verdict: Alesis Recital Pro
Price
If you are new to using a piano, you don’t want to spend a large chunk of money on something you aren’t even sure how to use yet. However, you also don’t want to just go for the cheapest option. Finding the balance between price and quality is a tough battle, but necessary.
Usually, the Alesis Recital is about $100 cheaper than the Alesis Recital Pro. Though it doesn’t have nearly as many features as the Pro version, for the cost, it is a pretty decent keyboard. Compared to a lot of other keyboards in this price range, it has better speakers and polyphony than others.
The Alesis Recital Pro, on the other hand, may have more features, but that doesn’t necessarily make it better in this regard. Compared to other keyboards in the price range, the Alesis Recital Pro doesn’t have as many features or as good keys.
For this reason, the Alesis Recital wins regarding cost.
Verdict: Alesis Recital
Recording Options
When you want to create your musical compositions, you need to be able to record your work. Having a recording option built into your keyboard is a necessary feature.
Even if you don’t want to record yourself to make compositions, being able to listen back to your playing to identify where you messed up, or where you improved can be a great benefit as well. Since the Alesis Recital doesn’t have a recording mode, the Alesis Recital Pro is the clear winner.
Verdict: Alesis Recital Pro
Input/Output
When choosing a digital keyboard, knowing which kinds of inputs and outputs.
The Recital features:
- 6.35mm pedal input
- 6.35mm stereo headphone output
- Stereo RCA outputs
- USB MIDI output
- Can be powered by outlet or 6 D Cell batteries
The Recital Pro features:
- 6.35mm headphone output
- 6.35 mm sustain pedal input
- 6.35 mm stereo output
- USB MIDI output
- Can be powered by outlet or 6 D Cell batteries
As you can see, the two are very similar. The only real difference between them is that the pro features a 6.35 stereo output instead of an RCA output. As far as quality, there isn’t a real difference between them. The RCA is an older style, but they have very similar quality and the chance of degradation.
What matters here is your equipment. This output is designed to hold sound systems such as recorders, amplifiers, mixers, and more. So depending on the systems you have, and the outputs they take, you may have a preference for either the Recital or the Recital Pro.
Verdict: TIE
Educational Lessons
Both the Alesis Recital and the Alesis Recital Pro have a lesson mode. This allows you to divide the keyboard into two zones that have the same pitch and voice so that you and someone else can play at the same time.
Both keyboards also come with three months of Skoove Premium. This is considered one of the best and easiest ways to learn piano. There are in-depth piano courses that adjust as you need them and provide useful feedback. There are even actual, experienced musicians that can help you with any questions you may have.
If that isn’t enough, they both also come with two months of TAKELESSONS. These are live lessons from real teachers. There are no limits to the number of classes you can take. While there are plenty of piano lessons, that isn’t all, and you might find something else that interests you as well.
However, where the Recital Pro gains the lead are the different voices. Where the Recital only has five preset voices, the Recital Pro has 12. These voices are important because they are demo songs. This gives you something to practice and learn, and the more you have, the more practice you can get.
Since the Recital Pro has seven additional voices, it gets our winning vote.
Verdict: Alesis Recital Pro
Type of Effects:
The Alesis Recital has options for chorus and reverb FX, as well as a pedal resonance feature if you purchase a pedal for extra.
There are five kinds of both chorus and reverb.
For reverb, these are:
- Room
- Hall
- Church
- Delay
- Pan
While for Chorus, they have:
- Chorus 1
- Chorus 2
- Chorus 3
- Flanger
- Rotary
The pedal resonance works with the reverb, allowing for an additional reverb effect. All of these allow you to get sounds and echoes that might mimic realistic environments that an actual piano would face. That way, you can get a true feel of the sounds.
For the Alesis Recital Pro, you get the reverb, chorus, and pedal resonance, but you also get one additional feature. These are the modulation effects. These effects are tailored to fit the sound presets. So if you have an organ, you get a rotary effect, and the piano would get a tremolo effect.
While there isn’t as much variation as some keyboards, it is a huge upgrade from the Recital and had some much-needed modulations. For this reason, the Alesis Recital Pro is our winner.
Verdict: Alesis Recital Pro
Size and Weight
While the size and weight may not affect some people, we are a family that likes to move around and play in various places. For that reason, we wanted something light and smaller.
Both of these are 88-key keyboards, which mimic a real piano. Other key numbers would make them smaller and lighter weight, but we wanted something as close as possible to the real thing.
However, despite the same amount of keys, the Alesis Recital manages to be a little smaller. We think a lot of this is due to the hammer-type keys instead of the weighted keys of the Recital, but either way, it’s a definite loss for the Recital Pro.
Verdict: Alesis Recital
Conclusion
While the Alesis Recital Pro is the one we prefer, for the price, both are good products. They have features and pros and cons that may make one stand out more for you than another. The cost alone can have a huge influence.
However, if you have a little extra to spend and just want to get something a little nicer, go with the Recital Pro. Not only does it have a better key feel, but it also has a lot more sound variety and lessons to help you get started.
About the Author Linda Ritter
Linda Ritter is a passionate pianist and a songwriter for more than 7 years. With a Masters in Music, she has explored the world of music and has collaborated with several musicians and brands like Roland, Tune Core, and plenty of blogs.
