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Chosen by a concert pianistBuy the plug types your gear actually has: balanced 1/4-inch cables for a digital piano's outputs, XLR for microphones, a USB-B to USB-C cable for the computer, and a surge protector under it all. Plain cables from known makers are enough.
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If you only read one section, read this: one pick for most people, one for a careful budget, one to grow into.
Best overall
A 25-foot XLR microphone cable. A cable is the least exciting purchase in a studio and the first thing to spoil a recording when it fails, so I choose plain, well-made ones.
I suggest it for a microphone placed across the room from the interface.
See it on AmazonBest value
A 10-foot balanced 1/4-inch TRS cable with REAN plugs. Good cables are cheap insurance: the sound you worked for should reach the interface or the speakers unchanged.
I suggest it for a piano with 1/4-inch outputs that you want to wire carefully.
See it on Amazon
Premium pick
A ten-outlet metal surge protector. Protecting an instrument you have paid for costs very little, and a surge protector is the simplest way to do it.
I suggest it for a studio with many plugs and equipment you want to protect.
See it on AmazonCables are the least glamorous part of a music corner and the part that most often fails. Most beginners need only a handful: a cable from the piano's outputs to an interface or speakers, a USB cable to the computer, a headphone adapter, and a surge protector. I choose plain, well-made cables, and I ask you to check the plug on each end against your own gear before you order.
I recommend this gear because it is what my adult students need to work through my free 41-lesson course and, later, to use with my upcoming method books. I am a concert pianist and a university piano professor, and these are the kinds of tools I look at first when a student asks what to buy.
How this helps you learn: the right cables get your playing onto a recording without noise, and a recording you can trust is how you hear your own progress.
A 10-foot cable from a 3.5 mm headphone jack to a 1/4-inch plug. The Hosa Hosa MHE-310 Headphone Adaptor Cable is one of my careful first-budget picks for this list.
I suggest it for connecting a small keyboard's headphone jack to a larger input.
See it on AmazonA 10-foot balanced 1/4-inch TRS cable. The Hosa Hosa CSS-110 Balanced Cable is one of my careful first-budget picks for this list.
I suggest it for connecting a digital piano's outputs to an interface or monitors.
See it on AmazonA 10-foot balanced 1/4-inch TRS cable with REAN plugs. Good cables are cheap insurance: the sound you worked for should reach the interface or the speakers unchanged.
I suggest it for a piano with 1/4-inch outputs that you want to wire carefully.
See it on AmazonA 10-foot five-pin MIDI cable. The Hosa Hosa MID-310 MIDI Cable is one of my careful first-budget picks for this list.
I suggest it for an older keyboard or module that uses five-pin MIDI.
See it on AmazonA 10-foot braided cable from a USB-B port to USB-C. The UGREEN UGREEN USB-B to USB-C Cable, 10 Feet is one of my careful first-budget picks for this list.
I suggest it for connecting a digital piano or interface with a USB-B port to a modern laptop.
See it on AmazonA six-outlet surge protector. The Tripp Lite Tripp Lite TLP606B Surge Protector is one of my careful first-budget picks for this list.
I suggest it for a piano corner with a piano, a lamp and a laptop.
See it on AmazonA USB cable that carries five-pin MIDI in and out. The LEKATO LEKATO USB MIDI Cable is one of my careful first-budget picks for this list.
I suggest it for connecting an older five-pin keyboard to a computer.
See it on AmazonTwo 10-foot 1/4-inch TRS cables. The Pig Hog Pig Hog PTRS10 TRS Cable, 2-Pack is one of my mid-range picks for this list.
I suggest it for wiring both outputs of a stereo piano.
See it on AmazonA 25-foot XLR microphone cable. A cable is the least exciting purchase in a studio and the first thing to spoil a recording when it fails, so I choose plain, well-made ones.
I suggest it for a microphone placed across the room from the interface.
See it on AmazonA 10-foot extension for a 1/4-inch headphone plug. The Hosa Hosa HXSS-010 Headphone Extension Cable is one of my mid-range picks for this list.
I suggest it for sitting back from the piano with headphones that have a short cord.
See it on AmazonA ten-outlet metal surge protector. Protecting an instrument you have paid for costs very little, and a surge protector is the simplest way to do it.
I suggest it for a studio with many plugs and equipment you want to protect.
See it on AmazonA passive direct box that balances a keyboard's output. The Radial Radial Pro DI Passive Direct Box is one of my premium picks for this list.
I suggest it for a stage piano that must run a long cable to a mixer.
See it on AmazonUsually two 1/4-inch cables, one for left and one for right, from the piano's line outputs to the interface's line inputs. Check your piano's output jacks first.
No. A plain cable from a known maker with solid plugs is enough. Expensive cables do not make a digital piano sound better.
Many digital pianos, interfaces and MIDI keyboards have a square USB-B port. A USB-B to USB-C cable connects them to a modern laptop.
A surge protector is a cheap way to protect a piano and a computer. Plug the piano's power supply into it and check the listing for what it covers.
Yes. The links go to Amazon.com and open your local Amazon store when the model is sold there: the UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and Singapore. Models, voltages and plugs differ by country, so on your local listing check for the 230-volt or UK-plug version of a digital piano or a suitable mains adapter, and check that the sustain pedal, bench (keyboard stool) or keyboard stand you want is sold in your country. If a model is not sold locally, the page will say so.
USB audio interfaces for recording piano at home.
Amplifiers and PA speakers for a keyboard or stage piano.
MIDI keyboards for software pianos, notation and music apps.
Pedal, bench, headphones, light: the essentials.
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