Suzuki MDG300, MDG330, MDG400 Digital Grand Pianos / UPDATED REVIEW / Jan 2020 / I have reviewed a number of Suzuki digital pianos in the past and I have not recommended any of them so far. The MDG300 ($1599US internet discount price), MDG330 ($2499US internet price), and MDG400 ($2999US internet price) have been out for a while now and are Suzuki's lower price digital grand pianos that look good on the outside but in some ways are not so good on the inside. The MDG300 is a 2'4" deep micro-grand size, the MDG330 is a larger 3'3" deep micro-grand size, and finally the MDG400 is the 4' deep mini-grand size. These pianos are manufactured in China by another less well known company, so Suzuki does not design or manufacture their own pianos as far as I know.

It is important to note that all three of these models are identical in every way except for cabinet size, color offerings, and speaker system power. They all have the same functions and features so it's really all about cabinet size and available finishes...and of course...what you can afford to spend. Pianos that are attractive with color display screens built in seem like they would be very nice pianos from the way the outside cabinet appears. Some of the specific colors offered in the smallest MDG300 are quite unique and can be attractive in the right surroundings. When playing these pianos, if you just quickly play a few keys and listen, you might think the piano sound is good, especially if you are not at least at an intermediate piano playing skill level and/or have had little experience playing real pianos or good digital pianos.

These Suzuki pianos do look good on the outside and have some attractive digital features and color display screen, but don't let the outward appearance fool you...the old saying of you "get what you pay for" is still true. The lower prices on these pianos are low for a reason, and that's because these models in our opinion are PSO's (aka: Piano Shaped Objects). They may appear to be a good value because of they way they look but if you are primarily wanting a nice realistic piano playing experience then there are MUCH better options out there and we recommend you consider them. Yes, you can have "fun" with some of the digital features in these Suzuki pianos and that's not difficult to do because you can also have fun with similar digital features in $100 keyboards, but that does not make them good as pianos. Creating a digital piano with natural, playable key action, expressive natural piano sound, and good pedaling response takes special digital technology and when you combine that with a smaller digital grand piano cabinet then you will pay more money for that piano and definitely more money than these Suzuki models. But if you want to sacrifice a good piano playing experience for a PSO (piano shaped object) just because you want that "cabinet shape" and you don't want to pay for the "name brand" models that will be in a higher price range, then that is up to you.

The piano key action is by far the most important part of any digital or acoustic piano. Key actions can either be built cheaply or they can be built in a way where those key actions are clearly more responsive, more realistic, better built, more substantial, and just overall better moving keys that move up & down in a smoother and more natural way. But to get a better key action the manufacturer has to spend more money doing so...and that's mainly where these three models fall down. The key action in all three models are noisy and they make noticeable knocking sound when hitting bottom after the key is depressed. When the keys come back up they are also noisy, especially the black keys, and this kind of key action noise is an indicator of a cheaply made key action. The keys themselves are cheap feeling white plastic like an inexpensive $100 keyboard and the keys are thin on the edges making for a potentially unpleasant playing experience. On some of the keys I also noticed that a few of them take more pressure to press down while others are lighter, so they are uneven at best. The keys that are near each other should all take about the same amount of finger force to press down so that you can get a consistent level of volume from all keys. When that doesn't happen then this situation can hurt your piano playing, throw off your technique, and make you change your playing to compensate for the poor key action movement and response in these pianos. The keys are also overall  noticeably stiff to press down when playing lightly or softly than what you would be experiencing on a regular acoustic piano. Being that I am a long time experienced piano teacher and pro musician, I can tell you that if you have a child taking piano lessons on these pianos then this key action problem will help to create bad playing habits that will be difficult for a student to break if they go on for too long.

Next in line of importance comes the piano sound. The stereo piano sound is OK and better than in previous models, but is not great. I always say that you should not rely on the manufacturer and their on-line marketing material saying the piano is so wonderful in every way...what else would expect them to say:). The reality always is that many of these new digital pianos will be less than great when you finally get a chance to play them. When playing the Suzuki pianos I found that there is a problem with the keys controlling the volume properly when the keys are going up and down. This has nothing to do with the 128-note polyphony which is the maximum notes in mono sound that can be heard at the same time when playing the keys and using the pedals. But it does have to do with the fact that the piano volume that the keys produce on digital or acoustic pianos is normally supposed to get incrementally louder or quieter depending on how much force you apply to the keys with your fingers. Piano key volume control is also called "expression" and it is one of the ways the player is communicating their music...with volume dynamics when playing the keys down. Without good, smooth volume dynamic control from the keyboard, the song becomes either boring because there are no dynamics, or the song expression and dynamics becomes choppy and uneven...and that's exactly what happens on the MDG digital pianos. The volume of the notes when pressing the keys down is choppy and jumpy and not easily controlled to be incrementally louder or quieter, especially as compared to a real acoustic piano or many other good digital pianos. Simply stated...the volume is just not even from one note to the next or when playing a key up & down.

Beyond the topic of the uneven and inconsistent piano sound is the range of tone in the piano sound when playing the keys. Range of tone is also known as tonal dynamics and it's the range from mellow tone to bright tone when playing the keys lightly or playing with more force or anywhere in-between.Tonal expression and dynamics happens on all good music instruments including guitars, drums, horns, woodwinds, strings, etc. When you press a real piano key lightly the hammer in the piano strikes the string softly and the string produces a more muted, mellow tone. As you press the key harder and harder the hammer strikes the string harder which produces a brighter and brighter tone because the string vibrates more. It's this mellow to bright tonal range that really brings out expression (tonal colors) in the music and in your songs. These Suzuki pianos do not have a good range of tonal expression and when this happens then it's a definitely sign of cheap electronics. The range of tone on the MDG300, 330, and 400 is quite compressed and not near as expressive as it should be. If you do not play the piano then you may not be at a point where you will notice this deficiency. But as you become a better player and if you hear what a real piano actually sound like, then you will instantly know what I am talking about. Bottom line...the tonal expression on these pianos in my opinion is not even as good as some basic name brand digital pianos that sell for $700 and less. But hey...you want that grand piano looking cabinet...don't you?:)

The three pedals on the piano do control the normal piano features of soft pedal, sostenuto pedal, and damper/sustain pedal. However real pianos have a variable amount of sustain for the right damper/sustain pedal and allows for incrementally more or less sustain which is called "half-damper." The damper/sustain pedal on the Suzuki pianos only allows for and on/off sustain control whereas most digital pianos these days have the half-damper sustain control which allows the music to be played more naturally like a real piano. Beginners will not notice this lack of "half-damper" effect for a long time and even some recreational players may not care one way or the other. But if you do play the piano then not having this feature which is normally found in real pianos may be a problem for you and your music. The pedals also seem to be made cheaply and look like they are prone to having issues with pedal noise or squeaking.

All three of these pianos produce a big volume of sound coming out of the internal speaker system so there is no shortage of overall big volume. However, based on my experience with the MDG's, the internal speaker audio system is not good quality because when you set the master volume past half way, then the volume is out of control where you cannot play the keys lightly and get a soft volume like you would on a normal piano. In other words, setting the master volume too high, even past just half way which normally should be fine, is not good on these pianos and completely throws off the dynamics and volume control when playing the keys. Trying to play softly on the keys is just not possible when you increase the master volume. A good digital piano with a competent internal speaker system will not do that. On a good digital piano with a good internal speaker system you can increase the master volume to a very high level and still play normally with proper control of dynamics including be able to play softly when playing the keys lightly. This is not possible with the MDG pianos, so again, if you like that nice looking cabinet enough to overlook these problems, then that is your choice:).

So what do these pianos offer that I like? Well, what I like has to do with all the other stuff these pianos do...all those cool electronic features referred to as "bells & whistles" that can make it fun to play music. Each of these pianos has lots of fun features such as having 122 instrument sounds which includes trumpets, guitars, trombones, strings, timpani, synthesizers, and many others. The instrument sounds are high quality and really no better than what Is offered on cheap Yamaha & Casio keyboards. But if you want some extra sounds at least they are there.  You can also play MIDI songs from a memory card so that you can play along with music that you may like and learn it that way by ear of by music if you can find it somewhere. The ability to layer or split different sound on the keyboard is nice and there are also 100 interactive accompaniment styles from Latin to Rock, to Pop, jazz, country, and everywhere in-between with variations and controls for start/stop, fill-in's, into/endings, and adjustable volumes for the different parts. The MDG pianos also have transpose feature, rhythm tempo control, metronome, reverb and chorus special effects, adjustable digital EQ settings with 10 digital graphic faders to control the sound environment coming out of the speakers or through headphones, and 10 registration memories to save your own setups. In fact there are so many different interactive features that you will unlikely use them all as most people typically don't get that deep into that technology...but maybe you would? It just depends on what you want to do with your music. So when it comes to some cool digital features and being able to use them, these models do a good job in that area.

All of the digital features are displayed on an attractive 4.3" color screen which makes the appearance of the piano control panel look more advanced. Along with the color display screen (which is not a touch screen)  are a variety of buttons which gives the user better and quicker access to some of the more popular features of the pianos. So when you combine the versatility of the color screen with the buttons, these pianos are fairly easy to use and therefore it is more intuitive to find the features that you are looking for. I wish more manufacturers would incorporate a color screen into their pianos but personally I would not sacrifice the quality of the piano playing experience (touch, tone, pedaling) just to get a cool color touch screen. I like them, but I don't like them that much:).

The MDG pianos also have a nice recorder/player system in them that allows you to record 3 separate parts or tracks which can be saved to a SD card. In this way you can record left & right hand separately and then play and record another different part or sound over the other two parts. This makes creating songs more fun and also allows you to play along with your own recordings. However, the SD card where you would save your music in this piano is a very old format of saving songs. It would have been much better to have a standard USB flash drive input instead which is better technology and more available. That's another sign of old technology which should have been updated in these models.

I like the fact that there seems to be some good connectivity in these pianos including a microphone input, stereo headphone jacks, audio input jack, audio output jack, and MIDI in & output connectors. Having a place for a microphone is a nice feature and makes it fun to be able to sing through the piano even if you are not playing it. The other features are good as well and there are pianos in this price range that don't have as many connections. The MDG pianos also have some technology features for connectivity including Bluetooth and USB output to device so that you can wirelessly connect to any device that has Bluetooth connectivity so that you can send your music through the piano speaker system. Also you can connect your piano by USB output to a computer or other external devices for interaction with apps and computer programs that can help you in learning to play the piano.

So in reality there is a lot to like about these pianos. Number one is the way they look, the design, and available impressive array of colors including the MDG400 in polished ebony and polished walnut, the MDG330 in polished ebony, and the lower priced and smaller MDG300 available in polished ebony, polished brown, polished mahogany, polished cobalt blue (yikes!), and polished bright red. I thought there might also be a white color which is popular, but they don't have it. I am guessing that all these colors are offered only in the smaller micro-grand 2'4" model because of the much smaller size and much lower price and most people just want the classic polished ebony, especially in the larger sizes. Plus...polished ebony has by far the best resale value of all the colors. The speaker system in the MDG300 and MDG330 are both the same...120 watts total power with 2 amplifiers going into 6 speakers. The MDG400 has 120 watts of power with 3 amplifiers going through speakers so all three models have plenty of power. But as I mentioned earlier, a lot of audio power is meaningless if you cannot play the keys properly (cannot play softly) while the master volume is up higher than half-way. So the piano speaker specifications don't necessarily tell the true story.

So here is what a shopper must decide when thinking about buying a digital piano such as the MDG300, MDG330, or MDG440. What is more important to you...the way the piano looks with all the "bells & whistles" or the way the piano actually plays as a piano? Yes, for many people the cabinet appearance is very important and there will be some shoppers who just won't care about the piano playing issues and deficiencies in these pianos and will be so impressed with the cabinet design, colors, and sizes offered that they'll just "live with the piano playing issues" and get the piano anyway because they like the look so much and it's in their budget. I will also say that the quality of the finish on these pianos with regard to durability is questionable in my opinion. Just because they look good does not mean that the cabinet finish will be durable and hold up over time. But what do you expect in this price range. Keeping down production costs is almost always the "name of the game" for these kinds of pianos because once you increase quality of construction, cabinet, speakers, key action, piano sound, and pedaling, then the price goes way up. You just do not get something for nothing when it comes to these digital pianos. You might think you are just not sophisticated enough to tell the difference between a good piano and a poor piano and I have heard that way of thinking from people before. But don't fool yourself...if you love piano playing and good piano sound, then you will notice a difference between something that sounds and plays great as opposed to something that looks great but may not actually be great.

Personally I would rather invest more money for a true quality digital grand piano from Yamaha, Roland, or Samick than put any money into these Suzuki pianos. Or...I would rather spend my $1500 - $3000 (or more) on a new vertical size digital piano model from any of the top digital piano companies such as the new Yamaha Clavinova CLP625 or CLP635, or the new Casio AP270 or AP700, or the new Kawai CA48, CN37, or the popular Kawai ES8, or the Roland DP603 or Roland HP603. The reason I "semi-recommend" these pianos is because maybe you don't really care as much in how they play as you do in how they look along with all the "fun"features. That's the reason I don't fully NOT recommend these models. But there are much better alternatives in the world of digital pianos when it comes to getting the best possible piano playing experience for your budget although those alternatives may not be in that little grand piano shape:). There is a reason, for example, why the Suzuki MDG300 or MDG330 has such a low price as compared to other regular digital pianos in that price range. This is because the cost of that Suzuki piano mostly goes into the cabinet and the color display screen. To keep that price so low at $1599US for the MDG300 you need to give up quality somewhere in the piano (as I mentioned earlier), so there definitely is a low quality piano key action, key action contacts, key sensors, keys, piano sound chip, and speaker system  in these pianos and those are things you cannot really see but nevertheless are very important. When making up your mind, please consider all these things before you make your purchase, regardless of what brand and model it may be.

If you really want and need to have a baby grand shaped digital piano but would prefer much higher quality and piano playing authenticity in a reasonable price range then I would recommend the new Samick digital grand pianos which come in a 2.6" size depth and a version that comes in a 48" (4') depth. One model is called the SG120 and the larger model is the SG500. I have played these pianos and am very impressed. If you want more info on them then please read my detailed review at the following link and let me know what you think. The Samick factory US warehouse even has a special introductory price sale going on right now that makes these pianos very affordable in my opinion and if you are interested in finding out more then please let me know. Samick SG500 & SG120 Review

If you want more info on new digital pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.

Korg B2 Digital Piano / UPDATED REVIEW / Jan 2020 -  First time "Portable" Grand Piano under $500 (piano only). The Korg B2 ($499 price) and Korg B2SP portable digital piano (with matching furniture stand & triple pedal) at $599 recently came out on the market for 2020 and not many people know about this new digital piano yet or have actually played it. In our opinion this is a very low price for this new model considering what it does and how realistic it is. I have played it many times already and know a lot about it and here's what I have discovered...it is the very first portable digital piano under $500 (piano only) that I have ever played in my 40 years of doing this that I can truly say sounds like an actual grand piano. Normally any digital piano under $500 sounds like a toy in comparison to any acoustic piano, much less a grand piano. They all sound somewhat artificial for their piano sound, have little expression or dynamic range on many of them, and have weak frequency range, especially in the bass frequencies. Beyond that the pedal sustain/decay time on all digital pianos under $500 is typically normally very short and weak because the piano technology in those digital pianos simply is not up to the task of reproducing the piano sound elements that you may otherwise get if you spent a lot more money (over $1000) on a more expensive digital piano. Beyond that, the internal speaker systems on most of these other digital pianos under $500 are usually very weak (10-12 watts of total power) and they just can't handle a big piano sound coming through those small speakers and amplifiers.


The Korg B2 at $499 just about left me speechless (and that's really hard to do:) after I got through playing it for the very first time. The rich, full tone and long, deep sustained resonances when using the damper pedal system was more than I ever expected from an instrument in this price range, especially from Korg. Korg has never been known for good digital pianos under $500 in terms of something that sounds realistic and plays great. They have had stuff out before in this price range but I have never liked them, especially compared to the other top brands under $500 including Yamaha, Casio, and Roland. I have liked other Korg home digital pianos around or above $1000 and they have some great models in that price range out now which I have reviewed here on this blog.  Korg is also famous in having incredible digital piano technology in their pro stage pianos which can easily cost in excess of $2000 to $3000 or more and this is the secret of the B2...the digital piano technology in this new model comes directly from their pro stage digital piano called the "Grandstage" which sells for $2199 on-line price. The Grandstage has a brand new "super chip" that has some absolutely amazing piano sound technology in it that comes from 5 distinct famous 9' acoustic concert grand pianos including an American Steinway, Austrian Bosendorfer, Japanese Yamaha, German Bechstein, and Italian Fazioli. These grand pianos are not only sampled in a very sophisticated way, but there are no discernible sample loop points which typically would make the piano sound fake and processed. This technology is being used in the new Korg B2 and the way it sounds is absolutely amazing. You would never guess that the B2 only costs $499 by the way it plays and sounds.  The tonal dynamic range and expression is so wide from very soft tone to bright and everything in between that it's the first piano under $500 I have played that sounds so expressive which is something that has been otherwise impossible to find in this price range. The sound is also even and resonate across all 88-keys and balanced nicely so that all the octaves resonate evenly unlike other digital pianos with very uneven volumes and piano sounds in different parts of the keyboard in different octaves. In other words, this sounds like a real piano, the others don't. With 120 note polyphony sound chip there is plenty of polyphony piano power and there was no note dropout even when I was playing complex pieces of music because Korg has a proprietary way of handling their polyphony chip which then causes no note drop-out at all even with the stereo grand piano sounds....very impressive.

The key action in the B2 is also impressive in that it is responsive, quick, has nice even weighted, graded touch, and is noticeably quiet whereas some of these key action make a lot of noise as the keys are moving up and down. It is a proprietary key action designed by Korg and they also use it in some of their popular stage digital pianos. I didn't think I would necessarily like the key action in this model because some of the past Korg key actions were unimpressive to me but in this case the key action really matches the stereo grand piano sound chip in how they respond together in a seamless way. One of the more surprising things about this piano sound is the sustain time (aka:decay time) and how long it holds out along with how powerful it is in terms of volume. It's really like playing an actual acoustic grand piano in that way because acoustic grands have that same characteristic because you hear long, lush tone when the notes are being held while using your sustain/damper pedal. A single pedal comes with the B2 but you can also get the triple pedal unit which then provides the more advanced half-damper pedal which gives you a variable amount of sustain control rather than just having it be on or off.


Basically, if all this piano had were these 5 different grand piano sounds and it only played piano that would be enough for me at the low $499 price. There are a lot of people who just want great piano sound and nothing else, but the B2 does have more features and functions in it too. It has a number of other instrument tones (12 total including the acoustic piano sounds) with some excellent vintage electric pianos, organs, strings, and baroque harpsichord. One thing this model is not able to do is layer/mix or split the instrument sounds which most other digital pianos can do. This is a disappointment to me because I personally enjoy doing those kind of things to the sounds but I do understand Korg's thinking here which is in an effort to keep down cost to $499, they had to make some decisions on what their focus was in designing and producing this piano and it was obviously focused on the piano playing experience and not really for much else. So even though you cannot mix 2 sounds together on this model nor is there a recording feature on this model, there are ways around it like connecting an iPad by the USB/MIDI connection and then using Garage Band or some other sound app which you can send (stream) that extra additional through the piano and then overlay that sound on top of any Korg sound in the piano and have those two sounds playing together every time you play the B2 keys. The USB/MID connection in the B2 takes care of the B2 triggering the sounds in the app while that connection also takes care of automatic audio streaming from the external device into the Korg speaker system so that you can hear your iPad sound come directly through the B2. Few other digital pianos can do "audio streaming" through a USB MIDI connection so this is a very cool feature in the B2 and enables you to do some musical things many other digital pianos cannot do. 

One of the other things I really like about this digital piano is the internal speaker system. In all the other digital pianos under $500 the internal speaker systems are OK, but very basic and can make the piano sound weak, tinny, anemic, and/or very artificial with little resonance or richness. But that's what people have come to expect with digital pianos in this price range...except in the new B2. The B2 has a huge internal 30 watt stereo sound system housed in a built-in sound chamber which really makes the entire spectrum of frequency range come through from the low bass tones, to the mid-range tones, and also generating clear higher frequency tones without being tinny, weak, or shrill. Putting Korg's upscale grand piano sound-chip through this massive internal speaker system in this compact $499 portable digital piano was something I really did not expect and this was also a surprise to me and way beyond what any other digital piano company has done in their products in this price range.

Korg B2SP (with stand & triple pedal

The Korg B2 does have a few useful digital features like a digital metronome for rhythm & timing training which is nice, a digital transpose function so that you can instantly electronically change the key you are in so that when you play you can play the song in the key it's written but you can hear it come out in a different key to perhaps get it into your vocal range better. The piano also has digital reverb & chorus effects which helps some of the instruments sound even more realistic as well as touch sensitivity control for your finger touch depending if you want the piano sound to come in quicker or less quickly with a hard, medium, or easy touch. So Korg does offer some basic but useful features that rounds out the B2 with just enough things in it to serve most music needs. The B2 also has a stereo headphone jack output and a stereo mini jack audio input so you can run external audio devices through the B2 30-watt stereo speaker system and this a very cool feature with most other digital pianos do not have in this price range.

The control panel on the B2 is easy to use, the buttons have very nice tactile feel to them and you access the basic features of the piano through these buttons. A few of the features have to be accessed through the function button and then pressing a specific white or black key to trigger that function so you need to find that feature and the way to access it out of a chart in the owners manual so it's really no evident on the piano itself. There is no LED or LCD user display screen so it's less intuitive that way. However, as I mentioned earlier, Korg is obviously trying to keep the costs down on this model so they could include this awesome piano playing experience and so to that end...this definitely did that. The B2 only weighs a mere 26 lbs so it is super lightweight but appears to be well built and well designed in terms of cabinet, elegant looks, the large music rack included, and just the fit and finish of body parts and components. You get your choice of either a matte black finish or matte white finish and for another $100 more you can get the entire piano-furniture stand-triple pedal combo package which is a cheap price for all those extras in our opinion.

The bottom line is...when you play and hear this new portable digital piano with its extremely impressive grand piano sound with all those resonances and natural sounding string vibrations and other organic grand piano content and you feel how quick and responsive this Korg key action is along with that key action being very quiet in key movement (no clicking, clacking, or noisy keys), what most people are saying who have had an opportunity to play and/or hear this new Korg B2 piano is..."sign me up!" By the way, we are not suggesting the B2 is as good as some of the digital pianos in the higher price ranges near or above $1000, because those pianos offer a more upgraded, more natural piano playing experience. But what we are saying is there is no good reason I can think of why anyone would want to buy any other brand or model digital piano under $500 unless they want a "toy" or they just cannot afford the $500 bucks. But if you're going to spend $300 or $400, then we advise you "stretch yourself" financially or save your pennies until you can get a new Korg B2 rather than spending it on something inferior and then wishing you would have spent the extra money.

DIGITAL PIANOS $3000-$7500 / REVIEW & COMPARISON / UPDATED JANUARY 2020  / Yamaha, Kawai, Casio, Korg, Roland, Dexibell, Samick, and more. There are so many choices and so much to consider in shopping for a new digital piano these days, so I have written this comparison review to help you in that process. I have included only the best piano brands available in the higher price range of $3000-$7500. For price ranges under $3000 I have other reviews that cover those models but here we are focusing on pianos that are more refined, and more powerful internal speaker systems, that come in a more premium cabinet and that have technology that most of the digital pianos under $3000 do not have. *Find out more here and click on pics to see larger views of the pianos.

Yamaha CLP685

Comparison Report & Review of Yamaha CLP-635, CLP-645, CLP-665GP, NU1X - Roland DP603, HP601, HP603, LX705, LX706, LX708, GP607 - Kawai CN39, CA58, CA78, CA98, CS11, Casio Grand Hybrid GP-510, GP-310. There are many digital piano shoppers out there who want to invest in a "Premium" digital piano for their home, church, studio, or other area. I consider a Premium digital piano to mean something that retails for at least $3000 and going up in price to about $7500 or more. Once you start looking in that price range there are many good options and the field of available products is very large...but it can be confusing too. In this report I will not be talking about or mentioning (what are known as) interactive auto-accompaniment/player pianos such as the Yamaha CVP-701, CVP-805, and CVP-809 digital pianos. They are for different purposes and typically not something that you buy primarily to play traditional piano on. If you want to know more about Ensemble Digital Pianos, go to the following review I did on our other web site "Digital Piano Review Expert" of the new Yamaha CVP "arranger" digital pianos along with all of the other Yamaha digital pianos. What I am talking about here in this report are Premium "pianos" that people buy to primarily play piano on and then have some other useful, fun, and practical features that make digital pianos great to own, and in many cases, a much better alternative to a regular acoustic piano. I have played every single model of the top name brand digital pianos in this Premium price range including the newer Yamaha CLP685 (top left pic) and the  new Roland LX708 (above left pic) and they are all impressive in their own way. Some have nicer looking cabinets, some have more powerful internal speaker systems, some have more authentic key action, more authentic piano sound and tonal range, more realistic pedaling response, better and/or more numerous digital features such as a large library of instrument sounds, drum rhythms, and multitrack recording features, more intuitive user controls, more advanced innovative technology, and so on. The most important primary things a shopper needs to consider when researching new digital pianos is, in the following order, realism in key action movement and response, piano sound authenticity, and pedaling response (especially the damper/sustain pedal) and its interaction with the piano sound and key action. All other features and functions in terms of their importance should come after the primary features are satisfied.

Yamaha CLP645 satin finish

When shopping for one of these "premium" digital pianos from Roland, Yamaha, Kawai, and Casio, you will find that in the US, they are only available at local piano stores. In the US these pianos are not available on the internet or general music stores such as Guitar Center, Sam Ash, etc. and you may not be able to find out what an actual discount selling price will be until you actually visit the local authorized piano dealer. In most cases you can find the retail price listed on the manufacturer web site so that will give you a starting place. The retail price will also be different depending on the cabinet finish color and furniture design. So for instance if you want a digital piano from Yamaha, Roland, or Kawai in the polished ebony finish, that will cost you quite a bit more money as opposed to the regular satin finish which usually comes in either black or rosewood and occasionally mahogany or white. I have found that in many cases in US piano stores, the dealer may not have one or more of the new models in stock or even a demonstrator model to see. This may be because that model is in short supply and not available at that moment or that store just sold what they had, or...that dealer simply does not want to stock that model because they don't think they can easily sell it. So do not be surprised if you cannot find what you are looking for near you.

Casio Celviano AP700

So here's what you need to know about these premium pianos to make a good buying decision. First of all, every piano store will likely say that their brand is better than the competitive brand sold by another company, which is normally what they do, but that does not mean it's true. All of the top name brands make very good, reliable pianos that will last many years and be good instruments to play on. But that does not mean there are not significant differences among these pianos in a number of ways, some of which you may like and some you may not like. Piano key action, piano sound, dynamic tonal range realism, key touch sensitivity, pedaling sustain, and the speaker system the sound goes through are the vital components and features of any digital piano. There are some off brands (I have not listed them here) that are so bad they are not worth mentioning, but be aware that if you don't choose from these top brands I have listed here in this price range, then you will likely be asking for problems or disappointments at the very least.

Kawai CN39 control panel

When shopping in this $3000-$7500 price range you may hear digital piano terms such as graded grand piano hammer action, wood keys, balanced, graded weighted plastic key action, escapement, let-ff, counter weighted keys, fulcrum, pivot point, synthetic ivory feel keys, synthetic ebony feel keys, decibel range, audio power, wood piano soundboard, digital piano soundboard recreation, individual note volume and character editing controls, 2-position key cover, minimalistic appearance, General MIDI, wav and MP3 audio recording & play back, piano designer, virtual technician, USB output, USB flashdrive input, multitrack MIDI recording, music library, wireless connectivity with iPad, 3D sound imaging through headphones, touch sensitivity curve, special effects, layering, splitting, LCD display screen, 2-position key cover, decay time, continuous detection pedaling, half-pedaling, redesigned, sympathetic vibrations, pedal resonance, organic, sampled, stereo, Steinway, Bosendorfer, Yamaha, Kawai, and many more. There are SO MANY terms and features used in some of these pianos that it can quickly become overwhelming and in many cases it usually does. But don't let these terms scare you. Just concentrate on the basics first and then everything else should fall into place...and if it doesn't, then you can always contact me and I will try to help you figure it out.

Here are some specifics you should know about these pianos below that may help you:

Yamaha - Yamaha has their CLP 600 series Clavinova models including the CLP-635, CLP-645, CLP-675, CLP-685, CLP-665GP, and CLP-695GP. There are some great features on these newer models and I have reviewed all of them including the CLP635, CLP645, and CLP665GP mini grand at the following link: CLP635, 645, 665GP Review. The CLP-635, 645 and 665GP utilize the same key actions as in previous models but with the "X"-factor (meaning "escapement" added) and in the CLP635 and CLP665GP those models have all plastic keys and the other models have wood keys. In my opinion the wood keys do allow the key action to play more smoothly, move quicker, and are overall worth the price increase. It is important to note that the CLP-635 and CLP-665GP are the same basic pianos except the CLP-665GP is housed in a mini baby grand piano style cabinet which is quite attractive and has an upgraded internal speaker system, but is priced at about twice the price of the CLP-635, at $5500 discount selling price for the CLP-665GP. The higher priced CLP-675, CLP-685, and CLP-695GP mini grand piano have redesigned key action as compared to previous models but in my opinion the CLP675 key action is much too firm, too resistant to be enjoyable for me to play. Although the regular GH3 key actions (plastic) in the CLP-625, CLP-635, and CLP-665GP are solid, durable, and fairly quiet, even though the key action in these models are also a bit on the firm side when pressing down the keys, they are nowhere near the heaviness of the key action in the CLP-675 which is unique to that model and is in no other CLP model. The CLP-645 wood key action pretty much takes care of that down-weight issue and is the only CLP model Yamaha currently offers with this NWX key action (with wood keys) which I like very much. All Yamaha CLP key actions now have the escapement feature (previously only found in Roland & Kawai digital pianos) and synthetic ivory key tops. However, in my opinion, the escapement feature (Kawai calls it let-off) in the Yamaha key actions which is a slight notch or hesitation about half way down the key travel when playing very lightly on a real grand piano, is so light that it is almost non-existent (hardly noticeable) as far as I am concerned. I like the fact that Yamaha added it to their key actions but it really does not feel realistic like a real grand piano does, especially compared to both the Roland & Kawai escapement feature. But in the long-run, the escapement feature is only a simulation and not very real in any of the digital piano brands as compared to a real grand so this feature is not a deal breaker one way or the other. The newer model Yamaha NU1X "hybrid upright" digital piano is a specialty polished ebony instrument with a real console-upright key actionfrom a real Yamaha acoustic console-upright piano and is housed in a traditional looking small upright case. It's not that the keys are just made of wood like some of the other digital pianos, but the entire key action includes real acoustic piano moving parts, but it has no strings and instead uses optical sensors to sense the movement and velocity of the specialty hammers. In my opinion this NU1X natural key action is more realistic and enjoyable to play than the new Clavinova models as far as a pure piano playing experience goes with the exception of the CLP-645 and CLP-685. However, the NU1X key action feels like an upright piano because it has an actual acoustic upright key action in it, and that's fine, but there are some key actions such as what is in a few of the new Kawai and Casio Grand Hybrid models which feel closer to a grand piano action than the NU1X, even though they are not fully acoustic in construction like the NU1X. This may all sound a bit confusing, and it can be, but all these differences among pianos, even within the same brand, certainly make for a variety of choices:). The NU1X price is approx $6600US discount internet selling price at Yamaha piano and internet stores throughout the US so it is in a fairly high price range but is worth the price of admission if you want a digital piano that mimics a real upright piano with just about all of the same parts with the exception of strings and hammers.

Yamaha UPDATE: Yamaha has a newer specialty piano line called the CSP series which consists of two models called the CSP-150 and CSP-170. These 2 instruments take the basics of the the current CLP635 and CLP645and then supercharge them with something they call the Smart Pianist which is a proprietary Yamaha app for iOS and android tablets. These pianos are like having regular digital pianos and putting them on steroids enabling you to do powerful musical things that you never thought possible on a digital piano. Unlike steroids, these new pianos are safe for you, good for you, give you some very cool new musical and educational features, and they won't disappoint you! Please read my review of these 2 models at the following link and let me know what you think:Yamaha CLP-150 & CLP-170 Review

Roland - Roland discontinued their 3 top of the line upright models last year called the HP605, LX7, and LX17. A few Roland dealers may still have these models in their storesbut other than that they are no longer made. You can read my review of these discontinued models at the following link: Roland HP603A, HP605, LX7, LX17, GP607 Review. The GP607 mini grand is still a current model for 2020 and not discontinued. The Roland company now has 3 new top of the line upright style models for 2020 called the LX705, LX706, and LX708 with completely redesigned cabinets that look much better which give them more of an authentic upright piano appearance and which is a good thing. Although they cost a bit more than previous models they are still worth considering although we are not very pleased with the new piano sound chip in the new LX models as this new acoustic piano sound they developed just sounds very artificial to our ears...not real. We much prefer their lower priced models that have the previous piano sound chip. You usually get what you pay for most of the time but unfortunately in this new Roland "LX series" pianos we are not impressed with the piano sound coming from the internal speaker system and through headphones. I have played all the new Roland models and have published my detailed review of them at the following link so please take a look at that and let me know what you think: Roland 700 series digital pianos. Roland also has a new line of HP digital pianos called the the HP702 and HP704 traditional cabinet model selling between $2000 to $3000 store discount price. The Roland PHA50hybrid wood/plastic key actions in these models along with the LX705 and GP607 Mini Digital Baby Grand come closer to an actual piano feel than the cheaper Roland pianos under $2000 such as the HP702 and lower priced RP501 and are on a higher level of realism in key movement and key feel than any Roland piano before it. The new 2020 LX706 and LX708 have a brand new key action with extended length keys that come closer to a "grand piano feel" than the PHA50 key action, so that is a bonus feature in the two top Roland upright style pianos. After playing with the new LX706 & LX708 I would agree that the keys are more balanced with a more authentic, fluid key movement up & down than any of the models below them. Although no digital piano key action on any of these brands listed here exactly replicates an acoustic upright or grand piano, many of them do a very good job in providing a satisfying piano playing experience which gives the player a good level of expression and playability depending on the brand and model. All Roland key actions have the escapement feature found on grand pianos and this feature feels good although it is a simulation and does lack some authenticity, but this is true of any simulated escapement/let-off features. It is interesting to note that Roland is the only brand of the major brands that offers a furniture cabinet compact digital piano (DP603) that has Premium features like the higher priced Roland models do including key action & sound, but are housed in a contemporary compact furniture cabinet in satin or polished finishes with a fold down flat top (see DP603 polished ebony above left pic and also pic near bottom of this review). This compact "footprint" allows people to have a better quality digital piano to fit small or tight places such as apartments, condos, small homes, or just smaller areas within a larger home where you don't want the traditional cabinet size or look. The polished ebony & polished white compact models sell for $3199 making them a good low priced alternative to the higher priced pianos.  

Kawai - The new CN39 digital pianos have all-plastic key actions called RH3 with counterweight technology, whereas all the other Kawai digital pianos mentioned here have wood key key actions (the key is wood but not the other parts) which are called "Grand Feel 2." All Kawai key actions are hammer weighted, balanced, and graded just like the other brands but that weighting is proprietary for Kawai products. The CN39 replaced the popular CN37 for Kawai and it has some very impressive upgrades over the previous model including additional new piano samples, new upgraded speaker system, new control panel and new cabinet among other things. It comes in at a popular price point of approx $2800US discount store price. Kawai also produces a model called the ES8 contemporary compact piano called the ES8 which has an upgraded piano sound chip over the CN39 (noticeably more authentic piano sound in the ES8) but has the same very responsive counter-weight technology key action of the CN39 which is a good thing. The ES8 piano sound chip is also the same one found in the $8000 Kawai CS11 digital piano so it's a high-end piano sound reproduction. The key movement on Kawai pianos seems more responsive and easier (more lifelike) to play than a few Yamaha key actions in my opinion. Kawai has 1 specialty polished ebony piano cabinet model called the CS11. The CS11 is really the discontinued CA97 in a super upgraded authentic cabinet design and polished ebony finish,

Kawai CS polished ebony upright

and it looks beautiful. The CS11 has impressive upgraded piano sound samples, more advanced and detailed sound editing elements, upgraded key action called GF2, better pedal sustain/decay time, some additional upgraded digital features, and an improved internal speaker system.  the CS11 has a much improved and more natural sounding internal audio system (with built-in wood soundboard) as well as 80 total instrument sounds. With regard to cabinet height, the CS11 is just over 41" tall which is well below a real upright acoustic piano height of 48" tall. But for most people, 41" is plenty tall for a digital piano and it looks great and is quite sufficient in a normal room. It is also good to know that Kawai has very nice Concert Artist series of pianos in this $3000 to $7500 price range which include the CA58 ($2999US  internet price), CA78 ($3999US internet price), and CA98US ($5499US discount internet price). The CA58 is much like the former CA67 only at a lower price and with a new key action and a few other differences. The CA78 and CA98 are new and replace the former CA67 and CA97. The CA78 and CA98 are identical to each other in most ways but with the CA98 having a much more powerful and natural sounding internal speaker system utilizing a 1/2 size wood soundboard for extra tone and volume. Both pianos now have a color touchscreen for user navigation as opposed to previous screens with navigation done exclusively from buttons, which is very nice, and the piano sound-chip has been changed and upgraded for both models with new acoustic piano sound technology that is supposed to make the piano sound seem more natural thank previous models. Some people like the new piano sound very much and others prefer the piano sound of the CS series piano sound chip which is also in the CA58 and ES8. Since piano sound is quite subjective most of the time then this kind of response from people is expected. So for some people it may be good to hear these pianos in person if you have a good ear and can tell the difference, although you can listen to them through you-tube videos as well. In our opinion the new CA58 is very impressive in what it can do how how realistic it is as a piano compared against the other brands in the $3000 price range. For $2999 in a satin rosewood ($3099 in satin black or white), we think this piano definitely definitely needs to be considered and just like with any digital piano, please contact us if you are in the USA so you can find how we can help you get many of these new models for even less money than Amazon or internet price with free shipping and no tax, brand new. Check out our detailed review on the Kawai CA58 at the following link: Kawai CA58 Review

Casio - For just the 2nd time in the history of Casio digital pianos which is about 35 years, Casio has produced a new version of their Grand Hybrid digital pianos in the $3000 + price range which includes the new Celviano GP-510 & GP-310. These 2 new models for 2020 have a full size, wood grand piano style keys with moving composite hammers built by the famous German grand piano company called Bechstein. Bechstein is very well know in Europe and around the world but they certainly are not a mainstream brand here in the US. But this association with renowned acoustic piano company Bechstein gives these new Casio digital pianos the credibility and prestige it needs to compete with the "big dogs" in this price range including Kawai, Roland, and Yamaha. Casio is certainly a big dog in digital pianos under $1000 so they have a proven past for many years. But these Grand Hybrid digital pianos open up the way for Casio to be taken seriously when it comes to advanced digital pianos in terms of piano key action, piano sound, pedaling, and digital features along with elegant furniture cabinets. I would recommend you read my detailed review of these new models before you make any buying decisions in this price range.  Casio GP300, GP400, GP500 Review. UPDATE: Casio has jsut announced they have discontinued the Grand Hybrid GP500 and GP300 and are replacing them witrh new improved models called the GP510 and GP310. I have yet to play these new pianos but will be doing so fairly soon.  After I do I will write a full review on them so everyone can know what they are really like. 

Yamaha CLP control panel display

When it comes to piano sound and all that it entails, each manufacturer tells you they have the most realistic, most authentic, most natural sound available in a given price range. What else would you expect from them? They use proprietary terms to make it sound like they have created the ultimate piano sound. However, piano sound is somewhat subjective depending on your ears (sensitivity to certain frequencies or tones), musical listening experience, piano playing experience, and your expectations. You could literally be happy playing any of these brands and models even though a local piano store would tell you otherwise because they want to sell their brand(s). The manufacturers use fancy and impressive words and phrases to describe their piano sound, but at the end of the day those words are meaningless when it comes to the actual sound you are hearing because it is subjective (as I mentioned) and also subject to the way the internal speaker system projects the sound from inside these digital pianos.

To get the best acoustic piano sound reproduction possible with available technology, Yamaha uses their own Yamaha acoustic pianos to make a sample/recording piano sound. Yamaha also uses a European Bosendorfer acoustic grand piano to sample/record another piano sound for their digital pianos. Yamaha uses Bosendorfer because they own the company...so why not:). I have played many Bosendorfer grand pianos over the years and they are beautiful pianos and compare well to the Yamaha, Kawai, and Steinway acoustic grand pianos in my opinion. The piano sound on the CLP series that Yamaha refers to as their Bosendorfer sound, is close to the real thing but has a long way to go...but what do you expect in a digital piano? The Bosendorfer grand piano sound is so unique and complex that it is nearly impossible to reproduce it fully in a digital piano. But that's OK because for most people the Bosendorfer sound  in the new CLP600 series is very nice. The Yamaha CFX digital grand piano sound taken from a Yamaha grand is more realistic in their CLP series than the Bosendorfer sound. The Kawai company uses its own Kawai acoustic grand & upright pianos to record its pianos samples and then Roland focuses primarily on Steinway grand pianos to reproduce that sound through a new technology called "Physical Modeling." Physical Modeling (based on the technology) allows the complex piano sound to be more easily and accurately (on paper) reproduced than through a sampling process. So when it comes to sound technology, Roland has just jumped ahead of the pack although this process is still fairly new and has some bothersome anomalies in my opinion, but will likely get better over time as I still prefer a recorded sample piano sound with some physical modeling treatment to it (such as what Yamaha an Kawai are doing now. Roland & Kawai have 3 authenticity levels of piano sound realism and Yamaha also has different levels of piano sound realism depending on price range. The new Casio Hybrid pianos have 2 levels of sound authenticity and the difference in realism is noticeable. What you will like in terms of piano sound will depend on if you can personally distinguish the differences among the different levels of piano sound realism and authenticity in the different brands and models. The bottom line is...some people can tell a difference between two or more different piano sounds and some people cannot, so it's best not to "overspend" when getting a new digital piano just because a store salesperson or piano teacher might tell you that you need a certain type of model piano that costs a lot of money and they try to convince you won't be happy unless you do get the best, more expensive one. Take it from me, a person can be musically happy and satisfied on a new digital piano without necessarily spending more than you have to, because even in the lower price ranges some of these digital pianos sound and play great!

Roland control panel

When it comes to the user interface control LCD screens, almost all of the Yamaha & Kawai models use a larger LCD display screen located to the left side of the keyboard. Roland uses a smaller display screen located in the middle above the keys. Although the Kawai,Yamaha, and Casio pianos display info that is a bit easier to see with their larger screens (with the exception of the CN29 and CA48 for Kawai (they are also in the lower price range under $3000), I personally like the Roland design a bit better because it is in your direct line of sight above the keys in the middle and is easy to see and the buttons are somewhat more intuitive to use in my opinion in navigating the many features. The Kawai, Yamaha, and Casio piano functions are accessed by fewer buttons than the Roland pianos with a bigger screen which can look less distracting. Kawai, Yamaha, and Roland also have proprietary controller apps that allows the use to more easily control functions from their color touch screen tablet or mobile device, so that it a very cool feature and one that I personally use when wanting a more intuitive way of accessing instrument sounds and/or functions on the piano. Kawai, Yamaha, and Roland have

Kawai CA/CS control panel

"no smudge" surfaces on their control panels which reduces scratch and fingerprint issues. The satin/mat finish on the Roland, Kawai, and Yamaha control panel, in my opinion, also looks classier than a shiny plastic material found on other digital pianos and the buttons themselves are smaller low profile which also gives the control panel a more elegant appearance. The more features & functions in the piano there are to control, the more tedious it can be to use them when the controls are not user friendly. The perfect marriage of being minimalistic in design and efficient in use is probably the goal of these companies and it can be difficult to achieve but these brands have overall done a very good job. OK...enough said about that.

If you want to save money and stay in a lower price range, then buying a digital piano under $3000 will still get you a Premium quality digital piano in the Yamaha, Roland, or Kawai brand in a satin cabinet finish. The polished ebony or polished white Premium digital pianos always add a big increase in price to the name brand pianos in various price ranges, sometimes as much as $500-$1000 depending on the piano model. I believe all of the models here offer attractive cabinets, very good features, are reliable in quality, offer substantial factory warranties, and can satisfy a lot of musical needs, but as I said before, there are definite differences among brands and models. I like to stress that you cannot always "judge a book by its cover" in thinking a digital piano must be good if it has a nice looking cabinet. I have seen some very nice looking cabinets with beautiful finishes that are very poor pianos when it comes to how they play and sound. People constantly make the mistake of buying a piano on "looks" rather than how it really plays and behaves as a piano. One of the brands that are not near as popular but have some attractive cabinets is the Kurzweil brand. Based on all my personal experience with their current line of pianos, I find that the Kurzweil piano sound/touch response, pedaling, and key action are erratic and uneven and/or are missing fundamental piano playing technology found in the major brands and come nowhere close in quality and authenticity to the pianos I have listed in this report. Also based on my years of personal experience with their digital piano products, the reliability of the electronics and availability of service to repair Kurzweil digital pianos has not been very good over the years.

Roland LX17

It's really best to stick with brands that are proven winners in overall piano performance, digital technology, and reliability and those brands are definitely Roland, Kawai, Casio, and Yamaha in the $3000-$7500+ price range. Just so you know, the top digital piano in each brand are the Roland LX708 polished ebony, Kawai CA98 polished ebony, the newer Yamaha CLP685 polished ebony, and the Casio Grand Hybrid GP-510, and they all retail for approx $7000 or more for the polished ebony cabinet models, except for the Casio-Bechstein GP-510 at $6000 retail. The more money you spend in each brand, the more you will typically get in terms of features, functions, piano sound realism, and key action authenticity as well as upgraded cabinet design and cabinet finish. However, the most important feature in any piano would be the key action and the way it moves & behaves. The best Yamaha Clavinova key action in my opinion is in the new CLP645.  With the Kawai brand their best key action comes in 3 different  piano models and styles (CA78, CA98, CS11) as well as being available in a wide selection of color/finish choice and price points among those models. With the Roland brand their best key actions comes in 2 different models (LX706 and LX708 as well as being available in a nice selection of color/finish choices and price points among those models. I think it is also important to say that Yamaha does produce a significantly upgraded and entirely different key action than the Clavinova series and it is designed only for their Yamaha AvantGrand digital pianos which not only includes the console style NU1X (sells for about $6600US) as I mentioned earlier which is much nicer to play than any of the Clavinova key actions, but also includes the top of the line N1X (left pic - sells for about $9000US), N2 (above left pic - sells for about $11,000), and N3X (sells for about $17,000US at discount price) which Yamaha refers to as Hybrid pianos and they come exclusively in beautiful polished ebony cabinets. However, the N1X/N2/N3X key action is an actual complete (without strings) more compact version of the famous Yamaha acoustic grand piano with all wooden key action and it does feel very good and is a pleasure to play. But...you have to really "pay to play" on one of the N series Hybrid models:). I have done a review of those models here on my blog. In my experienced opinion, depending on your playing skill level, even though some of the top models have very good key actions, having the best key action is may not be necessary because the key actions in the less expensive models ($1000-$2000) can be more than enough for many people who just want to play music recreationally for their own enjoyment.

In the final analysis, when it comes to key actions and piano sound, the ultimate buying decision for someone is quite subjective (and can be somewhat contusing) and is based mostly on a person's piano playing experience (or lack of it), their musical goals, as well as what you believe you can be satisfied with. Did you know that most good acoustic piano brands and models sound and feel different from each other? If that's true (and it is), then how can any digital piano actually sound and play like a real acoustic piano when there is no one real and perfect acoustic piano? Kind of confusing, isn't it? However, there are some naturally occurring organic acoustic piano elements in every good acoustic upright & grand piano which transcends brands and models and that is what digital piano shoppers should try to concentrate on when shopping for a digital piano instead of so-called piano perfection. It really has to do with musical and playing enjoyment so a digital piano does not have to be "perfect" for you to have that enjoyable piano playing experience.

Other variables that should be considered when shopping for one of these digital pianos is that everyone's hand and finger muscles as well as the way they hear sound frequencies are different and that will have a bearing on what someone will like in terms of key action and piano sound. I have talked with thousands of digital piano shoppers all over the world about this subject including my own students over the years, and although I find that most people would agree with my analysis and opinions of these various digital pianos with regard to key action and piano sound, there are others who may have a different viewpoint, but that does not mean they are wrong, For instance I have found that some people do not like the Roland piano sound as much as they do the Kawai or Yamaha piano sound and yet many people like the new Roland piano sound better and believe it is more expressive than either of the other two brands. Some manufacturers make a big point of talking about their all wood keys vs all plastic keys (with and without synthetic ivory keytops), or their key action feeling more like a grand piano and less like an upright. But I have been playing for years on good digital pianos with plastic keys that feel more like a good upright piano and have enjoyed the playing experience very much and still do. The Roland piano company, for instance, has a hybrid key of both wood and plastic unlike some Kawai or Yamaha models which have all-wood, and yet their pianos are very enjoyable to play because they use that hybrid combination of wood & plastic for more key stability and yet the wood helps projects vibrations into the key. When it comes to any one of these pianos I have talked about, I really don't think a digital piano shopper can make a wrong decision here, especially in this higher price range. But if you want a digital piano that will fit your musical desires and/or needs, then the differences in these pianos can really mean something. For me, I do have some personal preferences in piano sound and key action, along with pedaling realism, but I tend to keep that info at a minimum on my blog site because this is not about me, it is about you:).

I have played all of these new digital pianos many times and have done individual reviews on all of them, except for the Kawai pianos mentioned here. I will be doing that soon and when I do I will link those Kawai reviews from this blog post so you can get even more details from me on each model. You can also go to the manufacturer web sites to get more details, although those sites do try to "sell you" on their product...as they should:). No matter which brand you purchase, they are all solid, reliable brands which excellent factory warranties and good overall reputations. As with anything, people will lean one way or the other with regard to what they feel is important to them in a new digital piano within their price range. You could likely be happy on any of these new models but obviously there differences and you'll need to determine what fits you best.

UPDATE: The newest entry into the "premium digital piano market" is by an Italian company called Dexibell. The specific home furniture cabinet models that they have recently introduced into the US are called the H3 & H7 and in my opinion they are very impressive, especially the top of the line H7. The technology that Dexibell uses to get their piano sounds is very advanced to the point of surpassing even Roland digital pianos in my opinion along with Casio Hybrids. So why are the Dexibell digital pianos so good? Well, I believe it's the meticulous attention to detail that the Italians give to this series of pianos which utilizes digital piano sound technology in capturing the essence of what a real acoustic piano sounds like. Not only that but these pianos do other sophisticated things that other digital pianos just cannot touch including offering a variety of cabinet finishes and colors in a contemporary design. You'll need to read my review of the Dexibell VIVO series H3 & H7 to know for sure if this may be something you'll want to seriously consider. Dexibell VIVO H3 and H7 Review. 

If you want more info on new digital pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864 .

🎹 Yamaha CSP-170 & Yamaha CSP-150 Digital Piano with Smart Pianist technology / REVIEW / Jan 2020 / It was just a matter of time until someone out there (a piano company) thought "outside the box" and came up with a new digital piano that breaks all the boundaries of conventional thinking and creates a new digital piano category which is the first of its kind from a major manufacturer. The Yamaha piano company has two 2020 digital pianos called the CSP-150 ($3499US internet selling price in matteblack, $3999 in polished ebony) and the CSP-170 ($4699US internet selling price in matte black and $5299US in polished ebony). From the outside these two models look like they do nothing but play piano because there are not all the buttons, sliders, and display screens so commonly attributed to digital pianos. In other words these pianos only have a power button and volume control on the right side of the keyboard, and a function button on the left side of the keyboard, but nothing else beyond that. The CSP-170 & CSP-150 digital pianos look as minimalistic in cabinet design and function as a digital piano could possibly be and still be digital. But you cannot judge a book by its cover and in the advanced tech world we are all living in, looks can be deceiving. Sometimes a complex looking electronic device can look like it does a lot, but it may not. On the other hand something simplistic may look like it's very limited in what in can do but when you actually use it then you know it goes way beyond what you ever thought it could do for you, and such is the case with these new pianos. So when you look at two new models from the outside and notice there is only one button on the left side of the keyboard and one button and slider on the right side of the keyboard, don't be fooled because once you see what Yamaha has done that no other manufacturer of home digital pianos has yet to do, you will likely shake your head in disbelief and want to know more, and that is what I am about to discuss here in this review. So take a deep breath and keep on reading, you'll be glad you did:). *click on pics for larger images so you can see important visual details.


Over the years I have had a number of digital piano shoppers tell me that they wished there was a really good digital piano out there that did not cost "an arm and a leg" (somewhere under $5000) and yet had the ability to replicate a real piano as closely as possible and that it would look great, play great, sound great, and also have a variety of interactive fun and educational features for people of all ages & playing skill levels along with allowing more advanced musicians access to professional interactive music features that would stimulate their creativity...but still look as piano-like as possible. The problem with getting all of these very cool, very high quality interactive digital features (that many digital piano shoppers would love to have) is that until now all those features needed to be built into the piano itself with lots of physical buttons, big internal color touch screen, and an array of controls and sliders to navigate all the functions which cost a lot of money. Some pianos have added built-in color touch screens now but even that technology is not necessarily practical for a lot of users because the operating system for the touch screen is proprietary for that brand and is not what people are used to using on their regular tech devices like iPhones, iPads, Android devices, etc. When all of the technology is built directly into the digital piano, especially in a higher price range, then these things tend make a piano look like a cockpit of an airplane with unfamiliar controls, and that is not what most piano shoppers want on their pianos anymore, at least that's what I am seeing out there. People generally like and want new interactive technology in their devices, but they want the technology to be intuitive, easy to navigate, and familiar to operate, something you won't outgrow...and at a reasonable price.

So here's a big question: what if you could do away with all the buttons, wheels, sliders, large built in display screen, and most other hardware on those expensive interactive, technologically advanced expensive digital pianos and take all of those features that are in those pianos and stuff it into an iPad or (selected) Android tablet and operate every function and feature of your  piano (thousands of cool features) from your iPad/Android alone using the familiar software controls of your iPad iOS/Android device to operate your piano? Then you would have your iPad or Android color touch screen with all the familiar controls that you are used to having (for those that have an iPad or Andoid tablet) and be able to have total control and nearly unlimited amount of digital piano features for your piano that up until now have only been available on the more expensive digital pianos with all the hardware buttons and sliders. Wouldn't that kind of thing be awesome?:)...I think so:).

This is precisely what the new Yamaha CSP-150 & CSP-170 digital pianos are giving people; a way to have a more understated but attractive digital piano in their home or venue that looks like a piano instead of an electronic device but actually musically outperforms any other brand or model and is easier to use than the more expensive top digital technology pianos like the Yamaha Clavinova CVP pianos along with some of the other brands. Using an iPad (or iPhone) and proprietary Yamaha software that operates in an iOS app in cooperation with Apple company (and now also available with Andoid technology), these two new digital pianos are the kind of instruments in my opinion that the industry has needed as an alternative to the more "ornate and over produced" digital pianos of the past and even some current models. These hardware saturated digital pianos rely on an abundance of buttons, sliders, and screens packaged and built into a cabinet that can easily become outdated because technology keeps changing. Having it all built into the piano cabinet can sometimes make it more challenging and more difficult to keep up with and retain resale value as opposed to offering a good, solid piano which uses  external digital technology to control the piano and what it can do that can easily be tweaked, changed, and updated without affecting the piano itself, the resale value, or the need to buy a new piano to get new technology. What an interesting concept now brought to life by Yamaha:).

But as far as these actual pianos go, when you power up either the Yamaha CSP-150 or CSP-170, you get Yamaha's best grand piano sound taken directly from its 9' CFX concert grand which has a maximum 256-note polyphony along with natural organic resonances and tonal vibrations. The dynamic tonal range is smooth and very wide and there is a lot of music expression you can get out of these pianos when playing them. Yamaha has provided many internal features on the piano without the need of using an iPad or Android device which can be simply accessed by holding down the function button on the left side of the keyboard and then simultaneously touching a specific key (from a chart in the owners manual) on the keyboard that triggers a preset function or feature. In this way you can have a variety of instrument sounds, rhythms, styles, metronome, and other features at your fingertips (literally) without needing to connect to any external device. There 10 instrument sounds including the Yamaha and Bosendorfer grand piano tones, 10 orchestrated playalong songs including "my heart will go on" from the Titanic movie, 10 drum rhythm patterns & 10 style accompaniments including rock, jazz, Latin, etc, tempo speed adjustment for metronome and rhythms, 6 levels of reverb effects, 6 levels of key touch curve sensitivity, and a few other features. So just playing the piano allows you quick access to some other cool features that many digital pianos in this price range do not have.

But what really makes these pianos incredibly amazing (in my opinion) is their proprietary Yamaha iOS app for iPad/iPhone called Smart Pianist. This is where all the real excitement and power resides and how these relatively 'simple" pianos become monsters:). But before I talk about this very powerful Yamaha app, it is important to know that the CSP-150 piano is really a Yamaha Clavinova CLP-635 piano in terms of its GH3X plastic key action and internal 60 watt sound system being the same along with its cabinet design. The CSP-170 (below left pic) is essentially a Yamaha CLP-645 in terms of its upgraded NWX wood key action and cabinet design but with increased internal audio on the CSP-170 power offering 180 watts of power going into 4 speakers with the main speakers housed in their own acoustic chamber speaker box mounted just underneath the piano which produces a fuller, more resonate sound with improved bass reproduction. Although the CLP-645 speaker system is quite good offering 100 watts of power going into 4 speakers with no speaker box, the CSP-170 is noticeably upgraded with bigger, fuller sound. I personally like the wood key action of the CSP-170 much better than the firmer key movement on plastic key action of the CSP-150. I notice a difference in the natural key movement of the CSP-170 over the CSP-150 with the CSP-170 key action being somewhat lighter, smoother, and an action that works with you more than the other key action. But I would expect that in the CSP170 given the price difference in those two models. The pedaling on both instruments works quite adequately and each pedal does what it is supposed to do in allowing damper sustain with long decay time for all notes with the right pedal, sostenuto sustain for selected notes with the middle pedal, and soft pedal control with the left pedal.

The Yamaha iOS/Android Smart Pianist app applies to both CSP models in exactly the same way with the same features although the Andoid version of the "Smart Pianist" app does not apply or work with all Android devices. So the choice for shoppers is...what can you afford to pay (your budget?) and which key action and internal sound system of these two pianos will most appeal to you? In my opinion there is only one choice assuming you can spring for the extra money, and that choice is...the CSP-170. This is because of its superior key action and its beefier internal sound system that really brings out the tone of the piano sound along with the incredible musical features of the Smart Pianist app. If you hope to only buy a good digital piano one time then if you can, go the distance to the CSP-170. If you cannot reach for the CSP-170 in terms of your budget then the CSP-150 is certainly a very nice piano for many families as the piano itself goes and both models connect to the Smart Pianist app in the same way. Also, both piano models interact with the features of the Smart Pianist app in the same way and what's especially important is that you will likely be able to upgrade the Smart Pianist app features in the coming years without charge which helps prevents obsolescence that you would normally find in a "hardware driven" digital piano.

Now lets talk about this Yamaha Smart Pianist app and some of the impressive musical things it allows you to do whether you are a beginner, a serious piano student, a recreational player, or an advanced pianist who wants to add even more enjoyment to their music. First it is important to know that when connecting an iPad to the piano for a simultaneous MIDI and audio connection so that your piano can "talk to" the iPad and the app, you can plug in a special USB lightning audio cable (included) from the iPad lightning connector going to the piano audio core MIDI connector located on the right side of the music rack. This connection is quick, simple, and secure and is two way communication so that you can hear the music audio portion of your iPad along with being able to control the various interactive features of the Smart Pianist app like triggering different sounds, songs, and other features while playing the keyboard on the piano. There is a separate MIDI port  on the piano with the input connector located on the left side of the music rack so that you can connect other USB devices like a home computer to do other interactive musical things simultaneously. It's so much nicer to have use of a large iPad color touch screen and/or computer screen rather than rely on the piano itself to see functions through a much smaller built-in display screen like some other digital pianos have which also would not be as usable as the better interface on an iPad or computer. Controlling all the features and sounds of the Yamaha Smart Pianist through these devices for activating all the sounds, recording functions, sheet music functions, and playalong features is really fun and hearing them through the piano speaker system or through stereo headphones when plugged into the piano is just like all the functions are built in to the piano but they are actually in the Smart Pianist app.

So what interactive musical things does this proprietary Yamaha iOS/Android Smart Pianist app give you so that you will have more than just a digital piano and a few extra features? In other words...what makes the CSP-150 & CSP-170 so cool? The first thing most people want to with their new digital piano is to...you guessed it...play piano! But with the Yamaha Smart Pianist, you can change many things on the  acoustic piano sounds in these pianos beyond what they do and sound like from the Yamaha factory. Yamaha has a feature called the "Piano Room" and in this virtual Piano Room you can make changes to the piano sounds to personalize them in a way that could be even more pleasing to your ears and fingers. You do this all with an intuitive, easy to understand list of piano sound changes on the app along with large icons/pictures of the pianos so you can see what is happening in real time. You can change up to 10 Piano Room functions in hundreds of ways by just using your finger on the iPad touch screen that makes it fun so that the end result will be potentially hundreds of new custom piano tones which you can create. You can change the grand piano lid position, brightness of the sound, touch curve of the key touch, the room or venue the piano is playing in (Recital Hall, Concert Hall, Cathedral, etc)...along with the control of that room and its depth of natural reverb and acoustic properties, you can change the master tuning of the piano, the depth of the damper resonance, depth of string resonance, and even be able to tune and control volume for each individual note as opposed to all the notes at one time. Therefore if you feel one note is a bit "out of tune" for your ear or the volume is not quite right as compared to other notes, you can individually adjust each note to your own personal tastes. If you mess up during these individual settings and restore the piano sound back to what it was, then that is easy to do by a reset function in the Piano Room. So hopefully you get the idea and understand that the very nice Yamaha acoustic piano sounds that come built in to these 2 models can be taken much further through instant access and control of the unique Piano Room in the Smart Pianist app.

I've only just begun talking about this new Smart Pianist app so here's a big list of features that are part of this very extensive feature laden Yamaha app: You get access to a library of over 700 very high quality (HD) instrument sounds from additional acoustic pianos, electric pianos brass, woodwinds, guitars of every type, stringed instruments including the most realistic guitars, banjos, violins, harps saxophones, clarinets, trumpets, flutes, world instruments, and just about any other instrument you can think of. The authenticity and tonal reproduction of these instrument sounds are so good along with their detailed nuances that it's easy to think that you are hearing them "live." You can even layer 2 or more instrument sounds together at the same time along with being able to split the keyboard anywhere you want to assign one instrument sound to the left hand and another one to the right hand with intuitive controls that would make an iOS iPad user very happy. These are not "toy" instrument sounds but they are sophisticated recreations of the real thing and like nothing you have ever heard before on a consumer home digital piano. You can also use those instruments in song recordings, live play, accompaniment style play, layered, split, or just about any way you want to. Yes, I know that many people just want a digital piano to mainly play piano...but music is so much more than that and as a long time piano, guitar, keyboard, and organ teacher I can tell you first hand that the more exposure you and/or your children have to music technology, the better musician you and/or they can become. Playing piano is a worthy endeavor but if you can have built in features on these pianos that adds to your musical enjoyment and satisfaction, then I say...why not:).

The Smart Pianist app also has "Music Styles" so that you can have an interactive playing experience with a backup orchestra or band on your piano while playing your piano music. Just about any type of music styles you can think of is in the app including Jazz, Latin, Big Band, Swing, Hard rack, Classic Rock, Light Rock, Waltz, Blues, Country, Western, New Age, Alternative, Broadway, Disney, Motown, and everything in-between. When you select a Music Style from the Style library, whatever song you feel like playing on the piano keyboard, those piano notes will have a professional back up band or orchestra playing along with you at any tempo you choose. You can even access and control special interactive rhythm fills along with an introduction and endings to your song so they sound moire realistic. The styles themselves fill in the background with a band based on the chord you are playing and you play piano or any other instrument sound from the instrument sound library with your right hand and then you are the leader of your own personal band or orchestra and musical results are very exciting. I will say that the Yamaha CVP interactive music style models (especially the CVP-805) are much more adept at playing the rhythm music styles and offering much more in the way of realistic introductions and endings to your song, but the CVP models also cost quite a bit more money too. Perhaps someday Yamaha will upgrade its Smart Pianist app to offer more intros and endings on the CSP models. As a piano teacher for many years I know there are people who play piano and students taking lessons who may not care for or have not had the opportunity to know about these added musical features that interact with your playing. But the fact is that you can control those features to enhance your playing enjoyment in ways not possible in the past on conventional pianos, and all of it done from your iPad in real time. When you hear these Yamaha Smart Pianist interactive styles for yourself I think you might agree that it's all about playing music that makes you "feel good" and if this feature does that for you then that is what is truly important. At the end of the day music is all about feelings and personal expression and if you can gain more happiness from what these new pianos can do for you and/or your family, then that is what should really count.

One thing that I find that helps expand a person's musical ability and musical understanding is to be able to record themselves while they play along with being able to create more complex and engaging music. The Yamaha CSP-150 & CSP-170 Smart Pianist app offers these things with its ability to record your every note on one or both hands and then play them back in real time allowing you to slow the song down or even mute out left or right hand so you can analyse your piano practice and playing to get a better idea of what you really sound like. You control all aspects of your recording and playback from the intuitive recording/playback section of the app. You can also playalong with any recorded part live in real time like you would be playing along with your piano teacher of someone else. You can record your song either as a GENERAL MIDI song file or an audio wav file CD quality and save it on a USB flash drive and playback from the flash drive. You can also download General MIDI multi-track song files from the internet for full playback on the CSP models. To make things even more interesting you can learn to create full song arrangements with up to 16 different instruments from the Smart Pianist instrument library played and recorded one at a time and then played back simultaneously as one complete song arrangement just like you would hear from a band, orchestra, or other musicians playing together. You can control every instrument with regard to type, individual relative volumes, tempo, octaves, effects, and being able to mute any or all instruments during playback. I have done this type of song creation and recording many times and I can tell you that a person, regardless of piano playing skill level, can get a real sense of musical accomplishment when you create an entire score of music on your own and then hear it played back all at one time. You can editing your recordings, save them to digital memory, and also see the music on your iPad or Android device. Recording and playing back music is a very cool thing to do and it can either be very simple with a wav audio file 1-track piano recording all the way up to a full 16 instrument, 16-track musical arrangement of any song you like including writing your own music. You just may wind up with the next famous studio recorded song all done on your Smart Pianist app from playing one of these new CSP pianos:).

OK, so what else can this Smart Pianist app do? Well one of the most interesting things it does is something that just about everyone I know would like to have and no other piano offers this feature. You can take just about any iTune song (MP3 audio song file) from your iOS iTune library or Android audio songs and play it through the piano and use that very impressive speaker system as a place to hear your audio audio/iTunes song files in beautiful stereo sound. I have heard it and it really does sound good. What is even more impressive is that the Smart Pianist app can convert the audio playback of the iTune song to actual sheet music notation on the iPad so that you can following along with the song and actually play it from sheet music while even controlling the tempo and the transposed key. Imagine having sheet music displaying the notation to an iTune song and being able to play the piano along with the song. There are a number of built in famous, popular songs within the Smart Pianist app which display all the notation of those songs so there is a lot to play with already built in..Not only that but you can mute out different parts of the built in songs so that you can play the piano while controlling the accompaniment along with the right and left hand parts in different ways. If you do not read music then you can instead have the app translate the iTune song to a "chord chart" so that you can play along using chords that are shown in the correct order as the song is played. This is great if you play by ear, don't read music as I mentioned, want to play live guitar along with the song because guitar players use chords, or you do read sheet music but just want to play left hand chords and right hand melody. Given this new technology just came out in the Smart Pianist app, regular iTune/audio songs that you import into the Smart Pianist app will likely not show the treble clef/melody line at this point. The app may be "smart," but it still has some things to learn:) and the translation of melody lines from audio songs is still fairly difficult but I suspect Yamaha along with Apple (and conversion to Android) will be upgrading this app in the near future to be able to do these things along with other future improvements. There are over 400 built in songs in the Smart Pianist "song library" offering a huge musical variety of well known music and educational pieces that will give you access to instant song learning and playback that are very enjoyable for any age and playing skill level and work well for the piano. I believe people will be impressed by the instant music notation function and it will give you some musical tools which can be used in many ways for more immediate musical enjoyment. Also, having an up upgradable app certainly beats having to buy a whole new piano just to get the latest interactive features:)

But none of this would truly be complete without being able to sing along with your favorite song...right? Well...not only does the CSP-150 and CSP-170 allow you to plug in a microphone to the piano mic inputs to sing through the internal piano speakers, but the Smart Pianist app displays the words (lyrics) to many audio/iTunes songs so that that you can read the words and sing them while the song is playing, kind of like karaoke only better. Beyond that, you can add special vocal reverb effects to your voice to give you pro performance quality and play piano along with your singing and with the song that playing so you can experience and participate in a complete musical live performance. That's pretty cool, and also if the song is not in your singing range (too low or too high) then you can transpose the song into a different key to sing along in a vocal range that better suits your voice...wow! A lot of people enjoy singing along with their favorite song with or without playing an instrument and now all this can be done through the piano on your iPad in an easy to see, easy to read format that also allows you to control the volume of your voice so it mixes well with your playing. There are hundreds of songs you can get with lyrics and it's great fun for the entire family regardless of your age, musical ability, or singing ability. You can use this technology for schools, churches, parties, retirement centers, hospitals...you name it and this technology can satisfy a lot of musical needs and desires.

In addition to the lyrics feature and vocal mic connection to the piano and being able to control it, I know a lot of people who have always dreamed of singing with their favorite song but thought their voice was not good enough to do it, especially in "public." The Smart Pianist app also lets you hear the vocal tracks to the songs you choose so you can sing along to it and still hear the original voice on the song. However, when you think you are good enough to sing on your own without the original voice on your favorite iTune song, then the Smart Pianist app will allow you to cancel out or "mute" that voice track so that you become the exclusive singer of the song. Yamaha calls this feature a "Melody Suppressor" because it suppresses the melody or sing line. So as you become more confident about your voice and vocal abilities you will want to use this feature so that you can be the only voice on the song and sound like a pro:).

Ok so all that is very cool but there is still one more very impressive thing the vocal feature will do for you. If you are a singer in a band or orchestra and want other voices to harmonize with you then that harmonizing can really sound great and add to your singing and playing enjoyment in a big way. Since you are just one person singing through the mic to get harmony you would need other people to sing live with you, know the song, and be able to perfectly harmonize with your voice. Since this situation is not likely to happen anytime soon then if you want to take your singing dream even further, the Smart Pianist app provides an interactive vocal harmony feature when you sing. In other words, you can switch on the vocal harmony control and when you are singing then the Yamaha harmony feature on the Smart Pianist app will automatically and perfectly add harmony notes using your voice for those notes. So basically you will hear other people singing with you in a variety of harmonies that you can select from, and those harmonies are you! There are not 1, not 2, not 3, but 44 different harmonies you can choose from with the vocal harmonizer including duet, trio, open and close harmonies, 4 part, 5 part, jazz, and so many more. This takes singing to a whole new level so if you love to sing or have other people in your family (or friends) who do, or if you like to entertain, then this CSP-150 & CSP-170 vocal feature will give you even more musical enjoyment than you thought possible.

The Yamaha CSP-150 and CSP-170 both have a feature built into the piano themselves called "follow along" streaming lights. Streaming lights is a new and very impressive interactive feature that will identify the black & white keys in a visual way that you are supposed to play on the piano keyboard while playing along with built in songs in the Smart Pianist app. Yamaha currently has a variation of streaming lights built into other models they have and that function is called "lesson guide" using guide lamps just above the keys to indicate the keys to press down at the appropriate time while a song is playing back in that piano. Guide lamps are basically little lighted dots, one above each key and those dots light up. The Yamaha CVP series of Clavinova pianos has these more traditional light-up dots but those pianos are generally a lot more money than the CSP pianos and the light guide system is not near as cool or intuitive. Also, the streaming light function in the CSP pianos stream down above each key in a 4-step process so you know when that key (or keys) needs to be played. The new streaming lights are much easier to follow and give you that 4-step "countdown" during the light-stream so it is easier to play the correct key at the right time than with the convention light guide on the other models.

So...if you do not play piano at all or you just want to learn a song more quickly, the new CSP streaming lights can and will help you do that and you can even slow down the song to any tempo to learn the notes without the song jumping out ahead of you. Streaming light feature also has other things it can do and all of its features are controlled by the Yamaha Smart Pianist app on your iPad or Android device. You can take your favorite song in iTunes, see the notation, learn the chords, see the notes, follow the light streams (at different tempos) on the piano and even sing the lyrics and do this altogether while being able control how you use this system right from the app in a very intuitive way using familiar iPad/iPhone or Android controls. Music should be enjoyed by your family and friends in whatever way gets them involved, and based on my personal time playing and working with these new pianos and the Smart Pianist app, there's no way that you can't find something to really like them. Music, whether listening to or playing it, should generate an emotional feeling in you so you can express yourself and the CSP models do that like no other digital pianos can do in my opinion. There are videos of the streaming lights in action that you can see if you check out Youtube for demos on the CSP-150 and CSP-170.

It would be easy for me to continue talking about this Smart Pianist app as the list of things it can do goes on and on almost without end. But I believe the main functions and features that I have described so far should give you a clear idea of the musical potential of both the CSP-150 and CSP-170 so that you can enjoy playing music in almost any way that you chose to do. The piano does have the standard digital features that most all of the other digital pianos out there have including duet play, splitting the keyboard into 2 sounds, layering 2 any sounds together, using a digital metronome for teaching, practice, and focusing on tempo and timing while being able to just play the instrument as a piano. The CSP pianos also have all the connectivity that a person would need including the mic/line input as I mentioned before, dual stereo headphone inputs, auxiliary line input jack, audio output to connect to external speaker system if necessary (for church, school, outdoor event, etc), USB to device to connect external device to the piano (iPad, computer, etc), and standard MIDI connectors for MIDI in, out, and through to be used with older MIDI devices (keyboards, modules, etc). One more connection device that can work with these pianos is the optional wireless connector that Yamaha makes called the UDWL01. This WiFi system allows a MIDI connection from the piano to a wireless router so that you can connect your CSP piano in that way using the wireless adapter rather than a cable. I personally like a cable because that connection tends to be more immediate and secure. But for those people who want less cables plugged into their digital piano and device, then this would be the way to do that. This proprietary Yamaha WiFi adapter is the only one that will work for the piano and it will cost you on average about $90US. So it's not cheap and you have to rely on a good router and placement so that it will work well.

In the final analysis, the new Yamaha CSP-150 and CSP-170 digital pianos have what a lot of people have been looking for in this price range: impressive and more authentic looking piano cabinets in nice finishes (including bench) with very few buttons/sliders, no built-in user display screen in the piano to worry about, and a very satisfying piano sound, key action, and pedaling response, especially in the CSP-170. Then you take those basic piano fundamentals and combine them with cutting edge music technology offering literally thousands of digital musical options as I previously described, all controlled by a single Yamaha proprietary Smart Pianist app designed in conjunction with the Apple company for its famous iPad and the new conversion to include (many) Android devices as well. Then you have all the interactive music features you could ever want residing in an external device with a full color touch screen (your tablet and/or mobile device) instead of on and/or inside the piano. Yamaha also includes a full 5 year factory warranty for both parts & labor which is a sufficient amount of time and the Yamaha Clavinova digital pianos have proven to be very durable over many years. The digital piano has finally entered the age of personal interaction with a "monster" app on large color touch screen that can be updated with new features in the future or even be able to have potential "bugs" fixed like other apps do. Instead of relying solely on the piano itself  to provide all the interactive features built into it, you can now add just about whatever you want to your piano playing and musical enjoyment experience and you pay for it just one time...when you buy the piano. I suppose one could look at this and say that a person buying a CSP-150 would be paying about $1000 more than a Clavinova CLP-635 for the privilege and benefit of having the Yamaha Smart Pianist app than if he/she instead just bought the CLP-635 instead of the CSP150 since the CLP-635 is basically like the CSP-150 in terms of cabinet, speaker system, and piano sound, but without the app. There are a few other differences in those models but the app makes the biggest difference by far. Same thing comparing the CSP-170 to the Clavinova CLP-645 although the internal speaker system in the CSP-170 is nearly double the audio speaker power of the CLP-645.

If you have multiple people in your family who would be playing or learning to play piano, or you are a piano teacher or beginner through advanced student, a school, university, or church, or even a professional performer, there are so many features in these pianos and ways to use them, that in my opinion the new CSP-150 or CSP-170 are pianos which can fit almost anyone's musical desires including parents and their children who may want to go indifferent musical directions from each other and find that the Smart Pianist app would be able to accommodate a variety of musical goals and desires. If you play piano and just want to purchase a digital piano mainly for the sake of playing piano (just focusing on piano playing) then there probably are better options and for less money. But if you want a satisfying piano playing experience and some compelling interactive music features that can take you to the next level of music enjoyment and learning, then these pianos will make that happen for you. If you want to be entertained with songs and accompaniments then the Smart Pianist app does a tremendous job of that and you will enjoy it because everything sounds so real. If you want to write music, perform music, sing music, record music and create music, then all of that is available for these models. The app is free when you buy either a CSP-150 or CSP-170 but we all know nothing is really "free." But with the high quality music and operational technology that Yamaha in conjunction with Apple (along with Android technology) is providing through its Smart Pianist app, you otherwise would have had to spend way more money in a self-contained hardware driven digital piano than you would be in these new CSP pianos to get all that technology and it likely would not be upgradable either. So the question is...are the these new pianos worth the price of admission...and the answer as far as I am concerned is a definite yes. Are they the best digital pianos in terms of just playing piano in their price range?...maybe they are and maybe they aren't. There are other great brands out there including Roland, Casio, and Kawai to name a few that offer very good digital pianos in similar price ranges. But do those brands have anything like what the CSP's are offering in terms of connecting with an iOS/Android music app with almost unlimited educational and interactive music possibilities, especially in their price range?...the answer is definitely not. If you like what you see and hear when it comes to the new CSP pianos by Yamaha then I recommend you considering investing in one. Just be warned that when you get one of these pianos in your home and start playing on it, you may not get anything else done for awhile! 😁 BE SURE YOU CONTACT ME FIRST BEFORE MAKING ANY BUYING DECISIONS FROM ANYONE ON ANY BRANDS & MODELS...YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID.

- Smart Pianist Device Compatibility:Go to the following link on the Yamaha web site to see which model iOS and Android devices are compatible with the the CSP-150/170 models: Device compatibility Yamaha specification list for CSP Smart Pianist

*Take a look at the video below of the new Yamaha CSP150/170 and this should give you a much better idea of what these new "smart" digital pianos can do.  



If you want more info on new digital pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.

🎹 Best Digital Pianos Under $1000  GO HERE! Roland FP-30, Yamaha P-125, Casio PX-S3000, Kawai ES-110, Korg B2, Casio PX-S3000 REVIEW. Which one is best for YOU?

🎹 UPDATED REVIEW / Yamaha, Roland, Kawai, Casio, Suzuki, Korg, etc...which one is best and which one should you buy?! My name is Tim Praskins and I am a digital piano expert and have been teaching & playing on them for over 40 years (started teaching as a young teen:) and have taught 1000's of students during my extensive music career. I play acoustic concert grand pianos, digital pianos, and pro keyboards professionally (as well as play and teach guitar & organ) and do digital piano consultations for schools, churches, piano teachers, studios, and families all over the world to help you decide what piano might be best for you in your price range. There are some people out there who say they specialize in digital pianos orhave had some experience on them, but that does not necessarily mean they know what they are talking about because most of them don't. Although there are a few changes and/or additions in digital piano models for 2020, some of them are still the same as they were in 2019. When any new models or changes come up I will be sure to thoroughly try them out, examine them, and then review and post them on this blog so you can know more about them.

Erik Praskins

I do know what I am talking about when it comes to hundreds of different models of digital pianos now and in the past, and my older son Erik and I (Erik is also a very talented guy and knows his digital piano stuff) are willing to share that info with you at no charge and explain it on your level and give you free personal advice. I work with my son Erik in our own music studio and as I said, Erik is quite knowledgeable about digital pianos and likes to help answer people's piano questions. We do not have a retail store or warehouse and do not link you to Amazon sites trying to get you to buy a digital piano that you don't need or should not own. I am an experienced teacher & pro musician and offer digital piano advice without needing to "sell" pianos like other so-called reviewers try to do with Amazon links to digital pianos so they can make money regardless of how poor that digital piano may really be.  All my reviews are my opinions and done by myself  for the public at large.  If you want to know more about me and my work, please go to the following link: More about Tim Praskins and AZ Piano Reviews

Picking out a new digital piano can be a daunting task because there are so many brand, models, price ranges, and features. Rather than take your "best guess" and leave it to chance, do yourself a favor and contact me and I help you get through the maze of confusion so that you can make an informed decision on the new digital piano that would be the right one for your specific musical needs and budget. 

There are 5 brands of 88-key digital pianos that I recommend right now which, in my opinion, are quite good in the lower price range under $1000. Those brands are Yamaha, Casio, Korg, Roland, and Kawai. There are other name brands offered under $1000 including Kurzweil that you may see advertised out there, but at this point I really do not recommend them near as much as I do Casio, Yamaha, Kawai, Korg, and Roland for a number of reasons. Typically I don't recommend a brand or model if there are noticeable deficiencies in key action, piano sound realism, or pedaling as compared to a real acoustic piano and that is why some brands or models that you may see advertised on the internet are not recommended by me. It may not be necessary for you to spend more money (over $1000) on a digital piano, even if someone else (like a store salesperson or someone on the internet) says that you need to spend more money to get a proper piano. However, if you do have the budget to spend more than $1000 (up to $2000 or more), the quality of piano sound & key action reproduction in many of those models are very good and can be even more enjoyable to play, especially if you have a higher playing skill level or just want a piano that sounds and plays more like a real acoustic piano. *If you would like to learn about my recommendations for best digital pianos between $1000-$2000, go to my review of those pianos at the following link:New Digital Pianos between $1000-$2000

Casio now offers 10 models of piano type weighted key digital pianos to the general public under $1000 internet discount price including the basic but newer CDP-s350 ($549), the Privia PX-160 ($549), PX-S1000, ($649), PX-S3000 ($849) the CGP-700 ($849), the PX-360 ($899), PX-770 ($749) compact cabinet model, PX-780 ($899 internet discount price) compact cabinet model and the top of the line 2020 cabinet model PX-870 ($999 internet price). Casio also offers a Pro Digital Stage Piano called the PX-5S at $999 internet price which has no built-in speakers and is for people who want to perform on stage or create special music in a studio, etc, and will be using their own powered monitors or speakers, but want something a bit more flexible in terms of live instrument sound and effects along with controlling capabilities. Go here for my full PX5S review: Casio PX-5S Review. Finally, Casio has a top of the line model portable digital piano called the PX-560 ($1199 internet discount price) which is the first lightweight self-contained (with internal speakers and music rack) portable keyboard instrument to straddle the worlds of pro digital pianos, pro synthesizers, and home digital pianos all in one instrument. I have played this new model many times already and recently published a review of this very impressive instrument. Although it is sold on the internet for more than $1000, it is worth consideration if it is within your budget and you're looking for a feature packed portable digital piano.

Yamaha currently offers 5 models of 88-key digital pianos models under $1000 including the P-45 ($499 internet price), P-125 ($649 - left pic), DGX-660 at $799US, YDP-103 at $899 internet discount price, and the YDP-S34 at $999 internet discount price. I have reviewed all of the Yamaha models under $1000 with the exception of the P-125, DGX-660, and the YDP-S34, so stay tuned for my reviews on them coming soon, although I have played those pianos many times and you can always ask me about them. I do recommend all of the Yamaha's mentioned here, and although the least expensive Yamaha P-45 portable model is somewhat basic in what it can actually do, it's still a good beginner piano for those people who need to stay under $500 cost. Many of the digital pianos that Yamaha produces sell for over $2000 whereas most of the digital pianos produced by Casio and Korg sell for under $2000. So when it comes to Yamaha, especially in a furniture cabinet style, you'll need to spend a bit more money in some cases if you want better quality key action and sound, but it can be worth it. It just depends on the piano itself and what you actually get for the money. 

Korg B2

Korg offers 4 models under $1000US including the new B2 ($499 - stand & pedals $100 more), The next model is the SP-280 ($699), the new LP-180 ($699 internet price), and the LP-380 ($1099 internet price, just slightly above the $1000 price range). I like the LP-380 very much which has their upgraded key action although I do like the key action, dynamic range, and velocity sound response of the lower priced NH key action in the Korg B2, SP280, and LP180 as compared to other brands in this price range (although the regular piano sound itself is good). These are the most important aspects in picking out digital pianos. So the overall best piano options in the lower price range under $1000 are either the newer Yamaha, Casio, and Kawai pianos or the Korg LP-380 in my opinion. Some of the Yamaha & Casio pianos I recommend are portable so you would need to purchase an optional furniture style stand (or cheaper metal stand), pedals, and bench to make it more complete. But even that expense should not put you over (or much over) $1000 if that's where you need to be.

Kawai ES110 w/opt stand & pedals

Kawai offers 2 model under $1000 which is called the ES110 portable digital piano at $699 internet discount price (not including optional 3-pedal crossbar unit and furniture stand) and the new KDP70 furniture cabinet digital pianos $899 internet price. This is the only 2 models that the Kawai piano company has for under $1000 and I must say they are impressive. The ES110 hammer style weighted action and acoustic piano sound is excellent in its price range as is the new KDP70 which is basically a cabinet version of the ES110 but with fewer features. The ES110 is designed to be a lightweight portable piano replacement because of its minimalistic design and lack of some of the "bells & whistles" of other pianos have. But if you don't need or want much in the way of extra features and just want a satisfying piano playing experience in a low price range, the Kawai would be the one to pick. It is better overall in my opinion than the Casio PX-160, Yamaha P-125, and Roland FP30 as far as key action goes for a low priced portable digital piano. But the ES110 is also more money than the Casio PX-160 and just $50 more than the Yamaha P-125. But as they say, you don't get something for nothing in this world (unless you're the U.S. government:). Go to the following link  to read my ES110 review: Kawai ES110 Review and also check out my review of the KDP70 here: Kawai KDP70 review



Roland has 2 digital pianos with weighted key action for 2020 under $1000 and one of them is called the FP-30, which is Roland's first truly portable self-contained digital piano with piano weighted key action under $1000 ($699 internet selling price) and is offered in either satin black or satin white. I have played the FP-30 and was impressed with some of its abilities. A new Roland furniture style digital piano just came out and it is called the RP-102. This piano is based on the portable FP-30 model but it is in a more traditional furniture cabinet and is $999 internet selling price. The new RP-102 has some but not all of the features in the FP-30, so in reality the FP-30 is actually a more advanced digital piano than the new RP-102. The new RP-102 is Roland's 1st furniture cabinet digital piano selling for under $999 so they finally have something they can compete with against the "other guys" who already have models under $1000. Check out my RP102 review here: Roland RP102 Review

Adagio digital piano

All of these brands & models I mentioned here are the piano style weighted 88-key digital pianos, although the key action movement will be slightly different from one brand & model to another. They all have built-in speakers although the power & quality of the speaker system vary, and generally all of my recommended pianos are acceptable depending on your musical goals and experience. However, there are other brands and models out there in the lower price ranges that IDO NOT RECOMMENDbecause they are of much lower quality and do not play like a piano for student practice or recreational playing with regard to key action, piano sound, and pedaling. These pianos are what I call "off-brands" or lessor known brands and they include (but are not limited to) Adagio, Suzuki, Williams, Adams, Robson, GEWA, and Artesia, as well as any spring action (non-weighted/semi-weighted) digital pianos such as the Yamaha YPG-535, Kurzweil SP4-7, Yamaha Piagerro, etc. So be careful when looking for inexpensive pianos because the attractive cabinet or low price you see on the outside may not reflect what's actually on the inside. Artesia is one of those lesser known brands that you can find in the US at Costco. They are an example of pianos with a very nice cabinet and lots of cool digital features, but in most cases they have a fairly unrealistic piano reproduction in key action, sound, and pedaling, and that's one of the big reasons they are quite a bit less money...you get what you pay for so I recommend you stick with the well known brands as much as possible. It's interesting to note that I have seen some positive piano owner recommendations and reviews on popular music store and Amazon web sites for these "off-brand" pianos, but in my opinion these pianos are only a PSO's (piano shaped object) and other than cabinet design, do not resemble what an acoustic piano should play and sound like. If you have little experience playing real acoustic or digital pianos and purchase one of these off-brands, you may not discover or realize what you actually bought (how bad it is) until it's too late. Another example of a low priced 88-key digital instrument with poor piano playability is the Williams brand which is a private label brand made in China and belonging to the Guitar Center company and its affiliate stores of which there are many. Go to the following links to read my reviews on a couple of recent Williams models:
Williams Legato Review   Williams Allegro 2 Review

Artesia AP8 digital piano

Many of the off-brand digital pianos will create and foster bad playing habits in piano students because of the deficiencies in these pianos concerning their key actions, piano sound response, pedaling, and/or other aspects of piano playing. Nice attractive exterior cabinets in digital pianos do not always mean those digital pianos are good for playing music correctly...even at minimum standards. Just because a digital piano is attractive on the outside does not it good on the inside with regard to key action, sound, realism, electronics, reliability, etc. In fact, some of the more basic looking pianos for less money in the good recommended brands do a much better job than some of the more attractive deluxe furniture style cabinet brands in the off-brands such as Artesia (as I already mentioned) available at Costco US. You should never judge a piano by its appearance or even the hyped up sales & marketing info you get from a manufacturer. You just should not believe everything you read from a manufacturer because their goal is to sell you their piano so they often times exaggerate their claims of how good their pianos are...and I have seen this many times. So be careful.



With regard to beginner piano students and their music education, as a long time private & group piano & keyboard teacher, this is something I know a lot about. It is never too early or too late to start piano lessons and enter into the exciting & rewarding world of playing music. I teach and have taught thousands of students from 4 years old to 94 years old. Whether you play piano as a recreational hobby, or go on to do it professionally as many of my friends and some students have done, it's always a tremendous blessing for me to see people at any age enjoy the piano playing experience and bring music into their lives in a very personal way. The little girl in the left picture (she's my granddaughter:) is involved in piano lessons and she loves it whether she's playing on a big concert grand piano such as the Steinway 9' grand she is sitting at (above left pic), or whether it's at a digital piano utilizing iPad apps to further enhance the learning and playing experience. If you want important info on the best way to proceed as far as lessons and learning go as well wanting to be sure you're getting the right instrument for your needs and budget, please contact me and I'll be happy to answer your questions. Also, click on the links below to read my reviews on these pianos under 
$1000. 

Korg B2 Review (under $500)
Casio PX160 Review
Casio CGP700 Review

Casio PX360 Review
Casio PX780 Review
Casio PX770 Review
Casio PX870 Review
Casio PX5S Review 
*Korg SP170S Review
Korg SP280/LP380 Review
Yamaha P45 & P115 Review
Yamaha DGX650  Review
Kawai ES110 Review
*Artesia DP150e Review
*Williams Overture 2 Review
*Williams Rhapsody 2 Review
Yamaha YPG535 Review
*means not recommended

Of all the digital pianos out there under $1000 I would say overall my favorite cabinet piano under $1000 right now is the Casio Privia PX-870 at $999 internet discount price (left pic).This piano really surprised me for its low price after I played it because it has a nicely designed compact cabinet with the 3 built-in full function pedals and slide out key cover, and it had a pretty big sounding acoustic piano tone with a wide dynamic range. The key action has a 3-sensor key technology not normally found in less expensive cabinet digital pianos until you get above $1200 in other brands. The Casio PX-870 also has the synthetic ivory & ebony keys (normally found on pianos in higher price ranges), 256-note polyphony piano memory (which is a lot), half-damper recognition (a good feature for piano students and players), fairly realistic acoustic piano hammer (graded piano weighted) key action, direct USB output for instant connectivity with laptop and iPad (go to the following link to learn more about iPad apps: iPad Apps and learning piano), and some useful built-in educational features.

iPad app

There are some people who equate the name Casio and its lower prices with lower quality, and it is true that sometimes lower price can mean lower quality (especially in key action & piano sound) such as what I have experienced with the Williams, Artesia, and Suzuki digital pianos. When it comes to recognizable & respected brand names in the acoustic piano world, Yamaha & Kawai pianos have always been known to be in that recognized group and many pianists, piano teachers, churches, schools, and families do own Yamaha & Kawai acoustic pianos. But some competitive Yamaha & Kawai digital pianos right now cost more money than the new Casio pianos depending on the model. Casio actually is a respected Japanese technology company which has been in business approx 60 years (that's a very long time) having produced millions of electronic products including keyboards & digital pianos for about 30 years. Casio is not necessarily my favorite digital piano company because I don't actually have a favorite. Kawai, Roland, Yamaha, & Casio are all my favorites but each one does better in different price ranges and it also depends on your musical goals and budget as to which brand and model will be best for you.

In my opinion any of these name brand recommended pianos I mentioned under $1000 would be fun to own and play, but the Casio company has really outdone themselves with their new PX-870 furniture cabinet model at $999 internet price. This model is definitely a "home run," but even with all that being said, the Casio PX-870 still may not be the right instrument for you. There may be a better option depending on your particular needs & musical goals so contact me before you make a piano purchase anywhere and I will give you free expert advice. You may even want to spend a bit more than $1000 and there are some good options in that range as well. Go to the following link to read my review on the Casio PX-870: Casio PX-870 Review

IMPORTANT PUBLIC NOTICE ABOUT MY REVIEWS - Just so you know, there is no precise or impartial digital piano rating system (like stars, check marks, numbers, etc) as some people on the internet would have you believe...and that's why I don't do it. There are just too many variables. In fact there are some so-called "reviewers" out there who have no idea of what they are talking about, they say things that are just not true at all, they rate cheap keyboards along side of digital pianos which is ridiculous (keyboards are not digital pianos), and what they report is only so they can link you to an Amazon site to make THEM money if you buy something. These "reviewers" are as impartial as bees are to honey...in other words they will say things that gets you to buy a "recommended" piano off their Amazon web site links. If you see something like that then run away from those people as they are not there to help you, regardless of what they say. In fact, I have noticed that many of these "fake review sites"steal my content and then post a version of it on their web sites. I know this because they copy some of my blog review sentences would they would otherwise NEVER say and they could not have been able to test out many of the unique pianos that I have and then come up with the conclusions they state in their so-called reviews. It is true that imitation or downright coping is the sincerest form of flattery but unfortunately on those sites it is done solely to make money off of you without regard to what is actually true, and that does bother me!

I always recommend that you do your homework before you buy because as I said, ultimately any of these pianos may be a good choice for you. However there are definitely some models that offer more for the money depending on the price range you can be in, and if you would like my help in making your decision, please contact me as I do not charge for my advice and I do this as a labor of love:) 

***Check out my "TOP 10 "Biggest Bang For the Buck" Digital Pianos at the following link: TOP 10 "Biggest Bang For The Buck" Digital Pianos

***Click on the following link for my new, even more up-to-date review of 2020 Digital Pianos Under $1000: 2020 Digital Piano Report

If you want more info on these and other digital pianos and lower prices than internet, Amazon, Bundles, or store discounts in the USA, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call me direct at 602-571-1864

🎹 The Yamaha YDP-184 is the top model in the Yamaha Arius series digital pianos and borrows some of its nicer digital features including grand piano sound, internal speaker system, plastic piano weighted key action and user interface from the Yamaha Clavinova CLP-635. The YDP-184 is an impressive piano for its $2199 price although the new Kawai CA48 digital piano  for 2020 with its extra-long all wood piano key action out-plays the YDP-184 in our opinion, and for a bit less money too. 

UPDATED REVIEW - Yamaha Arius YDP-184 Digital Piano - Yamaha YDP184 is now the top of the line digital piano in the Arius series. The Yamaha Arius series has been out for many years in a number of models and has  been thought of as the little brother of the more expensive Yamaha Clavinova series digital pianos. However, Yamaha is known for being a leader in the piano industry, and for the 1st time as far as I know, they are offering some of their top Clavinova series technology in the lower price Arius series digital piano. The Arius pianos are much more widely available at internet & local stores than is the more exclusive upgraded Clavinova series so they have always been a bit easier to buy and more widely available.

The Yamaha YDP-184 ($2199US internet discount price) is an interesting model because what Yamaha has actually done is taken their popular Clavinova CLP-635 digital piano ($2699 internet discount price) and removed certain features and functions from that model and called it the YDP-184...it's really that simple to explain. So when comparing these two models, the YDP-184 has the same cabinet design as the CLP-635, but the YDP-184 is only available in the matte rosewood color. It has the same dimensions, the same internal speaker system, the same user interface display screen and basically the same functions, although as I mentioned, some of the very nice features/functions from the higher priced CLP-635 are missing in the in the YDP184, hence the lower price in the YDP-184 plus this model is not offered in a black cabinet which many people prefer. Speaking of lower price, the YDP-184 has the highest price for an Arius series model that I have ever seen before because usually the internet discount price of an Arius series piano rarely, if ever, goes above $1999 selling price. So to see the YDP-184 selling at discount for $2199US is a new price level bringing it up over than $2000 price range that many shoppers are looking to stay below. So is the YDP-184 worth it's selling price? The answer would probably be...yes:).

Just like in the the Clavinova CLP-635, the YDP-184 uses the same new Yamaha CFX grand piano sound technology whereby it combines sampling technology with some physical modeling technology allowing for a more natural, more dynamic, and more impressive acoustic piano sound. The CFX grand piano sound technology is offered throughout the the higher priced Clavinova series all the way up to and past the $6000 Clavinova CLP-685. So for the YDP184 to have that same piano sound is very impressive because it is more natural with a much larger dynamic tonal range and pedal sustain/decay time than ever before. The lower priced Arius models YDP-181, 163, and 143 don't come close to the YDP-184 so don't expect that out of them. They are much less money for a good reason because they use a lower quality piano sampling technology and in their price range the lower Arius models are fine but as I said, don't come close to competing with the YDP-184.

Yamaha CLP635 control panel

Although the YDP184 has the new Yamaha CFX grand piano sound technology, it does not have the new Vienna, Austria European Bosendorfer grand piano technology. The Bosendorfer grand pianos are handmade in Vienna, Austria and have been for hundreds of years and they are famous for a more mellow, sweeter, but yet dynamically alive piano tone that many pianists around the world prefer and like to play. Well, as it turns out, the Yamaha piano company purchased the Bosendorfer piano company a few years ago so now Yamaha can include that European sound technology (still made in Vienna, Austria) in some of their digital pianos. So there really are two distinct grand piano tones available in some Yamaha digital pianos...the Yamaha CFX grand piano and the Bosendorfer grand piano. Unfortunately the YDP184 does not offer the Bosdendorfer grand piano sound but the higher priced Clavinova CLP635 does offer it. Even if the only piano sound difference between the Clavinova CLP635 and the Arius YDP184 is with the the addition of the Vienna, Austria hand made $200,000 Bosendorfer grand piano sound on the CLP635, the extra $500 upgrade for the CLP635 would be more than worth the difference in my opinion to get that model. As you can see from the above picture on the left of the CLP635 control panel with the Bosendorfer button, the YDP184 would not have that button. Piano sound, dynamic tonal range, and piano sound expression are all very important aspects of playing the piano and enjoying the musical results. In terms of the Yamaha Japanese grand piano sound, you can definitely get that on the new YDP184 and it's impressive. But the upgraded Clavinova CLP635 with the European Bosendorfer piano sound is very beautiful and that sound is, for many people, what really helps differentiate this new YDP184 and the higher priced CLP635. Go to the following link to read my review on the CLP635: Yamaha CLP635 Review

Speaking of piano sound technology, to really get a dynamically responsive and rich piano sound, the digital piano would need to recreate the nuanced organic tones that come from the wood body of a real acoustic piano along with string vibrations, sympathetic resonances and tonal overtones plus being able to sample the original grand piano in such a way that the final result of that piano sound would not be artificial in tone, but instead would be more natural and organic. In the YDP184 and all the new Yamaha Clavinova pianos, Yamaha has accomplished this task by combining sampling technology with physical modeling technology (creating piano sounds in a computer using mathematical algorithms) in a way that allows for a fuller, more expressive piano sound whether you are playing staccato, legato, using lots of damper/sustain, playing single notes, multiple notes and chords at one time, or however you want to play. Brcause of this newer technology, this 2018 series YDP184 is far and away better than anything Yamaha has had in past years in digital pianos under $2500 and the natural tone of an acoustic piano is more noticeable than ever, so I give high praise for Yamaha being able to accomplish this and offer it in the Arius line of digital pianos.

But there are other feature differences between the two models besides the piano sound technology. One of those things is the key action and how it works. Basically the key actions in the Arius models including the YDP163, YDP181, and now the YDP184 all have the same key action "feel & weight" and they call that key action GH3. However, the key action on the Clavinova 600 series has the escapement feature when pressing down a key whereas the Arius series does not. The escapement feature in the key action is supposed to help reproduce the movement feel of a grand piano vs an upright piano when the keys are being pressed down and Yamaha calls that key action the GH3X...with the letter X standing for the escapement function. When you press down the key on a real grand piano then you are supposed to feel a slight notch or hesitation in the key movement when you get towards the bottom of the key travel. This is what you feel on a real grand piano, however that "feeling" on the Yamaha key action is just a simulation and not a very good one in my opinion. So even though the Clavinova CLP635 has this key action feature (escapement), in my opinion at the end of the day it really doesn't matter because the simulation just is not very realistic. The YDP184 does not have the escapement key action feature and that's OK. However, for all the Arius pianos as well as the Clavinova CLP625 and CLP635, the key down-weight (the amount of finger pressure it takes to press down the keys) feels a bit heavy to me and is not as enjoyable to play as some other brands and models in this price range or the higher priced Yamaha CLP645 with a wood key movement. The Yamaha GH3 3-sensor ivory feel key action in the YDP184 is fairly quiet, sturdy, does the job, and the simulated synthetic ivory keytops on the white keys feel good. But because of its extra, and in my opinion, unnecessarily firm down-weight heaviness, you may or may not enjoy this action as much as other key actions because of this firmer movement "feel." Some people will like it and others may not, but overall it is still a good solid key action and is definitely dynamically and tonally responsive...it may just get a bit fatiguing to play for longer periods of time, at least it does for some people.

Pedaling response is important on pianos and the YDP184 is no exception. All three pedals work nicely including damper/sustain, sostenuto, and soft pedal. The most important pedal by far is the right damper pedal which allows sustain to occur on the notes you are playing so the sound holds on longer and helps create a beautiful tone, especially when playing slower legato musical passages. Sustain ties together one note to the next and the better the piano sound of the sustained note the more expressive and full bodied your music will become. The sustained piano tones on the new YDP184 is a big advancement from previous models and far exceeds any of the other Arius models at this point. There are longer piano sustain-decay times coupled with good half-damper response allowing variations of sustain length of time that you hear with the piano sound before it fades out while holding the pedal down. These various improvements coupled with damper resonance effect offers the player and listener some bigger, bolder, and more obvious natural pedaling response for the right damper pedal as well as the left soft pedal. Overall Yamaha really has stepped up their game when it comes to a more natural piano sound when using the pedals, especially the right damper-sustain pedal. The pedals also feel good to press down and work well in that way just like they do in the higher priced Clavinova pianos. Whether you are a beginner or pro I think you'll appreciate the higher quality and authenticity of the pedaling experience.

OK...now it's time to talk about some of the cool things this model has inside of it. The first thing are all the instrument sounds with a total of 24 voices (aka: instrument sounds) which include 4 acoustic piano sounds including the main stereo Yamaha CFX Grand and 3 others along with the rest of the sounds which are non-acoustic piano sounds including harpsichord, stereo symphony strings, electric pianos, choirs, organs, guitar, etc. In the Clavinova series digital pianos there are a total of 36 instrument sounds with 10 of them being acoustic pianos. So the big difference in sounds between the YDP184 and the Clavinova CLP635 is that the CLP635 has 6 more acoustic pianos sounds than the YDP184 and those extra piano sounds include the Bosendorfer 9' Viennese Grand Piano which as I mentioned earlier, is a very beautiful piano tone. So there are more acoustic piano selections in the CLP635 although the 4 piano tones in the YDP184 are still very good and for many people may be more than enough. The other instrument sounds I mentioned are good but some are not spectacular in terms of authenticity. But that's OK, not everyone cares about the other instrument sounds as much, particularly ones that you would use as often:).

The control panel in the YDP184 is quite useful and works well. It is intuitive to use overall and located just to the right of the keyboard which gives the piano a more minimalist appearance as opposed to many buttons all over the piano. There are direct access buttons and controls that take you right to the function or feature and there are other features that take a few more button pushed or steps to activate, but overall this functional control panel is much better than in previous models and is pretty much the same as the control panels in the current Clavinova series (with the exception of the CLP625) but including the CLP635. This is the first time that Yamaha has included this upgraded user interface with its larger LCD screen in one of their Arius series pianos. Until now this control panel was only found in the higher priced Clavinova series.

With regard to the direct access buttons on the control panel to the left side of the keyboard, Yamaha includes separate buttons for the Yamaha CFX grand piano sound, the strings violins, the voice button which brings up all the instrument sound categories and tones, the dual/split button which allows instant layering of two sounds or being able to assign one sound for the left hand and a different sound for the hand, the "piano room" button which gives you direct access to some of the editing effects which can be applied to the piano sound like reverb, lid position, brilliance, etc so that you can customize the piano sounds if you want to. Another direct access button is a song/demo button so you can play the piano songs already in the piano (there are 50 of them) or play songs off a USB flash drive (250 song storage) along with built-in song demos in the YDP184, a record button that instantly allows you to record a song (in the MIDI format) you are playing, a start/stop button for the recording and playback, a button for direct access to the digital metronome which is a great help to students wanting to practice a song so that they can follow a metronome beat for the proper timing, a rhythm button which allows for a variety of drum patterns (20 of them) to be used for playalong to make playing your song more fun along with giving you real experience with playing along with percussion just like you would do if you were in a band playing Jazz, rock, Latin, etc along with a real drummer. There is even a tempo button to control the speed of the metronome or drum rhythms so you can easily set it to whatever speed (tempo) you need to practice or play your song. You can also navigate through the display menu screen using the up/down buttons and right/left buttons. So when it comes to user control and access to useful functions in this price range, the YDP184 does offer a practical way of enjoying these functions & features while remaining minimaltistic in appearance which is something that other digital pianos in this price range don't necessarily offer.

Some of the other features of the YDP184 include being able to have two students play the same song in the same octaves at the same time on the piano. This is called the "duo" function and is great for two people in the same family who are working on the same song at the same time and playing together which might be helpful and save time. This Duo feature is not to be confused with the "layer" feature which allows for combining 2 different sounds at the same time when you play the piano such as having piano & strings, organ & harpsichord, etc. Another way to use this Duo feature is for a teacher who is coming to your home to teach the student is for playing the same song together and the teacher wants to play along with the student at the same time playing the same notes...this is called "Duo" and the piano is digitally split into two 44-note portions which each portion sounding identical and in the same octaves. It's a cool thing to have but not one that is really practical unless you need it for the situations I mentioned.

Another cool feature that the YDP184 offers is the ability to record 16 separate tracks or instruments as a complete song. You can create and arrange a song and then record one instrument sound at a time up to 16 different sounds and then they all play back simultaneously as one complete song just like a recording studio. It lots of fun and can be great in learning to improvise, record in the multi-track platform, and be able to arrange music like the professionals can do. The YDP184 cannot record and playback General MIDI song files that are prominent on the internet and in other MIDI multi-track recording which a few other digital pianos in this price range are able to do. However, for the price, the recording features are pretty cool. I will say that there are shoppers who want to record an "audio" recording of their music and the YDP184 cannot do that. An audio recording feature is able to record the actual sound that you are playing on your piano and then you're able to save that recording on a USB flashdrive and burn it as a CD on your computer or share it with friends on their computers or even convert it to an MP3 iTune file to play on those kinds of devices. A MIDI file recording however can playback that sound with no problem on the piano but once you take your recording off the piano and transfer it to your computer or another device, then that recording won't sound like it did on the piano. That's because a MIDI recording uses the sounds in that device so it could only play back what sounds that device has in it which comes from its sound card such as what's in a computer.An audio recording on digital pianos is normally done as an audio wav file which is what a CD actually is. The CLP635 does have audio wav file CD quality recording which is a very nice feature, whereas the YDP184 does not.

As far as internal speaker system and connectivity in this model, there are two larger speakers going into 60 watts of total stereo audio power which gives the YDP184 plenty of volume for most homes, small churches, or small venues. Having only two speakers is generally fine but a 4-speaker system would have been better adding smaller tweeters to project high frequency in a more dynamic way, but this would also be true for the Clavinova CLP635 having the identical internal speaker system as in the YDP184. With regard to connectivity this new model offers standard MIDI input & output along with USB output to external device USB flash drive input for song storage from your recordings or playing music you have downloaded from the internet, audio output jacks for connection to external sound systems, stereo audio input to enable your external music devices (iPad, mobile phone, etc) to run their sound through the Yamaha internal speaker system which is a very useful thing to have, and lastly there are 2 stereo headphone jacks for private playing so that other people cannot hear what you are doing...always great when there are other people nearby who don't want to hear you play or practice, or maybe want to sleep you you feel like playing late at night:).

The Yamaha YDP184 cabinet is only offered in the matte dark rosewood finish which I mentioned earlier and the measurements are 58"x 37"x 18"(18" depth from wall) and it weighs in at approx 123 lbs. The YDP184 comes with a comfortable matching padded bench, built-in sliding key cover, nice supportive music rack where the sheet music would go, and the rosewood color does have some noticeable simulated grain in the finish so it does look nice. Also the piano cabinet does have a full privacy panel that covers the back of the piano so you can'r see through it and that is something most people like to have on their piano. I did want to mention the the higher priced Yamaha Clavinova CLP635 music rack has some music braces on the music rack so the sheet music cannot easily slip off the music holder and pages in a book can be made to stay open. Sometimes it's the little things that can make a big difference and the music braces is one of  those little things that adds value to any digital piano in my opinion.

So the bottom line is this: The Yamaha YDP184 is a fine piano for beginners thru advanced players in that it offers a very good piano playing experience for most people who want to be in its price range of $2199US internet discount price. It has enough "bell& whistles" and practical digital features as I have previously explained to satisfy a variety of playing skill levels along with a more realistic piano tone than ever before in a Yamaha Arius. But make no mistake about it...this piano is not a grand piano by any stretch of the imagination, and although its one main piano sound is sampled (recorded) from a real Yamaha grand piano, that does not make this YDP184 a grand piano because the key action in a real Yamaha grand is built and functions in a far different way than the all-plastic GH3X key action in this digital model. It is interesting to note that in Yamaha's on-line promotional description of the YDP184 on their main web site, Yamaha says the following: "It also features a three-sensor configuration, which accurately senses and interprets the behavior of the keyboard in order to provide a grand piano-style response and feel. The words they use to describe this new model as having a "grand piano-style response and feel"is, in my opinion, stretching the truth in a big way, but I am not surprised by statements like this because manufacturers in general seem to want people to believe that every digital piano out there can behave and play just like a real grand piano, which most of them don't. Oh well...just don't believe everything you read from the digital piano manufacturers because after all, they are trying to get you to buy their products...right? The truth is that the Yamaha YDP184 is a very competitive digital piano as compared to the other major brands in this price range including Roland, Casio, and Kawai, and you as the shopper should consider this model seriously while doing your shopping and research as well as the higher priced bigger brother model CLP635 at $2699US internet price, which also comes in more cabinet colors and finishes. Playing piano should ultimately bring fun and enjoyment to the lives of people who are playing and/or listening to it. It's all about how it makes you feel, and that's the real truth. Music is about touching your feelings deep within your soul and if the YDP184 does that for you, then buy it!

By the way, an excellent alternative to the YDP184 that I like very much is a newer model from the Kawai piano company called the CA48 home digital piano. It's slightly less money but provides a much more realistic key action movement and construction along with being in a minimalistic furniture cabinet that has traditional looks coupled with advanced technology which replicates the piano playing experience in a way that no other home digital piano does in this price range, It is available in both matte black and matte rosewood finishes, comes with a 5 year full warranty instead of the 3 year Yamaha warranty, and has the lighter "all-wood key" grand piano key action movement instead of the heavier upright piano key action made of plastic found in the Yamaha YDP184. Please read my detailed review of the Kawai CA48 and then let me know what you think: Kawai CA48 Review

If you want more info on new digital pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.

🎹 The Casio AP-270 digital piano for 2020 really offers a lot of compelling reasons to own it giving you 22 realistic instrument sounds along with a responsive piano key action and stereo Steinway piano sound. The AP-270 has a nice, sleek contemporary furniture cabinet with full length brass pedals and a minimalist appearance that many families are looking for.

🎹 UPDATED REVIEW - Casio is a well known world wide company which produces millions of great electronic products and they have been designing and building digital pianos for well over 40 years. The new AP-270 is part of a traditional furniture cabinet line of digital pianos called Celviano. It is the lowest price digital piano in the Celviano line at just $1049 discount internet price. It is available in 3 different matte finishes including matte black, matte walnut, and matte white. All finishes include a matching piano style padded bench. The new AP-270 has some very distinct upgrades over the previous old model AP-260 in a number of ways and yet the AP-270 is the same price as the previous AP-260 so it did not go up which is a very good thing. In this lower price range Casio has really outdone themselves in my opinion in producing a piano that offers a more natural and realistic piano playing experience than many other brands or models in this price range and that's really what Casio does well...give one of the the best bang for the buck digital pianos in a lower price range that many people can afford who are looking for a quality instrument which can be a good fit for beginners up to more advanced players.


What makes this Casio AP-270 model so good as compared to the previous model and other comparatively priced digital pianos? The list below are my top 7 reasons why this new model is so good for its low price.

1.Redesigned cabinet with less seams, smoother installation, more piano-like in appearance. Even the speakers under the piano have been resigned to be more "invisible" and less obvious to give the cabinet a more realistic look. Also, the AP-270 is not only available in an attractive satin black color but also medium simulated walnut finish which no other brand in this price range has in a furniture style cabinet.

2. The piano sound chip has been noticeably improved along with an exclusive stereo piano sound sample from a handmade $150,000 New York Steinway 9' grand piano. Up until now Casio and others have used sound samples from a variety of pianos including from Europe, but never from a real New York custom 9' concert grand. The new AP-270 is the only Casio piano made out of all models with this new Steinway piano sound and I can tell you first hand that it is the best piano sound for a traditional piano cabinet digital piano in this price range that I have ever heard. In my opinion this new piano sound sample beats the competitive Roland RP501R which sells for more more than this Casio. This custom New York Steinway sound is also much more authentic than the competitive Yamaha YDP-144 ($1099US internet price) with a fuller more resonate tone. Beyond that the New York Steinway sound has a a couple of variations to it which also sound great. I was very impressed when I played and heard this new piano sound and did not expect the AP-270 to sound as good as it did. Also when you use a good pair of stereo headphones the stereo Steinway piano sound is even better because you get to hear all the tonal nuances coming directly into your ears.

3.The sustain pedal and its ability to hold the piano sound out over time and then to have that sound decay and fade out fully and normally as compared to a real acoustic piano is very important to any intermediate to advanced pianist and that's where many of these digital pianos fall short. The previous Casio 200 series models were not capable of longer sustained piano tones because they did not have a memory chip that would allow that to happen. This time the new model has more than twice the realism in sustain/decay time of the piano tone along with the volume of the sustained piano sound to hold a more realistic level before fading out. I noticed this change from the previous model right away and for people that play piano at a higher level than beginner, this new upgrade will simply make your music sound better with a more organic natural tone like a real piano. With the half-damper pedaling for more natural piano sustain at different pedal depths and the improved damper resonance which gives the piano sound a more organic natural reverb (echo) response especially when playing on the high octave keys, the Casio AP-270 is much more advanced in these important ways

4.The Polyphony in this new piano has been increased from the previous 128-note polyphony to the new 192-note polyphony. This is considered piano processing power which enables the piano sound to be larger, fuller, and more resonate along with being able to play more complex music without notes dropping out or sustain time being too short. A number of cabinet digital pianos in this price range still have 128-note polyphony including all Roland digital pianos under $1500.

5.The AP-270 now has 22 separate instrument sounds which is an increase from the previous model and all of those sounds have been improved to be even more like the real thing including the electric pianos, harpsichords, organs, choirs, etc and as I mentioned earlier also the acoustic piano tones. It is interesting note there are now a total of 7 distinct acoustic piano sounds using a New York Steinway grand piano sound and a European grand piano sound which far more than the other brands in this price range. The main piano sounds are also easily accessible with buttons on the control panel. Most people want a variety of actual acoustic piano sounds rather than the non-piano sounds so this new Casio AP-270 delivers on this point.

6.The control panel of the new model has changed from having the buttons above the keys to having them on the left side of the keyboard. Casio did this to make the piano look more minimalist and give it a cleaner appearance with a bit less clutter. Fortunately Casio placed the names of the the sounds and additional functions above the keyboard so they are easy to find and this is done through with pressing one button and then using a specific key to trigger the feature. It's fairly easy to do and much easier than similar control panels in other brands because the features (sounds, effects, metronome, etc), are labeled on the new AP-270.

7.The tops of the keys are made of a synthetic ebony & ivory material to replicate the older real acoustic pianos from many years ago when ivory and ebony were legal to be made into piano keytops. Casio has been using this material on their keys for a number of years now but in this model Casio has redesigned and upgraded the "feel" of those key tops by changing and smoothing out the texture so that it feels more like actual ivory and ebony and I noticed this change right away when playing the keyboard. When you touch those keys the surface now feels better and is more natural to play. This is a relatively minor change for piano shoppers but a good one and shows that Casio is paying attention to the details as well as the big things.

The Casio AP-270 really does have many significant advantages in all aspects of this piano, but at the same time Casio has kept some nicer previous features and functions of the AP-260. This would include layering of two sounds together for simultaneous play such as string symphony and Steinway grand piano, as well as a split sound function allowing for an instrument sound on the left hand and a different instrument sound on the right hand. Other useful functions and features carried over to this model include transpose, an adjustable metronome for rhythm and timing training, and last but not least a 2-track MIDI recorder for left and right hand piano practice and playback. This 2-part recording system is something other digital pianos in this price range do not have and being able to record and playback your left and right hand separately is really useful for students. Most students need to practice and hear each hand one at a time, and for more advanced players, they are wanting to analyse their performance by listening to how each hand is doing one at a time and then played back together. You can also speed up or slow down the playback portion so that you can record the song at a slow speed and playback at normal speed or you can record at a normal speed but playback at a slower speed so you can better hear how you played and identify your mistakes better that way. The recorder does not have a way to offload songs onto something like a USB flashdrive like some other digital pianos can do. However the digital pianos that can do this either don't sound as good as the AP270 or are pianos that focus on having more "bells & whistles" and less focus on a more authentic piano playing experience. But for most people the recorder system on the AP270 is sufficient.

Key action movement and response is critically important n any digital piano and this where many brands and models fall short, especially in this lower price range. The AP-270 rises to the occasion offering a convincing graded and piano weighted key action playing experience with a good balanced key weight along with very nice key movement response. The key action is called "tri-sensor" which simply means that Casio has 3 electronic sensors under each key rather than 2 key sensors as found in the Yamaha YDP144 which is competitively priced. The 3rd key sensor normally allows for more accurate key repetition recognition when playing at faster speeds especially when repeating the same notes or doing trills, etc. At this price having a tri-sensor electronics under each key is a good thing and something that adds value to this model.

Piano tonal and volume dynamics is where piano playing "expression" comes in. When you are able to express yourself musically with many different tonal colors, then your musical comes alive and sounds more inspiring. This is only accomplished when the piano sound has a smooth wide range of tonal change as you play the key softly and then press on the key harder and harder and play more quickly or more slowly and you hear a variety of tonal and volume changes in the piano sound from more mellow all the way up to very bright with vibrating virtual strings depending on how expressive you want to be.

The Casio AP-270 has a unique song playalong feature called "Concert Play" which offers a library of classical music in the piano which were originally recorded as CD wav file audio recordings in a "live" session with actual real orchestra instruments. You can select from any song in the concert library and then you can play along with those songs using the AP-270 Steinway Concert Piano for the live sound. When you are playing back any of these orchestral songs you can also slow down the song playback speed so that it is easier to ply along, especially if you not know the song. The songs actually do sound very impressive and playing along with them is fun and it makes you sound better than you actually are:).

With a total of 22 individual natural instrument sounds, the AP-270 furniture cabinet model offers more than twice as many instrument sounds as its nearest competitor including 7 different individual acoustic piano sounds which is what most people are looking for. Accessing those sounds is pretty easy as they are listed right above the keys as opposed to other pianos that don't list them at all and you have to guess at what you are getting. The two main grand pianos sounds have their own dedicated buttons on the left side control panel for quick easy access. Adding to that advantage is the fact that Casio offers a 16 watt 2-speaker stereo sound system as compared other models with less power. For even more power and better room coverage for volume, there are digital pianos closer to $1500 with 40 watts of power going into 4 speakers which offer better bass response and more easily fill a large room, especially if you like to play really loud! One such piano is the Casio AP-470 at $1499 internet price and it definitely has a bigger better internal sound system but at a higher cost. So it just depends what you need and what you can afford to spend. As I mentioned earlier, when you use good stereo headphones then the Steinway piano sound sample is even more realistic because you hear all the tonal nuances coming directly into your ears. But even through its internal speaker system the piano sounds very nice in my opinion.

There are many more features in this AP-270 that I have not covered but they are less important although can be fun and useful depending on the playing skill level you are at and the type of music you will be playing. One of the more requested features these days is to have a USB output to an external device such as an iPad. The AP-270 is USB equipped and I use iPad in my teaching studio quite often and some of those iPad apps are really amazing. They can teach kids and adults some important musical fundamentals in an exciting visually pleasing way which helps people to learn to play more easily and many times more quickly while learning important aspects of music theory and live play. Combined with a good piano learning curriculum the iPad apps can be a great source of music education and enjoyment in a way that can stimulate you and or family members to want to play piano more often and with less resistance...especially fro kids who generally do not like to practice:). The Casio AP-270 can also work with Andoid apps, but iOS apps tend to offer some things you cannot get on Android products in terms of apps. If you want information on good useful apps that can work well for you, then please ask me.

Speaking of educational apps, Casio has just come out with their own extensive iOS and Android app for the AP-270 digital piano called Chordana Play which will, for the first time in the Casio company history, allow users of their newest digital pianos, including the AP-270, to control many of the most popular features in their new digital piano directly from a mobile or tablet device connected to the USB output of their digital piano. Until now on Casio digital pianos, controlling the sounds, built-in songs, and digital features such as layering, recording, etc had to be done from the piano control panel. Although this is a fairly intuitive process on Casio pianos overall for many of their functions, there are some features that are not as as intuitive to use and this is true for the other digital piano brands as well. So Casio has AP-270 features directly from your tablet or mobile device using the app's very cool user interface from your device touch screen along with other features in the app such as educational games, sheet music, and a number of other things that exist in Chordana Play. Having this new controller app along with what you can do on the piano without the app makes this new AP-270 fairly unbeatable in my opinion, especially given it's lower price at $1049.

So here's the bottom line; The AP-270 is a lower priced digital piano with higher priced features in an attractive smaller traditional furniture style cabinet with matching piano bench, sliding key cover, and full privacy panel with features that  focuses on the best piano playing experience possible in its price range. Dimensions and weight for this model are 56" wide x 17" deep x 32" tall and weighing in a just 81 lbs. The AP-270 does not have a lot of unnecessary bells & whistles so is great for families or players who mainly just want to play the piano and have the necessary elements in a piano to do so. With the improvements that Casio has made to this Celviano model as compared to the previous model and the current competition out there, there really is no other digital piano that comes close for near the $1000US price range in my opinion. On top of all that Casio offers by far the longest factory warranty of any brand out there in this price range (most are 3 years or less) so they must feel confident the AP270 will be sturdy and reliable for many years. The warranty includes 5 full years of parts & labor with in-home service...something that no other brand comes close to in this price range. The warranty alone makes this piano stand out among its competition.

So is there anything wrong with this instrument? No, not that I can find, especially considering its lower price and generous number of quality features which most people will enjoy. Yes, based on all my personal playing and teaching experience in the pro music world, I can always want a stronger, larger internal speaker system, USB flash drive input, audio inputs & outputs, audio recording, wireless capability, digital display screen, and/or other features, but then I would likely be paying more money too. Given that this new Casio AP-270 seems to have a lot of the things people are looking for in a traditional piano cabinet model in this lower price range at just $1049, I believe this will be a very popular model in the months and years ahead.
 
If you want more info on new digital pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.

The Roland FP-30 digital piano has 35 instrument sounds, 128 notes of maximum polyphony, 8 drum rhythm patterns, a 1-part MIDI player-recorder, all going through a stereo 22 watt internal speaker system housed in an attractive 31 lb cabinet. With piano weighted keys and a dynamic sound, the FP-30 may be the perfect portable digital piano for you whether you're a beginner, intermediate, or more advanced player.

🎹 Roland FP-30 Portable Digital Piano / UPDATED REVIEW Jan 2020 - The Roland company which has its world headquarters in Japan now offers a portable lightweight 88-key self contained digital piano in the under $700 price range to compete with the other top name (Japanese) brand portable digital pianos including Yamaha, Kawai, Casio, and Korg. Up until now the other brands have dominated this lower price range with their lightweight portable 88-key weighted action digital pianos. But the Roland FP-30 ($699 internet price), which is basically the portable version of the higher priced F-140R is good competition now against the other brands. This is because Roland has not had a smaller and lighter portable digital piano in this price range before with what I consider to be a higher quality acoustic piano style key action, piano sound, and pedaling. click on pics for larger views.

Roland has changed and improved nearly everything about this piano as compared to their previous models including the key action, key sensor system, piano sound, and pedaling which are the fundamentals in all pianos. Beyond that, the piano has the upgraded light-up translucent buttons taken from their discontinued FP50 which adds to the modern contemporary style of this piano and also makes it easier to see the buttons in darker places. But it's really all about the key action, piano sound, and pedaling over the the previous models which is what makes this model a good choice overall, but with a few exceptions as you will read about below.The key action in the FP-30 is more authentic and responsive than previous Roland models although this does not mean the FP-30 key action is the best one out there in this price range, but it does mean that for the Roland company, it's a very nice improvement over previous pianos.

The improved PHA4 "Standard" graded weighted piano key actionn in the FP30 is also in is from their higher priced F-140R model The keys have Roland's proprietary ivory & ebony feel keys which offers good looks, comfort, and sweat absorbing properties for those people who have sweaty hands & fingers:). The key action feels solid under the fingers, is balanced from left to right although the key action is noticeably firmer to press down than some other brands, and for some people they may feel the extra weight and slower key movement which can be a bit fatiguing to play after awhile. Roland also included an escapement feature in the key action which tries to simulate what grand piano keys feel like when being played very softly and slowly and feeling the slight hesitation pushing the keys down that you don't normally feel on an upright piano. However, the "escapement feature" in the FP-30 is not actually like a real grand piano and is much too subtle, so being without it would not be a problem at all in my opinion. The key action seems well built and the keys themselves are relatively quiet compared to past Roland key actions when moving up & down, but there is still a bit of clunking noise when you are playing the keys harder and more aggressively when the keys hit the bottom. Since key action is the #1 most important thing to consider when shopping for a piano of any type, I believe that overall this new FP-30 is competitive to some of the other name brands.

The 2nd most important consideration in shopping for a digital piano is the acoustic piano sound realism and expression. Roland uses what they call "SuperNATURAL" piano sound which is their way of saying that they have sampled a real grand piano using proprietary sound technology to capture a real piano sound.Capturing a real acoustic piano sound in a digital instrument is not an easy or inexpensive task. The more organic and natural the piano sound is including being stretch tuned by a professional piano tuner, the more expression and tonal characteristics you'll be able to get out of it. Expression and tonal dynamics with smooth incremental volume changes in the sound is the "key" to reproducing a quality piano which can be used for beginner to advanced players looking to get a piano they can grow in to instead of grow out of. In other words, when you play a piece of piano music, the sound is resonate with good clear tones and a wide dynamic tonal range from mellow to bright and soft to loud just by changing playing the keys softer or harder. In the FP-30, the piano sound is recorded from an acoustic grand piano and you'll be able to hear the string resonance (sympathetic) vibrations as well as what pianists refer to as "key off resonance" in the FP-30 piano sound. All of these things give the FP-30 a more organic nature to the piano sound than some other digital pianos. Many digital pianos in a variety of price ranges can sometimes sound antiseptic, digital, fake, and toy like. I found that overall the FP-30 had a nice natural quality to the piano sound from very soft (pianissimo) to very loud (fortissimo) with a noticeably good range of tonal colors which offers a great deal of sonic complexity. However, when playing the acoustic piano sounds on the FP-30, some of the notes exhibited an overly twangy metallic sound when playing harder with more force using more velocity when striking the keys. In a real piano, depending on the brand and model, some of the strings can also be a bit twangy or metallic sounding when striking the keys harder so this is not necessarily unusual and would be normal when the string is vibrating harder. But...this metallic, twangy sound is definitely overdone on many notes and may bother some ears out there so it just depends on the kind of piano sound you are looking for. There are three separate acoustic piano sounds on this piano but they are all fairly metallic sounding with regard to dynamic tonal changes when playing the keys with more force. There is a function on the piano that allows the brilliance or brightness of a sound to be reduced to make it more mellow, but this function still does not reduce the overall twangy nature of the piano sound when playing more fortissimo. When a person plays pop or contemporary music then the brighter, twangier sound may be good and even contribute to some authenticity. But for other types of music such as classical or ballads, it may not be as appreciated because a more rounded, mellower tone may be more appropriate. So if you are looking for a more "mellow," even, and less twangy type of piano sound along with a full responsive tone, then the new Kawai ES110 ($699 internet price) may be a better option so it just depends what is important to you. Roland also has a 3-sensor key action system allowing for good key repetition recognition along with their 128-note polyphony chip which is generally plenty of note memory. So there are definitely plenty of good features with regard to piano sound on the FP-30.

However, there is one important thing that all digital pianos should be able to do...and that is be able to be in tune and stay in tune regardless of the notes/chords you are playing. Regular pianos go out of tune often and constant tuning is needed and it's expensive. Some people are more sensitive to a piano being out of tune than others, and for better or for worse, I am one of those people. Unfortunately, to me, the FP-30 sounds out of tune to me in a specific way. Well, what I mean by that is the entire piano is not out of tune and actually most of it is in tune to my ears. However, there are some noticeable(at least they are to me) note/chord combinations/intervals that are not in tune with each other in my opinion. When a piano tuner tunes a real acoustic piano, they use a tuning method called "stretch tuning." Stretch tuning is a complex but popular method of piano tuning, but it basically means you are supposed to slightly overtune (or stretch) some of the higher strings and slightly undertune (stretch) some of the lower strings so that the piano sounds good across the 88 keys to account for a variety of harmonics and other tuning challenges. To do this the piano temperament in the piano needs to be set by the expert piano tuner, which means that a group of notes in the center of the piano are tuned in a certain way and then used as a reference to tune the rest of the strings in a real piano. Without the proper temperament being set by the tuner, some strings in the rest of the piano can become somewhat out-of-tune (sharp or flat) with other strings in combination with the stretch tuning method. A good, proper stretch tune can make the piano sound even better than it would otherwise be and add "color" and more "expression" to the overall piano sound. But whoever originally tuned the piano sound (sampled from a real piano) in the FP-30 could have done a better job in my opinion. Although I have a good ear when it comes to instruments being in tune or not, I am not a piano tuner so I asked an experienced independent piano tuner to check the Roland piano. He examined it and in his opinion agrees with my finding...the temperament was, overall, not set correctly, at least not in a way that is pleasing to some ears including mine. By the way, if you did not understand what I just said...don't worry about it. All you need to know is that in my opinion, the FP30 is out-of-tune (it is to me) when playing certain notes (2,3, or more) together, especially when playing more slowly with certain note combinations.

The out-of-tune tuning issue on the FP-30 is primarily about the relationship between notes in the bass section and the middle to upper octaves and it definitely sounds like there are note and chord combinations which are noticeably sharp on the upper notes of the chord combinations and not pleasant to my ears and some other people's ears who have also heard this. Just to be clear, I have been around acoustic and digital pianos for well over 40 years as well as having been around expert piano tuners who tune concert grand pianos. There comes a point where  too much stretch is, well, just too much., and on the Roland FP-30 there is no way to reduce the sharp notes or to turn off the stretch tuning or even to change to a different temperament. If I could change the temperament tuning then this may help the situation. I do not find this same issue on comparable Kawai, Yamaha, or Casio digital pianos in this same price range, just the Roland FP-30. It also depends on the style of music you play and the specific notes you are playing as well. But when I play digital pianos I tend to play many different notes, many styles of music, and am sensitive to notes that are noticeably sharp, and unfortunately the FP-30 is that way in my opinion. I also play and teach guitar (I own many fine guitars) and have done that for many years and understand guitar tunings, how to tune them (I tune them quite often), and the various harmonics and overtones involved, and guitars can have the same issues if you're not very careful. When tuners tune real pianos, most of them use industry standard electronic tuning devices such as Peterson or Sanderson tuners (above left pics) that visually and electronically show how far sharp or flat a note is in relationship to another note so that mistakes or over/under-tuning can be avoided as much as possible. These digital tuners also measure how the notes correspond to certain stretch tunings and how far flat or sharp they may be. Other tuner/technicians use professional tuning apps on their mobile device which are quite advanced in technology. So with regard to the FP-30, at the very least, Roland could have given it the ability to modify or turn off the piano string stretch function as other digital pianos have so that tuning issues like what I described could be minimized or eliminated. In other words, give the user some control over the tunings and then all would be good.

On top of that, another "out-of-tune" issue is when a piano sound and another non-piano sound (like strings, electric piano, choir, etc) are layered together (played at the same time on the same key), those two sounds are out of tune with each other when playing certain notes.This is because the non-piano sound (strings) does not have stretch tuning (stretch tuning is piano only) and the piano sound is stretched. All of this is just a way to say, if you want all of the notes to be in tune when two instrument sounds are played/layered together (piano and a second non-piano tone), then the FP-30 may disappoint you on certain note combinations. I definitely hear this sharp (out-of-tune) problem clearly and the piano sound is sharp against the non piano sound (strings, etc) when just a single key is played with 2 sounds layered together. If the tuning issue I am talking about was only very slightly out of tune when playing multiple keys or one key, (this is typical of stretch tuning method) then I would not bring it up and actually all would be good and the overall piano tuning would be quite nice. But this tuning anomaly is noticeably (sharp) to my ears so it is definitely worth mentioning. I will say that for some people who don't play well, don't understand when a piano is actually "in tune" or out of tune when playing notes, don't layer two sounds together on the FP-30, or have an acoustic piano that they play which normally goes out-of-tune, then they may not notice this FP-30 tuning issue at all and you will be just fine. But for other people who have either very good pitch, have played on good, well tuned (properly stretched) acoustic pianos, or are more intermediate to advanced players who play nicely tuned pianos, then they may (or may not) be unhappy with the FP-30 with regard to the tuning issue I have mentioned here. Actually, because various strings in acoustic pianos regularly go out of tune because of humidity & temperature changes, a lot of good pianists get used to hearing their pianos become a bit out of tune, so they don't complain and just live with it until they get their piano tuned up again....but it does not mean they like it:). With regard to the FP-30, playing octaves on it is just fine and perfectly in tune and many other intervals and note combinations have no tuning problems. But for me, just having a few poorly tuned (or over-stretched) intervals or note combinations is bothersome and very distracting. If there was a way to turn off or modify the stretch tuning feature then, as I mentioned earlier, this would take care of that issue...but I see no way to do that which means the FP-30 will be permanently "out of tune" (or sharp) on different notes, and for me...I do not like a piano to be noticeably "out of tune" (sharp or flat). It prevents me from really enjoying my music. It's like fingernails on a chalkboard...they do not go together well. On acoustic pianos, when some strings are poorly stretched or out of tune, you can just get them re-tuned assuming the strings and tuning pins are in good shape. But on a digital piano you are at the mercy of the original recorded sound unless there are special parameters that allow for individual note tuning or stretch/temperament changes, which unfortunately are not available for the FP-30.

Pedaling on a piano is the "secret sauce" of any music in my opinion because without good pedaling and sustain decay & volume time (when the sound fades out while holding down the sustain pedal), the music would not sound as real and can be choppy at best. So when it comes to pedaling technology and the electronics associated with it, this is an area not to be overlooked in my opinion, even in this low price range. The Roland FP-30 is very good with its pedaling and has longer sustain/decay times than many other brands and it's noticeable, especially in the middle to upper octaves of the keyboard where you also hear the pedal resonance reproduction. So when you hold the sustain pedal down after playing one or more notes, the sound sustains out very nicely and helps the music sound more beautiful and alive. For me personally, this is an essential part of piano playing but won't typically effect a beginner student or player. A beginner is learning other things before they ever get to the pedal(s) so pedaling realism is not important until later on. But when you are playing at a higher skill level, then all this extra pedaling "stuff" does make a real difference. Most name brand digital pianos do a pretty good job of pedaling in this price range but Roland has the ability for what they call "continuous detection" pedaling which allows incremental changes in the amount of sustain you get when you press the pedal down or let it up at different positions. Many pianos just have the "on & off" pedaling which is a basic sustain function on digital pianos and not something that regular pianos have. On the Casio portable pianos for example, using any single portable pedal only has the basic on-off feature. Kurzweil pianos only offer the basic on-off function regardless of what pedals you choose, so those pianos are very limited. The single piano pedal (which is a small but nice square size) included with the FP-30 does not trigger the "continuous detection" pedaling. However you can purchase the optional upgraded Roland DP10 full size piano type pedal for another $35 which does trigger Roland's full continuous detection pedal function for complete pedal sustain recognition. Also, Roland offers a matching optional compact FP-30 furniture style stand a triple pedal bar for a more permanent setting which is another $175 for both pieces and the triple pedal setup also triggers the damper pedal continuous detection sustain feature as well as soft pedal continuous detection. I believe most people who buy this FP30 piano will likely want the optional full size DP10 continuous detection pedal (at some point) if you are a more intermediate to advanced student or player. The single pedal that comes with the piano is still OK for other musical applications.

So what else can the new FP-30 do? Well...it can do a lot and definitely keep up with other portable digital pianos in this price range (under $700). It has 35 instrument sounds accessible from panel sound category buttons named Piano, Electric Piano, and Other. Within the categories are 6 acoustic piano sounds or sound combinations, 7 electric piano sounds, and 22 non piano instrument sounds in the "Others" button. The 3 piano tones are colorful with a lot of dynamic range and the electric pianos are also good. However, there is no separate "chorus effect" for the electric pianos and this can be an important effect to make some of the vintage electrics sound much more authentic. Oh well, I guess you can't have everything:). The "other tones" such as strings, choir, guitars, organs, harpsichord, synth, pad, etc include a variety of instruments which are quite realistic and fun to have. The way you access those 35 tones is by holding the category button you want while pressing a specific key on the keyboard which selects the sound. Once you do that then you can play that sound on the keyboard. Although that process if fairly fast, other than looking in the owners manual for the sound position on the keyboard that you want, you would need to memorize the key to press for the sound that you want. There is no LED or LCD display screen on the control panel so there is no way to see what sound is actually being used. I was told that Roland may be coming out with an iPad app connected via Bluetooth on the FP-30 which will display all 35 instrument sounds on the iPad touch screen for easier viewing and selection. However, we'll have to wait and see if this app will actually come out or not. It certainly would be helpful not only for the 35 instrument sounds, but also for seeing other functions too. Without an app for a connected Tablet, the sound selection process is somewhat cryptic because there is no user display screen. I don't believe adding a small LED display would have cost much money and doing so would have helped the user immensely in being able to better select functions and features that are otherwise more difficult to find. This piano really does offer a lot of cool features but without a nice little display screen to more easily find and use them, it is disappointing.

The FP-30 can also split any two sounds with one on the left hand and one on the right hand which can be useful in a number of ways depending on the music you want to play, as well as layer any two sounds together so they can be played together on the keyboard. Most digital pianos can do this but it is easy to do on the FP-30 and sounds great when used in an appropriate way. As an example, you can layer acoustic piano and strings, harpsichord and organ, or electric piano and synth. You can also adjust the relative volume between the 2 split or layered sounds so that the volume of the sound combinations are balanced well. There is also a built-in "drum machine" which can play 8 different rhythms including Rock, Jazz, Latin, and other beats. Having a drum machine to use with your songs is a really nice feature when learning different rhythms or playing along with a drummer to help with your timing, or just make you sound better than you really are:). You have full control over the tempo or speed of that rhythm and can adjust it easily from panel buttons faster or slower. I happen to enjoy playing along with good drum rhythm patterns (or real drummer) and I encourage students to do the same thing. The FP-30 also has an adjustable digital metronome as well and that feature is also very helpful for students and players learning to play a new song. But the actual drum rhythms which are accessible from holding a panel button and then accessing the specific drum rhythms you want by touching a specific key on the keyboard, go a step further than just having a simple metronome by allowing someone to have actual percussion accompaniment experience. This can be a valuable asset to have if you should progress in your music to become an accompanist, playing in a school band, or are playing professionally out at a venue somewhere. However, once again, you need to look in the owners manual to find which key selects the drum pattern or feature that you want and you would need to memorize these key positions so that you don't always have to look in the manual.

Other usable and sought after features include being able to transpose the key you are in up or down and the FP-30 can do this for one complete octave. Again, you would need to hold down a panel function button and then press a specific keyboard key to access the new key, but this is also true of other many other digital pianos in this price range that have transpose functions. It's not the easiest way of doing it, but it's definitely better than nothing. The FP-30 also allows the user to have both adjustable ambience effects (reverb) and adjustable brightness control so that you can make the overall sound of the piano more mellow or more bright depending on what your ear likes to hear. The FP-30 has 5 levels of key touch adjustment from easy to hard so depending on how you like to play the keys, the touch sensitivity can be adjusted to your taste. Another feature that can be nice to have for 2 students (or teacher-student) who would like to practice at the same time is called "Twin Piano." This feature electronically splits the 88 keys into two identical 44-note keyboards which are tuned and play the same as each other. In other words, the bass section becomes the same as the treble section so that when 2 people need to play the same thing, as long as they can do it within a 44-note range then they can play and practice together. This is a practical function but not something you would need if it were just one person playing or practicing at a time on a regular basis. Again, to select these features you would need to know precisely which key of the 88 keys on the piano to select to activate the features and you would need to study the keyboard chart in the owners manual to know which key needs to be pressed.

Almost all digital pianos these days have the ability to record what you are playing and the FP-30 is no exception. It has a 1-track MIDI recorder to record and save one song (maximum) at a time and then be able to play it back. This is a valuable musical tool because the student can hear what they played and be able to know how it actually sounded, and I use this feature often in my piano teaching studio. There are digital pianos with the ability to record 2 separate tracks (left & right hand separately) which I like better and wished the FP-30 also had, but having one track is usually enough for most people. One of the upsides of the FP-30 MIDI recording feature is that the recording can be saved on a USB flashdrive which you insert in the back of the piano. In this way you can build up a library of songs rather than lose them or only be able to store a limited number in the piano. Beyond the MIDI recording and playback, the FP-30 does something very cool which the portable Casio PX-160 ($549US), Yamaha P-125 ($649), and Kawai ES110 ($699) cannot do. The Roland FP-30 has the ability to playback full multitrack General MIDI (GM2/GS) song files as well as CD audio wav files through a USB flashdrive. This allows unlimited access to literally thousands of songs on the internet for full General MIDI song files or music from your CD library to be played back on the FP-30 so that you can play piano along with the songs, and the playback music does sound great. You can even adjust the tempo of any MIDI designated song to be able to play it back slowly to learn the song at your own speed. The only down side to the song playback mode is that you cannot see song titles or song numbers because there is no display screen on the piano as I mentioned earlier. Ultimately the more features a piano has, the more important it becomes to have a display screen in the piano so you can see what's going on. In my opinion the FP-30 should have had one in it, especially for song titles and other recording/playback features and for me, the more info I can see right on the piano, the better and quicker I can access and operate the functions.

The internal speaker system on the FP-30 is rated at 11 watts per side in stereo for a total of 22 watts of power going through 2 good speakers in a separate sound chamber inside in the piano which is unusual to find in this price range. The internal speaker system was surprising full and loud and really puts out a good volume especially as compared to other portable digital pianos under $700 such as the Yamaha P-125 and Kawai ES-110 each with a total of 14 watts of power and the Casio PX-160 and PX-360 each with a total of 16 watts of power. However it should be noted that lower power does not necessarily mean lower volume because the type of internal speakers being used and the quality of the amplifier circuitry does make a difference, so the volume and fullness of the piano sound even on 14 & 16 watt digital pianos, like the ones I just mentioned, are still very impressive. Even though the FP-30 puts out a maximum of 22 watts of power, it only consumes 8 watts of power when played at about medium or half volume. As you raise the volume of any digital piano it will consume more energy. The sound from the internal speaker system will definitely fill up a room and has good bass response too.

As far as connectivity in the FP-30, other than USB output to computer & Tablet along with USB flashdrive input which are very nice features which I previously mentioned, the FP-30 also has 2 headphone jacks with one being a mini jack and the other a 1/4" headphone jack. If you want to connect to an external sound system you would need to do that through the 1/4" stereo headphone jack. Unfortunately there are no direct line outputs to connect with external speaker systems like there are on the Casio PX-160 ($549 internet price) and Yamaha P125 ($649 internet price) portable digital pianos. I personally much prefer separate line outputs to external speakers because I really don't want to connect with the headphone jack as it is not normally as efficient and the headphone jacks are typically on or near the front of the piano as opposed to line out jacks normally being on the back of the piano where they should be. The internal speaker system is good enough overall if you are playing it at home or in a smaller room so that you definitely don't need to connect to external speakers in those situations. Another useful connector that is not on the FP-30 is an audio input jack. This is helpful to connecting to external audio devices and running the sound through the piano such as from an iPad, Android, CD player, computer, iPod, etc. I will say that the Casio PX-160, Yamaha P-125, and Kawai ES110 do not have input jacks either so Roland is definitely not alone in this way, but it would have been well worth it in my opinion. Casio does have both line out and audio input jacks in their new CGP-700 ($849 internet discount price) which is an impressive portable piano but also a bit more money than the other ones I've mentioned, but it does include a furniture stand at that price with a built-in 20 watt stereo speaker system that gives the entire piano about 40 watts of power.

A very unique FP-30 feature in this low priced portable digital piano is the addition of Bluetooth (wireless) MIDI connection with iPad or Android MIDI apps and also with specific apps which allow for downloading and accessing sheet music on your tablet device and then being able to automatically see & turn the digital music pages with a foot pedal on the piano using the optional triple pedal bar connected to the optional furniture stand. Bluetooth MIDI is very cool because then you do not have to use a USB cable to connect the iPad/Tablet to the piano USB output. However since there is no Bluetooth audio in this model, you cannot hear the audio (music, voice, etc) coming from an external device into the piano speakers. You would have to connect the audio of the iPad/Android app or computer to an external speaker by using a cable from the tablet to the external speaker. With the advent of inexpensive Bluetooth speakers these days (I have 2 of them in my studio) you can always hear the audio portion of the app through a Bluetooth (wireless) speaker which is a good thing because the built-in small speakers in an iPad or Android usually aren't so good when it comes to reproducing a full rich stereo sound. So the Bluetooth connectivity can be useful if you take advantage of it but I would like to have seen the inclusion of Bluetooth audio as well, especially being able to hear it when using headphones in the piano.

Overall this new Roland FP-30 is a welcome addition in this price range and I consider it to be a worthy competitor to the other major brands especially in the area of key action, piano sound authenticity, and pedaling function.When it comes to the fundamentals of piano playing, the FP-30 should be a definite consideration in my opinion for someone wanting a piano which focuses on the piano playing experience. The additional features in this model are all good including auto power off which turns the piano off after the it has been on and not played for awhile along with panel lock which prevents the features in the settings you did from being accidentally changed by someone touching the buttons. The cabinet is lightweight (31 lbs), easy to carry (51"x 12" deep x 6" high) looks very attractive in either a well built satin black or satin white cabinet which includes a large and supportive music rack, and has the ability to do many fun things. Of course, the FP-30 does not have a built in key cover so the keys are always exposed, although you can buy a fitted vinyl or cloth cover to put over the keyboard. But this is true of just about all the portable digital pianos. In my opinion, the FP-30 is a very good piano but it is not a great piano only because of the sharp "stretch tuning" to my ears, having no audio outputs which requires using the stereo headphone jack for an output, and having no display screen to more intuitively operate the piano functions. I also forgot to mention earlier that unfortunately the FP-30 has somewhat weak volume output for stereo headphones. I have a great pair of stereo headphones and use them for private practice and examination of digital pianos and they project high volume on the other brands of digital pianos in this price range, even at medium volume settings on those pianos. But for some reason the FP-30 does not push my headphones much in terms of volume power coming out of the FP-30 headphone jacks and I have to max the FP-30 volume just to get an OK volume/fullness through the headphones. I don't know what causes this issue but it can be a limitation for people who use headphones a lot and like bigger, fuller volume. I even tried other headphones on the FP-30 including Roland headphones and the results were the same. However, with all the positive things this portable digital piano has and does, it may be the perfect choice for you...and I must say, the internal speaker system in this model is quite good and really sounds big and full when the piano sounds are played through it. Roland is a great brand and has for many years had an excellent reputation in the music industry for reliable and innovative product, so the FP-30 should last for many years including having the Roland 3 year parts and 2 years labor warranty for your protection.

I really do enjoy playing many Roland digital music products including a variety of digital piano models, digital drums, guitar products, recording and audio gear, and other exciting technology products they produce. I have played and owned Roland digital pianos for many years and like that company very much. I do recommend the FP-30 model even with the issues I described earlier, but as I said before, many people may be just fine with the FP-30 because we all have different ears and different uses for a digital piano and it is why a lot of you may like the FP-30 for just the way it is tuned and how it works. There are many good choices out there including the very popular Kawai ES110 at $699 discount price (click on link below for my review), and especially the new Casio PX-S3000 for 2020 at $849 internet price. The new Casio PX-S3000 is a monster of a portable digital piano and for just another $150 it runs circles around the Roland FP-30 in my opinion. Check it out at the link below. Be sure you do your research and then contact me before you make a purchase anywhere and I can help you with more details on which piano may be best for you and also how to get them for even less money (US only) than Amazon, internet, or stores.

Kawai ES110 Review

Casio PX-S3000 Review  

If you want more info on new digital pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.

Samick US national headquarters

🎹 UPDATED REVIEW - February 1, 2020 - Samick SG500 & SG120 Digital Grand Pianos - Recommended - The Samick piano company is well known throughout the world for building fine acoustic and digital pianos for over 50 years. The SG120 and SG500 digital grand pianos offer higher quality sound and key action technology as well as upgraded furniture cabinet design not found in other brands under $5000.

🎹 If after reading this review you decide you want to purchase a new digital piano, I can show you how to purchase a SG500 or SG120 at a very low factory direct discount price incl matching padded bench, no tax, free shipping, and new factory warranty. 😀

Samick is a South Korean piano company and their US corporate headquarters in based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Samick company produces the Knabe, Seiler, Pramberger, Kohler, and Samick brand acoustic pianos along with Samick brand digital pianos. Samick is known by pianists, music teachers, universities, piano technicians, and hobbyists. I have personally played many Samick acoustic and digital pianos over the years and enjoyed the experience quite a bit. Although Samick is not a well known piano company in the US as compared to the "popular brands" such as Yamaha, Kawai, Roland, and Casio, Steinway, etc, Samick is still a very large company and does make some high quality product using sophisticated technology in their factories so they definitely know what they are doing. *click on pics for larger views

These two 2020 upgraded Samick digital grand pianos called the SG500 ($5295 store price) and SG120 ($4295 store price) have replaced all previous models and I have played both of these newer models many times and am very impressed with what they can do in their price range. In this detailed review it is important to know that both the smaller cabinet model and the full size cabinet model are identical to each other except for piano size, piano weight, cabinet design, and internal speaker system, and those differences are very noticeable. The functionality. key action, piano sound chip, pedaling, and all other features are identical in both models including have sliding key covers. The Samick pianos are much higher upgraded quality than the cheapy brands you might see in Costco, Guitar Center, etc, so you do get what you pay for. However, these digital grand pianos are significantly less money than the other name brands such as Yamaha & Roland so in that sense I believe the new Samick SG digital grands occupy a unique space in offering some impressive features for quite a bit less than other top brands.

The new Samick SG500 mini grand is 4 feet in depth so it is a good size and looks like a slightly smaller version of a real acoustic baby grand piano. Real acoustic baby grand pianos usually measure around 5' is depth so the 4 foot depth measurement of the SG500 (also known as a "mini" baby grand size) is a better size for most people because it can fit in better to more spaces. For those who are "space challenged" in their home, church, school, or other venue, then the SG120 at just 2'8" in depth which is also known as a "micro" baby grand because of its much smaller size, may be a better option for you. But there are some noticeable differences in cabinet design for that model as compared to the SG500. The interior of both models has a wood color/tone sound board with speakers placed into the soundboard at the proper alignment for sound, and then finished off with attractive brass coverings. The wood tone interiors complimented with the brass grills and coverings make these piano look much more elegant than other digital grand pianos I have seen, even at higher prices. The 3 full size support legs under the larger SG500 piano, along with the full size triple pedal lyre, are finished of with brass caster & pedal hardware to match the interior of the piano. I was very impressed that they more closely represent what a real baby grand cabinet really looks like. The SG500 also has a 2 height-position lid (just like real grand pianos) so the lid/top can sit flat or can be raised up in 1/2 position or all the way up in full height position. The SG120 lid has 1 height-position and can be flat or put up into a full height position, although that height is not as high or authentic looking as the SG500. But they are both quite attractive and available in 3 colors which are polished ebony, polished white, and polished red finishes.

As compared to the previous models, these 2 new pianos have been totally redesigned in the way they look, the way they operate incl functions and features, their internal speaker systems, the grand piano sound chip, as well as the pedaling and response. But the key action remains the same as in the previous models in large part because it was already so good and a pleasure to play that there was no need for change. Even pro piano players enjoy playing the SG500 key action. All of the piano tones. instruments, and rhythm arranger sounds & styles in the SG500/SG120 are custom designed in Italy by the famous Orla sound & design company which makes these pianos unique among other digital piano brands. The key action is designed and built in Italy by the well known Fatar key action company which has a reputation for producing high quality key actions used in a variety of brands. I enjoyed playing the key action in the SG500/120 because it moves quickly, responds well to dynamics, it's quiet and comfortable, and is the Fatar company's top of the line plastic key action (not wood). Fatar also builds less costly, lower quality key actions with the Fatar label on them, but they don't come close to the more advanced key action inside these new Samick digital grand pianos in my opinion. So when it comes down to what these pianos offer, they are custom designed well established, well known Italian digital piano companies who obviously pay attention to detail and it shows in the improved authenticity of the sounds and functions inside these new models, especially as compared to other digital piano brands in this price range ($4000-$6000) and as compared to previous Samick models.

As far as pedaling goes, I noticed that the pedaling was improved with all 3 pedals being operational and functioning like a regular piano including sustain/damper, sostentuo (middle pedal), and soft (left pedal). The sustain/damper pedal offers more sustain time than in previous models and also triggers half-damper pedaling which gives the player different levels of sustain instead of just on and off as was in the previous models. The pedals are made of brass and look elegant and coordinated with the brass hardware on other parts of the piano. The pedal lyre, which is what they call the triple pedal on a grand piano, looks great and will work fine for most players. There are even better, more upgraded triple pedal lyres on other brands, but you would need to pay quite a bit more money to get that.

One of the primary features that everyone wants in a digital grand piano is a realistic acoustic piano sound and these new models have gone beyond the previous models in this way. They now offer 128 notes of polyphony processing memory which is generally more than enough to play almost any piece of music along with the piano sound being more organic and authentic than ever before in Samick digital pianos. It is true that some digital pianos have even more polyphony such as 256-note systems. But the increased polyphony does not necessarily translate to improved performance or sound in other digital pianos. When I played these new Samick pianos (which I have done a number of times) I could definitely tell the difference in the authenticity of sound as compared to other digital grand pianos in this price range and the new SG500 and SG120 did not disappoint.

The specifications of the control panel of the SG500/SG120 includes having 10 sound group buttons which offer a total of 362 high quality instrument sounds that have easy, intuitive access to make quick changes to the functions along with separate bass & treble control knobs along with master volume knob, menu buttons and data wheel for easy access to menu functions, transpose & pitch control buttons, high quality reverb & chorus effects along with being able to layer and split any of the 362 instrument sounds. There is even a default "piano button" that automatically resets the SG500/SG120 back to grand piano and shuts off all the other functions, which is very helpful. I must say that after I had a chance to play around with the 362 instrument sounds I was amazed at how good they are. Typically on most digital pianos including some of the top name brands, many of their models with additional instruments sounds are not very realistic at all. The additional sounds such as electric pianos, organs, choirs, brass, woodwinds, strings, etc, are not easy to produce with much authenticity, but Samick has done an excellent job in my opinion and the stereo imaging in some of these sounds are really amazing...it's like you are hearing the real instruments. They even built into the instruments a feature called velocity layering which allows additional new sounds to come in when pressing the keys harder at a greater velocity. An example of this would be playing string symphony sounds and then when you press the keys faster and harder, then brass orchestral instruments come in and then percussion such as timpani comes in, all in one key. It's like having the entire orchestra in just one finger or in multiple fingers. When you play a more complex piano piece then these additional stereo instruments really can compliment the song. It's definitely a lot of fun and can add a lot of playing enjoyment and keep you playing for hours on end:). That's what it did for me when I tried it out. I know that most people want to own a digital grand piano for primarily playing the piano sound, but once you get a taste for what you can do by adding realistic instrument sounds to your music, it will give you a musical experience that you likely have not had before and therefore your musical creativity comes alive in ways you would not have experienced otherwise. Musical creativity and expression is what I teach my students so they become more "musical" along with becoming better pianists. You can have both elements (piano and instruments) and learn to play in a variety of ways beyond just playing the piano. It's great for children, adults, and any student who wants to be a better all around musician.

These new Samick digital grand pianos have 350music style arranger accompaniments in them (which is a lot) and that allows you to sound like a 1-man band just by playing chords. These custom  made music styles include drum patterns, bass player patterns, guitar patterns, piano patterns, organ patterns, horn & string section patterns, etc, and have been individually arranged and programmed by the Orla technology design company in Italy and are exclusive the the SG500 and SG120 pianos. Arranger accompaniment styles have been available on a variety of digital pianos and keyboards for many years and some people use them and other people do not. The 1-man band concept is all about helping you to go beyond traditional piano playing and adds accompaniment backgrounds based on you playing left hand chords and right hand melody notes while playing your favorite music styles. Some of those realistic styles include, rock (all types), country, jazz, blues, Latin, waltz, big band, swing, ragtime, and just about any kind of music styles you can think of.  The thing that most people don't like about these features is that they generally sound pretty "cheesy" and just not real on most digital pianos. Those cheezy piano accompaniments on those other brands and models sound like some of those cheap $100 keyboards...they sound like toys...but not so on the new Samick digital grands. The leader for a long time in authentic arranger music styles has been Yamaha in their CVP Clavinova digital pianos and Yamaha does produce one smaller 39" deep digital grand piano called the CVP809GP with incredible sounding music styles...but that model costs around $15,000 at Yamaha store discount price and it does it look as good as the new Samick SG500. So with regard to the SG500/120 music styles, they're not quite up to the Yamaha, but they shouldn't be because the Samick models are $10,000 less than the Yamaha but yet still very good with their impressive musicality and authenticity...more so than any other new digital grand piano model under $10,000 that I have played with all these features.

The Samick digital grands also have recording features that allow recording and playback of up to 16 MIDI tracks of music (aka: 16 individuals instruments) for people who love to compose and arrange music and are interested in doing more than just 1 or 2 track basic recording and playback. However, for those people who want to record and playback their piano practice or playing sessions with a simple 2-track MIDI recorder (left/right hand piano), the SG500/120 has that type of recording feature as well and it works great for students and serious pianists. Both recording systems are fairly intuitive and easy to use and cover what most people are looking for. Unfortunately the SG500/120 pianos do not offer wav file or MP3 audio recording which some shoppers may want to have. Audio recording is useful when taking the recordings off the piano and playing them back on another device, but most people only want to play back their recordings on the piano and not on an external device, and in that case MIDI recording is more than enough to handle that kind of recording and playback.

With all of these digital features included in these new Samick digital grand pianos, it's important that those features be easily accessible and intuitive to use. Fortunately on these new models I found that they were noticeably more user-friendly than the previous models and now include a "data wheel" which allows the user to easily zip through the features including the sound, styles, effects, and other functions and be able to see the result in the LCD display screen. The screen itself is not that large but still large enough to provide necessary info to see what you are doing. This data wheel along with control panel buttons allows you to access features quickly and efficiently and combined with control panel "group function" buttons and menu buttons, these things make using the piano more enjoyable and less frustrating than on other pianos out there, including some name brands.

The SG500/120 has all the connectivity that most people want including audio outputs, audio inputs, MIDI connectors, USB device input, USB to device output, and microphone input level control. These features allow you to connect other devices into the piano speaker system and take the piano sound and output it to external speaker systems. Speaking of internal speaker systems, the 4' deep size SG500 has an upgraded internal speaker system that is extremely impressive and was a big surprise to me when I heard it. You can have great internal piano sounds and instrument sounds in the instrument, but if the internal speaker system cannot provide high definition quality sound reproduction then those instrument sounds can come out sounding like a toy piano instead of a bold, beautiful sound that everybody wants to hear. To that end the SG500 now has a stereo 160 watt maximum, 8 speaker symphonic speaker system which includes two sub-woofers along with six other strategically placed speakers in the sound board area of the piano. With this new speaker system it was obvious to me that the SG500 was on a completely different level than any other digital grand piano under under $10,000 including the top name brands.

With the new SG500 stereo symphonic speaker system being so good, the factory added a new Bluetooth audio connection which allows external devices such as a tablet or cell phone to play their audio music library (iTunes, etc) directly through the piano speaker system via wireless Bluetooth connection so that your piano nowbecomes your home music player sound system. The Bluetooth connectivity can be used to have constant music entertainment playing in your home, school, church, hospital, or event venue from an iPad/iPhone that does not need to be attached to the piano and can have music played through your piano speaker system from another location. Many people do not have a stereo symphonic sound system such as this one designed into the SG500 piano, so having your audio wav or MP3 music playing through the piano is actually very cool and a great way to entertain family and friends. Also, you can play the piano "live" along with the music so that you can interact with it using different instrument sounds in the piano just for fun. In addition to that, the pianos are capable of playing General MIDI song files of your favorite songs including music lesson songs from the most popular educational curriculum. The MIDI song files can be downloaded from the internet and then played through the piano from a standard USB flash drive. These multitrack General MIDI song files also enable you to slow down the songs to any speed  so you can more easily play along with them to learn the song. You can even eliminate the melody line of the song by using a "mute function" while the rest of the song accompaniment tracks continue to play and then you become the melody which can help with learning the rhythm and timing of the song in a more enjoyable way. Definitely more fun than a metronome, although for traditional rhythm & timing lessons the SG500/SG120 does have a variable digital metronome which can be useful for beginners and more traditional players.

The smaller 2'8" version SG120 is a great size for someone with limited room space and yet it has all the same digital features and control panel as the SG500 except it has a smaller stereo internal sound system with 60 watts maximum power playing through 4 speakers. The less powerful sound system in the SG120 is surprisingly loud and full for its size (assuming you like a lot of volume) and is matched more closely to the smaller cabinet size of that piano. Like all digital pianos, if you want to play it more quietly you simply turn down the master volume to whatever level you like. But aside from cabinet and speaker system differences which are significant, the smaller SG120 is identical in every way to the larger SG500 including Bluetooth capability. The SG120 has 2 front legs and a pedal lyre acting as the 3rd leg along with the main legs having no casters like its bigger brother the SG500. The lid only has a 1-position height adjustment as opposed to 2 positions on the SG500. The SG120 definitely looks elegant even in its smaller size but it looks big enough to give off the sense that you have a "grand piano appearance" in your room. Also, the key action which is the most important part of any piano is still identical to the SG500. So the SG120 is a good choice if you have a lower budget and smaller space.

Voice and memory setting buttons

One other feature I especially like about these 2 models is the fact that they will allow you to store and save up to 54 of your favorite settings into panel memory buttons. In other words if you have gone through the trouble of picking out some favorite instrument sounds, favorite effects, transpose keys, drum rhythms, accompaniment settings, sound layers, splits, relative volume controls, etc and you don't want to have to recreate those favorite settings of yours manually every time you power up the piano, then you can save these favorite settings of your into "user memories" in the piano and recall them quickly whenever you want or need to do that. This is great for real-time performance and it saves a lot of time and frustration` if you are playing the piano in a church and want to play one song after another and need to have different setting for each song, or your playing the SG120 or SG500 at a school, studio, or just for yourself and you simply want to bring up some of your favorite sound settings without having to recreate them from scratch. This is a very useful "tool" to have and not all digital pianos offer this feature, especially giving you 54 storage memories which should satisfy just about anyone. I personally like to change sound settings during a song and have different layers, single tones, and/or split tones in different parts of the song and also be able to make sure the volumes for each of those sounds is set in the way I like and I can't make those changes near as easily or near as quickly while I am playing as I can with the instant memory recall of my favorite settings.

The bottom line is this...if at all possible I recommend the SG500 over the SG120 if you can fit it into your space and if you have the budget for it. As I mentioned earlier, the SG500 is upgraded in appearance, cabinet and cabinet function, shape, beauty, and its sound performance through its symphonic speaker system. However, the smaller 2'8" size SG120 is still the best playing, best sounding smaller digital piano that I know of in its price range. The SG500 comes with matching padded duet size piano style bench with music storage and the smaller SG120 comes with a smaller single size padded bench. Both models have a 3 year year factory parts & labor warranty which is a good warranty as compared to some other brands.The SG500 is certainly an elegant piece of furniture whether you order one in polished ebony, polished white, or published red.

Specialty cabinet colors - As far as cabinet colors go, although the polished ebony color is by far the most popular, Samick also offers their pianos in an impressive limited edition polished white and polished red finish. Both of these colors are very impressive in my opinion and will certainly make the piano stand out in your home, studio, church, or other venue assuming you have the right color mix style for these piano colors to fit in. If you do then I believe you'll be very impressed with them, especially the polished red. In my experience most people might shy away from such a bold color as polished "fire engine" red, but once you see it in person you may change your mind and it will definitely make a "statement" in the room you place it in. The polished white is quite elegant and the control panel is also in white, so the entire front of the piano is perfectly matched. On the red one the control panel is in black so it contrasts nicely with the red cabinet. I think that was a good decision because having the control panel also in red would have been "too much red" in my opinion. With the inside of the piano having the wood-tone soundboard, it really is an attractive combination of color. Normally these kinds of specialty colors cost a lot more money in some of the other brands (assuming they are available) but there is only a slight up-charge for the SG500 and SG120 white or red color. They also include a matching bench at no charge. So as you are doing your research for a good digital baby grand or for any new digital piano, please contact us first and we can help save you time and along with additional discounts and help get you the right piano for your needs.

If you want more info on new digital pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.

Roland GP609 digital grand piano

🎹 UPDATED REVIEW - March 1, 2020 - Digital Grand Pianos that look like small acoustic grand pianos range in price from under $2000 to over $15,000 from brands like Yamaha, Roland, Samick, and a few others. They come in many shapes and sizes and some of them are good and some are downright bad. You should never assume a digital grand piano is a good instrument just by the way it looks. A bad digital grand piano is referred to as a PSO (aka: piano shaped object) and just because it looks attractive on the outside does not mean it is good on the inside. You need to be very careful when you make a decision to purchase one of these digital pianos pianos and we will give you inside info on how to make the right choice within your budget.  

Yamaha AvantGrand N3X

*BEWARE:If a new digital GRAND piano you are seeing is on a Craigs List ad or linked to an Amazon ad, then that piano is likely low quality in a number of ways and I recommend you do not buy it. Many of these so called "good digital grand pianos," regardless of how good they look on the outside and regardless of what the piano maker/seller has to say about it (they always say glowing things), are possibly just PSO's (piano shaped objects) as I mentioned earlier with little similarity to what a real piano does or how it actually plays. So don't be fooled by "looks" or flowery statements made by the manufacturer or the salesperson trying to sell it...they just want their Amazon affiliate payment or commission. If the piano does not have a good key action, piano sound chip, pedaling system, and a good name known throughout the piano industry, then personally I would avoid it. You normally don't get "something for nothing" regardless of what that ad or seller might say. BE CAREFUL out there and contact me 1st before you buy!
 

Yamaha CVP-809GP Digital Grand

The features many people ask for in digital grand pianos are a good variety of higher quality instrument sounds including good acoustic pianos, strings, brass (a variety of horns), woodwinds, reeds, flutes, synthesizers, guitars, world instruments, and others. Some people also ask for a good helping of drum rhythm patterns, ensemble style chord backing tracks, easy play features, a bigger user interface screen, a mic input for singalong/karaoke, extensive recording & song playback options, an authentic acoustic piano feel, and a full sounding speaker system. Polyphony note memory/processing power can be anywhere from 64 notes to 256 or (unlimited) notes or more, and more polyphony can be important, especially if you are a more advanced player with a much higher skill level or are doing extensive recording or multiple sound layering. However for normal use in most families, 120 to 256 notes of polyphony should be sufficient. In addition to all this, it seems everyone wants the most attractive digital Baby Grand piano they can get with the realistic authenticity in cabinet design and function and they want it all for generally around $5000 or less, although there are people who can and are willing to spend more money to get what they want, but they are in the  minority of buyers.

The problem with wanting to get a good digital baby grand piano is that you will usually need to make some sacrifices to get what you want in the lower price range. Yamaha, Roland, & Kawai are all great digital piano manufacturers and do produce some exciting and impressive digital Grand Pianos in small & larger sizes, but they are generally not in the $5000 or less price range. In fact those models which include the newer Yamaha CLP665GP, CLP695GP, CVP809GP, AvantGrand N3X, Roland GP607, and the Roland 5' GP609 are all normally priced at well over $5000 and on up to approx $17,000...so they're not cheap. Casio also produces many popular digital pianos but does not produce one in a digital grand cabinet. So what does that leave you if you cannot get a Kawai, Roland, or Casio for less than $5000? It generally leaves you with either "no-name" cheaper quality digital pianos which are overall not very good in their ability to replicate a good piano playing experience, the new Yamaha CLP665GP mini grand for around $5500-$6000 discount price depending on the dealer (this one is quite nice), a Kurzweil for $2500 sounds cheap, plays cheaply like a toy, but it looks good (PSO). The Roland GP607 at $7000 (plus tax) look attractive in its small 3' deep cabinet and plays nicely but in my opinion is overpriced for what you get.

Yamaha CLP665GP

The no-name or poor quality digital piano brands in Baby Grand cabinets at around $5000 or less include Adagio, most Suzuki's, Artesia, Williams from Guitar Center, Viscount, Omega, Sejung (not available in most states), Cameron & Sons (private label), and a couple of others such as Kurzweil. Typically when you spend less money on a digital Baby Grand you get less quality. If you see them selling for around $1000-$2000 or so, they will likely be very poor in key action, piano sound, and pedaling response and those are the main features I recommend to people to look at 1st, and then the fun digital features should come after that. The lower priced digital pianos are typically measure anywhere from about 2'4" in depth (micro size hybrid cabinets) to a larger 4' deep size (mini baby grand size) which are normally more authentic in cabinet design features, construction, finish quality, lid, bench, legs, pedal assembly, etc. There are a couple of higher priced digital baby grands that measure 5' in depth but are much higher price...over $10,000. A full size real authentic acoustic baby grand cabinet is approximately 5' deep and they are considerably more money at over $15000, but digital grand pianos are generally smaller in size at 4' deep or less and they definitely cost less money. One of my favorite recognizable brand name digital mini grand pianos is by Yamaha and called the Clavinova CLP665GP at a 3'9" depth, but that one sells for $5499 at internet discount price so the good ones don't come cheap. You can read my detailed review of the Yamaha CLP665GP at the following link and learn more about it: Yamaha CLP665GP Review

There are some digital pianos brands I do not recommendunder $5000 (based on years of personal experience) and this is because they have noticeably poor piano tone, key response, key action, tonal dynamics, key velocity realism, and other digital features. Again, I refer to them simply as GPSO's..."Grand Piano Shaped Objects" and little more than that:) They don't play good, sound good, function well, or hold up good over time based on my experience with them. I have been around most of these brands and various models my entire music career and there are just certain ones that have not improved much and still are on my "not recommended" list. Those brands include Suzuki (most of them), Artesia, Adagio, Williams, Kurzweil and a small variety of "house or private label brands." A house brand is one that is sold by a piano or music store and they buy a pre-made digital piano from Chinese manufacturers and have their own name put on the piano so that they can have an "exclusive" name that no one else has. It makes marketing and promotional sense for the music store to do that (Guitar Center stores is an example of a music store company that does this), but it certainly does not mean it's a good piano and it tends to be confusing in trying to find out what these things really are and who actually makes them.

Cameron & Sons is one of those "house brands" as is Williams, Adagio, & Suzuki. I have seen Cameron & Sons occasionally on the internet (never played one yet because they are not a real piano company) but that brand does not say where the piano is manufactured (there is no Cameron & Sons factory) and the specs in the digital pianos highly suggest they are one of the inferior brands that are similar in nature to Suzuki which I advise everyone to stay away from. If you don't know where the piano is built, who builds it, or what is really in it, then the words and descriptions mean little or nothing... I have seen it all before.  Not all house or private label brands are bad (some are good because they have control over the quality or technology used and have it built by reputable manufacturers) but it is not common. Artesia, which in the US is generally sold by Costco, is an actual Chinese brand you made not have heard of before which builds their own digital pianos in China. I have actually played them and was definitely not impressed with the piano sound, tonal dynamics, key action movement and playability and these are the main ingredients that need to be good in a digital piano. I would definitely stay away from the "off-brands" including Artesia, Suzuki, etc. They all generally have noisy key actions, little or no dynamics in piano sound, and low quality, uneven velocity sensitivity. 

From time to time I do see some positive on-line consumer reviews on some of these brands or models that I do not recommend. But I look at these consumer reviews knowing that those people cannot possibly have ever played a real acoustic piano (either upright or grand) at any skill level at all.  If they had, they wouldn't be giving positive reviews of these low quality digital pianos (in my professional opinion). You just can't believe everything you hear or see...especially from uneducated consumers who think they have something good, when in fact they just don't know how bad it really is...especially as compared to a real piano or any of the name brand digital pianos.

As far as digital Baby Grand features go, it's great to have lots of exciting functions and they can be fun to use, and even the low quality baby grands may have some of them. But if you cannot get a quality piano as far as the piano sound & necessary elements like a good responsive key action go, then I don't believe it really matters what else is in the piano. In the lower quality pianos, even those extra functions are generally not very good much of the time.  The Artesia brand that is primarily sold by Costco is one I don't recommend. It's not a terrible piano, but for the same money or slightly higher you can do much, much better. Just because Costco has them does not mean they are necessarily good pianos. Artesia is really not a brand (as far as having their own manufacturing facility) and they are normally all Chinese designed and made, which is not necessarily a bad thing...it just depends on the parts they use. Suzuki is also not a brand in the traditional sense and they do not build their own pianos since they are pre-built in China by another company incorporating cheaper electronics and cheaper key actions in many (but not all) of their models. The Suzuki piano also brand has nothing to do with any most other Suzuki products made either including motorcycles, cars, violins, lessons, and other things connected with their name. I've done a number of reviews on Suzuki, Artesia, Williams (a Guitar Center brand) and Adagio pianos and have been very disappointed with most of them, especially with their key action, velocity response, tonal dynamics, and quality (as I mentioned earlier), and I have personally played them.

It is also important to know that just because a piano is completely or partially made in China does not mean it's bad as I mentioned, and I don't want people to think that. There are some very good piano manufacturing facilities in China now and even Yamaha & Kawai get a number of their pianos made there these days. Whether we like it or not, we all live in a world economy and China is a big part of it. As long as the piano is produced with good oversight, good construction, professional design, and reliable technology with up to date musical features, that's what really counts and the brand name is not the always the issue, but you can certainly count on a real piano company brand name to offer a lot more piano playing authenticity.

Roland GP607

When it comes to digital pianos, generally speaking, you can get more piano realism and features for the money ($5000 or less) if you do not get a Baby Grand cabinet and instead get a regular vertical upright style furniture cabinet. You do pay a premium for a digital Baby Grand furniture style cabinet but the look and sound of those instruments are certainly impressive and elegant and if you plan to own it for a long time and you have the "disposable income," go for it and enjoy...I would recommend it. Those cabinets come in sizes from about 2'4" deep up to 5'3" deep from front to back of the cabinet and they average somewhere between 3-4' deep and weighs approx between 150 lbs and 350 lbs. Regular acoustic grand piano cabinets range in size from 4'7" deep to well over 7' deep and weigh well over 800 lbs. So there certainly are benefits in owning a digital grand in saving space and reducing weight so the piano can be more easily moved. The digital mini baby grand piano in this picture is a Roland GP607 which comes in a 3' deep cabinet and sells at discount for about $6000 at local Roland piano stores. If you want to read my review on this model please click on the following link: Roland GP607 Review

Samick SG500

*As I mentioned earlier, I do recommend the Samick brand of digital grand pianos in the $4000-$5000 price range as a very good choice including the 4' deep full featured Samick SG500 ($5295US MSRP) and the smaller 2'6"' deep Samick SG120 "micro-grand" ($4495US MSRP). The SG120 and SG500 models have a responsive hammer weighted & graded key action made in Europe by the Fatar piano action company along with many useful digital educational & fun features all housed in an attractive authentic style grand cabinet with upgraded cabinet features and appointments. The larger SG500 has a symphonic internal sound system that reproduces the music in a big, bold way that really can fill up a large room. The smaller SG120 has a surprisingly big, full sound coming from its less powerful speaker system that can still easily fill up a small or large room, and if happen to be lacking for room, it certainly fits in better in smaller spaces. The instrumental sound design in these new Samick pianos was created by the Orla sound design company of Italy and they have done an outstanding job in my opinion of giving "life" to these instruments so that they sound very realistic as compared to all the other digital grands in their price range or even higher price ranges. Although the Samick piano company is not as well known as other companies such as Yamaha or Roland, they compete very well against the higher priced model digital grand pianos in a number of ways but at a lower price. In that more popular "under $5000US price range" they are actually very impressive and many people who have ordered them have reported to me they like these models very much. Go to the following link to learn more about the new Samick SG120 and SG500 digital grand pianos and let me know what you think: Samick SG120/SG500 Review.


Finally, the finest and most realistic baby grand digital piano on the market today is the Yamaha AvantGrand N3X. Store discount price on that model is approx $17000. That model is essentially a real Yamaha baby grand in terms of the key action being taken from a real Yamaha acoustic grand piano and then slightly modified and put into a digital piano case with digital piano sound technology.The N3X plays like the "real thing" with all those organic moving wood key action parts along with life-like newly developed acoustic piano sound technology reproducing both a 9" concert grand from Yamaha and a 9' acoustic concert grand from the prestigious Bosendorfer piano company of Vienna, Austria (which Yamaha owns). The reason someone would want a digital baby grand like this one is because they have a smaller space in their home, they need to play more quietly and the N3X volume can be controlled and/or you can use stereo headphones to play in complete privacy which is a great feature to have. Another reason to purchase a digital baby grand is that there's much less maintenance and no tuning...the piano will never go out of tune. If you are musically picky like me not wanting to play pianos that are out of tune, then you will appreciate this aspect of a digital grand piano as compared to a real acoustic piano which can go out of tune frequently. There are other features on the Yamaha N3X which are compelling such as being able to directly record music that you play as an audio wav or MP3 song file and store it and later play it back. There are many good reasons to consider this model and if you have the budget it's a worthy competitor to a real baby grand piano for all the reasons I mentioned...and more. Go to the following link to read my review of this model along with its less expensive "upright style" siblings.  Yamaha N3X digital baby grand review

If you want more info on these and other pianos and LOWER prices than internet or store discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call me direct at 602-571-1864

Is the new Korg Grandstage the best stage digital piano under $2500? We think this model can take you to a higher level of musical enjoyment and comfort with its huge array of authentic stereo grand pianos and instrument sounds while providing an intuitive user interface like no other digital stage piano in its class.

🎹 UPDATED REVIEW - March 3, 2020 - Korg Grandstage "Stage" Digital Piano - The Korg Grandstage "digital stage piano" at $2199 internet discount price for a full 88-key weighted key action version and $1999 price for a smaller 73-key weighted key action, which is a great option for traveling and when your music is generally pop style and does not require all 88-keys. The Korg Grandstage is about as simple to use as it gets for a pro quality instrument while offering some incredibly powerful, very usable sounds that any professional pianist, keyboard player, or music enthusiast would love to have. The Korg pro music products company has had very popular stage pianos, synths and keyboard work-stations for decades and lots of pro players, churches, schools, universities, and gigging musicians around the world own and play Korg keyboards of one type or another. Korg is a very innovative company and I have personally used and played many different Korg products in past years and this latest pro quality stage piano is the first one in my opinion to offer super impressive studio quality acoustic piano sounds, a variety of stereo quality orchestral instruments, synths, pro jazz, vintage stage organs, church organs, natural vintage electric pianos, and special effects sounds, among others, that were only available prior to this in much more expensive models of digital pianos, if at all. (Please click on pics to get larger views)



The stage digital pianos currently on the market today from leading companies such as Roland, Yamaha, Kawai, Korg, Kurzweil, Nord, and others are also popular in their own ways but they are quite different and generally a lot more money to get close to the caliber of sounds and playable key action of the Korg Grandstage. Just so we are clear on the subject, a "stage" digital piano does not have internal speakers...you have to connect external speakers to the piano to hear it out loud. Otherwise you can connect stereo headphones to it for private playing, but you'll need a couple of powered speakers (monitors) to hear it because "stage" digital pianos like the Grandstage do not have built-in speakers.Also, "stage" digital pianos do not have to be played on stage like a pro would do. They are great for the home, home studio, church, school, or wherever you want to play music. So what makes the Grandstage so unique and fun to play? As far as I am concerned it has to do with a high-end sound library and key action that Korg is already using in their top-of-the-line pro keyboard workstation model called the Korg Kronos 88. The Kronos is famous with musicians, recording studios, film-score arrangers and writers, and other pro music industry people around the world looking for top notch sounds with responsive key action. Up until now in digital stage type pianos under $2500 that a person could use in their home studio, at church, on the road, etc, that had great sounds & responsive piano weighted key action but was super simple to use, there really wasn't much. You either had great sounds but the instrument required you to be an engineer or rocket scientist to use, or you found an instrument that was relatively easy to use but the sounds and/or key action wasn't very good, or the instrument was a lot more money than you wanted to (or could) spend and the variety of sounds available on that instrument were very limited.

It turns out that, in a lot of cases, what a majority of people want who are looking for a stage-type, playable digital piano is to find a portable digital piano closer to the price of $2000 which offers a huge variety of spectacular sounds coupled with an expressive key action with a control panel which is so intuitive that even a 5 year old can learn it. Remember, some (but certainly not all) of these musicians out there who are in bands or do solo gigs act like 5-year old kids sometimes (I been around enough of them to know), so making it simple can be very helpful, especially when you just want to play music and don't want to have difficulty figuring out how to get the sounds you want and when you want them. This is what the Korg Grandstage is all about...simple to use (you hardly ever need to look in the owners manual to figure it out), but sounds incredible...and it looks cool too!

In my many different digital piano reviews I usually start out by talking about the key action because that generally considered the most important feature in digital pianos and then the internal sounds (sound library) follows that along with pedaling response and other digital electronic features, user interface, etc. But in this case, after personally playing this model for many hours, I believe the star attraction of the Korg Grandstage is definitely the sound library. The sound library consists of 500 high quality, high definition tones including acoustic grand pianos, upright pianos, vintage digital pianos, famous jazz, pop, and pipe organs, guitars, a huge array of concert quality orchestral instruments of all kinds, special effects, ambient tones (new age, movie theme style), world instrument sounds, synthesizers, sampled voices, and a lot more. Those tones are controlled by a control knob on the left side of a small LCD display screen and that knob selects the sound categories. Once you have selected the sound category you want then you turn another knob called "variation" just under the display screen which then selects the specific sound in that category. The sounds are numbered from 1-500 so you can quickly dial in the number you want with the variation knob or just go directly to the sound category and dial in the specific sound in that category such a going to the "Grand" piano category and then selecting the type of grand piano you want. Using this knob system, the Grandstage operating system digitally selects the sound you want extremely fast so it does not take a lot of time to find the sound you're looking for of those 500 tones. The bright LCD display shows you the name and number of the sound you have selected so there is no confusion. The variation control knob is a continuous knob that selects sounds turning the knob to the right or left and that knob has no beginning or end...it just cycles through all the sounds in a particular sound category until it has cycled through all categories and stops at the end after having gone through all 500 tones. As I mentioned before...if  you just want to go directly to a sound category such as "Grand" pianos, "Organs,""electric pianos," ensemble," using the sound category knob is a great way of selecting tones. Most of the sounds are single selections (strings, violins, organ, piano, vintage lead synth, guitar, etc) but some are pre-set combination tones such as "brass & french horns," or "repeating mandolin and strings." Lots of amazing sounds to create any flavor of music your heart desires in a way that no other stage digital piano can do in this price range.

The primary sounds that many people like are the "Grand" piano tones and the Korg Grandstage easily competes with all the major brand stage digital pianos out there and if fact, in my opinion the Grandstage stereo grand piano tones are very inspiring and even more natural than the more mainstream brands of stage digital pianos such as Yamaha & Roland. The presence, resonance, and richness of the Grandstage acoustic grand piano sounds are some of the best I have ever heard on any digital piano in this price range including Yamaha, Roland, Kawai, Nord, Casio, and others. These piano tones are unlooped meaning they are not the cheaper "looped samples" that most instruments offer but these sounds are from the high-end $3800 KORG KRONOS 2 sound library which is renowned around the world for lush, rich instrument reproduction and the Grandstage really shines in this way. I have played the Kronos many times over the years and in the Grandstage simplified version, the dynamic range of tone, the tone colors, the expression, the subtle changes in sound development from very light playing to very strong hard playing is very impressive. In fact the more I played the Grandstage with these built-in grand piano sounds the more I liked them even to the point where I did not want to stop playing, and that's somewhat of a rare thing for me when playing a new digital piano I have not experienced before. Usually I try these pianos out, experiment on them, get to know them, and then stop playing. But I'm all about that "feeling you get" when you taste a great meal, sip a fine wine, lounge under a cool breeze on a sunny day on a resort island, or get your adrenaline pumping by having a great workout...you just want more of it because they make you feel so good. Believe it or not, that's what the amazing library of sounds on this new Korg digital piano did for me...it made me want more and want to keep playing.

As for the most popular sounds on any digital piano, the grand piano sounds are the premium tones that people look for and some brands just do it better than others. On this Korg Grandstage there are American Steinway grand tones, German Steinway grand tones, Italian Fazioli grand tones, Japanese Yamaha grand tones, Austrian Bosendorfer grand tones, and German Bechstein grand tones and each one is totally different than the others. They are not variations of each other but completely different unlooped (meaning this is not just a regular sample like other digital stage pianos, but a complex HD linear reproduction of each piano sound) high definition samples of the real acoustic instruments. Each brand of Grand piano in this instrument has a different "personality" and different tonal "character." This can be heard especially in the bass and treble octaves when changing from one acoustic piano to another. Anything from big & bold, to mellow, the rich, to brighter pop style, and to just about anything in-between. With regard to these grand piano sounds, something definitely worth mentioning that many people don't know is that in the lower bass octave on any good acoustic grand piano, when playing the notes one at a time down in that bass section, the notes continue to to be heard and then fade out after about 1-2 seconds after the key is released. the other higher higher notes above that lower octave immediately stop being heard the moment you play and then let go of the key, assuming you are not holding down the damper-sustain pedal. On just about every digital piano I have played from all the popular brands, the notes on the lower octaves drop out and stop playing the moment the key is released. But on the Grandstage, the notes hold on and keep being heard for about 1-2 seconds after the key is released, just like on a real grand piano. This type of piano reproduction technology in a digital piano is very unusual to find in a digital piano at any price and having it in this model provides a higher level of bass note realism that adds to the natural presence and organic authenticity of the grand piano sound that everyone is looking for. Without this "natural presence and richness, the grand piano is much more artificial and non-organic and when a digital piano is missing some of these crucial organic elements, as far as I am concerned the piano just falls short and needs improvement in these areas. Some people cannot hear these more subtle differences or they really have not played real acoustic grand pianos before so they don't know what to listen for. But I can tell you that a real, high quality acoustic grand piano has a very complex and colorful tone with lots of organic dynamic tonal variations so that's where the Grandstage excels in being able to offer a variety of grand pianos that few other brands offer. I personally love the Austrian piano along with the Italian Fazioli Grand reproduction with all of the beautiful organic tones coming out. It also just depends on your "musical mood" and what type of music you want to play and which grand piano tone is better suited to use for that song or piece of music. Also, there are a whole bunch of Grand piano variations so that you can instantly get "brighter versions" of those 6 grand pianos or you can get "darker" versions which are a bit more mellow & muted. Perhaps you are playing at a church, school, gig, live event and your running sound through a mono mixing board and not stereo, or you prefer to have the piano come out in mono for certain rooms or areas where the full stereo sound of the Grandstage is not needed or wanted, then Korg has "mono versions" of each of the 6 primary stereo grand piano tones. Finally, with regard to tuning a real acoustic piano, there is a common method of tuning called "stretch" tuning and it takes a very good piano tuner to do that type of tuning well. Stretch tuning gives the piano sound a fuller, more resonate tone but one of the by-products of "stretch tuning" is that to some people, depending on how the tuner stretched the strings while tuning the piano, the piano could sound a bit out of tune...at least it does to some people. So to deal with this potential "issue" when listening to the grand piano tones in the Grandstage, which are all "stretch tuned," Korg has added a "flat tuned" version of all the primary stereo piano tones. So if you want the piano sound to be more "perfect" but less resonate and organic, you can select the "flat tuned" versions of the piano tones. It doesn't change the stereo character of the sound but it does deal with the "stretch tuning" issues that may come up for some people playing and listening to the piano sounds. Basically, Korg is offering about every piano option possible and all in a pre-set library of piano sounds so all you have to do is select one and play to your heart's content!

To add to the natural presence of the grand piano tones in the Grandstage, Korg includes a special damper sustain pedal which triggers the half-damper pedal effect that allows for different levels of sustain rather than just on or off. Beyond the different levels (amounts) of sustain you can get with the grand piano sounds is the amount and quality of the sustained piano tones. When a grand piano is being played and you have lots of notes in your song being played simultaneously, while pressing down on the sustain pedal and holding it you should hear a beautiful long resonation (long sustain decay time) of those notes being heard. When that happens there should also be a complex organic mixture of the natural overtones, synthetic vibrations of the piano strings, and the color of those tones running into each other in a way that provides and adds flavor and richness to the song you're playing. Big acoustic grand pianos do this and it's a natural part of the playing experience. If you are a beginner player or have rarely played a real acoustic piano, then you would likely not know what I am talking about and this may not matter to you at all. But if you have played piano or are sensitive to what good acoustic pianos sound like, especially when doing damper sustain pedaling, then this part of the piano playing experience will be important to you.

So with regard to the damper sustain/decay time from the pedal and piano sounds, I was so impressed with the sustained volume of those overtones and string vibrations when using the sustain pedal as well as the long and natural amount of decay time for all those grand piano tones in this instrument. If plotted on a graph, the natural full and even volume decay and tonal decay of the piano notes being heard while holding down the damper sustain pedal was so subtle and natural with long full sustain I thought I was absolutely listening to the real thing, and I don't often say that about a digital piano at any price. In other words, it was like instead of looking at a basic 2-color sunset from a distance on a cloudy day, you were looking at it on a beautiful crisp, clear evening close up and experiencing a myriad of colors you had no idea existed in a sunset...that's the way the Grandstage pianos sounded to me. Were those sampled piano sounds and sustained tones perfect?...well, no. The only way to get perfect grand piano sound is to purchase a real acoustic grand piano which I play often. However, for most people I believe the Grandstage will blow you away with the variety and quality of those internal grand piano tones and the nuanced expression you will get out of it will keep you playing and enjoying your music for many years.

At this point in the review I normally am through talking about with the instrument sounds after talking about it as much as I have already done here. But there's just too many other important things that need mentioning with regard to these 500 sounds. Also keep in mind that at least for me, it's definitely not the quantity of sounds that impress me but the quality of those sounds and ability to sound like the real thing that I am most concerned about. With the Grandstage, just about every one of those 500 tones are really, really good and when you play them you can also trigger other things those sounds can do as you play harder on the keys. Then other parts of that tone will come in and be heard like they would on the real instrument. There are also preset special effects located on 2 different buttons to the left side of the Grandstage control panel under the master control know which adds even more tones or effects to each sound such as full stereo sound on/off, chorus effects for vintage electric pianos, adding additional octaves to the sound such as a higher octave of strings layered on top of the original strings. In other words, you can transform the original instrument sound you choose out of the 500 (brass, woodwinds, synths, organs, etc) into something else or make it sound even better than it was. You can even select one of the many different and very authentic Hammond B-3 jazz, blues, and pop organ sounds and use the 2 buttons to instantly select a fast or slow rotary speed Leslie effect added to the organ tone, or even add a percussive sound to the organ tone where that percussive sound only plays on a solo organ tone as opposed to playing chords...all the things you would expect in a real vintage Hammond organ...assuming you can play organ. No fussing around with deep, unintuitive menus...just press a button and sound great utilizing the professional effects and extra instant, recognizable tones the Korg factory sound designers made for this model! You can even trigger those extra sound effects buttons with a foot pedal and switch them on & off rather than take your fingers off the keys to do it.

With 500 great sounds to choose from and extra special effects coming from pressing harder on the keys and/or using 2 additional buttons to bring in even more amazing results to the the sound your chose, you might think that's enough when it comes to making great music on the Grandstage...right? Well there's something else beyond that and it's just as easy to use. Korg also has the same 500 sounds inserted and displayed into a 2nd part of the control panel which is operated by the same type of control knobs and interface as the 1st set of 500 sounds. In other words, Korg has 2 sets of  (the same) 500 sounds so that you can choose to select 1 of the 500 sounds in the 1st set and another sound in the 2nd set of 500 sounds. You can toggle back and forth between those 2 sounds when playing a song by turning one sound on and one sound off or vice-versa. Beyond that, you can layer (or split) any sound from the 1st set of 500 sounds together with any sound in the 2nd set of 500 sounds. The sounds in each set are identical so you can even layer or split 2 identical sounds together...1 from each of the 2 sets of 500 sounds. Is this getting confusing yet?...hopefully not.

Normally when mixing or splitting 2 sounds together you might select something like a stereo grand piano with stereo string symphony, or pipe organ with concert choir. That would be a traditional way of layering. When splitting sounds then you might put an upright bass on the lower octaves and a jazz piano on the middle to upper octaves. Or maybe a violin quartet for the right hand and a baroque harpsichord for the left hand sound. On the Grandstage, both of the sets of 500 sounds have sound category selection knobs which makes sounds faster and more intuitive to select. However, depending on which set of 500 sounds you are using, the categories are not the same. One knob has individual "keyboard" categories like grand pianos, upright pianos, electric pianos, organs, etc, and all the non-traditional keyboard sounds are grouped together in a separate category called "ensemble" which contains all the strings, brass, woodwinds, guitars, pads, choirs, lead sounds, special effects, ambient sounds, etc. On the other 500 sound category knob called "Ensemble," those categories are setup in specific "ensemble" non-piano categories like brass, strings, bells, bass, special EFX, etc and all the keyboard type instruments are loaded into one category  called "keyboards." What all of this means is that it's just much easier to access the sound category and individual sound that you want for each of the 2 sections and be able to find and use those sounds quickly and efficiently...and that's really the main point of the Grandstage...easy, intuitive, quick access to all 500 sounds whenever you want them, whether single tones, layers, or splits.

Having two 2 sets of the same 500 sounds also allows you to do something more unusual than the average digital piano such as combining two 12-string guitar sounds at the same time. So you can select one 12-string acoustic guitar from the first set of 500 sounds and a 2nd 12-string acoustic guitar from the 2nd set and layer them together forming a huge 12-string guitar sound (24 strings). Or you can combine a 6-string steel string guitar in one set and put that together with a 12-string guitar in the 2nd set and then de-tune the 12-string guitar in the editing mode of the 2nd set (where the 12 string is selected) and then have the 6-string in perfect tune combined with the 12-string guitar slightly out of tune. I play 12-string guitar and those guitars are normally out of tune just a bit because of having so many strings to tune. That combined sound of 2 different guitars with one being slightly out of tune is just an awesome sound...reminds me of playing in some of the bands I was in when we just wanted full guitar sound. If you want to take out one of the guitars and substitute piano, organ, synth, string symphony, or whatever sound you choose, then you can do that quickly and easily. If you want a full huge stereo pipe organ sound combined with full stereo church choir, then you can quickly do that and the result is absolutely beautiful....you would think you are in a big cathedral church. Whatever sound or combination of two sounds you want, you can get it in the Grandstage and it's difficult to come up with a "bad" combination. You can also electronically split the keyboard into 2 sections wherever you want that split point to be. Then you can select one sound for the left hand and another sound (from the 2nd set of 500) for the right hand sound. That's called "split keyboard" and the possibilities are endless there as well. The "split" feature is great for a lot of music including playing jazz using a bass line with cymbal in the left hand and a grand piano in the right hand. The authenticity and the nuances of those two sounds in the split mode is very inspiring and enjoyable. How about an electric vintage Fender Rhodes or vintage Yamaha DX7 digital piano with studio chorus effects combined with a Yamaha grand piano...or a big brass studio sound combined with string symphony with all kinds of dynamic tonal range depending on the velocity of your playing? When you consider that you get 2 sets of 500 sounds and you can layer or split any two of them together at one time, the possibilities or virtually endless and they will make your music sound better than ever and you might never want to get off the bench!

Most people don't talk about "volume knobs" on digital pianos or keyboards but in this case it's worth bringing up now for a few reasons. There are 3 of them on the Grandstage...one "master volume control knob" and two "instrument section volume control knobs" which Korg labels as volume "level." The master control volume knob controls the volume for the entire keyboard at one time and it's pretty obvious of how you would use that function. The section volume control "level" knobs controls the volume for each of the 2 instrument sections. The master volume goes has 10 levels of volume from off to maximum volume and then the knob stops. The independent section control knobs are continuous knobs that keep turning and have no beginning and no end. However, the actual volume is controlled digitally by those knobs and have 11 slightly raised small indicator lines on the panel surrounding those knobs. Those indicator knobs light up in a red color so they are easily seen and you know how much volume you actually have at all times. Each indicator line is another step of volume going higher or lower in raising or reducing volume of the instrument sounds. So with regard to the operation of volume controls and the user interface, I like it a lot because is very intuitive, has great tactile feel on the knobs, and it's easy to see, especially in darker places in the room. However, I did notice that depending on the sound you select in the instrument section, those incremental volume lines that light up red have a digital volume "notch" when raising or lowering volume. In other words, there are volume levels that are audibly heard in terms of a slightly unnatural volume jump or glitch either going up or down in volume when the instrument is being played and you're changing volume of that instrument at the same time. Whether it's horns, strings, pianos, etc, when holding down some notes and changing the section volume "level" control, you hear a very slight jump in volume up or down...so it's not as smooth in volume transition as I would have liked it to be. It's definitely more noticeable in a quiet room, but if you are in a room with a bit of noise and also not close to your external speakers, then you likely would not notice it at all. The physical volume knobs themselves are perfectly quiet and there are no digital volume jumps when turning the knobs if you are not playing the keyboard. I've played literally thousands of different digital pianos & keyboards through the years and all of them seem to have a few "quirks" here and there so this one is not a big deal to me personally. But it is an area of improvement that Korg should make in future product.

OK, so let's say you have some favorite sounds out of the 500 that are offered in this instrument and maybe you have some "favorite" layer mixtures or split combination setups that you like to use most of all and perhaps more often than the 1000's of other sound selections available in this instrument. The Korg Grandstage offers 64 digital memories, called Favorites, enabling you to quickly memorize and save any sound combinations or selections you want and instantly recall them with direct access buttons on the control panel right in the center where you can best access them. So lets say you are playing your favorite pop tunes, rock, Jazz, Latin, country, Gospel, contemporary Christian, blues, big band, or whatever type of music you like and you are either wanting to quickly change sound settings in different parts of your song or you want to quickly change sound settings for the next song you are about to play. Rather than manually setup the instrument, which can take a lot more time, you just tap the preset buttons that light up where you saved your settings and you instantly get the sound or sounds that you want and the display screens clearly shows the names (and numbers) of those sounds. You can even save one instrument sound in the 1st set of the 500 tones and a sound in the 2nd set of the 500 tones and choose to shut off the 2nd sound but keep the 1st sound on when saving that layered combination. Then when you select that preset you just made, both sounds will be in that favorite button but only the 1st one will actually be displayed and play until you turn on (press the "on" button") in the 2nd screen that was pre-selected in that memory button. In other words, you have 2 sounds but only one is playing which gives you the opportunity of just turning on that 2nd sound when you want it, which is already in the memory. Does that make sense? Hopefully it did and my point was to show how flexible this "favorites" section is and how effective it can be in being able to bring up your favorite sound settings.

With regard to the "Favorites" section, I feel it's very important for me to mention something that really impressed me a lot in terms of using the Favorites section. Typically on almost any digital piano with memory set-ups where you can save your favorite set-ups (many digital pianos have this type of feature although not necessarily as versatile or easy to use as the Grandstage), when you switch from one favorite sound setup to another, if you happen to be playing a song or any music at all on the keyboard when changing from one memory set-up to another, then the notes you are playing either immediately stop playing or the sound is momentarily distorted because each sound setup normally can have at least 2 sounds in it along with special effects, reverbs, and actual sampled sound is different in one memory button compared to what you saved in another memory button. So you have what is know as a "rough sound transmission" (RST) where when moving from one memory favorite to another or even one regular instrument sound to another, the transition between those sounds and/or favorite memories is very rough and interrupted (RST). This causes the player to have to stop playing completely while they are making a sound or favorite setting change or else their music with likely sound glitchy, rough, and/or distorted. However, on the Korg Grandstage, they have a special sophisticated technology called Smooth Sound Transition (SST) which takes care of all those rough sound changing issues that occur on most other digital pianos and allows the sounds and "Favorites" settings on the Grandstage to transition or flow from one another extremely smoothly just like you did not press any buttons or make any changes to get a new setting, and yet you did. This was such a surprise to me on this instrument because given there are 500 unique and different instrument sounds and sound effects that vary from each other in so many ways, not having any interruptions when changing sounds was very satisfying for me as a musician and really helped make my music that much more natural and realistic. It just made me want to play for longer periods of time. The SST sound transition technology would be great for gigging musicians, home & pro recording studios, churches doing live play/performance, school bands, and just playing music at home and enjoying a better musical experience. When it comes to the instrument sounds in the Grandstage, there are so many good ones within the 500 sounds and then when you want to layer or split 2 of them together, then having them in the favorites button really helps so you don't have to search for the sounds you like...you just save them. But beyond the instant recall from the saved favorites, it's when you move from one Favorite button to another that the Smooth Sound Transition technology really comes in handy and ties it all together without any "speed-bumps" so your music sounds great every-time and when you change your "Favorites" sound settings from one button to the next, one sound fades out while the other sound fades in very smoothly way. If you don't see yourself as the type of player who will want to make sound and/or effects changes during the song you are playing or you will likely not want to make changes in sounds and/or effects in-between songs while still playing some notes and/or chords, then this technology will likely not impact your playing at all. But for many of us, including myself, it's a very cool feature to have and once you start enjoying it with your own music you'll likely not want to settle for less after that.

One more quick thing about the Favorites section. There are 64 memories inside and normally that's enough memory slots to store your favorite sounds or sound combinations. But it you are a pro player and play somewhere often and/or play a lot of songs then you may need or want to have more than 64 memory slots available to you. In that case you can just save the 64 memory favorites that you have set up in the Grandstage and load/transfer them all into a USB flashdrive/thumbdrive and store them in there. Then you can set up to 64 more memory favorites in the Grandstage and save them all to a flashdrive just like you did on the 1st set of 64 favorites. Once you have them saved then you can load a set of 64 back into the piano and you can use them again in real time. So the point I am making here is that you are not limited to just 64 favorite settings and that makes the Grandstage even more flexible than it already is.

Part (but certainly not all) of the ability of the 500 instruments in the Grandstage to sound so good is because those sounds are set up as part of 7 independent "sound engines." What that means is that there are 7 groups of sounds with there own independent velocity responses, polyphony power, overall sound processing and dynamic voice allocation between sound engines. If you don't know anything about "sound engines" they are very much like car engines and having 7 different engines running independently of each other but also in cooperation with each other to run the car. Each engine does something important for the running of that car and the efficiency of that process. and because you have 7 engines you can have larger, better, and more efficient power and speed along with giving that car special abilities to do things that no other car can do with just 1 engine, no matter how good that 1 engine might be. The 7 independent sound engines in the Grandstage include the SGX2 acoustic piano sound engine offering up to 240 notes of efficient polyphony power for just the acoustic piano sounds which were very compelling, the EP1 electric piano sound engine with up to 100 notes of polyphony power and those vintage electric piano tones were extremely fluid and fun to play, the AL1 analog modeling sound engine with up to 36 notes of efficient polyphony power (which is a lot of polyphony for analog synth sounds including recreations of Moog, Oberheim, and many more), the CX3 tonewheel sound engine to control the organ sounds with up to 128 notes of polyphony (which is more than enough polyphony for organ sounds and those organ sounds were fabulous), the VOX Organ sound engine for all the vintage transistor organ sound reproductions at 100 notes of polyphony, the Compact Organ sound engine for specialized transistor organ sounds at 100 notes of polyphony, and the HD1 PCM sound engine at 128 notes of polyphony to control all types of orchestra sounds and other tones in the Grandstage. All these sound engines work independently to offer more efficiency and better quality tone (better tonal and volume balance across the keys, huge full bass response and sparkling high frequency tones) for what those engines control, but yet they work together in harmony to produce tones and combinations of tones that single or dual engine digital pianos just cannot do. So when you see specs that say a digital piano may have 256 notes of polyphony, 375 notes of polyphony, or unlimited polyphony...that is certainly good. But if it's just one or 2 total sound engines then the quality and realism of that sound could definitely be lacking as compared to 7 sound engine technology that the Grandstage offers. Also after really putting the 7 sound engines through their paces I found there was absolutely no "note dropout" at all no matter how hard I tried to do that and with all the possible sound and effects combinations possible. When you play and hear the authenticity and presence of the 500 sounds of this instrument and compare it to any other stage piano brand in this price range, you will understand what I am talking about. Hearing and experiencing is believing and that's all you need to do to be impressed with the sounds of the Korg Grandstage in my opinion.

So let's now move on to the Grandstage "key action." The key action in regular acoustic pianos is considered to be the most important part of any good piano and the same is normally true for digital pianos as well. The Grandstage 88 & 73 key versions use the same high quality piano style key action called RH3 which is in and has been used in other top Korg keyboard and piano products over the years such as the SV1, Kronos, G1, C1, and LP380. I have played this key action many times before and like it very much. It is quick, responsive, feels good under the fingers with good weight and balance without being too light or extra heavy. It's an all plastic key action and has the traditional implex plastic keytops like traditional pianos do as opposed to some of the "ivory-feel" keytops that other digital piano companies are producing. A few other digital piano companies also have either partial wood keys or all wood keys as opposed to the all plastic keys in the Grandstage.  But it's not necessarily the content of material in the key that makes the difference in these key actions, but it's the weight and balance of the key and the way it moves and the Korg RH3 key action is enjoyable to play, quiet in its physical movement, and will be more than enough for most players or non-players. In fact, this key action is completely designed and built in Japan at the Korg factory unlike many other companies who build their products in China, Indonesia, etc. Products that are built in and come from japan are known for having higher quality and workmanship so the Grandstage is unique among its peers in that way.

This Korg RH3 key action does not have the longer wooden key and see-saw movement with the escapement (let-off) feature that the Kawai MP11SE has which is, in my opinion, the best key, most realistic piano action out there for a stage piano. However, that digital piano has a price tag on it of $2799 internet price as compared to the Korg Grandstage 88-key model at just $2199, is much heavier in cabinet/case weight, and has just 40 sounds (voices) in it with one sound engine that carries mainly acoustic and electric piano sounds in it. Although the Kawai MP11SE sound engine is very good and I like it, it comes nowhere close to the Korg Grandstage in terms of instrument sounds, realism, and overall control, in my opinion. Yamaha and Roland have very nice stage pianos but not only are both of their stage pianos priced at $2499, but their sound library is, in my opinion, nowhere near the capability and quality of the Korg stereo instrument sound library. However, both the Roland & Yamaha key actions are enjoyable to play and I like them, although they definitely have their own key action "personality" as do all key actions in different pianos. So when it comes to a good, solid key action in a digital piano, the Korg Grandstage RH3 piano weighted and graded key action will keep up with the demands of your playing and be response to your musical needs and I personally like it very much. The only reason you may want a better "piano-like" key action and be willing to spend the money for for it is if you would be primarily just using acoustic piano sounds almost all the time and the 450 extra sounds in the Korg (beyond the piano sounds) are not necessary for you or what you would be wanting to use. At that point I would say that it would be better to save your pennies and spend more money on the Kawai MP11SE if key action, good solid piano sounds, and responsive triple pedaling experience is all that really matters to you.

Now that I have finished talking extensively about the Grandstage sound library and operation, key action and pedaling, and a couple other related things...what else can this instrument do that's worth talking about? Well, for one, the Grandstage allows you to take the instrument sounds you have chosen and to add personal EFX and sound editing to your sounds. these extra functions & features would include a 3-band EQ (equalizer) so that you can instantly change the treble, mid-range, and bass frequencies of the sounds you are using. This is done in real-timewith 3 slider controls, 1 for each frequency. There are some instrument tones such as pianos, strings, brass, guitars, synths, etc, that you think should "stand out" at bit more or have bassier, deeper tone than how that sound normally comes out. So with the instant EQ settings you can customize those sounds to your personal tastes and then with a press of a button you can turn that EQ section on & off whenever you want to use it. Another special effect that changes the way the sounds are heard is called the Dynamics control. The Dynamics function has an off/on button and control knob which regulates how much or little of that effect you will get. Essentially what this special effect will do to your sounds is to make it even brighter, sharper, punchier, and more distinct, or you can reduce the amount of Dynamic sound control so that the overall tone is more muted and less distinct. Although this effect is similar in a couple ways to the EQ effects control, it is still different in that it adds even more dynamic clarity or mellowness (based on your key touch) to your music. An example of when using this feature might be very useful is the fact there are many pro keyboard players who may purchase the Grandstage 88 or 73 key version to play professionally at a gig, church, out-door event or in a band or orchestra. When playing with a band or orchestra, sometimes the other instruments that are playing along may overpower the keyboard player and the ability of that keyboard/piano to "cut through" all the sound the other instruments are making. When you use the "Dynamics" feature then you can instantly add noticeable power, sharpness, & clarity to the sounds in the Grandstage when you are playing it so that those sounds really stand out and are more easily heard. I have used this function many times on the Grandstage and it works well and does just what you need and when you need it. Switch it on with a single button that light up when you need it, switch it off when you don't.need it.

Another area of effects that is very useful and commonly found in digital pianos is called Reverb. A reverb effect adds an echo sound to the instrument you are playing. As an example, if you are playing a real piano in a room, the bigger the room you are in and the more hard surfaces exist in that room like hard floors, hard walls, tall ceilings, etc, the more natural reverb (echo) you have in that room. In a large auditorium there is normally quite a bit of natural reverb echo, and when you play a grand piano in a larger room, then you hear that piano sound bouncing off the ceiling, walls, floors, etc, causing the reverb or longer echo. When you yell into a large canyon your voice will have echo on it from the depth or size of that canyon and most of us have experienced that type of echo. A large empty room usually has echo in it and when you clap your hands you can easily hear that echo in that room. Professional recording studios have large rooms to record live bands, orchestras or individual musicians. However, recording studios generally do not want natural reverb to occur (for a good reason) so they put sound absorbing foam material all over the walls of that room so the natural reverb echo will be absorbed and not be heard. The reason recording studios do that is although they definitely want reverb echo effects in the music much of the time, they want to digitally add control those effects at their studio mixing board and put them in the recording digitally when and where they need them. The added digital reverb effects can vary greatly depending on the type of music that is being played and recorded and the musical goals of the musicians and recording engineers. In the old days, electronic reverbs were caused with actual springs inside a box called spring reverbs. These days it is done digitally through computerization.

When playing a Korg Grandstage, depending on the room you are in and the tones from the internal 500-sound library you are using, you may want to add some reverb effects to those tones. The Grandstage has a separate (easy to use) reverb function on the control panel that allows you to add a variety of quality reverb effects and to be able to control the amount of reverb that you get as well as to make that reverb a continuous linear effect or a reverb bounce (delay) effect. The dedicated Grandstage reverb feature can add digital reverbs including Hall, Stage, Room, and Spring reverbs and you can control the amount (depth) of that reverb effect so you don't get more or less than what you want or need. In this way you can make the sounds on the Grandstage, especially the acoustic piano sounds, even more natural and organic than what they would have been without the reverb system. With dedicated reverb control knobs the reverb effects are very easy for anyone to you so that you can instantly sound like a pro even though you may not have ever used reverb effects in the past. Beyond the types and amounts of reverb used in your music, the quality of the reverb effects are very important as well. recording studios can easily spend thousands of dollars for their reverb effects systems so that those echo effects sound real and not like toys. You definitely do not want those effects to be cheap sounding and make your music sound artificial. You want high quality (HD) effects and that is exactly what the Grandstage provides...high quality effects that do not sound artificial but instead sound realistic and smooth. Using the reverb system control knobs, you can even make your piano sounds (or other instrument sounds) in the Grandstage have so much natural reverb and depth that it sounds like you are playing piano in a huge cavernous Cathedral in Europe...it's that good and that realistic. You can preset your reverb effects in the Grandstage and turn them on & off with the touch of a button and even save those special reverb settings (that you customized to your tastes) to the "Favorites" section in this model.

Another very useful feature is the dedicated TRANSPOSE button on the right side of the control panel. For a lot of people who play piano, they don't necessarily know how to transpose (modulate) the song up or down 1/2 steps whether it be "by ear" or reading the music in another key because they might not be comfortable playing the song in another key. Transposing the key is useful when wanting to repeat the song and doing that with raising the key a 1/2 step of if the singer (vocalist) is more comfortable within their vocal range in singing the song in a different key other than the one in the sheet music. A dedicated transpose button allows the instrument to digitally change keys without the player having to know or learn the song in a different key. The transpose feature is very easy to use and can be done in real-time during the live performance. You just touch and hold the transpose button and while doing that you can quickly touch any black or white key from middle C up or down one octave (a total 3 octave range) and then whatever key you touch while holding down the transpose button will put your song into that key. You can even change the transpose key (example: C>C#, G>F#>F) while holding down the sustain pedal to sustain your last notes played just before using the transpose button. In other words, you can be playing the song in one key and transition to any new key with the transpose button and changing into a new key without interrupting any previous notes being sustained in the previous key. Smooth key modulation transpose is what performers love to do who count on the transpose button to get into that new key with out interrupting the song being played. There are many digital pianos that cannot do this and I find it to be especially useful for church keyboard players who modulate their music into different keys quite often, a 1/2 step at a time during the song. The right side LCD screen also digital displays how many 1/2 steps you have transposed the song from the original key so you don't lose your place and you can quickly transpose back to the original key if necessary. The process is easy, quick, and does what many people want to do in terms of having a better, more exciting playing experience.

The Grandstage also has dedicated sections on it with a button and a couple knobs for doing further sound & function editing...quickly and intuitively. For those more experienced pro players like me, I really appreciate the extra control the editing features give you over the sound you choose such as the ability to change the amount of chorus effect that you want on the electric pianos, the type of filters and amount of filtering you want on synth sounds, control over the digital rotary speaker for the jazz/pop organ sounds, being able to have control over how much time you want the reverb effect to keep going such as on the pipe organ sounds. There's even control over the phaser, tremolo, chorus, wah-wah, amp distortion, portamento's for those vintage synth tones, and other special effects like string resonance applied to the acoustic piano sounds, and the list keeps going. You can control the octave your sound is in from being default normal or move the instrument octave up of down 3 entire octaves in just one jump if you like. You can also use octave controls independently for each sound in your layered tones. What's really interesting is that those editing functions show up in the editing section when you select the specific sound you want. So for instance you won't get a control for organ rotary editing if you choose an electric piano tone or you won't get filter control editing when you choose an acoustic piano sound but you will get string resonance control editing. In other words, the designers at Korg made it easy to find and use the needed editing functions for the instrument sounds that you choose, and those functions come in the display screen when you press the edit control button for either or both sets of the 500 tones and those two edit buttons work independently for both sounds you could layer or split assuming you are using combination sounds. You can also save those edited effects and sounds in the "Favorites" section so that you can recall them any time you want to. Given that there are a number useful editing features within the editing control functions on both sets of 500 sounds, having access to some of this very-easy-to-use features allows the Grandstage pre-set instrument sounds to be slightly altered in ways that you can easily customize to your musical tastes if you feel that is necessary. The depth of these features is fairly shallow as compared to the more extensive piano/keyboard workstations, synthesizers, and some other instruments out there. But based on what the Grandstage offers with regard to these sound and effects editing features, in my opinion they give you what most people really want to have without becoming distracting and unintutive to use.

Beyond the 2 edit buttons on this instrument is the "System" button on the far right side of this digital piano. This feature controls what are known as "global effects or global functions" which means that when you use theses functions then they apply to the piano in general and not just to a certain set of sounds. As an example, in the System button there are a number of things you can do such as set the touch sensitivity curve control to one of nine different options including, hard, less hard normal, lighter and then even lighter all the way up to"wide" in the way the sounds will react when you press down on the keys. The heavier the touch curve setting is, the more mellow and softer the sound will be...especially acoustic piano sounds. When you set the touch curve sensitivity control to lighter setting then when you touch the keys the sound will come in more quickly and be brighter. The "wide" setting is my favorite touch control because to me it's most like a piano with a more delicate light touch when playing softly producing a quiet muted piano tone and as you press the keys harder then you get acoustic piano sounds that will brighten up over time and become even more expressive with noticeably wider dynamic tonal range. Other functions in the System button is the ability to program 2 additional foot pedals beyond the regular damper pedal that comes with the piano. You can do all kinds of things with an additional momentary on/off pedal as well.

Also included in the system button functions is an exclusive Korg function which no other brand has. On the back of the Grandstage piano is the Korg logo in large white letter spelling out KORG. Most stage digital pianos have the company logo on the back of the piano primarily so that audiences can see that logo when you they are facing the back of the piano. For home use that logo really is not necessary because generally no one will see it. But if you are at a gig, playing at a wedding, a restaurant, a church, school, etc, then these keyboard/piano companies like their logos being displayed...good advertising. Well, unlike on any other other brand of stage piano that I know of, on the Grandstage the Korg company put in a "light-up" logo that you can control from the System button which allows these white (actually translucent) letter to be displayed in color. You can control the specific colors being selected, the brightness of the displayed color, and even having the colors cycle from one to the next in a continuous pattern of 7 sequential colors...and that KORG logo looks great and makes you look (as a musician) even cooler than you are:). The logo can also be triggered every time you play a key on the keyboard so that the color illuminates more brightly at the exact same time when a key is played...also very cool although this feature may get a bit annoying if you use it too much! Anyway, there are even more cool things you can do in the System functions so the is model is definitely full of surprises.

Every good stage digital piano needs controller wheels on it to control certain aspects of the sounds when playing them. There are two standard controller wheels that you use by moving the wheels with your fingers. Pro players use these things fairly often but if you don't know anything about these wheels, then one of the wheels can directly control what is known as "pitch bend. The "pitch bend" feature allows you to add a bending effect to any instrument tone so that the resulting sound will be more realistic. As an example, you can add a pitch-bend effect to a clarinet tone so that you can slide that clarinet sound whenever you want to, just like a live clarinet player. Or perhaps you are playing a Hawaiian guitar tone and you want to have that "side guitar" effect like real Hawaiian steel guitar players have in their music so that's another thing the pitch-bend wheel can do. The other wheel is normally called a modulation wheel which adds a vibrato effect to the instrument you have chosen such as organ, violin, guitar, trumpet, etc. Also those wheels have been programmed with different functions so they can do a few other things  depending on the sound you choose. I really like the position of those wheels and their smaller size because they feel very comfortable to use as opposed to other stage digital pianos I have played where those wheels are either uncomfortably large or in an uncomfortable position on the control panel. So when it comes to the real-time effects wheels on this model Korg has done an excellent job in making them practical and useful for those people who like to use those wheels to trigger some great real-time effects for the instrument sounds in this model.

The connectivity inputs and outputs include 3 pedals which include sustain, programmable on/off pedal, and also a volume pedal to control organ sound volume and other instrument volumes during the performance rather than only through the touch sensitive keys. So when it comes to pedals and connectivity the Grandstage should be to accommodate what you need. There is just one headphone jack in this model with great volume output for just about any type of headphones. Since the Grandsatge is a stage piano, typically stage pianos have one headphone jack whereas other home digital pianos typically have 2 headphone jacks built in. The connections on the back of the piano include XLR jacks for pro audio output to external speaker systems, 2 1/4' out put jacks for standard audio output for near-field homes, home studios, or small venues, standard MIDI connectors, USB output to external device, and USB flash drive input to piano. The 88-key version of this instrument is just 52" long and weighs 44 lbs. The 73 key version is 43" long and weighs 37 lbs. In my opion the 73 key version is a nice option but only if you are not playing more complex piano music on it that would require all 88 keys. If you are just playing chords and can work within having 15 keys less than normal 88 keys, then the 73-key version would be a good choice as it does everything the 88-key model does...less those keys.

I really do like the design and finish of the Grandstage as it has a very stylized, contemporary look to it using 3 different distinct materials on the case including a unique grey simulated woodgrain on the upper part of the entire length of the control panel which extends vertically to the back of the piano which makes this instrument very recognizable. The front of the piano surrounding the keyboard has some nice curves to it giving it a more elegant design. So Korg definitely has put a lot of thought into the design and materials used in this cabinet rather than the more boring look of an all matte black plastic cabinet with a squared of front surrounding the keyboard. The independent volume control knobs/dials on the control panel not only have a great tactile feel with groves in the knobs for secure finger control, but they have bright red light up incremental steps of volume control on the control panel surrounding the knobs so you can visually and easily see how much volume you have applied to each sound along with red light up levels for real-time visual control of reverb effects. All of the buttons (which also have good tactile feel) light up in red when those buttons are in use so you know which function is on and which one is off. I like the way Korg has incorporated these lights in their user control panel rather than using giant color touch screen or large non-touch LCD screens. The simplicity of the controls and the way they work, feel, and look give this instrument the sense you are playing something substantial but yet very easy to use without "overkill" of features and functions that you likely will ever need or use. The sustain pedal that comes with this model also is substantial, feels good (realistic) under the foot, stays in place well without sliding around, and is very responsive and that type of thing is very important to me. A music rack/stand comes with this piano and fits into the top back of the piano and supports sheet music unlike many other stage pianos which have no music stands at all.

The bottom line for the Grandstage is it's a competent digital piano first and foremost. It has inspiring acoustic piano sounds from the top acoustic pianos in the world and in fact, the most variety in reproducing the best acoustic grand pianos out there over any of the regular stage pianos from Roland, Yamaha, Kawai, etc, based on my playing experience with all these models. But make no mistake, the Grandstage is WAY more than just a stage piano because the extraordinary quality of the other non-acoustic piano sounds allows you to play music that you otherwise may not have played or enjoyed near as much. Whether your music style is classical, jazz, blues, rock, Latin, country, contemporary, vintage, ambient, world, folk, big band, swing, new age, whatever your musical tastes might be, the Grandstage will definitely allow you to express yourself musically in just about every way. Although this instrument has really great inspiring instrument sounds and grand pianos, those sounds are not perfect and I would not expect them to be. They are re-creations of the real thing and some of the sounds come much closer than others to being exactly like the real instrument it is trying to reproduce. But I have yet to find another stage digital piano in this price range under $2500 that comes close to this one in how good it sounds and what it can do in an easy to use format that requires little effort to learn and operate.

There are a few things that some people might think are lacking on this model such as not having any recording functions at all, no drum patterns or tracks, no audio inputs, no Bluetooth functionality of any kind, not being able to combine reverb effects with delay effects, not being able to layer or split into more than 2 zones or mixed simultaneously, etc. I would have personally liked a few of those things in this model...but it would all probably add up to a higher price, and it's always a "balancing act" when a manufacturer is deciding on what features to include in their product and how much it will cost the consumer to get it. By the way, it takes about 35 seconds for the Grandstage to "boot up." In other words, when you first power up this model you cannot start playing for about 35 seconds, and this is because there is so much powerful memory content in this digital piano it just takes that long to load. But the trade-off in what you get and what you hear is more than worth that small waiting inconvenience in my opinion. When it comes to recording related functions not being in this instrument, there is a solution for that. There is such a huge array of external audio multi-track stereo recorders these days from a variety of manufacturers at $300 or less, then you can just buy a great digital recorder/player and connect it to the Grandstage for most of your recording needs should you desire to have that that capability. As for drum rhythm tracks, there are some great iOS apps out there which can provide drum tracks that sound great and are useable in a variety of ways and even better than what are built into other brands that already have drum track patterns. The only down that with that is you cannot run the audio from an external device directly through the Grandstage because there is no audio input or Bluetooth audio connectivity as I mentioned earlier.  If you need more built-in stuff and even more editing control, then perhaps the Grandstage would not be the right instrument for you and then you may want a "workstation digital piano" type product from Korg or another brand.


At the end of the day this Grandstage instrument is for someone who wants a huge, realistic library of diverse sounds & tones with the ability to find them quickly and to be able to play a big variety of musical styles.  This model has awesomely big, bold, beautiful stereo orchestral instrumentation with full dynamic tonal range depending on how hard or soft you strike the keys, well balanced rich & resonate grand piano re-creations with long sustained string vibrations (using sustain pedal) that mix together in a noticeably organic way, super authentic organs of all types with original mechanical noises and tones built in to the organ sounds, impressive vintage synths and hypnotic ethereal pads, organic vintage keyboards & electric pianos with all the vintage effects including chorus, phasers, trems, amp distortions and organics noises & pops you would find in the original acoustic/physical versions, and a variety of stereo guitars (I am also a long time guitar player) including one of my favorites from a Martin style piezo acoustic-electric guitar that responds to tonal dynamic changes and adds fret/string finger-sliding noise depending on the way you play the keys along with automatic soft touch guitar fret harmonics, and then you layer that guitar with a warm stereo pad & a bit of stereo reverb and if you're a guitar player like me you'll never want to stop playing the Grandstage with that setting....absolutely gorgeous. Oh, and you can even turn that guitar sound into an authentic Hawaiian-country steel guitar with just a few tweaks to the sound by changing the EQ settings, adjusting one setting in editing mode, and using pitch bend and vibrato wheels...easy to do the the results are amazing. Beyond that there are the beautiful ambient tones, a huge variety of impressive stereo strings of all types, full brass sections and solo brass instruments, woodwinds, reeds, harpsichords with all of those mechanical elements found in real baroque period European harpsichords, and so many others. All of these sounds are coupled with a fluid, expressive proprietary piano-weighted key action & pedaling that seems to be the right balance between using this instrument as piano along with playing it as an orchestra, organ, electric piano, or synth.

If this is what you're looking for and want to be sure you can get a big internal library of pro recording studio quality sounds along with the other things I mentioned, then the Grandstage is likely the perfect instrument for you, especially for what I consider to be a very reasonable discount price of $2199 for the standard 88-note version. It's easy to use, intuitive, cool looking and a dependable digital piano with a highly respected keyboard manufacturer like Korg backing it up. The Korg Grandstage piano is also designed and built in Japan and that is a big "plus" too given that most of the other manufacturers of stage digital pianos have their digital keyboard products built in either China, Malaysia, or Indonesia. Many Korg products like this one are built in Japan with that added benefit adding to the overall reliability of the this model over time so you can be more confident with the purchase. At this point what I suggest is for you to decide if this instrument seems like the right one for you and then decide if you want the standard 88-key version or the shorter and lighter-weight 73-note version. It's all about the music coming out of this instrument and how it makes you and/or your audience feel and how easy it is to get the sounds out of it so you can enjoy your music that much more. It's really very inspirational to play as far as I am concerned and it should also be for you as well!

If you want more info on new digital pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.

HYBRID DIGITAL PIANOS | REVIEW & REPORT | What are they? Why are they becoming more desirable and how much do they cost? "Hybrid" digital pianos in 2020 are essentially digital pianos with at least one acoustic piano key action or sound producing component in them and typically that component is made of wood. 

The word "hybrid" means a combination of at least 2 completely different technologies or types of construction (or parts) used in one product. A dictionary definition of the word "hybrid" states the following: "having or produced by a combination of two or more distinct elements marked by heterogeneity in origin, composition, or appearance." A 2nd dictionary definition of hybrid says: "having two different types of components performing essentially the same function." So why would someone want that kind of thing in a digital piano and does it make the digital piano better? This is a detailed review & report that will educate you on this topic which is becoming more popular with the introduction of more "hybrid" digital pianos by the top digital piano manufacturers. (click on pictures for larger view)

The word "hybrid" has lately has been used to describe popular vehicles that some people drive which use both electricity and gasoline to power that vehicle. There are definitely benefits to this hybrid vehicle technology and the Toyota Prius has been one of the more well known names out there for hybrid vehicles. There are more and more hybrid vehicles on the road and that segment of the vehicle industry is continuing to grow. When it comes to digital pianos, the word hybrid is not as defined and pre-determined with regard to function, technology, and construction of the piano. Although generally speaking "hybrid" digital pianos have a wooden part or some other organic component in them which draws similarities to an acoustic piano in some way, the digital piano manufacturers have not agreed upon a real definition for the word "hybrid" when it comes to digital pianos, so it's anyone's best guess as to what they really mean when they use the word "hybrid." It could mean a wood action part(s) has been added to the key action, a partial or full wood soundboard has been installed, resin and carbon fiber parts added in the key action, wood speakers, etc...you just don't know what is in the "hybrid" piano unless you read the specifications closely. You really need to be careful when shopping for this type of piano product and how the manufacturer uses the word "hybrid" in their ads. The goal of my report here is to help clear up the mystery behind so called "hybrid" digital pianos and what makes them different or better than "regular" digital pianos.

A fully hybrid piano moving key action in a digital piano has nearly all the hundreds of moving action parts of a real grand piano including individual properly weighted keys and it really does feel like playing an acoustic grand piano with regard to the moving keys themselves...hence the name hybrid digital "grand piano." It doesn't get more realistic than that in terms of key action unless you purchase a real acoustic grand piano with the inclusion of felt hammers touching and muting real strings along with a real una-corda soft pedal. A fully hybrid upright piano moving key action has almost all of the hundreds of moving organic parts of a real upright piano key action and produces the key movement and key response of a real acoustic upright piano and it does not get more natural than that unless you buy a real acoustic upright piano which would have the damper mechanism dampening real strings and felt hammers striking real strings. It also needs to be said that an upright piano key action is noticeably different than a grand piano key action and is not preferred by advanced pianists as compared to a grand piano. However, the upright piano version costs quite a bit less money than a grand piano and it takes up a lot less space too, and those are the 2 primary reasons why someone would choose an upright piano over a grand piano. It just depends what you are after and how much money (and space in your room) you want to invest in with regard to your piano playing experience. There is no question that playing more complex piano music such as classical, jazz, etc will come out better with more even and consistent musical expression when playing on a grand piano as opposed to a upright piano, and this is true of any brand. That's why you'll never see an accomplished pro pianist play an upright piano in concert. However, some of the tall upright pianos actually rival the sound of a smaller grand piano so it's not the sound that makes the bigger difference...it's the key action action (and the pedaling) and the way it feels and how it moves that will affect your playing technique and the way you play.

Speaking of piano sound, the strings inside the piano are what vibrates when the hammers strike the strings as you are playing a piano and that's where each of the 88 notes comes from when you are playing each black & white key. I am stating the "obvious" for many of you out there who know these things but for some people you may not know how a piano actually works so I find it useful to be as informative as possible. When those piano strings vibrate they only make a very small sound by themselves. They are just copper and wire so they need to be "amplified" to be heard and that amplifier is called the "soundboard." Every acoustic stringed instrument has a wooden soundboard (see picture) and that board "amplifies" the sound of the strings in a special way so that your music can be heard loud and clear. It really is not just a board but actually a complex and exacting design, construction, and type of wood to bring out the sound of the strings in a beautiful and powerful way that will resonate all around you and the room you are in. This is true not only of upright and grand pianos but also for acoustic guitars, and other acoustic stringed instruments, etc. Without the wood soundboard and interior chamber of the acoustic piano to amplify the piano strings in an acoustic piano, you would have no sound and your acoustic piano would not really be playable. It is this marriage of strings and wood along with steel, copper, iron, and some other organic parts which makes an acoustic piano work in the way that it does and gives you that natural piano playing experience.

Kawai CA99 wood soundboard

In a digital piano, the sound is generated digitally from a piano sound chip and is then amplified electronically through digital power amplifiers and the sound comes out through speakers so you don't need a wood soundboard in the piano to help produce the piano sound because the electronics and speakers do that job well. However, there is one brand which has added a real acoustic soundboard made of spruce-wood in 2 of its digital pianos which then gives the added "organic" element of natural acoustic amplification along with speakers and digital amplifiers in those digital pianos. That brand is Kawai and the 2 new digital hybrid pianos which include a wood sound board is the CA99 and NV5 upright style digital pianos. Since there are no strings in a digital piano the natural occurring vibrations in that organic soundboard need to be picked up by the attachment of special transducer microphones on the soundboard so that the natural wood soundboard tone can be heard coming out of the additional speakers in the digital piano. In other words, the digital piano has digital amplifiers which send the digital piano sound out of the speakers just like all other digital pianos, but that same piano also has a real wood soundboard (similar to an acoustic upright piano) with attached special transducer microphones on that wood soundboard to help get that natural sound to be heard. It's a fascinating process and one which works well and you can actually hear the difference with and without that soundboard.

Another important aspect of any "acoustic" piano are the 3 pedals attached to the piano near the bottom center of the cabinet. Those 3 moving pedals are mechanical and they are connected moving wooden and metal parts that attach to those pedals which then controls the sustain, sostenuto, and soft (una-corda) pedal functions. This has a big impact on your music and how it comes out of the piano while playing a song. In a regular acoustic piano there are over 200 strings that create the piano sound when the keys move and the hammers strike the strings. Depending on the notes you play, specific strings are struck by the hammers inside the piano and those strings vibrate and sustain freely as long as you have a key pressed down or you are holding down your damper-sustain pedal. The sustain (aka: damper pedal) is the most important of the 3 pedals because using that pedal is what gives you a beautiful lush tone when the pedal is down and the piano sound continues to sustain and the strings vibrate and resonate and create sympathetic vibrations with other strings inside the piano along with subtle overtones and other organic tonal elements being heard. Sustained resonating strings at different times when you are playing a song adds a full natural tone that enhances the entire musical experience and outcome.

The way a sustain (aka: damper) pedal works is that it is connected by parts to a long damper rail where the the individual dampers are resting on the rail. When the damper pedal is pushed down by your foot then those dampers in the piano are pushed away from all of the over 200 strings and those strings vibrate freely over a long period of time while the pedal is held down. That is what helps create long, sustained piano tones that make your music lush and beautiful. Also, every time you press down a key and hold down that key, that specific damper on a specific note will release the string to be able to freely sustain which holds out that piano sound until you release that key. Once the damper pedal or specific key is released, then the damper (s) fall back onto the strings and the sustained note immediately stops playing. The damper pedal mechanism has to work in a precise manner to operate properly so that your song sounds good. The center pedal is called the sostenuto pedal and does partial sustaining for certain notes in specific songs and that pedal isn't used much at all these days. In a grand piano key action the left pedal actually physically moves the entire keyboard over to the left just a little bit so that not all of the strings are being struck by the hammers when you're playing. This function reduces the overall volume of the piano and makes it a bit quieter and you can use this pedal at various times in the song you are playing if you need the overall volume to be softer at that point. But even that pedal is not used very much by most recreational players. Regardless, those pedals (especially the damper-sustain pedal) are critical in the outcome of the song you are playing.

I mention all that with regard to the pedals, especially the damper pedal because in a "hybrid" digital piano there are no strings, and I said earlier. That's the point of a hybrid digital piano...the sound is generated by the digital piano sound technology which then is heard through the internal speaker system on nearly all digital pianos. The downside of a stringed acoustic piano is that it always needs tuning which can cost you thousands of dollars over the life of a piano. The tuning pins in an acoustic piano pin-block which hold the strings in place can possibly start slipping over time and cracks can form in the wood pin-block depending on the piano and weather conditions. When a piano technician tunes the piano it may not stay in tune if there are problems in the wood pin-block holding the strings in place. The acoustic piano will also likely require other maintenance over time such as fixing or replacing dampers or other action parts, the acoustic piano cannot be played at low volumes using a master volume control (it has no volume control like digital pianos), and you cannot use headphones in a traditional acoustic piano for playing privately like you can in a digital piano. Also, without the stings in a piano there is no reason to have the felt (wool) hammers that are associated with real acoustic pianos because there are no strings for the hammers to strike. Instead the hammers are really metal rods that take the place of felt hammers (see picture) and the speed and movement of those rods are detected by optical sensors which then trigger the piano sound in an appropriate way. Although there is a damper rail and real individual dampers in a few of (but not all) hybrid digital pianos, they don't dampen actual strings because there are no strings. The dampers and damper rail are there to give more realism to the feeling of the key action and pedal movement as compared to a traditional acoustic piano. In a hybrid digital piano without an actual damper rail mechanism and individual dampers for all strings, the pedals overall still feel good to use and the response is fine for most people who play at recreational levels. If you are at a more advanced "competition" piano level then a hybrid digital piano with a damper rail and dampers along with a full blown wood key action would be more appropriate and helpful.

Again, the point of a "hybrid" digital piano is to try and re-create the acoustic piano playing experience without the downsides of an acoustic piano. These "downsides" would include the need for strings which have to be constantly tuned over the life of the piano along with acoustic pianos always always being loud in volume as well as being negatively affected by more extreme humidity levels such as too much or too little moisture in the air. Acoustic pianos are also heavy (hundreds of lbs) and difficult to move and you cannot connect them to modern technology such as interactive educational piano training through computer programs or apps on tablets connected by a USB cable or through wireless Bluetooth which can be very useful to have. Digital pianos have always had advantages in many ways over an acoustic piano but not when it came to key action movement and playing authenticity...that's where acoustic pianos had a huge lead over digital pianos. But now with some of these new "hybrid" digital pianos utilizing more authentic key actions and piano sound technology, the large differences in the past between acoustic and digital pianos are slowly being erased.

The main number one point to focus on in any hybrid digital piano is the key action and how realistic it is. Following that would be the piano sound, pedaling response, and internal speaker system projection. The user interface display and all the digital features and functions in these pianos is just "frosting on the cake" as the old saying goes. So when you are shopping for a hybrid digital piano you need to focus on the things that actually make it a "hybrid" and the more that organic materials are put into a digital piano along with operating as much like an acoustic piano as possible, the more hybrid it becomes. But don't let the word "hybrid" fool you. Some of these digital manufacturers take advantage of that word when describing their so called hybrid pianos because sometime that "marketing campaign" doesn't line up with the reality of that piano. In other words sometimes a "hybrid" digital piano is hardly a hybrid at all...the digital piano manufacturer just wants to "sell you something" that otherwise barely exists in their product. So you need to be careful out there and know what you are doing and that's why I have put together this report...to give you the "real scoop" on what's going on out there in the hybrid digital piano world.

One more thing...there is also a piano product which takes a real full sized complete acoustic upright piano and then adds a MIDI digital piano sound module and speakers to the acoustic piano which offers you a way to have a 100% real piano in your home but with the capability of playing digital piano sounds with the main purpose of using headphones for private practice. The way this product works is that the felt hammers don't actually touch the strings in the piano when you activate the digital sound model system and play the piano. The keys feel the same and the hammers move but they don't go all the way to the strings and touch them. This is a nice product for those people who feel they still want a 100% real acoustic piano but they like a few of the benefits of digital technology. However, they are a lot more money than hybrid digital pianos and I am personally not a big fan of these so called acoustic hybrid pianos.

They still require regular turnings and are very heavy instruments. Both Yamaha and Kawai have a line of these acoustic hybrid models and I am sure there will be some people who want that totally organic "real piano" with strings, dampers, and real full size wood soundboard and will spend the money to get one. This is because you get a real piano and a built-in digital piano sound chip module built onto the acoustic piano so you would be able to practice at low volume or with headphones, and you can do that with these pianos by-passing the acoustic sound and accessing the digital piano module instead. You won't be hearing the acoustic piano sound when you play in that way and the hammers won't actually be touching the strings...they stop just in front of the strings when you play the keys. What I am talking about in this report are "digital" pianos which have no strings, no soundboard (on most of them), no dampers and damper rail but they do have acoustic type (wood) keys and/or full key actions which is the #1 most important component in any piano and that's why "hybrid" digital pianos have become so popular in the last 10 years and they are getting better with each passing year, they are overall more realistic and natural than non-hybrid digital pianos and are in more affordable price ranges as compared with a new traditional acoustic pianos.



Casio - Casio has 2 models of hybrid digital pianos and they are called GP-310 at $3999 and GP-510 at $5999. The hybrid portion of these pianos are the physical keys made by the Bechstein Grand Piano company of Germany which offers 16" extra long 100% all-wood grand piano white keys and also grand piano style moving hammers which are made of 100% resin and move up & down like in real grand pianos. Even though the moving hammers in both models are not made of wood and are not organic, Casio would consider them part of their "hybrid" definition because these unusual parts are the only simulated moving grand piano style hammers of any digital piano under $8000 out there and the moving hammer simulation gives these models another "hybrid" aspect that the other digital pianos in that price range do not have. In terms of the hybrid components in these models and whether they make the piano playing experience more authentic than non-hybrid digital pianos, they definitely do that and it's something which puts these new Casio models far beyond all the other Casio pianos in the lower price ranges and make them extremely competitive with the other major brands who make hybrid digital pianos.

The static down-weight and moving up-weight of these white keys are excellent coming in at approx 58 grams of down-weight and approx 35 grams of up-weight force measured at middle C based on my personal calculations after having playing this key action many times. It's comfortable to play on your hands, wrists, and fingers, moves smoothly with great response, and feels like you have real acoustic grand piano keys under your fingers. The wooden black key movement is also impressive and moves very nicely. Casio really has done a remarkable job with this key action and it's because the action is made by the famous Bechstein piano company, the GP-310 and GP-510 is really a blend of acoustic piano technology from Germany and Casio electronic technology of Japan. It is also worth mentioning that the key movement does not have the escapement/let-off feature that real acoustic grand pianos have and that some digital piano brands try to mimic. I did not feel that this "omission" was a problem for me at all because I would rather have a great key action movement in a digital piano than have a "fake" or simulated escapement feature which is how most digital pianos do it. The exceptions to the simulated escapement/let-off action feature is when the hybrid digital pianos use a complete wood key action with all of the moving parts such as what Yamaha uses in their AvantGrand series of hybrids and what Kawai has in their Novus hybrids. But those pianos are a lot more money than these new Casio models. So pound for pound I believe you'll be very impressed with these new Casio hybrid digital pianos for key action, piano sound reproduction, pedaling, and digital features..

Yamaha - The Yamaha brand has by far the most models that would fall into this "hybrid" category as compared to any other brand out there. This list would include models in their Clavinova series and their AvantGrand series of digital pianos. The Clavinova "hybrid" models would include the CLP-645, CLP-675, CLP-685, CLP-695GP, CSP-170, CVP-805, CVP-809, and CVP-809GP. The AvantGrand series includes the NU1X, N1X, N2, and N3X. This adds up to a total of 12 models of digital pianos that have some type of wood or other organic component in them. The more wood and/ore organic parts are part of a particular model, the closer it gets to a real acoustic piano and therefore the more "hybrid" it becomes.

In the Yamaha Clavinova CLP-645 and CSP-170, all the white keys are made of wood but the black keys are not made of wood...they are still 100% plastic which is fine, but they are not wood. The length of the white wood keys are shorter as opposed to grand piano keys which are longer. The CLP-645 have a key balance and movement from the front of each white key to the back of the key more like an upright acoustic piano. However, on the Clavinova CLP-675, CLP-685, CLP-695GP, CVP-805, CVP-809, and CVP-809GP, all of those wooden white keys are longer in length than the wooden keys in the CLP-645 and CSP-170. The longer keys in these Yamaha Clavinoa digital pianos is called "GrandTouch" key action and they allow for a better balance and more even amount of down-weight as you press the keys down whether you are pressing down with your fingers towards the front of the keys or towards the back of the keys, especially when playing flats and sharps. In other words, generally speaking the longer the keys the more realistic the piano playing experience will be. Keep in mind it is only the white keys that have wood in them and not the black keys and in the CLP-685 and CLP-695GP and those white keys have counter-balanced weights in the keys which makes them respond more quickly when pressing the keys down. The CLP-675 or CVP-805 do not have the counter-balanced weights in them and therefore are noticeably more firm/heavy to play...something I don't personally like as compared to lighter touch key movement which is more like a real acoustic grand piano.

Also, because Yamaha knows that wood is the best transmitter of natural sound in an acoustic piano utilizing a wood soundboard, wooden chamber within the piano, wooden cabinet, wood outer and inner rim, and other wood components that add to the "presence," natural vibrations, and natural resonances of the piano sound that you can hear and feel. Yamaha decided to use a spruce wood speaker cone in their Clavinova CLP-685 and CLP-695GP models to put out a more natural "wood type" tone is those models. So rather than incorporating a real wood soundboard (like the Kawai company has in their two top hybrid upright models), Yamaha added wood in a separate speaker cone in these 2 models to put out a more organic piano sound along with using regular non-wood speakers. The result is a more natural piano sound but it is still not like having a real acoustic piano because after all, it's still an electronic speaker and not a larger size real acoustic soundboard such as what you would find in every acoustic upright and grand piano. But this speaker cone is still a nice addition to add a little bit more authenticity to the piano playing experience in the CLP-685 and CLP-695GP.

To get even closer to an actual piano playing experience of a real acoustic upright or grand piano, Yamaha also has a line of digital "hybrid" pianos called AvantGrand. There are 4 models in this lineup including one model with an actual (real) Yamaha acoustic upright key action (minus a few parts) called the NU1X and 3 models using a real Yamaha acoustic grand piano key action (minus a few parts) called N1X, N2, and N3X. In other words, the key actions in these AvantGrand models are not just the keys themselves but also nearly all of the hundreds of parts that are connected to all the white and black wooden keys in a real piano. This is the most realistic possible key action you can put into a digital piano and also the most expensive. When it comes to key actions, this is by far the most hybrid that it gets and is for someone who has the budget and really values the most authentic acoustic piano playing experience you can have in a digital upright or grand piano.

Kawai - The Kawai company is well known for building real concert quality acoustic grand and upright pianos and have done so for many years. Their piano products are used by piano teachers, musicians, concert artists, universities, studios, and other venues around the world. They have established themselves as one of the premier piano companies and they build some great products. The Kawai "hybrid" digital pianos start with the CA48 at just $2099 which is the lowest priced "hybrid" out of all the major brands. From there it goes up to the CA58, CA79, CA99, the Novus NV5, and the top-of-the-line Novus NV10. The CA48 and CA58 have extra long 12" white wood keys with counter weights in the bass section keys that help those graded weight keys move better. The CA79 and CA99 have extra long nearly 14" white counter balanced wood keys as well as all wood black keys (most digital pianos have plastic black keys). The CA99 also has that natural acoustic piano "wood sound board" built in that I talked about earlier with transducer microphones attached to that soundboard to bring out the natural tonal vibrations and extra bass response. The Novus NV5 has a full functioning Kawai upright piano key action built in with the hundreds of wood & leather connecting parts that you would find in real Kawai acoustic upright pianos minus the strings and damper mechanisms. The NV10 is like the NV5 but with a full built-in acoustic grand piano key action as opposed to an upright key action. However, the NV10 does not have a real wood soundboard and instead has an extra large bass speaker to simulate what a wood soundboard would do. I am guessing that Kawai could not physically install a wood soundboard in the NV10 due to the design of that model and instead is relying on the extra large speaker and amplification to take its place. Regardless, all of the Kawai hybrid digital pianos are a joy to play and deserve to be right at the top in their price ranges when it comes to what a piano shopper is looking for. They sound great, look great, play great, and have the latest in digital piano functions and features that can keep a person happy for a very long time.

Dexibell - The Dexibell digital piano company is based in Italy and they have their own factory there. There products are 100% Italian and not made in Asia in a country such as China like many of the other companies do. Dexibell has been in business for a number of years but recently brought their products into the US within the last few years. In 2020 Dexibell is offering their first Hybrid type digital pianos with wooden keys and also a wood soundboard. They have 2 new models that have not officially been released yet called The H10C (console) and the H10MG which is the micro grand version of the H10C. The H10C has wooden keys init there are made by the Fatar key action company, also from Italy. The H10MG has the same key action but also a small wooden soundboard for extra resonation although that soundboard does not have transducer microphones attached to it like Kawai has in their pianos so the Kawai soundboard is more advanced in that way. Regardless, the new Dexibell "hybrid" digital pianos coming out soon are yet unproven because they have not come out on the market yet although they have had a number of "non-hybrid" digital pianos that have been out for a few years here in the US and I do like a couple of those models very much. Dexibell will likely also be a competitive in this category once they have proven themselves with these new models.

Roland - The Roland company has made digital pianos for many, many years and they have been a top contender when it comes to building quality music products. They also have digital pianos with "hybrid" key actions in them but their digital pianos are the least hybrid of all. Roland has plastic keys and then dresses them up by putting thin wooden sides on the plastic keys so that they look like wood and feel like wood on the sides of the keys but that is the extent of their "hybrid" function and construction. I would estimate the wood content of the keys is about 20% to plastic being about 80%. Their regular PHA50 "hybrid" white keys measure less than 9" long which is OK and they also have what they call their "Hybrid Grand Keyboard" and those keys are constructed in the same way the PHA50 keys are done with the exception that the Roland Hybrid Grand keys are just over 10" long which is about 1.5" longer than their regular hybrid white keys. The extra length definitely does not make this key action into a grand piano key action because grand piano keys are far longer than that. In fact, the Kawai all 100% wood white keys in their relatively inexpensive CA48 at just $2099 is a 12' long white key as opposed to the longest hybrid keys of Roland which is a little over 10" in length and those Roland hybrid grand key pianos sell at a store discount price of about $5000 for their 1st model using their grand key which is more than double the price of the Kawai piano. However, the Roland "Hybrid Grand key action" nevertheless plays very nicely and I like it and definitely gives you more finger control over your music when playing that keyboard than the regular PHA50 key action in the lower priced LX and HP models. But to say that it is a "grand" key action or it has a "grand piano" key is just not true, it's not even close.  Roland has 4 models with the regular "hybrid" key PHA50 key action and those models are called HP704, LX705, GP607, and GP609. There are 2 models with the longer "hybrid" white keys and they are called LX706 and LX708 which sell for approx $5000 and $6000. The shorter black keys in all these Roland models are made of all plastic keys and have no wood which is not necessarily a bad thing. However, most of the Kawai hybrid digital pianos, some of the Yamaha, and the 2 Casio hybrids do have wooden black keys which gives those models even more authenticity. The Roland pianos with their so-called "hybrid" white keys certainly sell at premium prices considering how little you are getting in terms of the pianos being "hybrid" in some way. There are a lot more functions and features in the new Roland pianos that are pretty cool but those features focus on digital sound and interactive technology and not specifically on the "hybrid" aspect of their pianos.

Generally speaking, the top most expensive hybrid digital pianos from the top brands have nearly complete acoustic upright or grand piano key actions in them with not only the real wood piano keys for both black & white keys but also all of the hundreds of moving key action parts with the exceptions of no strings, no felt hammers (because there are no strings for the hammers to strike) no dampers because there are no strings for the dampers to dampen (mute), and no wood soundboards. However, as I mentioned earlier, Kawai has two hybrid models with the inclusion of a wood soundboard with attached transducer microphones to add extra authenticity in tonal frequency and resonation to those pianos. One of those Kawai hybrid soundboard models called the NV5 is an upright digital piano and has all of the key action parts and the other soundboard piano model just has the wooden keys. A more basic or partial "hybrid" digital piano has wooden keys and the longer the key and more wood content in those keys that a few of those models have, along with counter-weights in the keys or attached to the keys, the more authentic the hybrid piano key action playing experience becomes. Yamaha & Kawai take the top spots for the best hybrid digital piano playing experience closely followed by Casio and then Roland as in last place. Yamaha and Kawai design and build real acoustic grand and upright pianos and have done so for many years so they obviously know what they are doing for their top hybrid digital pianos. There are other digital piano that I have not mentioned because they are portable stage pianos (such as the Kawai MP11SE) and not furniture cabinet pianos. There are usually other upgraded differences in many of the hybrid pianos as compared to regular digital piano models below them in lower price ranges such as more advanced digital sound technology in the hybrids, upgraded internal speaker systems, more advanced digital features, and even the furniture cabinet design and construction can be upgraded.

So here's the bottom line: As much as these digital pianos manufacturers might try to create a digital piano which fully recreates the real acoustic piano playing experience, they are not there yet. The sound of digital pianos primarily comes through speakers in the piano and this is where the main difference lies, in my opinion. In a real acoustic piano there is a big wooden soundboard which is typically made of natural solid spruce wood. The wood vibrates and amplifies the sound naturally when the strings are vibrating and that natural sound also resonates through the wood body of that acoustic piano. With digital pianos, the body is not made of wood real solid but instead usually made of MDF board. The piano sound in digital pianos mainly comes through electronic amplifiers speakers, and those parts do not amplify and resonate naturally like real wood acoustic pianos with real strings, real wood full size soundboard, and a real wood interior chambers. The tonal vibrations, resonances, echos, reverberation, and other organic elements of  acoustic pianos are trying to be recreated by digital piano manufacturers in a digital piano and there are limitations to what can be done. So there is still an audible discernible difference between acoustic pianos and digital pianos including hybrid digital pianos. However, those differences are not really the question as far as I am concerned.

As a long-time experienced piano teacher having taught thousands of students over the years as well as being a pro musician and arranger, the real question is, can a person who wants a satisfying piano playing experience enjoy playing one of these new hybrid digital pianos or any digital piano? The answer to that question is absolutely yes! The overwhelming majority of piano players and piano students out there, especially those who play recreationally, will actually enjoy their piano playing experience on these newer upgraded digital pianos even better than a traditional acoustic piano for a number of reasons. The key actions are impressive, the newly developed stereo piano sounds are dynamic and expressive, the pedaling is responsive along with longer and more natural sustain-decay times, the digital piano never goes out of tune saving you thousands of dollars over the life of the digital piano, you can lower the volume with volume control, you can practice in privacy with stereo headphones, the can record yourself in a number of ways for educational purposes, you can connect to Bluetooth audio streaming, MIDI wireless connectivity or musical and educational purposes, and you can use other built-in instrument sounds to enhance your playing enjoyment. Good new digital pianos are also a lot less money than a new acoustic upright or grand piano. There are so many good reasons to purchase a hybrid digital piano or any good digital piano over a traditional acoustic piano that for most piano shoppers out there, a new high quality digital piano is a smart decision and a better way to go in the long-run when it comes to investing in a piano that will give you years of musical enjoyment.


If you want more info on new digital pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.

🎹 UPDATED REVIEW & Comparison - January 1, 2020 - Casio CDP-S100, CDP-S350, CDP240 CDP230R, CDP135, CDP235R, PX-S1000, PX-S3000, PX-160, CGP700, PX-360, PX5S Comparison under $1000 - What makes them different and which one should you buy?The Casio company has had a long history in producing some very impressive 88-key portable digital pianos. Casio is well known for being an "affordable" brand in terms of getting higher quality electronics for less money than the other brands when it comes to portable and home furniture cabinet digital pianos. Here in 2019, the Casio company keeps offering even more digital piano options than ever before because for Casio and other manufacturers like Yamaha, etc, it's all about putting different digital pianos into different retail "distribution channels." What that means is that Casio is now making portable digital pianos that are not only for the general mainstream retail market where anyone can buy one of those pianos on-line or at a store, but they also make portable digital pianos exclusively for specific retail outlets that would have "exclusive rights" to sell those models so that no other retail establishment could also sell them. What that means is that Casio could offer a specific model (or models) to one retail company and not others.

The Casio CDP-230R, for instance, was an 88-note weighted key portable digital piano which was only offered at Costco for Costco members and that model was only available during the 4th quarter holiday season of the year on a limited basis. The Costco price on that model which came out over 5 years ago was $449 for a couple years. Then Casio upgraded that model to the CDP235R which had a slightly (but not much) better piano sound and a different color (blue) display screen...but everything else remained the same including the key action, pedaling, and the $449 price and limited availability. I did a previous review on both of those Costco models and even though they had some fun and entertaining features, as a piano substitute they were just OK for being under $500. But after awhile Costco decided it was not worth carrying that model anymore and they are no longer carrying Casio digital pianos. Casio CDP230/230R Review

Since Casio had no large retail outlet to sell the CDP-235R to exclusively anymore, Casio decided to rename that model and call it a CDP-240 ($449 internet price) which was released in late 2018 as an exclusive product on Amazon. It is the same piano as the previous CDP-235R that was at Costco, only now it's on Amazon as a different model number. While it is a still good product, its technology is pretty old at this point so there are better options in this price range for Casio portable digital pianos, especially if you are interested in having a more realistic piano playing experience as opposed to just getting a lot of toy-like bells & whistles. So the bottom line for the CDP-240 is that it is considered the Casio "entry level" 88-key weighted key action portable digital piano in terms of piano playing realism, although it does have some fun "bells & whistles" built into it. To learn more about the Casio CDP240 being sold primarily through Amazon, read my review of the older CDP230R because other than the display screen color being changed from gold color to blue color and the piano polyphony power being raised from 48 to 64 notes, both models are identical in every other way. Casio CDP230/230R Review

Next in line would be the CDP-135 ($399 internet price) which has been the most basic Casio model for the last couple years but is now being replaced by the new CDP-S100 ($399 internet price) along with an additional, upgraded CDP-S model called the CDP-S350 ($499 internet price). The older CDP-135 is really the basic version of the CDP-240 and even though the CDP-135 is a discontinued model, it may still be available for purchase on-line s a new product. The 2 newer recently released CDP-S models just came out at the beginning of 2019 and are only available at Guitar Center and their affiliate or wholly owned stores such as Music & Arts, etc. The CDP-S100 replaces the former CDP-135 (as I mentioned) that Guitar Center also had as an exclusive model. The new CDP-S100 has an upgraded, more compact, and slightly lighter cabinet along with an upgraded piano sound sample over previous CDP models. The key action is also improved and upgraded over previous CDP models as well as over the CDP240 currently on Amazon. However, the new CDP-S350 with many built-in "bells & whistles" is the actual step up from the CDP240 on Amazon and previous CDP235R that was in Costco. The newer CDP-S350 has 700 instrument sounds, lots of interactive background accompaniments, and some fun features built in, although it uses the same LCD screen & color as the much older CDP230R that was at Costco. When it comes to the getting a digital piano under $500 then the CDP-S350 would be the better investment...plus...it has a better, more realistic piano sound as compared to the more basic CDP-S100 and previous CDP135 and CDP230R and CDP235R, although both CDP-S models (including the CDP240 on Amazon) have just 64-note polyphony power as compared to the higher priced models. Polyphony power is important for producing a better, more authentic piano sound, pedaling sound response, and more organic tonal dynamics and the 64-note polyphony piano chip goes back well beyond 10 years ago in terms of technology....so it's old and cheaper to produce than the better polyphony chips. But the question is, are you willing to give up the "better" for the "cheap"? It's like buying a 10 year old computer cheap...do you really want to do that when the newer, better ones are not that much more money?

Casio's next model is the PX-160 ($549 internet price) portable digital piano which they have had out for over 2 years and is still a current model. It comes in 2 colors (black or custom white & gold) and it's the "Privia series" entry level" model weighted 88-key digital piano with no interactive accompaniments, does not have hundreds of instrument sounds, and does not have a proprietary app like "Chordana Play" such as what's available for the CDP-S350 and models above it. But PX160 does have a better key action and more piano polyphony power with double the polyphony at 128-notes of power than the CDP or CDP-S series. The CDP160 is a noticeably more realistic portable 88-key digital piano than the CDP-S100 although it does cost $150 more but worth it. It also looks great in the customer white and gold cabinet & stand. If you want more "bells & whistles" then for the same price you might be better off with getting the newer CDP-S350 which is close to the PX-160 as far as piano sound and key action goes, but not quite as good with only 1/2 of the piano polyphony power at just 64-note polyphony. But it just depends on how you are mostly going to use the piano. A couple other updates to the new CDP-S pianos is that they can both run on batteries independent from an a/c power adapter. That is pretty cool and very helpful if you want to travel with one of those pianos and don't have access to a power source where you are. The CDP-S pianos also have a more compact & slimmer cabinet and weighs a little bit less at just 24 lbs...so it's even easier to carry around if you are going to do that. Click on the following link to read my detailed review of the PX160: Casio PX160 Review


The next jump up in the new Casio pianos is to the PXS models including the PX-S1000 ($6499 internet price) and PX-S3000 ($849 internet price). Both of the PXS models have a significantly more realistic and natural acoustic piano sound chip than any of the other Casio portable digital pianos under $1000 and it is clearly a major part of the PXS pianos. However, the PXS models go much further in technology with significantly increases polyphony power to 192-notes vs the 64 note polyphony of the CDP models and the 128-note polyphony of the portable PX models. This extra polyphony power enables the acoustic piano sound of the PXS models to have no note drop-out when playing more complex music. The sampling technology of the PXS models also allows the acoustic piano tones to have a noticeable larger and more dynamic tone than any past model of Casio has ever had and that includes a huge dynamic range of tone when playing from very light finger touch to very strong and heavy and anywhere in-between. Beyond all that the special effects section of the PX-S1000 & PX-S3000 are soooo much better than the other Casio pianos I've mentioned here which is important, even if you never thought that type of thing would be important. This is because the special effects includes the all new "Hall Simulator" and "Acoustic Simulator" for Casio portable digital pianos. These two special effects systems allow for more organic acoustic piano content and elements within the acoustic piano sound along with special "hall/reverb" effects that are normally found in much higher end and more expensive stage type pianos. These effects provide a more natural ambiance and environment for the acoustic piano sounds as well as a more natural sound environment for all of the 700 instrument sounds in the PX-S3000. The PX-S1000 is the more basic of these 2 models and is mainly for people who mainly want to play piano and not do much else. However,even with that being said, the PX-S3000 allows for more control over the piano sound which can make your piano playing even more enjoyable. The PX-S1000 would be the basic model of the two PXS models like the CDP-S100 would be the basic model of the two CDP-S models. In contrast the PX-S3000 is the more advanced model over the PXS-1000 like the CDP-S350 is the more advanced model of the CDP pianos. But both of the PXS models are far more advanced and realistic in terms of the piano sound than any of the other Casio pianos I have mentioned here. Click on the following links to read my detailed reviews on the new PX-S1000 and PX-S3000:  PX-S1000 Review   PX-S3000 Review

Piano key action is also very important with regard to authenticity and natural key movement compared to a real good quality acoustic piano. The Casio CDP240 available on Amazon would be the most basic and less realistic of all Casio portable digital pianos followed by the the newer CDP-S series, followed by the PX-160, and then followed by the new PXS models being the most authentic having individually weighted and graded keys that no other portable digital pianos have in any brand under $1000. As a pure beginner you can likely be fine with any of these models in terms of piano sound, key action, functionality, etc simply because you are "starting from scratch" and don't know what you are doing yet. However, there is such a distinct difference in quality and authenticity of the piano playing experience among these models that a person really should consider how much they like music, their desire in learning to play music, and if they want to get a longer term investment instead of the cheapest thing possible. If you are already spending close to $400 to $500 for the more basic models in terms of key action, piano sound, and pedaling, then what's another $100, $200, or even $300 to get something you can grow into instead of growing out of it.

To add even more "confusion" to the mix, Casio has 2 more portable digital pianos they offer under $1000 which is the CGP700 ($849 internet price) and the PX360 ($899 internet price). I mentioned the word "confusion" because that's what it is for a lot of people...complete confusion with so many choices and within similar price ranges. Casio would call it an opportunity to have more "channels of distribution." Casio has 9 models that are currently available at various stores throughout the the US and the CGP-700 and PX-360 are the only 2 models that have a large 5" proprietary color touch screen built into those models. Since the user interface and navigation on the CGP-700 and PX-360 are much more intuitive and easy to use than the other models, Casio does not produce a "controller app" for them like they do for the CDP-S and PXS models. That Casio app is called "Chordana" and it allows you to control nearly all of the piano functions of the CDP-S and PXS models from the color touch screen of your tablet device (iPad, etc). The CGP-700 is unusual as compared to all other Casio portable pianos in that it automatically comes with a furniture style stand and that particular stand has a built-in bass reflex speaker attached to it which gives the CGP-700 a much larger volume with much richer tone and big bass response. However, even though the CGP-700 is a very cool instrument, the actual piano sound sample in that model is not quite as realistic as the lower priced PX-160 model ot the higher priced PX-360. However, a beginner would not likely be able to tell the difference so it just depends on what is important to you with regard to how you are going to use these pianos. The higher priced PX-360 has many more features than the CGP-700 but does not come with the additional furniture style "speaker stand" that you get with the CGP-700. Both the CGP-700 and PX-360 have 16-track MIDI recording & play-back as well as the ability to layer up to 4 sounds simultaneously and do a few other things that the PXS series cannot do. However, when you add that special speaker-stand to the CGP-700, it gives it a total of 40 watts of power going into 6 speakers as opposed to the PX-360 with 16 watts of power going through 2 speakers which makes the CGP-700 portable piano the most powerful in terms of the internal speaker out of any Casio portable digital piano or any other brand's portable digital piano for that matter. But as far as the authenticity of the piano sound chip, it is more realistic in the PX-360 portable model than in the CGP-700 portable model. Is this getting a bit confusing to you yet? I would not be surprised about the confusion because of there being sooooo many choices in the Casio digital piano line when it comes to portable digital pianos. You can read more about these 2 models in my detailed review at the following link: Casio CGP-700 & PX-360 Review

To top it all off, Casio even has another portable model under $1000 called the PX5S which is a cross between a regular Casio portable digital piano and a synthesizer because this model combines more traditional sounds of Casio digital pianos with synthesis technology to create and edit sounds in ways that professionals might use on stage. This model has a smaller LCD display screen and is button controllable rather than having any touch screen. There is also no app that can work with this model unlike the new PXS series which uses that intuitive Casio Chordana app.. The key action in the PX5S is identical to the CGP700 and PX360, which is a good thing, but the piano sound chip in the PX5S is 256-polyphony as opposed to 128-polyphony in the the CGP700 and PX360. However, the new PXS models have 192-note polyphony which is generally more than enough to do what you want musically speaking. But when you are creating sounds and layering multiple parts together which is what the PX5S can do, then it is good to have as much polyphony power as possible which makes the 256-note polyphony more necessary. The PX5S is a 6 year old model at this point so is getting a bit old at this point and yet is still a current model because it does things that no other Casio portable digital piano can do which is generally of more interest to pro studio and stage musicians than it likely would be to anyone else...plus it has no built-in (internal) speakers which is another thing that sets it apart for all other portable Casio pianos. To make matters even MORE interesting and confusing, Casio also has another portable digital piano called the PX560 that sells for $1199 which is obviously more than $1000. This newer model is the "top" portable model in the Casio company and takes the PX360 technology and color touch screen and combines that all with elements of the professional PX5S. The PX560 is also popular if you want the ease of the color touch screen user interface combined with synthesis and layering elements of the PX5S including the same key action and 256-note polyphony power. Go to the following links to read my detailed reviews of the PX5S and PX560: Casio PX5S Review   Casio PX560 Review

The bottom line is...there are more "portable" lighter weight, self-contained digital pianos available from Casio under $1000 than the other companies (Roland, Yamaha, Korg, Kawai) combined! Casio pretty much owns that market right now and the best model in my opinion of all Casio portable digital pianos in terms of brand new functionality, features, realism of piano & instrument sounds, key action realism, pedaling response, and interface technology would be the new PX-S3000 at $849 internet price in the US. This new model pretty much has it all (minus only a few things) and for $849 it's really a bargain in my opinion. You really cannot go wrong with any of the Casio 88-key portable digital pianos but for the money the new PX-S3000 definitely gives you the "biggest bang for the buck" and is a longer term investment with regard to you being able to grow into it instead of growing out of it compared to any of the models below it. Certainly there are other 88-key portable self contained digital pianos out there that have an even more realistic piano sound chip, key action, pedaling, and internal speaker system but those pianos are at least 2 -3 times the price of the PX-S3000, so you would expect something that costs a lot more money to be better in some ways. However, pound for pound there is nothing that comes close to the PXS3000 right now from anyone for under $1000. You get really impressive 88-key individually graded weighted key action, stereo 3D surround sound acoustic piano sound with full dynamic tonal range, responsive full damper/sustain pedaling, 700 HD instrument sounds, professional studio effects, 100's of useful and fun interactive features, Bluetooth audio connectivity, battery power & a/c power, lightweight slim design cabinet with new digital touch button technology and flush mount display screen. along with the use of a proprietary app (Chordana) for your tablet (iPad/Android) that allows intuitive control of almost all features and functions within the piano itself. The lower priced more basic PX-S1000 is also impressive if you just want something for mostly piano playing in a portable digital piano and don't want to compromise in going down even further in price and getting something half as good in terms of a more realistic piano playing experience. But if you want to go beyond that and give yourself more "musical tools" to work with as you grow into the piano, then the added $200 to the price of a Casio PX-S1000 is much more than worth that extra cost to own the PX-S3000 as far as I am concerned. As a long time, well known piano teacher, musician, and digital piano consultant, I love to see people of all ages learn to play music on a piano and having one of these digital pianos makes it even more fun and enjoyable. Yes, a great acoustic piano, especially a grand piano is a wonderful piano playing experience but having the outstanding music technology built into some of these new digital pianos just makes it even more exciting. Click on the following link to read my detailed review of the Casio PX-S3000: Casio PX-S3000 Review

If you want more info on new digital pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.

🎹 UPDATED REVIEW & Comparison - April 2020 - Casio CGP-700 & Casio PX-360 digital pianos - Recommended - Casio portable digital pianos with color touch screens are unique among all portable digital pianos under $1000. The CGP-700 ($849 internet selling price including furniture speaker stand) and the PX-360 ($899 internet selling price, optional CS67 stand not included), have many interactive digital features that make playing the piano more exciting than ever. Please read my comparison review below. Click on pics for larger view

The Casio CGP-700 and PX-360 share many of the same features and functions but they are also different from each other in a number of notable and important ways.The first and biggest thing that both models share but what also sets them apart from the previous portable Casio models (and every other portable brand in this price range), is their proprietary 5.3" color touch screen using Casio touch App software with instant feature recognition which operates very much like a mini tablet including swipeable screens. Color touch screens are not new and there are quite a few consumer products out there with color touch screens, from educational kids electronic toys to family electronics have color touch screens now and instant feature recognition with swipeable screens, so having this technology in a digital piano should be no big deal...right? Well...actually it is a big deal because, at least for new digital pianos in the lower price range under $1000, these piano companies are behind consumer and commercial electronics when it comes to user interfaces and built-in color touch screens. There are some piano manufacturers who are writing their own proprietary Apps to use on iPad and Android tablets so you can control a limited number of functions on your piano from your tablet connected by WiFi, Bluetooth, or USB cable connection. That's good but it only covers a relatively small portion of what those pianos can do and the screen is the external tablet and not a touch screen in the piano. It is also important to point out that this Casio color touch screen is not set into the piano control panel completely flat. The screen is slightly raised and slanted for a good viewing experience which is much better than being flat, which I have seen in other brands that have any kind of display screen at all. So I do appreciate that extra "touch" of usability.

However, in the world of digital pianos, this would be the first time ever that a top name well known digital piano manufacturer has designed and produced a digital piano selling for under $1000that has a very user friendly, intuitive, large (as digital pianos go) 5.3" color touch screen with familiar settings and the ability to use the functions in a much faster and deeper way, without much effort. So I must give credit where credit is due...and that's to the Casio designers and engineers for coming up with an unexpected and impressive color touch screen feature which will allow digital piano owners to get the most out of their new Casio portable digital pianos which no other major digital piano brand can compete with at this point in this price range. Casio is, after all, a computer company that produces a variety of in demand consumer and business technology items such as digital cameras, watches, TV's, small color touch screen cash registers, language translators, calculators, and of course...keyboards & digital pianos. Casio has had a music/piano division for many decades and that division is able to take advantage of the technology that Casio uses in their other product areas, including the color touch screens which they now incorporate in these new digital pianos at a low price...pretty cool.


Along with the color touch screen and the features it has, Casio has included a round infinity (alpha) data wheel dial on the control panel to the right of the display screen which allows you to scroll through the functions in the touch screen.As an example, if you wanted to find a particular sound like a specific trumpet or piano sound, normally you would go through the library of sound groups and tones to get to the sound you want using buttons. The data dial on the control panel allows you quickly turn it in either direction which moves through the sound library or any other function quickly so that you can land on the sound or feature you want to. There is also an individual up and down button so that you can advance the features in the touch screen one at a time without using the data dial or touch screen. These functions are just other useful ways of  selecting the feature (sound, rhythm, song, etc) you want once you have gone into the touch screen mode. Yamaha and Roland have had a data wheel (dial) in a few of their keyboard products for many years on a variety of their digital pianos, but this is the first time that Casio has included the data (alpha) dial function into their digital pianos, so that's a big bonus in terms of how the piano operates for both the CGP-700 and PX-360.

Beyond the data wheel controller, Casio has also has some helpful buttons on the control panel itself which will take you directly to the most popular functions of the piano in the color screen including instrument sounds, rhythms,recording, transpose, etc.In other words, let's say you want to transpose the key you are in which is a very popular feature on digital pianos. Rather than go into the color screen and look for the transpose function which you can also access that way, you can just press the transpose button on the control panel and instantly it will transpose the key up or down a 1/2 step at a time. There's no guess work as to where the transpose feature will be in the color touch screen or where to find it because the transpose button on the control panel accesses that feature instantly. You can also adjust the transpose function in the touch screen by touching the appropriate selection and using the data wheel or up/down buttons to select the key. Then once you get to that function you wanted, via the buttons, you can then use the color touch screen to continue your search and/or use the data wheel to speed up your selection. There's just so many intuitive ways to access features on theses pianos that it makes using these two new models lots of fun...and if it's fun & easy, you'll enjoy it more and get more use out of it too.

As far as the piano playing fundamentals of the Casio CGP-700 and PX-360 or any digital piano go, this would include key action, the piano sound, and pedaling authenticity.Of course, digital pianos need to have an internal speaker system to hear the sound, so the quality of that speaker system needs to be good too and I will discuss that later in this review. The key action piano keyboard is the most important thing to consider when shopping for any digital piano and the CGP700 ad PX360 are no exceptions. In the price range under $1000, there are four major brands worth considering at this point and that's Casio,Yamaha, Kawai, and Korg. There are other digital piano brands which offer one or more models under or around $1000 such as Kurzweil, & Roland and a couple of others. But as of now, those brands don't offer anything which competes well with Casio, Yamaha, & Kawai in this price range with regard to key action in my opinion. Korg has one model for $999 but it lags behind the other 3 major brands for these kinds of portable pianos. The CGP700 and PX360 key action are identical and the newer PX160, PX770, and PX870 are the same so there won't be any confusion there, unlike other brands that offer multiple models of different key actions. The Casio key action is, in my opinion, superior to most other brands in this price range for a number of reasons including having a triple sensor keyboard for more accurate key repetition sensing and expression, more authentic piano key weight and movement in the keys, a better balance with graded weighted keys and better connection with the fingers, and having the addition of both ivory & ebony synthetic key tops which try to simulate the feel of real ivory and ebony acoustic piano keys from years ago. Today, real acoustic piano keys have mostly plain plastic top keys so synthetic ivory and ebony feel is quite nice because it offers a more textured feel along with being able to absorb sweat from the fingers which makes for a smoother playing surface. So when it comes to the Casio keyboard and realism in movement, in this price range they are very impressive, although I would not classify the key action as functioning and moving like a grand piano, especially on the black keys, because it does not. It is much more like a good upright piano and there isn't any other brand or model in this price range that would have a key action that functions like a grand piano either...so don't expect it. Casio, along with other manufacturers likes to add some "hype" to their marketing and promotion efforts, so with that in mind these people tend to exaggerate sometimes...especially in getting you to believe that their product is exactly like a concert grand in key action and/or sound. Really? Then why buy another piano for more money or even a regular grand piano for that matter if their inexpensive digital piano supposedly gave you everything you could ever ask for? It's a ridiculous statement when they make it, but I have come to expect these things...because they are trying to get you to buy their piano, You just have to look beyond the hype and play the piano to know for sure, which I have. If you want something at a higher playing level, then you'll need to spend more money to get it.

A good, realistic piano sound is also obviously important, especially to those who will be primarily interested in playing piano although the other instrument sounds can be enjoyable as well.But it's really all about the acoustic piano sound recreation and if it can be expressive with a large dynamic tonal range (which it definitely has), good organic piano sound elements like virtual vibrating strings, resonance, accurate legato and staccato piano sound, smooth key sensitivity volume and fast repetition sound reproduction, then that is something you want to look for. These things are not easy to get right, but Casio has done an excellent job of it in this price range. There are some "off-brands," as I call them, such as Williams (a Guitar Center brand) which does a very poor job of this in both areas and I don't recommend that brand (and a few others) at all for these and some other reasons. All of these piano sound elements and functions make for a more enjoyable piano playing experience and is necessary to have in a good digital piano. Dynamic tonal range means the range of tone from mellow to bright as you play the keys softly and then push the keys harder and quicker. Key sensitivity volume is when you press softly and get a low volume and then as you press the keys harder you get a louder volume. You are not supposed to notice any hesitation or jumpiness in volume and the volume range is supposed to be smooth and large. In these new Casio pianos that type of response is quite good.

The CGP-700 and PX-360 both have 128-notes of polyphony processing power which is usually more than enough for most players when playing multiple notes and pedal sustain, even with a layered sound,Some digital pianos out there have 192 or 256 notes of polyphony processing power but I have personally found the extra polyphony to be unnecessary for playing a full song with lots of notes or to do recording properly. However, both new models are somewhat different with regard to the actual piano sound chip because even though the piano sound on these models are sampled or recorded from a high quality acoustic grand piano, the PX360 is more advanced in terms of the extra organic piano sound elements and nuances that are available in some higher priced digital pianos these days. If you listen to the CGP700 and the PX360 separately through a good pair of headphones, you'll be able to tell the difference in piano sound realism assuming you know what you're listening for or you have some piano playing experience. The PX360 has what's known as string resonance (aka: sympathetic string vibrations) as well as key release velocity (the sustained tone when you release a key depending on the speed of the release) both of which simply make for a more realistic piano sound experience, where the CGP700 does not have these features. The PX360 also has adjustable hammer response which simulates the percussive nature of the actual piano felt hammer although the CGP700 also has a very good percussive feel to the piano sound. When you listen to the both models through the piano internal speakers, it's a bit more difficult to tell the difference especially because the CGP700 speaker system is louder and fuller than the PX360, but it's certainly still there. In the PX (Privia) line of instruments, the basic Casio piano sampled sound is the same but it's all these other organic parts of the sound that make the difference, and when you leave any of these extra organic parts out, it reduces the need for more piano processing memory and therefore reduces cost. But the bottom line is...can you tell the difference in one from another and if you really can not, then it doesn't matter what the specifications say, it just matters what you like and can be happy with. It's true the PX360 will piano sound will sound more lively and expressive because of the increased piano processing memory and organic elements, but you can probably enjoy either model for its piano sound, and both of them are more expressive in my opinion than the competing models from Yamaha at this point, including the Yamaha DGX660 and P125. It's also worth noting that for the first time, Casio has introduced a special control panel button (upper left pic) called "Grand Piano" that instantly resets the piano keyboard to a grand piano sound. It's similar to a panic button when you have features and functions selected but you want to return to the main piano sound only. Although Casio has never had this feature before, Yamaha has had it for a long time in some of its models and it was always a function that I really liked, so it's definitely a welcome improvement on these new Casio pianos.

CGP700 on stand with music rack

When it comes to the pedaling experience, this is another important aspect to consider when shopping for a new digital piano. The CGP-700 and PX-360 both have pedal damper resonance and damper noise which is the resonance of the tone and physical movement of the damper rail in an acoustic piano.These two elements add a depth of realism to the piano sound when using the damper/sustain pedal. The pedaling also includes a half-damper effect which adds more incremental sustain times to the damper pedaling, but only if you are using the optional 3-pedal unit ($75 internet price). Pedal resonance, damper noise, and especially half-damper effect are very good features to have as you progress in your playing ability or already play well. A person can certainly live without it but it's better if you can access it. However, as I mentioned, you'll need the optional triple pedal unit to access the half-damper sustain effect on the Casio's. Kawai also has half-damper function on their brand new popular ES110 portable piano ($729 internet price) and that feature can be accessed with the included full size single piano pedal, unlike the Casio's. I was hoping Casio would have updated their half-damper access from previous models, but they did not. So that's a negative (although a smaller one) in my book. As far as pedal decay time which is how long a note will sustain after letting go of the key and holding down the sustain pedal, the CGP & PX do a fairly good job. The sustain time is fairly long on sustained notes but I have heard other digital pianos with even better (longer) decay times, especially on the higher notes, but those digital pianos would cost quite a bit more money. So in this price range the Casio pedaling experience is, overall, a very good one.

OK...now on to the fun stuff. The new PX360 and CGP700 both have a whopping 550 built-in instrument tones and 200 built-in rhythms & ensemble chord arrangements. When using the variation feature on the rhythm arrangements, you then get another 200 selections which gives you a total of 400 rhythms/ensemble arrangements. So when it comes to having a variety of enjoyable instrument sound and rhythm patterns and musical arrangements (aka:one man band), it's difficult to need more than that. Casio has increased and advanced the realism of many instrument sounds from previous models as well as the musicality and voicing of the rhythms & arrangements. The increase in realism on some of these selections was quite noticeable to me and made for a more expressive playing experience with all styles of music including classical, jazz, rock, big band, oldies, Latin, country, modern, world music, and everything in-between, and most of them sound great considering how little these pianos cost. The intros and endings as well as drum fill-ins and accompaniment patterns were surprisingly good and far better than on previous models. All of it was expressive, musically realistic, and plentiful. Casio also inserted some very cool, very realistic musical ritardandos, crescendos, decrescendos, and syncopation into the intros and endings making the music sound more natural instead of digital and robotic, and it's done in full stereo with stereo panning as well. The Casio sound and accompaniment designers/programmers really have done an outstanding job upgrading these particular features as compared to past models, although there are a few auto accompaniment styles that do sound toy-like and amateurish, so they are not all great...but I  expected that. When using the auto-accompaniment feature you can play simple 1-finger left hand chords, 3-finger chords, or full professional chording playing both left and right hand together with multiple fingers over the accompaniment and the accompaniment will follow you. As far as the solo instruments go, many (but certainly not all) do sound noticeably more authentic than in previous models, as I mentioned earlier.  Beyond offering a variety of acoustic piano sounds, these instrument sounds would include much better electric pianos, brass, organs, woodwinds, strings, etc, and the variety has increased from the previous 250 selections on previous models to the updated 550 selections, which is a very big jump in the amount of available instruments for Casio, but some of the instrument sounds have not been upgraded much or at all from previous models. As an example, the guitar sounds, whether they be electric, classical, or steel string, are mostly just average and not as convincing as I had hoped for in these new models. But they are still fun to have and are certainly better than other digital pianos I have played in this price range under $1000, and if you are not too critical, you may like them just fine. Also, the trumpet instrument sounds (and a few others) aren't that good in my opinion, but it's really not often I need a trumpet sound in a digital piano:). However, they are all quickly accessible through the color touch screen and there are picture icons for each sound group so you just touch it and that group of sounds or rhythms instantly comes up.

When it comes to these 2 models and their ability to make you sound better than you are which the previous features definitely do (and that can be a good thing:), Casio has a very cool feature called "Auto-Harmonize."One of the goals of any student or musician is to play a song so it sounds as full as possible with multiple notes being played by both the left and right hand. Most of the time students and recreational players know how to play accompaniment chords with their left hand, but playing multiple note chords simultaneously with your right hand takes many years of learning and practice to accomplish this. Some people get to that point but most people do not. They can play chords with their left hand with a one (or maybe 2) note melody with their right hand. So wouldn't it be special if you could play one note melodies with your right hand as your left hand is playing the full 3 or 4 finger chords and have your right hand one note melody sound like 3 or 4 notes playing correctly every time you play one key on the right hand?

Well...that's what the "auto-harmonize" feature does for you. It automatically harmonizes the right hand melody with your left hand chords and makes it sound like you are playing multiple notes on your right hand even though you are only playing one key! The harmonize function also works when playing simple 1-finger chords on the left hand so that a complete beginner can sound like they have been playing for years:). The right hand harmonize feature includes 12 harmonizer variations for your melody accessible from the touch screen and it really does make your right hand sound like you've been playing multiple fingers for years...even though you're just playing one key at a time. This feature can be selected on or off directly from the master main screen in the touch display so it's easy to use. Whatever chord your left hand is playing and whatever song style you are playing in, the auto-harmonizer automatically adjusts the right hand melody to sound big and full in any number of musical styles while using the accompaniment section. OK...I know that some people will call this harmonizer feature a waste of time and an unnecessary toy. But when you try it, it will definitely bring a smile to your face because it makes your music sound fantastic, and if you don't play well, then I say that you should use all the help you can get:). It's great to learn how to play properly and manually...but as a long time piano teacher I always encourage my students to have fun and do whatever it takes to keep playing and enjoy the music....and that's what this feature does.

Along with the instrument sounds and automatic features, there are also some impressive new drum kit sounds in the instrument sound library of these new models for playing individual percussion on different keys.This is not a new function but what is new is the noticeably higher quality of the stereo percussion samples and the fact that the drum sounds are velocity sensitive for tonal changes. On a normal drum kit as you play the drum harder you not only get a louder volume, but the tone of the drum changes from mellow to bright or a loose sound to tight sounding percussion. Previously only the volume changed when you played a key harder or softer on the percussive sounds (cymbals, tom, snare, etc). Now the actual percussive tone changes as well, which is a big leap in technology and I don't know of another digital piano that can do this in the price range under $1000. This may not be important to some people, but to others this is very cool because you can make percussion recordings as well as play live and it sounds very realistic. Because of the easy to use large color touch screen, all of these features are now much more accessible so chances are you'll want to use these sounds because you can get to them so easily.

Some extra useful features that many people like to have include instrument sounds which can be layered two at a time to play the sounds simultaneously, split two at a time with one on the left and right sides of the keyboard, have special effects added to the sounds including reverb, chorus, delay, adjusting EQ/brilliance, and using special DSP digital processing effects for further sound enhancement. The previous model Casio's had 4 levels of reverb, 4 levels of chorus effect, and 3 levels of brilliance control. These new models have 4 times as many selections and variations so that's a huge jump in instrument sound control along with the additional effects offered, and they are all selectable in the color touch screen along with using the data wheel if you prefer to scroll through the various option that way.

The CGP-700 and PX-360 also have a feature rich built-in recording studio system including a full 16-track (16 instrument multi-track) MIDI recorder and playback system along with a 1-track wav file (CD quality) audio recorder and playback control with 100 song recording and playback capacity.The length of time of recording for the MIDI recorder is 50,000 notes and the CD quality audio recorder time per song is a huge 74 minutes long. So when it comes to recording features in this lower price range, nothing beats or comes close to these two new models. There's a number of recording editing features that allows the process to become more detailed than just a simple digital recorder would offer. But what really sets the recording system apart from all other new digital pianos under $1000 is the user interface controls in the color touch screen. Typically, recorders in digital pianos are not very easy to use, especially multi-track recorders such as what's in these two new pianos. So...when features are more difficult to use, then people may not use them very often or at all, especially some of the more complex features like these recorders. The recording functions are nicely laid out in the color touch screen and are easy to access and you can even get into the recorder screen from a button on the control panel which makes it quick and easy to record. When you touch a recorder function on the color touch screen, then you can access a variety of features in that screen without too much guess work. Rather than go into all the recorder functions and features, you'll just have to take my word for it when I say that creating, making, and playing your own music in the CGP700 and PX360 is super fun and allows you to express yourself in ways that many digital pianos cannot do. The closest competitor to these new Casio pianos when it comes to recording is the the Yamaha DGX660 ($799 internet price). The DGX660 only has a 5-track multi-track recorder which is good, but nowhere near the Casio recording system in my opinion. Also, the Yamaha display screen is a bit smaller monochrome (non color) display that is not a touch screen, so using the Yamaha recording features is not as easy or as fun to use as what's in these two new Casio models. The Yamaha display screen was the obvious winner prior to these two new Casio pianos coming out, but for now Casio has caught up to and surpassed Yamaha in this way.

Speaking of MIDI recording & playback, the CGP700 and PX360 can playback General MIDI song files which allows you to hear and play along with your favorite songs which you can download off the internet on a variety of sites, assuming you don't already have your own MIDI song files. Also, two of the most popular lesson curriculum's available today and used by piano teachers all over the US and the world are by Alfred and Faber & Faber. Both of those lesson book series have option General MIDI songs which you can purchase and then play back in these Casio pianos through a USB flash drive. This function with available songs allows you to hear the lesson song in the book you're using and get a better feel for the rhythm & timing of that song along with being able to slow down the song to any tempo while learning that piece. There are literally thousands of General MIDI songs available on the internet and through these two publishers which makes the learning and practice experience at home much more fun and enjoyable. I have been using the MIDI song play along method for years and find it to be very stimulating because it's like playing along with the orchestra or band. So regardless of your playing skill level whether it be beginner or very advanced, you can definitely have a lot of fun taking advantage of what these two pianos can do with regard to playing back General MIDI songs files...and the fact is, they make you sound better than you already are and if you don't play at all, then it just makes learning a more enjoyable experience. If you have questions about the General MIDI format, how to use it, and what it can actually do for you on these pianos, just ask me.

The CGP-700 and PX-360 have an interesting and fun feature called Music Presets which is a library of left hand chord progressions & arrangements from famous songs. Specifically what this function does is play a well known portion (aka:chord progression) of a famous song from a variety of songs in the Casio Music Presets song library and then loops that part of the song so it will play over and over without stopping. When you select a song and start it up, the color touch display screen shows you the name of the tune and displays the actual chord symbols of the left hand chords of that chord progression loop. The idea is for you to be able to "jam"along with your right hand and play melody notes along with the playback of the left hand chords in that chord progression. Basically it's like playing the piano along with the band only this band just plays a famous portion of the song (not the whole song) and does it over and over until you want to stop. This system allow you to learn to play by ear, to improvise, and to have fun while you do it all the while looking at the chord symbols in the display screen so you know what notes will fit depending on the chord playback progression. The more you hear the chord progression loop and the more you see the chord symbols in the display screen, the easier it will be for you to follow along, "jam out," improvise, and feel like you are in the middle of the band or orchestra. You can actually play with both left and right hand during the playback of the Music Presets library which includes 305 different selections. I used this feature many times and it's definitely lots of fun and quite musically stimulating and something that few other digital pianos have.

For people who have taken their time to setup the instrument sounds, rhythms, and functions in a variety of ways, and you want to return to those settings later on without to re-create them, then these new models offer 96 registration memories for that very purpose. In other words, you can store your setup in a memory slot and recall it any time you want...and 96 memory slots is a huge amount of memory storage for your favorite settings. This is great if you are playing live somewhere and your need a variety of different functions to come up quickly and you don't have time to manually set them up. You don't need to be a pro to want and use registrations memories. You may be a beginner having never used a sophisticated digital piano like the CGP700 or PX360 before and maybe you just were fooling around with all the settings and you came up with something that sounded great to you and you did not want to lose it...so you just save it and then you just recall any of the 96 memory settings and it quickly puts you back into that original setup you did...that's very cool and quite useful too.

Other features I really like is the ability to quickly and independently balance the volumes on all of the settings including the lower keyboard sounds, upper sounds, accompaniment, master volume, MIDI volume, audio volume, metronome volume, touch sensitivity velocity, and even using a digital mixer to adjust the individual volume of each of the 16 MIDI recording & playback tracks.You can change the speaker output  in the system menu to either on or off independently for both internal speakers or external speakers (stand speaker system in the CGP700). You can even change the piano tuning using different tuning temperaments along with piano stretch tuning. You can setup the 88 keys to play in a Duet Mode so that two people can play at the same time, each with 44 notes where both keyboards produce the same notes in the same octave. You can change the octave of any instrument sound whether playing solo or combining with another sound with the octave changing feature in the touch screen. There are just so many features and functions on these new models that you will likely not use them all...but it's nice to know they are there in case you need it...and these two new pianos definitely have more features that I ever expected. Casio even put in a digital/virtual typing keyboard as a touch screen software feature so you can enter typing characters (as you would on your cell phone for texting, etc) to locate and save songs and other data you need to find.

The built-in speaker system in both pianos (in the piano keyboard itself) is the same with 4 speakers (2 larger, 2 smaller) going into 16 watts of power producing a reasonably loud volume for a smaller portable piano.However, the PX360 is optimized to be even louder and sound better than the CGP700 because it does not have a speaker stand like the CGP700 does and is dependent on its own internal speaker system. The speakers and design of the internal sound system inside the PX360 piano has been completely redesigned from previous models so they do sound better than before. The CGP700 has an additional speaker system built into the included furniture stand (included with the CGP700 and not sold separately) whereas the PX360 does not have this feature. The additional "speaker stand" gives the CGP700 a huge boost with regard to volume and sound quality coming through those speakers interacting with the the top piano speakers and the result is far more bass response and double the volume output to 40 watts of power with the speaker stand system connected to the piano top. This would make the CGP700 one of the best sounding, most powerful digital pianos under $1000 with a 3-way, 6-speaker sound system with included speaker stand. I can tell you first-hand that I thought the sound coming out of the CGP700 was amazing and easily out performs any and all of the other portable digital pianos on the market in terms of internal speaker system sound quality and richness and can easily fill a large room. But the CGP700 must be connected to its furniture stand to make this happen. The PX360 does not have the option of a "speaker stand" to add to the sound like the CGP700, and it is not meant to have it because Casio designed the PX360 to be an instrument to also be taken places and be connected to external speaker systems and serve a slightly different purpose. However, when playing the PX360 in your home, you can connect it to any home stereo system or monitors using the 1/4" audio output jacks on the piano to increase the sound quality and bass response of the piano in that way if you feel it necessary.

The PX360 is $100 more than the CGP700 so you would expect to get a bit more on the PX360...right? In fact, you do get more in some specific ways. In addition to all of the the identical features between the two models, which is just about everything they do, the PX360 looks a bit different with additional sportier graphics on the top of the keyboard control panel, more editing and music creation functions including the ability to create 10 user rhythm arrangements in which you can use the rhythm editor to modify a built-in Accompaniment and create an original rhythm of your own, have 100 user songs for song expansion, and setting up "one touch presets" which gives you one-touch access to tone, tempo, and other useful settings that go well with the currently selected Auto Accompaniment rhythm patterns. On the PX360 you can also edit the Music Presets that I talked about earlier which allows you to have a "jam session" of your own with preset chord pattern progressions of famous songs. You can create your own customized Music Preset  patterns and edit them in a variety of ways with 50 user memories of Music Preset storage. The PX360 also has an Audio Line In volume control in the touch screen system setting which allows you to independently control the input volume of an external device coming in through the piano such as a microphone, audio recorder, mixer, electric guitar, computer, tablet, or any audio device in which you need separate volume control apart from the master volume control on the piano. This is a very cool feature and not found on the CGP700. Of course, as I talked about earlier in the review, the PX360 has a more realistic acoustic piano sound (as compared with the CGP700) with the added organic sound elements of string resonance, key release velocity, and hammer response. In fact, the PX360 touch screen allows you to go in and individually & incrementally customize the string resonance depth and hammer response to your particular taste. The PX360 has an extra assignable pedal input when the optional triple pedal unit is not being used and that assignable pedal is selectable in the PX360 touch screen.

As for the piano connectivity, both models have a variety of connectivity for other devices with of the inclusion of 2 mini stereo headphone jacks in front, on the back of the piano two 1/4" audio output jacks to connect to external speakers, an audio-in stereo mini jack with separate volume control (for iPods, iPads, mics, and other devices), and a damper pedal jack using an included plastic sustain pedal which is small, but basically OK (at least Casio includes it for free rather than it being an extra cost). Both models also have a high speed USB output to computer or tablet device with is "plug & play" class compliant. They also have an input for a USB flash drive on the front of the piano to load audio and MIDI song files as well as save them from the piano after you have created your own song. The PX360 also has two full size 1/4" line-input jacks and the internal piano effects such as reverb, brilliance, etc will apply to the connected devices (mics, etc) going through those input jacks...and that's a very useful feature and not something that Casio has ever offered before. The PX360 also includes standard MIDI cable connections for both MIDI in and out ports. There's still quite a few people who have MIDI products (sound modules, keyboards, etc) that only use MIDI connections and not USB. So the built-in MIDI connectors on the PX360 is a very big thing for some people and many digital pianos in this price range don't have this feature. Those are the differences between the two models as far as I can tell, although there could be a couple more that I missed:). Whether or not you think the differences are important one way or the other depends totally on your musical needs and desires. It is important to mention that both new models may need an additional external speaker system if you need to play for a larger group of people in a noisy room such as at an event, depending on the situation. As I said before, that's why both models have two 1/4" audio outputs for that very purpose.

In the final analysis, a person can enjoy either of these new Casio portable digital pianos whether it be the CGP700 with included speaker stand, or the more editable and professional PX360 at $50 more, but not including a furniture stand and extra built-in speaker system. It actually may sound like the lower priced CGP700 would be the better option because of the built-in speaker stand giving a big boost to the sound quality and also not having to shell out approximately $100 for the optional CS67 furniture stand on the PX360 which would then make that model nearly $200 more than the CGP700. However, there is a value in having an upgraded acoustic piano sound in the PX360 which the CGP700 does not have and that's something you cannot add to the CGP700. It just depends on your musical experience level if you can recognize the upgraded piano sound difference? Regardless of that, these lightweight (26lbs) portable digital pianos offer a 3-key sensor synthetic ivory & ebony large dynamic range key action, smooth tonality and key volume response with excellent touch sensitivity, a more accurate (in my opinion) graded weighted key action than comparable Yamaha or Roland models in this price range, and a user interface color touch screen operating system that no other brand can touch. But with all digital pianos in this price range there will always be things in these models that could be better but then you would need to pay quite a bit more money for those pianos, just like anything else you would buy. However in my opinion there is little if any reason to look at any other brand at the moment when it comes to this price range for a full featured ensemble auto-accompaniment portable digital piano. If you think you will seldom want to use the various and plentiful features in the CGP700 and PX360, then you should invest your hard earned money in a different model that will better fit your needs, such as the full size Casio PX770 or slightly higher priced PX870 which is the top of the line Casio Privia internet furniture cabinet model right now. It just depends on your musical goals and how much of a "fun factor" you want for your music when it comes to selecting any new digital piano. Just like any consumer product you can buy, there are always better models and that's true in digital pianos with more authentic key actions, piano tone, pedaling, etc, along with improved internal speaker systems on higher priced models from Casio, Roland, Yamaha, Kawai, and a couple of others. However, as I said, they will all cost you more money so if you want to stay under $1000 and like what these pianos can do and you like lots of digital features, then buy one of these new Casio's because you will most likely not be disappointed whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or advance player looking to keep the price low. The new CGP700 and PX360 pianos may look like "toys" to some people, but they definitely are not. Before you do anything or buy anything from anybody, do your homework and your research and then please contact me first because music is my passion and I can help you make the best buying decision for your needs.

*By the way, Casio also offers a top of the line Privia portable piano called the PX-560. This piano combines many of the features from the PX-360 and adds synthesizer, programming, additional useful functions and features for people who like that kind of stuff ,along with and extra acoustic piano capabilities to the instrument for just $300 more at $1199US internet selling price. Go the the following link to read my review of the new PX560: Casio PX560 Review

If you want more piano info and LOWER PRICES than internet or store discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.

Roland CG-1

🎹 UPDATED REVIEW - March 11, 2020 - Roland CG-1 Digital Piano - Recommended - The Roland music & audio products company has been around for decades and is a very well known pro and home digital piano company. Roland international headquarters is in Japan but they do not make their products in Japan. They are produced in Malaysia, Indonesia, and China and have been reliable and durable instruments throughout the years. I have personally played on hundreds of Roland products in my long music career and I like their music technology and innovations. Costco is the place that has exclusively been selling this model although the mainstream model called the Roland GP607 has been available at regular piano stores that carry Roland home digital pianos in the US and that model sells for about $6000 discount price plus tax. There are obviously some advantages in buying products at Costco but there are also advantages to buying from a real piano store on-line or locally.

Roland GP607

The Roland CG1 is actually not a new model as far as the Roland technology goes. In fact, this piano has been out on the market for almost 3 years at Roland piano stores in the USin the form of an upgraded model called the GP607. The mainstream piano store model GP607 is identical to this CG1 at Costco in design, color, cabinet, internal speaker system, bench, technology, external Roland proprietary apps for tablets, and its long 10-year factory warranty. On the CG-1, Costco has been including shipping and delivery into your home street level so that has been a big benefit to the purchase of that model. Of course the the local & state sales tax would need to be paid which can add another $300 to $500 onto the selling price which can make the total price near $6,000. So this piano is no small purchase, that's for sure. Just so you know, the better, mainstream Roland GP607 mini-grand has a retail price of about $7000 and sells at discount in piano stores at around $6000 exclusively at local brick & mortar piano stores in the US, so although the GP607 is about $500 more than what's offered at Costco in the CG-1, the GP607 has some features and functions not offered in the CG-1, as I mentioned earlier. Also when you work with a Roland piano store then you get access to product specialists who can help you learn and understand functions & features on the GP607 which is a good thing and has a lot of value because there is no one at Costco who can do that for you. Also, from what I hear, there may be some extra price incentives from the Roland piano stores for the last couple weeks before Christmas.

So why would someone want to buy a Roland CG1 mini-digital grand? Well, for starters, it looks beautiful in its 3' deep polished ebony cabinet with a dark simulated mahogany color interior and 1-position lid. The speaker system is fairly nice but I have heard the speaker system in person and it is a bit weak in terms of bass response.The piano internal speaker system has just 70 watts of total power going through 5 speakers, but in terms of a big, bold, rich sound, this does not come close to a real baby grand piano and other home digital pianos. The CG-1 has enough power to be loud, but in my opinion the overall sound experience is not that great, especially when compared to an actual small baby grand piano. This also may be because of the cabinet size on the CG1 being only 36" deep which is somewhat small but that also allows it to fit into smaller spaces too. Many mini digital grands from other companies like the Samick piano company have cabinets that measure in at 48" deep which gives them more physical room to put in better, more robust  piano sound systems but they take up a bit more room too. The Samick SG500 digital piano, for instance, has an 8 speaker, 160 watt symphonic internal piano sound system with excellent quality and that piano retails at $5299 which is less money than the Roland CG-1.

So what makes the Roland CG-1 different than its more popular counterpart, the Roland GP607 which is available at regular piano stores that carry Roland digital pianos? First of all, the CG1 has 40% fewer instrument sounds on-board which makes the GP607 more versatile in what it offers in the way of non-piano instrument sounds. Since there are 307 tones in the GP607 then there is about 40% less than that in the CG1. There are 716 internal songs in the GP607 to listen to and play along with so you can learn to play different music by listening to the songs and also seeing some of them in digital sheet music form in your iPad or Android tablet in the GP607. But in the CG-1 there is about 80% fewer learning songs than that and there is no access to the more well known piano curriculum that the GP607 has such as Czerny and many more. The CG-1 has less digital memory slots to save your settings and the accessories that come with the CG-1 are cheaper quality and there are less of them. Both pianos have a small LCD user display interface and there are many other digital features on both models for recording and playback, sound editing, and other things.

However, as far as the piano playing experience goes on the CG1, there is no difference between it and the regular Roland GP607. It's the same key action, same piano sound chip, and same pedaling...so that is a good thing. Roland uses a proprietary piano sound chip, key action, and pedaling system and they are all good. Roland's key action is a somewhat firm (heavy) as compared to any real acoustic grand piano (and other digital pianos) so there is a big difference there, but it is still enjoyable to play. The piano sound is different than any other digital piano brand because Roland is exclusively using only physical modeling technology rather than "sampled recording" so there is a noticeable difference in the realism of the piano sound. Piano sound in a digital piano is not only dependent on the internal speaker system, but it's also very dependent on the quality of the original piano sound in the sound chip. Since Roland does not actually sample record a real acoustic piano anymore, they have chosen to use a technology called Physical Modeling. Physical Modeling creates a sound from "nothing" In other words, the sound or sounds are done entirely with mathematical algorithms in the virtual world. As you probably know with movie visual effects, CGI (aka: computer generated imagery) is now used to create scenes and effects in movies that could never be done in the past otherwise. Some of these effects and imagery are incredibly realistic such as what we see today in SciFi movies or Disney animated movies like Monster's Inc, etc, so they can be pretty awesome.

Yamaha CLP665GP

In music and reproducing instrument sounds, Physical Modeling can sometimes sound artificial because the technology is not starting off with the real thing, namely an actual acoustic grand piano. I have played these Roland (and other) digital pianos that use only physical modeling technology and the result can sometimes sound good, but also sometimes sounds noticeably artificial depending on what how you are playing the piano, what notes you are using and how they are all resonating together, and also how you are using your sustain pedal with various notes sustaining together. Overall the physical modeling technology is pretty good but in my opinion it would be much better if it was a combination of Physical modeling and sampled recording combined together as can be found in the Yamaha digital grand pianos such as the newer CLP-665GP which sells on-line at just $5499 internet discount price, free shipping, no tax. The Roland CG-1, $5499 at Costco (when it is advertised there), does not include sales tax so the Yamaha price is a better deal with regard to that. Also, the Yamaha digital grand is 3" deeper than the Roland so that increase in cabinet depth makes the piano look a bit more realistic but it is the piano sound quality and realism in the newer Yamaha that really outshines the Roland in our opinion.

There is a special unadvertised instant rebate available for this very popular Yamaha digital baby grand as of right now while supplies last, which drops the price down substantially. If you want more info on this opportunity you should contact us right away.

Roland CG-1

Personally I like the piano sound in a digital piano to be either sampled (but the sampling has to be high quality) and not what is in some of the cheap mini or micro grands, or have a combination of both sampling and physical modeling which a few of them do now. Having a combination of both sound technologies is the best way to achieve the most authenticity in a digital piano but that generally costs more money to do. But that's just my opinion as far as the piano sound experience goes in digital pianos and you may enjoy the Roland piano sound technology and what it does for you. So when you combine the look of the CG-1 cabinet along with the piano sound, key action movement, and pedaling along with a number of fun and useful features, the Roland CG-1 at Costco can be a good purchase, especially if you like the look of a smaller mini-grand piano cabinet with some noticeably upgraded features. I will say that the lower price Artesia mini grand pianos at Costco comes nowhere close to this model or any other others mentioned here in any way shape, or form as far as the authenticity of the piano playing experience you would get from it or those other cheaper pianos. The Roland and Yamaha blows away the Artesia and the other much lower quality brands such as Williams & Suzuki.

At the end of the day, if you want the look of a mini digital grand piano but you want it to be higher quality and stay under $7000, then there are really only 5 choices out there right now as far as I am concerned and I have played all of them and given that I am a long time piano teacher and pro musician, I have a lot of experience with these things. You can choose either the Samick SG120 micro-mini digital grand, the Samick SG500 mini digital grand, the Roland CG-1 mini digital grand, the Roland GP607 mini digital grand, or the Yamaha CLP-665GP mini digital grand, Yamaha also makes a 4' deep mini digital grand called the CLP-695GP that just came out and it looks beautiful and plays beautifully, but that one sells at $7499 internet discount price in polished ebony so it's definitely more money than the others, but it's a very impressive alternative if you have the budget. The 10-year factory warranty for the Roland digital pianos and the fact it is offered by Costco is certainly compelling, but I would not focus on the warranty or that it would be coming from Costco if there are better options in terms of the piano playing experience or what you get for the money with the CG-1 vs the GP607 at a Roland Piano store. This is going to be a long term purchase so you better do it right the first time.

Whatever digital piano you decide to invest in, I suggest you do your homework, especially in this higher price range and then contact me before you do anything because I can help you with purchasing any of these models (with the exception of the Costco versions) for less money in the US than ad or internet discount price along with being able to get free shipping, no tax, and delivery before Christmas, but only while supplies are available at the manufacturer US warehouses. I will also give you helpful free unbiased and experienced advice so you can make a good piano purchase decision.

Samick SG500 polished ebony

It is also good to know that the Samick grand piano company has a special private sale on its popular 4' deep SG500 mini digital grand piano in polished ebony going on now while their supplies last. Normal retail selling price for that model is $5299 and the direct factory price right now is less than $4500 including free shipping, no tax, duet size matching padded bench, and full factory warranty. So if you want a higher quality and slightly larger 4' deep digital grad piano with lots of cool interactive features and impressive technology along with a great smooth moving Italian key action and nice stereo piano sound, all at a much lower price range right now, then I recommend you consider this model which could be the perfect choice for you. Checkout my review on the Samick SG500 at the following link and then contact me for more info and to see if there are any remaining at their warehouse in Nashville, Tennessee. Samick SG500 Review

If you want more info on new digital pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.

DP150e

UPDATED REVIEW - June 2020 - Artesia DP150e, AG30, AG50 Digital pianos - Semi Recommended - The Artesia digital pianos at Costco include the vertical upright style DP150e ($999US normal discount price) at 34" tall and 20" deep and 121 lbs, the 32" deep micro grand AG30 ($1499US normal discount price, and the 48" deep mini grand AG50 ($2399US normal discount price). These 3 specific Artesia digital pianos are only sold at Costco in the US and only available as an on-line purchase. The Artesia brand is part of the "Virgin Musical Instrument" company in the US and the pianos themselves are designed and made by another manufacturer for the Artesia brand...as are other some other piano brands. Artesia themselves is not a piano manufacturer, unlike Casio, Kawai, Roland, Yamaha, and a few others who are digital piano designers and/or manufacturers.

AG30

These Artesia digital piano models have been out for over 3 years and will likely be replaced one day soon but for now are still being sold by Costco. I have not been favorable to past Artesia digital pianos because simply put, they have not been good. The key actions, piano sound, and pedaling were a poor excuse for a piano. They suffered from toy-like sound, unrealistic, clunky key action, as well poor pedaling response. The secondary digital features and functions were OK but certainly no substitute for poor piano performance even at the beginning level. The good news about these models of Artesia is that they have gotten better and are almost acceptable...almost:) Again, when it comes to digital pianos, for me it's not what the outside cabinet looks like nor is it any of the extra "bells & whistles." It's all about the piano playing experience and whether or not a particular digital piano can replicate or come close to being like a real acoustic piano. Although these new models have definitely been improved in some ways, the DP150e, AG30, and AG50 are just not there yet, although the manufacturer who makes these pianos for Artesia is getting closer, so I do appreciate the fact they are trying to make that effort.

So where do these pianos fall terribly short? Well it has to do with key action, key sensors under the keys which control the repetition response, piano sound realism and response, and pedaling. One of the first things I noticed was even though the weight of the piano keys was better than past Artesia key actions, the physical action movement was much too light as compared to real pianos or better digital pianos. That does not mean it's bad but it does mean that it really does not feel and play at all like a real piano although it is better as compared to poor playing digital pianos such as the Williams brand at Guitar Center. The key action is also VERY noisy when the black & white keys were moving, and if you are a better, more enthusiastic player and playing with some force in the fingers, the keys made a noticeable and annoying knocking sound when they went down and hit bottom, almost like there wasn't padding below the keys (in the key bed). Past models of Artesia pianos have had this issue and it is especially noticeable when playing at low volumes or when wearing headphones where other people in the room can hear the knocking sound when the keys go down. So that's a definitely an issue for me personally, but maybe you will be OK with it.

When it comes to the electronic key sensors under the keys and the piano sound generating electronics in general, these are things you cannot see but do make a big difference in the way the piano sound behaves. As an example, when you are playing a real piano or a good digital piano, when you press down a key it makes a piano sound and that sound sustains naturally until you let go of the key. As soon as you let go of the key the piano sound should immediately stop, assuming you are not using the sustain pedal. In other words, if you play a key quickly, when the key is coming back up the piano sound is supposed to immediately stop playing (being heard) on any key that is being played that way. This kind of piano playing is called "staccato" piano playing and it is very important that the piano can do this so you can replicate the music as it should be when you are playing. Unfortunately on these new Artesia models, the piano sound does not stop immediately when the key is let go and then coming back up, and the sound lingers on for about a second or so after the key is released. This is something that is not acceptable in my book and there is no way that I can find to change it on these pianos. This has nothing to do with reverb or any special effects because this happens by itself without any effects or sustain pedal. It is simply a problem with the piano and its inability to behave normally with regard to staccato playing. I don't think it is something any beginner would notice, but as you progress in your playing ability it will become an important aspect of your music.

Another piano sound issue for me on these models is when you play a key and it goes about half-way down, you can hear the piano sound come in softly which is not supposed to happen. In other words, the piano sound volume is triggered (although its at a low volume) when you press a key down half-way, whereas on a real piano and good digital pianos you should not hear any sound triggered at all until the key is all the way down and touches bottom. For a beginner this will likely not be an issue, but as you progress in your playing ability you'll want the piano sound to come in like it does in a real piano, and these Artesia models will not do that and there's no way to change it. Another thing I noticed about playing the keys was the dynamic volume and tonal response. What I mean by this is that is when the keys go up and down the tonal dynamics (piano sound) are mellow when pressing the key down softly and slowly and the piano sound is supposed to brighten up when you play the keys harder. The volume response also should work the same way at the same time with the tonal dynamic range with less volume when playing the keys lightly and more volume when playing the keys harder and it needs to be even and gradual for best response. On these Artesia pianos, the volume response and tonal control (expression) is noticeably uneven and jumpy to me going from one key (note) to the other. So while you are playing a song, there may be one key you are playing that has a much brighter piano sound and the next key over has a more mellow sound...or you may hear one key/note be louder and the key next to it may be quieter using the same finger pressure. Also, when playing one key softer to harder, the dynamics also tend to be a bit jumpy. These kind of piano sound anomalies generally do not happen on good acoustic and digital pianos because the tone, volume, and overall dynamics (expression) are even from one key to the next up & down or on the same key whether playing softly or harder. This kind of uneven tone/volume and lack of tonal "color" out of the key action and cheaper quality key sensors is quite annoying to me and definitely does not inspire me to want to play on these pianos. But for beginners and non-players, it won't matter and they should be fine for awhile.

With regard to the piano sound itself, it definitely sounds mostly digital to me and not organic or natural, especially if you know what a real acoustic piano sounds like or a good digital piano with a more realistic piano sound chip. These Artesia models do sound more realistic than previous models so that is good, but in real pianos there are natural, organic, resonate elements of the piano sound that a person can hear and that kind of thing gives a piano its character and personality with many expressive "colors" of music. The DP150e, AG30, and AG50 have none of the natural, organic qualities of an acoustic piano other than some uneven tonal dynamics which Artesia calls "3-layer and 3-D instrument sound samples." Yes there are definitely 3 layers of piano tone per note (mellow, medium, and bright when playing softer to harder) but as I said, that sound is very uneven & somewhat jumpy and not at all like a real piano. The so-called "3-D" sound samples are not really "3-D" as far as I am concerned. The classic definition of the name 3-D is "an object that has height, width and depth, like any object in the real world." The piano sound in the Artesia's has no actual sonic height and no depth. It just has width because the piano sound uses stereo sound samples which is nice, but nothing out of the ordinary as far as digital pianos are concerned.

AG50

Sonically, for a lot of uninitiated people who don't play piano, the Artesia piano sound is OK and in fact, you may even like it and it is noticeably better than previous models of Artesia. But to equate it with a real acoustic piano or a good digital piano by famous brands such as Kawai, Yamaha, Casio, Korg, or Roland, is like saying a McDonalds hamburger tastes as good as a quality cut of prime rib...it's just not possible...and so it is with the Artesia DP150e, AG30, and AG50. They "look good & smell good" and they may even fill you up for a short time, but these pianos are definitely not "pianos" in the sense of playing and sounding like any high quality acoustic upright, grand, or digital piano I have ever played. When it comes to Artesia pianos, that company states the following in their advertisement for these pianos: "Its (their) advanced hammer action design offers excellent response and smooth playability that will satisfy even the most demanding teacher or performer." There is no way that I know of for a "demanding teacher or performer" (I am one of them) to be interested in playing these Artesia pianos to perform or teach on unless, for some reason, there are no other options available to them, which is unlikely. Most of these digital piano companies exaggerate the reality of their pianos (they almost all do that) so that you will buy it, and that is not unusual. So don't be sold on something just because the maker of the product says you should be, because it's all about sales for them. Just understand that you get what you pay for and that is true with these Artesia pianos. Just because it looks good does not mean it's near as good on the inside.

As far as the pedaling goes, it is OK and just average, not great but acceptable. The pedals are full size and nice looking, but do make a noticeable amount of knocking noise each time when they come back up after pushing them down with your foot. That can be a somewhat annoying especially if you have played acoustic pianos or some good digital pianos with a quieter pedal movement. The pedals work appropriately and the sustain decay time is actually good so I do like that. However the piano sound when sustaining it with the damper pedal sounds very artificial and does not have any organic, natural character to it. This is due again to the fact that the piano sound elements of pedal and string resonance are not present in the piano sound chip so all that is heard is a linear digital type of piano sound when being sustained. But for the average person who knows little about piano sound and what it is really supposed to be like, they may not notice this issue. But for me, it is not at all something that I would personally enjoy and it just sounds like sustained noise. But hey, many of you out there are just at a beginner level of piano playing nor have you likely been playing real pianos for any length of time (or at all), so again, you may not notice the sound being as unnatural as it is when using the damper sustain pedal.

OK...on to the fun stuff, and this piano has plenty of it. These pianos have lots of instrument sounds, interactive accompaniment styles, along with a variety of rhythm patterns. Rock, Latin, jazz, waltz, march, country, and so on. Electric pianos, harpsichords, strings, bells, brass, woodwinds, horns, reeds, special effect sounds, etc with some that sound good and some not very good. Some of these overall features are useful and some not very useful, but that is to be expected, especially in these price ranges for an Artesia piano. However overall the functions are plentiful, useful, and fun to use and I enjoyed them. There's no doubt that many families will also enjoy many of these features which includes 136 instrument sounds, 99 accompaniment patterns and drum rhythms with variation, intro, and ending on each one along with being able to easily control tempo faster/slower, auto harmonize, and layer & split any two instrument sounds. There are adjustable special effects such as reverb & chorus for the piano and other instrument sounds along with a duet feature which digitally splits the 88 notes into two 44 note keyboards so that 2 people can play the same notes at the same time with the lower part of the keyboard being electronically converted to the same octave piano sound as the upper portion of the keyboard. useful for 2 people playing the same notes in the same music at the same time. I must admit that does not happen too often but it is useful when needed. Many other digital pianos have these fun and educational features as well so Artesia is not the only one.

It is important to note that there are only 2 acoustic piano type sound selections on these pianos with only the first one called "grand piano" and sounding more like an acoustic piano, although to me not a grand piano sound as claimed, even though they may have sampled the sound from a grand. The 2nd piano sound selection called "bright piano" is, in my opinion, a very poor sound sample which has some noticeably poor stretch tuning problems that causes the piano to be noticeably "out-of-tune" sometimes when using that piano sound and playing a variety of chords on the piano. There's also some noticeably poor tonal/volume dynamics as well and I would never use the bright piano sound because of these issues. What's interesting is that I don't hear any of the stretch tuning issues on the 1st piano sound like I do on the 2nd piano sound, although there are still erratic dynamic tonal and volume issues when playing the keys using either piano sound, as I have previously discussed. Many other digital pianos in this price range have more variety of acoustic piano sound samples which are noticeably better and also not out of tune. The piano sounds are the main reasons people buy pianos and everything else is secondary. So when it comes to acoustic piano variety and quality using preset buttons or through the menu on these pianos, there are only two of them and the 1st one is the only one worth playing at all when it comes to a piano sound. But some of the other non piano instrument sounds are nice and can be fun to play.

To access the many functions on these pianos there are direct access buttons on the control panel above the keyboard for the instrument sounds in groups and the instrument sounds in groups, as well as a small but useful LCD display screen to see what you're doing, which I like. There is also a small knob called a "data wheel" on the right side of the display screen, which you can turn to move through the selections at a quicker rate or you can move through them with +/- buttons one at a time, so when it comes to controlling the features such as accompaniment or keyboard volumes, etc, overall I do like what these pianos have to offer. There is also 3 large knobs on the left side of the control panel which give you instant access to the master volume of the piano including bass and treble control of the sound. All digital pianos have a master volume control but not necessarily treble and bass control knobs although they may have treble and bass adjustments in the functions of the display screen. So I do like the quick access knobs for these volume and frequency adjustments and they have been on past Artesia piano models and are useful to have to make the adjustments to master volume along with the bass & treble tone of the piano.

With regard to the digital features there are also other ones including adjustable digital metronome, 16 track recording & playback, transpose, octave shift, tuning, 36 registration memories to store your own favorite settings that you created, and many more. One of my favorite things to do on a digital piano is to be able to play General MIDI song files on the piano through a USB flash drive and play or sing along with them. These Artesia pianos can do that and some of the song data (title, etc) is taken from the USB flash drive and displayed in the blue LCD piano display screen. So when it comes to playing along with and listening to favorite songs, this piano can do that very well assuming you have the necessary MIDI song files that you like It is also useful for learning new songs because you can adjust tempo with the tempo control on the piano along with muting out different tracks. As I mentioned before, the Artesia pianos do have some useful fun features but unfortunately at the expense of the piano key action and overall piano playability. To get a better playing key action piano and better and more realistic piano sound, you can still do that along with having these fun features for about the same price, but you'll need to give up the nicer cabinet to do that or spend more money...and that's because you don't get something for nothing:).

Underneath the left side of these Artesia pianos is a connector box which includes two 1/4" headphone jacks, a MIDI output, USB output to external device, stereo audio in and out RCA jacks, a volume knob to control line level volume, and a Bluetooth connector for a Bluetooth adapter provided with these pianos. Basically the connector box has everything you would need to connect just about anything you want including being able to stream audio files from your external Bluetooth device (phone, iPad, etc) through the piano speaker system.Most pianos in this price range do not have all those connectors so the Artesia pianos do a very good job in this area and I wish more companies would have this kind of connector variety.

The internal speaker system of these pianos are more than adequate with the vertical style DP150e having four speakers (2 larger/2 small) going through 80 watts of power (although each of the 2 larger speakers is only rated at 20 watts/6 ohms so it is really not 80 watts), the AP30 micro grand having 6 speakers with a total of 120 watts of power, and the AG50 mini grand having 6 speakers at 150 watts of total power. So when it comes to volume in these pianos, there is plenty of that, however volume does not necessarily equate to quality tone and the speakers and amps in these pianos could be a little better in that way, especially on the DP150e. The sound on the DP150e is a bit muddy (dark) and muffled to me and makes the piano sound have a much more digital (fake) tone and not near as good as listening to it through a good set of stereo headphones. If the internal speaker/amp sound was as good as listening through a good pair of headphones, then that would be better, but the frequency response and dynamic range of the internal speakers/amps have a lot to be desired and I would not recommend it if you are looking for a quality sound, but for the average person they may be fine. The DP150e is not a lower price for no reason...when you use cheap parts you get a cheap sound...and...you can reduce cost. What you see on the outside does not necessarily reflect what you get on the inside and that's why I call these types of pianos a "PSO," aka: Piano Shaped Object.

The best thing about these pianos is the way they look. There is no question that they are attractive in their polished ebony cabinets, sliding key covers, with matching benches, and that's something many people like to have. Speaking of the benches, although they are nice looking and comfortable, they definitely are not wide enough to be considered real "duet" size benches. Duet size benches are typically about 30" wide and the Artesia benches are 24" wide...definitely not enough room for 2 average size people or one adult and one child to sit on comfortably together so they are really single size benches. The factory warranty on the Artesia pianos is only one year whereas other digital piano brands in these price ranges are anywhere from 3 years to 5 years in length. So if you are wanting a good, long warranty, Artesia pianos don't have them like other brands do.

In the final analysis, these Artesia models DP150e, AG30, and AG50 are fun to play, look good, and have fun features built in, but as pianos go they are just barely average (or below average as the case may be) as far as piano playing authenticity goes compared to any of the more well known piano brands. You definitely do get what you pay for and with that in mind, I do not recommend these pianos if you really care about the piano playing experience but I do "semi-recommend" them if you are more interested some of those "bells & whistles" and the appearance of the cabinets because in that case they are OK   and better than previous models which I did not recommend at all, as well as looking good and doing fun things. If you are a beginner and don't know how real pianos play including the more authentic digital piano brands and how they behave musically, then you could likely be happy with your purchase of any one of these Artesia models because you just aren't at a skill or experience level to notice it yet. That is really the issue...what is most important thing to you and how much money are you willing to invest to get it? Once you make a purchase you will probably be keeping it for a very long time so be sure you make the right decision because once the fun of the drums, automatic chords, recording, and "song play" start wearing off and getting a bit old (and it can do that after awhile), what you will have remaining is the piano and the way it acts and behaves as a piano, and I believe that is the most important thing to consider when spending your hard earned money:). There are other (better) brands and models to consider as well (although they will cost more money), and if you have questions about what else is available out there, please contact me for more info. We just don't want you to purchase a "PSO" (Piano Shaped Object) for the sake of the way the digital piano looks instead of the way it actually plays.

Samick Digital Grand Piano

SPECIAL DEAL - By the way, there is another brand of digital grand piano that we do recommend called the Samick piano company which has some very nice (upgraded) models of digital and acoustic pianos. The Samick Grand Piano company is famous throughout the US and the world for making a variety of acoustic and digital pianos for well over 50 years. They have two newer model digital grand pianos called SG500 4' deep full size mini baby grand and SG120 2.6" deep micro baby grand which I do recommend although they are more money than Artesia. They are much better and more authentic for key action touch and stereo piano sound and other things in a number of ways and worth the extra expense in our opinion. They come in 3 attractive cabinet finishes including polished ebony, polished white, and polished red. Also, the Samick company is having an unadvertised warehouse sale while supplies last on these 2 models and the savings over normal discount selling prices is substantial and they include free shipping, no tax, brand new with factory warranty. Please read my review of the Samick digital grand piano at the following link and if you have questions or want to know Black Friday prices or more about them, then please let us know: Samick SG500/SG120 Digital Grand Piano Review

*** SPECIAL DEAL! Thinking about purchasing the Artesia DP150e (which is already an old model)? We can show you how to purchase a much better newer model digital piano for less money than its normal Amazon price and it's called the Casio AP-470 which has an Amazon and internet discount price on-line of $1499. However, for a limited time you can purchase the Casio AP-470 for $200 less with an INSTANT REBATE which makes the price just $1299! This special unadvertised price would include free shipping and no tax along with a 5-year factory warranty for parts & labor with in-home service and the AP470 comes with a proprietary controller/educational interactive app called "Chordana Play for Piano" for iPad and Android tablet users to be able to interface with the AP470 in many exciting ways that are not possible with the old Artesia DP150e. The Casio AP470 sounds very impressive in our opinion and has a much more authentic piano key action "feel" and this piano has never had an instant rebate before. Please read our detailed review of the Casio at the following link and then contact us and we can help you with this model while they last at that limited time low price. Casio AP470 Review




Oh...and good luck trying to get an Artesia piano repaired if you ever need that...just read the user reviews of those models on the Costco website and you'll see what we mean, plus their warranty is only 1 year instead of 5 years such as what you get on a the top name Casio or Korg digital piano. Also, based on our personal playing experience with this Artesia model we would agree with those user assessments. With the "real" piano companies like Samick, Casio, Roland, Yamaha, etc, they have all been in business for over 50 years, have very good reputations for service should you ever need it (which is rare), whereas the Artesia company is relatively new as compared to the big Japanese companies like Casio, Yamaha, Roland, Korg, Kawai, etc who have great reputations worldwide with piano teachers, universities, churches, and piano students. Don't get a PSO (Piano Shaped Object)! Get a better Piano!

If you want more info on new digital pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.

UPDATED REVIEW - June 20, 2020 -  CHURCH Digital Pianos - BEST TOP 10 for 2020! Which digital piano is right for your church?I have played piano at churches for many, many years and have played on all kinds of brands and models. Acoustic grand & upright pianos, digital grand & vertical pianos, hybrid digital pianos, digital portable pianos, keyboards, stage digital pianos, synthesizers, and all the rest...you name it and I have probably played it. I have played Steinway, Yamaha, Kawai, Baldwin, Roland, Korg, Bosendorfer, Kimball, Samick, Young Chang, Mason Hamlin, Casio, Kurzweil, and many others. I have also played organ as well as guitar in a variety of churches over the years and I know what churches need when it comes to musical instruments as I have also been involved in many church music ministries as well as been on some church "search committees" when it came to trying to make the right decision in what piano would be best for the church. Churches definitely have special needs when it comes to choosing the right piano for their music program as the decision is dependent on a lot of things including budget, the music ability and playing skill level of the church pianist(s), the comfort level of the church pianist in using digital technology, the types of instruments that will be needed in the digital pianos to play the style of music of that church such as acoustic pianos, organs, electric pianos, strings, brass, woodwinds, guitars, drum rhythm patterns, etc, the cabinet size and design of the piano, and other considerations. Sometimes there are church committees that are given the role of piano decision making, or there is an individual who plays piano and has knowledge of digital pianos who will make the purchase decision on behalf of the church, or maybe there's a church member who makes a large monetary donation specifically for the music ministry. If the church is a large one then an external sound system will likely need to be connected to the digital piano so that the piano can be heard easily throughout the building and the volume can be controlled by the audio people at the mixing board.

I quickly want to mention before we go any further...the best definition of a digital piano is "an 88-key piano keyboard instrument that has a piano-type weighted key-action movement that feels as much like an acoustic piano key action as possible with smooth touch sensitivity along with acoustic piano sound and even dynamic tonal changes. A digital piano can be in a more traditional upright or grand piano furniture cabinet like a real piano except that piano has built-in speakers. A digital piano can also be portable and not in a furniture cabinet and the portable digital pianos can have built-in speakers or no built-in speakers. The digital pianos without built-in speakers are called "stage digital pianos" and those models always need to be connected to an external speaker system and most of those stage pianos need an optional metal stand to put them on. Sometimes people refer to a "portable" or stage digital pianos as "keyboards" which is OK because they are keyboard instruments and they have keys in them. But the actual definition of a keyboard is having a lightweight "spring" key action movement with flat, thin plastic keys as opposed to a piano weighted key movement with full size longer rectangular keys made of either wood or plastic or a combination of both. Also, keyboards (and some digital pianos) can be less than 88-keys which include 76-key models, 73-key, and 61 key models, but the 61-note keyboards would normally not be enough keys to play piano on. There are a few "digital pianos with weighted piano-type keys" out there with 73 keys and 76 keys which can work for some church music ministry situations...but it's generally agreed that when you are wanting a digital piano for a church it needs to be 88-keys with piano weighted type key action regardless of whether that digital piano is in a furniture cabinet or portable. One last thing...a few of the portable 88-key digital pianos have an optional furniture type stand and triple pedal unit available at an additional cost to make that portable model look a bit more like a real piano. But a furniture cabinet model is one that, by default, has an attractive stand and full pedal-board or pedal lyre already with the piano.

There is one more thing concerning the definition of a digital pianos that is also important...and that's the pedals. A traditional acoustic piano has 3 pedals...damper-sustain, sostenuto, and soft (soft-una corda on acoustic grand pianos). On furniture cabinet digital upright and grand pianos you will always get 3 pedals that work pretty much like traditional acoustic pianos. Portable digital pianos typically come with 1pedal for sustaining the piano sound and for a lot of people that 1 pedal function is enough to play music at a church with no problem. Some of the portable digital pianos come with a cheaper, small plastic single on/off sustain piano pedal which is definitely not suitable for church music over a long span of time because they will either break or they won't be very stable. A full size metal piano sustain pedal is necessary and can be purchased optionally if not already included with the piano. Some of the portable pianos have an optional 3-pedal unit that replicates the 3 pedals on furniture cabinet digital pianos which means that if you need a portable digital piano but want all 3 pedals with the ability to trigger the half-damper effect, on some (but not all) portable or stage digital pianos you can get it. But pedals and the way they operate on a digital piano are very important so you want to be sure you get a digital piano that has good pedal realism and response and that will hold up well over time. This is true of upright, grand, and portable digital pianos so be sure to pay attention to that.

*It is important to note right now that not only can I help churches get a lower price on new digital pianos than internet/Amazon discount pricing, but I can also get you "extra church discounts" direct from the manufacturer or distributor warehouse. So before you make any decision to purchase anything from anyone, please contact me to talk about what would be the best digital piano for your needs and the very low pricing I can help you get. As a church pianist and musician, I know the importance of purchasing the "right" instrument for your church music ministry so that it satisfies the music needs now and into the future and will be a reliable product that will hold up well over time. Investing "wisely" is the key to good stewardship and is true when it comes to a piano purchase as well.

Kawai MP11SE stage piano

In reality when it comes to getting a "digital" piano for a church, in some ways it depends on the type of church you have as to what music you might be playing and what digital piano may be more suited in doing a better job reproducing that type of music. It also depends somewhat on the physical size of the church, the size of the congregation, and of course, your budget or how much funds you can raise in a given period of time to purchase the instrument. But in reality, the truth is just about any good digital piano can be suitable for a church music program but you definitely don't want to under-spend for an instrument nor should you over-spend for one either. To make sure you are making the right decision definitely takes some research but you can also contact me directly as I offer free piano shopping and buying advice to churches on all brands and models with regard to which one would best meet all your needs.

Yamaha NU1X digital upright

Asking yourself appropriate questions such as "will this be the only instrument we use in our church service," or "will this be an additional instrument to add to the over musical listening experience of the church audience?" Your church may already have an acoustic grand piano and so you want some contemporary or non-piano sounds to add to the music. Maybe your church has an organ but want to add some additional sounds to that listening experience such as harpsichord, choir, strings, brass, percussion, etc...or your church has both an acoustic piano & organ but now you want these more contemporary sounds in addition to what you have at the moment. Or perhaps you are thinking that you want to do away with all your traditional instruments and just get a good size furniture cabinet digital piano that can play all the traditional sounds such as grand piano, pipe/church organ, string symphony tones...and even a concert choir sound should you not already have a real choir at church.

There is really no one "pat answer" for what a church needs when it comes to an electronic piano/keyboard instrument because each church has it's own requirements and musical goals. This includes the church sound system or lack of it which could necessitate the need for a good speaker already built into the digital piano, or even needing additional speakers if the church is physically large and has a big congregation of people to absorb all the sound. Maybe your church does not have its own building and you meet in a school or other facility that does not belong to you so you need the digital piano to be portable and easily moved and be transportable. Again, there are so many different needs a church may have when it comes to getting a piano/keyboard instrument such as an 88-key digital piano. Even the design of the cabinet is a "big deal" for some churches because they want the piano to have an attractive appearance more like a traditional upright of grand piano, so then the digital piano would need to have a furniture type cabinet along with being functional and easy to navigate.

Speaking of being functional, some churches have lots of pianists who can play piano while other churches have maybe 1 or 2 pianists (piano players) at the most. Even though those specific piano players can play a regular acoustic piano that does not mean they are familiar with digital piano technology and maybe they don't really care to use it or learn it...they just want to play piano. But that's OK too because then you focus on digital digital that focus on the "piano playing experience" and don't have extra technology that won't be used or may get in the way of those specific piano players in your church. Just because the digital piano has a lot of "cool" features does not mean those features get used, depending on who is normally playing that instrument. In that case it won't do you any good to get a digital piano with more than you need on it. Every new digital piano these days comes with some "bells & whistles" when it comes to various functions and features. However, some models come with more of them than others so you need to do your homework to see if you will take advantage of "extra" digital features or functions or not use them often or at all.

When it comes to churches and their music programs/ministries, I've seen it all, done it all, and been involved with it first hand for many years. I know what I am talking about and am willing to help guide you in your church's quest to get the right digital piano, and at the right price. As I mentioned earlier, just about any new digital piano (from the top brands) could be a good choice for your church...but it depends on all those factors I have previously mentioned and what would be the "best bang for the church's buck"...so to speak for YOUR church. In this review I am listing what I believe are the 10 best choices that would work well in a church setting for variety of musical needs along with the instrument needing to be from a good manufacturer and having a reputation for product reliability. The following models are not listed in any particular order since are all different and for different uses and purposes, but will overall work and perform great in a church setting (depending on your specific church and their music needs) including churches with big buildings, small buildings, no building, big budget, limited budget, high energy services, low energy services, traditional music, contemporary music, and so on. You will find something in this TOP 10 list that will work for you and your church. I am not listing all digital pianos that might work because there are too many of them for this review but instead I am listing a couple of the most popular models in each top brand that church ministries would love to have. Typically the most popular models are in the middle up to top of the line, so given that fact you can either spend a bit more money or a bit less money to go up or down in the line for that brand. It's also important to note that I am primarily listing models that have audio line outputs so that those instruments can also be run through an external sound system in your church to increase volume if that would be needed. In that way you can make any of those pianos sound bigger and fuller than what their internal sound systems would otherwise do by themselves, assuming they already have built-in speakers. If they don't have built-in internal speakers then you would definitely need an external speaker system for the piano.

- Korg Grandstageportable 88-key "stage" digital piano, $2199 discount price - The digital piano is a fully weight piano key action portable digital piano that weighs 44 lbs and does not have internal speakers. It is made specifically to be a portable grand piano with a variety of stereo concert grand piano tones taken directly from 5 famous acoustic grand pianos but also with a total of 500 professional sounds. These outstanding sounds include impressive pipe organs, church organs, pop organs, vintage electric piano tones, guitars, pads, string symphonies, string quartets, choirs, baroque harpsichords, big brass sounds, French horns, flutes, and a host of other High Definition quality tones. The sounds can be played individually or mixed together in a layer. The piano is very intuitive to use for just about anyone under just about any conditions and literally could replace a grand piano, organ, and other instruments...it is that good. Each church pianist could also put together their own "favorite" sound settings and save them internally within the piano and recall them live for a church performance in real-time. There is no digital recorder in this model because it is meant for "live play" only. The piano key action feels great to play and has a lot of expression with it along with the pedal response being very good. The Korg Grandstage would need to be connected to a church speaker system of some type or a couple of external monitors pointed towards the congregation as well as have a nearby monitor for the player so they can hear themselves. Adding speakers is not expensive and well worth the cost to have this instrument in my opinion. To learn more about this piano please read my detailed review of this model at the following link: Korg Grandstage Review

- Kawai ES8portable 88-key digital piano, $1649 discount price matte black or matte white (not including optional furniture stand & triple pedal lyre) - The Kawai ES8 has really become a "staple" for churches, institutions, and others these days when it comes to a portable "self-contained" digital piano that can also be made to look more like a "traditional piano" with its optional furniture stand and furniture triple pedal lyre. What I mean by "self-contained" is that it has a good built-in speaker system that can produce a fairly loud sound with high quality tone so that you don't need to connect an external speaker system...unless you are in a larger room and have more people in that room...then you do need external speakers as well. The Kawai company is known as an outstanding acoustic piano maker and their ES8 digital piano has HD (high definition) sampled tones that comes directly from their Kawai acoustic grand pianos. Beyond those grand pianos are a few very good organs sounds, strings, choirs, and vintage electric pianos, and a few more tones. This piano is not at all like the Korg Grandstage in that it has limited on-board sounds and the ES8 also has internal speakers. If you want a digital piano to be flexible in portability as well as focusing mostly on piano playing with a few extra sounds and you also want internal speakers, all for what I consider to be a very reasonable price for what you are getting, then I highly recommend this model. Great key action, grand piano sounds and pedaling response, and quite intuitive (overall) to use coming from a high quality company. Go to the following link to read my detailed review on the Kawai ES8: Kawai ES8 Review

- Yamaha Clavinova CLP-645furniture cabinet digital piano, $3499 internet discount price for matte finish, $3999 for polished ebony finish - This current model Clavinova furniture cabinet digital piano is Yamaha's most popular model because it combines their latest grand piano sound chip with a very playable key action that most people really enjoy. It has all the basics that churches look for which is beautiful cabinet, dependability, great piano tone, responsive key action, and usable digital features such as being able to layer two sounds together such as piano/organ, harpsichord/.strings, piano/choir, along with being able to electronically transpose (modulate) the key your playing in. The pedaling response is very good and offers long sustain/decay time for beautiful legato piano tones for both the Yamaha grand piano and Bosendorfer Concert piano sounds that are included in this model. The CLP-645 also has audio outputs to connect to an external speaker system if necessary along with Bluetooth audio capability for streaming music through the internal speaker system. The CLP-645 is simple to use. satisfying to play, will last many years without need of repair based on the Yamaha reliability track record, and the name Yamaha holds it's value better than many other brands. Go to the following link to read my detailed review on the CLP-645: Yamaha CLP-645 Review

- Roland HP704furniture cabinet digital piano, $3499 store discount price in matte cabinet finishes, polished ebony finish for approx $3999 - Roland is a well known, popular digital piano company and has been producing great digital pianos for decades. Their current lineup of furniture cabinet digital pianos for the church market includes 7 models with 2 of them having baby grand piano cabinets. The Roland HP704 is in the middle of the upright style lineup and has the features that a church would find satisfying including responsive key action, acoustic piano tone reproduction, and impressive pedaling and long sustain/decay time when using the sustain pedal. The cabinet looks quite attractive and comes in a variety of colors. There are a number of instrument sounds and features on this model and the internal speaker system puts out some impressive sound and volume, although some larger churches  will want to connect it to their external church sound system to help cover a larger area. You can do most things on this piano that you can on other good digital pianos including selecting from a nice library of instrument tones, being able to layer/mix and split any two sounds, and also record what you are playing and then play it back, which is nice if you don't have a pianist on a given day and then you can play back any of the songs they have recorded...but that's also true of the other furniture digital pianos as well. Roland is known as a reliable brand and carries an extensive factory warranty. The HP704 just recently replaced the prior HP603 which was out for quite awhile. The HP704 does have a few upgrades over the prior HP603 but not many...it is almost the same instrument with the exceptions of having a better internal speaker system, nicer cabinet, and a new tablet app for families that replaces the prior app called Piano Partner. There could be a few churches who might make use of that new app called "Piano Every Day," but overall most pianists will just be using the piano itself and not using or replying on an app to play church music. You can check out my review on the prior HP603 model (since they are nearly the same) because I have not published my review yet on the new HP704. HP603 Review: Also you can look at the HP704 info on the Roland website at the following link: Roland HP704 piano info

- Kawai CA79 furniture cabinet digital piano, $4199 store discount price (matte rosewood, matte black, matte white), $4099 (matte black or white), $4799 (polished ebony) - As I mentioned earlier, the Kawai company produces well known acoustic upright and grand pianos so they have decades of experience in producing pianos along with digital pianos. The new CA79 is a great choice for a church because it offers an all wood, long key grand piano style key action as compared to other digital pianos. The up & down movement on the CA79 keys is quite realistic and if you have played a real acoustic piano before then you will likely be impressed. With 6 speakers built in going through 100 watts total stereo power, the CA79 has a good amount of volume and presence for a medium size room and for a large room you can connect the piano to an external sound system. The piano sound technology uses Kawai sampling from their acoustic grand pianos along with a technology they call "rendering" which adds a bit more of the organic tonal elements that are more difficult to reproduce with sampling alone. The CA79 also has a color touch screen located to the left side of the keyboard to control the internal functions of the piano. There are 66 internal instrument sounds covering a big variety of organs, strings, choirs, electric pianos, etc along with 10 separate acoustic piano sounds. The CA79 would be Kawai's latest and most popular model that resides in the middle of their furniture cabinet digital pianos. I have played this model many times and currently working on a review of it. In the meantime you can go to the Kawai factory website at the following link to learn more about the CA79: Kawai CA79 piano info

- Korg G1 Airfurniture cabinet digital piano, $1799 internet discount price (available in matte black, rosewood, or white). This is a great alternative to the higher priced digital pianos over $3000 because this model can put out a piano tone and key action touch that rivals some of those other pianos that cost twice as much money. The Korg G1 Air has a very responsive big sounding internal speaker system for smaller churches who may not have an external sound system and can fill up a room very well. However, for those churches that do have an external "house" speaker system, the G1 Air can connect to that system with an audio output connection built into the piano. This model is simplistic to use because it has some basic buttons that are in the center of the upper control panel and when you want a piano sound or other instrument sound you just press the button and you get that sound. The realism of the piano samples and key action touch is very impressive, especially for its low internet discount price and the design and appearance of the cabinet is contemporary with a smaller footprint but yet somewhat elegant at the same time. If you are looking for a "no frills" digital piano with great piano sound, graded and weighted piano style key action, and pedaling for quick sustain response and long piano sustain-decay time, then the Korg G1 could be a great choice. It even has "Bluetooth" wireless audio connectivity built into the piano so that you can play music wirelessly from your favorite church music MP3 or wav file digital music library for prelude or postlude music if you don't want or need a person to play music before and after the church service. When you add it all up, the Korg G1 Air is worth serious consideration. Go to the following link to read my detailed review on the Korg G1 Air: Korg G1 Air Review

Casio PX-S3000portable 88-key digital piano, $849 internet discount price - The new Casio PX-S3000 would be a great addition to a church music program whether you would want it as a main piano instrument or a secondary instrument to add additional acoustic piano sounds along with up to 700 instrumental tones such as organs, strings, choirs, electric pianos, brass, guitars, pads, synths, special effects, and many more. The PX-S3000 is unique in its low price range because it is really one of the first portable pianos ever that has a very small footprint but puts out high quality tones coming through its own internal stereo 3D sound system. This instrument can be used in traditional church music, contemporary church music, special events, outside ministries, and even in places without electric power because this model also works on 6 AA batteries and can be powered that way for up to 4 hours. The PX-S3000 is intuitive to use, looks very impressive with its smooth control surface, and can be connected to external devices in a number of ways which will support just about any music played in any room that you can think of. The new PXS piano weighted key action feels natural and organic in a way that no other key action in this price range under $1000 feels like in my opinion. The acoustic piano tones generation uses all new HD technology which allows for a full, more natural acoustic piano sound than ever before in a Casio digital piano along with professional tones, features, and functions not available before in this price range. Even the optional, portable triple pedal unit works well and the sustain pedal decay-sustain time is noticeably long, resonate, and full, just like you would experience on a real acoustic piano. When you put it altogether, for churches who are on a tighter budget or need a secondary instrument to add to and round out their music ministry, the PX-S3000 would be my first choice for portable digital pianos under $1000. Go to the following link to read my detailed review on the Casio PX-S3000: Casio PX-S3000 Review

Yamaha AvantGrand N1X & N3Xfurniture cabinet digital "hybrid" upright & grand pianos, $8999 & $16,999 discount prices. I have chosen these two digital pianos in the upper price ranges because they do something that no other digital piano company has done. Yamaha has produced these specific pianos to replicate an actual "Yamaha" acoustic grand piano key action playing experience with an actual Yamaha acoustic piano key action along with an actual Yamaha Grand piano sound in a digital piano. That is why they are called "hybrids,"...primarily because of the acoustic wooden key action installed within a digital piano cabinet with internal speakers. The N3X does this in a 4' deep grand piano shaped cabinet and the N1X does the same thing but in a smaller "upright" style smaller footprint piano cabinet with both of them available in shiny polished ebony cabinets. For some churches the goal is to have an actual acoustic grand piano...and that can be a very good thing depending on church budget, extra funds that may be donated, and the ability of the church and the building weather environment for the acoustic piano to stay in tune and not have to be serviced all the time. A good digital piano for a church can have many positive benefits over an acoustic piano including never having to tune it (that saves thousands of dollars over a period of time), never having to worry about humidity or dryness negatively affecting a traditional wood soundboard because digital pianos primarily use an internal speaker system instead of a conventional acoustic piano soundboard, having the ability to regulate overall piano volume with a master volume control depending on room size, being able to directly connect to an external sound system if necessary instead of using microphones to amplify sound, being able to digitally record your music directly from the piano as you are playing it, being able to play other instruments within the digital piano "live" such as harpsichords & electric pianos depending on the music you want to play, and more. But it's the "Grand Piano" playing experience with no or low maintenance that draws piano players towards these models. The N1X is especially impressive for a church to have as part of its music ministry because it gives you nearly (but not all) everything you would get on the $17,000 N3X model but for $8000 less, which puts it well under $10,000 brand new with the Yamaha grand piano key action. If your budget permits it, I would highly recommend you check out these AvantGrand pianos and read my review and let me know what you think: Yamaha AvantGrand Review

Roland GP609furniture cabinet digital grand piano, approx $11,000 store price - The Roland GP609 digital baby grand piano measures 5' deep from front to back and is the largest digital piano grand shaped cabinet under $15,000 of all the major brands. There are some churches who want the largest grand piano cabinet they can get in a digital piano and the Roland GP609 would definitely qualify for that need and it also has a satisfying piano key action and piano sound. In fact, it has the same piano sound chip, same key action, and same digital features as the low price HP704 that I talked about earlier. The difference is the big grand piano cabinet and the huge internal speaker system built into it. So for another approx $7000 over the less expensive HP704 you can get a 5' deep grand piano version of that instrument. However, the Roland GP609 is offered only in a higher priced polished ebony cabinet with proprietary wood tone interior which also boosts up the price whereas the HP704 has an option for a lower priced matte finish cabinet in different colors. The key action on the Roland GP609 is not an actual hybrid key action like the Yamaha N3X nor is the key action on the Roland anything like a real acoustic grand piano...they are much different. Nevertheless, the GP609 is an enjoyable piano to play and has all the necessary instrument tones, recording functions, audio and USB outputs, and a beautiful appearance in any church setting. If you want to know more about the GP609, you can also refer to the GP607 which is the smaller 3' deep mini-grand version of the GP609. Although I have not done a specific review of the GP609, you can read my review of the GP607 and then you'll know all about the GP609 because they are identical in every way...with the exception of the cabinet and the GP609 internal speaker system which has 7 speakers (1 of them being a 10 sub bass speaker enclosed in its own speaker box within the piano) going through a total 66 watts of rated power. Roland rates it's power much differently (using a different rating method) to all other digital piano manufacturers, so the fullness and volume of the piano is actually much higher than the specification would otherwise suggest. Check out my GP607 review at the following link  Roland GP607/609 Review

Samick SG500furniture cabinet digital grand piano, $5299 store price - The 4' deep Samick SG500 is quite popular with piano players at home or in church who want a lower price and smaller baby grand piano with digital features. There definitely are churches out there who like the grand piano shape appearance and prefer it over an upright for a few different reasons such as having the lid opened up allowing the sound to come out and flow in different directions while filling up the room more naturally and also giving the interior of the church a more professional appearance as opposed to the design of an upright/console style piano that does not look as professional or as serious as a grand piano does. However, with those things in mind, there are sometimes budget limitations which would prevent a church from paying upwards of $7000, $7500, $10,000, $15,000, or more for that grand piano experience. I get requests all the time from churches who need to stay near of under $5000 but they want the grand piano "look," and that's where this Samick SG500 comes in. The SG500 is available in polished ebony, polished white, and even a custom polished red and all three colors look impressive. The interior of the SG500 is wood tone so the piano has an elegance and authenticity to it that will definitely remind you of a real acoustic grand piano. It has a big and powerful internal speaker system and puts out a fairly realistic acoustic piano sound along with offering many usable and practical instrument sounds and digital features that many musicians will enjoy. This model can also be connected to an external sound system in case more volume is needed for a large auditorium. For around $5000 the Samick SG500 is a very good option so I would advise you to check out my review of this model at the following link: Samick SG500 Review

Casio AP-710

There are a few more digital pianos from Yamaha, Roland, Kawai, Casio, and Korg that I believe would be good choices for a variety of churches depending on the musical need, building configuration, and budget. But the ones I have listed are in the top 10 based on my experience with all of these digital pianos and from my experience playing digital pianos in churches for a number of years...so I know what works and what does not work. The Yamaha NU1X digital hybrid upright piano ($6599 internet price) would make a good choice as well as would a new Casio AP-710 furniture cabinet model $2499 internet price), Kawai CN39 at $2699, and I should not forget the Kawai MP11SE portable "stage" digital piano ($2799 internet price) that is specifically made to bring the "grand piano" playing experience to a church that has a limited budget and wants a smaller "portable" type digital piano that you would put on a metal stand z-stand and plug into an external speaker system. The Kawai MP11SE gives the piano player a full wood extended key action closest to that of a real grand piano out of all brands and models for under $3000, and is focused on piano playing with a few useable (but not many) extra "bells & whistles." So there are certainly a few other choices out there and I have done reviews on all those models (except for the new Kawai CN39, although that review should be done soon) if you want to read about them.

If you represent a church in some capacity, helping to make a purchase decision of a piano for your music ministry, be sure to seriously consider all the pianos I have mentioned here. They are the best choices out there and at least one or more of them could be great choices for your church. Be sure to contact me before buying any piano from anyone so that you can know for sure you are making the correct choice and also getting the lowest price possible. Also, with regard to getting a low price, please ask me if there might be special factory direct "church discounts" in addition to the regular discount prices that are out there. The answer to that question is YES, as long as you know where to get them, and unlike most places and people, I can definitely help your church acquire an extra "church discount" price reduction. But most importantly, we are here to help your church get the "right piano" for your budget because we love helping church music ministries and we understand how important that situation is to the life and heath of a church! So please contact us more more info.

If you want more info on new digital pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet discounts, Amazon, or store discount prices please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.

🎹 Special Top Recommendation - The new Casio PX-S3000 goes way beyond anything that any digital piano company has ever produced under $1000 for a full size portable 88-weighted key piano. The authenticity of the stereo grand piano sound, responsive piano key action, and pedaling resonance is amazing.  

UPDATED REVIEW | 2020 | Based on the extensive hours I have put into personally playing & examining this digital piano, I have to go on record and say that this new model is by far the best and most authentic full-featured digital piano out of any brand and model currently offered by any digital piano company including Yamaha, Kawai, Roland, Korg, and anyone else who makes digital pianos in this category. Just so everyone knows, I don't work for any digital piano company, I don't get paid for my reviews, and I normally believe there are other good portable digital piano options out there in this general price range...which there are. But...with the introduction of the PX-S3000 I believe the Casio piano company has just shot way out in front of the pack for the first time ever with portable digital pianos under $1000. Casio has always had competitive portable digital pianos, but they weren't necessarily always the best choice depending on your musical needs and piano playing experience, and your budget. However, the new S3000 really has changed all that. With new technology that Casio has never before had in any digital piano nor has their competition had, this new model does things that are absolutely spectacular, and I don't say that lightly. Beyond that, Casio has created a proprietary app for iOS and Android tablets/phones which intuitively allows you to control almost every aspect of the PX-S3000 from your device color touch screen. This app is so cool and so easy to use that it will let the user, for the first time, actually use a lot of the very cool features in this model that otherwise may have been overlooked in the past because those features were just too difficult to find, not easy to use or be understood, and just too cumbersome. But with the new "Chordana Play for Piano" app, all of that has changed and now Casio has opened up newer and exciting features not available before from any manufacturer in this price range and an intuitive way for interfacing with those very cool features that even a 3 year old could do it...or even a 93 year old! I will talk more about this PX-S3000 function controller app later on in this review. But for now, it's not that this model has the absolute best, most realistic key action, piano sound, pedaling, and functionality out there in any price range, and it's not that this new model has the best, most advanced features of any digital piano out there. It's really all about how good this instrument is for the low $799 internet discount price that you can buy it for. In fact, this new model should easily be selling for no less than $1000 and probably closer to $1500 in my opinion based on what's being offered in the portable self-contained digital piano marketplace right now...it's that good and I usually don't make those kind of statements about new products.


So what makes this new PX-S3000 so good as compared to the its competition such as the Yamaha DGX660 at $799, Yamaha P125 at $649, Kawai ES110 at $699, and the Roland FP30 at $699. Plus...Casio has other portable digital pianos such as the PX-160 at $549, CGP-700 at $849, and the PX-360 at $899. So why is the S3000 so special? In my expert opinion it is because Casio has done everything right on this model such as its new clean design, increased portability, new piano key action, new grand piano sound chip, new responsive and portable pedaling ability, new intuitive user interface, and the incredible functionality it has to make your music more realistic and exciting than you thought possible out of a self-contained digital piano for $799. That pretty much sums it up. On the other self-contained portable 88-key digital piano brands and models with built;t-in speakers under $1000, there's always a few things missing such as one piano will have a great sound but not a great key action...or the key action may be real good but the sound is artificial or the pedaling not responsive. Sometimes its the features and functions that are quite basic or not easy to use or understand or maybe the instrument is portable but way too heavy and big to actually be easily transported on a regular basis such as the Yamaha DGX660 which weighs in at 46 lbs and has a depth of almost 18". Compare that to the S3000 which has a weight of less than 25 lbs and a depth of just 9" which makes the Yamaha twice as big and heavy.

The Casio PX-S3000 also has no actual physical buttons across the top of it's control panel because the functions and features are selected by touch sensitive LED lights that don't show up when the piano is powered off. All you see when the piano is powered off is a sleek, elegant smooth shiny black top with an elegant, contemporary volume knob and a flush mounted power button...and that's it. But when you power up the PX-S3000 then you instantly & clearly see white LED  function and feature touch sensor lights that indicate what you will get when touching them to make a function or feature selection. Beyond that, the PX-S3000 has a fairly large LCD user display screen clearly indicating which functions are currently being used when you make a selection of an instrument sound, effect, rhythm, song or whatever else you are wanting to do. But when the piano is powered off you see absolutely nothing...just a smooth, gloss black top. The piano also has multiple rows of functions that light up once you touch the controls to go to the next row of functions. You really don't know that there are multiple rows of functions because on either side of the center display screen there is only one row of functions lit up on the left side and 2 rows on the right side that are side-by-side rows. The furthest right row has an additional 3 rows of functions below it when you access them and on the left side of the display screen there are actually 3 full rows of functions...but only one row at a time is seen until you decide you want to access more rows of features . In all there are 7 changeable rows of functions/features, one row of  functions nearest to the right side of the display screen that allows access of other internal features and changing rows. and then a selection button to get into the editing modes to let you access things that will further enhance your playing experience.

The PX-S3000 has 700 instrument sounds. These sounds are not "toy instrument sounds" that are typical for this price range and have been found on past Casio digital pianos. They are much higher quality instrument sounds that one would not expect at this low $799 price including much more authentic vintage electric pianos, strings, pads, brass, guitars, synths, woodwinds, etc along with hundreds of very competent reverbs, chorus effects for electric pianos, wah, trem, phasers, and so much more. You can easily access any sound you want or you can layer/mix or split any two sounds that you want for live play. Does anybody really need 700 different instrument sounds...the answer would be no. However, there are so many great instrument sound options that depending on the music you like to play, many of these sounds are really great to have and will likely increase your playing enjoyment. As far as selecting these sounds from the control panel, you can easily do that from the light-up touch buttons and see the specific sound in the LCD display screen that you have selected. You can also select any instrument sound by using that Chordana app I mentioned earlier along with quickly and intuitively setting up any two sounds to be split and/or layered together by your external device color touch screen. It really works well that way and will let you change things around quickly to make the most out of those 700 instruments sounds in all kinds of ways.

One way that I determine how realistic the instrument sounds are in any digital piano is to use a really good fully orchestrated General MIDI song file and play it through the internal speaker system of the piano...assuming the piano has the capability of playing a full 16-track MIDI song file, which many do not. In other words, for those people who don't know, a 16-track MIDI song file is a song created in the MIDI format where someone plays and records 16 different instruments in a song (pianos, organs, guitars, orchestral sounds, synths, drums, whatever you want) playing them one at a time, one on top of the other, and then all those instruments play back simultaneously as a full completed song from a USB flash drive (where the song is stored) and then you hear the song playback "live" in the piano. The instruments you hear playing through the piano are the actual instruments in the piano sound banks and they are not pre-recorded real instruments like on a CD. So whatever instruments you hear in the piano when playing back a General MIDI song file are actually the individual instruments in the piano playing "live." General MIDI songs are not a CD or MP3 recording because those recording are from people playing those real instruments live and then recording them, just like any audio recording would be. A MIDI recording is simply the "notes" of the song and not the actual instrument sounds. I could take a good General MIDI song file and put it in my computer and my computer would also play that song file back but the sounds will only be as good as the sound card in your computer and so those songs may not be so great. When we are talking about MIDI songs, we are not talking about an audio recording playing back on your iPod or CD. We are taking about the instruments you hear actually being played live within the piano...assuming it has the capability to playback full multi-track General MIDI recordings from a USB flashdrive, which many digital pianos cannot do, even up to $5000 and beyond. Also, just because your digital piano may have a USB flash drive input does not necessarily mean it can playback these General MIDI songs.

I say all this because it is important to the PX-S3000 and what I am about to tell you. I happen to have fully orchestrated MIDI song files of original arrangements of very complex movie music theme songs that I use for my personal pleasure. You can purchase some of these song files on-line for yourself just like you can purchase iTunes, etc., and some of those MIDI files can be found on-line at no charge depending on what they are. The advantage to having MIDI song files is that you can play along with them so you can learn the song and you can slow down the tempo or even change the key the song is in. It's fun as well as entertaining. There are full arrangement General MIDI songs from virtually every musical category including classical, movie, kids, 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, etc, country, rock, jazz, Latin, Big band, Swing, religious, and just about anything else you can think of. You can play these songs back on any digital piano that has the ability to play General MIDI multi-instrument song files and also has a USB flash drive input where the songs would play from. You can buy and download just about any song you can think of and play it on the PX-S3000.

To test this new Casio piano in terms of its instrumentation, internal sound system, key action, and functionality including connecting this PX-S3000 to external speakers, I decided to play the full MIDI song file of entire theme from Star Wars from the famous composer John Williams who has done all those famous sci-fi adventure scores such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurrasic Park, and Superman along with many others. Most people know the Star wars theme song and have heard it play many times in the Star wars movies. It's a great orchestral piece of music that has many movements, a huge variety of instruments playing at various times in the music, and it's a complex but very memorable musical theme. The song is definitely not an easy piece for any digital piano to play regardless of its ability to have this MIDI playback function. In most portable digital pianos that have the ability to playback General MIDI song files, the multi-track music playing back usually sounds fake or just isn't good at all...like a toy. To top that off, the internal stereo speaker systems in many of these portable digital pianos are (overall) weak, uninspiring, and have limited stereo separation and frequency range, especially when playing sophisticated, full length songs like Star Wars. Apart from this new PXS3000 the other digital pianos out these may have enough speaker power to play piano and for practice purposes so there is no problem there. It's when you really want a more sophisticated, higher audio quality sound where many of these digital pianos fail. Not just more volume but a higher quality tone that really gives your music the realism that many people look for in a portable digital piano with internal speakers. When you plug into an additional external speaker system then that enhances the playing experience even more, especially in producing a fuller bass response.

So here's the bottom line with regard to my very musically "scientific" test on the Casio PX-S3000. When playing back the Star Wars orchestral thematic theme song recorded in the General MIDI format going through the internal stereo speakers in the piano, the results were absolutely amazing and much better than I thought it could be. Also, using the special 3-D surround sound feature in the piano to increase the authenticity of the music which no other portable digital piano has under $1000, the song playing back sounded exactly like the Star Wars them song with actual real instruments playing, only they weren't the real orchestral instruments such as you would be hearing in an audio recording of that song but instead were the live instruments residing inside the PXS3000. The sonic clarity, stereo separation, and over volume balance of all those musical instruments playing back were
really astounding. Not only that but the internal stereo speaker system in the PXS3000 was beyond amazing. Huge volume, bigger than expected bass response, and no detectable distortion coming from the speaker system even when the volume was turned up fairly loud. The realism of all those instruments playing together including classical oboes, big brass, orchestral strings, bells, percussion, flutes, piccolos, harps, and all the other instruments from that theme song were impressive. Beyond that, I could easily play the song in any key, adjust the volume, slow it down or speed it up with no sound degradation, and play along with the song using any of the 700 internal instruments in the piano including layers and splits. I could also enhance the song by adding more reverb effects and/or changing the type of 3-D surround sound feature that I was applying to the sound coming out of the internal speakers. In fact, the volume of this PX-S3000 was so big that I had a difficult time believing it was all coming out of a super compact 24lb instrument. I had the PX-S3000 play other MIDI movie themes by John Williams including the ones I mentioned earlier like Raiders, Jurrasic, and others and those compositions and orchestrations sound equally impressive.

A piece of John Williams trivia history that some of you may not know is that there is a famous pop/rock band called "Tot"o who were especially popular in the 1980's and beyond, and they had some of the best musicians out there of all bands during that period. I personally liked the band and their music because they had a couple great piano/keyboard players (and lead vocalists that performed in ways that other keyboard players and singers never did before and they really knew their music and how to use those instruments. For a number of years Toto's lead singer was Joseph Williams who is now the band's current lead singer again within this last decade. Joseph Williams just happens to be the son of John Williams, the guy who wrote and scored all those Stephen Spielberg-George Lucas films, and in fact Joseph Williams did some of song work himself for one of of the Star Wars movies along with doing some vocals for Disney's Lion King. I mention all this not only to show what a small world it is in the music business, but how much music has an effect on the children of musically talented parents. Being a long time piano teacher I love seeing children get involved in music, whether they make money doing it or not. I also have some General MIDI files of the band's most popular songs and those song files sounded great on the PX-S3000. So no matter what songs you want to hear, play along with, or learn, the PX-S3000 seems to be able to do that extremely well.

Casio has improved their internal stereo speaker system so dramatically over any past models that it makes all the other portable digital pianos out there under $1000 pale in comparison. With notably better speaker and amplifier components coupled with this new 3-D stereo surround sound system within the piano, the resulting musical experience is far better than you would think it could be just looking at the piano and wondering how good can it possibly be given its small size and weight...but somehow the sound designers at Casio were able to figure it out and do it. When I plugged in some external powered monitors to the two audio outputs in the piano, the resulting sound was even more amazing, especially if you want or need an even bigger sound or wanting more bass response. But in terms of filling up a large room with big sound, the PXS3000 can do it with no problem. But as I said, I tested the piano to its full capacity using and playing back General MIDI multi-track song files not only with the Star Wars theme, but other big movie music like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, a number of popular Jazz, Latin, Contemporary Christian, Country, and rock songs, and other categories of music, and the PXS3000 did exceptionally well with all of them. I happen to like lots of musical styles including Jazz. One of my favorite jazz guitarists is the famous Lee Ritenour and you can see his Jazz band videos all over Youtube. Lee and I actually graduated from the same high school in the same grade at the same time and in fact he was alos in my choir class...I loved to sing then as well as now. Anyway, Lees hit songs are also available in General MIDI format and they sound really great on the PXS3000. But, without access to those higher quality 700 instrument sounds that reside inside the PXS3000 music library, the MIDI song playback ability and quality of those songs would not have happened in the way that it is being heard on this new instrument because previous music instrument libraries in past model digital pianos pretty much sounded like toys. If you want to play any of those 700 instrument sounds individually (including acoustic pianos, etc) just for your own live playing enjoyment with no songs playing in the background, as I mentioned earlier, you can easily do that and select them from the LED digital touch sensor controls and see what you have selected in the easy to read LCD display screen for that user info and then enjoy those high quality tones live in your own playing and recording.

So now that I have explained how great the overall music can be in this instrument, the actual "star of the show" in the PXS3000 is the all new piano key action, piano sound chip, and piano pedaling system because after-all, what most people want when purchasing a portable (or any) digital piano is for that instrument to be as realistic as possible in terms of an authentic piano playing experience within its price range. Up until now there has been some acceptable portable digital pianos and some good portable digital pianos out there under $1000...but nothing truly "hands down" outstanding. Yes, there certainly are other portable digital pianos with some compelling digital technology built in such as the Casio PX360, Kawai ES110, Roland FP30, and a few others, but not with the capabilities of this new Casio PXS model. There are people who don't want to spend any more than about $500 for a new digital piano and even Casio has a couple models under $500 that could be good options for the beginner. But for just a little bit more, this new PXS3000 is sooooo much better and you would likely want to keep this instrument for many more years than the others because of  the upgraded features that enable you to do things with your music that you would not otherwise be able to do if you spent less money.

The new key action, piano sound chip, and triple pedal system in this PX-S3000 is definitely worth talking about because of how much improved it seems to be (overall) as compared to the previous Casio models. When it comes to new digital pianos whether they are portable or furniture cabinet models, it's first and foremost about the piano playing experience and how close the instrument can get to a real good quality acoustic piano. Digital piano manufacturers all want you to believe they have the best product and that it plays "just like the real thing." But I've played enough different brands and models of digital pianos to know that is not a true statement. Digital pianos vary quite a bit from one to another and in this low price range under $1000 it is especially difficult to create a piano key action, piano sound, and pedaling experience that comes anywhere close to a real acoustic piano. Some of the digital piano models may play better than other ones, but they definitely don't come close to being a real piano, particularly in a portable version. They are either lacking good dynamic tonal range and good key pressure volume control, lacking a responsive piano movement key action, and/or lacking good pedal movement and response. To get all those piano playing aspects in a digital piano to be more like a real acoustic piano is pretty much impossible...it's really just "how close can you get" to the real thing. With that in mind this new Casio checks all the boxes in being as close as you can get to the real thing in my opinion as compared to all the other portable digital pianos under $1000, and in fact, is noticeably better (overall) than many of the furniture cabinet models under $1000 from Yamaha, Roland, and others.

The key action in this new PX-S3000 has by far the most realistic graded and fully weighted key action in its class and for the first time has actual individual linear weighted keys that vary in weight per key as you go up and down the keyboard. The variations are definitely subtle but they are that way on real acoustic pianos as well. This key action is definitely not a grand piano key action and is instead an upright piano key action as are all the other digital pianos in this price range in terms of the key movement and key balance from front to backs of keys. I did notice the white keys were fairly firm to press down towards the backs of the keys and I would have preferred them to be easier to press down, which is the way it normally is done on real acoustic upright & grand pianos. The keys (the part you cannot see that goes under the control panel) are just a bit shorter in length on these PXS slimline portable digital pianos because of space restrictions in being so compact. Overall the keys are balanced well and move nicely with just the right amount of key resistance and action response one might expect from a higher price digital piano. In terms of a portable piano cabinet being this small and lightweight, the key action is much better than I expected, it is noticeably more stable and with less key-bounce along with being quieter in movement noise than in past models, and the upgraded synthetic ivory & ebony key-tops provide just the right amount of textured key surfaces for great tactile feel under the fingers. With the upgraded triple sensor electronics for each key which offers better key-repetition note recognition when playing faster (and/or not letting the key come all the way back up before pressing down the key again), I am very impressed overall with this new and improved key action and it certainly responds well to all types of playing and noticeably better than its current competition.

I think it is important to note that I have played thousands of acoustic upright & grand pianos in my very long professional music career including Steinway, Fazioli, Bosendorfer, Kawai, Yamaha, Bechstein, Young Chang, Samick, Boston, Pearl River, Essex, Kimball, and many others so I know by personal experience how weighted keys feel and how they are supposed to move. As I said, the PX-S3000 does have slightly shorter keys (the part of the key you cannot see that goes beyond the visible key and underneath the piano panel behind the key) than some other digital pianos and therefore the key weighted movement towards the very backs of the white keys and black keys is harder (firmer)  to press down when playing flats & sharps than other digital pianos and acoustic pianos. Just so you know...the actual keys on digital piano don't have much weight to them at all. It's the extra weights placed inside the key (in acoustic type piano keys) or attached to the keys or within the key action (in digital pianos) that give the plastic and/or wooden keys their complete weight. The Casio PX-S3000, like all the other portable and furniture digital pianos under $2000 are more like upright acoustic pianos in that digital pianos in this price range do have shorter keys which is true of regular acoustic upright pianos. Acoustic Grand pianos have much longer keys (the part of the key you cannot see that goes under and behind the panel into the piano cabinet) and that is why professional piano players and advanced pianists always prefer to play on grand piano key actions because they can play their music better with more balance between the backs and fronts of the keys in terms of key pressure and key stroke. However, key weight (the force or pressure it takes to press the key down) is measured on the top front of the key, top middle of the key, and top back of the key. For some of you out there these extra "details" about keys may not be of interest to you and that is fine. But for other people you may enjoy knowing about these details which I am happy to explain.

As a real life example, the down-weight of middle C# key (black key measured in the middle of the key) I have personally measured key-weight movement on some Yamaha acoustic upright/console pianos where that key down-weight is about 60 grams of down-weight pressure. The down-weight pressure or force on the same key measured in the same place (middle of key) on the Casio PX-S3000 is approx 65 grams. But if you take that same measurement on the popular Yamaha P515 portable digital piano ($1499 price) the down-weight measures approx 90 grams on that same black key in the same position...this is true of the white keys as well. The Yamaha digital piano key action is  noticeably heavier in that key position not only against regular acoustic upright and grand pianos, but also as compared to Korg, Kawai, and Roland digital pianos with Roland needing more key pressure than Kawai, Korg, or Casio. On a real grand piano the amount of finger pressure needed to press down the key is even less than upright acoustic pianos. In other words, the keys are even lighter and take less effort to press down on grand pianos as opposed to upright pianos in the middle of the key and also towards the fronts of the keys. However when pressing the key downward towards the very backs of the keys on the new PXS models, the Casio keys are heavier/firmer and do take more finger pressure than the other brands. It's definitely a trade-off because the Casio key weight is much more realistic on the first 3/4 part of each of the (visible) 88 keys. But the back 1/4 of the visible key is heavier (firmer) to push down than the other brands of digital pianos and heavier than the other models of Casio digital pianos as well. To get this more portable and slimmer size digital piano, Casio obviously had to compromise to achieve that new reduced size in the PXS. But...given the fact that (overall) the 88-keys outplay all the other brands of portable digital pianos under $1000 when it comes to key weight and movement...I believe it's a reasonable compromise other than not having such a slim cabinet and making each key a bit longer....which is what I would have preferred because that "slim design" is not the reason I would necessarily buy this model to save an inch or two in depth...it's having the best piano playing experience I could get for this price range in a portable digital piano along with all those other cool features. The bottom line for this new key action is that although the PXS3000 has (overall) a very playable "feel" and the overall weight and movement of the keys is comfortable and responsive, if you are primarily a classical pianist and/or play lots of sharps and flats towards the very backs of the keys then this key action may not be as comfortable and responsive for you as you may need. I hope this all makes sense to you:)

The new 192-note polyphony piano sound chip is dramatically improved over past models and is so good that I thought I was playing a much higher price range of digital piano and also another higher priced brand. The realism of the Casio piano sound chip has always been somewhere between acceptable and good in prior models in trying to duplicate an actual piano sound, but has always been lacking in some ways with regard to tonal resonance, sustain/decay time, and natural organic overtones and sympathetic vibrations normally found in real acoustic pianos. In other words, the prior Casio models have been more artificial in its acoustic piano sound and with less polyphony piano processing power and this includes the other current model PX Privia series portable digital pianos that are currently available under $1000. But the new stereo grand piano sound in the PX-S3000 is really impressive in its ability to not only sound like a real acoustic grand piano (just because a digital piano doesn't have a grand piano key action doesn't mean it cannot have a grand piano sound), but to have an incredible amount of dynamic tonal range offering a huge amount of dynamic expression that I never thought would ever come out of a portable Casio digital piano, especially in this price range. "Expression" means that you can produce subtle mellow tones when playing the keys lightly or big bold piano tones when playing harder and more aggressively that I have never heard before in a Casio portable digital piano. As you press the keys harder and harder the sound brightens up and becomes more lively to the point where you can hear the "virtual"strings vibrate more & more offering a range of grand piano tone not available in any other portable digital piano under $1000 right now in my opinion. It really was amazing to play and hear and almost could not believe it the first time I heard it...it was that good. When I connected my small external stereo powered monitor system to the PX-S3000 by plugging into the piano audio outputs, the grand piano sound coming out of those speakers coupled with it also coming out of the piano's internal surround sound stereo speakers system was very full. It is important for me to point out that although the piano sound is really impressive in this new model and can fool some people into believing they are hearing a real acoustic grand piano, the fact remains that the piano sound here is a "recorded sample" that is produced electronically going through speakers and so there are still these limitations that prevents it from really being an organic acoustic grand piano, especially for those who play real grand pianos. Nevertheless, the bottom line is that this new PX-S3000 sounds and plays more like a real piano in my opinion than any other brand or model under $1000. With regard to the "polyphony power" in this model, 192 notes of power is more than sufficient if you are playing a single instrument sound and also layering 2 sound together for most of the instruments. However, I did hear a bit of "note dropout" when using some specific instrument sounds layered together. When I test digital pianos for note dropout I do my best to play as many notes as possible together with the most memory intensive instrument tones layered together along with using the sustain pedal to its maximum potential. When doing all that at one time I pretty much expected a bit of "note dropout" because of the strain I was putting a the processor chip, whereas few other people using the PXS3000 would ever do that. What that all means is that more the vast majority of people, there is plenty of polyphony processing power in there. As I mentioned earlier, Casio has a special app to interface with the many features of the PXS3000 so that you can more easily access and control certain aspects of the instrument including the organic elements of the acoustic piano sounds in this model which Casio calls "Acoustic Simulator." This would include adjusting the sympathetic string vibrations, hammer noise, resonance, and other aspects of the acoustic piano sounds. This allows you to customize the acoustic piano sounds in ways not previously available in past Casio models or in any of the competitive brands in the way they are done in the Chordana app. You can also customize the "key touch sensitivity" levels in the app so that the piano sound responds to the type of touch you have (light, medium, heavy, and in-between). Some people will like using these "customizable" features and other people will not care and want to play the PXS3000 piano sounds just as they are.

I definitely do not want to forget about the optional PXS triple pedal system that is available for this model. For the first time Casio has designed a portable triple pedal unit that can plug into a proprietary port on the back of the piano which allows for a pedal playing experience very similar to a real piano. In fact, the PXS model is the only portable digital piano which offers this realistic pedal experience in a portable pedal unit. All the other digital pianos either can use one main sustain pedal or they have a triple pedal-bar which has to physically connect to an optional proprietary stationary stand from that manufacturer. In other words all the other triple pedal units are not portable, they are stationary which is fine if you are not going to move the portable piano. If you think you'll want to take the piano with you to places or move it around often in your home, studio, or other building, then only the new Casio portable, lightweight triple pedal unit can easily do that. Another advantage of the portable triple pedal unit is that the sustain pedal can trigger the half-damper pedal effect giving you the ability to control the amount of sustain you want depending on how far down you press the pedal. The single pedal only allows for on or off sustain and not for variable levels of sustain like the triple pedal unit. For just another $99, if you can get the full triple pedal experience with more control over the damper-sustain function. If you are only a beginner then the small single pedal that comes with the PX-S3000 should be enough for awhile. Otherwise you can get a better, more robust option single sustain pedal made out of metal which can sit more securely on the floor and also allow for more foot space. It just depends what pedal would work better for you depending on your splaying skill level and your pedal experience. Also, as I have mentioned a few times already, the Chordana app lets you access many cool features in the PXS3000 including programmable pedal features to let you do things with the pedals that has not been available in the past on these types of portable digital pianos. This would include changing which things the pedals will do when you press them down and which other features they will trigger, and this is useful if you are more of a professional player or just want to trigger functions in the piano from one of your pedals in real-time so that you can do it faster that way rather than from the control panel.

So what else does this new portable piano do that makes it so special. Besides having 700 great instrument sounds built in, the PXS3000 also has a huge variety of percussion and on-man-band accompaniments built in which can make your music even more exciting, especially if you like more popular music such as jazz, Latin, rock, country, contemporary Christian, Big band, swing, world music, and any other type of popular music you can think of. There are 200 different drum rhythm pattern accompaniments divided up into 6 musical style categories so that you can have a "live" drummer playing along with your music which definitely makes it more fun to play. You can set up the tempo you want as well as using intros and endings for that drummer to make sound even more realistic. So as an example you can put a string bass sound in the left hand and a grand piano in the right hand using the split function and then turn on the jazz drummer to give you that 3-piece jazz group experience. If you want to one step further then this model also has 200 one-man-band "accompaniments" to add along with the drummer so that you can have additional musicians playing along automatically with the drummer when playing by chords so that you will hear and control the "band" that plays with you, just like a real band with all the instruments such as guitar players, bass players, piano players, organ players, etc. You just hold down any chord on your left hand and start up the band with an intro to whatever music style you have selected out of the 200 musical accompaniment styles in the PX-S3000. When you play your chords in the song with your left hand then you get the entire band following along (including the drummer) while you play the melody in the right hand choosing any one (or two in a layer) of the 700 internal instrument sounds for the right hand melody. It's such a great way to play music and entertain yourself and ultimately it can make you sound much better than you really are....which is always a good thing as far as I am concerned:). It's also useful in teaching you how rhythmical music should be played and heard and gives you a better idea of how to musically interact with a real band...a great learning tool. So when you play some contemporary rock, old school jazz, Latin music, blues, big band, 50's, 60's, Motown, dance, waltz, march, whatever type of music you like, the PXS3000 chord accompaniments system will put in a one-man band accompaniment with musically correct backing track patterns to make you sound as if you had been playing with your own band for years. Most of these accompaniment styles sound great for all the "members of the band" including the bass player, guitar player, pianist, drummer, etc, but some of the music accompaniments are just average and sound more like some of those cheaper keyboard auto accompaniments. But that's OK, they all cannot be good and most people will find there are enough good sounding accompaniments and drum patterns in this model to be useful and satisfying, especially at this $799 price. I do like use this feature because it allows me to play and experience music in a completely different way than traditional piano playing. I believe the more a music student gets to experience music in terms of playing music on a piano, the better musician he or she will become.

Another thing about this interactive "accompaniment" system is just how musically realistic sounding these accompaniments really are as I previously mentioned. They're certainly better and more natural than any past Casio digital pianos that had those interactive accompaniments and the detail and accuracy of these accompaniments emulating actual musical styles is impressive given this is only a $849 instrument, particularly if you have the 3-D multi-position surround sound feature on at the same time...then all those instruments take on a "live" feel and seem like they are coming out of the piano in different directions and also with a lot of power. In fact when using the 3-D surround sound system in this model which can be seen visually when the 2 sound mode lights are lit up on the control panel, the amount of projection and volume you get out of this small piano is really incredibly good...way more power and clarity than I have ever heard from any other portable digital piano under $1000...it's like you have external speakers plugged in...but you don't. It's hard to believe that Casio can get all that clarity and power out of 2 internal speakers and a total of 16 watts of power (there are new improved speakers and amplifiers in the model as compared with previous models) because it sounds like you easily have double the power and double the speakers than the specs would suggest...no kidding. Beyond that, the auto-accompaniment instrumentation and the movement of the notes within that musical style is impressive and very expressive in the way it all comes out, and this can be motivating in wanting (and being able) to play musical styles that a person may never have been able to do in the past. I think these musical accompaniment styles are worth the price of admission in getting a PX-S3000 over a non-accompaniment digital piano under $1000...assuming you would use these features. I use them all the time to learn new musical styles and to get better with my rhythm accuracy when playing music with other musicians instead of just playing solo all the time. So these things do have a good use to them and are not toys the way other people might define them probably because they have never used them. But I have used these accompaniments for years in a variety of digital pianos and I find them quite musically inspiring. If I am only going to play "piano style" and would not need or want these accompaniments because I might be playing classical music or I just don't want to play along with other "musicians" in a band or orchestra, then that's fine and there are people out there who just want to play piano...and the PXS3000 can certainly do that and do it well especially using the surround sound mode, and I use it that way quite often. But...there are other ways to play music on this instrument and for some people (like myself) this is a big bonus and a welcome addition to the functionality of the PX-S3000.

So what else can this new PX-S3000 do that makes it unique among its competition. Well two things I can think of write away is that the PX-S3000 can run on 6 double AA batters for complete portable power supply without an a/c or power adapter. It will give you up to 4 full hours on battery power which then allows you to take it to the park, to the beach, in your backyard, to the mountains, really anywhere you want to go and the piano performs just as good on batteries as it does plugged in. There is the first self-contained 88-key piano fully weighted key action instrument that I know of that works on battery power. Certainly Casio has had battery powered lightweight keyboards over the years that work on battery power, but never one before that has has a fully weighted piano key action in it. So the battery power gives people the freedom to take this new piano anywhere they want to go...and that's a big bonus to purchasing this model. In addition to that the PX-S3000 also offers Bluetooth wireless audio connectivity. This is the first and only full size digital piano under $1000 which offers wireless Bluetooth audio. The benefit of this wireless technology is that you can connect your digital music library to the piano to hear your songs come out of the piano's stereo speaker system including the use of its 3-D surround sound system witch will enhance to sound of your music even further. You also get the ability to play the piano along with your streaming music while its coming out of the piano speakers. For private practice using stereo headphones plugged into the piano, the you can hear your favorite songs from your music library in your phone, iPad, etc and play along with those songs in private without anyone else hearing what you are doing. This is a great way to learn new music or to just play along with your favorite song...or just use the piano as an external stereo speakers system to wirelessley play your songs through. This will work when using a/c power or batteries so then you can even play your favorite songs through the piano speaker system via Bluetooth if and when you take the PX-S3000 to a place without a/c power such as in the desert, at the lake, or wherever it is. Bluetooth wireless connectivity is very unique on any digital piano under $1000 and you can even do more than just play your favorite music library songs wirelessley through the piano because Casio also has a proprietary iOS/Android app for this piano called Chordana Play which allows you to manipulate your music library songs in ways that make playing along and learning your favorite songs on this piano even more fun and exciting...but I will get into that just a bit later.

In terms of other functionality in the PX-S3000, it has a 3-track, five song MIDI recorder and playback system to record lots of your own music up to 3 tracks (instruments) which is plenty of recording for most people and you can save it all to a USB flashdrive. You can also record and/or playback a performance to a wav file audio recording which is very cool because you can then take that recording and play it back on your computer or convert it ton MP3 audio file to playback on audio devices. The recording system is fairly easy to use and it has its own dedicated digital touch senor buttons in the control panel and you can see what you are accessing by looking in the LCD screen in the middle of the control panel unlike some other digital pianos that have no LCD screens. The larger LCD screen is especially important in a digital piano that offers lots of functions and features like the PX-S3000 does. You can layer or split any two of the 700 instrument sounds in the piano along with having a "duet mode" which allows 2 people to play on the instrument at the same time when practicing the same piece of music with the same notes in the same octaves. The duet function is great for students who happen to be learning the same music. Along with the split, layer, and duet functions, this piano also offers transpose change, DSP effects changes, "controller knob" effects control, arpeggio control, and other functions that are found using a dedicated row of touch sensor "virtual" buttons located on the control panel to the right of the display screen. These touch sensor buttons are how everything is controlled in the PX-S3000 and is overall a convenient way to access functions using a control panel that other wise has no buttons at all and is sleek and contemporary in design. It's like an iPad or a cell phone when you have those devices powered off...the surface of the device is dark and flat with nothing showing except for maybe a power button. This is what the PX-S3000 is like...all the features come alive when the instrument is powered on and access to functions happens when the touch sensor lights are displayed on the black control surface of the piano, depending on what functions and features you want to use. Once you get used to how this piano operates then it all makes sense and is pretty cool to use.

This model has so many things you can do and so many ways to make music on it that it is useful to have some virtual memory slots to save settings you have done such as saving your favorite instruments out of the 700 instrument music library, saving sound combinations such as layering & splitting along with saving effects you have setup for those sounds and so much more so you don't have to recreate and find them every time you use the piano. That's typically how most other digital pianos are...you can't save settings...or if you can then it may be only one or two of your favorite settings at most, especially in this price range under $1000. The PX-S3000 can save a whopping 96 of your favorite setting for instant recall whenever you want them and they can be easily edited and adjusted whenever you want to. You can also quickly transition between the different registration memory settings which is especially useful if you are using this piano for live performance and want different setups for different songs and need to make those changes quickly. As an example of something that I personally saved on the PXS3000 that had taken me a few minutes to manually set up was finding the perfect classical nylon string flamenco guitar coupled with the perfect stereo string-pad background sound along with just the right amount of brilliance control and reverb effects and then also adding a chorus effect to the guitar. Then I also added just the right amount of EQ setting to the entire mix and also made sure my relative volume balance in the layered mix between the guitar and string-pad tones were balance just right so the volume of the guitar was not drowned out by the background strings when I played them together. To add to that, I also electronically changed the key touch settings to light instead of normal and also transposed the key of the sound up 3 half-steps so I could still play my song in the key of C but have it be heard coming out in the key of Eb. When I was done making all those adjustments in the piano menu, I just saved it to 1 of my 96 digital memories so that I would not have to recreate that setting again and would be quickly be able to call it up. I can tell you that this setting example came out beautifully with the guitar sounding awesome with full dynamic range and clarity along with the backing sound of some very beautiful strings & pads to give depth to that overall setting.

For people who want to go beyond the factory preset instrument sounds and create their own customized instrument sounds, there are over 100 studio quality sound effects in the PX-S3000 that you would find in a recording studio. These special effects include very convincing compressors, phasers, chorus, wahs, distortions, limiters, rotaries, exciters, EQ's, some very cool delay effects, etc, that you can apply to any of the 700 high quality instrument sounds including a boatload of  higher quality string symphonies, including pads, saxophones, clarinets, trumpets, guitars, and percussion from every country you can think of. There's also a huge instrument sound library of high quality vintage electric pianos, pop organs, Hammond B3 organs, pipe organs, and a large number of synths. There's also a bunch of fun sampled sound effects like barking dogs, sirens blaring, babies laughing, roosters, birds, cows, and sheep making organic sounds, hands clapping, wind, rain, waves, and much more. All those sounds are actually pretty realistic unlike the toy keyboards out there and you can literally put together thousands of sounds and effects and customize the PX-S3000 in some pretty amazing ways...and then you can record it all in the piano digital recording system and save that song recording on a USB flashdrive for playback or output it to your computer.

Casio also has included in this PX-3000 a specific effect section called "Hall Simulator." Normally I would not talk in depth about this kind of thing because most other digital pianos have a more basic version of this feature which is called "reverb." Reverb is another name for "echo" and reverb/ echo effects are found naturally and organically in all man-made structures and naturally made organic structures such as caves, canyons, mountains, etc. What makes this Casio "reverb effects" Hall Simulator so unusual is the attention to detail that Casio has put into this reverb section in terms of being fairly accurate in replicating a huge variety of man-made and organic structures and the natural echo that they produce. When you add one one of these specialty "reverbs or Hall Simulators to any of your 700 instrument sounds (especially the acoustic piano sound), the end result is that it adds a unique ambiance to your overall tone that you just don't find in other digital pianos like this under $1000. From the New York Club to Opera Hall, to Berlin Hall, British Stadium, etc, along with organically structured reverbs, the Hall Simulator effects are very impressive and useful depending on the type of music you are playing. You can also quickly access these special effects from the Chordana app which makes them very easy to set up and use...and that's always a big plus in my book.

So what else makes the PX-S3000 different from all the other portable digital pianos under $1000? There is something that Casio has added to this model that they have never done before on any digital piano under $1000 and that no other company is doing either and that's having a "pitch bench wheel" controller along with 2 knob controllers on the left side of the keyboard. So...what is a "controller" and why is that a cool thing to have? If you are primarily wanting this digital piano for piano playing then the wheel and knobs would probably be of no importance at all in my opinion. But if you want to play all types of music using a variety of instrument sounds and accompaniments, then the wheel controller and knob controllers can really be useful and fun to have. Essentially what these features do is allow you to instantly control some of the specific sounds in this model so they sound even more realistic when you play them. As an example, when you want to play a steel guitar, clarinet, or any sound that you would want to bend like a Hawaiian guitar or synth, then the "pitch bend" wheel will allow you in "real time" to instantly bend (aka: slide)  the sound either up or down like you would if playing a real clarinet or playing a real electric or acoustic guitar. You can even set the pitch bend range from 1 whole step to 2 full octaves which means you can bend the instrument tones in a natural way or use the pitch bench feature to bend synthesizer tones in a way that makes those tones sound realistic. You can also program the pitch bend wheel to control a few other features in the PXS3000.

As for the knobs themselves, there are two of them just above the wheel one above the other. The knobs can be very useful because they allow you to assign 30 digital effects such as filters, volumes, portamentos, vibratos, reverbs, brilliance, resonance, and other useful effects to those 2 knobs so that you can turn those knobs individually to increase or decrease the effects you have chosen for those knobs. In other words, those knobs can control 1 effect per knob in real time so that you can change the tone or character of that sound as you play it. One practical example of using these small knobs is to assign the brilliance and reverb effects to the knobs and then while you are playing you can instantly make the overall sound of the piano more mellow or brighter or anywhere in-between as you are playing, regardless of the instrument sound you have chosen (such as piano, guitar, organ, saxophone, synth, etc). On top of that you can turn a knob and increase or decrease the reverb echo so that instrument sound can have more or less of that effect which can be especially useful to give a fuller pipe organ or grand piano sound, depending on the size of the room you are in or the type of acoustics you have (hard floors, walls, carpet, etc). Yes, a few other digital pianos have effects in them, but not close to the degree the PXS300 can and those other digital pianos cannot manipulate those effects in "real time" using knobs. By the way, knobs on keyboard instruments are commonly found on pro stage synthesizers and have been used by pro musicians for decades and the PXS3000 can recreate all those vintage synth sounds like those from Moog, Oberheim, Sequential, and other famous retro synths. There's even 25 different vintage Hammond B3 sounds in the PXS3000 with Leslie speaker simulations and all of them are fairly impressive. Then having programmable knobs and a wheel controller on the PXS3000 simply gives the player more control over all the sounds in the instrument and if you are a pro player or have a recording studio then you will be familiar with these type of controls and likely utilize them often to add customizable control to the instrument tones and effects which is very cool and no other self-contained portable digital piano under $1000 has anything like this.

Another thing that I find that some people like to do with their music is to sing along. With the PX-S3000 you can get an inexpensive microphone and plug it into the stereo audio input of the piano and the microphone will be amplified through the internal speakers so that you can hear your (or someone elses) voice along with your piano playing. This is a pretty cool feature and sounds best when you activate the 3-D surround sound in the piano which enhances the tone and clarity of the voice. For even more control over the mic, you can purchase an inexpensive passive mixer and plug it into that audio input so that you can more precisely increase and control your microphone volume, EQ, and special effects. Most digital pianos in this price range do not have an audio input so they cannot have a microphone connected to them. So yes, there is a way to plug in a microphone to the PX-S3000 and use it to sing with and have fun.

Since all the features of the PX-S3000 are triggered by the lighted touch senor "buttons" and then the info for what you have selected is seen in the LCD display screen, you sometimes don't really know all of what has been built into the instrument until you go through all the features & functions which can take a long time because this specific model just does so many things...it's pretty amazing. It seems like it just goes on and on and on and sometimes you can overlook some exciting features that you may not know are in the PX-S3000. So I want to point out three more educational as well as entertaining features in this model that are there to not only make your music more fun and interesting, but also to help train your ear for "playing by ear" where you don't have sheet music and you don't need to play well to interact with some great music. Those 3 additional features are called Music Presets, Harmony Chords, and Arpeggios. The Music Presets are actual music "clips" of famous song progressions that are programmed into the PXS3000. In other words, there are 310 well known "song clips" that play famous chord progressions along with the entire backup band of of those songs that you may have heard before on the radio, and/or audio CD or MP3 recordings. The PXS3000 selects the most realistic melody instrument for you to play along with so that when you play any of those song clips of familiar chord progressions, the right hand sound is automatically selected so that as you're playing a right hand melody it will sound as realistic as possible and as close as it can be to the original song. I like to call it "jamming" along with your favorite song. The song chord progressions keep playing one chord after another using the backup band and the entire progression may be 20-30 seconds long and then continually repeats itself in a loop without stopping until you press the stop button. In this way you can learn to "improvise" and "play by ear" with the looped chord progressions so that you get a better feel for what it is like to play along with a band or orchestra. The 310 song clip loops include pop music, country, Latin, Jazz, waltz, march, Blues, 50's, 60's, 70's, etc. along with classical, Christmas, Gospel, and just about any type of music you can think of. The Music Presets are not complete songs but instead they are just a part of the song (a famous recognizable part of a famous song) and you get to play a melody with that part of the song which is like playing along with the band or orchestra. The band plays this "looped chord progression" over and over so you can "jam" and improvise with it playing whatever you want on the right hand and choosing any of the 700 instrument sounds you want to play that melody. You can even change the rhythm tempo speed and transposed key of that looped "song clip" as well. It's super fun and great for aspiring piano/music students to learn what it is like to "play by ear." As a long time piano teacher I believe it is essential for piano students to get the experience of learning to also "play by ear" instead of just reading music all the time and the Casio Music Presets allow you to do that. Casio is the only digital piano company that has a feature like this and not everyone will use it, but if you do then you'll likely have a great time with it and might even become a better "ear player" too.

The 2nd feature of the 3 features I previously mentioned is called Harmony Chords. Harmony is when you play more than one note at a time and is typically referred to as chords. There are hundreds of chord types and to play them you can to learn proper note combinations for both left hand and right hand. For a beginner it's tough enough to learn chords for the left hand let along the right hand and play all those notes simultaneously at the same time. So what Casio has done is created an automatic right hand chord feature so that when you play any left hand chord with 3 fingers such as C-E-G which makes a C chord, then when you play your C chord on the left hand the automatic Harmony chord system will give you the proper full 2, 3, 4, or 5 finger right hand chord just by playing one note on the right hand. In other words when you play 1 note on the right hand the PXS3000 fills in the other harmony notes automatically so it sounds like you are playing full chords on your right hand when in reality you are only playing 1 note at a time along with your left manually playing left hand chords. It makes you not only sound 5 times better than you already are, but it trains your ear to understand what right hand harmony chords can sound like. It's really a pretty cool feature and there are actually 12 types of harmony variations offered in this model which can be used when playing with this feature and works while playing any left hand chord. So then your single finger right hand melody gets an extra boost from the PXS3000 by adding in automatic harmony to the right hand melody so that it sounds like you're playing full multi-finger chords on your right hand when you really are playing just one note. It's fun, entertaining, adds to your music, and helps train your ear. The Harmony feature can be used when playing regular piano style, using any of the 700 instrument sounds in the PXS3000, or using the accompaniment styles of music with all the backing tracks for the left hand so that when you play the right hand with harmony feature then it sounds like you've been playing professionally all your life! Will everyone use or need this feature?...definitely not. But for those like myself who loves to play many styles of music and doesn't mind that technology is helping me be able to sound better, then I'm all for it and I think many other people will feel the same way.

The 3rd and final extra "fun" feature in this piano that makes it more entertaining and musically exciting than any other new digital piano under $1000 is the "Arpeggio" section. According to an "official" definition of the word arpeggio, "it's a broken chord which is a chord that is broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves. An arpeggio is a type of broken chord in which the notes that compose any chord are played or sung in a rising or descending order." OK, so with this in mind, to play an arpeggio, you would need to be a fairly good player because you are playing separate notes on the keyboard up and/or down in a certain pattern and typically that pattern moves pretty fast. So when you see a pianist playing a lot of notes up and down the piano keyboard quickly, that is likely an arpeggio. Well...the PX-S3000 has a feature that allows you to hold down any set of keys on the keyboard and instead of those notes being struck and heard one time, the arpeggio system will play each note in that chord individually up and down in a pattern and keep playing that pattern until you let go of the keys. So it sounds like your fingers are moving up & down the keyboard when in fact they are stationary holding down the keys and not moving. This makes you sound way better than you really are and can make your music sound more exciting, depending on the type of music you are playing. The arpeggio feature will work with any of the 700 instrument sounds in the PX-S3000 so whether you are using the piano sound, strings, organs, synthesizers, horns, guitars, whatever it is, then you can activate the arpeggio feature for that sound. The tempo/speed of that arpeggio can also be controlled to move the notes faster or slow depending on how you want it and the type of music you are playing. You can even select from different kinds of arpeggio patterns depending on what sounds good to you and how it effects your music. There is a huge list of 100 different arpeggio patterns which you can select from that will replicate what pro piano players sound like when there fingers are flying up & down the keyboard playing different note patterns. Beyond that, you can layer one sound in the PX-S3000 using a moving arpeggio pattern for that sound and then layer it over a 2nd sound and hear the second sound sustaining under the arpeggio pattern from the 1st sound. In other words, 1 arpeggio sound mixed with 1 normal sustained tone that you choose. The possibilities are endless with this feature and no other digital piano in this price range has anything like it. It's really, really cool to use and once you try it, you'll be hooked! Basically you just play around with this feature and its variations and have fun.

OK...so with all the vast myriad of options, sounds, effects, and other musical features in this piano, which for some people could be a bit overwhelming, you control them all with the light-up touch sensor buttons on the piano and see what is visually going on in the LCD screen which displays the info of the digital lighted button you just pressed. Even though the control panel has these touch buttons and display screen that make it easier to use than other digital pianos, there's even an easier and more intuitive way to access and select the various features and functions within this piano assuming you have an iOS iPad or Android tablet that you can connect to the PX-S3000. This is because Casio has developed a proprietary app called Chordana Play which allows you to select and access all of the features in the PX-S3000 from your tablet color touch screen! This app controls all of the functions and features I have previously described. So whether you want a particular instrument sound from among the 700 sounds in the piano, or you want to layer or split tow specific sounds together, or you want to set up the piano in "duet-play," or you want to do recording, use the drum rhythm patterns, play along with the interactive musical style accompaniments, or modify and personalize the acoustic piano sounds with increasing or decreasing the string resonance, hammer noise, or whatever it is can can think of (which I discussed earlier), it can be done quickly and easily with the Casio Chordana Play app. I have personally played around with it and it goes way beyond any other controller app I have ever use for a digital piano in this price and beyond $2000. It is so cool and can let you control tempo, select metronome and time signature, record multi-track MIDI recording or audio wav file recording, changing touch sensitivity curve to customize the key touch that you want depending if you are playing piano sounds or other sounds...it basically does it all and then some. The app also has musical games in it that are not part of the internal features of the PX-S3000. These musical games allow you to important songs from the piano so that they will play back showing you when to play the notes using "streaming lights" so you can visually see what it going on with the song and where your at. It also displays notation and you have control over tempo and can also set up the song to repeat certain measures of your choosing in a controllable loop so that those notes keep playing over and over to give you a chance to learn specific passages in the music you have be having a difficult time doing. There are so many ways to interact with these very cool, useful musical exercises that are also fun games.

Beyond that, you can import your own iTunes into the audio portion of the app so that you can play along with your favorite iTune song in your song library and even slow down the song (change tempo) to learn it better and also change key if you want to sing along or play along in a lower or higher key that may be more comfortable for you sing in vocally. There's also a very cool function in the audio file portion of the that app where you can take your iTune, slow it down, and then choose what ever portion of the song you want, digitally "loop it" in a continuous loop so that portion plays over and over which gives you a chance to better learn that part of the song and play along with it until you "get it down." There is no other proprietary app that does all these things and it does work well based on my personal experience with it. Imagine being able to hear your favorite song come through the PX-S3000 and being able to play along with it "live" in real time.

As far as connectivity in the PX-S3000, you get it all...Bluetooth audio wireless, two 1/4" audio outputs, 1 stereo mini audio input which can take in a microphone or anything else you want to amplify and go through the PX-S3000 speaker system, 1 USB output to any device, 1 USB flashdrive input for saving and loading songs into or to store external general MIDI files for playback in the piano. The optional portable triple pedal unit has a proprietary input jack in the piano so that you can connect it. In portable self-contained digital pianos under $1000, it is fairly unusual to find an expression pedal output. But in the PX-S3000 there is connection for an expression pedal which is a special option pedal that allows for control over a number of functions in the piano. One of the main functions of an expression pedal is to be able to raise and lower the volume of the instrument sound you are playing to give more "expression" to that sound. One good example of that is for organs sounds. When someone is playing a real organ like a Hammond B3 jazz/gospel organ, pipe organ, or other organs, there is an variable expression pedal down below the organ (like a gas pedal in a vehicle) that when you press down and forward on the expression pedal you get more volume and when you press down with your heel and backwards on the pedal then you get less volume (in real time) of the sound you are playing. This is called variable volume expression and that's one of the main uses for an expression pedal in a digital piano. It is not necessary to have if you are only playing a piano sound but can also be useful with other expressive sounds such as strings, brass, synth tones, etc. The expression pedal can also be assigned to control other functions in the PX-S3000 such as drum rhythm start & stop, drum fill-ins, tempo control, master volume, and other functions. So the optional expression pedal that you can connect to the PX-S3000 can come in very handy depending on the type of music you play and what you like to do with pedals. Finally, you also get two front loaded mini stereo headphone jacks for two people at a time to play in privacy. There is fairly good stereo headphone amplification coming from those headphone jacks and they are located on the front left side of the piano which is convenient. So when it comes to connectivity in a portable digital piano, this model pretty much leave no stone unturned, unless for some reason you need traditional MIDI connector ports which the PX-S3000 does not have. It uses the USB port for all MIDI related connectivity.

At the end of the day this new PX-S3000 is for anyone at any playing skill level including for pro keyboard players who play on stage or in a recording studio and want high quality professional instrument sounds & effects. It's also for composers and arrangers for music creation, for advanced piano players who want and need a lightweight higher quality portable piano with expressive dynamic piano tonal range and want to take the piano with them from place to place, for students just learning to play piano, for adults who just want to have a lot of musical enjoyment and like some"bells & whistle" to make their music more fun and allow them to sound better than they really are with less effort, for churches who want a high quality portable digital piano and need it in a low price range, for schools to enhance their music program, for teaching piano labs which require multiple digital pianos that can mix together in creative ways...and really this piano is for anyone who loves music no matter how they play and what their musical goals may be. There's really only two things that I thought were missing and deficient in this model and that was the ability of the operating system to display the chord symbols in the LCD screen of the chords being played by the left hand when using the accompaniment backing tracks or the Music Preset song clips. Having the chords displayed would have been helpful and perhaps Casio can come up with a firmware update one day to resolve this issue for me. However, when it's all said and done, those are small complaints relative to what the rest of this new digital piano can do.

If you add up the low cost of the PX-S3000 at $849 with the optional furniture stand at $140, along with the optional triple pedal unit at $100, you're still only spending $1089 which is not much for everything this model does and how much music you can get out of it. Then if you add in the optional custom made Casio PXS gig bag (carry case) for $150, then you get a total price of $1239. I will say that the custom gig bag for this model fits it perfectly and is very robust and nicely padded as compared to past Casio gig bags for other portable digital pianos. There are a couple nice sized pockets on the gig bag, a comfortable handle, sturdy full length zipper, and a couple of full length straps attached to the bag. The bag itself is not heavy but it seems to be constructed very well and the piano sits securely inside without wiggle room, and that is a very good thing. $150 may seem like a lot to pay for a "gig bag," but I believe you will be hard pressed to find a generic one out there that actually fits this "slim-line" model correctly while being robust. I think this gig bag is definitely worth the price. In this piano price range there certainly are other available portable digital pianos out there...but not with the capabilities of the PX-S3000. It just depends on what you want, what your musical goals are, and how you will be using the instrument. The PX-S3000 does even more things than I talked about in this review but that's something you can discover on your own if you should get one. If this model only had the ability to do half of the things I talked about in this review, it would still be well worth the price of admission in my opinion. For now I've talked about the functions and features I think are really compelling and interesting in terms of what I now consider to be overall the "biggest bang for the buck" in an easy-to-use, intuitive, clean looking portable digital piano under $1000. With a Casio factory warranty of 3 years parts & labor coverage on this instrument, I believe that Casio is clearly in the lead at this point in this price range and will continue to products that "raise the bar" in the world of digital pianos.

If you want more info on new digital pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet and Amazon discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.

DP603 polished ebony

🎹 UPDATED REVIEW - July 1, 2020 - Roland DP603 Digital Piano - Recommended - Roland is known for producing some great musical instruments including digital pianos, synthesizers, guitar products, percussion, recording & audio equipment, and the list goes on. Many pro players as well as institutions own Roland digital pianos and Roland produces some good ones. The Roland DP603 digital piano ($2599US internet price) in satin black finish only - no bench) or the DP603 in polished ebony or white finish including matching duet bench ($3099US internet price) are competitively priced and do offer a satisfying piano playing experience for many people with Roland's new piano sound technology and responsive key action. Roland has had the compact cabinet DP line of pianos for many years and they have been very good pianos and this is no exception.  

HP603 piano traditional model

So what makes this new DP603 piano a good choice? There are many things that I can point out that should give a piano shopper good reasons to buy this piano. But before I go on further, I want to point out that Roland has had a line of home style digital pianos out in the past (now discontinued) with the exact same digital technology, functions, key action, and pedaling as is in the DP603. In fact the DP603 is really just a less expensive version of the previous Roland HP603 home cabinet digital piano which was only found in local US Roland piano dealers and not for sale on-line in the US. The HP603 sold for closer to $3000 in the Roland piano dealer stores but they come in a more traditional piano cabinet with a nicer duet bench longer warranty, and the home pianos included an accessory package at no charge. Otherwise the the DP603 is virtually the same instrument as the previous HP603 model, with the exception of cabinet design & structure and one added Bluetooth feature.

What is the difference between this new Roland model over the previous Roland models as well as compared to their competition from Yamaha and Kawai? To start off, for the first time Roland has created a hybrid key action unlike anything they have done before. Each key consists of a combination of wood and plastic (instead of all plastic in the previous Roland models) and Roland claims this gives the key movement more authenticity and natural weight as well as eliminates maintenance of the all-wood key actions. Roland's claim is that these new keys give the key structure more durability and more rigidity (with the addition of an inner stabilizer pin which also reduces lateral key movement) while allowing the action to feel more authentic with the wood in the keys to vibrate a bit from the sound waves when the "digital strings" are vibrating, as a key would normally do in a real acoustic piano. In other words, the key is not all plastic and not all wood as you would normally find in the other popular digital piano brands and Roland would claim this is the best way to produce a key in a digital piano. I personally don't know if it's the best way to make a key and I doubt that the small amount of wood in the key does too much other than look nice, but as long as the keys move smoothly, are balanced well, and are graded weighted in a satisfying way, then that's what I look for, and I believe this new key action called the PHA50 does all that for most people. It is an upgrade to the previous key actions called the "Premium Action" which Roland had in their previous DP90e. Although I always felt that the Premium Key Action was enjoyable to play, this new PHA50 action is even more so and I did notice some upgraded advantages.

It is definitely worth mentioning that the new top-of-the-line PHA-50 key action is on most of the new Roland models for 2020 in the higher price ranges as well as these 2 models here. However, Roland does have a noticeably better "grand Keyboard" model in their top digital upright pianos, but they are definitely more money. Kawai and Yamaha digital pianos also have their best upgraded key actions for their more expensive models. Acoustic piano key actions vary from one piano to another, one brand to another, and there are differences between grand piano key actions and upright piano key actions. So when it comes to digital pianos key actions, the new PHA50 composite action (plastic + wood) in the DP603 is without question an upgrade to what was previously available in this price range before with regard to Roland digital pianos. This allows Roland to be more competitive with the other brands in this price range although the other major brands still have very good key actions.

This newer Roland key action also has the "escapement feature" which simulates the movement of grand piano keys when you press them down slowly and easily and you feel them slightly hesitate or have a notch or bump that occurs as you press the key down. This type of feeling is a natural occurrence on a real grand piano but you cannot feel it on most upright pianos. It can help with key control when playing music legato and slowly.  Kawai also has the escapement feature which they call "let-off" and that key action is in the newer Kawai ES8 and all of their other digital pianos in this price range. Yamaha does offer the escapement key action feature but only in their full size cabinet pianos starting at around $2000US. But just because the feature (escapement/letoff) may be there doesn't mean it's working well or is necessarily authentic, because at the end of the day these things are just simulations and if you played a real grand piano that function would feel entirely different. So the bottom line is that it's nice to have it in these digital pianos but it's not absolutely necessary because it's only a simulation.

Another thing I noticed about the new Roland key action was how much more quiet it was as compared with their previous models when the keys are moving up and down. By nature, regular acoustic piano key actions do make some noise when the keys are moving, but because those pianos are always so loud and they don't have a volume control or headphone jack like digital pianos do, you cannot hear the key action noise when playing the piano. However in a digital piano, when you have the volume somewhere between low to medium level or when you are using headphones, then you can definitely hear the key action moving and noise is more of a concern. I can say for sure that the key action noise level on these new Roland pianos is the lowest that it's been on any Roland digital piano and has surpassed the previous models for an even lower key movement noise reduction level. The previous models were already pretty good and more most people were satisfied with the fairly low ambient noise level of the moving keys. But the new PHA50 key action has definitely surpassed this and has become quieter and smoother in key movement and this is something that I think many people will appreciate, especially if you play at a higher skill level or you use headphones a lot. Gone are the days on older model Roland key actions when all you could really hear were the "thump" of the keys going down. When you combine this new Roland hybrid key with the quieter, smoother graded-weight (quick response) key movement along with good key action "down weight"& "up weight" return (measured by actual weights - left pic), you really feel like you can express yourself in a more authentic musically correct way as compared with previous models, at least that's the way that I felt about it when playing this new key action. Then you add the nice escapement feature in the key action that I talked about along with Roland proprietary synthetic ivory & ebony feel keys (they do feel good), and the Roland company has really stepped up to the plate by improving upon what they already had in the previous models. This key action is not a major breakthrough in my opinion compared to previous models, but I believe that beginners through advanced players will appreciate it very much. The new PHA50 key action is available in all of the new Roland piano models rather than just in selected higher priced models such as what other brands offer.

When it comes to piano sound and getting as close to approximating or matching a real acoustic piano, there is no digital piano that can exactly reproduce a real acoustic grand piano sound regardless of what anyone else may say. It simply has never been done and no digital piano brand can rightly claim that they have done it. So the next best thing is "how close can a digital piano get to a real acoustic piano sound playing experience?" If you knew how complex a real acoustic piano sound actually is and what is actually happening in a good grand piano when it comes to the piano sound itself  (what it does and how you hear it), you would probably think it would be impossible to recreate it digitally because there are certain piano sound elements that happen in "real time" that are always changing depending on how fast or slow you play the keys, how hard or soft you hit (play) the keys, the type of wood the piano is made of, how much soundboard space you have in the real piano, the types of hammers and key felt that is part of the key action, the vibrations and overtones of the 230 strings (give or take) in a real grand piano and how they all interact with each other including the random vibrations, sympathetic noises, frequency changes, tonal dynamics, string thickness, string windings and materials, the scale design, the piano iron frame, dampers and their affect on the sound, decay and sustain time of the sustained strings, volume, duration of the tone and changes in velocity, among other things. Even the the style of music you play such as chording, voicing of chords, staccato and legato of the notes, and the interaction of the string vibrations on the body of the piano all contribute to the final outcome of the sound. Not only are the key action elements quite complex in a real acoustic piano, but in a lot of ways the piano sound is even more complex and trying to get that "perfect" reproduction which people are looking for in a digital piano is very difficult given the current technology that most digital piano companies are using.

I am a long time piano teacher and pro musician of 40 plus years having taught thousands of students as well as owning, playing on, and teaching acoustic guitar.When it comes to natural grand piano sound, to me that is what it's all about...beauty, soul, feeling, the piano sound being alive and not digital sounding, and feeling like when you play a song, you can play it may times and every time it comes out a bit differently because a real piano sound is "alive & breathing" and changes, and is not canned, digital, dead, plunky, or without taste or expression. I mention all of this so that you will better understand what I am about to share with you. Up until now, Roland, Yamaha, Kawai, and Casio, the four main digital piano companies out there, have been using "sample recording" technology to capture piano sound from a real piano and then put it into the digital micro-processor chip in the digital piano so that it comes out of the speakers and sounds as much like a real piano as possible using that sampling technology. The "samples" or recordings are of each piano note (not each string) on a particular brand and model of acoustic grand piano at different velocity levels when pressing the keys and those recordings, which are done by microphones inside and over the acoustic piano, are relatively short samples of the sound due to digital memory constraints. This is true for all major brand digital pianos. Yamaha uses Yamaha acoustic grands, Kawai uses Kawai acoustic grands, and so on. The sample is then electronically "looped" into a continuous virtual circle/loop so that it will sound like it is continuous in real time linear playback. But when you play a real piano, the piano sound starts when you first touch the key and hear the sound and then it stops when you let go of the key and pedal. That acoustic piano sound is one straight continuous ever-changing sound in real time. Sampled recording is actually taking a slice or piece of that original piano sound and then is looped in a virtual circle, as I just mentioned, so it plays over & over. Some of the better sampled digital home pianos such as the Kawai CA79 use very long samples plus physical modeling technology giving a very natural piano sound. Korg piano company also uses sampling technology and their samples are very long and well defined, especially in their newG1B Air digital home piano ($1799 internet discount price) so they do sound natural. However on other cheaper brands and models, depending on how and where the loop is electronically fastened together, you may hear a noticeable anomaly (depending on how the loop was put together) when the loop starts over. In other words, the sound will end and then quickly start over while you are holding the piano key down. It just depends on your ears and how sensitive they are to a real piano sound and how good the sampling process is on the brand & model.

previous model DP90e

For a large majority of people playing piano these days and regardless of skill level, the piano sampling technology has produced some very enjoyable piano sound in digital pianos and this technology has gotten better and more sophisticated with time, and the end result is some mighty impressive digital piano instruments that have recently come out from the other brands. Along with increasing sampling sophistication also has come increased polyphony in sampled digital pianos up to 256-notes. This means that when playing a digital piano, if you are at a higher skill level and play complex musical passages using a stereo piano sound, you won't run out of notes as you play your music using many keys and pedal sustain at one time along with doing glissando's, arpeggios, and or lots of chording. So when it comes to piano sound, the digital piano industry has come a long way in being able to reproduce it with sampled recording so that most people can be very happy with the results, depending on your budget and the brand of piano of course:)

However, Roland has now gone beyond the standard industry piano sound sampling technology by introducing a newer sound technology for the DP603 called SuperNATURAL piano Physical Modeling. Modeling (aka: modelling)is different from sampling in the way the sound is created and the way you hear it when the piano is being played. Along with this technology being implemented to create an all new piano sound, Roland is putting it in all of their new models instead of just a few at the top of the price range. This means that you can get this new technology of piano sound reproduction starting at around $3000 in their cabinet models. It is typical for digital piano companies to reserve their best features for the most expensive models to get you to spend more money but Roland did not do this, and that is impressive to me and I commend them for that. So exactly what is SuperNATURAL Modeling technology and what makes it different then all other digital pianos? In Sampling technology, the sound elements in a real piano need to be recorded with microphones, as I previously mentioned, and then those recordings need to be translated into computers and then saved in the digital piano sound chips on circuit boards. The recordings can be of a number of different things in a piano including the sound reproduction as you strike a key at different velocities and the noise the hammer makes when it moves, just to name a few. Sampled sounds take a larger amount of computer memory to do it correctly (or as close as can be done), and that may or may not drive up the cost of those instruments.

Physical Modeling sound is not recorded from an acoustic piano but is created through non sampling computer mathematical algorithms. I am definitely not  a mathematician so the best explanation I found on the subject which I believe is important to understand (at some level) so that you can appreciate this new piano sound technology, is as follows: "In sound synthesis, physical modeling synthesis refers to methods in which the waveform of the sound to be generated is computed by using a mathematical model or formula, being a set of equations and algorithms to simulate a physical source of sound, usually a musical instrument. Such a model consists of laws of physics that govern the sound production, and will typically have several parameters, some of which are constants that describe the physical materials and dimensions of the instrument, while others are time-dependent functions that describe the player's interaction with it, such as plucking a string, or covering toneholes. For example, to model the sound of a drum, there would be a formula for how striking the drumhead injects energy into a two dimensional membrane. Thereafter the properties of the membrane (mass density, stiffness, etc.), its coupling with the resonance of the cylindrical body of the drum, and the conditions at its boundaries (a rigid termination to the drum's body) would describe its movement over time and thus its generation of sound." That's the explanation I found that best explains this technology although if you don't understand it...don't worry, a lot of other people don't either:).

In piano sound physical modeling, that technology is dealing with things such as the energy/force you put into the playing the keys, the interaction of the tonal dynamics, piano hammers, felt movement on the hammers, string movement over time, overtones that excite other moving and non-moving parts of the strings and wood cabinet, and many more physical aspects of a real acoustic piano.,..and all of these physical properties in a real piano are recreated by computer computations. It's like a powerful computer that draws a "virtual picture" of every aspect of the best  acoustic grand piano possible and then that "virtual picture" instantly comes to life as that actual acoustic piano played instantly in micro seconds with no repetition or sameness. This technology is supposed to give you the feeling that the piano sound which you're hearing is being generated from an real acoustic piano, when in fact is is all done in the virtual technology world. But does this new technology actually do what it claims to do?

Roland has tried to emulate the Steinway Concert grand piano sound over the years and that's what they have tried to do here with these new digital pianos much the same way as the real thing does. Having this kind of modeling technology gives the player an approximation of Steinway grand sound characteristics without the large size and expense of that acoustic piano. An example of the new Roland sound is when you press any one key on the Roland piano without having any additional reverb or sound effects on, that one note will also trigger natural occurring "overtones" for that specific note that you would normally and naturally hear in a real piano. Also, just when a person thought that 256-note polyphony processing power for the piano sound was a lot, the new Roland physical modelling technology has jumped that polyphony number up to...infinity and beyond:)...in other words...unlimited polyphony. There is no limit because of the way the sound is generated in the virtual physical world. However, the 256-note polyphony (and even less polyphony) in other name brand pianos is way more than enough to power even some of the most complex piano music that a person can play. The unlimited polyphony on the Roland pianos is for the acoustic piano sounds only but not for the non-acoustic piano instruments such as electric pianos, strings, organs, choirs, brass, etc. Those sounds offer 384-note polyphony which is also more than the other brands do, but once again, not something that you'll actually notice when playing these instrumental sounds. Also, polyphony power has nothing to do with the actual instrument sound samples and the authenticity of those tones. However, when you combine that polyphony power along with a 3-sensor key action, the musical expression and dynamic tonal & volume range you get in these new pianos is impressive. From very soft pianissimo to extra loud forte volume. these new pianos go beyond what a person might otherwise expect out of a digital piano, particularly a Roland digital piano.

Physical Modeling Virtual Technology

REVIEW-  August 4, 2020 - Yamaha CLP-735, Yamaha CLP-745, Yamaha CLP-765GP Clavinova Digital Pianos - NEW MODELS - After number of years producing the CLP600 series including the CLP-635, CLP-645, and CLP-665GP,Yamaha is coming out with the new CLP-700 digital pianos series replacement models. In a number of ways the discontinued CLP-600 and new CLP-700's will share the same features and functions that were popular in the 600 series and therefore are being brought over to these new 700 models such as the LCD user interface, most of the instrument sounds, the drum rhythms, recording features, cabinet designs and size, and some other cool things, so that makes sense to me. However, there are some definite changes to the most important parts of any piano and those changes and upgrades include the acoustic piano sounds, key action movement, and internal speaker system. There are a few other incremental differences which certainly are nice, but overall the new models are just more authentic for piano sound, piano key action response, and the ability of the internal speaker systems to project that sound in a big way...and that is really what piano playing is all about...getting the most authentic piano playing experience you can get within a specific price range. Plus, Yamaha has added a couple new cabinet colors to the mix which makes it even better for people looking for a more contemporary cabinet finish. So has Yamaha hit a "home run" with their new improvements in these 2021 Clavinova models? Let's take a look!

First of all, the reason I am reviewing and comparing these 3 specific models is because their price ranges are by far the most popular and fortunately they have not changed or gone up in price. The CLP-735 is $2699 in the matte finishes and $3199 in the polished ebony finish. The CLP-745 is $3499 in the matte finishes and $3999 in the polished ebony finish. The baby grand cabinet model CLP-765GP is $5499 in the polished ebony finish and $6299 in the polished white finish. Speaking of price ranges, Yamaha did not raise their prices from the CLP-600 series to the CLP-700 series, so that is a good thing. This means that you simply get more for the money on these new 700 models than you would have gotten previously. But...there may be a few of the CLP-600 series pianos remaining at Yamaha dealers in the US although most of them have been sold out. The previous series models were really impressive pianos and if you want to save a bit of money then if a previous model is still available at a US dealer it might be offered at a slightly lower price now so you'll need to check that out if you are interested. However, the CLP-700's have such nice improvements it may be a better idea to go for the new models since they are priced very affordably especially considering what they offering now.

In digital pianos the key action and the the way it moves and responds to finger touch is considered to be the most important part of any digital piano and when you get into these prices ranges then it is even more important. In the previous CLP-600 models, the key actions were good and for most people enjoyable to play, but there were still a few drawbacks to them. The most notable drawback was the "balance" of the keys when your fingers played towards the backs of the keys as opposed to playing more towards the fronts of the keys with your fingers. On a regular acoustic upright piano it takes more finger force to press down the keys towards the back of them (especially when playing flats & sharps) as compared with moving the fingers towards the tips of the keys. That's one of the reasons why you'll rarely see an advanced or accomplished piano player wanting to play on an acoustic upright piano...because upright key actions throw off your playing technique because those keys are more unbalanced. On acoustic grand pianos the keys are much longer and move differently than on an acoustic upright piano so the goal of any good piano player is to eventually play their music on a grand piano because it makes a big difference in the outcome of their music.

The key action movement has been redesigned on the CLP-735, CLP-745, and CLP-765GP so that the keys will be more balanced and more more smoothly with less difference in front to back of key balance than on prior models from the CLP-600 series. This key action change (called the Grand Touch-S (with escapement) will help beginner through advanced piano players and students be able to play their music more smoothly and evenly with a better musical outcome...and that is a very good thing. Yamaha describes this change as "pivot points" or "balance pin" changes so that the player will get a more even distribution of key movement and sound expression to more accurately reproduce a real piano playing experience. As with all brands, Yamaha uses some "marketing" terminology in trying to promote these new pianos as the "perfect" digital pianos...and while they do have some notable improvements in them, they are not perfect....but no digital piano out there is perfect when it comes to replicating the playing experience of a real acoustic piano. However, with the improvements in the key action for the 3 piano models that we are talking about here, this is the first time in many, many years that Yamaha has made any significant changes at all in the key action so this is definitely a big step for them. The CLP-735 and CLP-765GP mini grand have the identical key actions and they are made of plastic like many other brands in this price range...and that's fine as long as those key actions respond well. The CLP-745 (like the former CLP-645) has all wood white keys to give the key action a lighter key movement which helps the player or student play better and have even more expressive control over the keys and therefore over the piano sound. The key top material being utilized in the new models is the newer synthetic ivory and synthetic ebony to give the keys a more "tactile feeling" when playing them and a classier look as well. They fell great and also help absorb sweat from the fingers.

The piano sounds consist of 2 separate piano reproductions just like on the previous models which includes a Yamaha concert grand piano from Japan called the CFX and a European Bosendorfer Grand piano from Vienna, Austria. These 2 piano sound reproductions are done with a combination of Sampling and Physical Modeling technology to create a better and more natural piano sound with more nuanced expression. These 2 world famous grand piano sounds were in the previous models but have been improved even further to sound noticeably more natural and organic than in the previous models. Yamaha did not change their overall approach to the piano sounds they have chosen in these models but they did use newer and better technology to capture those piano sounds in a more organic way. The polyphony ability of the pianos is the same as before at 256-note maximum polyphony power which is more than enough more most musical applications and playing styles.

When it comes to piano piano sound itself, the Japanese Yamaha grand piano tone is great for all types of music but especially for pop, jazz, Latin, country, and even classical. The European Bosendorfer grand piano sound is more mellow and "classical" sounding and generally is better for classical music, ballads, romantic songs, and music that you want to be a bit more mellow but yet full of bass and well rounded in tone. Let's face it...technology changes and improves over a few years of time so you can bet that the Yamaha piano sound will be improved in newer models and that is the case here...it just sounds more real. Also, Yamaha added to completely new pianos to the sound library which includes what is known as "Forte" acoustic pianos which would have been the actual pianos that Beethoven Mozart, and others would have played while they were alive. Those pianos were not constructed in way pianos are today and therefore had a distinctly different sound. So when you hear a Mozart piece of music played a grand piano today, it is not what Mozart would have experienced in his day. So Yamaha added 2 of these "period" pianos to give the player a feeling of what a piano was like to hear in those days. It's great for those players interested in recreating a historical sound environment when playing that type of music.

When listening to these pianos through stereo headphones it's certainly good to get the best stereo sound reproduction you can get in your ears so that it will sound like a full grand piano in your head! Yamaha has a special "circuit" or technology that is called Binaural Sampling and this technology is a separate feature which give both acoustic pianos sounds (Yamaha & Bosendorfer) extra added realism when listening through a good pair of stereo headphones. In the previous models this technology was only available for the Yamaha grand piano sound. But in the new 700 series it also applies to the Bosendorfer grand piano sound. In fact, I was very disappointed that this technology was not available in the previous models for the Bosendorfer piano sound and I mentioned it in my previous review of those models. But I am happy to say that Yamaha "listened to me" and included to Binaural sampling technology in these new pianos so that the headphone listening experience has been greatly improved when using the European grand piano sound. This does not change how that sound is head through the internal speakers...only through stereo headphones. It's just a fuller, richer, and more vibrant sound and for people who want to use headphones for private practice, you will appreciate this upgrade very much.

On the previous 600 series models the internal speaker systems were good, but they were still a bit weak, especially the CLP-635 at just 60 watts of total power going through 2 amplifiers and 2 speakers. On the 3 new 700 series models the internal speaker power has been improved except for the CLP-735 which remains the same as in the previous CLP-635. Even though you can get the CLP-735 to be loud enough, it just does not sound as rich and bassy as I would have liked to see. For $2699 I think they could have done better, but it is still good...just not where it should be in my opinion. However on the new CLP-745 Yamaha did upgrade that internal speaker system in a big way going from 100 watts of total power to 200 watts of total power with 4 amplifiers and 4 speakers. The CLP-745 now has the kind of sound and headroom it should have had in this price range. With this new power rating this model can carry its weight and price tag in a much more competitive way. Plus, the speakers inside the piano have been improved along with the positioning of the speakers to give the sound a better frequency balance. So given you have a new, more balanced key action with wooden white keys and a heftier speaker system, in my opinion this model is definitely worth the difference in price over the CLP-735, plus...it has a few other feature upgrades over the CLP-735 that I will mention later. The CLP-765GP mini grand piano speaker system has also been upgraded over the previous model and has gone from just 70 watts of total power in the CLP-665GP to  a huge 184 watts of total power going into 4 amplifiers and 4 speakers. This is a big upgrade and really gives this digital "grand piano" the kind of volume, power, and tone it needs to feel like it is really putting out sound worthy of this type of instrument. The speakers and their positioning inside the piano have also been improved and upgraded. With this new CLP-765GP mini grand model being in the same price as the previous CLP-665GP, it's a no-brainer when it come to buying it...and this time it's definitely worth it and you won't be disappointed in this price range. So Yamaha has really done a very good job here in improving the quality and fullness of sound you get out of these new instruments, with the exception of the CLP-735 which remains the same as before.

Pedaling can be an overlooked aspect of any piano but yet it is extremely important to get a realistic pedal function experience when playing any type of music especially if you know how to play piano. There are 3 pedals on most every acoustic piano out there and most digital pianos also have 3 pedals which includes the sustain/damper pedal, the sostenuto pedal, and finally the soft pedal. On a real grand piano the soft pedal is also called by a more classical name which is "una-corda" pedal. Of the 3 pedals the sustain (damper) pedal is most important because it holds out the piano sound and sustains it over a period of time when playing a note and holding down the right (sustain) pedal. Without good sustain quality the music can sound choppy, uneven, and uninteresting. To play the sustain pedal correctly takes time and practice but once you have learned out to do it properly you cannot live without it when it comes to playing beautiful music. To get a quality sustained piano tone, not only do you need to have the right pedaling technique, but the instrument needs to have a large piano tonal range with natural string vibrations, resonances, and overtones that can be easily heard as the piano sound is being sustained over time. That piano tone can either sound simple and plain or it can sound colorful and complex because of all the natural organic elements being heard while that piano sound is being sustained over time and decaying naturally as that sound fades out.

With this being said, Yamaha uses a newer technology (physical modeling) which Yamaha called "Grand Expression" and it helps to reproduce those complex natural organic piano tones that are normally reserved for real acoustic grand pianos. It's all that natural detail of harmonics and resonances which occur in "real-time" on a real piano that Yamaha has reproduced in a convincing way on its new CLP-735, CLP-745, and CLP-765GP. In other words this new resonating technology is in all 3 of these new models whether you are hearing the piano through its internal speakers or listening through headphones. It's very impressive and makes the piano sound more realistic than ever before. Is it exactly the same as a real grand piano...no, but it comes close. It will fool most people, especially those who do not have lots of playing experience on real high quality grand pianos...and that's most people. This Grand Expression technology is effective whether you are playing fast, slow, hard, soft, using sustain pedal, or playing more staccato. But the beautiful resonate tone is especially noticeable when sustaining multiple notes at the same time. The other 2 pedals, soft and sostentuto, work well and do a good job for people who will be using those functions. If you are a beginner or even intermediate player you may never or seldom use either of those other 2 pedals. But for some people they will use one or both of them so they do function well for those purposes.

So, what else makes these new digital pianos worth considering and are there any more new upgrades and features these models have that the previous models did not have? All 3 models had 20 fun and entertaining drum rhythm patterns in their previous models including jazz, swing, rock, Latin, waltz, country, etc and those drum patterns could be played at any tempo and you could play along with them to give yourself the feeling that you were playing with a live drummer. In the new models Yamaha still has this cool feature but now they have added a bass player to the "band" so that if you play a chord on the left hand, the piano will figure out the chord your are playing and put an appropriate bass line in that chord. So now you can get a drummer, bass player, and you can fill in the live piano parts as you would normally do for both left and right hand. This bass-man feature just makes playing music more fun and livens it up a bit. I like doing that because I play all kinds of music but perhaps you only want to concentrate on playing more serious classical music and if so you may not use this "live band" feature, and that's OK...but for other people it's a feature that many other digital pianos in this price range do not have and I personally like it.

The CLP-745 and CLP765GP have Bluetooth audio wireless connectivity like they did on the previous models. However, they now include Bluetooth wireless "MIDI" connectivity which allows you to connect a computer or tablet (iPad) or other external device without the need of a USB/MIDI cable so that you can use computer music software or apps and not have to worry about connecting cables anymore which makes for a "cleaner look" on the piano too. Unfortunately the CLP-&35 does not have any Bluetooth technology so that's another advantage of the CLP-745 along with the CLP-765GP mini grand. These are definitely features worth having because you can also wirelessley stream live recorded music through the piano speakers systems and play along live with that music. It makes for a lot of fun and allows to to interact with your favorite songs and you can even do that using headphones while practicing in privacy.

There are many features which these new pianos have which were also in the previous models because they are "standard" Yamaha features which really round out these models. These functions and features include special effects (reverb, chorus, etc), wav file audio recording with USB flash drive slot for playing and saving your recorded music and giving it the "live recorded sound that you would hear if playing a CD recording, a 16-track MIDI recorder so that you can compose and arrange music using up to 16 separate instrument sounds played and recorded one at a time and then played back simultaneously (fun!), over 300 built-in song library you can play, listen to, and play along with, splitting any 2 sounds at the same time with 1 on the left hand and the other sound on the right hand, layer 2 sounds simultaneously like piano & strings or organ and harpsichord so that you can hear them both and even adjust relative volume of each one, digitally transpose to any key, digital adjustable metronome for any time signature and tempo, and "Piano Room" which allow you to adjust and edit the piano sound to customize it to your taste with just the right amount of ambient tones such as reverb, brilliance, etc.

Yamaha also has a proprietary app for iPad called "Smart Pianist" which allows you to control the various function of the piano directly from the color touch screen of your iPad. It's easy, intuitive, and fun to use and the app looks great and is engaging especially when it comes to using features on the piano that you otherwise may not have used as much without this app. I have personally used and worked with the Smart Pianist app many times and it is amazing as far as what it can do and it also does things tat are extra features that are not already on the piano itself. "Smart Pianist" displays actual sheet music to the built-in piano songs so that you can read the music and play along with the pre-recorded song all at the same time. You can change tempo of the music, change key, add orchestration, and really become musically more involved and learn things about music you may not have known before. Another very cool thing this app does is that you can "import" your own iTunes into the app and play along with them and the app can instantly convert that song to a progressive chord chart so that you can see the actual accompaniment chords to the songs you are playing from your iTunes play list...it's pretty amazing and it works. These are just a few of the things this impressive Yamaha app does but there are even more cool features within the app that are useful as well. Selecting the piano sound you want, the instrument sound you want, setting up a sound layer or sound split, using the recording function, changing the editing features, whatever it is you can do it easily and quickly with this Smart Pianist app and I cannot overstate how much fun it is to use...and all you need is an iPad which many people have these days.

As far as "connectivity" goes, Yamaha has all the connections you will need including audio outputs, audio input, USB to host, USB flash drive input, regular MIDI ports, and dual stereo headphone jacks, and this is on all 3 models...and as I mentioned before, Bluetooth audio and MIDI wireless on the CLP-745 and CLP-765GP, but not on the CLP-735. In addition to the connectivity in these pianos, the LCD user interface is also impressive and laid out intuitively overall. The interface is not a touch screen and instead uses buttons that are well designed and work good in navigating where you want to go when comes to accessing various functions and features. It's the same interface Yamaha had on its previous 600 series models so that's a good thing and it's been a dependable interface system.

The piano cabinets on all 3 models are very attractive and for the 2 upright models CLP-735 and CLP-745, they are available in matte black, rosewood, white, dark walnut, and for more money the polished ebony finish. The CLP-765 mini grand piano is available in polished ebony or for more money in the polished white color. The cabinets are well built, have a sliding key cover, nicely built and positioned music rack with built-in music clips to hold the music, and a matching bench comes with each model,

The Yamaha factory warranty is 5 years parts & labor against any factory defects with in-home service. Yamaha products over the years have been very reliable and I have personally owned many Yamaha music products including acoustic and digital pianos, keyboards, guitars, band instruments, recording gear and lots of other Yamaha stuff. I just happen to like their products and they have been reliable for me for many years. I do like other brands and models of digital pianos including Kawai, Casio, Korg, and a few others but when it comes to cutting edge technology and a great piano playing experienced all contained in an attractive cabinet, it's really difficult to beat Yamaha for what they are offering now in these new models.

I don't expect to see this new CLP-700 series being released in the US until at least October and maybe even November so it is still going to be awhile, unfortunately. In the meantime I have heard that Yamaha may already be sold out of their previous CLP-600 series, but that would be OK with me considering the upgrades on these new models for the same price as the older ones. That is unless some of the older models are being sold for less money. But as far as the new CLP-700 series goes, you'll have to wait for them and that's too bad considering how "stuck inside our homes" we are these days due to the COVID crisis and uncertainty of what's coming next. It seems that more and more people are wanting to get a quality digital piano for their homes lately so they or their kids can be involved in music with learning to play piano or just having a great outlet to relax and escape with being able to play piano on a great instrument. With that in mind I have heard that you can reserve one of these fine Yamaha pianos out of their first incoming shipments with a deposit going through one of their authorized dealers. Before you buy any brand and model of digital piano from anyone anywhere,  please contact me first because I can share some vital info with you on how to buy for even less money for brand new digital pianos including free shipping, no tax, factory warranty, and more!

If you want more info on new digital pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.