Digital Pianos

Other people have reviewed this in detail already, so there's no need for me to go into it. UTILIZATION And yes, it's my nicest piano, being an organist, I broke my piggy bank when I was 13 to buy it. And I don't regret my decision. SOUNDS It is not exceptional in terms of sound, but it's mainly a piano and the piano sound is quite all right. OVERALL OPINION I have been playing concerts with it for years and it always works fine. I've had no trouble despite 22 years of constant use. I have always taken good care of it. Disassembly, non-aggressive cleaning, changing of the hammer felts (and, yes, it is a mechanical piano inside), which make it an exceptional piano. It's hard to find it secondhand in good condition, because not many people take the time to service their pianos. But if you find one, don't hesitate it, the keyboard is fabulous. Secondhand you may find it for about $400, which is a good deal. If you miss more modern sounds, add a rack to it and you'll have a superb piano.

88 weighted keys. 4 sounds, including two secret ones. 1 acoustic piano sound, 1 electric piano sound, 1 Fender Rhodes sound, and 1 sinus wave. To get the superb Rhodes, you need to switch on the piano while pressing the highest-pitched note. For the other sound, you need to follow the exact same procedure but pressing an E. I'll let you discover the mystery by yourselves. It doesn't have too many sounds, but they are all excellent. UTILIZATION The keyboard is very nice. It's a truly great piano. All connections are on the left of the piano. Unfortunately, all labels are written black on black. So, in concert, the sound engineer can't read a thing and you need a pocket lamp to make connections. MIDI is not very straightforward. SOUNDS The acoustic piano sound is very realistic, it has a very good stereo reproduction. It's ideal to play jazz and I have done some excellent recordings in the studio with the P-30. OVERALL OPINION I have been using for quite a few years and I'm pretty satisfied with it. I also have two clavinova clp511 and cvp305 and the sound of the Technics piano compares very well. You can find it secondhand for about $500 and it's an excellent value for money.

The instrument looks great, even if I preferred the appearance of the 407. I use it at home, for my own personal pleasure. Piano sounds are very realistic, and the keys feel close to those of an acoustic piano. The woodwind and guitar sounds are very convincing. There are so many effects that you can change the sounds and get whatever result you were after. The arranger mode is up to par with the best, and the styles offered are of a high quality standard. The outgoing sound is very good and adapts to the room. The touchscreen is precise and sensitive. The pianoroom environment’s ergonomics could be better though. It’s unpleasant to find that the zone allowing to exit the current screen is not always at the same place (it’s always on the right side, but sometimes at the tom and others at the bottom). Four assignable controls allow for quick access to the most commonly used functionalities without havingto go through the touchscreen. Even if I consider it to be expensive, I do not regret buying it. PS: Please note that aspect faults have appeared on the F2 and G2 keys after 10 months using it...!

Fully weighted 88 key with graduated weights (quite nice to play, but see later comments), MIDI I/O, USB MIDI, Footswitch, Stereo audio out UTILIZATION Easy to use, very heavy (!), SOUNDS Sounds are quite nice for what it is, some great brass/sax there. Piano is perfectly useable. OVERALL OPINION Overall the SP5500 is ok-ish. My problem with it is that the velocity response is terrible - if you play quick 8ths you are unable to reach full velocity after the first key strike... it peaks around a value of 60-75 after the initial strike. If you play slowly you can get a full velocity response from it. Not good (velocity data measured from MIDI out) Another problem is the USB MIDI out - It's not recognised by either of my two Macs (2007 Macbook Pro, and a 2011 Mac Pro). I've not tested it with Windows. Both of these problems are a shame, as I'd like to use the SP550 as a master controller - ended up using a Fatar Studio 90 Plus. It's under the bed, gathering dust - therefore... Unusable.

88 keys, weighted keyboard. Piano sound and several other basic sounds (electric piano, harpsichord, strings, church organ, vibraphone) No audio output apart from headphones (stereo minijack). Midi in and out (but no midi through), jack input for sustain pedal. UTILIZATION The keyboard is adapted to the piano sound (for the price, they spared no expense). The rest of the sound are only accessory, and for the price they deserve a very good mark. The few settings available are described on the instrument itself, it's not necessary to read the manual to find them. There are certain "advanced" options (like the reverb adjustment on the piano) that require a more complex manipulation (and therefore are hard to find without the manual), but I have never made use of them. SOUNDS The piano sound is all in all very good. The electric pianos are OK as well. The rest are only toys. Keyboard dynamics is adapted to the piano sound. OVERALL OPINION I have used it (on and off) for six years, but most of all as a master keyboard. I looked at other 88-key master keyboards, but its feel convinced me (especially given its price at the time...). A major disadvantage: very limited connections: it lacks midi through and a real audio output. But hey, it does the job...

This portable digital piano is a very good instrument, comprehensive, versatile and rather compact. Each sound has variations, you can split the keyboard, the effects are simple but effective enough. UTILIZATION An 88-key Yamaha piano is no surprise, it will satisfy both budding and experienced pianists. SOUNDS The piano sound is sampled on 3 layers with the resonance of the pedal. OVERALL OPINION After several years using it for very different styles (jazz, blues, pop, classical), it is still relevant.

See the manufacturer's site. USE The keyboard is a good old-school one and the quality of the keys is impressive. It's very easy and intuitive to use. I'm a pianist with 20+ years of experience and you can trust me when I say you can easily go from an RD to a piano and vice versa. SOUND I bought it in 2002, it was very good back then, I compared it with the Yamaha s90 (which was more expensive) and I thought it was pretty good. I have now moved on to vst instruments (Steinberg grand, B4ll, elektrik piano) and I only use it as a master keyboard. The piano sound is OK, but the decay is very fast. Notes disappear very fast Rhodes- Excellent Hammond (OK) lacks amp simulation and other hammond effects It's OK to play a small gig without wrecking your head with a PC and connections. I bought a SRX11 card to improve the piano sounds. It's quite heavy, but well-made.

(Originally written by pat48/translated from Audiofanzine FR) This piano was not conceived for professional musicians. If you're a beginner or an average pianist, if you need an easily transportable piano, or if you want a budget piano with Roland sound for your children then keep on reading, but ONLY in this case. Pros: compact dimensions, light, affordable, comprehensive connections (audio, Midi, footswitch) Cons: only 76 keys, half-weighted keys. See all features on Roland's website! UTILIZATION Very good user's manual and easy-to-use product. Metronome and 2-track recording. SOUNDS "Impressive" prerecorded demo songs OVERALL OPINION I've been using it since 2004 as my second piano (I take it with me when I travel. It's quite good as a second piano or for beginners (especially considering its price). I think it's been discontinued.

There are 7 octaves on the Yamaha CP-300. There are Midi Connections In, Out, Through, Phones, Input,(L Mono,R) Output(L/R) Assignable Foot Pedal (Sustain/Sostenuto/Soft/Aux) USB to Host, AC Inlet. There are 530 instrumental sounds including XG Voices. You can hear two instrumental sounds by pressing two buttons at the same time, it has a transpose button to transpose the Yamaha CP-300 if you`re not use to play in a different key. Minus 12 making it 13.25 cycles per second (lowest A) on the Yamaha CP-300 You can make it sound like a five manual pipe organ that way, a specially of you use push the pipe organ and another instrumental sound. and transpose plus 12 making the Yamaha CP-300 8,000 cycles per second highest C on the Yamaha CP-300 Piano. It has some demo songs too. UTILIZATION The set up is simple if you play around with the Yamaha CP-300. You can look up on www.manualslib.com/ then Yamaha CP-300 to see how to opperate the Yamaha CP-300. I played around on the Yamaha CP-300 in a music store a while back. SOUNDS The sounds are realistic, except I don`t like the brass sound on it, that`s about the only thing. I like the brass sound on the Technics PR-305 Digital Piano better, it sounds a truest instrumental sound, but over all like all the other instrumental sounds on it,the sounds are OK. it has a touch sensitivity too. I would put the Yamaha CP-300 on top of the Technics PR-305 with the midi cables hooked up to it, I`d get four different sounds at the same time. OVERALL OPINION The Yamaha CP-300 is a lot of fun to play on over all, the price is pretty good, The Yamaha CP-300 weighs about 71.63 pounds, but over all I would buy the Yamaha CP-300, it has built in speakers, it`s a must have keyboard. The newer models are lighter,like the Yamaha CP-4 but you can`t mix the sounds by pressing the two buttons and you have to get an amp for them too.

There are 7 octaves and has 3 pedals. Key: 88 keys. Key cover: Sliding plastic, simulated woodgrain. Touch sense: yes. Polyphony: 32 notes. Sounds: 180 instrumental sounds. 84 rhythm patterns. 21 demo songs on it. Pedal:3 (room, stage, hall - adjustable.) Brilliance: yes. Transpose: yes G-C-F#. Sequencer. yes, 16 tracks. MIDI: Full Midi capabilities. Mode set: piano tuning, pitch adjustment. Others:2 headphone jacks, MIDI. Misc: LCD Displays. Output: 50w + 2. Speakers. 16cm +2, 6.5cm +2. monitor speakers +2. Weight. 149.9 lbs. Year, 1995 - current. UTILIZATION yes it`s simple to set up with everything. the manual is clear too. SOUNDS The sounds on the Technics PR-305 Digital Piano are the truest sounds, the touch and after touch are really good, and the digital effects are wonderful, I like all the sounds on the Technics PR-305 Digital Piano. OVERALL OPINION What I like most about the Technics PR-305 Digital Piano, is that I can make it sound like a five manual organ by pressing the pipe organ 1 and the brass button, then the sound button, then sound setting then key shift minus 12 or 24 making it 8 cycles per second or 16 cycles per second,making it more fun to play on and making it sound like a big Cathedral Organ, A specially if you hook up a Behringer K3000FX 300 watt amp to it, then pressing the set 1 or so button to store that setting, it`s on the right side right next to the disk drive. You can also master tune the the Technics PR-305 Digital Piano to a song on the radio or television that`s either too sharp or flat to play along with, with the tune and touch button, it`s under the sliding cover in the upper left, right by the disk drive, you press the tune and touch button until you see the master tune press that and you can vary the pitch of the entire Technics PR-305 Digital Piano. The price was pretty good and the sound too. I tried other models and spent a lot of time with them, but liked the Technics PR-305 Digital Piano the best. The digital effects are wonderful. You can look up www.manualslib.com/ then Technics PR-305, on how to use it. I would make the same choice buying the Technics PR-305 Digital Piano. Also if the Technics Piano has a distortion, open up the back of the piano, if you see foam lying on the bottom under the speaker, disconnect the speaker cord from the top of the piano right away to avoid damage to the amplifier and power supply, it`s under the Te in Technics on the back of the Technics Piano. You will get the monitor speakers which won`t sound very good, but better, until you put in Clavinova Speakers, which is easy to repair. This is a must have Digital Piano.

88-key piano with lots of jack connections (2 headphone outputs, right output, left output, right input, left input, sustain pedal, damper pedal), and three MIDI (in, out, thru). 8 classic sounds (97), piano, ep, organ... pretty decent... ...for its time. One chorus and one reverb effect. No editing, as far as I know. UTILIZATION Very nice keyboard, much similar to a real piano than other digital pianos. It's light enough but you can still feel the action mechanism under your fingers. Being a pianist, I find its keyboard very intuitive, the keys are well proportioned and do not slip. Having rescued it from the junkyard, I never had the manual! I have never been tempted to configure MIDI, it starts directly on channel 1, so I adapt my MIDI setup consequently. It's a very good master keyboard. SOUNDS The sounds aren't very useful, given their age. I recommend it exclusively as a master keyboard! OVERALL OPINION I've used it for a year, more or less. I love its keyboard, its robustness (I've taken it on tour several times and it has endured all sorts of abuse — liquid, dirt, drops, welding, etc.), and it can be easily repaired when there's a problem. The snag is its size (88 keys, it's as wide as a piano!) and weight (it's heavy as a whale), which make it very impractical to transport in a car. I saved it from the junkyard, so it cost me nothing (apart from the tin to repair a couple of things), so its value for money is pretty interesting!

7-octave piano, 14 instrument ensembles (piano; organ; strings etc...), each with around a dozen variations. It also features a drum machine, which is still pretty decent, given its age. It has MIDI connections, 2 headphone outs, 2 INPUTS and 2 OUTPUTS The effects are limited, but that's not the main role of such a piano (Digital effect - Chorus - Digital Reverb, all of which can be edited) UTILIZATION For me, the keyboard of the piano is excellent. If you make use of it in a "traditional" manner, the overall setup is very easy and the manual relatively clear from the moment you know what you want to do. I haven't used MIDI much. SOUNDS Most of the sounds are very good. It recreates a true piano thanks to its dynamic keyboard. I have no favorite sounds. OVERALL OPINION I bought it in 1997 and I play it almost every day. Sometimes it's just a couple of minutes, but some other times it's a couple dozen minutes :) I like and use a lot the 16-track sequencer. The only snag is the instrument distortion when you layer 2 or 3 tracks with very specific instruments (strings). I didn't try any other models when I bought it. At this price point, it is an excellent value for money.