Korg SP-100

I purchased this unit from Mars Music for $799. I needed an affordable keyboard with good piano sound and a real piano feel. It came with a stand and shipping was free.

The weighted action is very realistic and the piano sound is good, a big step up from my low-end Roland XP-10 synth, which is a good unit for other purposes. The electric piano sound is good too. I especially like the recording feature, which allows one to play over and over until you get that flawless performance, then I send it to my computer for recording to CD later. This saves a lot of time when trying to record to hard disk.

This unit has very few sounds, most of questionable value. I wish it had more than one organ sound, which is a church organ variety. The string sounds aren't as realistic as I would like. This is a fairly heavy unit and may not be for that small, relatively weak person that is looking for portability. I am having trouble finding an affordable case for it as it is a fairly long unit. I certainly don't want to put out hundreds of dollars for a case.

This is a heavy, tough unit of high quality construction. Functions are simple to use.

I am happy with the SP-100. I've waited a long while to find a unit of this quality for such a good price. I would recommend it for anyone looking for an affordable and portable electric piano with a real piano feel and sound.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Well, this is my first electric piano.
It has 88 keys (7 1/2 octaves) with "piano" feel, although it's not as authentic when compared to a real piano.
It has a very simple design. And it is also very heavy!!! 44.1 lb!!! But it's sturdy, a real tank. However, I know some people will not be happy having to move it around frequently to go to rehearsals or a gig, which is something I stopped doing early on!

The SP 100 comes with a poor-quality pedal, true, but it's indispensable... It features a midi in and a midi out (but no thru...) independent L/R jacks outputs and a headphones output.

UTILIZATION

As I said before, the keyboard is very nice, but maybe not as inviting as that of a real piano, and yet the mechanism is interesting, but unfortunately too noisy acoustically (very annoying to play at night, even with headphones).
It's a very simple piano in terms of design and usability, you can only configure certain basic midi parameters like multichannel, midi return, etc., by pressing a key together with the Function button.

You will have to open the manual to configure midi to your needs.

SOUNDS

I only use the piano, which I think is the most credible and the best-adapted of the six sounds available.
They are quite all right, worthy of KORG
It has 32-note polyphony.

8 buttons for 8 sounds, simple as that:
Piano (Stereo Sample)
Electric piano
Harpsichord
Vibraphone
Organ
Strings

- A very basic piano, with very nice lows but very tiresome after the 4th octave...but that's a matter of taste (I recommend you to use a light reverb to add some depth, but use an external effects module instead of the 2 internal effects: reverb and chorus).
- Very nice electric piano sound, but it lacks some warmth and smoothness.
- An uninteresting strings sound, like the organ, which is nevertheless a bit better.
- A very nice harpsichord, but I think it won't be used much by anybody.
- The vibraphone is, in my opinion, superb!
You can also combine two sounds of your choice, but neither of them can be modified.
Add to that an adjustable metronome and a 4000-note recorder (Rec / Play).

I think they could've done without some sounds to have more memory space and improve the piano. After all, a digital piano is still a piano, isn't it?

OVERALL OPINION

It's been over 3 years since I have it, using it mainly as a master keyboard. I do not intend to change it, it is as good as any of the best!
It is not that bulky for a 7-octave piano (in terms of depth, obviously)
Its sound and keyboard seduced me in the store. It's only with time that I've changed my mind, but it is still very interesting for its price.

What's sure though is that the next time I want a piano I wont' look beyond KORG.

The features can be read in the first review.
7 1/2 octaves
Sounds aren't editable. It has 6 sounds but you can combine two at a time and "mix" them.

Headphones output, left/right outputs (1/4" jacks), MIDI in/out

UTILIZATION

The keyboard is OK, but after having played a grand piano, there's no point of comparison. What's more, the keyboard is VERY noisy: I play upstairs and my house has badly isolated parquet so you can imagine the amount of noise downstairs. But it's not too bad.

It couldn't be easier! Which is good, it's a piano! It's not a synth, you turn it on and start playing! It is sober, no backlit display, no disco-like LEDs. Only the required red LEDs!
I have never used midi on this piano, I'll have to put myself to it :D
And, yes, the manual is clear!

The piano sounds quite all right!

A small drawback: the outputs aren't sturdy enough, the headphones output came off after two years. I ordered spare parts from Korg and had to wait 6 months to get them.
OK, yes, I use it live and it has aged well. But it could be a bit sturdier!
Besides, after 3 years... There's an E flat that sounds a bit too loud. I have adapted to it (it's practical when you play Cm, because it emphasize the chord!). But I repeat, I'm being a bit harsh on the piano!

The metronome is practical but complicated to use (you have to use a key combination to adjust the tempo, but it's a whim! You can control the volume of the metronome independently from the piano. Overall, it is quite functional! Useful and practical! Very pro, very sober...I like it a lot! The shell is made of metal not plastic!

The top panel is very solid and nice. The only defect is that it isn't completely glued to the piano, there's a small gap, so when you have too many sheets they can fall down (I might be VERY picky, but it has happened to me on stage :D)

SOUNDS

Very good for jazz, because the sound doesn't have too much dynamics! So it sounds smooth! It may lack some attack for a hard-driven boogie!
But I'm nevertheless satisfied with it!

For me it sounds very realistic. Anyway, I stand by my assertion that NO electric piano will give me the same pleasure as an acoustic one! (It may be psychological, knowing that you activate a whole mechanism and you have to wait for the hammers to do their job... MMMmmmm lol) Now, seriously, nothing can replicate the sound of an acoustic piano, that's true. But I'm being picky.

OVERALL OPINION

I think I've had it for 5 years (I need to check that)

What I like best it its class. What it does, it does well.
What I like the least is the shitty sturdiness of the outputs and the pedal! But you can always buy better ones!

I have played many pianos! There are certainly better ones, but for $500, it is all right, because the pianos I find are very expensive! But I recommend you to spend a bit more and get its successor, the SP-300, which is damn good, given that the defects have been corrected!!