View other reviews for this product:
Man who sold the world
Published on 02/06/06 at 12:04
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!!
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!!