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bidibulle25
Published on 04/16/09 at 07:35
See above
UTILIZATION
The piano has a semi-weighted sensitive keyboard.
It feels nice to the touch and you can even play classic stuff with sensibility, the problem is that if you learn to play with it and then move on to a real acoustic piano or a heavier piano, like the Yamaha Clavinova, you will be entirely lost and you will need a lot of time to adapt and your fingers to develop enough strength.
If you are serious about learning how to play piano (conservatory, teacher), avoid this type of piano, which is too soft and will make you develop bad habits.
If you want to entertain yourself or play with organ, electric piano or harpsichord sounds, then it's OK.
Furthermore, the piano becomes noisy if you use it intensively (which isn't annoying if you play with headphones, if the volume is high or if you are concentrated on an exercise) and the keys turn yellow under direct sunlight.
The control elements are really intuitive (there's no need to read the manual to know how to use them): Every function has its own control.
A drawback is that it catches a lot of dirt: There's a small plastic grille on top of the speakers and dust and crumbs of all sorts have a natural tendency to get stuck there.
It is very sturdy (I have transported by subway and it has never complained.
SOUNDS
Piano sounds are very good (it's a subjective opinion) and they don't have anything to envy other pianos for (I recently tested a Casio PX-200 and the piano sounds of the Roland are better).
Piano 1 sounds like a classic piano, while Piano 2 sounds more brilliant, so it can be used to play jazz or pop.
The vibraphone is particularly nice. The rest of the sounds are realistic enough, but nothing more (except for the string pads, which aren't good).
Do note that it includes a church organ (which isn't transcendental), but no Hammond nor Rhodes.
The external speakers are OK, even if you can clearly hear their limits when cranked all the way up: They start to crackle a bit but nothing too nasty.
OVERALL OPINION
It's hard to give an overall opinion:
Personally, I chose it based solely on economic reasons: It was the only 88-key piano that I could afford back then (1998) and the store where I bought it didn't have any others (online stores, globalization and Chinese slaves that manufacture digital weighted pianos for $400 didn't exist yet).
Objectively, the piano is too soft to learn how to play piano seriously (that's what any teacher will tell you), but that's what I did and don't regret it at all: It was a lot of fun.
Piano and vibraphone sounds are very nice, the pedal is of good quality (not just a piece of plastic, like on other brands), it is sturdy and with lots of connections (Midi, Out, In, Headphones, etc).
To wrap it up, I don't regret having bought it.
UTILIZATION
The piano has a semi-weighted sensitive keyboard.
It feels nice to the touch and you can even play classic stuff with sensibility, the problem is that if you learn to play with it and then move on to a real acoustic piano or a heavier piano, like the Yamaha Clavinova, you will be entirely lost and you will need a lot of time to adapt and your fingers to develop enough strength.
If you are serious about learning how to play piano (conservatory, teacher), avoid this type of piano, which is too soft and will make you develop bad habits.
If you want to entertain yourself or play with organ, electric piano or harpsichord sounds, then it's OK.
Furthermore, the piano becomes noisy if you use it intensively (which isn't annoying if you play with headphones, if the volume is high or if you are concentrated on an exercise) and the keys turn yellow under direct sunlight.
The control elements are really intuitive (there's no need to read the manual to know how to use them): Every function has its own control.
A drawback is that it catches a lot of dirt: There's a small plastic grille on top of the speakers and dust and crumbs of all sorts have a natural tendency to get stuck there.
It is very sturdy (I have transported by subway and it has never complained.
SOUNDS
Piano sounds are very good (it's a subjective opinion) and they don't have anything to envy other pianos for (I recently tested a Casio PX-200 and the piano sounds of the Roland are better).
Piano 1 sounds like a classic piano, while Piano 2 sounds more brilliant, so it can be used to play jazz or pop.
The vibraphone is particularly nice. The rest of the sounds are realistic enough, but nothing more (except for the string pads, which aren't good).
Do note that it includes a church organ (which isn't transcendental), but no Hammond nor Rhodes.
The external speakers are OK, even if you can clearly hear their limits when cranked all the way up: They start to crackle a bit but nothing too nasty.
OVERALL OPINION
It's hard to give an overall opinion:
Personally, I chose it based solely on economic reasons: It was the only 88-key piano that I could afford back then (1998) and the store where I bought it didn't have any others (online stores, globalization and Chinese slaves that manufacture digital weighted pianos for $400 didn't exist yet).
Objectively, the piano is too soft to learn how to play piano seriously (that's what any teacher will tell you), but that's what I did and don't regret it at all: It was a lot of fun.
Piano and vibraphone sounds are very nice, the pedal is of good quality (not just a piece of plastic, like on other brands), it is sturdy and with lots of connections (Midi, Out, In, Headphones, etc).
To wrap it up, I don't regret having bought it.