Customer Reviews

Casio PX-100 Privia 88-Key Digital Piano

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am obsessed with this keyboard. Why? Because it's the first one that I've seen and played so far that has PERFECT weighting on the keys, beautiful sound, and a GREAT price. This keyboard has been on my wishlist for a while now, ever since I first saw it at Sam's. I just want to reiterate how well Casio has done with this keyboard - While there are a limited range of tones available on the PX-100, there are plenty of features for someone who is like me - If you want the feel of a real piano with the weight of an electronic keyboard, this is the keyboard you want to look at. I just couldn't help but fall in love with the keys on this baby, I've played on keyboards with weighted keys before, but this one just takes the cake - The keys are weighted propertly, they spring back like they should, and the weight is ranged just right - the lower keys are just the slightest bit heavier than the higher end. This thing is a DREAM to play! Featuring midi input/output ports, two headphone jacks, pedal port and everything I've talked about so far, this keyboard is definitely something to look at if you want the warmth and feel of a real piano at the price and portability of an electronic keyboard. I highly reccomend this keyboard!

I had a Privia PX100 for about a month before I decided to upgrade to (what I thought was) something nicer. So I returned my $500 Privia for a $2500 Yamaha Clavinova, and while I don't exactly regret buying the Clavinova, I also must tell you that even though I spent five times as much on the Clavinova, I certiainly don't feel like I got five times the value, not even close. Only after getting the Clavinova do I see what a truly remarkable instrument Casio's Privia PX 100 is.
Yes, the Clavinova is nicer, but it's not $2000 nicer, and yes its sound is richer, but not $2000 richer. Yes, the keyboard has a better touch, but not $2000 better. Most of the extra features I paid so much for in the Clavinova are things that are cute to have but not necessary for a real pianist, like extra voices (also, 7 temperaments? I just don't remember the last time I wished I had a piano in mean-tone tuning).
The Privia even has some features that my $2000 Clavinova doesn't have, like auto-accompaniments, built-in rhythms, and a metronome that can be set to ring on the first beat of each measure. And the Clavinova actually hurts my ears when I play with the headphones on, which the Privia never did.
If you're looking for a digital piano, the Privia is an excellent choice for the price. All digital pianos have shortcomings compared to acoustics, and a more expensive piano than the Privia will not overcome those shortcomings any more than the Privia. With my expensive Clavinova, I have lots of bells and whistles, and a real nice cabinet, but it's still a digital piano and I still feel the need to try to find acoustic pianos to play as often as I can.
So here's the final tally:

Privia: digital piano with weighted keyboard and all the shortcomings of a digital piano. Some features not found in more expensive Clavinova.

Clavinova: digital piano with weighted keyboard and all the shortcomings of a digital piano, with the shortcomings being slightly less than the Privia but not to the point of being worth $2000 extra. Also, more bells and whistles which are nice but don't mean that much to a pianist, and aren't worth an extra $2000.

For the price of $500 for a Privia, you are getting an incredible bargain. If that is near your price range for a digital piano, then I say buy it.

I'm not raving about this instrument--there are a lot of others I'd rather own.

But you can't get those, complete with furniture-grade stand, for $500 like you can this one--if your a member of everyone's favorite warehouse club based in Kirkland, WA.

Key action is decent, if a little light. Doesn't take long to accustom yourself to it. Samples are quite good, for such a cheap piece. Not long ago, you couldn't get piano sound this good from the $6000 Kurzweils, Rolands and Yamahas. Now everybody's got a new, improved piano sample, and they just keep getting bigger and better.

If you've been waiting for quality and price to converge at a point where it just makes sense to not go without a piano anymore, this might be your ticket. Any player will tell you you really need a real piano if you're really going to play. But as a low-budget piano alternative that doubles as a really fancy MIDI controller for your computerized composition needs, this thing is state of the art.

Of course, with something this small, if you really want the full range of the excellent piano sounds in its chip, you'll have to plug it into something a bit more substantial than its little bitty speakers. But for their size, these speakers don't do too bad. The sounds are stereo, giving a nice depth of field and providing a really good background with decent PA equipment. Much better than any of us had a right to expect from a $500 piece of gear in years gone by.

Mine is quite new, so I can't make any pronouncements as to longevity yet. But since it's sitting where it's likely to stay, this piano is likely to outlast those that get used for gigs.

Before this Privia line came out, I couldn't imagine using anything that said 'Casio' for performance. But if I were still gigging, I'd consider getting a road case for the PX-100 and putting it on my rack as one of the primary controllers--and I might even use its piano sample.

I'll say it once more: for $500 including a very nice stand, you can't go wrong. Use your favorite aftermarket pedal, though. The mouse that comes with this thing is a bit difficult.

I love this digital piano. Unlike my electronic keyboard, when I play the Privia it feels and sounds just like a real piano. It has other tones, of course, including a beautiful strings section sound. But if you want to play a piano, expressing yourself in each note, then this is an excellent way to go.

My only complaint is the power converter. You're supposed to unplug it when the piano is off. It apparently draws power from your AC even when the piano itself is turned off. And that's a nuisance. So I've got the converter plugged into a power panel that has an on-off switch. That seems to do the trick.

I was amazed when I tried this keyboard out. It really does feel and sound like a piano -- it far exceeded my expectations. I tried it out next to a Yamaha DXG505 and the difference was quite obvious. The Casio has scaled hammer weighted keys, and the Yamaha does not. On the other hand, the Yamaha has a zillion bells and whistles, some of which would be especially nice for connecting to a computer . . . but 99% of which I would never actually use. I needed something that adequately substituted for an acoustic piano. The Casio fits the bill at a very good price.

Even though it doesn't have all the gee-whiz features of the typical "digital keyboard" like the Yamaha, the Casio does have the features that seem to be pretty standard on other "digital pianos" that I have seen. In fact, the Casio again exceeded my expectations--after I had a chance to work through the owner's manual, I realized that it had quite a few more capabilities than are suggested by the minimal number of buttons on top. Unfortunately many of these features are not quite as easy to get to as pushing a button, since you have to hold down the "control" button while pressing a certain key on the keyboard. As long as you have the one-page chart that shows how to access all the features, however, it is not hard to set it up as you wish.

One important note concerning the pitch control (transpose) feature -- another reviewer reported problems with this feature, and initially I thought I had the same problem. I could fine-tune the pitch (as little as +/- 1/100 of a semi-tone, and up to +/- 50/100!) but I could not seem to get it to change to a different key as shown in the manual. I discovered, however, that this feature does work, as long as the "music library/rhythm" control is set to "rhythm." Perhaps a software bug? Certainly an oversight in the manual. I don't actually expect to use this feature, but I certainly wanted everything to work as advertised--and it turns out that it does, as long as the button is set to "rhythm."

Bottom line: I'm sure you can buy a better digital piano . . . but I'm not sure you can get even a used one for this good a price. And this one is more than good enough for my needs.

Positives: If weighted keys are important to you, this is an excellent step up from a keyboard without weighted keys (especially if you originally learned how to play on a real piano like myself). I live in a small dorm room and this piano tucks neatly into the corner having a width of less than a foot. The included sustain pedal also works very well. This piano comes with a wonderful music book with the music for 29 classic piano songs and some fun songs to play or listen to. These songs are already built in to the piano and sound like they were recorded by a real musician. It is wonderful to be able to see the beat displayed and be able to slow or speed the tempo of these songs in order to learn them and play along with them. The easily recognizable songs are Beethoven's Fur Elise, Moonlight Sonata, Bach's Menuet, Debussy's Arabesque, and Satie's Gymnopedies. Also the demos but not sheet music are provided for Over the Rainbow, Let it be, Happy Birthday, and a few other modern songs. My favorite out of them all and a real challenge is Chopin's Fantaise-Impromptu.

Negatives: It is a step down with features though as this keyboard only has a few. There are only 8 tones, but the grand piano tone, which is really the only necessary one, is excellent. Many of the features are utilized by the control key and depressing different notes on the keyboard to change things like Piano Key (F# to C to F), keyboard touch (Off, weak, normal, strong), chord mode, reverb type and chorus type. There is a handy quick quide sheet for this and is not too big of a deal. The only major negative I would give this piano is the speakers which are not quite powerful enough and don't produce too great of a sound. They are sufficient though. To make up for that the keyboard can easily be plugged into any speakers through the convenience of having two headphone jacks.

The biggest positive which was not mentioned above is the price which easily justifies all the negatives making this a superb value. If you need a small, 88-key, piano-like keyboard for the lowest price, this is the product you are looking for.

Just bought myself a Christmas present and this is it. I've played the piano since I was seven. A "real" piano is space- and cost-prohibitive for me right now but this is as close as you can get to the real thing and it's great! Since I'm a piano-playing purist, all the bells and whistles on this baby are new to me so I'm having fun discovering all the extra features. But the feel and sound are fantastic. I also bought the wooden stand for it, and it looks like a nice piece of furniture. Putting it together was easy (I did it by myself despite the directions to have two people put it together). Now if they could package this with a piano bench I would be really, really happy. And here's a hint...you can save some $ by buying this on the online store of a well-known warehouse store (yes, that one). You'll have to pay shipping but you'll still come out ahead. Two small negatives: the pedal (which has been mentioned by another reviewer) -- I end up chasing it around with my foot. And the music stand is flimsy and small -- they could have made it more substantial. My music books tend to fall on my keys plus there's only room for two pages. But overall it's a fantastic instrument.

I have purchased this product last month and so far I had a great experience playing the instrument. The touch of the piano is almost as real as playing the actual acoustic piano.The sound is also very adept to the actual piano.The only down side of this instument was the weak responce to the sustained pedal.But overall, this is a sound instrument to play especially considering the price.

I just had this piano a week or so and me (who doesnt play) and my wife (grade 1 level) enjoys it so much. We bought it for our daugter (10 yrs old) to see if she gets interested in playing but now she can't even use it cause she can't get her turn on it. hahaha.

Pros:

The size is so slim (depth) that it won't take up much space in your house. And so light aslo. We live on a 2 story house and I wouldn't even consider getting an acoustic piano and lift it to the 2nd floor.

Complete standard size 88 keys w/c are weighted, to make it feel like a real piano when keys are pressed. Unlike those keyboards (some w/light up keys w/c is not a good idea for learning).

It's electronic so they manage to put a metronome to keep your notes even on a specified beat speed. This is very important for any beggining musician. Develop your sense of timing and rythm so always play with a metronome or a beat. We tend to speed up on the notes we know and this will make our playing speed inconsistent w/ the rest of the notes or chords. (I know because I've been playing guitar for 15 yrs)

The best part and me and my wife always is fascinated is it has earphones so we can play anytime in the late of night or practice, practice and practice those repetative boring songs and annoying - to - the- rest excercises w/o anyone complaining. It actaully has two earphone plugs so you can bore your better half if you want to. Beat that acoustic piano!

It has a few (forgot how many) built in songs and we love to play them (classical) when relaxing. It also has the beatles song "Let it Be" which is my first goal to learn. My wife is learning Fur Elise and we can always listen to these songs right from the Casio PX-100 to learn them. (BTW it comes with music sheets with these classical songs)

It has a few other musical instrument sounds like stings plus a few more. Not as much as the toy keyboards but better than what an acoustic piano can produce. We only use mostly piano sounds though. And it sound like real acoustic piano.

Cons:

Wood stand looks cheap and is not really wood but particle board with formica. I prefer to make new stand made of wood and stain them to our liking. They are very simple to replicate, it seems.

I hope it has an LCD to tell you the speed of the metronome.

If you like changing settings it's difficult to do w/o the quick start page because you have to press CTRL plus certain keys on the keyboard w/c are not labeled.

Uses electricity, so can't be used on power outage. But how often does that happen, I know.

Conclusion:

This is a better alternative to an acoustic piano in most /all aspects. I think Yamaha Digital pianos and the more expensive ones recreates a better acoustic sounding piano but it's a matter of preference. And not all Acoustic pianos create the same sound right. But for the price $399 at Amazon w/o TAX and free shipping, the cons would not even matter. We are able to enjoy playing the piano at home w/o spending too much. Learning is not boring anymore unlike when I tried before.

I love this piano. It has a beautiful, real sounding tone, and the keys are weighted perfectly. It was a great value! It doesn't have a lot of features (some of the keyboards now days are more like computers than instruments) which is part of the reason I wanted it. I just wanted a piano - and this is extremely close to the real thing at a fraction of the price.