Casio PX-330 88 Key Digital Stage Piano with Tri-Sensor Scaled Hammer Action

by Casio

Product Features

• 88 weighted, scaled hammer-action keys
• 128-note polyphony
• 250 tones (with layer and split)
• Reverb (4 types), Chorus (4 types), Brilliance (-3 to 0 to 3), Acoustic Resonance

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 58 x 10 x 15 inches ; 36.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 33.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B002IVI970
• Item model number: CAS PX330
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,700 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)
  • #37 in Musical Instruments > Keyboards > Electronic Keyboards > Digital Pianos
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 14, 2004

Product Description

Amazon.com

The new Casio Privia PX-330 redefines the digital piano category with unprecedented sound quality and performance in a sleek package that is supremely portable. Featuring all new grand piano samples and a new Tri-Sensor 88-note scaled hammer action keyboard and weighing only 26 lbs., the Casio Privia PX-330 is versatile enough for any home, studio or stage.

A sleek, portable digital piano with great piano samples and a wealth of other features. Click to enlarge.

A grand piano sound with seamless transitions and a superior dynamic range.

Add a wooden stand and three-pedal unit for an even more piano-like experience.

Realism, Expression and Dynamics
The grand piano sounds in the PX-330 delivers an unprecedented level of realism and expression. Four dynamic layers of stereo piano samples are integrated with Casio's proprietary Linear Morphing System, for a grand piano sound with seamless transitions and a superior dynamic range. For added realism, the PX-330 simulates the sound of the open strings when the dampers are raised by the pedal using Acoustic Resonance DSP. The PX-330 also has 128-note polyphony, enough horsepower for the most demanding musical passages and the ability to layer sounds and use the damper pedal without worry of dropped notes. The result is a grand piano experience that is unsurpassed at any price.

Truly Expressive Touch
The Privia PX-330 features a new Tri-Sensor 88-note scaled hammer action keyboard. Casio's superior engineering has resulted in an authentic piano touch that captures every detail and nuance of your performance. This scaled hammer action provides the weight, feel and resistance of a piano without sacrificing the portability of the instrument.

Performance, Studio or Stage
The superior keyboard action, piano sound and built-in USB MIDI interface make the PX-330 the perfect instrument to integrate into your studio. When you're ready to take the PX-330 to a gig, the built-in registration memory allows you to instantly recall splits, layers and combinations of sounds. The PX-330 also has 1/4-inch outputs for great live sound from your amp or the house's PA system.

16-Track Recorder, Pitchbend Wheel and Much More
While it's easy to connect the PX-330 to your computer, you can easily create and compose music using internal 16 track recorder. Utilizing the PX-330's 250 on-board sounds and 180 rhythms you can record up to 16 tracks. Accepting SD memory, you can save your songs and take them with you or load standard MIDI files that you've downloaded from the web. With these flexible tools you can capture moments of creativity and remember song ideas. It also works great as a practice tool. A built-in metronome and optional accompaniment mean you can practice in-time and later listen back to what you just played. A pitchbend wheel gives you full expression for 250 tones. You can even plug in other instruments or an MP3 player into the keyboard and hear it through the internal speakers and headphones.

Professional, Versatile and Portable Design
Whether you're at home, working on a studio or out on stage, the PX-330 was created to tackle it all, making it a valuable investment. With its light weight, you can easily take the PX-330 from home, to rehearsals, to the gig and back with no worries. It connects effortlessly to your computer via USB and connects just as easily to a live mixer for use on stage. The Casio PX-330 is now the indisputable leader in the digital piano arena.

8 Digital Effects
Add a little more depth and variation to the built-in tones with 4 reverb and 4 chorus effects, along with brilliance and acoustic resonance settings.

Duet Function
The new duet functions allows teachers and pupils to play parallel to each other. The PX-120 can be divided into two keyboard areas, which can be transposed individually.

Two Headphone Connections
The PX-330 features two headphone connections, ideal for the duet function.

Stereo Line In/Out
Connect to a PA system or studio equipment, or connect other sound sources with the line inputs.

Powerful Speaker System
The PX-330 features built-in speakers, with 2 x 8 Watts of output power, to fill a room with sound.

3-Pedal Unit Support
With the optional SP-30, the PX-320 has up to three pedals with half-damper effect. This "half-damper" effect simulates a "half-pedaled" damper pedal.

What's in the Box
Privia PX-330 Keyboard, AC Adapter, Music Stand, User's Manual

Product Description

The new Casio Privia PX-330 redefines the digital piano category with unprecedented sound quality and performance in a sleek package that is supremely portable. Featuring all new grand piano samples and a new Tri-Sensor 88-note scaled hammer action keyboard and weighing only 26 lbs., the Casio Privia PX-330 is versatile enough for any home, studio or stage.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

147 of 147 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars very nice for the price May 30, 2010

By Ray Lyon

I am a professional jazz pianist of some 30+ years. I recently bought this keyboard as a much needed gigging and practicing piano that was light weight, had built in speakers, 88 note key weighted action and a good piano sound. You will find all of this and more in the PX-330. I don't think there is any other keyboard currently being manufactured that provides all these features at this low a price point.

Pros:

- great weighted action... a bit mushy but one can certainly adapt to it easily.
- good piano sound, but not without its faults (see below) It reminds me of the sound of the Kurzweil pianos.
- auto arranger with tons of grooves for practicing and jamming.
- good selection of song style presets... it even has "Giant Steps" for all you jazz pianists to practice on. Any tempo, Any key.
- some interesting world beat grooves are included along with standard pop, rock, latin, etc. grooves
- weighs only 25 lbs... this is one of the best features of all!
- skinny... easy to carry
- built in speakers lead to instant gratification when turning on the keyboard and playing. You just sit down and play. No muss, no fuss.
- good contruction. Uses alot of plastic. Not as good as Roland or Yamaha but good enough
- pitch bend wheel is a surprise bonus
- nice LCD display is a big improvement over previous models
- line inputs let you bring in a submix from an mp3 player, iPod, or mixer
- two separate 1/8" mini stereo headphone outs
- good for education and dual playing... the keyboard can be split into duet mode each playing the same sound
- the auto harmony feature is very good and alot of fun to play around with. (dual voice, three voice, etc....)
- memory card slot for saving your patches and performances
- excellent price and value for the money

Cons:

- piano sound is good but suffers from too fast a decay in the middle register. It's difficult to make a melody "sing" or play in a smooth legato style. This decay problem would be fine in pop or rock music, but for solo jazz and classical it is a definite flaw. It is not so noticeable when playing with a rhythm section.
- there is no way to adjust the volume of the primary piano sound when using splits or accompaniments. You can decrease/increase the accompaniment, but cannot increase the main voice independently.
- there is no way to adjust the reverb wet/dry depth. I find this particularly irritating, since certain styles of music require more reverb. Access to a heavier reverb would also help cover over some of the flaws in the piano sound. However, you can adjust the reverb wet/dry depth on the individual accompaniment parts. Why they didn't include this feature on the main sound is a mystery to me.
- labeling of buttons is too dark and hard to see, especially in dim lighting
- buttons lack tactile "feel", are shallow, and can easily be missed in the heat of a performance. Combine this with hard to see labels and you have a recipe for disaster. However, most of the buttons do have LED lights which helps in seeing what is engaged.
- unit comes with a cheap sustain pad/switch which easily flips over when playing. For serious playing you will need to buy a separate sustain pedal. Or use gaffe tape.
- the polarity of the pedal is reversed and cannot be changed internally like many other keyboards. This forces you to buy Casio's pedal unit. A work around is to buy a sustain pedal with a polarity switch, or a regular sustain pedal which you can adapt reversing the polarity of the wires.
- the unit supports half-pedaling which is great, but only if you buy the Casio pedal board.
- the much ballyhooed "acoustic resonance" feature is barely discernible and for all intents and purposes contributes nothing to the piano sound.
- multiple button and combination button pushes can easily make for confusion. You will need to sit down and really learn this keyboard to effectively use its features esp. during performance.
- some of the auto accompaniment parts are pretty cheesy, and with a few exceptions the non-piano sounds are just so-so.
- at maximum volume there is some distortion in the piano sound coming out of the built in speakers.
- when using split keyboard mode, the sustain pedal sustains both zones... If you are playing bass with your left hand, it will sustain when you pedal for the piano sound. Not good.
- Flimsy 1/4" jacks will not last in the long run.

I do not mean do denigrate this product by listing all the cons... overall, it's an excellent low priced piano packed with features not found in other brands that cost more. I just wish I could get comfortable with the fast decay in the middle register, and have more control over the effects. The sustain on the lower split is an oversight that should be corrected.

I have Synthogy Ivory on my laptop, and on more important gigs I use the PX-330 as a controller for the Ivory piano. I bring the output of the Ivory back into the line inputs. Now that's a righteous piano sound! Nevertheless, I am happy I bought this keyboard and am sure it will serve me well as I continue to make music. Read more ›

74 of 78 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Casio Privia PX330 October 24, 2009

By PenName

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is for the Casio Privia PX330:

Overall I really like this keyboard for practicing quietly at night and for connecting to a computer. I've been playing it for about a month. Here are my thoughts so far:

Key Touch Sensitivity:
The Casio web site advertisement states: "authentic piano touch that captures every detail and nuance of your performance". If that is your expectation, you will probably be disappointed with this keyboard. I have compared the Casio with two pianos that I play regularly (a Yamaha Baby Grand and a Spinet) and the Casio falls short of both pianos in this area. The Casio keys feel harder to press and do not have the volume/pressure sensitivity or dynamic range of the real pianos.

On the up side I will say that the Casio keyboard touch feels much better than other electronic keyboards I have tried in this price range and it also does a decent job of changing the volume depending upon how hard you press the keys.

Sound:
The keyboard sound using my own headphones (Sony MDR-V6) is great. The on-board speakers are ok, but sound a bit muffled on some of the piano styles. (Fortunately you can buy external speakers and connect them to this keyboard.)

Construction.
The keyboard is fairly light weight and not too hard to move around (although I'd wish it had carrying handles). The plastic music stand (included) and parts of the keyboard appear a bit on the thin side.

The keys visually look large, but I can't really explain why. I measured the entire width of all the keys and it is a match to my real piano.

Connectivity:
I've used the USB connection to my computer with no problems (Windows XP).

Functions:
Tons of functionality. The ones I've tried work well.... Selecting some of functions can be a bit confusing though (pressing combinations of buttons, etc.), so I find myself going back to the manual to look up how to select them.

Misc:
- It comes with a nice printed manual.
- The sustain function using the included pedal does not seem to carry out the piano tone long enough, although it does vary depending upon what type of sound you have selected. (I don't know if the sustain length is a function of the pedal or the keyboard.)

Also note that there is a very nice Casio video showing this keyboard on YouTube. Search for "Casio Privia PX130 Preview". The video review is done with the Casio PX-130 which I think is the same keyboard as the 330 one with a few less functions.

Conclusion:
If you are looking to duplicate the sound/feel of a real piano, this is probably not the right keyboard for you. If you're looking for a really nice digital piano with touch sensitivity and lots fun features, then this is a nice choice. Read more ›

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars 9 out of ten October 9, 2011

By Denver Jazz Fan

This digital piano offers a tremendous amount for the price, but it's not perfect.

Overall:
- Best bang for the buck, if you want a piano first, and general keyboard second.
- Enough features to make it a great practice instrument
- Keyboard sounds genuine enough to be useful in any band setting
- Most realistic dynamics and bass/treble balance of any digital piano I have ever used
- Includes a genuine Sostenuto pedal function - I've never seen this in a digital piano at any price
- "issues" include one biggie and a few annoyances more than anything else

"Graded Hammer Action":
The "hammer action" seems to vary from unit to unit. "Hammer action" is supposed to replicate the feel of a real acoustic piano. Acoustic pianos employ an escapement mechanism. You can detect the operation of this by slowly pressing a key. At about 3/4 of the way pressed, the pressure required drops dramatically - this is when the key mechanism has released the hammer. In principle, Casio has created a genuine escapement mechanism in their Privia series. At the store, demoing the instruments, I could detect its presence. However, on the unit I ordered, I do not. The weight of the keys is notably heavier than that of my genuine six-foot grand piano. Perhaps there is a break-in period required for this mechanism, just as it is on an acoustic piano. Time will tell. "Graded" implies that the heft of a key is heavier on the low notes than the high notes. Compared to a grand piano, I think it's somewhat exaggerated on this 'board, but quite passable.

Dyamics:
One of the first things that's done wrong in digital pianos is the dynamics. That is, if you hit a note with more force, does it sound louder AND brighter?... That's what an acoustic piano does. Most digital pianos overdo this feature - it's exaggerated. Not this one. It's as close to perfect as I've ever heard, easily surpassing a $2,000 Yamaha that I tried. Congrats to Casio on this.

Bass/treble balance:
Another 10 star win. Most digital pianos seriously exaggerate the bass notes and make for a very muddy mix. Not on this one. Wearing good headphones, or fed into a crisp clear PA, the PX-330's pianos (all of them) have the perfect balance of bass/treble note volume. The sound engineer can tailor as he wishes. I cannot think of ANY other stage piano I have used where I (when I was serving as the sound man) did not have to drastically curtail the bass frequencies. Thank you Casio, for making a piano that sounds like a piano.

Piano realism vs. Yamaha P95:
The realism of the piano sounds is very good. I tried a Yamaha P95, and its actual piano sound was closer to that of an acoustic piano than any of the voices on the PX-330. But the P95 is missing a lot that the PX-330 has, so I stuck with the PX-330.

Voices - piano:
Most of the piano voices are very bright. During the sustain period, you can hear the samples changing, if you listen carefully on headphones. It's about as good as four-voice laying gets, but this is a $700 instrument, not a $2,000 instrument, and you can hear the difference if you're acclimated to a genuine acoustic piano. Again, I decided that for my purposes, this was perfectly adequate. I won't be using the instrument to record solo classical pieces, but rather, it's a practice instrument and a portable instrument for my stage work. The "Grand Piano Modern" voice is the best one, but still a bit bright, compared to my Yamaha six foot grand - which is generally rated as "too bright" by most players. The "Mellow piano" sounds like the "modern" with reduced treble, and is a bit muffled in the low end, and still a bit too bright on the high end. I'll probably switch between the two depending on whether I'm playing a ballad or uptempo.

Voices - other keyboard instruments:
In general, all the voices which are normally associated with keyboard instruments are quite worthy and will sound just fine in a band setting. One of the electric pianos is a credible substitute for a Fender Rhodes, even, and the rock organ is a passable Hammond B3. The vibraphone is surprisingly good and the clavinet, which I didn't expect, will allow me to add some rock/electronic to my repertoire. Again, purists will always be able to tell the difference, using headphones, but your band-mates probably won't.

I'm a jazz player, and when going it alone, I like having a good string bass. For an inexpensive instrument, this is the best string bass voice I have ever heard. And, you can split the keyboard so that the string bass is in the lower octaves and piano in the upper octaves. A great feature in split mode is that you can move where the split occurs. I tend to be all over the place on the piano, so I move the split downward a full octave and play the bass pretty deep.

Voices - non keyboard:
As mentioned above, the string bass is quite usable. Electric bass for rock doesn't have the direct-feed sound that most rock bassists would prefer. I was surprised at how good the acoustic guitar sound is, in the middle notes. Low notes aren't right, a bit too resonant. Clarinet and saxes sound very much synthesized and would be useful only in a pinch. There are a few synth sounds that could be used if you're playing 1970s prog rock.

Voices - summary:
Probably the most complete set of useful sounds on anything under $1,000. You will love the piano, harsichord, vibes, electric piano and organ, and be content with most of the rest.

Rhythms:
The rhythm section has just enough variety to make it a perfect practice tool. There's even an LED blinking to tell you when the downbeat occurs. You can add an accompaniment, and in typical fashion, it'll follow whatever note/chord you play in the lowest octaves of the 'board. If you hit an "E" note, the rhythm accompaniment will continue playing in E major until you hit something else. If you then strike the "E" and "A" at the same time, it will switch to E minor. Add a D and it plays the E minor 7th. It will play sus2 and sus4 as you finger them (it changes the chord only when you tell it via the keyboard), it plays dom7 and maj7. It does not do higher than 7 though...it won't follow a 9/11/13 chord. It does 6 just fine, too. Very nice, very capable, and you can get in a great deal of practice in rhythm this way.

Things that could be better:

1) The biggie. As a stage instrument, the menus are particularly difficult to navigate, and the buttons difficult to use and the printed legends almost unreadable. Even in a brightly lit room, the labels are in a very small font size and not very white, hard to read against the black 'board. I semi-fixed this problem by printing out my own labels: black letters on white paper, and taping them on.

If you have to switch from grand piano to organ during a tune, good luck getting it done on time. The buttons are cheap consumer-grade, and the motion is barely perceptible...you won't know if you really pressed it. Sadly, due to the depth of the menu structure, you cannot "press it just in case the last press didn't take" because often they are list toggles: press a second time and you get a different function. It has a flash card reader for storing settings, perhaps you can store the few voices you want on the card and they're quicker to recall, and you can store reverb/chorus with them. I have not tried this yet...and I almost never use effects, so I'm choosing not to comment on them.

If you will be using the instrument 90% of the time as a piano and have only a few tunes where you need to switch voices, then this will not be a major impediment. As long as you don't have to switch voices mid-song, you'll be OK...but you'll want to either print out your own tape-on labels, or add a small light to illuminate the control panel, or both. For my own usage, this isn't going to be a major issue..I either play piano, organ or Rhodes, and don't change during the song.

2) Does it seem to anybody else that all the equipment manufacturers are in a race to prove how bright they can make their LEDs? In a brightly lit room, the red LEDs on the control panel are hard to look at without hurting your eyes. On a dimly lit stage, they're going to feel like daylight. I plan to open up the box and see if there's space in there for me to add dropping resistors, because this is a pretty serious annoyance.

3) Headphone jacks are 3.5mm. Pro headphones use 1/4". The 3.5mm jacks are on the left side of the instrument and quite frail. I predict this will be a frequent repair bill for this keyboard. If you're handy with cabling, purchase some 3.5mm right-angle stereo plugs and make up a few cables that adapt to 1/4" female. Leave them connected to your headphones: if you plug in a headphone, the speakers mute. I consider this a major oversight on Roland's part. Adapters to adapt a 1/4" headphone to a 3.5mm jack are common, and rugged. Adapters to go the other way are a major mechanical risk. 'phones come both ways, but 'phone jacks should always be 1/4".

4) 1/4" output jacks for the PA. A lot of sound guys will get these wrong. 1/4", to a PA guy, means high-Z, but these are low-Z outputs. For some reason, though, this has become industry standard for keyboards. I'd prefer XLR balanced...but a lot of newbie sound guys will get the levels wrong on those.

5 Maybe a nuisance) Plugging into the PA system does not mute the internal speakers. You'll want to bring a 3.5mm to 1/4" headphone adapter and shove it into one of the 'phones jacks as a dummy plug - that will cause the speakers to mute. I'm not sure I want to call this an issue, though...in smaller settings, where such a budget 'board might mostly be used, your PA system might not have monitors. So, having the internal speakers could be good. However, as a player, you'll be wanting to adjust the audio level (and they can't get loud enough to hear over the drummer next to you anyway) and when you adjust volume, I suspect it adjusts the PA send volume, too, which will irritate the heck out of your PA guy.

Overall - 9 stars out of ten. If you consider the price - 10 of 10.

The remaining question is whether Casio can make an instrument this good, have it rugged enough for stage work and set up their repair centers with enough parts so that a performing musician will only be out of a keyboard for a day or two in the event a repair is needed. Casio is known primarily as a low-end consumer products company, and the world is full of stories about how sluggish Best Buy is at getting Casio equipment repaired. Presumably, as Casio is moving into the stage world, they have taken this into consideration. I have decided to take the risk. It's pretty easy to rent a digital piano at the last minute these days, and often the one you will rent is a Privia, so I consider this a low risk for my purposes. Read more ›