Customer Reviews

Casio PX-500L Privia 88 Key Digital Piano

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This is an excellent digital piano! A few things to keep in mind: First economics: I got this on an Amazon sale ... if you can wait and don't need it tomorrow, so to speak, you can save considerably when Amazon places it on sale once again and also watch for free delivery which varies with certain products! I was most pleased to catch both a great sale on the item --and-- free delivery!

Now to the piano and I'll focus on one 'biggie' as compared to virtually all other digital pianos that have only what they term semi-weighted keys which generally translates to non-weighted keys or at least keys where the fingers will notice no real difference whatsoever --but-- this piano [Casio PX-500L] has the 'scaled hammer action' system and it is a 'world' of difference coming as close as one can probably get to the real McCoy acoustic piano!

You will feel after perhaps 20 minutes to a half hour of playing the sensation in your finger tips that you were pushing on weighted keys! That's the best way I can describe it! In fact, after playing this piano, I switched to an acoustic piano and I was surprised at the similarities of the action! This feature 'alone', at least to me, is worth its weight in gold!

Yes I have an old acoustic in the basement, but, hey, the reason it's in the basement is that anyone who plays an acoustic knows that the sound really travels and so when the urge to play strikes during the wee hours, well, not everyone in the household [especially if you have young children] appreciates such sound travel so electronic/digital pianos solve this problem rather nicely via the one item the acoustic pianos just don't have for obvious reasons: earphones! But that's just the tip of the iceberg because the electronic/digital stuff offers so many extras ... and tones [instruments] .... and midi ... and accompanyment... and a host of other goodies.

I thought the sound was quite good and although I would be the first to say that really nothing beats the sound of the real McCoy wooden acoustic piano, hey, the electronic/digital models offer you benefits and options [including wee hour playing!] that the acoustics do not. And the Casio is a go anywhere digital piano. Try that with an acoustic! This model also has the lighted keys for new players and/or learning a specific piece and yes the red lighted keys 'can' be turned off. One thing however which I wish it had but it doesn't is a connection for a keyboard amp which would have made the piano perfect for those times that additional volume via an external amp would be desired. But then, the midi hook-up to a computer and its external amp [if one has same] might solve that. On the other hand, the volume it does offer by itself with no hookups to anything is decent. Comes with a power supply and a sustain pedal but I've ordered the heavier sustain pedal versus that square thing which I don't really relish. [...] sells them [VFP 1/25 sustain pedal] but make sure you get the pedal with a "polarity switch" or one that will work with a CASIO. Of note: Polarity issues for both power supply and piano pedals 'differ' between Casio and Yamaha electronic/digital pianos .... the why of which escapes me!

Doc Tony

As an owner of several keyboards - from expensive to cheap, I'd finally decided to invest in one that might deliver action *just* like you'd get with a real piano. Something I'd been seeking for a while.

I'd done some research and it seemed like such a keyboard was fairly expensive. I kept reading about the PX500 as a possible man for the job - eventually I caved without ever playing it in person... Firstly it's all true - I grew up with standard uprights and plonked occasionally on a grand - and this is as close as you can get especially for the price.

When you press a key it 'feels' real. It sounds real too. Obviously orientated towards piano it includes the full range of such sounds - from grand to electric to honky-tonk to synth. All at a key press - we're not talking GM here either; it's built in-accurate pressure-based stuff. Of course it has GM too - along with a surprisingly non-tinky set of pre-programmed tunes and rhythms. In fact I was amazed at the variety of songs included (as well as a nice stave song book). It's learning-options, both left and right hands can be separated, suggests a keyboard for the newbie - but really it's a nice after-thought for the rest of the family who probably don't play.

All said and done, this IS the keyboard I wanted - its built in speakers have sufficient bass to not warrant external components and the sounds it makes are 100% real. The seemingly sing-a-long pre-programmed songs and optional lights on the keys are mere icing on an amazing cake. If you want a REAL piano action with a REAL piano sound then this is THE keyboard to get - especially for the price.

There is a way to hook up the PX-500L to an external amplifier... feed the headphone output to the line input or aux. input of an external amplifier.

This is the first digital piano I've owned after an early '90s keyboard. Needless to say this is awesome. The sensitivity is great and it sound like a real piano. I think you can tell the difference, but through midi you really can't. That's the best part, but the next best is that the keys are lighted and you can play any of the 80 or so songs, classical and pop, one note at a time to learn them. Great price for an even better digital piano.

After spending weeks researching a new keyboard that could last me a lifetime, I came upon this keyboard. Before this keyboard I had been a piano man and was looking for a keyboard that felt and sounded just like a real piano. This keyboard did just that. Besides being a full 88 keys, all keys are also weighted so it feels exactly like a real piano feels when you press keys. The keyboard also uses sound files that are recorded rather then produced through midi, meaning it's core instruments actually sound exactly like the real instruments they're named after (except for the guitar). This keyboard also has light up keys and built in songs, meaning you can learn many classics from this keybard. You can also record in your own songs, and besides observing which keys you pressed and listening to both recordings at once, you can speed up or decrease the tempo by pressing a few buttons if you want. This is the best keyboard I have ever found in all my searching, and while it may be a bit expensive, it can easily take the place of a real piano (which would be much more expensive). The keyboard also has two headphone jacks and two midi jacks and has the capability of producing enough sound to be a reliable piano in a concert. Whether you just want a keyboard to play on your own or to play with in a band or in concert, I definitely suggest this one. You'll be amazed with all of its features.

See reviews of the Px-100, it's the same except with lighting. The lighting is cool, but the only annoying thing is that there is no way to turn it off permanantly. Everytime you turn it off and turn it on again, by default it stays on. The other thing that is relatively cheap is that the music stand is cheap plastic and is not tall enough to support sheets of music. Otherwise, everything else is gravy.

This keyboard really did spark a frenzy around me. Once I bought this thing, the interest in playing piano and even playing our bigger piano in the house has increased dramatically. Everytime friends come over, they all want to play the keyboard because of how fun it is.

This is a really great keyboard for beginners and advanced players alike and just provides hours of fun. Sound is pretty good as it gives you the sound of the key depending on how hard you depress the keys. Only complaints is that when playing a song, it would have been nice if there were a button to allow the user to rewind 5 seconds or so to practice portions of the song piece by piece. Unfortunately, this keyboard makes you play the whole song from beginning to end, not really letting each segment sink in. Also, it would have even been nicer if there were some sort of numbering system where the keys would light up along with what finger you use to depress that key. It would greatly help beginners figure out how to position your fingers better. Of course since many of the songs you have to figure out yourself, it would have been at least nice to do it for some of the easier songs.

All in all, it's a very impressive keyboard that makes piano fun. Something great to do while taking a break from studying or working in the house.