My first keyboard was a Casio. My brother bought it for me when I was 12. It was little more than a 24 note toy, but it was mine and I was proud to own it. As I grew into my music and more serious about performing, I became jaded and picky about my instruments. Casio had a well earned reputation for being cheap, low end starter boards. The most expensive keyboard I ever owned was a Yamaha DX7 FD. Until now, I never owned a full sized, 88 note keyboard, let alone, a keyboard with realistic action.
Enter the Casio PX-130.
Exit all my preconceptions about Casio.
Look and Feel: I love the classic, uncluttered look of the instrument. It has minimal buttons and lights. There is no screen. It first and foremost wants to be a piano. It succeeds. It will look right at home in a studio, a church, or a living room. As for feel, when playing, I have to remind myself that it is not an acoustic. My fingers are convinced that these keys are attached to a big, wooden cabinet in the form of a traditional piano. I did not get a chance to see one of these in a store before buying. I was worried the keys would feel cheap. Needless to say, my expectations were blown away from the first touch. You will not be disappointed.
Sound: If you know what a piano sounds like, you know what this sounds like. I won't pretend to know how all the high end electronic pianos sound, but they can't possibly be head and shoulders above this one. Just as my fingers are easily convinced they are playing an acoustic piano, my ears are equally convinced. If you are thinking about buying an acoustic piano for your home, do it only for the value of a classic piece of furniture, not for the sound. This casio sounds so much better than 90% of the pianos I've played in the homes of people I have visited. The speakers are more than sufficient for most common uses. High notes sound like they originate from the right of center while the opposite is true for low notes, just like you would expect from an acoustic piano. Such full and realistic sound from such a compact package is shocking. You will not be disappointed.
Features: This keyboard has several other sounds besides the traditional piano. To my ear, they are all quite good. Not everyone will find use for all of the sounds, but all of the sounds will be useful to many people. I will not take the time here to describe each sound. There are YouTube videos that do a good job of that. IMO, this keyboard would be well worth it just for the piano sound; the others make for a great bonus. You can split the keyboard to play two different sounds, or you can combine two different sounds to make one composite sound. There is a library of songs built into the memory that are readily accessible. You can even transfer files from your computer to be played on the keyboard. Speaking of computers, this is a great companion for a midi enabled computer, Mac or PC. I use a Mac. After connecting a USB cable, I was instantly able to use the keyboard to trigger the midi in all three of my music creation programs: GarageBand, Logic Studio, and Band in a Box. I experienced no detectable latency in any of the programs. It just worked. You can even record your performances directly in the piano's memory and send them to your computer for editing and use with other programs. There are many useful features. You will not be disappointed.
Value: It is worth every penny of the asking price. Even so, you can find even better deals if you are willing to do a bit of searching. Yes, this is a Casio. No, this is not even the top model in the Privia line. Do not let the low price or the name brand trick you into passing this one up. From now on, I will look at Casio before looking at Yamaha or Roland. Yes, I feel just as silly writing such a thing as you do reading it. But there it is. I have got to believe that the Casio PX-130 is the best keyboard value going right now.
Cons: By no measure can this be considered a toy. Having said that, it is still made out of plastic. Nor is it that good polycarbonate stuff Apple uses for the white MacBook line. It is not industrial grade anything. It is just plain old cheap plastic. I suggest you buy a good case if you are going to travel with it. Also, be prepared for a small learning curve. Because there are so few buttons, most of the functions can only be accessed through the use of a function key paired with one or more of the 88 playable keys. That is a slightly annoying, but acceptable trade-off for having an uncluttered look. Finally, I wish there was more than one USB port. Once you have such a useful device, you will think of many ways to use another USB port or two. That is more of a wish list item than a complaint.
Conclusion: Despite the minor gripes, I gladly gave it five stars. In fact, I plan to buy another one specifically for travel. I do not write many reviews, but I felt it was important to do my part in getting the word out about this product. Casio should be rewarded for what they have done. They have successfully reinvented themselves and we are the beneficiaries. You will not be disappointed.
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Product information
| Age Range (Description) | Adult |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 33.52 Pounds |
| Model Name | PX 130 |
| Style | Digital |
| Connectivity Technology | USB |
| Instrument | Piano, Digital Piano |
| Manufacturer | Casio |
| UPC | 079767361501 |
| Global Trade Identification Number | 04971850361527 |
| Item Weight | 33.5 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 52.05 x 5.31 x 11.26 inches |
| ASIN | B002IVK0FE |
| Item model number | PX-330BK |
| Customer Reviews |
4.1 out of 5 stars |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | Yes |
| Date First Available | July 16, 2004 |
| Color Name | 1 Year |
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Compare with similar items
This Item  Casio PX130 88 Key Digital Stage Piano | Recommendations  |  |  |  | |
| Price | Currently unavailable. | $1,839.00 | $999.00 | $1,799.00 | $1,099.00 |
| Delivery | — | Get it as soon as Friday, Jun 20 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Jun 24 | Get it as soon as Friday, Jun 20 | Get it as soon as Saturday, Jun 21 |
| Customer Ratings | |||||
| Sold By | — | Instrumentpro | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Amazon.com |
| number of keys | 88 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 88 |
| power source | — | Corded Electric | Usb | Corded Electric | Usb |
| connectivity tech | USB | Bluetooth | USB | Auxiliary | USB |
| instrument | Digital Piano, Piano | Piano | Digital Piano, Piano | Digital Piano | Digital Piano |
| style | Digital | Modern | Piano | Contemporary | Keyboard |
Better than I expected
I bought this keybooard after spending a long time deciding between various makes and models. I have had this now for about a month, I live in an apartment and an upright piano was not going to be an option. I chose this one because it was affordable and the other one I liked was twice as much money. I would highly recommend buying the wooden stand for this piano (it runs about $100)as it really looks nice and is very space efficient (of course if you are using this as a portable instrument this would require removing a few screws often to get the keyboard out of the stand). I would also recommend buying a key cover to keep the dust off the keys (mine started to collect dust after a few weeks, Yamaha makes a red felt 88-key cover that looks nice for about $9). If you are searching for a practice instrument or if you are getting into or back into playing piano, this fulfills its job. The keys are weighted, however it is not a replica of an acoustic piano in my opinion, the keys feel a little softer, have a bit of a spring-back on faster passages, and I can't really feel any gradation from heavy to light keys. The classic and modern piano sounds are pretty true, the rest of them are a bit digital for my taste. These sound just fine through the speakers (which are on the back of the piano so they don't get dust in them, a plus). I like the metronome feature that comes with the piano and I have found the pre-programmed songs that match the song book that comes with the piano to be useful as they are correct technically (they do lack emotion) and I have found this to be helpful when learning a new song. For the money, this is a nice keyboard and I found it to be better than I expected. It will do just fine until I decide to pony up the money for a much more expensive keyboard that more accurately replicates an acoustic piano. Oh, and if you travel with it a lot, it is quite portable and light.
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