12/21/2011

Casio Privia PX130 88-Key Digital Keyboard - Red Review

Casio Privia PX130 88-Key Digital Keyboard - Red
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Bought this keyboard for my 7-yr-old who has been taking lessons for a couple of months. Purchased from Guitar Center because of a $100 off promotion (bringing the cost down to $399+tax). I was looking for a keyboard with piano-like action with a budget of $500. The PX130 came in under budget and I couldn't be happier.
[Some highly subjective words follow...]
The red color is fantastic! This new color was released recently and I am very happy I waited for it. The original and the white versions are ok, but the red draws you in and invites you to sit and play. It's fun and inspiring. My son was all too eager to play/practice and was all smiles while he did. He says he really likes the feel and sound of the keyboard, and for the price paid I have to agree.Couple of interesting things that I didn't know until I purchased the keyboard:
1. The specs state that there are 60 preset songs (ex. Nocturne Op. 9-2, Sonate Op.13 "Patethique", Maple Leaf Rag). Unexpectedly, what came in the box was a book containing the score for each song . The songs have been categorized in difficulty (beg, inter, adv). Further, for the beginner songs the score shows where you should cross your fingers.
2. If you register your Privia keyboard on Casio's site within 30 days of purchase, Casio will extend the warranty for an additional 2 years. That's a total of 3 years. I don't know if this is a limited time offer, but I like it.


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12/20/2011

Casio PX200 Privia Digital Piano with Hammer Action Review

Casio PX200 Privia Digital Piano with Hammer Action
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I'm a semi-pro jazz pianist. I own an old Balwin baby grand and a top end Roland rd700sx keyboard. I bought the Casio as a practice keyboard at my summer home. I couldn't be more pleased with it. The action is very heavy (a good quality) - heavier that either of my other pianos, but not as much as your average Steinway grand. But the action is also very responsive and quite a pleasure to play. The primary piano sound is balanced and nice to listen to (the others not so).
The tone is no where as beautiful or as expressive (wide dynamic range) as my Roland, but the Roland cost 4 times as much!.
It is very useful for practicing and the built-in speakers are loud enough to play in a party setting. I've used it for gigs with a stereo amp and it's very adequate - and weighs 27 lbs. I've seen it selling for less at other online musical instrument sites so check around.
All in all a very nice keyboard and well worth the cost.


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12/19/2011

Wittner MT50 Metronome Review

Wittner MT50 Metronome
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Wittner MT50 Pocket Metronome
Flick the switch on the right side, and it starts instantly. Slide the switch up for blinking LED and sound, off is the middle position, and down is for LED only. Turn the center knob to select the desired tempo. Use the included ear plug to better hear the sound while making music. Takes one 9v battery. Includes built-in stand.
Pros:
- Will fit in many shirt pockets - is about the size of a pack of cigarettes. Weighs only a few ounces, so there is no burden to carry it in your gig bag or instrument case.
- Takes no more than a couple of seconds to select a tempo of 40 to 208. Knurled knob is just right for sure control.
- Tuning note is a perfect A 440 according to my new Korg tuner.
- Clicking of beat sound is an OK volume when there's no music being played.
- Handy wire stand to hold unit in near-vertical position on a flat surface.
- Wearing ear-piece provides reasonably audible sound. I can hear it while playing my trumpet, for example.
Cons:
- The blinking LED is too faint to be of much use. Set it on your music stand while playing, and unless you have terrific peripheral vision or the unit is within inches of your sight line, you probably won't see the light. Other brands have much brighter LEDs.
- The beat sound, although OK, is not as loud as other pocket metronomes my fellow musicians use. It's OK for small group tempo setting, but insufficiently loud to demonstrate tempo to a large band.
- The ear-piece is useful while practicing on your own, but the volume could be a bit higher (and yes, my hearing is just fine). In any case, my antique wooden metronome with the swinging pendulum is much easier to follow, at least for me.
- Basic, no frills device. A volume and brightness control would have been a big help. There are no beat (4/4, 2/4, 3/4 etc., where beat 1 is louder) choices. It doesn't shut off by itself.
Summary:
I bought it mostly to set the tempo for small groups I'm in, before we start a piece. For that, it works fine. However, having a weak LED and so-so beat sound, are pretty basic weaknesses. I wouldn't buy this one again.

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12/18/2011

Studiologic Numa Piano Review

Studiologic Numa Piano
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I've been a professional gigging musician for many years and the Numa Piano is exactly what I've been looking for. The action is outstanding, the internal sounds are all excellent. Unlike even some 'very high end' keyboards that I've owned, the Grand Piano sounds great by itself AND in the mix. Creating splits & layers on the fly is so simple that it's almost not even necessary to store setups in memory. Even controlling external modules with it is a breeze. If you're looking for a lightweight piano with a great action and a handfull of meat-and-potatoes sounds (Piano/Electric Piano/Clav/Strings/Organ) at a price that won't break the bank. Check it out!

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12/17/2011

Casio Privia Gig Bag Review

Casio Privia Gig Bag
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This gig bag provides a perfect fit for my Casio PX-130 88-key Digital Piano.
The bag is made of durable material and the look is appealing.

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12/16/2011

Yamaha EZ-200 61 Full-Sized Touch Keyboard, Sensitive Keys with Lighted Key Teaching Review

Yamaha EZ-200 61 Full-Sized Touch Keyboard, Sensitive Keys with Lighted Key Teaching
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I am a 36 yo man, I've always wanted to learn piano so I thought I'd get this keyboard which I thought had built in lessons that would guide my learning to play the piano...
For all intents and purposes, doesn't the description seem to infer that? That with the Y.E.S.5 teaching system and all those built in songs you'd have a well thought out lesson plan built in. That was my misunderstanding:::
What it actually is is a nice keyboard that you can learn on, but it won't teach you- the emphasis is on getting out what you put in- you have to really stumble your way thru learning the built in songs that the keyboard lights up the correct keys you're supposed to strike- there is not a good fluid way to learn a little piece at a time (It does have an A-B feature but it's not so much a loop as it is a measure to measure cycle with a 2-4 bar intro, each time!) So its not like you can just sit there and play it over and over and over again until you and your fingers get it, its: play the 2 or so bars you select (A-B) and then at the end, it goes thru at least a 2 bar beat count and then resumes the 2 bars of the song you're trying to learn.... does that make sense?
There are not lesson plans. In the book it says to "Listen to and Learn" the song. My memory isn't that fantastic that I can learn the songs by listening to them and then just learning, I think it would be a vast improvement to have a real loop feature that you could use to select a portion, loop it ad infinitum until you learn it and them move on. Also, I was really thinking that with the latest Learning System (Y.E.S.5) that there would be beginner lessons on reading the sheet music, finger drills, scales, etc... all the stuff you learn when you're learning piano- this piano system is for prodigies and people who already know piano.
So while it is a nice keyboard, it is not the EZ piano that will teach you how to play, you will have to look elsewhere to learn, or teach yourself, but this keyboard with all its songs and such will not be a step by step tutor....

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Never played piano or keyboard before? The EZ-200 lighted keyboard from Yamaha will have you playing songs from the very first day. Just call up a song from the 100 songs built-in to the keyboard, select if you'd like to play the left or right hand part and hit "Start". The keyboard will light up the key that you're supposed to play, and in fact, the song will actually stop and wait for you to find the correct key! All of the tools you need are found in the keyboard, including how to play chords.

Expressive Touch like a piano If you're buying a keyboard having piano in mind, you'll want Yamaha's Touch Response feature. On an acoustic piano, striking a key harder will produce a louder sound, striking it softer will produce a softer sound. With Yamaha's "Touch Response" the EZ-200 keyboard responds like an acoustic piano.
Portable Grand: Industry's best piano You're never more than a button push away from the most realistic piano sound in portable keyboards today. One press of the Portable Grand button resets the entire keyboard to a stereo-sampled piano--perfect for when it's time to practice. Yamaha is known around the world for the quality of our acoustic pianos and this attention to detail is evident as you enjoy the warmth and clarity of the EZ-200 Portable Grand piano. And of course, the keyboard includes a Sustain Pedal jack on the back for practicing and playing piano pieces.
Yamaha Education Suite: Helps you learn to play The EZ-200 has 100 built-in songs for you to learn to play, using the Yamaha Education Suite. The songs are separated into left and right hand parts, providing 7 levels of lessons plus a convenient chord dictionary. In addition, the correct fingering is indicated in the LCD display.
Three keyboard lessons for each hand
Lesson One: LISTEN & LEARN the melody or rhythm of a selected song.
Lesson Two: TIMING mode allows you to play the melody or chord by pressing any key using the correct timing.
Lesson Three: WAITING mode stops the playback of a song until you find the correct note and then continues.

Lesson GradingMonitors your progress as you practice each lessons two and three and gives you a grade.
Chord DictionaryShows you how to play chords and tells you which chords you are playing by displaying the notes and chord name on the LCD screen.

Computer Connectivity: General MIDI (GM) and XGlite compatible The music pathway to your computer and the Internet is MIDI. It's the way that keyboards communicate with computers. And because the EZ-200 is both General MIDI (GM) and XGlite compatible, you have access to thousands of MIDI song files on the Internet.
367 Voices and the One-Touch Setting The EZ-200 has 367 Voices for you to choose from. For example, there are pianos, electric pianos, harpsichord, guitars, drums, bass, violins, brass and synthesizer voices. Pretty much every instrument in the orchestra is at your fingertips. And if you don't know which sound goes with what style of music, the keyboard can select an appropriate sound for you using the convenient One-Touch Setting.
Sound Quality: Real stereo (Not just 2 Speakers) Some keyboards have two speakers but aren't stereo. Don't be fooled. Just because a keyboard has two speakers doesn't mean that it's truly stereo with two separate amplifiers. All Yamaha Portable Keyboards feature stereo-sampling technology.
32 Note Polyphony and 16 Part Multi Timbrel In electronic keyboards, the more sounds made at the same time--polyphony--the more memory is needed. Obviously, more is always better, because too little polyphony can cause dropouts in dense passages of music. Some keyboards at this price point have only 12-note polyphony. The EZ-200 has 32 notes of polyphony and will play back 16 different parts or sounds at once (16-part multi timbrel); enough for the most demanding needs.
Reverb Yamaha has long been a world leader in digital signal processing technology. In fact, Yamaha professional audio products are found in most professional recording studios around the world. The EZ-200 takes full advantage of this know-how, giving you an extensive range of nine, top-quality reverb effects that simulate playing in everything from a small room to a large spacious concert hall; a first in this price range.
Metronome Just what the teacher ordered! A fully adjustable metronome is just a button push away.
Strike up the Band--Keyboard Styles In addition to the 100 songs found in the EZ-200, there are 100 Styles that allow you to play any song you like. It's just like having a built-in band. Call up your favorite style of music like Rock, Big Band or Country, press a chord or play Single Finger mode, and the EZ-200 will follow you through a piece of music, providing all of the drums, bass, piano, guitar, horn and string parts for you. With this instrument, you can make great sounding music with little more than 2 fingers, however as you learn to play, the EZ-200 will adapt to your new skills and automatically switch between single finger mode and fingered mode where you play all the notes of the chord.
Connectivity The EZ-200 features MIDI In/Out, Sustain Pedal jack and a Headphone jack for private practice.
What's in the Box EZ-200 Keybaord, Music Rest, Owner's Manual, Song Book

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12/15/2011

Casio WK-500 76-Key Personal Keyboard with MP3/Audio Connection, 670 Tones and Power Supply Review

Casio WK-500 76-Key Personal Keyboard with MP3/Audio Connection, 670 Tones and Power Supply
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Amazon listed the best price, the vendor was quick in shipping, the product is every bit as good as I could have expected, this was a good purchase.
The only reservation I would list for Amazon is that the time delay when I make an order is 3 to 4 days before they process the order for shipping, Amazon gives some time for customer review and cancellation of an order and I can understand the problem with folks canceling orders and the item is already shipped. With Amazon's experience as a seller I believe they have it right, I'm not the patient type but this wait has been worth it.
The WK-500 is better than I expected, I like the 76 key size, I had looked at the weighted key models but after using this one I'm glad I saved the money and I like the keyboard feel of the keys on the WK-500, they aren't weighted but not cheap feeling like I thought they would be as I have seen on some keyboards. I would say it has a nice action if you can call it that and has reasonable touch sensitive control settings although the default setting appears the best. Good overall sound, when I first got it I was slow to adapt to the different control setup than my smaller 66 keyboard but quickly became at home the Casio's setup. I also thought that the dull black color would be less attractive than my preference would be the higher luster silver type I kind of expected of a keyboard but again I was wrong as the black mantle look matches quite a bit of my other stereo and computer stuff and looks fine.
I'm not an expert on sound quality and keyboard features however I am impressed with both. I have had this about a month and have not used the advanced features like computer hookup etc. so I can't comment further.

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With 76 touch-sensitive piano style keys and a host of features, which include 670 high quality tones, recording capabilities and song expansion, the WK-500 as the latest edition to the "WK" range of Casio keyboards. Featuring 48 note polyphony, line and mic inputs, 10 seconds of sampling, USB MIDI Interface, pitch wheel, a SD card slot for song storage, line outputs for connecting the WK-500 to an amplifier or PA, the quality, flexibility and usability all help to make the WK-500 the ideal instrument for beginners and advanced players alike.

Touch-Sensitive Keyboard The WK-500 features 76 touch-sensitive, piano-style keys and two sensitivity levels for a more piano-like experience, along with 48-note polyphony (24-note for certain tones).
670 Built-In Tones Find just the right sound with 670 built-in tones, from strings to woodwinds and plenty more. You can layer two different tones (such as piano and strings) or split the keyboard down the middle for an ensemble approach.
Reverb and Chorus Effects Select from ten different reverb and five different chorus effects to add depth and shimmer to your performance.
SD Memory Card Support The WK-500 supports SD Memory Cards up to 2 GB, so you can store sampled sounds, user rhythms, recorded songs, and more, without running out of memory.
USB Port For many musicians, the computer has become a music-making center. Connect the WK-500 to a computer using a USB cable and exchange MIDI data between the two devices. Send play data from the keyboard to music software running on your computer, or send MIDI data from your computer to the keyboard for playback.
Built-In Sampling You can use the WK-500 to sample a sound from a portable audio player or other device, and then play the sound with keyboard keys. Sample up to ten seconds, and store up to five sampled sounds to keyboard memory.
You can also loop sampled sounds so they continue to play, or replace individual sounds on drum patches.
152 Built-In Songs and Ten User Songs The WK-500 comes with a bank of songs for your learning and enjoyment, from classics like "Greensleeves" or "Auld Lang Syne" to holiday tunes like "Jingle Bells."
You can also record your own performances, using up to six tracks of different instruments.
Step Up Lessons To master a song, it is best to break it up into shorter parts (phrases), master the phrases, and then put everything together. The WK-500 features a "Step Up Lesson" feature that helps you to do just that. The built-in songs are pre-divided into phrases to help you master keyboard play. Step Up Lesson takes you through practice of the right hand part, left hand part, and both hand parts for each phrase of a song. Master all of the phrases and you master the song.
Auto Accompaniment With Auto Accompaniment, simply select an accompaniment pattern. Each time you play a chord with your left hand the appropriate accompaniment will play automatically. It's like having a personal backup group along with you wherever you go.
Select from 200 built-in rhythms or define your own 10 user rhythms.
Auto Harmonize Auto Harmonize automatically adds harmony to notes you play with your right hand, which adds rich depth to the melody of your performances. You can select from among 12 types of Auto Harmonize to suit the type of music you are playing.
Arpeggiator The Arpeggiator makes it possible to play an arpeggio pattern automatically. There are 90 different arpeggio patterns from which to choose in order to match the music you are playing.
Transpose Function An easy operation instantly changes the key of the keyboard.
Audio Input Play along with MP3 or CD players or other devices by plugging them into the stereo mini input jack.
Battery or AC Power Power the WK-500 with six D-sized batteries or purchase the AD-12 AC adapter separately to power from your electrical outlets. Built-in speakers make the keyboard entirely portable.
An Auto Power Off feature turns off the device six minutes after the last key is touched, helping you save batteries.
What's in the Box WK-500 Keyboard, Music Stand, Song Book, Leaflets (Safety Precautions, Appendix, Warranty), User's Manual

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