Just Got The Casio Privia PX 200 This Week

[nitekattz2007]

Just picked up the new Casio Privia PX 200 keyboard this week, 128 polyphony and an M Audio SP-2 Professional sustain pedal. The pedal was the perfect choice and I didn't have to change the polarity switch to get it to sustain properly.

 

I went through it's many sounds and functions and I must say it is quite an instrument for an 88 scale weighted type keyboard action that actually feels like playing a fine grand piano. The sampling of the acoustic pianos and the Rhodes, Wurlies are especially amazing and impressive. How Casio can put all that technology with a great keyboard action, 128 polyphony, DSP effects in a case that weighs about 26 pounds is really a feat. It is so light weight however, that it slides around on my heavy duty x style keyboard stand and I will have to figure out something like putting a rubber mat or similar material to stabilize it on gigs.

 

The Rhodes pianos and Wurlitzer samples remind me of the Al Jarreau recordings from the late 70's-80's, early Herbie Hancock like the Head Hunters album, Miles Davis Bitches Brew, with Chick Corea, Joe Zawinul, Joe Sample of the Crusaders, Whitney Houston, Anita Baker records and many others we have all heard. With EQ and tweaking the reverb and chorusing onboard effects, you can come close to duplicating any of those particular elec pianos and with the addition of other MIDI sound models, you can even extend your options to layer and fatten up the sound in various parameters.

 

Now, how does it compare to the more expensive pro Roland boards, Kurzweils, Korgs, etc? I went to Guitar Center one Sat recently and played all the brand name 88 digital pianos out on the floor and for a board less than $700, I preferred the touch and feel of the Casios over the Korgs and Rolands. I really liked the touch, sound and feel of the Yamaha PC 33, I think that was the model, but it was in the $1300 range and almost double the price of the Casio. The Casio also has many more onboard features some of the other keyboards doesn't have. It also has a slot for a 1GB SD memory card to record on and USB to hook up to a PC. Mac not supported currently which is too bad because I have a Mac laptop. The are 70 classical pieces included in the sound library and a score book is included if you are motivated to play or learn the music. There is also a 50,000 note memory sequencer, recorder and a a 10 song user bank for playback for composing or just checking out what you are practicing. Twenty onboard rhythm tracks, which I would like to have seen Casio add a few more and 2 drum kits in the GM section

 

The keyboard allows you to play from the softest, lightest jazz, classical feel to the hardest loudest, blues, R&R roaring kick ass blowing. I also MIDId it up to several of my sound mods and layered the Casio sounds to my Korg, NanoPiano and EMU mods and came up with so many other options, endless sound possibilities.

 

Now you have to consider because the board has a sturdy, plastic body and is light weight, it is not designed as a heavy duty board for doing 300 one nighter gigs either. I feel it is built too fragile for that kind of use. But for the occasional cocktail or club gig, the PX 200 works out fine by itself or as a great MIDI controller.

 

It has 2 onboard 10 watt speakers which are adequate, but no way the horsepower you would need to do a gig. It of course has L/R line out to run through a PA or mixer.

 

As a trained classical, jazz and R&R piano player, this is the kind of keyboard touch and feel I prefer if I need to pound out Sweet Home Alabama, a Dr John blusey piano groove or get into a smooth jazz mode or some Bill Evans/Herbie Hancock warm jazz piano which the Casio parameters can be adjusted for the type of sound I am hearing. I ran the board through my mixer in stereo, listening with the Sony pro headphones and was very impressed with the sound sampling, especially the acoustic and Rhodes pianos, which is really the only thing I use on most gigs. On T-40 or blues, classic rock gigs, I have my MIDI rack to add the strings, organs, brass, pads, etc as an option.

 

There are a few things I would like Casio to improve in the future, The onboard buttons are small and the typeface is difficult to read, especially in low light. There is certainly more than enough wasted space where the buttons could be larger and easier to read. I would also have preferred a joy stick or mod wheel for note bending, but even some of the other stage pianos like Korgs don't include that either, so no Jan Hammer guitar solos to jam with guitar players on. The manual is written and easy to understand, however it is printed in a very pale greenish color. Why not just write a manual in black and white with a bold type? I don't get that at all. I don't think they include a "cheat sheet' card like on some former Casios I've had. Maybe I missed it in the package, I'll double check. Also, although 70 classical pieces including a score book are included with the instrument, I would like to have had some of the pop and jazz/fusion songs included such as what was added to the library on the Casio Privia PX 300. Many people who own or planning to buy this keyboard are not at the advanced level to play these difficult classical pieces, me included on some of them. Masters like the late Vladimir Horowitz or Byron Janis might appreciate having compositions such as some of the Chopin Etudes or Bach fugues if they owned this board, but for the average piano student, I don't know. And of course the inevitable wall wart power supply which seems to be getting more and more common, even on some more expensive Kurzweil boards. I really hate having to hook up a wall wart, especially on a keyboard. My ole trusty DX-7 and Korg X-3 both had internal power supplies, of course they are heavier cases due that option

 

For the price of a keyboard less than $700 with a great keyboard 88 action and 128 polyphony sampling and all the features and options available the Casio is a contender and worth checking out, IMHO. And sure, if I had $3000-4000 bucks I could spare i would luv to get the new Kurzweil or Roland boards as an addition someday and keep the Casio in my woodshed as a permanent practice keyboard. I'll update any other stuff the more I play gigs with it and let you know how it works out.

 

Thanks katt:)

[The Pro]

I've tried the PX-200 out in a store and agree - it's an excellent value with really good sounds, plenty of polyphony and even effects like string resonance. The only part of your post I might not fully agree with is the road-worthiness... I've used a Casio CDP-100 (the cheapest of the Privias) right now strictly as a MIDI controller 3-4 nights a week for the past year and a half and it hasn't given me the first bit of a problem, and I play pretty heavy-handed. Even though the Casios are superlight they are plenty tough.

 

The Casio PX-200 is the best bang for the buck digital piano on the market and probably will be for some time to come.

[TechEverlasting]

Does anyone know if the keybeds on these instruments are made by Fatar?

The one I played felt very similar to the Fatar built action on the Kurzweil K2600s.

[mrcpro]

I don't know for sure, but I doubt it. It's a heavier action than any Fatar I've ever used. And physically lighter... my SL-880 has almost nothing inside except the action and must weigh almost twice as much as a Privia.

 

For those who prefer a substantial action, those Privias are a good choice. I like 'em light, which is the only reason I haven't bought one.

[mate_stubb]

I have heard that the actions on the Privias are something new, oil damped, to cut down the weight even more over a conventional hammer mechanism.

[nitekattz2007]

I've tried the PX-200 out in a store and agree - it's an excellent value with really good sounds, plenty of polyphony and even effects like string resonance. The only part of your post I might not fully agree with is the road-worthiness... I've used a Casio CDP-100 (the cheapest of the Privias) right now strictly as a MIDI controller 3-4 nights a week for the past year and a half and it hasn't given me the first bit of a problem, and I play pretty heavy-handed. Even though the Casios are superlight they are plenty tough. The Casio PX-200 is the best bang for the buck digital piano on the market and probably will be for some time to come.

 

Actually that's good to hear about the Privia series being road-worthy and tough. I do in fact agree that for the price, the board is built quite well. I have been using a Privia PX 300 for several years on local one niters and I have a large padded soft case, and it is built well. I think what I was trying to convey that the Privia casing, compared to my ole Dx-7 with its heavy steel casing, built like a tank, it still turns on and works since 1985, never been serviced. And more expensive keyboards that are designed for heavy duty moving and such are built that way and of course they cost more.

 

I still am trying to figure out a way to prevent the Privia from moving around on my keyboard stand, due to its light weight. I need to install some rubber mount, velcro, or something that will stablilize it, especially if i get into playing that big organ slide on Stevie Ray Vaughn's Crossfire. I did in fact play along with the song and the keyboard was sliding back and forth as I was doing my favorite grungy organ slides and riffs, like my ole 450 lb B-3, which wouldn't budge without 2-4 strong drunk roadies that helped me get it into the gigs.

 

katt

[TheFoosa]

I have tried the offerings from all companies except for Kawai (can't find any of them here!), and even the high end Rolands and Yamahas at half the price simply do not feel like an instrument the way that the PX200 does. Everything else has the little intricacies of action and sound that feel like you're fighting against it the whole time to get the sound you want. Even though the Privia samples may be a notch below the other things, it still feels better to play it...physically and aurally. I feel like I can make it do what I want.

 

I would like to find the Kawais around here (Phoenix...let me know if you know something I don't) sometime to try them out, I'll probably be getting a Privia sometime soon unless those can outdo it.

[eric]

I have tried the Casios and am very proud of what they have done. I don't actually use one for gigging, but considering one for some things. I bought teh PX310 for my teenage niece and she really digs it.

[pogo97]

I still am trying to figure out a way to prevent the Privia from moving around on my keyboard stand, due to its light weight.

 

I use velcro to stick my x-station to its stand. And MacBook to the x-station. Works fine.

 

I'm torn over the question of weight vs toughness. My two keyboards couldn't be more different that way. The x-station weighs about six pounds--I can hold it horizontal with one hand; the midiboard weighs about eighty pounds--I can barely lift it, though I can carry it once it's up. But I'm not convinced the midiboard will stand up any better than the x-station (well, it has stood up for at least 17 years except for the three sliders that got bashed to death at some point) because, when you bump the midiboard into something, there's so much inertia that almost for sure something will give. If you bump the x-station into something, the forces are pretty trivial unless you're running.

 

I've not taken the midiboard to gigs yet (just got the sliders working a couple of days ago) and I don't look forward to dealing with the weight. Something like a Casio for weighted keys is pretty tempting for gigging if only because it's so light. I might not even use the sounds--just use it as a controller. Of course, I'd have to buy it, which is not possible at the moment.

[nitekattz2007]

A few things I would like to add about the Privia 200 KB. If you are used to synths, organs, lighter feel keyboards, the Privia may not be the best choice for you. It can be on the harder, stiffer side until it's had some breakin time and you get the touch under your fingers. It works well for me, as I do not like synth keyboard feel nor anything less than a full 88 board. Playing organ mods and even the onboard organ patches on the Privia might take some time to get used to, because organs like a B-3 are not touch or velocity sensitive and a real organ has a lighter feel. The Privia does have some parameters that can tweak the touch sensitivity on how hard or soft you press the key to get the sound response. It is a bit of a challenge if you exclusively plan to use the 200 as an organ controller.

 

One other issue that I wanted to address is why Casio chose to add 70 classical pieces on board recordings, many extremely advanced for most keyboardists in addition to a score booklet. Chances are any piano student at that high of level is not going to be performing works like this on an electronic piano and I imagine they would be playing a fine acoustic upright or grand anyway. There are exceptions I know, but it still seems to me to be overkill. I used to work in a music store as a teacher and one of the really advanced German trained classical teachers could play literally anything presented on the keyboard and practically has memorized the whole selection or she could sightread anything and play it flawlessly through one pass. She of course is an exceptional player and I have seen her in concert play these difficult Chopin etudes and other advanced works. I asked her to play my other Casio and she said, "you have to be kidding me, you can listen to me perform on my Steinway, I don't perform classics on an electronic keyboard." Of course that was her opinion and choice, but I see her point. I would rather have seen Casio put 12 bar patterns or generic blues progressions to jam along with. I have CDs with many of the pieces on the Casio and I enjoy playing mainly Bach, which helped me so much with fingering technique and independence. Rather than put all those 70 works on the chip, I would rather have a larger sequencer and more live gig options. It appears that Casio wants to market the Privia series to more classically trained players than just beginners and such. There are some auto accompany features and some basic music info about how to form chords which I think is good theory. Even still, the 200 is working out ok for me and I'm still glad i chose it over some other boards. I'll keep ya posted

 

katt

[The Pro]

Some of the comments about the Casio action are leaning a bit towards negative when it should be the opposite... as long as your wrists are in good shape, you sit properly etc. then playing a firmer action can be very good in terms of expression and technique development. I hate wimpy action. My Casio CDP-100's action is on par with my Kawai ES4 and my Yamaha CP300, which are $1500 and $2000 pianos respectively... no small feat.

 

After you develop confidence with a heavier action on a digital piano you can breeze through playing an acoustic piano.

[nitekattz2007]

The keyboard action on the Casio 200 is one of the high points for me buying the board. Some people have reported it is a bit on the stiffer side, but for me I like an action with a "bite", because it helps develop strength in finger technique. It does lighten up a bit the more you play it and I would like to see some of the other companies follow Casio's keyboard action

 

katt

[TheFoosa]

ThePro,

 

Of the 3 boards you have mentioned, ignoring all monetary factors, which one do you say is the best piano keyboard? Priorities going in order of action, the way that the sound reacts to how you play, and then the sound itself. Which is the best playing experience (and how do the others match up)?

[zxcvbnm098]

Are you sure it has good Wurlie samples? Those artists you mentioned all played Rhodes pianos. I checked this out briefly, but didn't notice any Wurlitzers. That's a big plus to have them included for me.

 

Also, I assume this still uses a wall wart power supply?

[nitekattz2007]

 

Are you sure it has good Wurlie samples? Those artists you mentioned all played Rhodes pianos. I checked this out briefly, but didn't notice any Wurlitzers. That's a big plus to have them included for me. Also, I assume this still uses a wall wart power supply?

 

 

There is one particular Wurlitzer sample on the 200 that I have heard similar to many records from the 60's-70's. Again, our ears are different, but IMHO, I was very impressed with that sample and you may have to do some further tweaking to get the sound closer to what you are hearing. There has been some debate on whether Joe Zawinul used a Rhodes or Wurlitzer on the studio recording of Mercy Mercy, although live, he was seen playing a suitcase Rhodes. And yes, most of the early records made like Bitches Brew and Chick Corea, Herbie used a Rhodes. I think there was some Wurlitzer used in early Motown recordings also

 

The 200 does use a wall wart power supply, but so do quite a few other keyboards now, including some Kurzweils I've played and owned. I recommend taking in your own set of headphones and trying out a 200 and going through the sounds and see if the 200 delivers what you are looking for. Also, I have seen Wurly software advertised which is an option if you are exclusively looking to duplicate those type pianos. Some of the Kurzweils and other boards have good Wurly and Rhodes samples, even my ole Dx-7 had a nice one. Check it out and see what you think

 

For me though, the preference of the Casio over other digital pianos is the keyboard feel and action which I feel for the price is exceptional. And of course not all the sounds on the Casio are going to measure up to more higher end boards sampling like Rolands, Korgs, Kurzweils. Adding a set of VST or MIDI mods to the 200 can expand its capabilities as well.

 

katt:cool:

[The Pro]

 

ThePro, Of the 3 boards you have mentioned, ignoring all monetary factors, which one do you say is the best piano keyboard? Priorities going in order of action, the way that the sound reacts to how you play, and then the sound itself. Which is the best playing experience (and how do the others match up)?

 

 

That would take a lot of generalization about many factors. I don't use the sound of my current Casio CDP-100 at all... I use it as a controller on stage with a Yamaha 9000 Pro arranger with the PLG150 piano card installed. The sound and response is very good but it's the overal functionality of that rig that is most impressive. I use it at restaurant gigs and when I sit in with bands. I plan on replacing it with the Casio PX200 in the near future.

 

The CP300 has the best action and most satisfying sound and response of any of my digital pianos, but it's a beast so I use it as my studio/controller and primary practice piano. My Kawai ES4 has the best sound for it's weight and price class. It's very portable so it's the piano I take to solo piano gigs, private parties etc. The ES4 not only sounds and plays great but it's a nice looking instrument.

 

But in terms of sound I find all digital pianos to be less satisfying than my CP300 controlling my softsynth pianos - the Steinway samples in Colossus are the best pianos in my current arsenal and that's what goes on my recordings. For the price-is-no-object digital piano my solution would be simple: a Yamaha CP-300 and a Muse Receptor loaded with Colossus.

 

But this is a Casio PX200 thread, and I'm a fan of that piano too.

[Josef]

A little bit OT, but with such good overal reports on their machinery I wonder why Casio does not make any masterkeyboards. They will need to put a couple of controlers on their CP100 for example, put out the sound chip and there we go.

[nitekattz2007]

Man, the choices of gear we as keyboardists have under our fingers in the 21st century is almost overwhelming. The major companies, Yamaha, Kurzweil, Korg, Casio, Roland and a few others are all putting some varied and fine products out there for any purpose and need whether for live gigs and or studio work.

 

On jazz gigs, I can just go out with the PX200 by itself and get a nice realistic acoustic piano or Rhodes sample, depending on what its running through, house PA or mono with a keyboard amp. If I MIDI it up to my rack, then the PX 200 can be a decent controller.

 

I would imagine though the ultimate way to go would be get the most hot rodded Mac/PC laptop and an acoustic huge sampling software program like Ivory or similar and then go to town. The only issue live though is making sure the rig doesn't crash, which probably wouldn't happen if the laptop had enough RAM and 120GB fast 7200 HD.

 

Casio has really come a long way with their Privia series and I want to see them to keep improving the line, especially for live work. When I play a board on a gig, I want it as user friendly as possible and be able to save custom layers and splits. programs, etc. The Privias are getting there, especially with being way above average with the keyboard actions, 128 polyphony and the new sampling techniques they are trying out.

 

The one thing I hope Casio will do in future models is make the displays and buttons larger and easier to read, with a better visual contrast. Add an internal power supply if possible, get rid of those wall warts, pleezzze!! Ha,

 

katt