Since the mid 2000′s I’ve been playing piano on an irregular basis. I’m a guitarist at heart, but as many musicians will tell you, once you master one it’s not hard to learn another. Since I began teaching myself I’ve been using a Valdesta GX5 Digital Piano, which I ordered from Music123. Besides having to ship the original one back (when it arrived there were 2 keys that didn’t work and 4 that were mashed down a few millimeters below the rest) I’ve been relatively happy with the piano. It had weighted keys, had MIDI out ports and made noise. But since I was looking to upgrade to a more portable unit with better sound sampling I sold it and ordered a Casio Privia PX130 from Guitar Center.
So far I could not be happier with the purchase. Guitar Center was running a Father’s Day deal for $100 off any order over $499. My original plan was to buy one of these, a Casio CDP-100, but since the PX130 was the same price due to the sale, I figured I’d go up one model (the fact that it has Reverb and Chorus really sold me on it). And since this is more of a “portable” unit (the whole piano is less than 25 pounds) I also invested in a stand, a bench (to replace my Dad’s old opticians stool), and a more piano type sustain pedal.
The stand, by On-Stage Stands, is alright. It was a little confusing to put together and isn’t the sturdiest thing on the planet, but for my needs it should work out well. I just need to refrain from pounding on the keys like I did with my old unit (which was more of a piece of solid furniture than anything). Maybe this will help me become more of a refined player (haha).
The bench is by Musician’s Gear and there isn’t much to say about it. It is a bench that has height adjustments. It was $30 and does the job. It’s padded.
The pedal, by M-Audio (SP-2) works very well. I had originally intended to get something without a logo on it, but this one isn’t too obtrusive. I’d rather it be plain but this one reviewed well for its compatibility with my particular Casio unit. And maybe I’ll be able to remove the logo from it somehow. It certainly beats the sewing machine type pedal that came with the unit.
All in all I’m very happy with my service at Guitar Center (not to mention their stores are very cool) and with the quality of the piano. The sound is much better and the keys feel more like those of a nice baby-grand. I think a lot of people dismiss Casio as a toy-brand since they are well known for making the 61 key keyboards. While this isn’t a $1,200 digital unit it certainly beats out the Yamahas and Korgs in the same price range. So far, I’d give it 5 stars. Now I just need to get rid of the wood-paneling.
