34 pickup
CASIO PX-330 PRIVIA BKREVIEWED:
CASIO
PX-330 Privia BK
SRP �649.00
All prices incl VAT
CONTACT:
Casio Electronics
T: 0208 450 9131
W: www.casio.co.uk
WHAT IS IT?
A versatile digital piano featuring
upgraded grand piano samples
and an 88 note hammer action
keyboard
WHY SHOULD
I WANT ONE?
Great sounds, excellent portability
and a competitive price make
this new Casio piano a pretty
impressive contender that is
equally at home onstage as it is in
your music room.
Keyboard specialists Casio unveil an excellent
full-size portable digital piano that fits neatly in
the living room...
Words: Tim Slater
the living room...
Readers of a certain age will
doubtless still shudder in horror
whenever the phrase `home
keyboard' crops up in conversation
because it still conjures up unpleasant
memories of being tormented by a
flimsy, cheesy-sounding instrument
with limited tones and a horrible
tinny built-in drum machine.
Fortunately things are very
different nowadays and the once
very clear gulf between domestic and
professional keyboards has closed so
that the musical torture instruments
from days gone by are rendered as
obsolete as thumb screws and the
rack. This will come as a welcome
relief to everyone forced to endure
Sunday mornings with their fingers
in their ears trying to block out the
neighbours rousing rendition of Roll
out the Barrel blasting through their
living room wall! Home keyboards
like the new Casio PX-330 digital
piano are virtually self-contained
recording studios in their own
right and provide a very carefully
designed balance between enough
digital whistles and bells to keep
accomplished keyboard fans happy
alongside the vital accessibility and
feel of a traditional piano.
Casio is a legend in the world
of keyboards and its new PX-300
digital piano is an 88 note model
offering a maximum 128 note
polyphony, plus 250 built-in tones
including a new sampled stereo
grand piano. The understated black
livery adds a professional looking
feel that helps the keyboard blend in
smoothly with your home or studio
decor while it also looks solid and
professional enough to take out for
live performances.
The understated looks contain a
wealth of superb sounds, with the
revised grand piano samples taking
the front seat. Besides sounding
incredibly realistic the grand piano
sounds convey the sensation that
you are playing a real acoustic piano,
an impression made all the more
convincing by the weighted keys
action, which feels spot on without
feeling overly heavy or ponderous.
Indeed the keys progressive feel
simulates that of a real grand as the
heavier playing lower notes gradually
give way to the higher notes lighter
action. This level of attention to detail
is all part and parcel of how the PX-
330 quickly grows on the player; the
similarity in feel to a `real' acoustic
piano is a really nice tactile sensation
that encourages playing and the
keys' tri-sensor touch sensitivity adds
to the sense of realism by allowing a
certain amount of dynamics, too.
The sense of realism is further
enhanced by the PX-330's artificial
acoustic resonance, which recreates
the feel of the piano strings
resonating inside the chassis when
the hammers strike the strings and
a damper pedal is included which
also controls the artificial acoustic
resonance in exactly the same way
as the damper pedal on a genuine
acoustic piano.
The piano samples are obviously
a big part of the PX-330's armoury
of sounds and features but besides
the grand piano sounds the PX-330
also features a wealth of alternative
keyboard sounds. Organs and electric
pianos sit alongside some pretty
convincing interpretations of non-
keyboard sounds including strings,
bass and guitar. The package also
includes 180 rhythm tracks that are
divided by genre and accessed via
four buttons while the keyboard's
Rhythm Editor function stores up
to 10 custom rhythm patterns. The
multi-track recorder is a piece of
cake to use and can record up to
five separate songs with a maximum
of 17 separate layers of backing
per song � which can be backed
up and swapped for more tracks
using the SD memory card facility,
which can also record complete
performances for playback later.
From a performer's perspective the
PX-330 is able to cope with a huge
repertoire of songs and the USB
port allows the owner to store a
complete database on computer.
Although the days when every
household owned a piano are sadly
long gone, the PX-330 is still a great
way to enjoy the accessibility and joy
of having a piano and/or keyboard
to tinker about on when the mood
strikes. It is compact, attractive
looking and has a wealth of great
sounds and features that casual and
more accomplished players alike can
enjoy. PM

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