There are musicians who wish for an instrument that reproduces the beautiful sound of an acoustic piano, but which will cost less and take up less space than an acoustic piano. If that's you, consider buying a digital piano. Digital pianos are keyboards which simulate playing an acoustic piano. One noteworthy digital piano that musicians should take a close look at is the Casio Privia PX-350.
What Is the Casio Privia PX-350 Digital Piano?
The Casio Privia PX-350 digital piano comes from the notable Privia line of digital pianos from the Casio company. It has features that enable it to serve as both a digital piano and a digital keyboard.
Product Specs
Weight and Measurements
The Casio Privia PX-350 weighs approximately twenty-five pounds. This is a convenient weight, especially when considering how many high-quality digital pianos weigh between forty and sixty pounds or even more. The Casio Privia PX-350 is approximately eleven inches wide and fifty-two inches long. These measurements make fitting this piano into homes, studios, or stage settings convenient.
Keys, Tones, and Maximum Polyphony
The Casio Privia PX-350 has eighty-eight keys, each of which has three sensors and is textured with ebony and ivory. The PX-350 has three different levels of touch sensitivity for its keys. The PX-350 features a scaled hammer action keybed as well as two hundred fifty built-in tones and one hundred eighty built-in rhythms. The scaled hammer action system of the keys adds weight to the bass and takes weight away from the treble. This effect makes playing the PX-350 feel more like playing an acoustic piano.
The tones are divided into categories called "song banks" that can be accessed from the control interface. The tones in the song banks include those of a grand piano. The tones are assisted by the Acoustic and Intelligent Resonator, or "AiR" for short, which is a tone generation system that pairs the correct piano sample with the music pattern of the player's fingers. In addition, the Damper Resonance simulator, which cooperates with the AiR system to affect the tones, mimics the effect of a damper pedal on the eighty-eight piano strings.
The Casio Privia PX-350 also includes one hundred twenty-eight notes of maximum polyphony that add to the volume ability of the piano. All the features of the keys and the tones make the PX-350 useful both as a digital piano and as a digital keyboard.
USB Connection, LINE IN, LINE OUT, and Warranty
The Casio Privia PX-350 features a USB connection that can connect to computers and tablets and that also allows for MIDI connections to MIDI devices. The PX-350 also includes both a LINE IN and a LINE OUT, as well as two headphone jacks, each a quarter inch in size. These headphone jacks can work for duets and private sessions between teachers and students. The warranty for the digital piano lasts for a year from the day of purchase.
Pricing
The Casio Privia PX-350 can be bought at Amazon.com for around $600. An accident protection plan that lasts for three years can be bought for around $9 while an accident protection plan that lasts for four years can be bought for around $100.
How It Compares
We picked a few similar products available on the market to see how they compare.
Casio Privia PX-350 Digital Piano
- 88 keys with 3 sensors per key
- Scaled Hammer Action
- Tri-sensor Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard II
Eease of Use
The PX-350 enables its user to use different tones and volumes of sound easily and intuitively. The light weight makes setting it up and moving it around a breeze.
Sound & Connectivity
The USB connection enables the piano to connect to computers, tablets, and MIDI devices.
Design Quality
The piano is designed to mimic the feel of an acoustic piano and to be convenient to the user.
Warranty
The warranty lasts for one year. An accident protection plan for three years can be added for around $9.
Pros
Cons
Yamaha P-45
- Includes the P45 Digital Piano, power adapter, sustain pedal and music rest
- 88 fully weighted piano style keys simulate the feel of an acoustic piano and provide a quality playing experience
- GHS weighted action is heavier in the low end and lighter in the high end, just like an acoustic piano
The Yamaha P-45, like the PX-350, features eighty-eight keys. It also features ten different voices that include samples from Yamaha acoustic pianos. The P-45 can play the samples with different levels of timbre and volume using AWM (Advanced Wave Memory). The P-45 includes a Dual Mode that allows two different voices to be played together. The P-45 features a Graded Hammer Standard system that simulates an acoustic piano, with more weight for the low end of the keyboard and less weight for the high end of the keyboard.
A power adapter, sustain pedal, and music rest are also included with the P-45. The P-45 enables a musician to change settings with one button. For example, the "GRAND PIANO/FUNCTION" button can be used to change voices, change the metronome's settings, and change other things as well. The P-45 is less than twelve inches in depth and weighs twenty-five pounds. This makes it convenient to use by a musician.
At about $450, this digital piano is significantly cheaper than the PX-350. However, it has lower quality in some areas than the PX-350.
Eease of Use
A musician can change settings with one button, adding to the convenience of this piano.
Sound & Connectivity
This digital piano has ten voices. There is no indication that it allows for connection with outside devices such as computers.
Design Quality
This piano is easy to use. However, it does not seem to allow for connection to outside devices like the PX-350 does.
Warranty
The warranty lasts for one year. An accident protection plan for three years can be added for about $11.
Pros
Cons
Roland FP-30
- Rich, responsive tone from Roland’s renowned Supernatural Piano sound engine
- 88-note PHA-4 Standard keyboard provides authentic piano touch for maximum expression
- Powerful amplifier and stereo speakers deliver impressive sound
The Roland FP-30 features eighty-eight completely weighted keys that have five different levels of touch sensitivity. Its presets include thirty tones and thirty internal songs. The tones come from the Roland company's "SuperNATURAL Piano" sound engine. The FP-30 includes Bluetooth wireless connectivity that enables it to be used on the smartphone and tablet. The FP-30 features a damper pedal and includes the effects of ambience, brilliance, and resonance. It includes an amplifier and speakers along with a headphone output that allows for quiet keyboard playing that will not disturb other people.
The FP-30 has a built-in metronome. Its modes include Dual, Split, and Twin Piano Mode. With Twin Piano Mode, two piano players can play in the same octave range at the same time. The FP-30 includes USB support that enables a piano player to play along with SMF and WAV songs and to save songs that have been recorded by the FP-30's SMF recorder. The FP-30 has eight types of rhythms and, like the PX-350, has one hundred twenty-eight notes of maximum polyphony. The FP-30 has about the same length and width as the PX-350.
At around $700, This digital piano is approximately $100 more expensive than the PX-350.
Eease of Use
The dimensions of the FP-30 make it fairly easy to fit into different locations. However, the FP-30 does weigh more than the PX-350.
Sound & Connectivity
This digital piano has a wide range of sounds, Bluetooth wireless connectivity, and USB support.
Design Quality
The FP-30 is designed to not take up a lot of space and to recreate the feel of an acoustic piano.
Warranty
You get a one-year standard warranty no matter what. Register your product within 60 days and the warranty will be extended to 3 years.
Pros
Cons
Kawai ES110
The Kawai ES110 features Harmonic Imaging sound technology. It includes eighty-eight grade weighted hammer action keys, a damper pedal, and nineteen voices. Its effects includes reverberations that can be in the modes of "Room", "Small Hall", and "Concert Hall". It includes Bluetooth wireless connectivity and compatibility with MIDI devices. It includes two headphone jacks and an audio output for connecting to outside speakers or recorders.
It features a song recorder that can record up to fifteen thousand notes and a built-in "Lessons" mode for student piano players. It features one hundred ninety-two notes of maximum polyphony, one hundred drum rhythms, and twelve demo songs. Its keyboard modes include "Dual" and "Split" modes. Its warranty covers labor and parts for three years. A three-year accident protection plan can be bought for around $12. The ES110 is powered by a power cable and an AC adapter. It weighs approximately twenty-seven pounds, and its approximate length and width are fifty-two inches and six inches.
At $730, the Kawai ES110 is more expensive than both the PX-350 and the FP-30.
Eease of Use
It takes up about as much space as the PX-350 does, but it weighs slightly more than the PX-350.
Sound & Connectivity
It features nineteen voices, reverberations that can be in three different modes, Bluetooth wireless connectivity, and MIDI device compatibility.
Design Quality
This digital piano has several sound features that enable it to serve the various needs of its user. It is designed in a way that makes it convenient to use.
Warranty
The warranty for the labor and parts lasts for three years. The accident protection plans for this digital piano are the most expensive ones on this list.
Pros
Cons
Conclusion
When comparing the Casio Privia PX-350 digital piano to similar products, what do we find? The PX-350 has one hundred twenty-eight notes of maximum polyphony. Because of this feature, it outdoes the Yamaha P-45, which has sixty-four notes of maximum polyphony. However, it is outmatched in this regard by the Kawai ES110, which has one hundred ninety-two notes of maximum polyphony. Thus, it is in the middle when it comes to the range of maximum polyphony.
The PX-350 features a USB connection that enables it to be connected to computers, tablets, and MIDI devices. Both the FP-30 and ES110 are able to connect to external devices as well. However, there seems to be no indication that the P-45 can connect to external devices. Therefore, the PX-350 is superior to the P-45 in this respect.
One advantage that the PX-350 has over both the ES110 and the P-45 is that its accident protection plans are cheaper. It has fewer levels of touch sensitivity for the keys than the FP-30, but it has far more built-in notes. An advantage that the PX-350 has over the ES110 and the FP-30 is that it weighs less than either of those digital pianos, making it more convenient to relocate.
What is our conclusion? The Casio Privia PX-350 has a wide range of tones and of maximum polyphony. It is cheaper than both the Kawai ES110 and the Roland FP-30, and it is fairly convenient to relocate if necessary. As a result, out of a rating of five stars, we give the Casio Privia PX-350 four stars. For more information on this digital piano, go to digitalpianoexpert.org.
Last update on 2022-11-07 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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