New Keyboard

After the band disaster last year and subsequent sell-off of everything keyboard related, we decided that it is again time to have a keyboard in the house. However, this time, we had much different requirements in a keyboard — 88 piano-weighted keys, excellent piano sound and easy use were paramount.

We (well, I, really) had decided to buy an M-Audio ProKeys 88, along with a decent set of external powered speakers, and headed out the door Saturday to do just that. However, I wanted to look one more time at one of the newer Casio Privia digital pianos. Donna liked the keyboard action of the Casios we had tried, but I wasn’t thrilled with some of the sounds. While the piano and electric pianos in the older models were quite good, the organs left more than a little to be desired.

The store we visited had the newer Privia PX-110 and the PX-310 on display, and while the organ in the PX-110 was far better than the older PX-100 model it replaced, the PX-310 went far beyond with several very good organs available easily from the front panel.

For our needs, the PX-310 delivers on all counts — and then some. The four basic piano sounds are clean and full, and range from mellow to bright without and adjustment required. In fact, all of the “front panel” tones are excellent and quite realistic. None of the “advanced tones” are weak, either. The only sounds that are less than excellent are some of the GM sounds. And, typical of GM sounds, there are some that are a bit cheesy.

The thing is very easy to use — turn it on, select a tone, and play. No need to monkey with external powered speakers or amps or what-have-you. Speaking of the internal sound system, it’s no slouch. While it would never do for an on-stage PA or monitor, it’s perfect in the living room or project studio. The sound quality is excellent, and it can get pretty darned loud, if you want it to.

There are several features of the keyboard I’ll never use. The silly little two-track recorder is one of them. Fortunately, there’s MIDI capability which will allow me to work with my favorite computer-based workstation and production software.

I do wish that the “half-pedalling” action could be accessed through the regular sustain pedal jack on the back of the keyboard, instead of being forced to use the expensive and hard-to-find SP-30 option — an option that I would need to modify to work in our setup. I also wish that there were more variations for the built-in patterns — more like the old Yamaha PSR740, which had 4 variations and 4 fills for each pattern. I’ve found that features like that make great musical scratch-pads. But, again, there’s software for that.

Speaking of using the PX-310 with a computer or other keyboard, the PX-310 has line inputs and outputs. The line inputs are great for playing or practicing with either a computer or CD player using the internal speakers for monitoring, and the line outs make recording a snap.

So, to make a long story short, we snapped up a PX-310 and I dug out my old keyboard stand and set it up in the dining room. We happily spent a fair amount of time on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon/evening playing music together. I’ve discovered that I still have some reading capability left, though it’s pretty weak, and that I can still work up basic arrangements. I’m very excited!