Casio Privia PX-130 88-Key Digital Stage Piano

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $699.95
Sale Price: $489.99
Today's Bonus: 30% Off

• 88 weighted, scaled hammer-action keys
• 128-note polyphony
• 16 tones (with layer and split)
• Reverb (4 types), Chorus (4 types), Brilliance (-3 to 0 to 3), Acoustic Resonance

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I studied piano for about 10 years when I was younger. 20 years later I decided to take it back up again and went looking for a digital piano that I could live with. I found the Casio PX-130. No, as anybody will tell you, it's not the same as a "real" piano. If you're buying a digital piano thinking you'll get a baby grand in an oblong box, you're kidding yourself. What you will get for your money with this piano, however, is a fantastic digital piano for the price, so let's talk about that.

1. The action of this piano is constantly surprising to me with how natural and responsive it feels. It does not feel like a "keyboard" instead, it has the feel of some of the less hammer-y Japanese pianos I've played or a Rhodes that is in good shape.

2. Touch response on this piano is good. It is not great but it is definitely "good." No digital instrument is going to be able to reproduce the level of dynamic response which even a cheap piano can make, so comparing it to real pianos is pointless. It has better touch response than the majority of digital pianos of similar price which I tried. It allows for selection of 3 levels of response sensitivity to adjust it to your liking. All three are a bit soft-handed compared to a real piano.

3. The main samples on this piano are excellent. Casio has really come a long way with the Privia line and the modern grand piano voice (the default) sounds brilliant across the full range of the instrument. The less reverb'ed classic piano also sounds good. The 3 electric piano voices (including a very nice 60's voice which sounds a lot like a Rhodes to me) are also quite pleasing. The other voices are included almost as afterthoughts and sound like it. The organs aren't bad, but they aren't stellar either (particularly compared to what you can get out of a dedicated organ module or unit like an XB-series). The strings and whatnot are similarly ok but nothing special. The two bass voices are a step above the other secondary instruments, and really sound like a properly sampled double bass, although the addition of the cheesy high-hat cymbal to the second one limits its utility.

4. The speakers on the piano are generally quite good. I think they tend to get a bit muddy on the bass side of the register (as you can readily tell by listening to the piano with a good set of monitor headphones) but they do a good job projecting and filling a room.

5. The USB connectivity of the piano is quite handy as well. It would be nice to have MIDI DIN ports or mini-DIN, but this piano isn't targeted at the music professional so much as the student or amateur. Regardless the USB works fine with Windows or Mac OSX--so if you want a piano to record in Garage Band, consider this one. I've also used it to control a Vox Continental emulator (Bristol) in Linux. ALSA had no problem recognizing the USB MIDI from the piano, and it was easy to connect up the requisite parts with Jack. It is a bit of a hassle having to connect to a computer rather than being able to plug into another device's MIDI-In, but as the target audience of this probably doesn't have another MIDI device and probably _does_ have a computer it makes sense. The piano's USB mode allows easy access to the piano's memory so you can transfer over MIDI data into the song memory.

6. The last item on my list of things to discuss is accessories. I have both the CS-67 stand and the matching pedal board and I heartily recommend both items. The sustain pedal that comes with the piano is an on-off switch type. The pedal board accessory gives you a real, analog sustain pedal in addition to the soft and sostenuto pedals. This allows for half-pedaling and other similar tricks which strongly differentiate a switch from a real pedal.

Overall I think this piano offers an excellent set of features for the money. If you're looking for an instrument to learn on or a piano that will fit in your apartment (or fit in your budget) this is a good choice. If you're not going to be satisfied with the limitations of a digital instrument, you won't be happy with this product (or with any other digital piano).

Buy Casio Privia PX-130 88-Key Digital Stage Piano Now

My first keyboard was a Casio. My brother bought it for me when I was 12. It was little more than a 24 note toy, but it was mine and I was proud to own it. As I grew into my music and more serious about performing, I became jaded and picky about my instruments. Casio had a well earned reputation for being cheap, low end starter boards. The most expensive keyboard I ever owned was a Yamaha DX7 FD. Until now, I never owned a full sized, 88 note keyboard, let alone, a keyboard with realistic action.

Enter the Casio PX-130.

Exit all my preconceptions about Casio.

Look and Feel: I love the classic, uncluttered look of the instrument. It has minimal buttons and lights. There is no screen. It first and foremost wants to be a piano. It succeeds. It will look right at home in a studio, a church, or a living room. As for feel, when playing, I have to remind myself that it is not an acoustic. My fingers are convinced that these keys are attached to a big, wooden cabinet in the form of a traditional piano. I did not get a chance to see one of these in a store before buying. I was worried the keys would feel cheap. Needless to say, my expectations were blown away from the first touch. You will not be disappointed.

Sound: If you know what a piano sounds like, you know what this sounds like. I won't pretend to know how all the high end electronic pianos sound, but they can't possibly be head and shoulders above this one. Just as my fingers are easily convinced they are playing an acoustic piano, my ears are equally convinced. If you are thinking about buying an acoustic piano for your home, do it only for the value of a classic piece of furniture, not for the sound. This casio sounds so much better than 90% of the pianos I've played in the homes of people I have visited. The speakers are more than sufficient for most common uses. High notes sound like they originate from the right of center while the opposite is true for low notes, just like you would expect from an acoustic piano. Such full and realistic sound from such a compact package is shocking. You will not be disappointed.

Features: This keyboard has several other sounds besides the traditional piano. To my ear, they are all quite good. Not everyone will find use for all of the sounds, but all of the sounds will be useful to many people. I will not take the time here to describe each sound. There are YouTube videos that do a good job of that. IMO, this keyboard would be well worth it just for the piano sound; the others make for a great bonus. You can split the keyboard to play two different sounds, or you can combine two different sounds to make one composite sound. There is a library of songs built into the memory that are readily accessible. You can even transfer files from your computer to be played on the keyboard. Speaking of computers, this is a great companion for a midi enabled computer, Mac or PC. I use a Mac. After connecting a USB cable, I was instantly able to use the keyboard to trigger the midi in all three of my music creation programs: GarageBand, Logic Studio, and Band in a Box. I experienced no detectable latency in any of the programs. It just worked. You can even record your performances directly in the piano's memory and send them to your computer for editing and use with other programs. There are many useful features. You will not be disappointed.

Value: It is worth every penny of the asking price. Even so, you can find even better deals if you are willing to do a bit of searching. Yes, this is a Casio. No, this is not even the top model in the Privia line. Do not let the low price or the name brand trick you into passing this one up. From now on, I will look at Casio before looking at Yamaha or Roland. Yes, I feel just as silly writing such a thing as you do reading it. But there it is. I have got to believe that the Casio PX-130 is the best keyboard value going right now.

Cons: By no measure can this be considered a toy. Having said that, it is still made out of plastic. Nor is it that good polycarbonate stuff Apple uses for the white MacBook line. It is not industrial grade anything. It is just plain old cheap plastic. I suggest you buy a good case if you are going to travel with it. Also, be prepared for a small learning curve. Because there are so few buttons, most of the functions can only be accessed through the use of a function key paired with one or more of the 88 playable keys. That is a slightly annoying, but acceptable trade-off for having an uncluttered look. Finally, I wish there was more than one USB port. Once you have such a useful device, you will think of many ways to use another USB port or two. That is more of a wish list item than a complaint.

Conclusion: Despite the minor gripes, I gladly gave it five stars. In fact, I plan to buy another one specifically for travel. I do not write many reviews, but I felt it was important to do my part in getting the word out about this product. Casio should be rewarded for what they have done. They have successfully reinvented themselves and we are the beneficiaries. You will not be disappointed.

Read Best Reviews of Casio Privia PX-130 88-Key Digital Stage Piano Here

There are several excellent reviews already, so I'll try to make this short, and will focus on the specific reasons I bought this keyboard.

First, let me say that I've been playing piano for 32 years. 14 of those years I played professionally (as in, I got paid to play; nothing too fancy, but I'm just trying to establish some credibility as a musician). I've played several hundred different pianos and keyboards over the years. I own, in fact, an Alesis QS8 keyboard, which was a phenomenal keyboard when it came out 12-13 years ago, and is still in use and highly sought after today. However, the thing must be made of bricks. And the hard shell case needed to protect it weighs a ton too. And, the amp that you have to take with you everywhere you go wasn't too light either. I found myself missing opportunities to play at times because I just didn't want to lug everything around.

So, I started looking for a lighter keyboard, and I came across the PX-130. I liked how it sounded online, but was afraid I wouldn't like it in person--either because of the actual sound, or because of the feel. Like I said, I've played piano for 32 years, and if the thing didn't sound and feel right, I wasn't going to get it. So I went to a local store and played with one for an hour or so.

It's absolutely amazing. The feel is wonderful, the sound is beautiful, and the touch feels just right to me. It's not like playing a Yamaha C5, but it's as good as, and in fact better than, any other keyboard I've ever played. I've played many real pianos with less enjoyable actions.

As for the speaker volume, it's easily loud enough to be used in a small group setting with other instruments, or as a solo instrument in a decent sized room without any other amplification. Of course, you can always plug it into a sound system or use a keyboard amp to get more volume, but for most of my purposes, it's good as is. Which means I can now "lug" around 26 lbs, instead of well over a hundred.

So, if you want a simple, light, 88-key keyboard that sounds and feels like a good quality piano, don't hesitate to purchase the Casio PX-130. I can't imagine you'll be disappointed.

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This is a nice, small, attractive alternative to buying a real piano. The sound is lovely and rich from the built-in speakers and using headphones. The key feel is great, heavy, and much like a real piano.

There are a couple issues though, which bother me but might not bother someone else. First, the keys have a little bit of squeaking noise to them, which is barely noticeable but noticeable enough to be distracting. Second, the external speakers pick up a local radio station -probably due to insufficient RFI shielding on the built-in speakers or speaker wires -which is distracting, but only an issue when not using headphones and probably only an issue for others if you live in the middle of a city near a radio broadcast tower like we do.

In all, we're satisfied, but not thrilled. In this price range, it is a great piece of equipment and a strong alternative to a bulky, real piano. But we're disappointed by some of the manufacturing short cuts Casio appeared to take with this unit that are causing distracting noise for us, particularly the muted voices coming through the internal speakers from radio interference, and can't help but think that those problems wouldn't occur with a real piano.

Instead of writing an long written review like everyone else has already done, I thought a video demonstration would be more informative and also fun! Piece: Bach Invention No. 1

+best sound quality in its price range, multiple dynamic levels

+realistic piano touch

-slightly gummy action that may inhibit performance of quickly repeated notes (not a problem for 99.9 of piano music)

-not the best midi connection