Casio PRIVIA PX310

...Now I have owned two Casio keyboards in my time and whilst they are full of features, the sound sets and quality was never as high as that of Yamaha. This put me off the particular brand at first, but I was soon won over by the many positive reviews on the particular model that caught my eye; the PX 310.

The things that won me over included 88 fully weighted graded hammer action full sized keys, rhythms and accompaniments, over 200 ...
...few styles taken from earlier Casio models with updated sounds. There is certainly plenty to choose from and you can have them in Casio single fingered chord, fingered chord or full range chord modes.

The operation of this model has been sacrificed to make way for the minimalistic look to the piano. There is only a small screen displaying only the sound number and any other tones apart from the main ones require a combination of buttons ... more

I have been playing the keyboard for years, since I was five. However most of the keyboards I owned were toy like. They might have had lots of features but they all felt plasticy and felt really bad to play compared to a piano. The keys were expressionless and the sound, although it has improved in many keyboard models over the years, has never been close to the real thing. In total I must have owned ten keyboards but they have mostly been aimed at the lower end of the market. Now I thought it was time I upgraded again, but to get the 88 key fully weighted digital piano I dreamed of I was expecting to pay £1000. I was wrong.

I came across a new set of digital pianos made by the notorious toy piano company, Casio. Now I have owned two Casio keyboards in my time and whilst they are full of features, the sound sets and quality was never as high as that of Yamaha. This put me off the particular brand at first, but I was soon won over by the many positive reviews on the particular model that caught my eye; the PX 310.

The things that won me over included 88 fully weighted graded hammer action full sized keys, rhythms and accompaniments, over 200 sounds including 40 advanced sampled sounds and a full general MIDI sound set, all of which I was not expecting on a board costing under £500. There is also room for a soft pedal as well as a sustain, obviously a MIDI port, two headphone sockets for duets and built in speakers.

So does it live up to the hype? Well there are two main flaws in this model. One is polyphony which to the average player isn't noticable but I have noticed it when playing back complex MIDI files. It is only 32 note when some go up to 128 nowadays, But for me personally it isn't an issue and if it was when playing piano, I could always just use a VST piano module. Another flaw is the built in speakers which really don't do the sound any justice. You need the thing amped up or with earphones to here it properly.

On to the sounds. There are sounds along the panel that have a button assigned to them, as well as variations of each. These range from piano to synths. It's simple to use as you just press the button of the sound you want. The first sound is a rich piano sound which can have the brightness adjusted, but it is clear and full. Not as good as my VST piano module but very playable. You can hear a bit of sympathetic resonance and hammer in there on the high notes. The other sounds are just as playable but of course there are some duds. The first forty tones are the best, especially the flutes and saxes. The rest are just slightly above average MIDI tones, but they sound fine when they play back my kar files when going through an external amp and speaker set. The rhythms are fine too for what they are needed for, with a few styles taken from earlier Casio models with updated sounds. There is certainly plenty to choose from and you can have them in Casio single fingered chord, fingered chord or full range chord modes.

The operation of this model has been sacrificed to make way for the minimalistic look to the piano. There is only a small screen displaying only the sound number and any other tones apart from the main ones require a combination of buttons to access. For example, you need to hold down the function key and press keys on the actual keyboard which double as number keys to change sounds and there is no list unlike other keyboards as you either have to remember the sounds or refer to the manual. This can get complicated but you do get used to it with regular use.

Another problem I noticed was the lower G key sticks up slightly above the others, but this is cosmetic only and doesn't effect the playability of the key. As for the keys, the feel really solid and piano like and the weight adds to the expression you can give your playing. They feel really good as if they are from a higher range model.

Overall this is a great keyboard for the money. It's light weight enough to transport, has lots of features and what it lacks in accessibility it makes up in sound and play quality. Apart from having a lack of pitch bend and after touch also, I can safely say I will be sticking to this board for the next five years. 

...less