When you think of digital pianos, you probably think about the Casio brand among a few others.
Casio manufactures huge amounts of digital piano products and you can choose between basic pianos which are lightweight and portable or models like the Casio Privia.
If you want a digital piano which emulates the feel of an acoustic model then our Casio Privia px-870 review is a wonderful choice and is available either in a bundle or on its own.
If you are looking for a classy looking product without having to worry about tuning, and are keen to have modern features such as multiple sounds and the ability to easily plug your piano into other devices and amplification systems then this product might fit the bill.
Do the features justify the hype?
Construction and Dimensions
This is a heavy digital piano. If you want something that is easy to carry around then look elsewhere. The PX-870 is compact and if you don’t have a lot of space in your home for it then it might well fit. It is very shallow at under 12 inches long, so won’t protrude too far from a wall if this is where you plan to keep it. Be aware that once this is in place in your music room or elsewhere in your home, you won’t want to take it to gigs or practice sections as it weighs almost 80 lbs.
The Casio PX-870 wasn’t designed to be a portable piano, and the looks and features it has make up for the fact it isn’t easy to carry around.
Setting it up isn’t too difficult. The px-870 comes almost like flatpack furniture and some assembly is needed, but not so much that you need to know how to do DIY! You might want to get the help of a friend due to the heavy nature of the piano.
PX-870 vs PX-860
If you have some knowledge of the Casio range you might know that there is a PX-860 as well as the 870 model reviewed in this post. To look at the two, you might not see too much of a difference. So, what are the changes? Should you buy the upgraded 870 model or stick to the 860?
The speaker is one alteration, the PX-870 has a four-speaker setup which is part of their new and improved sound projection design.
Sounds
The Casio Privia PX-870 sounds are one of the most vital aspects of its design. It has 19 different instrument tones with 256 note polyphony, so even when you are playing fast and complex melodies the tone is still natural and true to how an acoustic model would sound.
The 19 different sounds can also be layered and split across the keyboard if you need to. This means you can be playing a string style melody with your left hand and piano with your right.
A lid simulator and a realistic dampening resonance sound very rich. Lid simulation also emulates four different ‘lid’ positions as sampled from a piano which is open to different degrees. You have so many options for the sound when all of this is taken into account.
Feel and Playability
Your piano needs to feel natural and pleasant to play. If you’ve ever played a digital piano with a cheap, plastic feel you will know that it isn’t pleasant. Digital pianos should emulate the feel of acoustic keys and give a similar feel on your fingers. You want to be able to switch from acoustic to digital whenever you wish and not to have to adjust style.
So how does this piano feel to play?
The PX-870 has a great natural feeling to it. The hammer action provides a realistic sound based on the pressure applied to a key, just like an acoustic piano. Three different sensors trigger different sampled sounds. When you hot a key, you can give the subtlety of a gentle press or the power of harder playing. This adds more dynamics to your playing and a professional feel to the piano.
The keys feel like you could be playing an antique piano. Ebony and ivory style synthetic materials give a lovely feel on your fingers without any of the issues caused by actual ebony and ivory.
Three inbuilt pedals also feel like older piano features and are easy to use. Though you can tell by the size that this piano is a newer digital model, it feels like you could be playing an old upright piano.
Other Tech Features
You should be looking to get as many top features you can from a modern digital piano. Computing power has grown and options of high-tech features to help you to learn and play are a selling point for digital piano manufacturers.
The PX-870 does not disappoint.
It has an incredible 60 full songs in the library to play along with and to assist you in the learning process. With “Concert Play” mode you can play along with a further 10 orchestral compositions. You can even silence the piano parts of these with the idea of playing it yourself. Recordings can be slowed down to suit your playing ability.
Recording is a big part of modern digital pianos and keyboards. You can record what you are playing on the MIDI recorder and listen back to what you have played to analyse your performances.
The best part?
This is compatible with pretty much every device you can imagine. The PX-870 has the ability to be plugged into a mac or windows computer, Android devices and tablets. You can use it as a MIDI controller on pretty much any music app.
Line out and USB out functions allow you to easily plug into amps and other speakers. The 40-watt speaker system is great for playing at home so you probably won’t need to do this. You can also use headphones, the Px-870 has a specific headphone mode to optimize the clarity for private playing.
Accessories
This isn’t just a digital piano, it is sold as a bundle which includes the sturdy stand. It also includes many other accessories.
So what’s included?
In the box for this bundle, you will receive a piano bench, instruction book and DVD to help you learn to play, online lesson access and a polishing cloth. You can purchase a larger bundle which includes headphones.
Also see: Casio PX-860 Review
Conclusion
The Casio PX-870 is not the absolute cheapest model on the market. It also is not very portable so if you need something for concert play you might need something else.
For a permanent fixture in your home which looks great then the Casio PX-870 is definitely worth considering. The modern features combine with the classical feel and acoustic modelling so you have the best of both worlds.
