Casio PX 160 -- owners' evaluations ?

[huaidongxi]

hello all, started looking at portable keyboards for practicing on holidays.  has anyone used the Casio PX 160 ?  so far, it appears to be the only digital that weighs less than 60 lbs., new retail cost < $600,  that also has preset options for different temperaments, including Pythagorean, kirnberger 3, werkmeister, and several adapted from Arab and Indian scales.

if anyone knows of an alternative make and model that offers optional temperaments and isn't too heavy to be easily portable nor too expensive, would welcome a recommendation as well.

thank you all for your thoughtful responses.  peace.

[hfmadopter]

I've never played the 160 so take that info as it is. I've never liked Casio action.  I've played several other models and the action has always been the weak link to me. Then I hear other complaints around here about over all build quality lacking as well. So I don't even look anymore. There are other pianos in the same price range.

I've also come to not care about a digital with either on board sound system or on board instruments or on board sound at all, to include piano. I generate my piano sounds in Pianoteq and instruments in Mixcraft 7, which exports to studio monitors. THere isn't much need for me to be paying for sound generation within the piano then.  So my next digital is probably going to be a controller like the Kawai VPC1. I own a real grand piano and so my standards for a digital I found not to be met by any Casio I tried, along with many other digital pianos. But Pianoteq levels that playing field out quite a bit. My digital piano presently is a Kawai stage piano, I would call it's action acceptable and certainly reliable and repeatable..

[huaidongxi]

hfmadopter, dankon.  was not going to buy the casio in a rush, and will probably know in six or seven minutes whether the touch and response is acceptable for me.  the portable will become our third keyboard, mostly for practicing on road trips. at this point in my studies even practicing 30-40 min. a day (managed closer to an hour on the average on a recent holiday) away from home makes a big difference relative to going stale. the real instrument we have is a 1919 vintage full size grand, plus an older model roland digital set up next to the computer with full size video monitor, to take tutorials from all the on line sources. 

after further research found out that the kawai ES 100 keyboard, a few hundred bucks more than the casio, has optional temperaments as well, including the kirnberger and werkmeister, but not the Indian derived ones.  so it's next in line on the shopping circuit.  best regards.

[andrew79]

huaidongxi, there is actually a newer version, the Kawai ES110, which would be a better option to consider.

Another compact piano that allows you to change temperament is the Casio CGP-700.
It's a bit more expensive than the PX-160 but is a much more advanced keyboard with 6-speaker sound system, removable stand and 5.3" color display.
It also has 16 temperaments to choose from (for classical, Indian and Arabian music).

[huaidongxi]

andrew79, thank you.  the CGP 700 is nearly sixty pounds and would not be portable for my purposes. after trying out different configurations and types, the casio actions have been about the least satisfying.  if kawai put out a variation of the ES110 that was one or one and a half octaves shorter, it would be pretty close to ideal for me.  traveling by air is a complicating factor because of the size and weight of a proper case and it's easy to get by with fewer than 88 keys for practicing, Bach in particular.

[andrew79]

Well, yeah in your case, 88 keys is probably bulky to travel with.

Interesting, have you tried Casio's tri sensor keyboard action II? I'm not saying it's the best, but for its price it felt like a very nice action and definitely more realistic than Yamaha's GHS action.

The CGP-700 is 60 pounds when attached to the stand. You can use the keyboard without its stand and in this case the CGP-700's  size and weight is almost identical to the PX-160.

Width: 52"; Depth: 11.5"; Weight: about 26 pounds.

Hope you find what you're looking for 

[Derek]

I'm considering getting this digital piano once I've moved to my new place and have room for a third instrument once again. I miss recording midi improvs. I liked the casio feel when I tried them before, I think it felt more realistic than even recent Roland pianos.

[pinkpiano1]

For the price point, it's a good keyboard. Keys aren't super weighted, but not too bad. It only has three sounds that come with it, but I'm satisfied because I only was looking for the concert piano sound (which is precise and clear). As far as looks, it's a really attractive keyboard.  Here's a good full review of it that I read before I purchased:

https://www.ragamuffinmusic.com/best-digital-piano-for-under-500

[andrew79]

What keyboard are you talking about?... with 3 sound??

[honzaes]

I have one as backup. It is horrible, keys are noisy and they have very hard stop, your fingers will suffer if you want to get some technique. Its a toy piano and I would say don´t buy.

I recently had a discussion with my teacher, and we agreed that only thing which matters when you want to learn is the key action. Look for Kawai, Yamaha or even Roland, but TRY keys before you buy. Lately maybe even some midi controllers can offer good actions (if that would be choice because of need of computer for sound library..). If you want to go small and cheap, then maybe Roland FP 30, they key action is decent for the price.

[andrew79]

I disagree, I'm pretty much satisfied with the action of my Casio PX-560. While, the Roland's PHA-4 Standard and Kawai's RHC action may have a bit more realistic touch, the GHS action of Yamaha definitely felt not as good as Casio's action to my fingers.

P.S. Can't think of any MIDI controller with decent action under 600$.

The OP also wants to be able to change tuning systems (temperaments), which is not available on the FP-30