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When did the PX-S3000 become a mid-range digital piano? Isn't it about the same price as a FP30? My old piano was an FP30 and it is an entry level digital piano.

Of course, when talking about electronic keyboards, and not digital pianos, it might be different. Entry level might be closer to $100 so yes, then I can see the PX-S3000 as a mid-range among electronic keyboards.

It’s an unfortunate choice of words on the reviewer’s part. He calls it “mid-range” because of the features - not the price. He doesn’t mention this until the very end, so it’s a bit misleading.
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For Casio's market it is "mid-range".

If I have a budget around $500 and place top priority on key action (would be using the DP at home with external monitors and something like Pianoteq) would I be better off with the Casio PX-S1000/S3000 or the Roland FP-30? Basically looking for the best digital piano key action controller around $500 and it seems to come down to these (since stuff like the FP-90, VPC-1, and what not are out of the price range).

I'm biased against the Roland because it sounds like Pianoteq to me. However, that doesn't matter to you, since you like Pianoteq.

You might want to know that neither the Casio nor the Roland have legacy MIDI ports. The Roland has Bluetooth MIDI, while the Casio doesn't.

The Casio has hi-res MIDI, whatever that means. Not sure about the Roland.

The Casio is said to have a shorter pivot distance, given the form factor, so playing at the back of the keys may require more effort than the Roland.

Other than that, you'll have to try it for yourself. No other way to know.

You should include Yamaha in your comparison. For example, the P-125 should be in your price range.

Thanks for the input, I don't have any preference for Pianoteq though (I don't own any virtual piano software yet, I'll go down that rabbit hole once I figure out the physical piano lol). Both the Casio and Roland have MIDI over USB, right (which is probably what I would use for the virtual piano)?

I've seen a lot of people mention the pivot distance on the Casio. The fact that it's only a "2 sensor" (technically 3 sensor through some unknown magic) is another concern I've read. I've sadly been unable to find both in the same store for a fair A/B test so far (and with my inexperience I'm not sure I'd be able to appreciate the difference/limitations yet although I'd like to future-proof as much as possible, within budget that is).

This means that the Casio measure the velocity with more than 127 values.

Ah, well that changes things. If you haven't gone down the VST rabbit hole, I strongly suggest you pay attention to the native sound engines. Once you adjust things like your preferred touch curve, etc, your supposed need for a VST might well evaporate.

Check out PianoManChuck, Andertons, etc, on YouTube. They cover a lot of ground on how these actions feel, etc. Some of them don't pull any punches.

The Casio uses software smarts with a 2 sensor system. It's good enough to achieve hi-res MIDI, which might matter if you go the Pianoteq route.

I like the “unknown magic” term. It is difficult to guess what the software could infer if it has not enough information, are there drawbacks, etc. (Are there special sensors with 2 threshold...)

I managed to play the PX-S1000 in a store today for the first time. It’s OK. Seems good value for the price. But of course it has competition at that price level. I wasn’t blown away and in the store at least the speakers seemed underwhelming. Backward facing the sound got lost. Might be ok in a room.The unit was not mounted flat (why do they do that!) but the action seemed fine, I played some arpeggios close to the back between the black keys and it was ok. Sure there is resistance as you get towards back but it seems controllable at least 2/3 along from the front of the blacks. I didn’t explore re-triggering key level to see if I could fathom it had two sensors. The action seems less authentic compared to an ES110 which was close by, but I don’t think that was a bad thing for a plastic action, it was less noisy than I expected for a Casio, and smoother than the ES110. I would consider it if batteries and weight were high on my list, but the low perceived sound level from the speakers needs checking under different conditions.

I played the PX 1000 yesterday and was likewise underwhelmed. That saddened me as I was hoping it might be a satisfactory replacement for my VPC1/Pianoteq rig. But, it just wasn't good enough.

The sound volume was weak. And its tone was sustantially less piano-like than the PX-770 sitting next to it. The keybed felt much like the keys of the PX-760 I unfortunately sold 6 months ago. I really miss that 760. But, the new PX 1000 seems a step backwards to me.

I forgot to mention that one of the review videos of the new px 1000 says it is 2 sensors coupled with some technology that always knows the key's position, making a third sensor unnecessary.

Are you using the Pianoteq velocity curves that were customized for the VPC1?

A single optical sensor with a grayscale flag would make the Casio knowing the key’s position... but it costs more than a usual 3 sensors set. Then how the Casio knows the key’s position with only 2 sensors remains a mystery.

I took a trip to my local Guitar Center and tried every keyboard/piano they had available.

They only had 3 Yamahas with piano-like key actions. The DGX-660 felt alright but the keys felt a bit hollow/cheap. The YDP-143 had a somewhat similar key action but the keys felt nicer and the action felt like it had a high return pressure/resistance if that makes sense (felt like the keys were pushing against my fingers wanting to return to the neutral position). The P-125 felt like the keys were in syrup or something; a really sluggish key action in both directions.

The only Roland they had with a piano-like key action was the DS-880. It actually had a pretty decent key action but the keys were kind of rattly (technically the whole piano was). If I had to choose between the Yamahas and the Roland I'd probably go with the Roland (though the YDP-143 is a close second, if only the keys didn't push against your fingers so much)..

Finally the Casio PX-S1000. It actually felt pretty similar to the YDP-143, but rather than having high return pressure the key action just felt a bit dull. Something was missing although I couldn't quite pinpoint what. It may have been the short pivot point people keep mentioning (it almost felt like I wasn't pushing the keys all the way down). It was definitely harder to play further up on the keys vs the other pianos.

Vs the older Casios the S1000 felt pretty similar, although the key action was MUCH quieter.

They didn't have a Roland FP-30 or FP-90 there to test with the Casio so I still have no idea how those compare (no Kawai pianos either).

I did try a bunch of the "Williams" brand pianos while I was there and they felt surprisingly similar to the Casios. Does Casio license their key actions to Williams or something?

I recently visited my local store and compared a Yamaha P125, Roland FP10, Casio PX-160, and PX-S1000.

My first disappointment was Yamaha's same ol' GHS keyboard. After playing the Casios and especially the Rolands, the Yamaha action seemed so mushy and lifeless to me.

The second disappointment was the quality of the piano sounds coming out of the Casios. They just sound tinny and decay far too quickly. The PX-160 had better speakers so it was less noticeable... had I not heard the pianos of the Yamahas and Rolands back-to-back I may have found the 160 acceptable... but the S1000 was a real letdown. It's like a step backwards. Casio needs to get with the program, here. (I have not played the S3000 yet. Don't know if the sound is any different.)

The Roland was, in my opinion, the best. The hammer action with escapement feels much more realistic than the Yamaha, and more solid than the Casio. The piano sounds also sounded quite good, though I do feel like it does not sound as full compared to its bigger brother, the FP30.

Hello. I'm about to buy my first piano. I've come down to three choices - The Pxs1000, Pxs3000 and the Roland FP-10.
Which would be a better choice for an absolute beginner- the PXS1000 or the Pxs3000. Is the extra $200 investment for the pxs3000 worth it? And is PXS1000 better than the Roland FP-10?
I would appreciate some help as I cannot play any of them before purchasing. Thanks.

A couple of points:

Firstly, if this purchase is for an absolute beginner, truth be told either of the 3 models will be fine - and you'll be none the wiser.

Secondly, if you are purely after playing piano and using only the piano sound then the both of the Casio's share the same main piano sounds (with the 3000 having only a few more piano sounds and a myriad of other sounds and a whole host of beats etc.), so you can get to decide if you want/need the extra sounds whether to pay the additional sum or save yourself some cash.

Lastly, I haven't tried the Casio action on these new PXS so cannot vouch how good/bad it is. I have played on the FP action though and that I can say from a personal experience and viewpoint that it's a great action for the price range of the FP10 (the sound is so so though because the speakers are positioned on the underneath of the unit).

I don't want to give you a conundrum here but maybe you see where I am going with this. The Casio probably sounds better but the Roland probably plays better...however, going back to my first point, none of the above will probably matter to a complete beginner (because in this case, ignorance is bliss).

These models are different in terms of sound and touch but have a similar quality (PX-3000 has more sounds). They are between the best option for a first Digital Piano (with Kawai ES110, Yamaha P-125 and Roland FP-30). The advice is always to try these models and choose what you think is the best option for you. This is not easy for an absolute beginner because you don't know what to expect from a DP. You could find a place where you can also try acoustic pianos to compare.

To have a better DP you should consider these models: Roland FP-90, Kawai ES-8, Yamaha P-515.