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Recently I found this video on the tube where some Casio guys try to compare the sound generated from a real grand with a Casio digital piano...


(the comparison begins at 2:44)

Honestly, I think that comparison is merciless... The acoustic piano sounds so incredible better to me (and I think the pianist that plays on the acoustic is a better player too... But maybe it's just that on the digital she cannot do what she would like to do).

To me, making a video like that is like shoot yourself in the foot. Is there someone that could think the digital sounds as good as the acoustic? I have an idea why they disabled the comments for the video...

Do you know some similar comparison with Roland, Yamaha, Kawai, etc.? I think the result would be the same.

The guy is enjoying himself. The girl, not so much, for some reason. He also seems to be playing much better. Who knows whether it is the instrument, the selected piece or the player that is the problem.

The acoustic DOES sound better than the DP. But if you want to do more than simply listen to other people playing, a good acoustic is 100 times more expensive compared to a good DP. And it also takes up a lot of space. A DP wins hands down in that scenario.

Here is a video where she is demonstrating the same instrument that she played. She can definitely smile when she wants to. So looks like an editing goof up more than anything else.

About this Tri-Sensor II keyboard : “Once you’ve felt them, you’ll never want to play on anything else again”... quite funny isn’t it ? I may ask why Casio did try (and success) to make a better keyboard with Bechstein.

Note : Once I have felt a Yamaha N1, I will never consider buying another digital piano (excepted its successor, the N1X).

I was told by my Russian wife that Americans smile as a social convention, but Russians smile when they mean it.

Youtube comparisons such as this one are basically pointless for us viewers, since we compare a *recorded* acoustic piano with a *recorded* digital piano in a video, which is besides the point.

You'd have to be in the room to really appreciate the difference(s).

I always thought fake smiles were a universal phenomenon.

I actually wanted to refer to body language (of which smile is a component). The way the video is edited/shot, the guy seems to enjoy playing more than the girl. You can even see it around the 1:58 mark when they are setting things up and he is trying out the Casio. He has a smile on his face.

Through my 18Euro supermarket headphones (purple) the difference is really not that pronounced, and as I use the same supermarket headphones (but green ones) on my DP then I guess I don't need a grand piano - at least not to listen to via supermarket headphones. (Actually, through headphones my DP sounds quite good, so I suspect my PC of being a bit of a dog, but it could just be that the various deficiencies balance out better on the DP.)

It's kind of a weird comparison, really, recording via whatever mics (impressive sound recording gear, to be fair, which makes things look more 'professional') played back over whatever computer through whatever speakers / headphones etc. Rather bass-light / resonance light, both grand piano and Casio in the recording, but at least the Casio is (a lot) cheaper. Sadly, in comparison my 1990s (Casio) DP is richer-sounding.....must get a better computer.

Tbh I think the Casio comes out reasonably well in the comparison, but play something with more bass, more 'resonance,' more sustain and it may well be a different story.

Or... when they get payed, maybe?

It's definitely culturally variable. I've heard it's commonly thought in Eastern Europe/Russia that Americans are seen as "fake/disingenuous" because they smile so much, all the time. Whereas there, smiles are saved for coffee family and friends and yes, when they really mean it.

As to the video, I think the Casio performed quite well, but with that kind of post-processing any $100 synthesizer could have done the same. Everything has been equalized in such a way that you don't hear anything of the additional volume, presence or ambience from the grand.

Why bother having them in the same room, it in a recording studio to begin with?

They should have used a common set of mics and positioning between the two contending pianos for this test.

Nobody could smile during a century of Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev, and Brezhnev.

I'm wrong to think that in the used market you can buy a decent grand for about $10,000 ? That's about 5x the price of a good DP.

Still better than Wilson, Hover, Truman,Nixon Reagan, Bush Clinton Obama Trump etc

Uh, no. Millions were murdered by Stalin. What have you to say about your list?

I remember in another thread a video of a nice pianist woman demoing some Casio, playing Liszt and it seemed she struggled with the piano. I will express a strong personal opinion here but I really find it silly for Casio, being less realistic and technologically advanced than Yamaha, Kawai and Roland, to try to convince customers in something they themselves probably think is absurd, namely a Casio digital piano can compete with a nice grand.

That comparison was originally released by Casio themselves and in better quality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENliynLPfrE

And with comments enabled.

Yes it's an old demo, it's a good demo with good mics, and that's exactly what happens in the room, the sound coming from a digital piano is very boxy and plasticky compared to an acoustic. But they should do the same comparison again now, BUT with one of the latest VST (NI Noire or VSL) and a good pair of 12" speakers.

Recreating good piano sounds on hifi isn't all that easy (at least in my experience) and the DPs face a similar issue. My own hifi set-up wasn't all that cheap (it's rather old now) with Arcam Alpha integrated amp and separate power amp to do all the bi-wiring stuff, playing through two pairs of Morduant Short speakers - but still I find the recorded sound too 'dry.'

I think if somebody's only experience of piano music is through a home stereo system then the sound of a DP through its (standard) speakers won't come as a disappointment - and my wife's case she usually heard the piano from another room (although to be fair she often used to go to concerts, favourite pianist Daniel Barenboim etc.) and to her a DP sounds 'like a piano.'

The few piano concerts I've attended were at the Royal Festival Hall in London, and there I was so far from the piano that despite the good acoustics the piano sounded close to what my hifi was rendering and really nowhere near what I was experiencing playing our old acoustic upright, so I do wonder if people whose experience extends to concert-going but have never played the piano themselves find the DP playing through speakers quite acceptable.

Hello,

I have a GP-500 for a week and I have to say that I prefer the sound of the GP-500 than the sound of a Yamaha-B3 (my teacher's piano).
I would say that the sound feel a little bit "electronic", it's not as clear as the Yamaha-B3...but it's softer, more balanced. In addition, you can adjust the volume, play with headphone (and more than practical, it's useful to enjoy some pieces), control a lot of settings (reverb, pedal noise, etc.)...

In my opinion, they are two good instruments, but I like the fact the Casio is not "a simple copy" of an acoustic one. It's really more than that. I guess the future will be digital, honestly.

You have your DP bi-amped? Really?