Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards casio ap-500 vs roland hp-203

Everybody says casio ap500 has better sound than privia, even px800 which is good for the price...

It has a better grand piano 1 and Grand piano 3.

It has rythms too and better speakers and a better stand so its price is bigger...

there are some youtube videos of the performance and i liked it very much..


by the way... i am a newbie but i have personally played (1 minute each) roland hp 203, hp 201, kr 105 and yamaha clp 220, clp 230, and clp 280

and the only one i liked was yamaha clp 280 (it had very good piano sound even for yamaha (which has a more metalic/brighter tone))

the problem with clp was the strings and harspichord (and probably other instruments... the wood keys didnt make difference to me.. and the touch was light and acceptable but not grand piano like)

the roland hp 201... honestly it reminded me of a toy in its touch.. its so light... and the keys seemed al with the same weight (but probably was just an impression) and the control scheme is horrible (to play flute you have to press a black key.. its terrible)

hp 203 has good user control but the sound of the piano was very mellow... and in the most upper register is a little brighter..

the action is light too.. and not so good as yamahas (even the cheapest ones)

the sound of the other samples is the best i have heard... (very good jazz voice in rolands and good strings for a digital piano,

Compositor20 - I really do envy you your expertise. I wish I had the ability to evaluate and criticise a piano after trying it for a FULL minute. Sadly, it took me a full 2 hours of playing the HP204 before I decided to buy it. I think it is we who should be asking advice and not you.

Compositor20: just go and buy yourself the Casio. Tenders is pleased with the model, and says it's better than the Privias, which are great for their price, so you shouldn't be disappointed.

We've been trying to tell two things:

1- blinking lights, accompaniment rhythms, and shiny LCDs are ignored by most people in this forum as marketing gimmicks and for good reasons.

2- Don't expect that you'll like AP500 sound or touch any better than either the Roland HP-203 AND the CLP-280, without having ever played it or heard it (frankly, youtube doesn't count). I'm not saying it's impossible, but the only person here that tried both, trolls, says the AP500 was not as good. Everybody else who knows the other Casio models, me included, says that it's most unlikely.

It's your choice if you listen to the advice you asked for or just ignore it.

In the end, the Casio is much less expensive, so I honestly don't think it'll be a bad deal. In your situation, I'd probably buy the Roland FP-7 for a couple of hundred extra euros, but that's me.

So go and buy the Casio now. You'll be happy.

i have tested clp 280 for 5 minutes or more and roland hp 203 too but when you ear sounds that you dont like or a action thatyou dont like it you dont need very long time to disprove it..

i played the yamaha longer because it was pleasent and then i tried the other sounds and i notice some effects that i didnt like...

in roland i didnt like the soudn of the pianos and could tell only playing a minute that teh strings were good...

usually when you go find misfunctions you find them right away...

we dont need irony in this forum.

since i dont play very well it pleases me to see the lights being played... to highlight how the music is difficult (seeing liszt pieces is a delight eheh (listening too offcourse)

i have heard in youtube and in casio sound demos and a pianist in is page it sounded good for the price..

i liked the sound of the clp280 probably it wouldn be as good but i liked that classical piano sound (it sounded like classical piano music and not like rock pop or jazz piano)

Just in case you are referring to my previous post, I'd just like to point out that there is not a single line in it that isn't totally honest. You can take it at face value.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a Schubert sonata waiting for me.

Over and out.

irony from David staff comment...

hp 204 hjas better speakers than 203...

That's more of a 'sarcasm' than 'irony'.

Hey Stringless?

I have an issue with you characterizing the Casio AP-500 when in fact you have not played that device. The original post's question specifically involved that and only that model from Casio, and your post provided a great deal of text, some quite condescending, without any information that I could discern on your experience or opinion of the AP-500.

That's it. You're fully entitled to your opinion on the other Casios you've played. I don't disagree with those opinions on what you played. You ended up with a very nice DP too in the 201 for a bit more money but the original poster said he didn't care for the Roland sound.

The original poster's subsequent comment about enjoying the flashing lights was quite offputting. Along the lines of RodDaunoravicius I'm done here too; I think we've done as much as we can.

probably other casio models in the past were not very good but this one (and privia px800) sounded very good.

i have listened roland 203 and 201 and i really hated 201 and was dissapointed with 203 i was expecting much better piano sound and action and the other instruments were good... but probably i would prefer the oposite.. the furniture looks a little low profile too... and the sound system isnt as good as casio ap500

If I followed properly, wanabee compositor, and I can't wait to hear your music, when you say that the "sound system isnt as good as casio ap500", your opinion is based on what you have read. You never touched or seen the AP-500 for real. And, based on the AP-500 docs, it is not exactly like the PX-800.

High Wattage does not necessary translate to high sound quality.
Before you buy, and to avoid a huge disappointment, as high as your expectations, which are the highest they can be because you want it all for less, DO TRY THE AP-500, even if you have to drive hours to find one.

i have allready tranfered the money and bought it ;(( now lets pray ehehhehe

lets see if band in a box can do miracles

it has bigger speakers than hp201 and better amplifier..

and i think the piano sound has that bell sound that i like in the middle register (which is the register that i find most difficult to simulate with accuracy in a digital piano)

Can't wait for your review of the AP-500. When will you receive it?
Band in a Box can't do miracle - it is just code running on a computer (I am teasing you here).

Why the ;(( . You should be :-)) happy. You will be the happy owner of a brand new AP-500.

well if my family didnt like the sound i will carry the weight of this buy all my life ehehe;)

because i can say it is marvelous (self indulgence)

but honestly i liked the piano sound

i know the other orchestra sounds are not very good.. and it only has 20 rythms and probably in a metronome drums way but its cheap has good sound and case and SD card for midi... and auto-arpeggiators and good piano tones

i will make a mini-review... and i will post mp3 sounds (i will improvise since all that i know in piano was self learned)

Worst case scenario - you use software piano to augment the sound with external PC.

do you know any good sound module to plug by midi to a casio ap-500 ?

i would like that it has styles or arpeggiator and sound music (qith a jazz scat voice and good strings)

i am looking to one of those

yamaha motif rack xs

roland fantom rack

ketron midjay

the ketron looks more promising but all of them are int the 1000 euros category.. expensive..

do you know something about them?

i have received it yesterday
i am happy with it but not 100%

piano 1 and piano 3 sound (superb, but the demos and the midi files i loaded sounded much better than when i am playing because i dont have the technic, it has a crystal tone)

harpsichord = very good
strings= acceptable in midi files and less then average when you play.


perc organ= very good
rock organ=superb
church organ=superb
choir = good but not very natural

nylon and steel guitar = very good
overdrive guitar and Santana guitar = superb really

sax, trumpet and flute (superb too)

the other sounds are medíocre average or just good

electric piano is good too


the best in this piano is the weight of the keys.... i can now say that it has the best feeling of all that i have touched.. (roland hp203, hp201 and yamaha clp-280, clp-240, clp-230

they are medium weight... not very heavy but heavier than the ones i listed...

the furniture is pretty and good..

the user interface is simple to use.. in 2 days i have learned rythms, tune , split, change tones, volume, reverb, brilliance, speed, play demo songs... play midis and sd card its despite the smal lcd screen...

i will make a video review with sounds...

for 1000 euros its a must buy in its price range

compositor20,

Have you got a Casio AP-500 for 1.000 euros?

Where?

www.dolphinmusic.co.uk i live in Portugal and bouthg on the internet from the UK; with the discount, transport and bank transfer it was 1067 euros...

which things do you want that i review?