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I'm a newcomer to the forum but I've been reading posts here for quite some time. I thought I'd use my first post to share a digital piano DIY cabinet that I worked on over the last couple weeks.

I bought a Casio PX-750 at Costco during their pre-Christmas sale. I didn't like the stand. I'd wanted something that was living room worthy and had enough of a WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) to allow this to be a full-time fixture in my house. Here's a shot of the original PX-750 and stand in my basement before the build gets started.




The frame, of course, had to be custom built for the PX-750 and the speakers I planned to install, which took a whole lot of measuring and planning. I used 2X4s for the internal frame, ripped down the middle. Everything is glued and screwed together. My frame looks a little extra complicated since I had to build it with a removable top so it would fit up my basement stairs. The piano will have to be returned to the basement every December to make room for the Christmas tree.



Unfortunately all major wordworking and saw cuts had to be made in my carport in Canada in February. Not fun.

I made sure to build the lower frame to accommodate the pedalboard.




The DP had to be inserted in the frame temporarily at this point so the rest of the plywood panels could be measured correctly. I used 1/2" birch for the front and sides and 3/4" pine for the rear panel.



Here we are ready to paint after trim, woodfiller, and lots of sanding.




Iron-on veneer on the top makes a nice finished surface.



After two coats of tinted acrylic primer.



Here is the paint and primer I used along with a $12 (!) paintbrush that I hardly ended up using. A small cheap sponge paint roller worked way better.



Here we are after three coats of the furniture paint. All these layers of primer and paint dried into a hard shiny coating almost like an enamel.




Here's the speaker system I'll be using for the time being. I bought these off Kijiji for $80. I wanted these for the number of speakers and wired control pod. Each satellite has both a tweeter and mid-range driver, which takes care of the mid-range problems inherent in most computer speakers. 70 watts is a big upgrade over the PX-750's internal speakers.




Here are the speakers installed in the finished cabinet. I have four satellites pointing up toward the lid and the center speaker (which has twice as much power) pointing to the rear.



Here's a rear view of the finished unit with the center (rear) speaker exposed.



Here we are finally finished and in my living room. The spindles were my wife's idea.



I lined the interior with felt and installed a lifting lid with a lid-stay and piano hinge.



Here's the finished piano. Looks way better than the factory stand and the sound is great. Plenty loud and clear, especially with the lid raised. Lots of tactile feedback in the keys supplied by the subwoofer. The PX-750's front-facing controls made it ideal for such a cabinet.

Fantastic job! It looks like a lot of work but the results are well worth it.

Good job, thanks for sharing that.

Very nice indeed. I was thinking about doing something like that somewhere along the line with my Casio.

Now, if you really want to impress the visitors stick one of these logos on it

That was a lot of work, and an interesting setup for the speakers.

Like the work you've put in there.

My only point of constructive criticism, is I'm not keen on the look of the spindles compared with the rest of the cabinet - I think more plain spindles would suit better.

Just a question - how do things work out in terms of a music stand / rest?

I suppose the spindles are a matter of taste. I originally wanted something that looked like a Yamaha CP-585 or a Roland LX-15, neither of which of course have spindles. My significant other likes them, however, and it's a concession I'm willing to make to have a piano in the living room.

You have a good point about the music rest. If I used paper scores I would have to come up with a solution. Turns out, however, that my tablet works quite well leaning between the PX-750 music rest ledge and the front surface of the cabinet. The tablet's all I use anyway for this purpose.

Keep in mind I'm no finish carpenter or cabinet maker. I'm reasonably handy and have done some framing and shingled a few roofs. I did the interior paneling in my cottage and the interior trim around all our windows when they were replaced last year, but that's about it. This project takes some time and patience but it's certainly not out of the reach of anyone on this forum. Someone creative enough to play the piano (and no doubt 99% of everyone here is better than me with that) should be able to plan something like this and make it happen. I'd be happy to provide any input or help to anyone who want to make the attempt.

Nice work.

I'm fine with the spindles. I'd prefer a gloss finish. I wonder what it would take to produce that? Would a few coats of gloss polyurethane accomplish it?

I wish that this were true:It's far out of my reach. I once gave thought to building a woodworking shop in my garage. But the great expense (I'm thinking Norm Abrams!) and my lack of talent and experience convinced me to take up something else ... piano.

Very nice - been thinking of building something similar for my CP 4 so I have a couple of questions - how are you connecting the sound system to the Casio (phone plug adapter?) and I think you mentioned you are also a Canuck - kany chance you are in the GTA as I would like to place an order for one 😃

That is a proper, quality job, well done!

88fingers88 -

Wow, thanks for sharing these pictures... this is truly awesome.
A wonderful idea ... and such a professional execution. Congratulations!

(BTW, I'm pleased to see this was the brainchild of a left-handed piano player)

- OneWatt

amazing, nice work.

Probably, but I think lacquer would be a better choice.

Excellent job!

Really great following your detailed write-up of the creation process too.

Cheers,
James
x

I think a proper high-gloss piano finish could only be accomplished in a paint booth with the proper lacquer. The finish I got actually matches the existing PX-750 finish quite well and everything blends visually into one unit. A high-gloss finish would not look as good IMO.

There's little choice with the PX-750 other than the headphone jack for the audio connection since it has no dedicated line outs. I had to special order a L-shaped 1/4" adapter with two RCA plugs (for $30!) and I could only get it with a 10-foot cord. The two RCA plugs are connected to another adapter making it a 1/8" stereo connection. This, in turn, plugs into a 3-way headphone splitter so I can have an equal signal going into all three speaker inputs (front, rear, and center/sub). Otherwise I'd have to use the speaker's "Matrix" button to get sound from all satellites from a 2-channel stereo signal. The Matrix mode sounds like a cross between simulated surround sound and the "loudness" button on an old hi-fi. I didn't like the way it made the piano sound at all.

Thanks for the breakdown but I am a audiophile challenged - my Cp 4 has the two phone plug and xlr outputs - could you detail what I would need to do to connect it to the Logitech system for best sound quality ...

Great job! Im intrigued by the speaker setup. Since there's essentially no EQ, and the samples were not tuned for those speakers, how do they sound? My experience with external speakers on my px-130 is that they ALWAYS end up way too boomy, and too scooped in the midrange. I have to EQ the absolute [censored] out of it to get it sounding realistic.

I've got the sub turned down to pretty much nothing to offset the boominess, but I know what you're saying. Is there some kind of in-line equalizer that could be used between the piano output and the speakers I wonder?

Now that is nice! I always like to see cabinet projects on the forum because I also made my own just over a year ago, but your project has extra appeal to me because

1- I also used a 5.1 computer sound system in it, which I really like. Mine uses a Dell speaker system rated at 100 watts.

2- Another Canadian, like me :-)

You also mention the tactile feedback provided by the subwoofer, which is one of the features I appreciate most. I included a small mixer which allows me to use a MIDI sound module with the same sound system. I also went for a satin black finish, which went well with the Yamaha P-155B that I used for my project.

I only hope it encourages others to embark on similar projects.

Thanks, guyl, I scrolled through the post on your build several times before starting my own. I also had a long look at the art-deco cabinet built by peterws.