Many musicians, whether beginners or professionals, sooner or later think about how to take advantage of technological innovations and replace a bulky acoustic instrument with something more compact. Someone will be satisfied with the synthesizer, but for performers who, by the nature of their work or study, need to play an acoustic piano or piano (for example, in an educational institution), such an instrument with soft keys will not work.
Specifications
Digital pianos were originally created as a complete analogue of their acoustic progenitor, therefore, the mechanics in them are appropriate, and the price, compared with synthesizers, is several times higher. Before Casio had a budget line, not everyone could afford to buy a digital piano. Casio CDP 120 belongs to this line, combines functionality, sound quality and reasonable price.
The keyboard is 88 full-sized keys. There is a key stiffness unit; There are three types of keyboards: semi-weighted, weighted, and unweighted. Synthesizers most often have unweighted keys with an incredibly smooth stroke. They are easy to play, but it only remotely resembles playing a real acoustic piano. Half-weighted is an intermediate variant observed in some synthesizer models. Weighted keyboards are as close as possible to the original, they have hammer mechanics.
About Settings
The Casio CDP 120 Digital Piano has a key sensitivity setting in three variations. You can also turn it off altogether.
Five different tones help diversify your performance. A polyphony of 48 voices is not the largest indicator, but this is enough for a novice pianist. In fact, most of the functions that require a larger number of votes are simply absent in the Casio CDP 120: there is no auto accompaniment and recording, as well as a combination of tones.
The sustain pedal is connected to the piano. Due to the lack of polyphony, it is impossible to use a three-pedal system: it will not work as efficiently as with a 128-voice polyphony.
About sound
The Casio CDP 120 speaker system - two oval built-in speakers with a total power of 16 watts. This is a good indicator for such a budget technology: the tool is ideal for playing at home, but also copes with a more spacious room. Its volume is enough for an ensemble game, but an extra sound will be required for a concert hall.
The sound quality of tones is ensured by Casio's patented AHL technology. The sound is voluminous: the top and middle show themselves perfectly, but the bass is pretty dull.
The Casio CDP 120 has a headphone jack, which is a big plus for those who like to play at night or live not alone. The headphone jack is represented by a standard "jack", so you should purchase an adapter if it was not included. This can be done at any musical instrument or radio electronics store.
Compactness
Despite the full-size keyboard, the tool is quite compact. This was also achieved through the use of oval columns. It has a length of 1.3 meters, so it can fit in almost any passenger car, which makes it indispensable for artists who are often forced to move. Piano Casio CDP 120 weighs a little more than 11 kilograms, and this is a little for such an instrument, especially if you recall the weight of an acoustic piano.
Casio produces a proprietary stand for this piano, however it can be replaced with a stand from any other digital keyboard instrument, for example, an X-shaped synthesizer stand. Nevertheless, most likely you will have to independently modify the mechanics of the mounts so that the tool does not slip when playing.
General impression
Owners praise the sound and compactness of the Casio CDP 120. The price of this tool starts from 20 thousand rubles, but it came out a long time ago, so now there are models with wider functionality. For example, the next in the line of CDP 130, which has 10 tones, in addition to reverb there is also chorus, as well as some other effects.
The Casio CDP 120 digital piano has a USB connector, so it can be connected to a computer and used as a MIDI keyboard. The possibilities of a digital piano are increased significantly: here are plug-in banks with hundreds of different instruments, and many effects.
Switching between voices is carried out at the touch of a button on the panel, there are no delays. The timbre "Electric piano" creates a warm, jazz sound that is suitable for most modern styles of music, so the instrument will find its application in ensemble groups.
The disadvantages include the glossy surface of the keys, which quickly becomes covered by fingerprints, so you need to periodically wipe it. In addition, on a smooth surface when playing, hands slip. In addition, the keys have weak lateral stiffness, which is especially evident when performing complex pieces with sharp jumps and fast passages. However, the instrument does an excellent job with the entire program of the music school.