Casio CDP-100

I was satisfied with the simple functions of changing instruments, volume, effects and even demo songs, but found the manual atrocious. I've had it for at least a month and can't seem to figure out how to transpose yet.

Pleasant features include well-weighted keys, satisfactory polyphony of 32 16 ish, layering option (really good atomatic mixing), a sustainer pedal, midi capabilities and a light but durable exterior.

Unpleasant features include access to only 5 timbres to play with, only a 3.5mm jack output, a fairly shoddy manual, low quality speakers, no sequencer or recording option.

The sounds are brilliant for the price. The layers are well mixed and smooth, the first piano has a nice low end and the second is a refreshing change. The electric piano is undistorted and has a lot of potential for high action players. The harpsichord and strings could do with a bit more base but it's close to a techno-like synth sound. Strings are quite beautiful. I like.

I take it loads of places and haven't had a problem yet. Gotta be careful with erosion at the pedal input though.

I've played twice on stage with this little machine and had alright feedback. The output issue was fixed with a simple 3.5 to 6.5 jack adapter with no sound quality lost. I think that solution will last just fine. My only disdain is the sheer lack of options. I would like to see some extension opportunities. Perhaps a way to reprogram certain aspects? That would be awesome.

All in all I like this keyboard. It gives me 1/3 the satisfaction of a grand piano at 1/8 the room space. I'd like to thank CASIO for this nifty product.

very easy to use.

The Features are straight forward to use and the action is probably its strongest point, very well weighted with the option of changing sensitivity to suit your playing.

It comes with 5 different sounds; Grand piano (this is not too bad, it sounds good at both ends of the piano but not so much in the middle), Grand piano 2 (I thought this was a terrible interpretation of a piano), Electric piano (This is very good for jazz), harpsichord (very good, lovely sound) and last but not least Strings(the strings are a good feature to the casio). They all sound pretty good through stereo headphones, but not so much through the built in speakers. I feel though that they could all be improved.

Not long after i got it, the keyboard had a little fall (not a big one) and the lowest Bb and C# no longer worked i think the fall had affected the weights, this just shows it was not built for gigging etc. Recently, the right speaker has blown and i can not see anything that has provoked this.

This keyboard does have some good points and bad it would definately suit a beginner but i dont feel it was a good buy for me and was not worth the price i paid for it.

As a piano, it's plug and play. I teach piano using one of these boards and hence haven't had to use layering or any of the other features.

Well, as an alternative to a real piano you can't criticise. But I do feel Casio have been a bit stingey with the features. Personally, the main bug for me is the lack of a proper line out facility. Secondly, I've become accustomed to having both a metronome and a recording function as standard on most digital pianos- both can be very useful teaching aids, and a metronome in particular could probably have been included on this board at very little addition cost.

The piano sounds are fine. The harpsichord is, inexplicably, touch sensitive.
The reverb is quite nice but the chorus sounds pretty awful, to me.
The touch of the keys is very good, and that is usually the most important thing. Quite a heavy weight to them (compared to by Yamaha YDP131) but probably still lighter than a concert grand. There is a wide dynamic range available, the key bed feels realistic, and the overall experience is very pleasant.

The pedal that came with the board is poor, but that's easily upgraded.

The sound quality I would rate higher than a Roland FP1 that I also use, but not quite as good as a Yamaha.

New, so no problems so far. It is very very light, and a bit 'plastic'. Hving used this board at work, I am currently weighing up whether to buy one of these for gigs, and it is the sturdiness that puts me off. In particular, the need to line out using a 3.5mm jack and associated adapters. So whilst nothing has broken (yet) I can;t say I'm completely happy about how rugged the Casio will prove to be.

For the price (you can get these for ??250!) this is outstanding. Half the price of a Yamaha. The weight is also a big bonus- I used to lug around a Roland FP1 and now I use this, it's a breeze.

Basic functions are easy to access but more advanced features such as touch response, reverb amount and layer volume for second layer instrument require a look at the manual and a function plus a note key press.

For the price the features are outstanding really, stereo grand piano very good midi output, five instruments (I really only use the piano or piano strings layered)came with a stand, pedal and music stand.

The piano sound is stereo unlike some other low end piano's (YDP-625)The MIDI velocity curve is excellent but the internal piano sound is limited in it response to velocity. The action is very good, again especially if used as a MIDI controller. The reverb does help the sound a bit but the chorus is lacking

So far so good, the included stand has a large metal bar that runs the entire length of the piano adding alot of strength.

Don't know.

For the price nothing can touch it. It was cheaper than some non-weighted keyboards that I looked at. I compared around and even rented a yamaha p-70 for a month. The p-70 sounded a bit better but at over twice the price. If it were lost I would likely upgrade to one of the newer casio models. I love the action and some of the newer models have a much improved sound but as a cheap late night practice piano and MIDI controller, nothing can come close to the value. I also own 2 acoustic upright grand piano's (over 5' tall cabinets).

The keyboard is about as basic as they come. Just turn it on and hit the button corresponding to the preset sound you want. There are no parameter knobs, sliders, menus to worry about. Built in speakers, so you get sound straight 'out of the box'!

Again, very basic features. It has reverb & chorus which are pretty standard, but a nice addition nonetheless. MIDI in/out. No line out unfortunately, and only a single 3.5mm headphone jack. 32note polyphone I believe. It supports layering, but not splits.

As with one of the previous posters, I bought this keyboard mainly as a midi controller so the sounds really don't matter that much to me. The piano sound is actually quite realistic though. I find the action of the weighted keys very realistic & even across the board. Better even than one of the Rolands in the shop selling for more than twice the price!!

I've only owned it a short while, so can't really comment there. It does feel sturdy. The Privia series felt a bit light & plasticy to me, however the CDP feels more solid.

This is *the* best value for money digital piano on the market in my opinion. If you are starting out & just want a decent piano sound, with realistic action then look no further. It'd be just about perfect if it came with a line-out and the ability to control the layer volume independantly of the master (if you're using it for MIDI only, then these things really aren't an issue anyway).

The on-board controls are quite simple and self explanitory. You will need to consult the manual only to figure out how to use that darn function button (It changes reverb and chorus types and key sensitivity). Compared to other DPs it is very basic and easy to figure out.

Only 5 voices on this model, 2 Grand Pianos, Elec Piano, Harpsichord and Strings.

The second Piano is similar in tone to the first, but is voiced in a boring mono signal. I would have replaced the second piano with a different instrument if I could change it.

The reverb is nice and spacious; the chorus is not the best I've heard.
Headphone connection is convenient, I like to play late at night.
I haven't used it as a MIDI controller yet.

Casio should have installed a regular old LINE-OUT jack!

The first Grand Piano sounds beautiful to me, and I use it the most.

The Electric Piano is nice, no distortion from lowest note to highest.
Harpsichord is acceptable, but not very much bass.
Strings are realistic when layered but sounds "synth-y" alone, it's expected I guess.

The hammer action weighted keys are very realistic feeling, its easy for me to find a rhythm with them.

The CDP-100 is trying to replicate a grand piano in a small, cheap package. And it does it well.

I haven't seen any signs to worry about yet.... knock

Never dealt with Casio

It sounds good, limited in voices yes, but the Grand Piano voice is all I use and it is lovely...

If you want many diffent tones to play with, don't buy this keyboard.

If you want the realistic sound and feel of an 88 key acoustic piano, without paying 500+ dollars, try the CDP-100.

The manual, like the CDP-100 itself, is bare-bones, just enough to get you started. To be honest, there are few dedicated switches and buttons on this instrument. In order to change a function, you have to try to remember various combinations of function buttons and keys on the keyboard---not very intuitive. Most users would be stuck unless they had the manual handy. But it's very easy to use as a basic digital piano.

The polyphony is 32, adequate for a beginning keyboardist. The chorus and reverb are quite easy to use and do add interesting effects though the chorus gets tiresome pretty quickly. There are no expansion options that I know of in this entry-level digital piano. The action is close to that of an acoustic piano, especially for this price. It's a bit heavy for my personal preference (I like the Yamaha action more), but for the money I can't complain.

There are only five voices: two grand pianos, an electric Rhodes-type piano, a harpsichord, and strings. The pianos are acceptable for an entry-level digital piano, and sound decent, especially through headphones. I like the electric piano voice. The harpsichord is decent as well, but sounds a little thin and lacks the richness of others I've heard. The strings are surprisingly good, and sound even better than my more expensive Yamaha.
While the action is quite acceptable at this price point and a pretty good imitation of an acoustic, it isn't as expressive as higher-end pianos I've played by Yamaha and Roland. But it works well enough for my classical and blues practice, and that's all I need it for.

It does seem reliable. I've played mine daily for several months with no problems. Build quality is good for an inexpensive instrument. The keyboard feels reasonably sturdy. I wouldn't gig with such a limited instrument anyway, but it IS very small and lightweight for an 88-key graded hammer DP.

No experience with Casio customer support.

I'd say the CDP-100 is worth the low price I paid. In fact, if you really just need a very basic digital piano and nothing else, I might even say it's a bargain. I also have a Yamaha YPG-625, which sounds better and has a superior action and vastly more features, but also costs twice as much. I'd like more voices than the five that come with the CDP-100---more electric piano choices and some organs. For the money, though, it's a pretty good deal. I paid $100 less than the typical price because mine was supposedly a 'scratch and dent' item, although I haven't found any blemishes or defects.

If you can push a button, you can play

Midi in and out, headphone out only. I only use this a a midi controller. I practice with the onboard piano. I would not use this live, only for a studio. No display, I did not need it

very realistic and the action is oustanding. You get chorus and reverb. I have better softsynths like Steinberg the grand and Hypersonic.

solid, for the home studio

For 399$ you cant beat it, feels better than some 1500$ pieces

It could not be more simple. One button per sound ( only 5 sounds) volume knob, edit knob, effects knob, thats it folks.

Polyphony is 32 but most sounds are stereo so its really 16. The keyboard action is the standout. It feels great. The weighting is just right and it has the proper "bounce". The effects are poor. The reverb is loopy and the chorus is weak. No line outs!! you must use the headphone out. The weight is only 25 lbs. and is built well.

Compared to others ( roland,korg,etc) the sounds are not as good. They are OK, but not great. What do you want for $400 anyway? I bought it to teach piano lessons on and for quick rehersals. For this it perfect. I would never gig with it, unless I used it as a midi controller.

I really don't beat it up so it holds up just fine for me.

I feel it's worth $400. Don't expect it to replace your Yamaha or Roland. I mostly wish it had 1/4 in line outs and more polyphony. Hold the pedal down and play an arpeggio and you'll hear what I mean.

I have also bought this piano as a weighted MIDI controller only. I have had Korg SP-200, Yamaha P90 and Roland FP-5 and the Casio not only has the most realistic and pleasant keyboard action among those but also sends the most balanced MIDI curve 0-127. And it's only 11kg for 500 Euro. I am using it with Steinberg The Grand, Ivory and other VSTi-s and it is a fantastic controller right out of the box! Thank you Casio, thank you so much! By the way, don't buy it for using it standalone, there are only 5 sounds, all of which are crappy. I would definitely buy it again!

It cannot be simpler!
Select a sound and play.
The editable functions should be printed above the keys so you don't have to search for your manual to change a setting.
My Dymo label maker will come handy to solve this...

I bought the CDP-100 to use it as a weighted MIDI keyboard to control my other gear. Mainly an Electro Rack but also computer based instruments (VSTi). so the main interest for me was the keyboard action. I find it excellent! It has the same action as the PX-100, the customer support told me.

The other features is not that important for me but i would say it's got rather few features.

The most annoying thing about the hardware is that it lacks Line Out connectors. You could use an Y-cable in the Headphone to solve this but the Phones connector is a small 1/8" plug. It will not last if you want to use this solution live.

I know that the piano is aimed for the home market, but it just barely fulfills that needs.
10 on the action
5 on the rest
7,5 average

The sounds are good for this price range. The response is actually great. Even though it only uses two velocity samples per note it feels quite dynamic.

Grand Piano 2 would be replaced with a church organ.
GP1 is so much better so I don't see why you would use GP2

The strings works good when layered.

The effects are global so you have to remember to remove the chorus when switching from for instance Elec Piano to a Grand Piano.

The polyphony for the GP1 is only 16 since every key uses two layered sounds. When pressing the sustain pedal and playing a scale the limit is 16 keys before the lowest notes start to disappear.

The onboard speakers sucks!
When using headphones the piano sounds is much better. In particular the low end.

It's hard to tell with no road use but it seems rather sturdy.
But it's all plastic, as you can tell from the weight.
The front board/key slip is made of just 2 mm thick material and seems quite vulnerable so I would expect that part to break. It's not that crucial though... You have to be careful when moving it.

Since I could not try the piano before I bought it I looked for a manual online but could not find any.
I contacted the support personell and they answered to all my questions about similarities to the PX-100 that I'd tried. They even sent me a manual on email. It was not an online-version because it had crop marks and color test patterns. Probably an original for the "printing company".
The mail bounced due to a full mailbox and they sent it again to another email address. Very helpful!
If they hadn't sent me the manual I wouldn't have bought it...

I will recommend this to anyone that needs a priceworthy graded hammer weighted MIDI keyboard to control other gear.
And to every beginner that needs a piano to practice their homework on.
It's not good enough by itself for a performer. The sound guys will be insane for the missing line-outs!!

Elementare. Cinque timbri selezionabili con i rispettivi pulsanti. Reverbero e chorus attivabili con un solo tasto. Manopola per il volume ed un tasto funzione che modifica diversi parametri a seconda del tasto sulla tastiera del piano che viene premuto contemporaneamente.

Ha quello che serve ad un piano digitale. 4 tipi di riverberi ed altrettanti di chorus. Classici cinque timbri (2 piani. 1 e.piano, 1 clavetta e 1 di archi).
Io lo adopero solamente insieme ad un P-50m Yamaha e la connessione e stata semplicissima per il resto comando tutto dall'expander.
Purtroppo il timbro principale di Grand Piano ha solo 16 note di polifonia.
Il pezzo forte e la tastiera, pesata con una emulazione del martelleto ottima e munita del sistema Scaled Hammer Action ossia i tasti delle ottave piu gravi risultano un po' piu pesanti rispetto a quelli delle ottave alte. Considerato il prezzo (comprensivo di stand) sono rimasto impressionato.
Non ha sequencer e non e possibile implemetare nulla, ha un solo pedal per il sustain e soprattutto NON ha una uscita audio (NO line-Out).

Ascoltati in cuffia tutti e due i timbri di piano ed il piano elettrico son validi. Non c'e possibilita di edittarli in nessun modo.
Non ha una uscita audio e l'amplificazione interna lascia a un po' desiderare.
Preferisco adoperare moduli esterni vista anche l'impossibilita di amplificarlo decentemente.
Un giudizio positivo specialmente se utilizzato per jazz, blues, boogie.
Per un suono da "classica" pecca un po'
Nel complesso positivo.

Penso che mi durera per molto. Ho venduto la mia vecchia master.

Non c'e neanche sul sito della Casio!! Comunque non penso che abbia nulla da aggiornare. Non mi sono mai rivolto ad un centro casio.

Per adesso non mi posso permettere di piu, certo se potessi spendere 2000 euro per una master....
Suono molto ed avevo bisogno di uno strumento molto simile ad un piano per esercitarmi ed ho trovato in questa casio lo strumento ideale.
Amo soprattutto il tocco e la pesantezza della tastiera.
L'unica cosa che manca secondo me, ed e un peccato, e una uscita audio poiche il timbro e buono. Non ha funzioni da master ma va vista per quello che e: un piano.
Posso concludere che abbinata ad un buon modulo (il mio p-50m lo adoro) non mi fa rimpianger piani digitali molto, molto piu costosi.