Casio PX-320

Imho this is a grat digital piano! It's quite easy to use, the preset sounds are great! THere are 90 or plus banks of memory so you can store a lot of patches in a simple way. There is also the registration feature that's very useful. The manual is quite easy to use, unfortunately i'm italian and there isn't the italian language, but reading it in english isn't difficult for me!

128 notes of polyphony and fantastic action (scaled, of course.

There aren't many effects, expecially there is no pitch bend/modulation option.

Terrific sounds! I love grand piano sounds and electric piano sounds! The organs are quite good but the rotary effect does not satisfy me. The other sounds are great!

I used it during a gig and i must say that it was superlative. I play in a band and i use a lot of patches during my performances, and i never had problems! I used it also as a masterkeyboard with my notebook using the usb connection and it worked well!

It's worth buyin it! The price is low and the features are excellent.

I had a roland rd 300 sx and if i have to choose one, i surely choose this one, expecially for the action and the piano sounds.

Firstly, I'd like to thank all of the reviewers who took the time to give detailed critiques of the PX-320, so I could confidently order one untried. Happily, I'm in agreement with practically everything written, and this keyboard actually exceeded my expectations, especially for the price! The Grand Pianos sound marvellous, and, as previously mentioned, the feel and touch of the instrument actually motivates you to play, more so than other similar brands. Many of the other sounds are quite usable, especially when split and/or layered.
While I program synthesizers, it actually took me a while to compile and save splits, layers and drum patterns into the registration memories, but once I got the hang of it, it was difficult to stop! Make sure you write down your memory patches, drum patterns, and for which songs they are used. I tried finding them by memory the next time, and had to spend time figuring that out again.

One thought on MIDI OUT: The onboard and alternate sounds have high Bank #'s and variying Program #'s for some reason, while the GM sounds have Bank 0 settings, and move up sequentially from 00 for program changes. For me, these sounds were more conducive to sending MIDI program changes to my module when selected (for Bank 0). It also has local on/off, or you can just turn the piano volume down when playing a MIDI module. The registration memory locations themselves, of course, do not send a MIDI program change signal.
Although I never liked playing along to a drum machine, for some reason, I really enjoy playing a bass/keys split along with the appropriate and saved drum pattern (and tempo). Great options for the drum track pattern saved with a specific memory: You can play the sound with no drums, start the drums with a button, or set it so it starts the drums as you start playing. You can also synchro-start with an intro drum pattern, change to a fill with another button, and hit the end button, so there's an end fill for the planned ending of your piece! My drummer friend looked a little miffed!!

As mentioned above, terrific Grand Pianos! Two of the organs are very usable, as are most of the electric pianos and basses. Layering the GM strings with Grand Piano is better than I expected (even in the lower register), and the relative layered sound volume is adjustable! I really get used to practising through the onboard speakers, but when I also plug it into my big Behringer Keyboard Amp, look out...I can't believe the "clang" the piano sounds produce.

I'm so attached to it now, I hesitate to move it to a gig or other location, although that'll happen soon! So far, no dependability problems whatsoever.

This is embarrasing, but when I first had trouble saving a drum pattern, tempo setting, and relative volume to a split registration memory, I e-mailed Casio, who responded the next day. But by then, I had it figured out!

Everyone I show this instrument to is just dumbfounded by the sound and features. My guitarist immediately ordered one for his daughter in her University Dorm room, and my Bassist indicated he'll do the same. While I love Yamaha, there is nothing they, or Roland, Korg, Kurzweil, Kawai etc have anywhere near the price range, features and low weight that can touch this model. A greedy wish list includes drawbar organ registrations, seperate output for bass/drum sounds, and relative volume settings between split sounds (like in layer). But that would increase the unit price, and guess what, I'd pay the extra gladly....it would still be a great deal! I also own a Kurzweil 1200 PRO, 2 DX7's with E-Grey Matter installed, and about 10 sound modules.

This is a one-on-one comparison of the Casio PX-320 with it's direct competition, the Yamaha P-85. Both now sell at Guitar Center for $599. I have had a chance to throughly test both instruments and compare their features so this is a shoot-out: which is better for the money?

Quick summary of features common to both instruments: they both offer presets patches only with no sound editing. They both offer four reverb variations. They both weigh about 25 lbs not including their wallwart power supplies. They both offer MIDI in/out. They are both easy-to-use digital piano suitable for beginners or professionals. Let the competition begin...

Polyphony of the PX-320 is 128 note whereas the P-85 offers half that. The PX-320 speaker system offers 6 watts over the P-85. PX-320 offers 4 types of chorus, P-85 offers one. PX-320 offers 202 tones to the ten offered by the P-85. PX-320 offers splits, registration settings (96), and SD storage - the P-85 offers none of the above. Yamaha does not say how much storage for user songs that P-85 has but the PX-320 has 10 songs/3.1 MG capacity. The P-85 has 10 Voice Demos and 50 Piano songs - the PX-320 has 11 Voice Demos and 60 Piano Songs. The PX-320 also has auto-accompaniment (70 patterns), audio line inputs (handy for iPod practice) and USB ports plus SMF compatibility... the P-85 has none of this.

If you are getting the idea that the PX-320 outclasses the P-85 in every category, you are correct. This is not just preferential treatment of the Casio over the Yamaha piano - it's common information you can find yourself by going to the the respective company websites.

The sounds of the acoustic pianos are the most important (that's what most people will buy these instruments for). The acoustic piano of the PX-320 is better than the P-85 thanks in small part to the string resonance feature on the PX-320. Overall the piano is clearer and more payable on the PX-320. And the keyboard feels better on the PX-320 too with a slightly firmer action than the P-85. Electric pianos are similar on both instruments with a slight edge going to the P-85. The organs on the P-85 are the "church" variety only whereas the PX-320 has church and pop varieties. The PX-320 has a terrible buzzy "rock organ" sound but has a useful Jazz Organ (drawbar) that the P-85 is lacking. Both instruments have string sounds but then the PX-320 leaves the P-85 in the dust with it's bass and split-keyboard options plus auto accompaniment and the full GM soundset (includes 128 sound ranging from marimbas and accordians to guitars, brass, choir, orchestral sounds and sound effects). The P-85 has none of this.

The PX-320 and the P-85 are probably equally reliable. I have owned both Casio and Yamaha pianos and neither has given me any trouble after years of professional use.

No opinion about customer support

You can spend as little as $200-$300 on a starter digital piano these days but $599 is the lowest price you can go and get a quality instrument... one that has clear tone, good action, some upscale features. If you're halfway serious about piano and want something "decent" but not ready to go into the $1000+ price range and you don't want to waste your money, this is where you should be.

And the two contenders for the best $599 piano are the Casio PX-320 and the Yamaha P-85. If you skipped the rest of the review to get to the final point here it is: the Casio PX-320 is the clear winner. It's not even close, and it's not just a matter of opinion.

In every way the Casio PX-320 is a superior instrument to the Yamaha P-85, from the higher polyphony to the string resonance feature to the better sound system to the auto accompaniment to the sheer number of voices... there is a long list of features that the PX-320 beats the P-85 at and in many cases the P-85 just doesn't have. And to my ear and hands, the PX-320 sounds and feels better too. You'll quickly get bored with the sparse features of the Yamaha P-85 but it will takes you much longer to even figure out how to use all the options of the Casio PX-320.

And yes, I would say the sound of the PX-320 is good enough for professional use. Casio has a lot of experience now at making their digital pianos and they've gotten it right. The P-85 is good enough for professional use also but you simply get more for your money from the PX-320.

Game over. Casio wins.

Update on the first review i did 14 months ago. Still haven't found out all of the limits of the machine and keep meaning to set the touch response default to 3 on initial switch on.

Still, aside from all that, is easy to use and my pupils (I'm a piano teacher) manage to find all the extra (and annoying to me!) GM2 voices; the metronome is easy to adjust for volume/time signature, the 2 track recorder is intuitive, the split or layered keyboard option also doesn't take a degree to operate either!

I do like the keyboard action still but still find it noticeably harder than my home one (a Kawai MP9500 with wooden keys) but really not that far off an acoustic piano and think for the overall package its awesome.

As before, its 128 polyphony on the main preset voices, 64 on the others. Haven't used the SD card slot in the 14 months of owning it.

Effects...haven't really used them!

Minor criticism is that the output of the 1/4" jacks is low- 1.1v whereas my Kawai MP9500 and the Roland FP-5 were 2.0v so you do have to crank up your active speakers/PA quite a bit more...

I use it for teaching classical piano and then for jazz in my band(s). Seems adept for both.

I like it on touch response 3 as on 1 and 2 i find it clips too easily and the dynamic range is way too limited.

The Rock piano voice would be great for rock and there's a slightly muted grand piano voice for more classical. I tend to use the 'modern' grand piano voice for jazz.

Well it gets lugged around in a Keybag padded bag all the time and the poor thing has scratches on the back panel now. Been used (without a backup!) on at least 25 gigs with 2 rehearsals a week (so 5 hours worth there) and 5 hours of solid teaching every Friday being hammered by 5-12 year olds.
Some of the key actions physically sound louder- took it to the dealer as i was concerned about it but the showroom models exactly the same.

There's a 2 year warranty on it anyway.

It feels built to last and yes i'd definitely depend on it.

I did email Casio about a query to do with the sound of the 1/4" stereo jacks with or without the headphones plugged in and it took forever for them to respond and even then, they didn't know!

It is an UNBELIEVABLY good instrument.

The actual quality of the sounds, keyboard action and facilities, plus the light weight of it (11kg) and the UKP450 sale price really do make it a bargain.

I'd like the line outs to be of a higher voltage ideally as it is a pain that they're so low powered...some of the buttons are a bit plasticky but i'm nit picking. Compare it to a Yamaha p80 (spongy keys, harsh sound), Technics P50 (ditto really, the piano sound is pretty rubbish compared to the Casio) and there's no competition really.

Supplied pedal is a bit cheap- found another one for UKP20 which does the job better

Inbuilt speakers are a bit poor and you do need a nice set of active speakers (I use Fostex SPA11s) or good headphones (Sennheiser HD600 or 565 Ovations) to hear it at it's best

Incidentally i have also tried the PX-310 predecessor with the ZPI sound chip and its nowhere near as good as this, with its AIF chip so well worth spending the extra :)

First off, I going to call this keyboard a Privia. I like my Casio watch but Casio has become synonymous with cheap. Well this keyboard is inexpensive, but it's not cheap.
At first I was a little put off by the all the buttons and card slot on the front panel. I was looking for a great piano sound first and a keyboard that was easy to operate. The panel buttons serve double duty with the combination of the function key and although some things were intuitive, I did need the manual to fully understand all the functions and features. I don't think the white type on silver was the best choice for the panel labels. OK my eyes aren't that great but in a low light bar it's not always easy to find the right button. The 3 digit display is easy to see but that's all you have to navigate a somewhat complex instrument. Once you get use to things, it all makes sense. Setting up a splits and a layered patch is easy. The "registration memory" is fantastic. It allows you to save your sounds, splits, layers, effects into a patch.

If your looking for a one man show keyboard, this is the perfect instrument. You can play it straight as a beautiful expressive piano or you can set up a left hand bass split with a great piano sound in the right hand and layer strings, organ, pads or any of 100's of other sounds. If you want the sound of a whole band playing, the 320 plays back SMF via the onboard SD card reader. Just download any type 0 or 1 MIDI files, copy them to the SD card, plug it into the 320 card slot and hit play. When you press the card mode button the display reads the song number and you can call up any song on the card. Press play and the song loads almost instantly. You can still switch to other functions on the keyboard and display as the MIDI song is being played. So you could be changing registration presets or calling up other sounds without affecting the song play. The The card is limited to 2 gigs but MIDI files are very small and a 2 gig card should be all you'd ever need for any show. The "registration presets" are very useful. I have all my patches set up with variations of layers, volume etc and change them on the fly. There is no waiting or cut out in sound when you change a patch.
There is some features like the "auto accompany" which I don't find useful. But for the most part the 320 does everything I was hoping for. The SD card slot and the SMF playback is a BIG plus. The built in General MIDI sounds are very high quality and sound great for sequencing or real time patches. I use to carry racks of gear around to get sequences and sound mods to playback. This little 320 does it all and with all this ability, the extra polyphony comes in handy. It allows you to play back SMF and still have polyphony enough to play along.
With all that said, there is still something about the sound and feel of the PX-300 that is very satisfying to play. The action have a little more pop and the the sound is somewhat "scooped" which gives the 300 a bigger, fuller sound. The 300 also have more drum sets and more drum patterns. I found the drums pattens on the 300 a lot more useable. Since the 320 has SMF playback it allow you to load any drum pattern or complete song in

I really wanted to buy a Yamaha CP-33. I favorite keyboard is a Yamaha C3 grand piano. Of course onless you're Billy Joel or Elton John you probably will have to settle for something a little more portable. I've always felt that the Yamaha digital pianos came closer to the feel of a real piano. I do think the Yamaha action is better for fast passages like "Angry Young Man". The Privia action does not return the keys fast enough for that type of playing. After comparing the CP-33 as well as the other Yamaha and Roland pianos I preferred the PX-320 for it's sound and feel. I don't think the 320 is perfect but it sounded and played the best of all the pianos I tried. I could nit pick about certain qualities of the tone. The envelope seems a bit short to me and sometimes I hear phasing issues or certain notes that are too bright and a bit harsh on the forte sample. But overall the sound is very pleasing and the samples are very high quality. As far as expressive, it's funny but my older Privia PX-300 is more expressive. The sound of the PX-300 is not as present and lacks mid range fidelity in comparison. It even sounds a bit muddy and bassy at times but still there's something enjoyable about the sound and feel of the PX-300 which I still prefer over the PX-320. The PX-320 is a more accurate representation of the sound of a real piano with more sparkle in the high end and more definition, whereas the 300 just sounds good. One thing that helps the Privia pianos is having an on board speaker system which adds the vibration that helps simulate a real piano experience. Both Privia pianos feel good to play and you once you start playing, you forget all the details and just enjoy playing.

Although the PX-320 is touted as a "stage" piano, it does not seem to be built any sturdier than the other pianos in the Privia line. The construction, although adequate, is plastic and light. Light is good, plastic not so good. I would like to see a little metal in the construction but at this price it's understandable. I don't know how any keyboard would stand dropping, including the 320 and I don't intend to find out. As far as reliability, I have a Privia PX-300 which is over 3 years old now and still working perfectly.

Casio is a BIG company. I have called their support line and have been connected quickly with an actual person in customer support. That is impressive. What is not so impressive is that with a fairly complicated keyboard like this, a call center representative might not have the experience to answer an in depth question about the operation of this keyboard. At least that was my experience. After customer support could not answer my questions I was told someone with more specific knowledge of the Privia pianos would call back in 48 hours. I'm still waiting on the expert. It would be nice if Casio had a few people who have played this keyboard available in customer support instead of a call center attendant with a flow chart.
Still I have to give them something for having a real person answer the line.

This is my second Privia. I got the PX-320 to replace my Privia PX-300. Now I find there are things about the 300 that make me want to keep it so I guess I have a backup. I think Casio has done an outstanding job of creating a instrument that captures that magic intangible of an instrument that makes you want to play. After all the specs and features, it just plain feels good and is fun to play. It inspires me to play more and be a better player. That's a pretty tall statement for one of the most inexpensive digital pianos you can buy. In choosing a digital piano, I compared the PX-320 not only to pianos in the same price range but rather all digital pianos. The PX-320 was a clear winner. I appreciate the light weight but I would still like to see a stage piano in the Privia line that is a bit sturdier. Maybe a metal case with touches of finished hardwood? I would pay more money for added ruggedness and style.

May take a few button pushes to get to what you want but there's plenty of registration slots available so that's not an issue. The manual is clear and concise.

128 poly - fantastic keyboard action - basic and easy to use effects. Excellent SMF player from SD card.

Standard GM voices which I use as a basic backing for the main voices. Super main piano voice which works unbelievably well with the keyboard action. Really makes you want to play and improve.

A this price buy two!

Never dealt with them

Anybody who bought this on price has unwittingly and luckily bought one of the best. Lightweight for gigging - better piano action and piano sound than it's stupidly expensive and backbreaking rivals. This is one for the weekend semi-pros not the play at home keyboard snobs (wrong name on the back). I can't congratulate Casio enough, brillant stuff, Korg - Yamaha - Roland and the rest should be ashamed.

More on the piano below. I've only checked out a small number of other sounds (mainly because I rarely get passed the piano before I notice an hour has passed playing), but amongst the ones I did there were plenty of highly useful ones, and no truly bad ones: great strings, good choir and useful organs and electic piano's. You can layer two sounds by simply pressing the two buttons of choice. Layering with sounds not offered through a button (there are many) takes a few more keypresses, but it's no big deal.

Editing is minimal but adequate, with stuff like reverb type and amount, velocity sensitivity and brightness. The velocity sensing defaults to '2'. I defaulted it to '1', since that gives me a bit more lively response.

By the way, you can store your edit as the power-on default. Terrific.

The manual is fine, haven't needed it much.

Polyphony is max 128. Some voices, e.g. the electric piano's, are 64 voice, which is still plenty. But since you can layer two sounds it's not to hard to drop to 32 voices max, which got me some notestealing when playing fast runs.

The keyboard action is the first great feature of this. I spent an hour in the store playing various keyboards, including the Korg SP-250 and the Yamaha P85, and several Yamaha's and Rolands in around the 1500 euro mark. This beats anything in its pricerange, really. The difference between this and the SP-250/P85 (its closest rivals) was so great that, even if those had sounded much better (they don't), this could still take first price simple because of the responsive keyboard.

Build in effects are simple chorus + reverb, easy to use but not particularly useful. The reverb is servicable - at least I don't feel the need to take it off. However, I do feel that the reverb is the weak link in the audio department. But it's useful.

Expansion: it takes SD-cards for storing sequences, and possibly more - haven't used it yet, again, because I can't really get passed just playing the piano, who has time for this stuff? ;)

It has both MIDI and USB interfaces, with the last one acting as MIDI interface and disconnecting the actual MIDI ports when in use. Handy.

Keys aren't pressure sensitive, of course.

It does have an onboard sequencer and all the automatic play stuff you could wish for on a keyboard. I haven't used them, except a spot of the basic rhythm section here and there. Useful as an advanced metronome, at least, with buttons for fill-in etc.

Right, preset 1: the piano.

Again, compared to its closest rivals by Yamaha and Korg, you wonder how anyone could be tempted away from this humble Casio offering. This has so much more body in the lows, a solid mid and a sweet, dreamy high. For runs, arpeggio's and generally fast, jazzy play this is absolutely gorgeous. Casio has performed a miracle on this sound, at this price point. It's pretty much the cheapest production digital piano, and hearing it perform on par with boards up to around the 1500 euro mark, for a mere 700 euro, is absolutely stunning.

Having played it for a while I did notice some unpleasant resonance in exactly two keys. Unfortunately, they're pretty central: E4 and F4. I didn't notice this in the store, but it became pretty obvious after hours of intense play on headphones. This is my biggest gripe, and it's a shame, since the sound is otherwise so solid.

Still, while playing I can forget about it, simply because this instrument is such a joy to play. So I forgive it!

The other criticism is that chords sound a lot more clinical than individual notes. Because I mainly tend to play wide-ranging arpeggio's and fast runs, I can live with that too, but if you're into bigfisted chords, you might feel that this doesn't live up to a professional standard. Like any other instrument: play it extensively in the store and decide for yourself.

Ads say it offers sympathatic resonance, but if it's there it's not a very pronounced effect. Ah well.

It works wonders for blues and fast impro, and will certainly not disgrace you if you play some classical stuff on it. I haven't tried it in a band, but I feel it could cut through a wall of guitars with relative easy, since the basic sound is so solid.

Again, the keyboard feel is lovely. I've been playing a Hammond-clone and synths for almost three decades, and this is one of the first electronic keyboards which truly feels like a 'real instrument' to me. It just makes you explore the dynamics, from bashing the lower notes for great bass to almost tickling the well defined upper octaves. I'm in love.

Solid look and feel. Also, it weights only 17,5 kg, which is pretty amazing for this quality of weighted keyboard. It has a wall-wart powersupply, which is pants, but so do most of it (usually more expensive) competitors.

I'd use it without a backup, sure, with a solid case of course.

Just got it, haven't needed them. Since Casio has existed for approximately 17.000 years, I'd imagine they have acceptable customer support, at least. Hope I never find out.

Yes, I'd buy it again if I 'lost' it. If there's another option in this price range, I'd be curious to know what it is!

I paid 665 euro brand new, which is an absolute bargain.

Been playing since the late seventies. Owned tons of gears, mainly synths, but I've sold everything off to concentrate on just playing. My most-played keyboard before this was a Hammond clone.

The top three reasons for a slim-line, ultra-light gigging piano:
"Sorry, our concert grand is being used by the dj for his snack buffet."
"We've made some room for your piano right there, on the second bookshelf, between the road atlas & "The Places You'll Go"."
"The bride would like your piano at the top of that stone stairway, next to the condor nest."

What's the holy grail of portable keyboard design? Ask 10 players, get ten answers.
For my own use, as a longtime working pianist/synth player, I have a definite wish-list:
88 fully-weighted keys, good piano, keyboard & assorted sounds, onboard speakers, rhythm machine/arranger patterns, MIDI & USB, stereo outs, slim, easy to carry design, and the weight... please, under 30lbs. total weight.
Sounds impossible to achieve, right?

Chaos theory to the rescue: it must have been an oversight, a design accident.
The holy grail has arrived, at least for myself, and it's made by an unlikely kiddie-keys manufacturer.

In case you haven't seen the specs on the PX-320, here's the details.

Specs:

Keyboard Casio PX-320

Sound quality - Good multi-samples, piano & keyboard voices, plus 60 special soundbank voices & GM that are ok
Key action - medium-heavy weighted action
Onboard speakers - Yes, 8w per channel in stereo, dual speakers on each channel
Interface - 28 buttons, straight-line layout
Display - 3 digit led
Polyphony - 128 notes
Arranger patterns - yes; backing tracks can be switched off, set to full keyboard chord recognition, or split keyboard varieties
Drum Machine - 70 1-bar patterns, with 1 fill, 1 Intro/Ending, Synchro-Start
Tap-tempo button - no
Registration memory - yes; 96 player defined setups
Controllers - no controllers
Outputs - Standard 1/4" stereo ins & outs
PC connectivity - USB "B" connector, to pc
MIDI - midi in & out
Sequencer - 2 tracks
Data storage - SD card (up to 2GB)
Manual - 60 pages with step-by-step directions
Pedals - requires casio sustain pedal or switchable-polarity pedal
Weight - 26 lbs. and perfect
Construction quality - made in china; slim, all plastic case. No rough edges, uneven keys, loose screws. Dark grey exterior doesn't look amateurish or cheesy.
Price - $700 retail - $600 - $650 on sale

The Quick Summary:

The px-320 has the features that pros want in a stage piano: acceptable weighted action, good quality piano voices, stereo outputs, MIDI & USB, data storage, quick access to the basic keyboard sounds that working pianists are most likely to need in a playing situation.
Going further into the use of the many features, arranger-type rhythm functions, will require reading the manual (more than once), and probably printing out reference copies of the sound & rhythm lists.

In summary, the px320 is a good professional stage piano, with all of the required features.

The presence of the onboard speakers, drumbot/arranger, teaching tools, increases the flexibility of the instrument, and make it a breakthough product; the first fully-weighted 88 key piano/arranger keyboard, with built-in speakers, that is easily portable.
Kudos to Casio!

The only modification the Casio requires for professional use is an application of duct tape over the brand names on the audience side of the case, and only if you want to avoid scorn for playing a toy.
We all know that Casio has made kiddie-keyboards for many years.
This one isn't a toy.

Arranger type functions in the 320 are an add-on that grants arranger status to an ultra-light stage piano. The limited 3 digit LED visual interface and lighted LED button feedback make using the drum machine & arranger an adventure.

So far, about a dozen rhythms have emerged as suitable for different styles. My fav has become #22, a jazz-brushes 4/4 pattern, but there are a number of pop, r&b and assorted latin dance styles that also play well.

Haven't experimented too much with the arranger patterns, because I mainly use the drum-bot on arranger-type boards. Canned 1 size-fits-all backing tracks usually seem too limiting, but the drum patterns on the 320 are very welcome (in case the quiet cocktail party turns nasty).
Drum sounds are well-sampled, and the brush kit is a blast for old jazzrs (who... me?).

Two track sequencing onboard, with track 1 as primary track for recording the keyboard & main performance data; arranger patterns, drum machine, effects settings, layers etc.
Track 2 is a stack track, and can be used to add another preset /soundbank tone to the sequence.
This is about as close as you can get to the definition of scratch-pad sequencer. There's no sequence editing possible; you can save the file to the SD card as a Casio format song or SMF.
I haven't plugged in the USB cable & driver, because I'm using it as a gigging board, not a studio controller.

Onboard memory can store 5 songs of up to approx. 10,000 notes for each, and songs can be recalled from both the song memory, or the card, for instant playback. I've used that on several jobs for intermission music, and it works as advertised.

The manual is necessary if you want to do anything more than turn it on & play the presets.
It's 60 pages, relatively brief & well-written. Casio's done a good job of providing clear step-by-step instructions describing the many features that's been packed into the sparse interface of the 320.
Download the PDF file from this link:
http://world.casio.com/emi/download/en/manual/

Controls:
Minimalist 28 button straight-line layout, conveniently located directly above the keyboard, with most buttons doing double-duty.
Some of the buttons have a built-in LED, and some of them control 1 or 2 LEDs above/below themselves.
Hint: although there's no LCD screen for info, you can look at the LED red-light district & see what is going on at a glance 8-))

The Function button is all important, essentially acting like the Shift button on other boards, accessing the dual uses of the button command set.
To return to the use of the labeled top-line button names, you press the Function button again to turn off the bottom-line functions.
Toggle switch.

Press the "Split" button, and an acoustic bass patch appears on the left side of the split point. Don't want that particular split voice? Any pre-set Tone button that is pressed after pressing the split button will become the split voice. The split voice button is a toggle switch also... press it again to turn off the split.

Changing the split-point is also convenient; hold down the Split button, the key name of the RH BOTTOM key split-point pops up in the LED display, press the piano key where you want the new split to occur. Done.

Layering two voices is like the procedure on many stage pianos - press and hold one voice button while pressing the second voice button, and the voices are layered. Can't triple layer, just two voices, but you can first layer two voices, and then split the keyboard to have three voices working for you. My workhorse P80 won't do that, and it cost almost 2x as much as the PX.

You say that you don't have any midifiles pre-recorded yet, but want to turn on some piano music while you take a break? Hold down the "Music Library" button and then press the "Play/Stop" button; the onboard piano classics song library will crank up your favorite (?) recital pieces! Very nostalgic!

Sound Quality: Piano = 8 Other Pre-sets = 7 Various Soundbank = 7 GM sounds = GM sounds

Main piano sample quality is good. It seems to be a multi-sample, not individually key-sampled.
Both ends of the keyboard sound amazing, like an amplified grand; thunder & ice.
In the middle of the piano, the area where most digitals suffer, the piano sample is not completely convincing because of a slight metallic ringing in the multi-samples mid-range zones. 2 points deducted from the total rating for this flaw, although it may go un-noticed unless you've focused your ears to hear it.
The Yamaha, Korg & Roland primo digitals have better piano samples, but they're also in a much higher price & weight class. Not a fair comparison, but if you're searching for the best piano sound, regardless of the instruments price & portability, you'd probably be happier with the premier keyboards. Or, you could just MIDI your favorite module to the 320.
I don'e have a problem with the 320's piano sample, and really appreciate its "play-ability" across the keyboard; can be very expressive.

Turn the volume level up to max and you'll hear the approximate volume level of an unamplified grand.

The main Tone presets are panned in stereo (play up the keyboard, toward the right, and the sound gradually pans to the right speaker - nice), and the onboard speakers provide some tactile vibration feedback to the keys.

At the default Touch Sensitivity setting of 2 (medium), the PX-320 key action is responsive and even, similar to a medium-heavy piano action, without sponginess or overly sluggish characteristics.
The key-up return speed is not quite as fast as a good grand action, so very rapid repeated notes will wait on the key-up delay.
I haven't noticed any difference in the key weight between the upper & lower octaves, like a graded action. Seems to be the same resistance weight for all the keys.

Key width is standard (yes, I measured it - 6.5" per octave, C to C). Take a tape measure to many synth or arranger keyboards; you'll find out why you glitch (hit in between the keys) on those smaller width keys.

Through the onboard 8W stereo speakers, the output is loud enough for small parties and small rooms. I ran it through a tiny 30W Roland cube monitor, and filled a large party room... loud & clean. Even the drum-bot sounded perky.
Used it on a few gigs in ballrooms, and ran the L/mono out through a larger keyboard amp. At a distance, while playing back an on-the-spot recorded midifile, it sounded like an amplified piano, playing what I had just played. Woohoo!

General MIDI soundset is accessible through Tone button #12 or via MIDI, along with a "Various" bank of 60 special voices.

Pre-set Tones:

Three variations on the primary piano voice. The first one (Modern Grand) sounds the most accurate to me. Piano #2, "Classic", is a darker-sounding grand, while the 3rd piano voice, named "Variation", is a mono version of the piano sample.

The Tone button electric pianos are a welcome addition; Elec. #1 is a rhodes-type sample, and #2 is an FM elecpiano type voice, but with a fuller harmonic spectrum and a bright vibes-like attack; sounds like a dual wave sample.
The tone button #7 60s Electric piano is a fair Whirly imitation.

The #9 jazz organ is your basic Hammond 1-2-3 drawbars & third harmonic perc. Has vibrato in the sample (tradition), no way to shut it off to a straight tone, or turn on a full leslie effect; sounds reasonably authentic.

We've all heard #10, Strings, many times before. Don't expect rosin to come flying out of the speakers, but it's a good String ensemble, and sounds convincing as a pad.

Voice #11 "Synth-Voice" is an Oxygen-Choir type patch, an instant newage pad.

Final sound analysis; stage pianos need a playable, solid piano voice. This board has that. Anything else is a bonus.

Cons:

I swore that I would not complain about the 3 digit LED display, mainly because that's all I have on my work-a-day P80. The interface works fine, once you get accustomed to the LED digits instead of LCD screen data.

OK, 2 gripes.

First complaint concerns Casio's sustain pedal polarity. The other synth makers have either standardized their pedals, or provided, via a software utility page, a polarity switch for the sustain pedal. Casio should do this as well.

Solution: third party switchable-polarity pedals are available. I have one, but it's not as stable as the excellent Roland DP series with the swivel heel rest to keep the pedal in place. Of course, the Roland pedal won't work with any Casio keyboard.

My 2nd complaint concerns any modern arranger/drum machine. Tap-tempo buttons have been in existence for at least 20 years. They should be standard equipment on auto-rhythm modules by now. Keeps the baby-sitting chores on setting/changing tempo at a minimum. I haven't seen any Casios with tap-tempo... maybe on next years lineup?

Wish-list:
An LCD screen display (like the PX-575), switchable sustain pedal polarity, tap-tempo button, data wheel or 10 key pad, MIDI SYSEX send/receive & save to card, pitch-bend & mod wheels... and cupholders, lots of cupholders... oh hell, now I'm wishing for a keyboard that transforms into a minivan after the gig.

Pros:

There are many thoughtful touches throughout the keyboard panel.

A setup memory function allows for setting up the panel the exact way that you want the instrument to power-on. OLE!!!

You can also set a registration filter to omit the accompaniment & rhythm patterns from the registration memory recall, so you can punch up different registration # sound settings only, without the rhythm pattern & tempo abruptly changing to the pre-set registration pattern.
The registration memory (96 total registration memory locations) also stores the effects settings (Brilliance, Reverb, Chorus), splits, layers etc. along with the individual Tone Voices, so you can have separate EQ & Effects for every one of your sound combos.

Easily reset any of the displayed function values to their default with a simultaneous press on both of the No/Yes buttons.

Back panel mounted stereo L-Mono/R outs & ins. This is a big deal at a time when many of the inexpensive keyboards are only sporting a headphone jack for their output.

Basic MIDI functions are supported; changing the MIDI channel, turning "Accomp. & rhythm pattern out", and "Local", on/off, are another job for the Function button along with the MIDI button.

USB connectors to a pc are not a substitute for MIDI plugs. USB synth connections are proprietary interfaces that require a computer & driver software to work. Having MIDI plugs means you can drive any of the zillion MIDI modules that exist.

The PX-320 does MIDI, AND it also has a USB "B" connector for a pc hookup. This is ideal; the PX-320 is CONNECTED.

HC asks: Would you use it on a gig without a backup?

No, I always carry a small backup board & amp. Always.
Things happen. Murphy's Law.

The first unit (brand new, not a re-pack) that I purchased had a sound problem. Mid-range on the piano sounded dull, without the higher frequency resonance that I had heard on the store demo (through the onboard speakers - no outboard signal tricks or different internal EQ settings).
I returned the first one for another copy, and the second one sounded fine, exactly like the store demo that had impressed me.
May have been an isolated problem with the first unit, or maybe Casio made an adjustment during the product run.

Harmony Central Asks: What if it were lost or stolen?

Lost... stolen... from my motorcade?... with the paparazzi everywhere? How could that happen? Have to change security companies, hire new bodyguards...
OK, I'd buy a new one in a minute; probably get a better blanky to cover the stuff while it's in the van.

HC asks: Did you compare it to other products? Which ones? Why did you choose this one?

Compared it to the Yamaha P85 (70, 60), CP33, YPG-625, DGX-520, Roland RD series, Korg SP series, and the Casio PX-575, 555, 310.
All of the other products were either lacking features, such as Line-outs, MIDI plugs, drum-bot, onboard speakers, or were over my arbitrary 30 lb. weight limit.

HC also asks: How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?

Been playing a loooong time. Have mucho gear, including a vintage Yamaha PF70, from the 80's, that has a fabulous action.
Too heavy to cart to gigs, but it's still a great practice piano.

Conclusion:

Category rating of 10 for this section is one of those situations where the sum total is greater than the individual parts.

The thing I most like about the px320 is its play-ability combined with its portability.
At 26 lbs., it's 10 lbs. lighter than my primo P80.
The Casio definitely wins the "I want the piano up that winding staircase to the balcony, please", contest.
For in-&-out gigs, with only the onboard speakers, the CasioCutie is superior to anything else that is in the same weight class.
And, you can actually play the little board like itsa piano! No sponge cake, please.

I'm looking forward to seeing how it holds up under professional use. Already had the 320 out on 3 gigs, and it performed well.
Slid it into a wheeled road runner slim 88 case, and it's a breeze to cart around.
I don't know how a fall would affect it, but I'm betting that the plastic case is not ready for unprotected travel.
If the PX-320 survives its first year of gigging, I'll probably get another one as a backup. Can't have too many sets of plastic keys!

As I said in the Quick Summary, the PX-320 is a first in its class, a breakthrough instrument, and should be a hit with working pianists looking for a lightweight, inexpensive, weighted-action piano/arranger 88 to sling around the job sites.

Thanks for reading. I hope that this review helps in your research for a digital piano.

I just ordered the CASIO PRIVIA PX-320 over the PRIVIA PX-200 recently. And finally it arrived. after almost a month (30 days of shipping since the PX-320 is not yet available locally within our area and is still on "order-basis").

I've tried playing a couple of notes and chords for the preset sounds/patches to see any improvement and after 2 days of tinkering and playing music with it I'm beginning to appreciate the improved grand piano sound of the PRIVIA digital piano. Although it uses the same AiF sound compression methods as the PX-200, the PX-320 offers in addition to 128-note polyphony, a DUET mode, dual earphone/headphone jacks, a panel control lock and 202 preset tones ( a combination of Variation tone, panel tones and GM tones). The manual is simple and easily understood.

On the outside, it may look rather "simple" or bland due to its "space-saving" slim design. It's noticeable that it lacks a large LCD screen that more expensive digital pianos have (e.g. Clavinova, Roland etc.). But do not let the simplistic/minimalistic exterior design fool you into thinking this keyboard is a dud, because it can hold it's own in terms of a decent sounding grand piano patch/sampled sound and even saxophone sounds and a vintage electric piano sound.

The PX-320, like its predecessor (PX-310), is meant for home studio/stage use which is the reason why it also has a handy registration bank/memory feature for storing various keyboard settings (i.e. pertaining to use of split, layered tones, patch and rhythm settings) that can be useful for quick patch or setting changes while "gigging". The hammer-action feel of the keys are realistic, you can actually hear and feel the hammer action when you press and release a key.

It has a 128-note maximum polyphony. Using some tones/patch, however, the 128 note polyphony maybe limited to 64-note polyphony...and this is true in using "special tones" like MODERN GRAND PIANO, breathy ALTO/TENOR SAX and other panel tones that make extensive use of more complex samples. However, majority of the GM tones and even some panel tones and variation tones, do not limit or diminish the existing 128-note polyphony to 64-note-polyphony. So, nothing to worry about here.

Unlike high-end synths, workstations or high-end digital pianos-with-some MIDI functions, it doesn't have room for expansion boards for increasing the "preset sound tones or instrument patches".

However, it does have adequate jacks for connection to a PA system/ decent pair of loud speakers (L/MONO and R line out), USB to PC port, MIDI IN/OUT and dual headphones and even a LINE-IN.


Some of the variation tones and panel tones make use of their own "effects" (i.e. reverb and chorus). The reverb and chorus effects each have 4-5 levels. As an example, you can manually set the reverb, say, to a "small room", "large hall" effect.

The keys are "touch response" meaning, they're pressure sensitive, the more pressure you apply in pressing the keys...the louder the sound you produce...and the lesser pressure you apply on the keys, the "softer" the sound (this is true in using all sound patches/tones, except the drum set patch).

It can play STANDARD MIDI FILES TYPE O AND 1. It can record into 2 tracks only and records in Casio's proprietary music format BUT the PRIVIA package comes with a program CD which also contains an application that can be used to convert CASIO recorder music data to STANDARD MIDI FILES (i.e. SMF 0).

You can expand the number of built-in tunes for possible practice by using up to 2GB SD CARDS. You can also use the SD-Card feature as a means to make the PRIVIA piano a MIDI-file player.

The sampled Grand Piano patch, breathy ALTO/TENOR saxophone patches (sounds amazingly realistic), flute and even the violin are amazingly expressive and even realistic. The onboard effects are limited to reverb (4-5 types) and chorus (4-5 types/levels). At least, CASIO has "toned down" the brass section from the old "harsh and loud" brass sounds to a more refined (slight softer) brass section sound.

The touch response is great and responsive to the amount of pressure you apply the individual keys. Great for more expressiveness in playing music pieces or arrangements. Sadly, the PRIVIA series and most of CASIO's products do not have keyboard AFTERTOUCH. But I can live without it and in my humble opinion, the music does not really suffer that much without an AFTER TOUCH feature.

The key resistance is medium-heavy...not too soft (like those in synths and portable keyboard/workstations) and not too heavy (like some poorly made/designed upright pianos).

If you're a wise musician, you'd be acquainting yourself first with any of your music gear before even attempting to use it live on-stage or for a gig. In other words, reading the manual is a necessity to familiarize, if not fully master the basic buttons to be pressed to change this sound/beat to that sound/beat.

I can say that it can be dependable or reliable during gigs, but like I've said, familiarizing yourself with the control/panel buttons would help a lot in making your performance in a gig as smooth as possible.

I don't think I"ll have a problem using it as a main piano/digital piano in a gig but only after I've completely familiarized myself with the controls/buttons and practised with it. Or, I can also use it as a back-up. Either way, I think it's dependable.

So far, I haven't experienced any problems with my PRIVIA digital piano. The whole PX-320, although made of plastic external enclosure, appear sturdy enough especially when used with the CS-65P wooden stand that shipped with the unit. The hammer mechanism responsible for the advertised hammer-action of the PRIVIA series feel sturdy enough to endure "double fortissomos" or constant practices.

When I was ordering through CASIOTONE, the sales people have been friendly and accomodating and were patient enough to answer my inquiries regarding the PX-320. But since, I haven't really experienced yet their AFTER-SALES Customer Support, I'm holding out on giving them a perfect or near-perfect score.

If it were stolen, I'd definitely buy it again. It's a true "bang-for-the-buck" digital piano. It's worth the amount I paid for it.

I love the Grand piano, saxophone, steel guitar, some electric piano patches and last but not the least, I particularly love the 128-note polyphony and the SD card storage feature. The PX-320 is truly a better version of the older PX-310 in terms of added features and better piano sound samples.

If ever, there's something I hate in the PRIVIA PX-320, it's the lack of a PITCH BEND WHEEL and a numeric keypad that will make choosing preset tones/patches easier to select.

I compared the CASIO PRIVIA PX-320 with YAMAHA's DGX-620 but the 128-note polyphony, good hammer-action feel and relatively cheaper price won me over to CASIO's PRIVIA.

If ever there's few other things/feature that the PX-320 had, it would have to be a PITCH-BEND WHEEL (very useful for guitar patches), a modest if not slightly bigger LCD screen and a numeric keypad button for easy selection of the GM tones/variation tones...instead of having to press the YES/NO button simultaneously with the GM/VARIATION TONE BUTTON to scroll down through various patch numbers to select the tone you want. Thankfully and mercifully, the registration memory feature of the PX-320 should make recalling sound patches and other settings easier with just a click of a button.


I've been playing the piano since I was eight and I was trained by my piano instructor/teacher first in classical and second in playing by ear and mastering chords as well (although I know child prodigies started playing even younger and the age I started playing pales by comparison). However, I only started playing keyboards in gigs since my junior college days and so it's been roughly 14-15 years. This does not make me an expert or master in making a review or even playing music, but this experience however, has given me a certain degree of discernment or awareness as to what sounds good over another preset tone/patch, what features come in handy in gigs. what gears you need etc. just like the other musicians out there who have been playing in gigs and using music gears for years.

Straight out of the box, this can be used rather easily. There are 11 preset tones readily available, and then 191 extra various tones. The presets for the most part sound great, especially the piano ones. I found some of the electric piano ones to sound a little odd, but that's just me. There are loads of options to explore that definitely take some looking at the manual, but the manual is pretty easy to follow and outlines everything in steps.

The keyboard has 128 polyphony and over 200 tones to choose from. It also features an SD Card slot, MIDI In/Out, USB, a Line In and Line Out, each of which can either be stereo or mono, and jacks for sostenuto and damper pedals. Also came with AC Adapter and damper pedal. The store I bought from also threw in a free stand and dust cover. I got this piano to replicate a piano. I use it for practicing and gigging. The action on it is the reason I got it. Out of all of the keyboards I have played, this feels th best to me. However, different people like different types of action. It is medium-heavy and is rather quick. Trills and tremolos are easy to execute. Single note tremolos are as expected, not being too great, but not being terrible either.

The sounds coming out of this keyboard are beautiful under the right circumstances. Using the on board speakers, it sounds alright. It is nothing special, good for practicing, and alright for gigging. However, if you plug in a good pair of closed back headphones, monitors, or some sort of PA speaker, this sounds beautiful. I have not had the chance yet to play around with every tone, but what I've played so far has sounded good. I've been mostly concentrating on the piano sounds, because that is what I am going to mainly use it for. When played through a decent speaker, from the lows to the highs, it sounds amazing. The bass is deep and rich. The highs have that beautiful music box effect every pianist dreams of. Everything is well balanced as well. No one octave drowns out another.

I haven't had this keyboard too long so I can't really attest to its reliability. It is light for a keyboard but it seems sturdy.

Haven't had to deal with Casio yet.

I have played piano for 10 years now and play mainly jazz and standards. I needed something to practice with and go out to gigs with. This is not something that sounds like a fake cheesy piano. It is rich and beautiful sounding. The action is great and I have no problem going back and forth between this and a real piano. I highly recommend this to someone who is looking for a portable piano.