Product: Kawai X-30
Price Paid: 50 (GBP) used
Submitted
04/07/2005
at
02:57am
by
Brian Blackburn
Email: bblackburn at fish<dot>co<dot>uk
Ease of Use
:
7
The X30 has a very simple system for accessing its sounds. A 0-9 keypad and a three digit LED. Additional lights within the LED frame tell you whether you're on sound setting, rhythm setting, whether the Ad-Lib is on.
The presets are okay but then the quality of the sound has always been Kawai's strength. Good pianos and nice strings. There is no option to edit any of the sounds.
Features
:
6
This is a very simple keyboard designed for beginners who are just starting out playing. The box describes it as being perfect for piano students but it does not have weighted keys. It is, however, velocity sensitive. It has 100 sounds, 50 rhythms, a one-finger chord system and a very interesting Ab-lib area.
The keyboard has a sequencer/recorder although I've never used it and couldn't comment on it's effectiveness. It has no MIDI and no line-out facilities (other than headphones). I cannot find any way to expand it!
Expressiveness/Sounds
:
8
Good sounds, punchy pianos and lush strings, with effective velocity. Drum sounds are okay. Very nice stereo chorus but of course this can only be judged through headphones or the internal speakers.
Reliability
:
8
You can't gig it because there are no line outs. This is one for keeping at home to practice on.
Customer Support
:
5
Never been required.
Overall Rating
:
6
I kept this for a while then sold it on. It was fun to play with and had some good effects but the lack of line-outs made it impossible to use outside the house. If you want a cheap simple keyboard for practice then this is not a bad one to go for.
