Technics SX-P50

This is a no brainer... all important functions make their appearance on the front panel. Less important functions (that I never use) can be hard to get at, but are documented in the manual.

For a practice piano in an apartment where I need to play with headphones most of the time this is a perfect Axe. Sometimes I wish I had more sounds, but I play the piano sounds 98% of the time anyway. I give it a high rating for features because it has what I need (excellent touch, sound, expressiveness) and not what I don't (1000s of sounds, sequencers, synthesizers, or zeros at the end of the price tag).
This keyboard is HEAVY. It always surprises me when I pick it up. But in this sense, the action and expressiveness also feels well built. Compared to some Yamaha keyboards that are a bunch lighter, this keyboard feels like it puts its weight where it is needed: key action.

This is a Digital piano not a synthesizer. It works very well when a real piano would work well except with a weight savings of over 900 pounds and the ability to play with headphones. Other uses are way less flexible, but the piano is beautiful. I got this for a bargain used, and it has been one of my best purchases ever just because I can not use a real piano.

It has been mentioned before that this keyboard needs an equalizer when amplified. I agree with this although this also depends on the quality of the speakers. When I played mine through a friend's set of Yamaha studio monitors, we both were surprised how good it sounded. He has a MOTIF and said that my Technics was comparable in sound quality and surprisingly much smaller. Also, played mono just doesn't cut it. The stereo samples need to be heard to be believed. It is worth it to get another speaker.

I bought mine used. It has been a studio instrument, and moved little but gets played often. So far, more reliable than my previous Yamaha PSR-GX76, which had system board problems throughout its life (and required solder numerous times to return to working order). For me it has been very dependable even though it was bought used. I have had it for over a year.

Have had no reason to call the factory (yet- fingers crossed)

I bought this used, and I am very very very satisfied with the bargain I received. Invest in a small mixer with an equalizer if you plan on amplifying (Don't even think about mono... it's a waste of your time- even with an equalizer).

Compared with my previous keyboard, the Technics just makes me want to play. By taking all the distractions out and providing clean, meaty piano sounds this keyboard provides everything I want in a keyboard with nothing I don't.

I have been using this keyboard for 7 years. I am a working musician playing 2-3 nights a week. The first 5 1/2 years was a house gig, the last 1 1/2 years have been on the road every weekend. This keyboard is a TANK! I use a Yamaha Motif,Hammond XB-2 and a Korg X5DR Tone generator in my gig setup. I use the P-50 for all my piano work and as the controller for the Korg.

I use the rock piano sound mostly and one of the ep sounds with reverb. The key action is like playing a piano. I have had nothing but rave comments from other players at how good this piano sounds.

I have noticed the internal midi function is getting a little difficult to punch in, I use the string and piano combo sometimes. I assume this is just wear on the contacts.

This machine is the most dependable keyboard I have and it is the cheapest one I have.

I have never had to use customer support, there have been no problems.

If this keyboard got lost or stolen I would search out another one just like it.

* What software version are you using? (Please try to find out before completing)
a: unknown
* How do the presets sound?
a: Primary piano sound is what it's all about.
* How hard is editing patches? Does a patch editor make a big difference?
a: Set it to heavy touch.
* How is the manual (if there is one)?
a: They didn't give me one at the store, though I found one online somehow.

This category is a minor one for me but, still, I would say this is easy to use.

* What is the polyphony? How is the keyboard action?
a: No clue about polyphony. I'll never understand how so many people quote a number or claim to be able to understand this quantification without actually having technical knowledge of the sound chips. Keyboard action I find quite usable. It's got a satisfying little kick you can feel as you press down. Funny, but it actually makes playing easier than those more smooth key presses available in yamaha, roland. My rating here is only due to the touch. In a way, I consider a simple interface a feature of its own.
* Does it have any built in effects? Are they easy to use?
a: Some effects, yes. But they are not really for use (too simple, too few adjustable steps) past the touch adjustment to heavy, IMO. There's also a sus-pedal that works alright.
* Does it have expansion capabilities? (i.e. can accepts cards, new boards, more memory, etc.)
a: No.
* What MIDI capabilities are there? (pressure senstive keys, )
a: In and Out, pressure sensitivity, yes. MIDI is of discounted value in any instrument simulator, however, as the midi connection will always have a slight delay before triggering the sound in my experience.
* Does it have an on-board sequencer? How flexible is it? Easy to use?
a: No sequencer.

* Are some instruments very realistic? Bad? Easy to use?
a: I first heard a version of this keyboard in an upscale bar. It was black and mine is gray, but it's supposedly the same, and I remember thinking it sounded delightful. The guy was playing a piano sound and that's what the thing's for-- a digital piano. The other instruments may or may not be good, to me it doesn't matter. If I wanted an electric piano sound or an organ, I would look for a board specifically supposed to act and sound like that. Same thing for a synthesizer. If I wanted something for shaping wave forms and weird sounds I would have bought something designed for that.
* What types of music does it work well for? Rock? Classical? Dance?
a:My first listening was jazz, and it's very good for that kind of piano that stands out in a small ensamble. I've been transcribing rock tunes to play on it with a small group and I've found it flexible enough with the settings I use (see above). There are a couple of amateurish recordings using this piano in freely downloadable mp3s online, which I think are very much worth ignoring. The caruso piano recording is not so bad, I might have to post my copy if their site stays down any longer. They also have a recording in which the piano is layered note for note with a string sound, which is not especially worth listening to, unless you are willing to try to ignore the string sound.
* Are the onboard effects good? Very bad?
a: The onboard effects are useless for me, (except as described above,) though other people may have different opinions.
* Does it react to your playing, or is it static?
a: I've found the piano to be very responsive to different types of touch. Flexible for use with comping and solos.
* How does it react to velocity and aftertouch?
a: Very mysterious questions. These are highly technical questions, more answerable by synthesizer wizards who are not just capable and experienced musicians, but who are also aware of the technical inner workings of such boards. I don't know.

* Can you depend on it?
a: Hmm. At 1200$ and no U.S. sales support, how long should I expect it to last? I don't know.
* Would you use it on a gig without a backup?
a: Interchangable 1000$+ back ups are for professional touring musicians and I certainly don't have the funds to support that. Add this to the fact that just finding one of these to buy new in the U.S. was something of a challenge, considering the fact that the manufacturer is no longer marketing it here.

* If you've dealt with the company, how helpful/friendly were they?

a: I called panasonic U.S. a year before buying and someone called me back a couple of days later, talked to me about the board, the fact that it's no longer marketed here, told me honestly about some people's criticisms. I can't remember the rest of it.
* Ever get an upgrade, or try and get it repaired?
a: No, neither of these. I don't have any guess to how it might go.

* If it were lost or stolen, would you buy it again or get something else? Is it worth what you paid?
* Did you compare it to other products? Which ones? Why did you choose this one?
a: There's nothing I would do if it were lost, except maybe look more seriously into clavia stage 88, perhaps try to find another one, maybe tried to look again at all the major brands and types I've tried and listened to over the past few years, including especially Yamaha p series and s90 series, Roland RD series and F series, maybe even combo deals like the Nord Stage 88, or the Korg Triton. When it came down to it, I decided that I wanted the one that had the best sound in performance to my own ear. This was it.
* How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?
a: I've been playing for a while now, used to play regularly on a Clavinova (kind of a dead sound despite the reviews, maybe it was the speakers?), a range of Yamaha and Steinway grands, an awful Estey, and some other cheap keyboards and pianos in bands.
* what do you love about it? What do you hate?
a: What I love about it is that sound. I like the finish on the keys and I highly appreciate the kick despite the easy action. I hate the fact that the mp3s of this keyboard available on the internet are in the majority an embarrassment.
* Anything you wish it had?
Is this a wishlist or a review? There's stuff that it could have but I'm not sure that any single digital piano combines this kind of sound with all the stuff that it might have in a totally usable way.
* Does it help you make music, or does it get in the way?
Ha!
* Anything else you'd like to share?
a: From the research I've been working on for the past 5 years or so.

The 3 types of keyboard you'd want as a performing keyboardist are:

1. Piano - This one
2. Organ
3. Synth

Midi-triggered computer or rack sounds can be very useful as well, but there will generally (if not always) be some kind of a noticable delay, as opposed to an instrument built specifically to internally trigger sounds. I admit that I need to look closer into this option, and I'm excited by the development of the Muse Receptor and similar technology.

I also admit that there are most likely differences between professionally tuned performance grands and the 300$ gigasamples-- and between these sounds and the onboard samples of the top keyboards coming from major brands. Nevertheless, I'm saddened by over-simplification that this can lead to. That is, piano "experts" simply stating that digital pianos just don't sound as full or responsive as an acoustic, and apologist synth reviewers not seeking that most-full sound. These marketing-oriented approaches can make purchasing decisions a much greater challenge. Perhaps this is by way of an explanation for how I chose the sx-p50. There just wasn't the salesman pressure trying to get me to chose, for example, a rebuilt Kurzweil because it's cheap or a Roland RD700sx because it has the ultimate piano sound. Such claims are respectively off the point at best and simply deceptive at worst. I could have spent much more or less, and I would have if I had good reason to suspect that I could be getting anything better. My decison was helped by sound advice from a large number of honest performer-reviewers on this site and elsewhere, so I hope this is of some use as well.

Just updating the review that is below by Amiel

After much more use, I did find that the pianos were a bit lacking in brightness and were too full of bottom end. This I believe is what has made some people think that the p50 isn't that good. Recently I bought a 24band digital graphic equalizer, and after boosting everything over about 2khz and cutting under about 300hz the sound is like heaven :).
So for those of you who have a p50 and find it too murky, try and equalizer on it and you will be pleased!

Easy-does-it

Press on, and you're ready to go. Shame it has a voltage adapter but otherwise great. Easy to move around.

64 note polyphony.
Keyboard action for this price range is very good. Beats the RD-170, which key action is too light.
There's a digital effect which is handy for the e-piano's, organs etc.
Digital reverb room, stage, hall, concert (adjustable reverb). Brilliance in 5 steps : -2, -1, 0, 1, 2.
No sequencer, or metronome, all more of that bullshit I don't need. I am buying a digital piano. Keyboard action, sound, and easy-of-use is what I am interested in.

Sometimes I seem to hear something at the 5th octave which seems a bit ....aaahh my brain is adapting constantly. The piano and especially the 2 grands layered sound excellent. When I open a window and close my eyes I can imagine I am in a concert hall. Which I frequently am because I am a professional pianist/wunderkind/genius. Some people are talking about the sound being rubbish. Lets get things clear YAMAHA SUCKS!! And I hate the fact that they sometimes prevent musicians to play their own instrument during festivals, it has to be yamaha (North Sea Jazz for instance) F.O. Yamaha
Roland is OK, but the action of the RD170 is way to light and the samples (beside piano) suck.
In this price range it is probably the best.
Action is OK.

See you when I get there.
No troubles as yet.

Never dealt with them

I'd replace it, but I might save an extra 1000 to buy in a different league. For this price range and for my goal (to compose and practice and dream at midnight on the balcony or in the garden) it serves very very well. With my laptop I can also midi it so I can record etc.

As I am 23 and having been a musician for 19 of those years, I enjoy aranging songs rather than writing music of my own. I have had many keyboards from different manufacturing companies. At first I didn't think much of technics- Never in my life have I had so much enjoyment in arranging when I recently bought a technics SX P-50 and MIDI-connected it to my SX-KN6500. The 88-note weighted key capability with the numerous functions of the KN6500. Technics, I have to say you completely out-do roland or Korg- two manufacturing companies which I have ben familiar with over the years. Korg, the only sound that you can possibly win over in technics is the hammond organ sound. I have never in my life experienced such realism of sound than is produced by these two instruments. as someone else said, A majority of the technics instruments are play stations- a recreation station for simply making music.

One quick look at the user's manual was enough: this thing is plug-and-play! Selecting the preset voices (i.e. piano sounds) is accomplished by pressing the appropriate LED button (there are 10, for the 10 voices). Adjusting the other features (transpose, brightness, etc) is as simple.

The P50 is not a toy, but a digital piano. Hence there are no unnecessary features: what you see is what you get. You have three pianos (grand, pop, and upright), two electronic pianos, one harpsichord, one vibes, one strings, one vocal, and one organ. That's it, that's all. But that suits me fine, because that is exactly what I wanted: I don't need 5000 other sounds, just one good piano sound. Polyphony is 64 notes, more than enough, and there is also a MIDI terminal, althought I'm never going to use that. There are five reverb modes (none, room, hall, stage, concert), one digital effect mode, and one brilliance setting. It takes a matter of a few seconds to set them all.

The sound? Outstanding! I owned a Yamaha electronic piano before, and also played on two different upright pianos, and I couldn't believe my ears when I first tried the P50! The sounds are rich, clear. With the three piano voices (concert, pop, and upright), it is possible to play any type of music. The reverb is amazing, especially when used in combination with a headset: the sound is overhelming, and you really think you are playing on a stage! The key action in itself is like a real piano, but I try to avoid using the sustain pedal, because I feel the sounds are carried for a bit too long. That's why I prefer to keep my fingers on the keys a bit longer. The touch sensitivity is acceptable, tough you need to crank the sound up a little bit for a good effect. All in all, the three pianos, the harpsichord, and the organ are superb, but the two electronic pianos, and the strings and the vocals are lame, and I never use them.

The alumunium casing makes it look robust, and I would trust it without a backup. The buttons are solid, and the piano keys look good enough. Even though, I will avoid to bang it on a wall or worst, to drop it. There are 35 lbs of electronics and mechanism in that thing, and I don't feel it can withstand such a beating, same as I wouldn't want to drop my DVD player on the floor.

I've never had to deal with the company. One thing though: there is no customer support number in the user's manual, unless mine was missing a page or something.

I'm still very satisfied with my P50, and I own it for almost 6 months now. I'd buy another one, or any other Technics product, should this one stop working. Before I bought it, I have tried some Yamahas, and I have to say the sound of the Technics is far better, but that's a personnal opinion. There is only one minor problem that I have experienced with my piano, and maybe other people have had the same glitch: once in a while there is a subtle static noise when I play, especially when keying a chord. Looks like it's electric noise that comes from the piano through the cables, because I checked my speakers (which are a bit expensive) with my audio system, and no such thing happened. Funny thing, if I let the piano warm up a little (like for 15 minutes) before I play anything, the sound is flawless and crystal clear, even at a high volume. I've had this problem since the beginning, but that doesn't bother me that much: the unit works real fine otherwise. I didn't dare to send it back to Technics for repair, too scared it's going to come back worst than it is now!

This is in response to the review posted below. Technics sells it's digital piano's through acoustic Piano dealers. If you had a problem with the unit you should have contacted the dealer and had them replace it- as they will deal with any warranty issues for you. From personal experience- when we've had customers come into our store with a broken powersupply or Whathaveyou- we replace it on the spot- You should have contacted your dealer- and not even worried about Panasonic.

Very simple to use. Just plug it in and it plays nicely! The manual is pretty basic. However, there's not a lot to be said. Other than the piano sounds, the other sounds are useless! There's 3 acoustic piano sounds

If you don't want all the bells and whistles, this is the keyboard. the action is as close to a real piano as you could get. There are no expansion capabilities, unless you use a module. There's no sequencer. Looking at it would not intimidate the average user.

On the piano sounds are great. They wasted their time with the vocals, organ, and vibes! It's as though they had to justify the price by adding those sounds! The velocity and aftertouch are superb!

Totally undependable keyboard mechanically! I'll explain later. If it's working, it's a great keyboard to gig with. As I said before, it's a great keyboard for acoustic piano sounds. So yes, I use it for gigs. However, I'd never take it without a backup keyboard and neither should you if you own one!

Technics is the WORST, WORST, I REPEAT, WORST company you'd ever want to deal with. They're helpful because they want your money, not consumer satisfaction! When I contacted them for an adapter and explained to them why I was purchasing it, they failed to inform me that I couldn't return it until I called them back to tell them the adapter wasn't the problem. I had to get the keyboard serviced because of some small internal part that snapped! Thankfully, it was still under warranty. This the 2nd keyboard of this model that I've had problems with! If I was smart about it, I should have returned the keyboard when I first had problems -which was 2weeks after purchasing it! Avoid Technics with all your might!

This keyboard has been nothing but a headache! Never purchase a hefty keybard that requires a detachable adapter, that lesson #1. Secondly, stick to a company that stands by their products and are interested in a long-term customer, that would be Yamaha, Korg, Roland. Roland's products work and work well! Their support staff know what they're talking about and Roland cares about it's customer! It's best to buy from a company that's knowledgable about the field! Technics is the worst company I've every dealt with! I'll never purchase their products. It's unfortunately, because the keyboard has a great touch and sound.

Easy to use, wish the settings stayed after it was disconnected

I've been playing jazz piano for over 30 years and have had several digital keyboards, the last being the Roland FP-8. I wanted something lighter so at a large store I tried Yamahas, Rolands and whatever else I could find. Price was not an object, but I wanted something easily portable and the best piano feel and sound. The Technics P50 was easily the best. You feel like you're playing a light action grand and the tone is very good. It is very responsive to the touch. My only complaint is that the dynamic range is nowhere near a real grand (but neither are any other digital pianos). I can only assume that the increase in volume and the accompanying harmonics that makes it realistic, is a difficult thing to achieve. Add the fact that it's relatively low priced, you just can't beat it.

I use it regularly on gigs...solo, trio, quintet and big band

never needed it