Technics SX-P50

this is just a couple tips for anyone with sxp50 who have noticed any notes that lose some tone as a couple others have mentioned.I've owned mine for a year and when I first used it I ran one cord out of the output and noticed that about 3 notes,(c,c#,d) in the second octave above middle c sounded as though the bass and middle of the tone dropped out.Figured I'd live with it as is,but eventually tried running two lines out of it,I have an amp with 6 inputs. I noticed that by adjusting volume of each output one side had the tinny sound on those three notes and the other sounded fuller.So now I just run the two lines with the volume set higher on the one side.One other tip that the store gave me.Its okay to stand on end,or carry sideways as you would in a bag or case with a handle,just dont turn upside down for any eason. theyve found that it messes up the action. I love the sound of this keyboard and at this point wouldnt consider replacing it with anything else. Jim

very easy funtions

no any features,but easy!

the touch is good! but unreliable. I bought it,and found two serious machinery key problems at the second day.
The sounds are so so, you can hear a "hum.." sound by headphone.

I returned goods at second day.

I returned goods at second day. But paied for some money(total*1/11 ).
The price in my country is too too expensive!!

I will not buy it again.
The quality of p50 manufactures are so terriable

I purchased this instrument in April 2001, pretty much the time it was released. That accounts for the relatively premium price I paid for it. The prices for this model I?ve noticed have been plummeting like a lead balloon which is probably accounted for by a stronger Aussie dollar and/or Technics are about to unleash a new baby on us?

Easy to use, pretty much. The controls are layed out logically and there?s not a great deal involved there, buttons & LED display are used in place of sliders or knobs which are visually more direct, still, once you?re used to the sleek button-style operation it?s fine and easy. Manipulating organs can be a finicky process as only one button activates them, then you need to either keep the button pressed for 5 seconds and use the < > buttons to scroll around them, or, otherwise press your fingers on both. On the whole though, quite easy to use, except that when you remove the power jack from the keyboard all personal settings are lost. Sometimes that can be annoying, especially if you have many preset mixes on dual-layered sounds.

The sustain pedal is flimsy and boxy and can be awkward to use freely; it?s worth taking the time to paste down with gaffer tape on stage, it can make performance a lot easier rather than constantly expending the mental effort dragging your foot forward to locate the pedal to move back into position!

Note too, be careful of resting your hand when altering the volume on the fly. It?s happened to me in rehearsal a few times (but not on stage ThankG!) where by I?ve turned the machine off as the ?On/Off? button is located directly to the left of the volume slider, be careful there!

I believe the Technics P-50 to be the most aptly featured of all the digital stage pianos in this price range. The range of sounds is concise, excellent and functional for what I believe to be are most players? needs: 3 acoustic pianos, 2 electric pianos, harpsichord, vibes, voice, strings, and a further 9 organs including 4 church organ & 5 jazz organ sounds. No relatively superfluous wood basses or guitar sounds here. Demo is available, and midi too though I never use the midi. 64-note polyphony is fine.

You are able to layer any two sounds (except any two organs together) and mix them accordingly with any desired degree of balance. That mix function is fantastic and allows the user a myriad of sound choices, ie, you can mix piano and organ and lean it heavily towards piano etc etc, rather than just a 50/50 layer. Brilliant! This machine doesn't offer split levels but I don't care about that myself, nor do I care about silly sampling and recording options which this instrument does away with. Feature-wise, the P50 is very attuned to being a comprehensive stage keyboard without the bells & whistles, for that reason it's excellent. It fits nicely into a Technics bag as well!

There are 4 reverb levels which are very effective, and a digital effect button which is something of a chorus effect which is great for all sounds except for piano where it's unnecessary. The sympathetic response is nice too but it's a shame you can't use that with reverb, although if the amplification has reverb, maybe use it there and forgo it on the keyboard. Three levels of touch as well, I use medium but light may help with producing a brighter sound...

The keyboard action is good, like that of a grand piano, although lighter. 'Natural response action', graded hammer action etc. I have a preference for a firmer action on the piano but taken into context, ie, 9 organ sounds, the action caters well for piano and is just light enough for comfortable jazz style organ playing. So for that reason, it's extremely versatile. The keys themselves are a let-down, not so much the black keys but the white keys are a touch flimsy and croaky and seem to be made out of a light plastic. (My 'D' directly above middle 'C' croaks heavily - damn annoying!) A better keyboard would make for a better action and a far better 'feel' of the piano, ie, it would make the 'Natural response action' feel a lot more genuine. Unfortunately, the Technics feels like a keyboard rather than a true piano, even taking into account that this is a digital and not acoustic piano.

People seem to either love the piano sounds on the Technics P50 or they don't. I don't. Tonewise, they are quite beautiful with the Concert Grand probably having the boldest and most present sound of the three of them - a rounded grand piano sound. However, the overall tone nonetheless tends to be wet, "washy" & woolly, a touch murky even, especially in the baritone register. I find the pianos tend to lack sparkle and presence, and the brightness only remedies that to a small degree. The Pop Grand is the least murky sounding piano although it seems to gravitate between being too sharp and yet still possesses that anemic wetness, it's ok, but not convincing enough. The Upright seems to replicate that classic sound you get on 1950's recordings of Schubert's Winterreise etc but practically it's not of any great use, after awhile it starts to sound very mushy indeed... (look, when I bang an Am7 chord in the baritone register of the keyboard, I want to hear it in all its glory - and you don't with this instrument!...what you hear is a sound that seems to come out of the washing machine...). On the whole, the pianos tend to come out sounding "weak", chords are on the wet and muddy side (although admirable tone-wise), and sometimes I notice passages come out muffled...could have something to do with the sampling, I'm not sure.

A comparison to my criticisms would be with the other digital piano I own (since 1999), late model Yamaha Clavinova CLP-820. It has only 1 piano sound (with variation) that to me is perfect. It's a simple, yet true piano sample that delights me and suits all styles of playing, with an action I consider to be perfect. I've recently tried out a Yamaha P-120 at a store and having the Technics right next to it, one can see clearly why the Technics is the cheapest of the lot.

People have complained about the Yamaha P120 as having terrible piano samples - I can see what they mean but I still feel that those sounds (and samples) are far more convincing and truer than those of the Technics. Basically when I practice on the Technics I found myself often frustratingly changing sounds and settings to get the 'right' sound and I never do. The action and piano sounds do not "delight" me to the extent that I want to keep playing for hours.

To me, this instrument suits light, expressive classical performance, or various jazz styles. I myself like to play with a chunky do-wop blues style and the keyboard action is simply not to my taste when it comes to this style of playing. My Yamaha Clavinova, yes. The Yamaha P120 would do the job but yet, that has nowhere near the amount of functionality, simplicity and practicality that the P50 offers, compromises have to be made somewhere. And I'm not about to sell my P50 to buy another friggin' piano!

The other sounds are good, organs especially, but they are 'wet' sounds rather than dry which, (I'm talking 'subtleties' here), make them sound a touch plastic-y rather than warm and true - yet, they are good samples and overall makes for a wonderful stage instrument. Note the digital effect really enhances most of the sounds (not the pianos though). A major plus of the P50 is its functionality of sound options, you don't have a lot of the unnecessary sounds you find on other digital stage pianos, like wood bass & guitar, sounds you wouldn't need etc.

In the two years I've owned this beast, no problems, it's gone around a bit too, I use two piano bags, the Technics bag, plus a bigger bag I put those into.

Never had to contact them, doubt I will. I notice in their website they have a link as to what would your perfect keyboard be like if you could design one. Well, I'll tell them now - for me, same instrument, but, with the exception that I'd like the keys, action and piano samples to be replaced by those used on the Yamaha P120, simple!

On the whole, you can't go past the functionality of this instrument. For a slim-line fully weighted stage piano it's one of the best. Better looking and more functional than all the ones I've seen anyway, Roland RD150, Yamaha P80, Kawai, Korg etc. The piano sounds are a departure from the rest of them which is a good thing in many ways and would suit those wanting a keyboard that emulates a tone-full grand piano sound - but be warned, try it out and see if it's right for you before buying because it is different, maybe better for some, but not better for others. I don't think I'd buy this instrument again if I had the chance, I'd go a Yamaha as that suits me a lot better....but I'd miss the ease and wonderful proportion of good sounds you get on this instrument. I admire and appreciate the Technics P50, but I don't love it.

I've been playing 12 years, on then off then on again...(since the age of 20, a late bloomer!) I've played keys in a band but don't anymore as the bass player left and now I'm playing bass. The P50 I found didn't suit my style of playing, as mentioned, do-wop chunky bluesy style, I like to hit the thing HARD! Remember too, the white keys are a disappointment and do not lend themselves to giving the instrument a genuine 'piano' feel. I want to keep playing keys in bands and this instrument admittedly is a one-stop shop given all the organs etc. At the moment I use it for practice (along with my beloved Yami Clavi!) and Bach & Beethoven go nicely with it, but I'm not happy with the piano sounds. Make up your own mind on those.

Not much features, no menues so easy to use. But changing midi channels ? Upss i don't remember. Manual . :((

Power lost..Brain lost. Settings are los't after 1 or 2 hours with out power.

Action is great for me. Not many features.I could be happy with it...see later.

No overtones(don't know if this is the right word my english is not very well) but it sounds a little dead. I don't know how so many people can say it sound's good.

Sounds like recorded wit 22Khz sampling frequence. Ok not that bad, but not very well.(PIANOS)

1 key stopped working after 4 weeks. Caned pressure air helped.

Maybe better for non smokers.

i don't know have it since 8 Weeks

No i wouldn't buy it again. I was in here and thought so many piano players say it's a good one. So i bought it over the net (didnt listen to the sound), i never do that again.

It's not bad but the sound of the pianos (what was importent for me) is a little dead.

Plug it in and turn it on - your away. Everything is simple to get to. The manual is simple and straight forward.

The audio/midi/power connections on the end of the unit make it easy repatch and neat for when your on the stage. It is easy to carry! Lightest Stage Piano in its class.

I took a couple points off the rating because when it is disconnected from the power for > 10 mins it loses your settings. This, however, isnt that bad becuase to reconfigur it is as simple as about 3-4 button presses.

64 note polyphony is plenty! I haven't had a note dropout yet. The reverb is fine. I like to play with the reberb off so I can enjoy the Sympathetic resonance. One feature that I would have liked would be the ability to have a different midi channel for transmiting than the one it recieves on.

Overall I think the features are pretty good. Sure the Roland has a metronome and a two track sequencer. - but isn't this a piano??? I have a Workstation/Synth with all that jazz. (Kawai K-5000W).

Lovely Piano patches!! The sound of the P50 is wonderful. The Grand is great for solo playing when you want a full, well, Grand sound! In a band the Pop grand works a treat - or also for solo playing if you like a brighter piano. The Upright is very mellow - I dont use it a lot but it is nice to have. The EPianos are quite nice. Some people have said that they are not that good - but what style are they tring to play with them? They sound great if you play funky/bluesy/jazzy stuff they sound pretty good.

The P-50's sound is superious in my opinions to the Roland RD-150 and the Yamaha. The Roland's main piano had a horrible "plonky sound." The rolands pop and rock pianos were so bright and tinny they were useless - they sounded like any other cheap "midi" sounding piano.

I almost forgot the organs! I love them - the Jazz organs that is :).

I have had it for a few months and taken it various places with me and it has worked fine.

I haven't had to deal with any customer support because it works perfectly!

Overall I think this is a great instrument. I would defenitely get another one if it were lost or stolen - unless technics brings out a new model.

For me, the Technics easily beats the Roland and Yamaha (and the toy Casio with the light up keys - for goodness sake aren't you trying to sell professional instruments?)

I've been playing since I was 8. I'm now almost 17 and learning jazz and contempory improv. I play for my school performing arts (Chior & Stage Band) and at church. The P50 complements my Kawai K500w - one for piano, the other for all the rest.

It has the features I need without the gimmicks and does exactly what it is supposed to - emulate a piano. I prefer it to many repectable accoustics (including grands) I have played.

It's easy to use, there are not many variables or buttons.

64 polypony is adequate. The action is fairly decent, sort of like a light grand.

I was all set to order this digital piano after I tried it three times in the store with my Sony headphones. But now I have cahnged my mind after listening to all the online demos of the SX-P50 at Jinx Chin's music page thru my Sony MDR 7506 Studio Headphones:

I noticed the same problem with the SX-P50 piano as with the SX-P50 piano demos online at Caruso: A lack of high frequencies.
The hi-frequency "sparkle" is not present, dare I say the P-50 sounds "boxy." It also sounds sort of "muted", like when I used to drape a thin piece of felt inside my upright piano between the hammers and string to make it softer so as not to bug the people in the next room. Also the notes seem to cut off to abruptly, sort of clunky sounding, you can notice it especially during the fast runs and the bouncy comping. The vocals and all the other instruments seem to have plenty of "highs" just the P50 sounds lacking in "highs".
You can especially get a good idea of how the P50 sounds on the instrumental piece titled: "Jinx's Three-Note Drunk Song." I do notice some highs in the last three high notes of the piece where it sounds like Jinx is striking the keys at maximum velocity of 127.

The 3 different P50 audio demos online at CarusoMusic.com. I don't hear much high frequency in those either.
I'm concluding that the P50 lacks high frequencies in it's piano samples.

Question:
If you turn up the treble with the internal EQ, does it open the filter up and let new hi-frequencies come thru?
Or does it just boost the existing treble that I already hear in the sample?

Here is the link where you can access the demos on Caruso.

Hard to say...

They sometimes answer emails, sometimes not.

Very easy to use. This is designed as a digital piano not a full fledged synthesizer. The chorus effect is adjustable on or off only, and there are 4 reverbs and each has 10 levels available to the user. Two sounds can be layered but how to adjust the level of each requires the manual,as does setting string resonance levels and basic midi implementation, but it is simple.
I didn't give it a 10 because you have to set your levels each time the keyboard is turned on.

At 64 notes, there is more than enough polyphony. The keyboard action is very good and it translates the fingers to strings response very well. There are no expansion capabilities, but anyone buying this instrument should be buying it for its piano sounds.

I purchased this instrument for the acoustic piano sounds, the keyboard action and how well integrated they are. That's it!! All 3 pianos are very good from top to bottom. I use the concert grand most of the time, which is good for solo piano (classical or jazz) acoustic jazz ensembles, solo singing and folk or soft pop groups (the upright can also be used as a substitute, but it more mellow and doesn't speak nearly as brilliantly and the concert grand). For rock or loud ensembles the pop piano is much brighter and along with the brilliance control can be used to cut through just about any mix. There are 2 electric pianos: I don't care for the Rhodes piano, but I do like and have use for the DX7 piano. It is warm at low key velocities but gets much brighter with a heavier touch. The other sounds I have no use for so I won't comment except to say that if you need those sounds get a module. I do however give the sounds a 10 because I am only interested in the pianos.

N/A I have only had the instrument about 6 weeks.

N/A Have not had to deal with Technics.

This Digital keyboard excels as far as its action and acoustic piano simulations are concerned, and that is the only reason I purchased the Technics P-50. I have been playing piano for about 10 years and it is the best digital piano in respect to sound and touch response that I have tried. The nearest competetion in my mind was the Yamaha Clivinova I used to play, but it falls short as do all others.
The acoustic piano is a majestic instrument and sitting behind one and playing it brings out the most of ones ability and creativity, the P-50 and a good sound/monitoring system is as close as it comes for me.

No software all pretty basic.

This thing has no editing, only basic presets. Their sound is good, but that will be discussed further down.

I don't own it, but a church i attend does, and I have played it a bit. But I haven't read the manual.

Its basic, and really really easy to use.

Polyphony is 64: more than adequate.

Keyboard action: I personally own a Roland RD700 and the Technics keyboard action is definitely not as nice as that. That said, it is better than many.....it is well weighted, but I'd have to say it feels a bit plasticky next to the RD700 (although note the price difference, the RD700 is more than twice the price)

Built in effects are reverb and chorus. The previous post with the sympathetic resonance mentioned is interesting. I will have to try it (I always use reverb)

MIDI capabilities are basic, and there is no sequencer.

Piano sounds are great but not as good as the RD700..but thrash anything in this price range. Played it next to Roland RD150 and the technics one easily. But the RD700 had too much over it. Still it is very good. I originally didn't think much of it, then one day I heard it played by someone who was very very good and my perspective on this model changed.....now I appreciate the "realness" of it.

The other sounds are all good but not perfect, although I don't understand why it has harpsichord and not.....maybe more pad sounds.

The onboard effects are basic...Its not like I record with it or something so you can't say much from basically hearing it live.

I would depend on it although I must admit all digital pianos I find hard to trust as they are heavy and a drop would be fatal.

no dealings

I don't own it....

But if i were a rich man I would buy one to complement my roland. Maybe if the roland got stolen, I'd consider one of these for economy.

Wish it had a keyboard split.

I have also noted the silver duco doesn't look so good now.

Basically, of course, you turn it on and start playing. Not a lot of sound editing possible, but that's not why someone would be looking at this unit. Reverb type and depth, not much else, which is fine since the presets sound good as is. I did knock off a point in my rating, though, because if you do changes any settings, it does not retain memory of them when unplugged for more than a few minutes. I, like most people I would imagine, use this keyboard primarily for a handful of sounds, and it only takes a couple button pushes to get things to the state I want (turn off reverb for the piano sounds to enable string resonance), but still, I'd prefer not to have to do this each time. Someone wanting more control over the sound would find the lack of permanent memory an additional slap in the face.

Also in the "ease of use" category, I like fact the jacks are on the side. The controls are clearly laid out as well; perhaps no more so than its competition, but better, I understand, than the predecessor to the SX-P50 (the SX-P30).

This unit has essentially two features - the keyboard action and the preset sounds. Both are, in my opinion, the best in its class (Roland FP-3, Yamaha P-80, etc).

The keyboard action in particular "feels" like a real piano (not that all real pianos feel the same!) in a way most other weighted keyboards don't. It isn't just a matter of the right resistance, but how that resistance modulates throughout the travel of the key. I would say the Technics resembles a grand piano with a relatively light action, which I happen to prefer anyhow. The Yamaha P-80 has a heavier action that some might prefer for that reason alone, although I think it is not as realsitic an emulation of a heavy action as the Technics is of a lighter one.

Soundwise, it has the basic effects processing you'd expect (reverb plus a patch-dependent chorus-like effect), and one you might not dare hope for - emulation of the sympathetic resonance of the undampened piano strings while the sustain pedal is down. The latter only works with reverb off, which takes some getting used to, but I suspect the main reason keyboardists rely so much on reverb is the lack of any natural resonance in other synths. Ultimately I find the contrast between the dry sound with pedal up and rich sound with pedal down very convincing. I should mention that GeneralMusic has had this capability for years, and also deals with the sympathetic vibrations between notes played concurrently even without the pedal. But the basic piano samples are not as good on the GM in my opinion. Yamaha also has pedal-triggered resonance on the P-80 & P-120, but it doesn't seem to work nearly as well (it uses a different sample set whereas Technics uses digital processing). Yamaha's resonance does work in conjunction with reverb, but I found that lessened my perception of the effect; if anything, it just made it sound muddy. Hearing how the sound just opens up when you put the pedal down on the Technics was one of those "wow" moments for me. This issue is one of the biggest reasons I was looking to replace my old setup (Fatar controller with Roland Sound Canvas).

Polyphony is more than adequate for virtually all purposes at 64 voices. MIDI implementation is basic but functional. You'd probably want to make up your own labels to remind you which keys to press to generate which patch change, etc.

One thing you might complain about is the included sustain pedal, which is one of those generic guitar pedal box types rather than any sort of realistic-feeling lever. However, I am thankful that it accepts the Roland sustain pedal with the heel extension - my Fatar was wired the wrong way to be able to use that, so I was constantly chasing my pedal across the floor.

Ultimately, again, I decided to knock off a point in my rating because of a few things the Technics lacks that other likely customers might wish for - a soft pedal jack, keyboard split function (and a bass sound to go with it), on-board sequencer, and any capability for expansion. Including all of these would put the unit into a different category, but I'm sure many people will miss something from this list. I've noticed others complain about there being only one headphone jack, which seems an odd complaint to me. A splitter is a few bucks at Radio Shack; I can't imagine why most people would need two headphone jacks enough to justify including them.

I got this for the piano sound, and after comparing it to similar Roland, Yamaha, Kurzweil, Kawai, Korg, and GeneralMusic models, I found the Technics superior in all virtually respects. I already mentioned the resonance as a big factor in what I like about the sound, although you give this up if you decide you can't live without reverb. I also liked the basic samples, although I discovered the concert grand is a bit dark for playing in a noisy context (for example, a Latin jazz quartet in a loud room) or through a PA system that cheats the high frequencies. I found switching to the "Pop Grand" fixed that right up, better than turning up the "Brilliance" control. So now I'm happy to have both options - Concert Grand for solo or duo playing, Pop Grand for larger ensemble.

What else do I like about the sound? Thunderous bottom, woody top. Huge dynamic range, and the way it responds to velocity seems very natural at the default setting (you can also adjust for heavier or lighter sensitivity). The balance across the keyboard is nice too - plenty of presence in the middle range, and the top is not too harsh. The different sustain/decay characteristics across the keyboard is a nice touch too; the top octave, as you might hope (but don't always find) is damperless. Speaking of the damper, while there is no half-pedalling capability, you can "pump" the pedal to soften the release of notes, and this works pretty well. With respect to pedalling issues, the Technics' only real competititon in my eyes were the Yamaha P-120 and GM keyboards, both of which arguably do better in this regard. That's probably the only area where I found any other keyboard did anything better than the Technics, which is remarkable in itself.

Aside from the piano, the other sounds seem competent enough. I have rarely used them on other keyboards, and don't expect that to change. There organ presets on this (nine of them) do seem noticeably better than what I have heard on other synths, but I suspect a real organist would prefer something that more accurately emulates all the controls (including the keyboard and pedals) of a B-3 or other organ. The electric pianos sounds are nothing special - a decent imitation of the old DX-7 "tine piano" and something more like a Rhodes (but not as convincing in the details as the piano sounds). Given the lack of a keyboard split, I don't miss a bass sound, but the two together would be an obvious enhancement for a followup product. That plus a soft pedal jack and you'd meet just about everyone's needs who would be looking at a unit like this in the first place.

Regarding some of the issues raised by other reviewers - I did notice a slight harmonic distortion in a couple of the mid-register notes when test-driving at the store with headphones. Presumably the same ones others mentioned. However, this is pretty much unnoticeable in real playing situations - especially if, like me, that means gigs. Even at home with headphones, unless you are playing a piece that exposes those couple of notes - a whole note all by itself, for example - you are not going to notice.

Sorry, I was unable to resist posting after only a week with the keyboard (hey, at least I waited that long!). It seems sturdy enough despite its light weight. I'll probably hold on to my Fatar/Roland combo for a little while just in case...

I am fortunate to have a dealer a couple of miles from my home, and they have been good in the past about service. I'm hoping they can shield me from having to deal directly with Technics. Not that I have anything against the company - just that most large manufacturers (especially foreign ones) are notoriously slow.

I've been playing the piano virtually all my life, and I've been a professionally jazz pianist for the last 20 years. I wanted a portable digital piano to replace my Fatar/Roland gig rig that was affecting my playing more and more noticeably. After spending a couple of weeks driving all around town to try different models, I found the Technics had both the best action *and* the best sound. Plus it is about the lightest keyboard in this class. No brainer for me. I'd buy another immediately if it were lost or stolen.

I love the action on the Technics, and the sound - in particular, the resonance, the dynamic range, and the balance across the keyboard. My biggest quibble is probably the lack of permanent memory for settings, but this is pretty minor.

I've played it at home and on gigs for the past week. My old digital system constantly reminded me of its limitations - lack of resonance caused me to compensate by filling up too much space with notes (and excessive reverb); balance and EQ issues caused me to rely overly on the upper end of the keyboard; not quite realistic action affected my technique. On the Technics, I find I can play it just as if I were on a piano, and *sound* like I am on a piano. Actually better in practice, since the pianos at most jazz clubs are in such bad shape. I might start bringing this with me on some of those gigs...

While it wasn't an issue for me, I wish there were more dealers for Technics and more visibility for this keyboard. I found it interesting that virtually everyone responding here tried the Technics against the Roland FP-3 and Yamaha P-80 (and almost invariably chose the Technics), while people reviewing the latter keyboards seemed unaware of the Technics (and those few that did try it often admitted the Technics was the equal of whatever they ended up choosing).

Very easy to use for basic items. MIDI, volume, and a few other features are not readily apparent and require the use of the manual. A few more buttons could have helped it out.
I was able to render the P-50 unplayable while setting the reverb depth.. not sure how I did it, but I had to restore factory defaults to get it to go again.

Several people have asked to have the P-50 reviewed against the P-30, so most of my comments will concern the two.

Effects are 'yes-no' for each sound (and in the case of the organs, it defines the leslie rate). They are very simple to use and in most cases are exactly what you want.

The keyboard action is brilliant. The best I've seen anywhere.

This is a tricky one.
Compared to the P-30, the P-50 has a much more developed high register. However it lacks the realism in the mid and lower registers that the P-30 has. The sound seems to linger in an unrealistic fashion.

At medium to loud volume ranges, the sound is superior to the P-30, but is seems to have no 'soft' piano samples - only "medium key strike played more quietly". It just doesn't sound right.

The P-30 has considerable 'guts' in the octave below middle C. The P-50 is thin there.

If you're playing this in a band setting with lots of musicians, the sounds will be great for you. If you're playing in a setting where you could USE pianissimo, you'll find the depth lacking.

The dynamic playing range on the 50 seems more flat than the 30. On the 30, you could sting a single key, and it would tower in volume above all others. The 50 has a smoother response that doesn't allow for heavy dynamics.
I have the response set to "Heavy" and I wish there were a few even heavier settings. On a real piano there is a distinct difference bewteen 'moderately loud' and 'very loud'. Using the same effort on the P-50 will yield no difference.


Jazz organs are amazing.
Strings are... not useful on their own - you need to layer them with something - and even then they're dodgy.
Vibes; nice - I use them.
Harpsicord ; reasonable... but if you're buying this for the harpsicord sound, it is probably sub-par. (nice touch on the release, though)
Vocal; I don't have a use for them. No comment.

If I hadn't had a P-30, or always played moderately loudly, I would have probably rated this a 10. The piano sould IS very good - I'm just very fastidious.

When I fired mine up today, several of the keys didn't work.
Reboot. More worked. Reboot. More worked. etc, etc...
After 5 minutes, only 2 keys refused to function, after 7 minutes they all worked with no problems.
What caused this? I don't know.
I know I've never had a problem with the P-30, that thing was a tank.

n/a

This has the best manual, coupled with the second-best piano sound, coupled with an amazing jazz organ. Excellent for most applications. I can't believe they didn't keep the P-30's piano, though (or the special hidden EP in the P-30). Now I have to haul around 2 of these monsters, one for the keyboard manual, and one for the piano sound generation.

Yes, the keyboard manual IS that much nicer.