Digital Piano Casio Cdp 230 Full Review. Is it a good piano?

Today we are going to talk about a Casio digital piano that has entered the market and deserves a good analysis.

Note: Casio CDP 240 is released. The Casio CDP 230 is a first cousin of the Casio CDP 130. It has a Casio AHL sound engine and 88 touch sensitive and weighted keys. But the difference is that Casio CDP 230 is designed to expand its piano capacity and have up to 700 different instrument sounds compared to the 10 typical Casio sounds. It is the perfect mix between Hammer Action piano and the typical keyboard with many different instrument sounds. Casio CDP 130

Where to Buy Casio CDP 240? (we link the new release)

Amazon

  • Free Shipping and possibility of shipping in one day with Amazon Premium.
  • Full Guarantee but they are no experts in music equipment
  • Leader in fast shipments.
  • Price that change a lot daily.
  • The best option in USA and worldwide

Thomann

  • Free Shipping
  • Full warranty. If you have any problems, they take care of everything.
  • 100% reliable payment.
  • Leader in trouble-free shipping.
  • Best price
  • Best Reputation: They are the leading online store in Europe and have the best catalogue and information.

Features

It has buttons with different functionalities such as rhythms, tempo regulator of rhythms, metronome and the possibility of recording what you are playing that can then be put into a flash memory. We detail below its list of features and then we will shell:

  • 88 sensitive keys with scaled hammer mechanics
  • 48-voice polyphony
  • 700 sounds of piano and other instruments
  • 200 rhythms to play over
  • 10 user rhythms
  • 305 musical presets or accompaniments that sound while playing
  • Storage of 32 records
  • Sampling function (to record, for example, a percussion bar that is then repeated in a loop and accompanies you)
  • 152 practice pieces
  • Split/Layer function
  • Metronome
  • Transposition function
  • Hall and Chorus Effect
  • Pitch Bend Wheel (very common on keyboards to make the bending effect and modify the modulation of your sound)
  • LCD screen to manage all its functionalities.
  • Energy Saving Mode
  • Slot SD memory cards to expand recording capabilities.
  • USB to Host
  • Headphone jack
  • Line-In Connection
  • 1 pedal input, it doesn’t support triple bottomboard but the basic one that is the sustain SP-3 (included) and that serves to sustain the note in time and that doesn’t stop playing. The triple bottomboard is more for a very high conservatory level to play some pieces.
  • 2×8 W speaker system
  • Dimensions: W x D x H: 1322 x 286 x 129 mm
  • Weight: 12 Kg
  • Includes SP-3 pedal and power supply.

I’m sure you’ll be interested in…

Sometimes it is normal to see it with the R but Casio CDP 230 and Casio CDP 230R are the same. Here you have a video where you stick a quick review to hear how it sounds:

Sound and velocity sensitivity at keys

What really characterizes the Casio CDP 230 is the enormous amount of sounds it brings with 700 different tones. From electric pianos to other musical instruments. It also has 200 rhythms, 10 types of reberbs and 5 chorus and the Hall Mode to recreate the sound of grand piano.

Watch this video in which you can see how the user plays with a variety of options on the keyboard and varies them while playing. It’s a very usable keyboard.

It has a polyphony of 48 notes, the truth is that this point is a limitation. It’s a lot of fun but with so many sounds you can see a little limited to make layering (several layers of sound). Polyphony notes are the number of notes that can sound at once on a piano including accompaniments (they also consume notes). I was very surprised that she didn’t have more polyphony but there is still a lot that can be done with it.

If you want something more advanced in piano feel you can go to the Casio Privia PX 160. The Hammer Action of this portable digital piano is the Tri Sensor Scaled Hammer. The Multi-dimensional Morphing Air Sound with 128 notes polyphony is very powerful and the price difference is not much.

Portability

It weighs a good 12 kg, making it perfect for driving or carrying in a backpack keyboard 88 keys with handles.

It has 8W speakers that you can use for a small restaurant. To plug it into a very powerful amplification system the sound technician may have to use an injection box because it has no line output (to give more power to the signal).

MIDI connectivity

It has USB MIDI to connect it to the computer and be able for example to write music sheets while playing with programs like Sibelius.

Bring a basic sustain pedal. That keeps the note sustained over time even if you stop pressing the key.

Casio CDP 230 vs Casio CDP 130

The Casio CDP 130 is the cheapest weighted-keys piano you can find. It has a sustain pedal, midi, 88 weighted keys and keyboard sensitivity. All for less than 300 euros. The thing is that it has 10 piano sounds oriented just to that, to look like a normal piano.

Based on the above, we can define the Casio CDP 230 as a better CDP 130 by a difference that is usually around 100 euros.

It brings many more sounds and functionalities to play and do more things. The important thing is to see if you really want those things and your budget. The truth is that children can then have a lot of fun with the extras for a difference that is little money as the Casio CDP 230 is often even cheaper than the Yamaha P45 that we will compare below.

Things Casio CLP230 have and not the Casio CDP 130

  • 700 piano sounds and other instruments vs. 10 of CLP130
  • 200 rhythms to play over. The CDP 130 does not have but you can layering with the sounds it has.
  • 10 user rhythms
  • 305 musical presets or accompaniments that sound while you play
  • Storage of 32 records (CDP 130 has no recording functionality)
  • Sampling function (to record for example a percussion compass that is then repeated in loop and accompanies you)
  • Pitch Bend Wheel (very common on keyboards to make the bending effect and modify the modulation of your sound)
  • LCD screen to manage all its functionalities.
  • Slot SD memory cards to expand recording capabilities.

Everything else is equal and the difference is usually 100 euros.

Casio CDP 230 vs Yamaha P115 (Yamaha P125 now) and Yamaha P45

The Casio CDP 230 or Casio CDP 230R has a tremendous amount of sounds but a 48-voice polyphony that consumes fast with any accompaniment.

The essential difference is that these Yamaha pianos are more oriented to simulate a piano than to bring many sounds. It is the same as when comparing the Casio CDP 130 only that these pianos have more polyphony and are a little better than with CDP 130 but more expensive.

The piano keyboard Yamaha P45 has a polyphony of 64 voices and although they say their Hammer Action GHS is a little louder we don’t like it enough. And the price is much lower. It brings few sounds with a very acceptable quality although it has no line output for live. The Yamaha P45 is the most purchased to start with its balance between price and performance.

On the other hand the Yamaha P115 although it is a little more expensive. For that price difference you have many advantages. To begin with, it supports triple pedal and has an output to play on big stages without injection box. It also brings applications for the iPad that help a lot and a polyphony of 192 voices. It must be said that the Yamaha P125 has now come out with 10 more piano sounds than the Yamaha P125 and now comes with 24 which is now a wonder although the price is now a bit expensive. If you see it below 600 euros it’s a good price. Here’s the review of the Yamaha 125.

Where to Buy Casio CDP 230 and the new release Casio CDP 240

As we commented above, this digital piano is generally available at the best price is Amazon, mainly at USA, whole America:

If you live at Europe always check Thomann:

If you want a Hammer Action piano with a lot of sounds the Casio CDP 230 is the best option for its price but you have other very interesting options like the Roland FP 30 that you can find in my ranking with the best digital pianos of the moment.

For a similar price you have the following pianos and keyboards:

We hope you have found this article useful and thank you very much for reading it.

 

Vote if you liked this article 🙂

Jaime EchagĂĽe

Hi! I'm Jaime EchagĂĽe, a musician and an authentic fan of musical instruments. With this blog I want to give general information about musical instruments in an easy, direct and honest way. I hope you enjoy my website and that you find it very useful.

Click Here to Leave a Comment Below