PX-350M
WHEN YOUR MUSIC MATTERS
Piano Sound and Feel
Compared to the previous flagship Privia( the PX-330), Casio has tripled the sample size of the main piano sound. They’ ve also adjusted the key sensors such that there’ s a lot more going on than what you may be used to from a digital stage piano. For one, the keys transmit high-resolution MIDI to the internal sound engine( as well as any external software that can interpret it), so instead of 127 possible velocity values, there are 16,256.
On a graded keyboard, the hammers are( or seem to be) heavier and slower in the lower range, just like on a real piano, and they get gradually lighter as you ascend. The PX-350M has this, and also something called Hammer Response, an algorithm that accounts for the time it takes for the heavier hammers to hit the strings at a given MIDI velocity. Also, the key surfaces have a prominent texture that gives your fingers grip, wicks away moisture, and makes it hard to go back to stage pianos that don’ t have it.
The PX-350M has sustain resonance, which simulates the sound of all the strings vibrating in sympathy with actually-played notes when the damper pedal is down. Check out presets like“ Grand Piano Dolce,” which dials in resonance like you would reverb or chorus. The effect is magical. Casio also touts AIR( Acoustic and Intelligent Resonator), their digital strategy for interpolating between the four velocityswitched sample levels. It works. You get smoother dynamics, finer control, and longer samples with barely noticeable loops. Slam down an octave near the bottom and it growls away for what seems like forever.
Bottom line: You have to engage the same level of mental and kinesthetic concentration that you would if playing an acoustic grand. Once you do, you have a very expressive instrument at your fingertips.
Other Sounds and Features
What Casio didn’ t do was tamper with the already robust feature array of the previous deluxe Privia, the PX-330. For the Rs. 8000 bump up from the PX-160( which features the same piano sound), you get 250 sounds, a 17-track sequencer that records and plays MIDI files via driver-free USB2, a programmable drum machine with 180 rhythms, auto-accompaniment, and auto-harmony— the latter two with a bit of cheese factor but darned fun nonetheless.
There are cushy Rhodes simulations, a nasty little Wurly that’ s the goto EP on anything funky, Clavs that cut, and a serviceable smattering of organs. New in the PX-350M are a super-wide stereo string patch and some ballsy drum sounds. The bass / piano splits( with both acoustic and electric basses) work in many situations, and you’ ll be grateful for the pitch-bend wheel, which you can whip out at least once a night even on piano trio gigs.
One new feature which comes out of the box— but after a couple of uses is to be found indispensible— is the audio recording. Plug in a USB flash drive, hit a couple of buttons, and you can now record anything that goes on in the instrument as a CD-quality( 16-bit / 44.1kHz) WAV file. This is great for capturing fleeting songwriting ideas, documenting practice for feedback from a teacher, or turning a solo gig into a demo.
The Score Magazine
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