Comparison Casio Privia PX-780 vs Casio Privia PX-350M

— Stationary. Stationary tools have their own stand and are designed to be installed directly on the floor. At the same time, in accordance with the name, such models are designed for constant stay in one place and are poorly suited for regular movements even within the same room, not to mention longer distances. However, this is not a disadvantage, but only a characteristic feature of such cases. But the unequivocal disadvantage of stationary tools can be called their rather high cost. On the other hand, such models are as similar as possible to real pianos in appearance, layout and equipment: the keyboard, usually, is located at a standard height, and pedals are installed in the lower part of the case (and there are usually as many as three of them, a complete set). And it is much easier to provide high-quality sound and an abundance of features in such an instrument than in a portable one — the manufacturer does not need to pay special attention to compactness and weight reduction.

— Portable. Portable are called digital pianos, made in the form of portable keyboards and devoid of stands; to play such a keyboard, you need to put it on a table or other support. Outwardly, such instruments are similar to synthesizers, and sometimes almost indistinguishable from them. At the same time, unlike synthesizers, portable digital pianos have mostly full-size keyboards with 88 keys, and displays are rarel...y equipped. And in terms of functionality, the differences are that digital pianos are more oriented towards traditional music: they can provide relatively few timbres, often do not support auto-accompaniment (see below), but provide a fairly high sound quality. If we compare portable models with stationary ones, then the key advantage of this option is obvious — the tool can be moved from place to place with relative ease and even carried with you, if you have the appropriate case. The disadvantage also naturally follows from the design — it will be extremely difficult to play such an instrument without additional support, and not every piece of furniture can play the role of such a support. So it is almost impossible for a portable digital piano to do without a stand (see "Packaging").

The presence of its own cover in the design of a digital piano.

Such a cover during off-hours closes the keyboard, and often also additional controls. This not only gives the instrument a neat appearance, but also protects the keys — primarily from dust (and dust can not only create discomfort during use, but also cause mechanical failures, accumulating under the keys).

Note that this function is typical for stationary tools (see "Body"). Portable models with lids would be too bulky and heavy, so it is suggested that they use cases or other similar devices.

The presence of built-in pedals in the design of a digital piano.

Pedals are an indispensable element of equipping a classical piano; accordingly, they are often provided in digital counterparts. Actually, this function is practically obligatory for models of a stationary layout (see "Hull"). But in portable ones, on the contrary, built-in pedals are not found — there is simply nowhere to install them, external plug-in pedals are available for such models (see below).

The traditional number of built-in pedals is three; there are practically no other options in a power tool. Note that in many models, the specific functions of the pedals can change depending on the set timbre, or even manually, at the request of the musician.

The number of User Auto Accompaniment Styles that can be stored in Digital Piano memory at one time.

See above for auto accompaniment and built-in styles. Here we note that these styles may not be enough — after all, the needs of the musician may not coincide with the decisions of the manufacturer. In this case, it is possible to write custom accompaniment styles to the instrument's memory, along with the standard ones. There are many ways to create and record these styles, but most often they need to be loaded from an external source — from a flash drive or computer. However, some models allow you to compose accompaniment manually.

It is worth paying attention to the number of user styles first of all if you plan to work intensively with auto accompaniment.

The presence of a training mode in the digital piano.

As the name suggests, this mode is designed to teach the game. At the same time, usually, it provides different levels of difficulty — from the most basic, for those who are just starting to master the "keys", to the advanced one, which allows you to train your technique and improve your existing performance skills. However, anyway, the principle of learning is the same: the tool independently tells the student which keys to press at one time or another. Such hints can be in the form of a backlight (see above) or as a graphic on the display. Such a method is doubtful from the point of view of classical academic learning, however, it is undoubtedly more convenient and faster than reading musical notation. Moreover, the instrument can also play the role of an examiner — launch prompts at the original tempo of the melody and check how accurately the student hits the notes.

Also note that the learning mode requires the obligatory presence of a metronome (see below).

The largest number of pedals that can be connected to the Digital Piano at the same time.

Pedals are an indispensable element of equipping a traditional piano, respectively, they are also necessary for electronic analogues of this instrument. However, in stationary devices (see "Body") the pedals are made built-in (see above), so this option is found only in portable models. Also note that if a stationary digital piano has 3 pedals as standard — like in a real piano — then portable digital pianos often have fewer. This is due to the fact that a full set of three pedals is rarely required in fact, and in many cases just one is enough (especially since many instruments allow you to reconfigure its functions).

In general, it makes sense to specifically buy an instrument with three connected pedals mainly for demanding professional musicians who value the full functionality of the pedals (or the ability to tie an extended set of functions to the foot control). In other cases, this parameter is not particularly important.

The power of the native acoustics installed in the Digital Piano.

This indicator directly affects the maximum volume that the instrument is able to produce "on its own", without connecting external speakers. At the same time, it is worth noting that many manufacturers go to the trick and indicate in the characteristics not the rated power (rms power when operating at full volume), but the peak power, which is the highest power that the acoustics can deliver at short “ups” of volume. Peak power values can be quite impressive — in the tens and hundreds of watts — but these figures have a very indirect relation to the actual capabilities of the speakers. Therefore, before choosing, it is worth clarifying what kind of power is mentioned in the characteristics. To do this, it is not necessary to look for detailed data on the instrument, it is enough to compare the power of the speakers with the power consumption (see below): if the claimed power of the acoustics is greater than the power consumption of the entire instrument, then the manufacturer indicated exactly the peak value.

The power consumed by the tool during normal operation.

The cost of electricity, as well as connection requirements, depend on this indicator. At the same time, we note that digital pianos require relatively little energy — even in the most powerful and advanced models, consumption usually does not exceed 60 watts. So in fact, power consumption data is required mainly for specific cases — for example, to calculate the total load when connecting a tool to an autonomous generator along with other devices. In addition, this information may be useful when assessing the power of the built-in speaker, for more information, see "Built-in acoustics".

Additional items included with the instrument.

— Music stand. A music stand mounted above the keyboard, in front of the musician's eyes. Note that in this case, only the detachable music rest supplied with the portable instrument is meant (see "Body"); in stationary digital pianos, by definition, such a stand is available; moreover, it is often a non-removable part of the body.

— Pedal. Only portable digital pianos (see Body) can be equipped with an external pedal. stationary are equipped with built-in pedals. Note that there is usually only one such item in the kit, even if there is more than one input for the pedals. However, this cannot be called a serious drawback: situations where a musician needs more than one pedal are extremely rare. For more information about the inputs and the pedals themselves, see Connectable Pedals.

— Power Supply. Power supply for connecting the tool to the network. Even for portable tools, an outlet is often the most convenient way to power; and in stationary cases, other options may not be provided at all. Therefore, the power supply is an almost indispensable element of the digital piano package. The absence of such a block in the kit, usually, indicates that it is made built-in; however, this is rare.

— Disk. An optical disc (CD or DVD) containing various digital piano supplements. These can be instructions and other documentation, drivers for connecting to a computer, specialized software for edit...ing music on a PC, etc. Such a medium can be very useful if you need access to information or specialized software, but there is no Internet connection at the moment or there is a problem with it.

— Rack. Stand for floor installation of the tool. It is used only in portable models (see "Chassis") — stationary, by definition, do not require additional stands. Such a device, usually, is made folding, which provides ease of storage and transportation. Racks are also sold separately, but in some cases it is more convenient to buy a stand immediately, along with the tool.