YAMAHA NP-12 Piaggero - Slimline Home Keyboard for Hobbyists and Beginners, in Black

Product Information

The CT-S1 is the latest offering from Casio. This 61 note beginners keyboard delivers fantastic sounds at a great price. From afar, the NP-32 can pass off as a more premium digital piano. The body itself, while compact, does feature a clean front panel that doesn’t have too many buttons or printed text.

Online demos show off the superb velocity sensitivity of the NP-32, but I personally needed to pay extra attention to nail down my dynamics. Finally, let’s talk about the ‘ Graded Soft Touch’ featured on the NP-32. Theoretically, a graded keyboard means the keys at lower registers are heavier, but the higher registers are lighter. The speakers on the NP-32 are another highlight, as they’re of a high wattage compared to the competition. You should get an instant answer on whether your application has been successful, though in some rare cases Klarna or V12 may need to look at the application in more detail.Casio CT-S1 : Pretty much the perfect beginner’s keyboard, the Casiotone CT-S1 offers great sounds and playability at a very competitive price. This is the perfect choice for a beginner who wants to hit the ground running with a piano that provides more than enough to enable a great learning experience, as well as spending a small amount of money. I would normally suggest that novice players choose an 88-weighted key piano, but the NP-15 has made me reassess this assertion. This model might just be the perfect beginner keyboard.

To close this section, I’ll give props to Yamaha for including dedicated controls for most commonly used features.

Dimension & Connectivity

Yamaha pianos always hold great value, and they do not depreciate like mobile phones or cars do. Someone is always looking to buy a digital piano, which makes this a good investment if you are worried about selling it in the future. Summary The base piano sound is important here. It surpasses my expectations. Ultimately, that’s the biggest part of why I consider the NP-32 a great beginner keyboard. At 61 keys, this keyboard is much more portable than a full range (88 keys), which can be a plus for beginners and mobile players because of its smaller size, but might be a hindrance for classical players who need all of those keys. The NP-32 is a little more expensive since it is a 76-key keyboard, while the other two are only 61-keys. If you’re the kind of player that needs closer to a full 88-key range, you’re going to have to spend a little more to get the extra keys. Preset Number of Voices 10 (Piano1, Piano2, E.Piano1, E.Piano2, Organ1, Organ2, Strings, Vibes, :psi2)

Although compact in size, the Piaggero features piano sounds sampled from a genuine Yamaha CFIIIS concert grand, resulting in a bright, clear tone with exceptional high frequencies and an authentically rich piano sound. To ensure the speaker system complements this impressive audio quality, Yamaha has employed their expert acoustic technology to create a robust sound that surpasses expectations for such a small instrument. The "Piaggero" name is a fusion of the word "piano" and the Italian musical term "leggero," which means light. True to its name, the Piaggero is a remarkably lightweight instrument, offering exceptional portability. It even has the option to be powered by batteries, allowing you the freedom to take your piano anywhere without being restricted by weight or power requirements. Headphones come in very handy when you want to practice in private, focusing solely on your playing and not disturbing others nearby. After one touch, that illusion breaks down. The keys are unweighted, but their piano-style shape means there’s a slight bit of added heft, which can make the keys feel slightly more sluggish than similarly unweighted flatbed keys on other keyboards (like the PSR-E363). For customers in outlying areas of the country, the price of the Extended Warranty may be marginally higher, due to the potential for higher collection and redelivery transport costs.

Launched as the successor to the Piaggero NP-12, does the new NP-15 out-stage the much-loved beginner favourite?

Another difference worth mentioning is that the NP-11 only has a 32 voice polyphony, while the other two have 64. This is an added benefit for players who need that extra room for notes played at the same time. While the NP-11’s polyphony is enough for beginners, it may not be enough for intermediate and expert level players. As a digital piano for a beginner, you cannot go wrong with the sound that you get. You are also able to connect a sustain pedal, so the sound is even more realistic when compared with an acoustic piano. You can tell right away that the NP-12 is built quite well—especially for a fairly inexpensive keyboard. It’s clean, minimalistic design proves that the manufacturer set out on a very specific mission with this keyboard: create a simple user interface that allows players to immediately sit down and start playing.

For example, when you depress the sustain pedal, the earliest played notes continue to sound while you’re adding new ones and the piano needs more memory to keep all the notes sounding. On an acoustic piano, the keys - due to the complex mechanism - have a weighted action when pressed, which allows for a greater expression in the dynamic of each note. Of course, electronic keyboards tend to try their hardest to recreate that feeling, but this keyboard doesn't. Instead, it has touch-sensitive keys. These lighter keys still allow you to play dynamically but without the need for any finger strength or articulation techniques - making the NP-15 incredibly easy to play and instantly fun.TRANSPOSITION. You can transpose the keyboard either up 5 semitones or down 6 semitones to adapt to unfamiliar key signatures. With the improved NP12 and NP32 models, you can hook the keyboard up to your iOS device (iPad, iPhone or iPod touch) and enjoy the apps including NoteStar, Visual Performer and many more that are designed to improve your user experience and open new creative possibilities. The second electric piano sound is a glittery, 80s kind of bell-synth. It’s extremely bright, but it’s sampled well, and it allows for clean playing across the octaves. Each hit is initiated by a charming bell plink, followed by a warm muted tone that mellows out the first strikes. Using the sustain pedal warms this sound up quite a bit, as the clinks of the bell tone are very short, and the lower tone is longer and catches with the sustain. Yamaha is one of the digital keyboard brands that is constantly updating and refining its products. It’s no surprise then that the NP-12 is the successor to the popular NP-11, and that it debuts alongside other keyboards in the series like the NP-32.