Korg SP-280 thoughts and comparisons...

[High Diving Act]

Hey all,

 

I spent and hour at the music store today... trying out 4 DPs under $1000.00

Yamaha P35, P105, Casio Privia PX350 and the Korg SP-280 (which I had no intention on even touching.. but was pleasantly surprised when I did). Before I get into a full review of my personal subjective findings.... just want to open discussion on if anyone owns the SP280 or have tried it and their thoughts.

[Dana.]

As I recall, the 280 has Korg's NH action, also used on the SP-170 and Krome 88 (and maybe Kross 88?). I played the 280 recently and thought it felt better than what I remembered of the 170. It was comfortable to play, though sort of mushy/spongy. The main piano sound seemed passable, but I thought the other AP and EP sounds sucked (frankly, all of the EP sounds in the boards you played suck). If I needed a digital piano (or something with weighted action) in this price range, I would choose something else.

 

I think there's someone on the forum who bought it and likes it, maybe he'll comment.

[Dave Bryce]

I actually just reviewed the SP-280 for Harmony Central. It'll be posted next Thursday.

 

dB

[voxpops]

Played one briefly for the first time the other day.

 

Main piano sample:

Nice, well rounded sound, but lacking in pianissimo response.

 

EPs:

Better than most in that price category, but no match for the SV-1!

 

Action:

Passable, but as stated above, a little lacking in "definition," for want of a better word.

 

Speakers:

Quite powerful, if not particularly hi-fi, but I detected a rattle on the left side of the board I played. That would bug the hell out of me if it was a common issue.

 

Overall:

Not bad, but the reason I sometimes use cheap pianos is purely for the weight factor. I think the Yamaha P-105 is still the go-to DP in the low-weight, sub $1000, easily giggable category. Also, the lack of splits for piano/bass on the SP is a shortcoming.

[Daniel Heslop]

I have an sp250. I'm not sure how much was changed aside from splitting for teachers (not the kind of splitting I would want).

The action is ok but a bit heavy/mushy to me.

 

AP is decent. EP, I like the wurly though there is no tremolo (odd because I think one of the rhodes sounds has it) The rhodes is too touch sensitive for me. It goes from gentle bells to barking too easily and I find it hard to control.

 

Layering AP and strings...the strings are not bad, but in a layer I find them a bit too quiet and on the 250 at least, there is no way to adjust this.

 

I don't know if the sounds are the same though on the 280, or the levles in a layer.

 

Speakers on mine are very good. Weight it about 40lbs.

 

If I had to buy it again I probably would, but not without looking around at what else is in the price range first.

[High Diving Act]

Thanks for the feedback. I agree with some of D-Bons statements and most of VoxPops,. which leads me to believe we are hearing and feeling mostly the same things.

 

My motivation and criteria for trying out some DP's is to complement my Roland VR09. I feel like I am lacking a bit on some good AP's,.. nice string pads and EP's. I am looking at boards below the $800 mark for sure. I am using a Yamaha NP30 for my bottom tier right now but the EP's and Strings suck. I would take 76 keys but,.. not a lot out there at 76 keys. The feel of the keybed is not a major priority but important for expressive piano. Speakers are a bonus for practice and small gig events. Layering capability is a must. Weight and size is somewhat a factor.. within reason. Must be midi compatible as a controller or slave for a computer or other keyboard.

 

Ok now with all that said...

 

Here is my take on direct comparisons between the Yamahas, Casio and Korg Pianos. I tried all of these pianos out thru their speakers and the same headphones at all relative volumes.

 

Casio Previa PX350:

 

I really wanted to like this board because of all the hype with the new Casio products but,.. it just isn't sitting well with me. While the keybed and samples allowed for the most expressiveness between the 4 boards I tried, I just don't LOVE the tone of the piano. There were also 3 or 4 notes somewhere above C4 that just pierce the ear when playing all piano tones. I found the keybed a bit heavy for my liking. Navigation is easy and sensible. While this keyboard had the most options and sounds to offer,.. I don't require most of its options and don't love most of its sounds,.. particularly the ones I am most concerned with (AP,EP,Strings). The speakers were OK but not particularly full or Hifi for my liking. The line in option is a nice touch that I could have used. The keyboard is light and compact so bonus points for that. The PX-350 was the most expensive of all 4 keyboards I tried.

 

Yamaha P35 and P105

 

These keyboards are virtually identical with the P35 being the stripped down version of the P105 and having less polyphony, sounds and options. These where my favorite keybeds to play,.. felt most natural for me. The speaker wattage is relatively low on both models but they push decent enough volume. Weird thing here,.. through the speakers,.. I preferred the sound of the P35 over the P105. Maybe speaker placement,.. not sure but, that's how they presented to me. Navigation was more sensible on the P105 but easy enough on both models. The EP's and Strings on both models do leave a lot to be desired (or "suck" as DBon stated). The P105 does not have midi inputs outside of usb so connecting to another keyboard is not an option without major stickhandling, basically making the p105 a write off for me. I really liked the overall piano sound from the P35 but again,.. because of its limited sampling,.. it was not as expressive as the Casio. I am ok using headphones out or dedicated lines out for additional amplification so,.. this was not an item I was concerned with (as long as the headphone out was not particularly noisy). Both are light and compact keyboards so... both good in this aspect. Both boards are less expensive than the Casio and Korg.

 

Korg PS-280

 

I wasn't even going to try this one out as I did not love the sound of the P-250 but,.. gave it a try. The keybed feel was more shallow than the Casio and Yamaha and quite frankly not as good as the Yamaha. Because the keybed feel was lighter,. I may have slightly preferred it to the Casio (though it is possible that the Casio feel may have grown on me in time). I actually liked the AP's on it,.. nothing groundbreaking but kind of an in between the Yamaha and Casio for expressiveness and tone. I actually liked the EP's on it also... though the samples include key off or hammer off artifact when you let the key go that I thought was somewhat too pronounced. I did like the expressiveness and the bark. Of course its not at the level of the SV1 but,.. I'm not expecting that. I think they are usable. The string patches on the Korg in my opinion were wayyy better then the Casio and Yamaha. They sounded nice layered with any other combination. All the other sounds were ok. Navigation is easy enough, sensible, and has adequate options. The Korg has 40 watt speakers and played loud enough but,.. the fidelity was not the best and again was lacking low end. I would say both Yamaha keyboard speakers were better sounding,.. with the Korg just slightly better then the Casio (though the Korg speakers did present some hiss at higher levels). The Korg has a line in which I could possibly use to plug the VR09 into. The PS280 is more robust and heavier then the other 3 keyboards (at 32lbs without the stand and 42lbs with the stand). I actually have no used for the stand so,. lets just say 32lbs to compare apples with apples. I can live with that. Korg slightly less expensive than the Casio.

 

So,.. I left the store leaning slightly more toward the Korg which was a complete surprise. Still not sure what road I will take. Not in a rush so,.. still may explore other avenues,.. maybe a module for my NP30 that has strong AP's EP's and Strings that layers and is easy to select patches and navigate. Maybe an Ipad solution? Dunno yet.

[AnotherScott]

Nice summary, HDA.

 

There's a new Kawai ES100 at $799 that might be worth checking out if you can find one.

 

If you already have the iPad, it might be worth downloading a couple of piano apps and actually try running them from those keyboards. (Or even from your NP30.)

[LarsHarner]

Hello, I have had the SP-280 since early march and really enjoy it. Note I play mostly classic rock,blues and write songs.-

*In fact I actually ordered the keyboard WITHOUT trying it out first- which is rare for me. Normally I over analyze everything

I have always loved Korgs piano sounds and had a SG Rack for years.

The board has the best speakers of all mentioned- in terms of clarity and power.

I would agree that none of the Rhodes sounds are truly great; but I do like it- not as much though as my Krome Rhodes. To be honest, my PX130 Rhodes does it for me in the slab category

The key action is much better than the SP170 - not as mushy and is the same as in the Krome 88.

I might prefer the P35/105 action but the speakers on the Korg overcompensate.

I owned a P95 for 2 years- speakers were below average so I sold it. I owned a P105 briefly and returned it due to getting 2 defective units. I also sent my PX350 back- I loved the Keys and piano sound but it was not loud enough.

Perhaps I should consider the PX780 though

 

Although the action might not be as good as the Casio- I find it about almost as even as the Yamaha. The Yamaha would win out on speaker placement as you hear the sound from under the piano, but I did not find the P105 to be that much better than the P95. (I was greedy and assumed I would be happy with the P105 but the P95 was made well)

[LarsHarner]

A few more points at this late hour of 1am....

- I did try out the Krome 88 beforehand so I knew what to expect with the SP280 action.

I love Korg anyway but am not biased- I will say this is not an easy board to move- I take my PX130 out.

 

I think the P105 is a good gigging choice- I just happened to have 2 bad units.

[High Diving Act]

A few more points at this late hour of 1am....

- I did try out the Krome 88 beforehand so I knew what to expect with the SP280 action.

I love Korg anyway but am not biased- I will say this is not an easy board to move- I take my PX130 out.

 

I think the P105 is a good gigging choice- I just happened to have 2 bad units.

 

The Krome 88 or the SP280 is not easy to move??? or both? I rarely gig anymore so,.. anything under 35lbs would be acceptable to me.

 

Right now... my np30 only weighs 12 lbs.

[LarsHarner]

Hello, I would say the SP280 is not as easy to move as the other units- it has a bigger footprint of course. To me it feels more like around 38-39 pounds (feels closer in weight to my 44 pound fatar than one of the 25 pounders).

I have the stand which it shipped with but am using one of my double braced x stands instead.

In my opinion, it would require a more durable case to move compared to a lighter piano.

For me its my home piano.