Keyboards/Synthesisers: Casio Privia PX-310

When I first tried a Casio Privia it was to review the PX-500L for the June/July '04 issue of NZM. I enjoyed reviewing this keyboard - it was good value for money and it did everything it claimed to, so I was most interested to see what the PX-310 had to offer. The advertising bills it as 'the perfect design for stage performances and composing sessions'.

Being a classical pianist and trained for years on piano I am pretty fussy about key action and the PX-310 certainly lived up to my expectations. As with the PX-500L I was impressed with the weighted action of the keys. Its touch response is also excellent and the stereo sampled piano sounds are convincing. I confess I enjoyed the sounds rather more through my studio speakers than through the in-built speakers, however the in-built speakers are a convenient feature if you don't want to add the expense of an amp and speaker combo. A great bonus for home use is that the PX-310 is lightweight, easy to move around, and it looks good.

As a recording artist I was keen to see what features the PX-310 had that would be useful in a studio and also how it would work with outbound equipment. The PX-310 has everything that you would expect in a modern keyboard, Midi with a 16 multi-timbre receive, GM level 1 standard. The 2-way bass-reflex speaker system gives a more than adequate sound from its two 12cm x 6cm speakers for the home user, and there is line in/out (both L/Mono, R jack) for use with a PA system. So basically you can use the sounds that come with this keyboard to record or you can use its lovely weighted action as a controller in the studio for your sample library. Because of its Midi capability the PX-310 would serve well in a studio.

As a teacher I can definitely recommend this keyboard to anyone learning keys. It feels great, sounds great and is excellent value for money, retailing at $1695. It has an auto accompaniment function of 120 advanced rhythm patterns that cover a wide range of styles and are a lot of fun to play around with. The quick access menu and easy to understand function buttons and manual help make it ideal for learning. You can take this keyboard out of the box, plug it in and go with very little technical knowledge which is great for those transitioning from an acoustic piano to a keyboard.

For performance the absence of a pitch bender and modulation wheel in this model would make using it as a controller for organ or synth lead samples difficult. Its lightness (11.9kg) is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Great to have a light keyboard to cart around (speaking from the experience of carting around a heavy one, whew!) however for major touring the keyboard case may not be as robust as needed. I guess that for most people this would not be a problem.

It has a registration memory in which you can store up to 32 set-ups (4 sets x 8 banks) for recall whenever you need them. Registration data includes tones, rhythms, effects, and more. This is handy if you have particular set-ups for certain songs and you are performing them one after the other - you can just recall the settings from the registration memory. The accompaniment function is useful for a fuller sound - you can split the keyboard into accompaniment keyboard and melody keyboard. In the accompaniment mode you can play a whole chord using minimal fingering, leaving your other hand free for melody.

As a songwriter I think the real time recording and playback function is useful if, like me, you are playing around and come up with something that sounds great and think you will remember it later on… you never do! This function enables you to record what you played straight away and recall it later. It will store up to 10,000 notes in song memory.

The PX-310 is ideal on several counts. For those learning; those transitioning from piano to keyboard, those doing light live performance and those who generally love to play but want something a bit smaller than a piano in their living room. A neat all-rounder.