Hemingway DP-501 Review

Reviewed by Graham Howard (ukpianos.co.uk editor) on 16/08/2008.
For piano advice, send your email to grahamhowardukpianos.co.uk, or call 020 8367 2080.

First impressions

The keys are bouncy and uncontrollable. The touch is too deep and the keys are irritatingly rattly.

Touch

Playing softly

If you try to play softly (piano or pianissimo) the keys jump down with force. This is because the spring tension in the keys is too great.

Result: It is not possible to play quietly/softly.

Score: 1 out of 10

Repetition

The repetition is good on the black keys and just below average on the white keys.
This is one of Hemingway’s better points. The repetition is still not as good as a real piano, or other better known digital pianos.
Result: Some fast passages are difficult to play.

Score: 6 out of 10

Touch sensitivity

This is virtually non existent. Most digital pianos have 4 or 5 levels of touch sensitivity which is designed to replicate a real piano. The Hemingway DP501 has
only two. Although sometimes it feels like only one. You cannot get any power from the piano by pressing the keys down harder. And you certainly cannot put any expression into your music.

Result: Very frustrating to play. Not enjoyable at all.

Score: 1.5 out of 10

Key weight

The weight of touch is very important. If you practice on a piano with too light a touch you will not develop your finger muscles and dexterity. A heavier touch is always preferred. The Hemingway has a false touch. The touch is actually quite light but the spring tension is too great on the initial key depression and also when the key returns. The DP501 has 4 touch levels: Off, light, normal, and heavy. It performs best on ‘light’.
Result: The light to medium touch coupled with strong spring tensions results in a false touch. This makes it very difficult to control.

Score: 1.5 out of 10

Progressive Hammer Action

The Hemingway DP501 does not have a progressive hammer action. The key weight is the same on all keys. A progressive hammer action (also known as ‘scaled hammer action, or ‘graded hammer action’) means this: The keys in the bass section are heavy and get progressively lighter as you go up the keyboard. This replicates the touch of a real piano where the hammers are bigger/heavier in the bass, and smaller/lighter in the treble.

Key noise

The keys are very noisy. This becomes more noticeable as you turn the volume level down. If you play with headphones or with the volume level right down you will here how noisy the keys are. The knocking and clicking sounds are actually louder than the  sound of the piano at the lower end of the volume scale. Half of the notes that were tested around the middle of the piano produce a very loud click.
Result: The noisiness of the keys is really off-putting and will distract you from playing. If you plan on practicing with headphones so as not to disturb your neighbours or family sleeping in the next room, beware: The noisy, clicking keys will certainly be cause for complaint.

Score: 1 out of 10

Other characteristics

The keys are loose and very bouncy. There is also a lot of sideways movement. The depth of touch is too deep. This is also accentuated by the key fronts being far too long. The bounciness of the keys make it very difficult to control your playing.

Authenticity

Overall, the touch is not very good. Taking all the above points into consideration, and comparing the touch to a real piano, the Hemingway DP501 gets a score of 3 out of 10.
Result: The touch is false and doesn’t feel anything like a real piano. The only marks it picks up are from the reasonably good repetition and some resistance in the key weight.

Score: 2.5 out of 10

Sound

Sound Quality

Pleasant, clean/pure sound. Bell-like in the top treble. The sound is neither bright, nor mellow. You can hear right away that it’s a digital piano because the electronic sound comes through. The piano is also quite boomy, and it gets worse if you turn up the bass volume adjustment.
Result: After playing this piano for more than 10 minutes the boomy sound started to hurt my ears.

Score: 4 out of 10

Power/Volume

The DP501 has supposedly 2 x 40 watt speakers. But where is the sound? The speaker quality is poor and the volume of the piano (even on its maximum level) is weak. Quite disappointing. The sound appears to come from to small speakers located underneath the piano.

Result: The poor quality speakers and also their location contribute to the poor end result.
Score: 3 out of 10

Sound Decay

How quickly does the sound die away when holding down a note/notes? The sound decay is pretty good on the DP501. It actually replicates the decay length of an acoustic piano very well.
Result: Well done Hemingway! Good sound decay.
Score: 9 out of 10

Tuning

The harmonics in the bass are very rapid, and way out. The top treble (last two octaves) are in tune, with the last 3 notes a little sharp.  The centre of the piano (which is the most important area) is not good. The 3^rd’s, 4^th’s and 5^th’s are very inconsistent. Some flat, some sharp. All over the place!

Result: It is rare to find a digital piano that is ‘in-tune’ near the top. The Hemingway DP501 has very good tuning in the top section. It’s a shame the tuning in the centre and bass lets it down big time

Score: 3 out of 10

Playing With Headphones

The sound is still very poor when playing with headphones. In fact, the noise from the
keys overpowers the sound from the piano. After just a short time playing with headphones you get rather annoyed with the ever present noise of the clunking keys.

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Features

Record

Very complicated to use. Couldn’t work out how to use this feature at all. The manual explained how to use this feature clear enough, but after 5 minutes of struggling and getting in a right muddle, I gave up in frustration.

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Build Quality

• Construction is weak
• Poor build quality
• Pedal board moves when you press down on the pedal
• Pedals have too much side play. The middle pedal (sostenuto) is longer than the other two.
• The back board is very flimsy and is secured by two screws at the top and four at the bottom. The four at the bottom have not been pre-drilled. Tough work to get the bottom four screws in. Can result in damage to the cabinet if not careful. The key cover is secured by a wire to protect it in transit. This looks like a poor job. Very fiddly to undo the wire to release lid

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Assembly

The DP501 is not easy to assemble. The instructions are not that clear, which leaves quite a bit of guess work, trial and error. The holes to connect the keyboard to the legs are not lined up very well. It takes a bit of jiggling (and requires two people) to get it right.

Assembly time 45 minutes to 1 hour.

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Looks/Design/Style

The polished ebony version looks smart. The gold Hemingway logo is overpowering and looks a little tacky. The control panel looks simple and well laid out, but a little out-dated.

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Packaging

Extremely well packed. Thick cardboard boxes (one inner and one outer). Plenty of polystyrene, bubble wrap and other packaging to secure the piano whilst in transit. Handles on both ends of the box. Moving parts such as pedals and keys are doubly protected. There is very little chance of the piano being damaged during delivery.

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Owner’s Manual

Well very laid out. Easy to read. Written in English and German.

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Annoying Things

1) The reverb feature is automatically on when you switch on the piano. This has to be turned off to get the most realistic sound. To turn off the reverb you have to press the button 4 times.

2) The piano’s touch is set to ‘off’. This is nowhere near as good as the soft touch. To get the soft touch you have to press the touch button once. Unfortunately, when you turn the piano off and then back on, it doesn’t remember your previous setting.

3) The power lead is too short at only 1 meter. This means you have to place the piano directly in front of a power switch.

4) The DP501 comes with a European 2-prong plug. You will have to go out and buy an adaptor to be able to use it in England.

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Piano Grades

This piano will get you up to around grade 2.

Hemingway DP-501 Score Sheet

Touch (in order of importance - scores out of 10)

Key weight: 1.5/10

Touch sensitivity: 1.5/10

Key control: 1/10

Repetition: 6/10

Key depth: 3/10

Graded hammer effect: 0/10

Sound (in order of importance - scores out of 10)

Realistic/authentic: 5.5/10

Bass: 2.5/10
Middle: 3.5/10
Treble: 3.5/10
Top: 6/10

Key noise: 1/10

Sound decay: 9/10

Interval tuning: 2/10

Octave tuning: 9/10

With headphones plugged in: 2.5/10

Pedals

Effectiveness of soft, sostenuto and sustain: All three are realistic.

Cabinet (scores out of 10)

Style/shape: 5/10

Wood grain or finish: 6/10

Music desk: 7/10

Dimensions: Length 141cm (55.5 inches), Depth 49cm (19.5 inches), Height 86cm (34 inches)

Weight: 53kg

Portability: 2/10

Strength of structure: 3/10

Choice of colours: Dark rosewood, polished ebony

Ease of assembly: 3/10

Build quality: 2/10

Features

Key cover: Yes

Headphone socket(s): Yes x 2

Speakers: 2/10

Headphone hanger: No

Basic Functions

Record: Yes,  but extremely difficult to use

CD, DVD, Floppy, Smart Media: No

Metronome: Yes

Polyphony: 64 notes

Reverb: 4 selections: Room, Hall, Theatre or off. Unfortunately, when you turn the piano off and then back on, it doesn’t remember your previous setting.

Control Panel

How easy to use: 3.5/10

Instrumental voices

Most popular:

Grand piano: This is the piano’s most realistic sound

Upright piano: A little too bright and electronic sounding

Electric piano: 2 variations
Harpsichord: OK, not brilliant
Vibes: Nice sounds
Strings: OK, nothing special
Organ: Solid sound but hard to distinguish the octaves

Demo songs: One for each instrumental voice. Plays the classics

Transpose: Dead easy to use, but only offers semi-tone increments

Ease and speed of assembling: (Takes 1 hour) 3/10

Manual: Yes

How easy to follow: Easy to follow.

How many languages offered: 2 (English, German)

Warranty: 3 years

Which grade it will take you to: Grade 2

Re-sale value: Sell within 3 years of purchase for around 25-30% of purchase price. 1.5/10

Value for money: 3/10

Total score (out of 100): 20

Overall Comments

Pleasant sound, but boomy, and it’s impossible to add expression to your music. With its annoying lack of key power and control, and its annoying bouncy and noisy keys, this piano is really frustrating to play. If you already own a Hemingway DP501, to get the most out of it you should select the soft touch, take off the reverb, and keep the volume level in the middle. Don’t use the headphones, it will drive you insane!

Reviewed by Graham Howard (ukpianos.co.uk editor) on 16/08/2008.
For piano advice, send your email to grahamhowardukpianos.co.uk, or call 020 8367 2080.

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