Casio AP420

Description

Description

Casio AP420 Digital Piano – 88 keys with hammer and touch response with ivory feel, 128-note polyphonic, 16 sounds, metronome, 60 internal songs, reverb, chorus, brilliance, internal 2-track recorder, transpose function, SDCard slot (up to 2GB), 3 pedals, 16 channel multi-timbral (receive), MIDI in/out, 2x headphone outputs, line out L/R jacks, USB jack type B, 2x 20W loudspeaker system. Dimensions: 1395 x 835 x 427mm (WxHxD). Weight: 40kg.

 

Pianos to compare:

Compare Kurzweil M110

Compare Broadway  B1

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Casio AP420 Reviews

Pro: Build and mat finish

Cost to benefit ratio
Classic styling with out too fussy digital interface
Still has MIDI support (through USB)
Comes with metal 3 pedals (half step supported).. (didn’t realize that most of the time you use only one but looks nicer)
Con: Sampling is not as good as a Yamaha, as it resamples based on a smaller sample set, the rest are interpolated. Higher end Yamaha’s sample every key

Hitting of keys hard make an audible sound (headphones or increased volume eilmliate this)
When on full volume playing a single key you can hear when the note actually ‘ends’ which is a little staticy (this is not how you play a piano)
A few too little voices, but fine as a ‘piano’
Reviewed by Charlie

 

Questions and Comments (Email your questions to grahamhoward ukpianos.co.uk)

Hi Graham,

I am Indifferent between two Brands and no:

ydp 141 and ap 420 casio, corresponding to my budget.

I am only apprehensive about casio quality issues.

God willing I will buy next Month

Regards

Mathew

Reply/ Hi Mathew

Yamaha YDP141 and Casio AP420 are OK for beginners.

They both have a nice piano sound and an even touch.

There’s two main advantages the Casio AP420 has

over the Yamaha YDP141:

1) The Casio AP420 has an ‘ivory feel’ touch. This

feels a little more silky under the fingers. It’s

quite a nice feeling actually.

2) The AP420 has more powerful speakers (2 x 20 watts

versus Yamaha’s 2 x 6 watts). The bigger speakers

give you more power. But it’s not only the volume

level that improves; the bigger speaker wattage

adds richness and depth to the piano’s tone.

And there’s two main advantages the Yamaha YDP141

has over the Casio AP420:

1) The Yamaha YDP141 has a higher build quality.

It’s also more reliable (understandably), thus

less likely to break down.

2) The Yamaha YDP141 has a higher resale value than

the Casio AP420 (about £50 – £100 difference).

… Yamaha pianos command a higher price on the

second hand market than any other brand.

Now the choice…

It’s a close call between the two, but the slightly

smoother feel to the keys, and the richer, fuller

sound give the Casio AP420 the edge over the

Yamaha YDP141.

Yours pianistically,

Graham Howard

—

Thank you for the wonderful piano guide. It has helped me weigh in what is possible to buy taking in to consideration my desire to continue to grow and play demanding works on the piano, and the limits of my budget.

Because of your guide, I have narrowed it down to the Yamaha Arius YDP 141 and the Casio AP 420. I understand that the casio is a little better, keyboard and sound-wise while the 141 has a better resale value.

I would like to know, what aspect of the Casio AP 420’s keyboard is better than the YDP 141? I know the 141 is medium weighted, and graded hammer standard. The casio is graded hammer standard but is it also medium-weighted? I would like to pursue challenging pieces from listzt and rachmaninoff so i need the best possible for the price range.

Thank you very much,

Manny

Reply/ Hi Manny

If you intend playing such challenging pieces

I think you will struggle on these basic pianos.

But I understand you have a limited budget.

Both the Casio AP420 and Yamaha YDP141

score exactly the same on the Howard Score

digital piano rating system. But if I were

pressed to choose between them, I would go

for the Casio because it has slightly more

resistance on the key touch.

Another piano I would like to recommend

for you is the Broadway B1.

The Broadway has a nicer, more authentic

key touch. The weighting is better, and it has

more resistance on the down stroke. You can

feel and control the keys much better when

playing more demanding pieces.

Overall it is a better piano then the Casio AP420

and Yamaha YDP141.

You can see this piano here:

https://www.ukpianos.co.uk/broadway-b1.html

Yours pianistically,

Graham Howard