Casio AP-650 – REVIEW | Digital Piano – 2022 | 250 instruments

UPDATED REVIEW | June 2022 –

Casio AP-650

| The Casio AP-650 Celviano digital piano is now DISCONTINED – Unfortunately this model is no longer made and there has been no announcement yet of when it will be replaced with a new model. When manufacturers discontinue models it does not mean it had problems or did not sell well for them. It simply means they are likely going to have a new replacement for it in the future at some point. The AP-650 has been out for a number of years so it’s likely Casio wanted to give it new features and come out with something newer. Casio has not released any info on when that will be or what the features might be. In the meantime we suggest you consider the newer the less expensive AP-470 ($1699 internet price). I have reviewed this model on this blog so check it out to learn more about the AP-470 and then let us know if you have questions. 

Even though this model has been out for awhile, it still is extremely popular with families, kids, seniors, and anyone looking for an enjoyable piano playing experience along with a lot of fun “bells & whistles” too to help you sound great. The AP-650 is available only in one color finish which is an attractive textured satin black. This model also comes with an upgraded height-adjustable padded bench which is quite nice considering the other digital piano companies include only standard height benches in this price range.

The AP-650 ($1899US internet discount price) is very popular not only because it
has Casio’s best piano graded weighted key action under $3000, but also because it has all of the “bells & whistles” which many people enjoy using when owning a newer digital piano. I really like the extra technology features because they can help with the learning/education process and really are fun to use…but I will talk about that later. This model weighs in at 110lbs and the cabinet measures approx 54″ wide x 17″ deep including sliding metal key cover
and full sheet music rack. If you look closely at the pictures in this review, you’ll notice that the cabinet
has front support legs which is normally found on much higher priced
digital pianos. Most digital pianos in this price range are just
“pedestal style” with no legs. 

Not only do the front legs offer more
support and stability to the piano, but they add a touch of class and
elegance to the design of the cabinet in my opinion. The cabinet design also offers a full size privacy panel on the
back so that it looks as much like a piano as possible in this price
range and hides all the cables in back. The AP-650 is using
Casio’s latest upgraded digital technology which, in my opinion, exceeds
any other digital piano in this lower price range under $2000 for what
it offers in a
furniture cabinet piano. 

I have played this piano many times and was
quite impressed with its realistic moisture absorbing synthetic
ivory/ebony keytops (similar to real ivory & ebony on the old
acoustic grand & upright pianos), and graded piano hammer key action
response. Although there are certainly other piano brands and models
that I like
and recommend, in this price range they have a difficult time competing
with the AP650 for a number of reasons.

A big advancement not offered on many other digital pianos in this price
range is the 256-note polyphony piano sound processing technology. Even
the respected Yamaha Avant Grand digital grand piano selling for approx
$15,000 has a maximum 256-note polyphony technology which makes Casio’s
achievement pretty special in my opinion at only $1899. More polyphony
note processing power helps to keep notes from electronically dropping out when
playing difficult & musically complex passages along with layering 2
sounds together and using the damper sustain pedal. However, when the polyphony
gets near 200-notes of processing power in the major digital piano
brands, that is normally more than enough to suit nearly all skill levels of
pianists when playing solo piano music. 

Also, like many name brand
digital pianos including Yamaha, Kawai, and Roland, the AP650 offers the
“half-damper” sustain feature with pedal resonance effect which helps
recreate the real acoustic piano pedaling  damper/sustain sound for more
intermediate to advanced piano music. For those students and
recreational players who are at the beginner skill level, they will have
something to grow into and not need to trade out of this piano for a
long time, if ever.

As for the actual grand piano sound reproduction and key action, the AP650 is
impressive and upgraded in noticeable ways over its competition, such as
Yamaha in this price range. Although no digital piano that I know of
actually sounds exactly like a real acoustic grand piano (I play
real acoustic grand pianos and know what I’m talking about), the AP650 may give you the impression that you are playing a real acoustic piano
more than other brands

and models do in this price range…and that’s
what really counts. The key action has 3 electronic sensors under each
key (tri-sensor key action) for better recognition of key repetition and
this is important as your progress in your piano playing ability or are
already a good player. 

The dynamic range of volume & tonal change
(color and expression) when
playing the keys is also very impressive and noticeably wider than
Yamaha or Korg and allows for a
greater range of musical expression which is always important,
especially if you are taking lessons from a good teacher or you are at a
higher playing skill
level. The sonic quality of the Casio’s new stereo piano sound is really
good
across the entire keyboard and something which can be enjoyed no matter
what type of music you play. Also, from what I have been told, the piano
sound in the AP650 is sampled from a real Steinway acoustic grand piano
and you can’t get much better than that, although don’t expect the AP650 to actually sound like a Steinway grand piano…that would be wishful thinking:).

Piano pedaling is also an important aspect of any good piano and the
Casio AP650 is no exception. The pedaling offers continuous detection half-damper control for
variable sustain amount and duration of time. The piano pedaling also
triggers damper resonance which is when the dampers in a real piano are
off the strings and there is natural resonation of the strings occurring
along with the note that is played. Casio has recreated this experience
in the Celviano AP650 and it certainly is impressive to hear, especially for those who are used to a real piano. The middle sostenuto pedal and left soft pedal
also work like a real piano and give people the added benefit of
reproducing the functionality of those pedals as well, although the
right damper sustain pedal is the primary pedal used more than 90% of
the time for most recreational piano players.

The Casio company has its worldwide
headquarters in Tokyo, Japan (left
pic) and as I mentioned earlier, has been producing digital pianos for over 30 years. They also
produce keyboards, pro synthesizers, as well as being famous for
calculators, advanced digital cameras, sports & consumer watches,
advanced digital technology for communication devices, and some very
impressive new digital computer technology. Casio produces their own
computer chips and proprietary micro technology and is able to do it at a
fraction of the cost of some of it’s biggest competitors and that is
why
Casio tends to have lower prices. Some people equate lower prices with
lower
quality and think you need to spend a lot more money (over $3000) to get
something really good. However, in my opinion, this latest model Casio
AP650 is
very impressive for its lower price and easily competes with the other
popular digital piano brands including Yamaha, Roland, and Kawai for
features, cabinet construction & style, and overall piano playing
experience realism.

Another impressive feature to me is the fact that Casio has included “wav file”
audio recording and playback in this model. What that means is that you can record
yourself as an audio recording (CD quality) and save it to a USB
flashdrive in the piano and then play it back in full CD quality sound. You can also can take that recording in the
flashdrive and plug it into your computer and email that song to your
friends and relatives to let them hear it on their computer just as you
played it! Beyond that, you can import that music into computer music
programs for music education, composing, song arranging, etc for further
musical interaction and even turn the wav file recording into an MP3 file on your computer to
play as an iTune on your iPad or iPod. The other major brands such as
Roland, Kawai, or Yamaha do not have this feature in this price range.
Another recording feature that is very useful and I use it in my
teaching studio, is the ability to record right and left hand playing
independently on 2 separate MIDI recording tracks and then play back
both hands simultaneously. 

This feature is very helpful in allowing
piano students to practice and record one hand and then play that
recording back while they play the other hand “live” along with the
recording. It’s like having your teacher there playing along with you to
give you help in understanding your rhythm and timing better and it’s
also more fun to practice this way. You can also save this recording and
other song recordings you have done to a USB flashdrive for storage so
you can come back later and work on and play along with those pieces
again.

One interesting & innovative feature I like is a new piano lid audio
projection system (see pic on left). Simply put, you can physically
open the top lid on the AP650 into an open, propped up position like a little
grand
piano would do so the sound is projected towards you for a more
realistic
listening & playing experience. No other digital piano brand has
this special open lid feature under $3000. The internal 60 watt
4-speaker
sound system is heard more like a baby grand would be with an open and
angled lid and no other digital piano has this useful function. 

The
overall sound on this model can be quite loud and big so
there is no need to attach external speakers in my opinion and the
volume will easily fill up a big room. In fact, the main speakers in this piano are larger than any of the other Celviano models as well as compared to the other brands in this price range. As I said, I have not seen this
sound
projection system before in any regular digital piano and although it would seem like a simple thing to do but Casio is the only one doing it. 

This interactive cabinet
gives the player more piano sound depth than some other digital pianos
and can make the piano more exciting to play. The AP650 also has a lot of connectivity to external devices thanks to having built in 1/4″ audio outputs, 1/4″ audio inputs, USB direct output, and USB flashdrive input for recording, storing, and playing General MIDI and audio files. A General MIDI song recording and playback involves using up to 16 separate tracks on the AP650 enabling you to record up to 16 separate instruments (one at a time) and playing them back at any simultaneously. This allows a person to create their own full band or orchestra song and save it to a USB flashdrive and later be played back on the AP650 or played back in your computer. You can also download load thousands of songs on the internet in the 16-track General MIDI format to playback your favorite songs at any tempo and then play piano along with those songs.

 It’s a great way of learning songs as well as just having fun playing and/or singing along. The AP650 does not have WiFi or Bluetooth connectivity which would have been a nice feature, but I guess you cannot have it all…but I would have liked to see Bluetooth connectivity just to make things easier in connecting laptops, tablets, etc. Maybe on future models?:). But in the meantime you can connect to a tablet or computer with a USB cable and/or audio cable depending on what you want to do musically with an external device.

– Below are some of the important highlights of the AP650: 

USB class compliant core MIDI high speed direct connection to iPad
or laptop computer to utilize some outstanding piano education &
notation apps now available for tablets.

360 drum rhythm patterns for timing and rhythm training

250 nice instruments for use with song creation, arranging,
composing, and playing just for fun (most digital pianos under $2000
offer approx 10-25 instruments.

wav file audio recording so you can make live recordings of your
playing (useful in converting to MP3 files for MP3 players or to attach
to emails for sending to friends and relatives).

Plugging a microphone into the piano to record live vocals
while you’re singing & playing at the same time or separately and
then saving it all to a USB flashdrive in a .wav audio file

General MIDI 16-track instrument playback for use with
Alfred, Faber, and other piano teaching methods. For important info
about General MIDI lesson song accompaniments & lesson practice, I
recommend you go to the following link: General MIDI & digital pianos

General MIDI 16-track instrument recording for song creation, arranging, composing, etc. up to 16 instruments played back simultaneously

Arranger style chord system with 360 music styles for full
accompaniment on your left hand. This allows for integration of a live
band or orchestral backup while playing “chord style” using a variety of
music accompaniments in the piano including Jazz, Classical, Latin,
Country, Rock, Oldies, Waltz, Big Band, Blues, Folk, Contemporary, World
Music from other countries, and many other music genres. This feature
helps with allowing you to integrate rhythmic music styles into your
playing to make your playing music even more enjoyable.

LCD user display screen directly in front of you for easy to read control panel information.

86 “Jam Session” chord progression loops for learning song improv.
This unique feature allows the player to learn how to “jam and
improvise” with built in chord progressions with 86 recognizable “song
loops” that make learning to play “by ear” fun and enjoyable. Ear
training is a great way to play piano and helps with understanding
music.

Layering & splitting any two sounds anywhere on the keyboard.

Duet “4-hand play” for two people playing on the piano simultaneously.

Grand piano “stretch tuning” function to give a more realistic grand
piano sound based on the way piano tuners tune grand pianos.

Transpose and modulate to any key up & down half-steps while playing the piano.

Variable reverb, brightness, key sensitivity, octave shift, song & accompaniment volume.

Panel control button lock to protect your settings for inadvertent button pressing along with auto power shut off function.

Connectivity: Stereo 1/4″ audio outputs, stereo audio inputs to run
your iPad or computer volume back through the piano, MIDI in & out
ports to connect with MIDI sound modules, other keyboards, and other
MIDI devices, Dual 1/4″ headphone jacks.

Console type furniture cabinet with full control button panel and sliding key cover for panel and keyboard protection

Although some people may not care about these interactive features of the AP650, I personally find that they make the piano playing experience more enjoyable and educational when used in the proper way. They also help piano students learn more quickly when it comes to understanding rhythm & timing along with being able to record and improvise. If you choose not to use all the extra on-board features and you
just play the piano sound by itself, you have a selection of 10
different acoustic piano sounds and can play any kind of music with them
such as classical, jazz, rock, church, etc. So just playing traditional
piano on the AP650 is quite enjoyable and if

that’s all it did it would
still be a great buy compared to other brands & models in this
price range based on my playing experience with it. 

It’s my belief that just
because a digital piano has many built-n features and buttons on the
piano does not mean the piano cannot stand on its own as an instrument
for people who mainly want to play piano. In its price range it really
does an excellent job as an instrument for just playing piano and then perhaps you can later use some of
the extra features which can make your music even more enjoyable than it
already is.

Piano Maestro