Casio GP-510 & GP-310 – REVIEW | Hybrid Digital Pianos | Amazing

The newer Grand Hybrid pianos can be played by serious professional pianists who play at very high skill levels and these two models rival the top digital pianos being put out these days by the more famous piano companies including Yamaha and Kawai with their CLP and CA series.If you have thought in the past that Casio does not have what it takes to put out a top competitive digital piano in the higher price ranges because they have been more closely associated with “cheaper price” digital pianos, then think again…because in my opinion they have come up with a couple of very impressive pianos that even pro pianists can and do enjoy.

I am a long time pianist and piano teacher and I try to play every new digital piano that comes out on the market regardless of whether I already like that brand or not. There are some brands known for poorly designed digital pianos, others are known for cheap price digital pianos, and still other brands are known for being pro quality instruments that top pianists, music teachers, and other advanced players (like me) enjoy playing. So when it came to trying out and playing the Casio Grand Hybrid GP-310 and GP-510 with a price of $4299 and $6299 respectively, I was skeptical that they could be as good as Casio claimed they were because most people don’t think of the Casio company competing in this higher price range with Yamaha, Kawai, Roland, etc.

The Casio Grand Hybrid GP-310 and GP-510 are called “Hybrid” for mainly one reason…the key/hammer action. These days it seems as if all the major digital piano companies want to do whatever it takes in getting as close as possible to reproducing a real acoustic “grand” piano. So the GP series key action and piano sound chip is Casio’s way of doing this, especially in replicating the touch action of a real grand piano. The question is…did they do it? Actually, I believe they did a remarkable job and the result is a fairly life-like key movement and weight unlike other digital piano brands, but it was not Casio who designed and built this Grand Hybrid key actions, it was the C. Bechstein grand piano company in Berlin, Germany.

By that time three piano makers, all of which were founded in 1853, became established as the industry leaders across the world and they were Bechstein, Blüthner and Steinway & Sons. So the Bechstein brand was in very good company:). In 1881 Bechstein began supplying pianos to Queen Victoria and a gilded art-case piano was delivered to Buckingham Palace followed by several more Bechstein pianos to Windsor Castle and other royal residences. By January 1886 they were among the piano manufacturers holding was called “a Royal Warrant” as a supplier to the Queen. Several British embassies across the world acquired Bechstein pianos and they are still popular across the world today and used by professional pianists in concert. However, that brand is not as well known in America as they are in Europe and other parts of the world.

What this all means is that the wood key action movement in the Casio Grand Hybrid pianos is directly from the Bechstein piano company and built for the new Casio GP piano series and the keys themselves are authentic full size grand piano keys made from real spruce-wood from individual spruce trees in Austria (wow, that’s pretty cool!). From what I have learned, the natural wood is precision cut and aged slowly over the time so that the keys in the key action can remain solid, aligned, and playable over years of practice and performance. Attached to the wood key action inside these Grand Hybrid models is a moving hammer mechanism designed to imitate real hammers in an acoustic grand piano.

This moving hammer mechanism is made from resin and synthetic compounds, etc that can withstand weather and humidity changes so that the hammers will last almost indefinitely without the need for adjustment or maintenance as you would otherwise have in a real acoustic piano. When the hammers move as you are pressing a key, you can actually feel the weight of those keys under your fingers and direct connection of the moving hammer mechanism inside the piano as counterweights to the keys which gives the player a feeling of natural expression and being directly connected to the music in a way that digital pianos without moving full length hammers cannot really do.

The hammers in the Grand Hybrid pianos don’t actually strike any strings in the piano because there are no strings (the piano sound is digitally reproduced)…and that’s one of the positive aspects of a digital piano…no strings to tune and maintain which otherwise can be very costly over many years.

When I played both the GP-310 and GP-510 for long periods of time, it was like I was actually playing a real grand piano in many ways and the feeling was pretty amazing for a digital piano. I will say that this key action does not feel “exactly” like a real full size acoustic grand piano because that type of thing would require a real full size acoustic grand piano key action. I should know because I play full size acoustic grand pianos from Steinway, Bosendorfer, Yamaha, Kawai, and others. The Grand Hybrid pianos have a “simulated” grand piano key action but for most people this Bechstein Grand Hybrid key action will very enjoyable to play and give you the feeling that you are playing the real thing. One of the reasons for this is because the action has extra long keys (aka: key sticks) inside the piano and the balance points of the action are well done.

As a comparative example, the Roland company has a top of the line piano called the LX708 which sells at about $6000. The white keys in that piano are mostly plastic and the black keys are all plastic with the white keys measuring a bit less than 11′ long. Although that length is not very long, it’s still fine for a vertical digital piano. The white keys inside the Casio Grand Hybrid models are all 100% wood and so are the black keys. As I mentioned earlier the white keys in the Casio-Bechstein GP-310 and GP-510 are a whopping 16″ long in total length from the front of the keys to the back of the keys (white keys) that sit inside the piano.

If a lower priced digital piano (lower price than a real acoustic grand) like the Casio-Bechstein GP310/GP510 can get close to a real full size acoustic grand, then that is pretty impressive. Overall I liked the comfort of playing the key action on these two models so I believe for most people they will feel the same way.

With the GP-310 and GP-510 you won’t have to alter your playing technique because your playing experience will be balanced and even on this loner=key all wood grand style key action. There are smaller grand and baby grand pianos and a couple of brands with a lighter key down-weight, and there are some people who may prefer it that way. But on larger concert grand pianos the slighter firmer down-weight force can give you more “control” over your playing and dynamics and that’s why many pro players prefer it that way. If you want a key weight “feeling” that is a bit lighter then you just set your digital velocity touch control to “light or extra light” and that will allow the feeling and sensitivity of the key action and sound to be lighter.

The key action feels smooth, balanced, easy and responsive to play without being too firm or too light. So the overall playing experience in my opinion is more like playing a natural grand piano than nearly all of the other digital piano brands in this price range in this price range, and I have had other advanced piano players tell me that as well. It is interesting to note that this Bechstein GP key action does not have the notched escapement/let-off feel that you would normally experience and associate with playing a real grand piano when playing the keys very lightly and softly, but there is a reason for this. I was told that the Bechstein company wanted the fastest responding acoustic piano style action that was possible to get in a digital piano. 

To make this happen Bechstein’s only recourse was to leave out the escapement “simulation” because otherwise that feature would have prevented a faster key movement for those players who perform at very high skill levels. In reality for most beginner through advanced pianists, the escapement function on digital pianos is somewhat irrelevant because it’s not the near same thing as in a real grand piano and is only simulated in a small way.

With this in mind, the importance of key movement and faster triggering of the piano sound took priority over having a “simulated” escapement feature. I believe that Casio/Bechstein made the right choice because this Grand key action is lightning fast when it comes to playing authentic piano pieces and if giving up a simulated escapement/let-off function allows for a better moving, better responding action and sound with big expression, then I am definitely all for it. If you are looking for piano playing authenticity that is otherwise difficult to find on other digital pianos, then I believe you will be impressed with this Grand Hybrid key action. As far as the material used to produce the key tops, the white key-tops are made from the latest technology in plastics and are identical to the keytops of the Bechstein European concert grand pianos.

As a reference and comparison, the only other top name pianos with actual moving piano hammers in a digital piano is the Yamaha Avant Grand series of digital pianos including the NU1X, N1X, N2, and N3X as well as the Kawai NV5S upright and NV10S with grand piano action. However, these pianos all use wood hammers, wood hammer shanks, and wooden organic connective parts which are very good and just like an acoustic piano but will likely require more maintenance over time. As an example, the Yamaha NU1X (left pic – see-through front is for display purposes only) upright style piano sells for $7400 at local store discount price and it has an upright console hammer key action but not a grand piano key action, and there is a very big difference between the two types. Beyond that, the NU1X has very few sounds and very few digital options and features so it’s a very, basic digital piano in that way, although the cabinet is attractive in its polished ebony finish.

The higher priced Yamaha N1X ($9,800 discount price) has a grand piano style action (as I mentioned earlier) with all wood parts, but would likely require more maintenance over time as I mentioned earlier. The Yamaha N1X AvantGrand is an exceptionally nice digital piano but is still quite a bit more money than the Casio GP-310 and GP-510. The Yamaha N2 and N3X go way up in price from the N1X and all have the same key actions as the N1X and pretty much the same basic features with a few exceptions.

So when it comes to a key action mechanism in a digital piano, this new Casio Celviano Grand Hybrid GP-310 and GP-510 (GP-510 in polished ebony, above left pic) in my opinion is ahead of the Yamaha upright NU1X in a number of ways and somewhat competitive to the higher priced Yamaha AvantGrand N1X, N2, and N3X pianos, although the Yamaha N series Grand Key actions are the “real deal” and more organic and natural as compared to the Casio’s…but they should be given their much higher prices.

The GP-510 and GP-310 have the industry standard 256-note polyphony processing power which is important in helping to give the player enough power to play more complex pieces of music without the loss of notes or damper sustain. As far as piano sound authenticity goes, all of the major digital piano companies would claim to have the best piano sound in their digital pianos and certainly Casio is no exception. What else would you expect them to say?! Casio wants you to believe they have the best piano sound found in these new hybrid digital pianos and overall I believe they have done a very good job and I was impressed.

Casio has developed a new proprietary piano sound chip and electronics key sensing system not found in some of the other digital pianos and I thought these new acoustic piano sound samples to be very impressive in the GP series, especially the GP-510. All of the digital piano companies use fancy words and phrases to describe how they get their piano sound along with the natural organic nuances they try to capture from real acoustic grand pianos to enhance the piano sound of their digital pianos.

I won’t bore you with all the terminology except to say that Casio records/samples 3 distinct well known European acoustic grand pianos which includes the Bechstein (Berlin) German Concert Grand, the Steinway (Hamburg) German Concert Grand, and the Bosendorfer (Vienna) Viennese Concert Grand. These three famous piano brands are the standard by which all other acoustic and digital piano companies try to emulate.

Since the Casio GP series is designed in cooperation with the Bechstein piano company of Germany, it is easy to understand why the three main piano sounds in the GP series are so good. I found each piano sound sample to be unique with their own qualities of tone and dynamic range, but yet they were all enjoyable to play. What did impress me most about the piano sounds were their dynamic range of tone and the ability to really express yourself across all tonal ranges depending on your touch and finger movement.

The German Bechstein sound was also impressive to me and more natural and realistic in a delicate way than many of the competitive brands, especially the new Roland LX series digital pianos.  In my opinion the Casio Grand Hybrid piano sounds are noticeably more natural, more organic, have a wider dynamic tonal range, and just give you the feeling that you are not playing a digital piano.

This sound difference is not because of the internal speaker system or key action because they are the same in both models, but it is because of the upgraded acoustic piano sound engine/organic elements along with the polished ebony cabinet finish that gives the GP-510 its more authentic piano sound. Although there are also some useful digital features the GP-510 has over the GP-310, it’s really the piano sound where you hear the differences. This is not to say the GP-310 doesn’t sound realistic or enjoyable to play, because it definitely does. I am just trying to make the point that the GP-510 is even better.

Pedaling is always important to the piano playing experience and the Grand Hybrids will likely not disappoint you since it is done the traditional way with damper pedal including continuous detection pedaling along with adjustable half-damper control, sostenuto pedal, and soft pedal. The pedals seem to move naturally and they have a type of grand feel movement to the pedals unlike some other digital pianos I have played that have lightweight movement or no half-damper pedal control. Casio also added pedal resonance and damper noise to simulate what real acoustic pianos do when using the damper pedal for sustaining the piano tones. So the pedaling portion of this model is convincing, at least it is to me and I played it quite a bit.

As far as the operating system goes, Casio incorporated a side panel control unit with LCD display which is very similar to what Kawai and Yamaha are currently using in their digital pianos. Although this is a simple and elegant design created to reduce the “digital look” of the buttons and controls of the piano and make it more minimalistic, I would prefer an attached lid or cover on that panel so you wouldn’t see it at all when the piano is not in use or you just don’t want to change controls while playing and don’t want to see the panel. Regardless, the control panel still looks good, is minimal in design, and I found that using the controls was fairly easy to do (although there is still a small learning curve) and the display screen was, overall, easy to read and buttons were easy to use.

However, in additional to the LCD control panel, I would have also liked an iPad/Android “controller” app to connect to the piano which could display all internal controls and features on the app so that you could access all functions that way from a color touch screen on a tablet device.The Yamaha Clavinova and NU1X line of digital pianos have a very intuitive app called Smart Pianist and it gives you control over the functions & features of their pianos. However, if your primary purpose is to focus on piano playing and maybe a few other digital features, then a controller app is generally not necessary. These new Casio Grand Hybrid pianos might be the perfect piano for you if your goal is to get a great piano playing experience while also giving you a some extra features like good instrument sounds, MIDI & audio recording, some editing features, and a built-in display screen & navigation which is fine for most people and easy to read.

The feature set and sound library in the higher priced GP-510 includes 35 instrument sounds (the GP-310 has 28 sounds) which include acoustic pianos, strings, choirs, organs, harpsichords, etc. Theses sounds can be layered 2 at a time, split with 2 different instruments one on the left side and one on the right side, duet piano mode for 2-person simultaneous play, registration preset “scene” mode for saving your own setups or using preset factory setups for instant play, lots of different hall/reverb settings which really adds to the realism of the piano sound along with adjustable touch sensitivity, brilliance, and DSP which helps the user/player create a customizable piano sound and action response. There are a number of specific organic piano sound elements which Casio/Bechstein incorporates into the GP-510 which allows the piano sounds to be even more natural and organic.

This feature is called the “Acoustic Simulator” and would include things like adjustable Hammer Response, Damper Resonance, String Resonance, Aliquot Resonance (this feature is found in fine grand pianos and adds to the harmonic richness and clarity of the piano sound), Open String Resonance, Lid Simulator, Key Off Simulator, Damper Noise, Key On Action

Noise, and Key Off Action Noise all of which are adjustable so that you can micro -customize the piano tones the way it would sound best to you. The GP’s also have a variety of tuning temperaments as well as a variety of piano stretch tunings including being able to shut off the stretch tuning depending on what sounds best to you. But for many people the factory default preset acoustic piano sounds may likely be enough to give you an outstanding piano playing experience.

When it comes to adding some “fun” to this model, Casio has a new feature called  “Concert Play” which means that you can select from up to 15 songs that are full orchestral CD quality renditions of famous classical music that you can listen to and play along with. You can even slow down the concert song while you try to learn it as well as rewind, fast forward, and loop a set of measures together for repeat play.

You can also download new Concert Play songs from a Casio internet site, save them on a USB flashdrive, and then play them on the Grand Hybrid’s.The Concert Play songs sound absolutely authentic just like listening to a full, live orchestra right in your home coming through the internal piano speakers. You can also play MIDI piano performances along with education piano song lessons by downloading those files on the internet and saving them to a USB flashdrive for playback on the piano.

Speaking of speakers, the internal speaker system is unique in that the top of the piano has a movable lid which can be propped up to allow more sound to come out towards the player which gives you the feeling of a grand piano sound experience with the lid open. You can even see the hammers move by looking through the inside top of the piano while you or someone else is playing. The only other digital piano that has a lid that opens in this general price range is the Roland LX708 but that piano sells for more money and has no moving hammers like the Grand Hybrid’s. These new pianos have 6 speakers, 4 amplifiers, and 100 watts of power each which is actually plenty for these models, but they pull only 38 watts of power from your electricity, so the amplifiers are fairly energy efficient.

The 2 main, larger speakers of the piano (which I have found to be very high quality) are housed in separate acoustic boxes mounted underneath the piano with the speakers facing downward rather than forward as on some other digital pianos.This design allows the GP piano sound to come both towards the player on the top and the bigger speakers towards the floor like a grand piano soundboard would do. In my opinion this makes for a more natural piano sound experience and I did like it very much. In fact, if you turn up the master volume control to about 3/4 volume to full volume, that volume will fill up a huge room and even be overpowering. So when comparing the 100 watt specs in the Grand Hybrid pianos to other digital pianos out there which “spec out” with more wattage, don’t let that make you think the Casio doesn’t have “enough” power. The Casio GP-310 and GP-510 will blow your windows out if you want them to:)

The piano also has 2 headphone jacks for private play along with USB output to device for iPad and computer connectivity and USB flashdrive input for song play and recording, and also two regular MIDI connectors for those people who have MIDI music gear that they want to connect to the piano. Casio included 1/4″ input and output audio jacks for connecting external devices to enhance the piano sound even further through external speakers or use the internal speaker system to amplify other sound devices such as computers, tablets, MP3 players, etc.

There are other functions and features on the GP-510 and GP-310 but those are secondary things as compared with what I believe it this digital piano’s primary purpose and goal…to offer an impressive grand piano playing experience in a beautiful polished ebony cabinet with folding key cover, full size music rack, opening lid and matching bench along with a complete 5 year factory warranty on manufacturer defects if they should ever occur. The GP-510 is only available in polished ebony finish, so if you want a non-polished ebony color, the GP-310 come in matte black as well as a very attractive matte white.

Based on what I have seen for many years on all of the other digital pianos that Casio has produced and the overall quality and “bang for the buck” they have brought to the table, I believe Casio has a great future in this premium category for higher priced digital pianos with the introduction of their upgraded Grand Hybrid series in cooperation with the Bechstein Piano Company.

For some people the Casio name may have a negative connotation because over the years people have wrongly equated the Casio name with lower price products and therefore some people will have lower expectations simply because Casio has focused on the lower price range with many of its electronic products over the years. But nothing could really be further from the truth because in reality Casio seems to have always produced “the biggest bang for the buck” with some impressive features for less money than you would otherwise get in other top brands. Now this appears to be true for the new GP-310 and GP-510 pianos.

Casio has not, in the past, had the prestige or gravitas of a digital piano name like Yamaha, Kawai, or Roland. I know that, they know that, and many piano shoppers know that. But a name means somewhat less these days considering how much great technology is being developed by
digital piano companies who were not as well known before with having higher priced premium piano products, such as these Grand Hybrid pianos. Even though Casio is very well known in the lower priced digital piano keyboard world, they were definitely not known for having digital pianos which compete with the highest price range for Kawai, Yamaha, or Roland digital pianos…but now they do so I believe the wait was worth it.

With the help of the famous Bechstein acoustic piano company of Germany along with new piano sound technology developed by Casio & Bechstein, I believe this is just the beginning of their successful partnership and they should be able to continue to develop more impressive digital pianos in the future. I would not be surprised if they came out with a mini-grand piano shaped product one day as that would be a logical next step for these two companies working together.

But for now in my opinion the Grand Hybrid series certainly is up there with the best digital pianos that Yamaha, Kawai, and Roland have to offer in this price range, and in fact the GP-510 is even more realistic than the competition in a few different ways, as I have already talked about, such as its special all-sprucewood European hammer action key movement and dynamic range of expressiveness.

GP-310 matte black

As for the other Casio-Bechstein model GP-310 ($4299 price), the piano sound is very realistic with natural organic tonal elements including a full dynamic range of sound from very soft to very loud and in-between with smooth volume transitions. But the GP-510 goes beyond it with added “resonating tonal elements” to make it even more realistic & impressive but that model sells for $2000 more than the GP-310 so I would expect it to be better.

After putting the Grand Hybrid’s through their paces I agree that these models would make an excellent addition to anyone’s home, church, school, or studio as long as they understand that the Grand Hybrid digital pianos are primarily designed to be purchased in place of an acoustic grand piano and are not heavy on additional features so does not have wireless, Bluetooth, dozens of extra instrument sounds, drum patterns, automatic interactive chords, General MIDI recording or playback, multi-track sequencer, and no proprietary iPad apps like some other digital pianos do.

However, with USB to device connectivity you can plug in a USB cable and use many MIDI iPad apps with full MIDI/USB interaction from a Grand Hybrid to the iPad along with Bluetooth audio connectivity using a 3rd party Bluetooth adapter plugged into the piano audio input so that music from your iPad/Android device can stream directly through the GP-510 speaker system. Also, it has been my experience that direct connectivity using a USB cable is more stable than with internal Bluetooth connectivity.

GP-510 polished ebony

As far as I am concerned, at 171 lbs in weight with cabinet dimensions of approximately 56″ x 19″x 38″ the very attractive matte finish GP-310 and polished ebony GP-510 are pianos I would definitely own if I wanted to focus squarely on the best possible grand piano playing experience that Casio-Bechstein has to offer along with being a more minimalistic looking instrument which adds to the overall elegance of these pianos. The Bechstein key action hammer system is not available in any brand of digital piano and you won’t get a moving grand piano hammer mechanism until you get to the Yamaha AvantGrand N1X which sell a price of $9,999.

The appearance of the GP-310 and GP-510 are also attractive in that when you prop open the lid of the piano to let the sound come out more, you see an attractive red material covering the inside piano top and you can actually see the moving piano hammers through two long rectangular windows in the top of the piano while you are playing the keys. It’s a very cool visual experience along with having a beautiful piece of furniture.

There is one thing I find to be a bit odd when it comes to the GP-510 and that is the height adjustable black bench included with the piano does not match the high gloss black piano finish. The bench is a single size satin black (non-gloss) finish and even though an adjustable height bench is very nice to have, I am a bit baffled by the lack of a matching high gloss finish on the bench. Is this an oversight on the part of Casio or what? I just don’t understand the reason for this but it’s something which can be easily corrected if Casio chooses to do that which I recommend that they do. The satin black bench is fine for their satin (matte) black pianos and it’s also ok for the GP510 high gloss model. But it would have been better for the GP-510 if the bench was high gloss as well.

It’s also important to note that some very nice high gloss polished ebony benches are available on-line at Amazon.com for low prices around $75 on up.The extra cost for a polished ebony bench (should you feel you really need it) is a small price to pay. The bench issue is definitely not a deal breaker for me and is a small thing as compared with all of the great things this piano can do.

The Casio Grand Hybrid pianos be purchased on-line from a selected authorized US Casio piano dealer at the internet discount prices plus tax. This is Casio’s 2nd time to enter this premium digital piano category and although these are new improved models, I’m pretty sure we will see even more models come out in the future such as maybe a mini grand piano version with having their continued partnership with Bechstein grand piano company of Germany.

As for the the current satin black GP-310 model, if the GP-510 seems to be out of your price range and/or you want a satin black finish, then you should definitely consider the lower priced Grand Hybrid piano instead of the GP-510.

Considering the GP-310 has the same impressive key action, pedaling response, and internal speaker system of the GP-510 along with many of the other features, the GP-310 would make a very good choice and in some notable ways they excel past many of their competitors such as Yamaha, Kawai, and Roland.Also, in my opinion the Grand Hybrid digital pianos also look visually elegant in their furniture cabinets and have a relatively high profile which gives them more of an authentic appearance. Take a look below at a comparison chart of the 2 new models so that you can visually see and know the primary differences among them. I also included the “upgraded features” in these 2 new models as compared to the previous discontinued models.

Features	GP-310	GP-510	Upgrades
Polyphony	256	256
Total sounds	26 incl strings, organs, harpsichord, etc	35 incl strings, organs, harpsichord, etc	New Harpsichord tone
Main piano sounds	Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna	Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna	Longer piano sustain/decay time
Total grand pianos	12	14	Better legato response
Grand hammer action	Yes – individual keys	Yes – individual keys
Full length grand keys	Acoustic grand keys	Acoustic grand keys
Graded-weighted keys	Yes, medium weight	Yes, medium weight
Austrian wooden keys	Aged organic spruce	Aged organic Spruce
Grand fulcrum point	Yes	Yes
Acrylic white keytops	Yes – grand style	Yes – grand style
Phenol black keytops	Yes – grand style	Yes – grand style
Key Center Pin	Yes – grand style	Yes – grand style
Grand hammers	Resin – full movement	Resin – full movement
Hardware resonator	No	Yes – affects each key
Triple key sensor	Yes	Yes
Key force detection	Yes	Yes
Hammer response	Yes	Yes
String resonance	Yes	Yes
Lid simulator system	Yes	Yes
Open string resonance	No	Yes
Aliquot resonance	No	Yes
Key on action noise	Yes	Yes	added to GP-310
Key off action noise	Yes	Yes	added to GP-310
Brilliance control	Yes	Yes
Hall-reverb simulator	Yes – 12 types	Yes – 12 types
DSP & chorus effects	Yes	Yes
Headphone Mode	Yes – surround sound	Yes – surround sound
Touch response	Yes – 5 levels	Yes – 5 levels
Tuning	Yes	Yes
Stretch tuning effects	Yes – 5 types, off	Yes – 5 types, off
Temperaments	Yes – 17 types	Yes – 17 types
Grand pedal system	Yes – weighted	Yes – weighted
Pedaling	Continuous detection	Continuous detection	improved soft pedal response & sustain pedal decay time
Adjustable half-damp	Yes	Yes
Damper resonance	Yes	Yes
Damper noise	Yes	Yes
Transpose	Yes – 2 octaves	Yes – 2 octaves
Duet mode	Yes – adjust 2 octaves	Yes – adjust 2 octaves
Octave shift	Yes – adjust 4 octaves	Yes – adjust 4 octaves
Concert play mode	Yes – 15 songs + user	Yes – 15 songs + user	Added “relative volume control”
Music Library	Yes – 60 + 10 user	Yes – 60 + 10 user
MIDI & audio recorder	Yes – 2 track, 1 track	Yes – 2 track, 1 track
Scene registrations	No	Yes – 15 preset, 10 usr
Metronome	Yes	Yes
Layer/Split 2 sounds	Yes	Yes
Backlit LCD display	Yes	Yes	Easier to read
USB Flash drive input	Yes	Yes
USB output to device	Yes – plug & play	Yes – plug & play
MIDI input/output	Yes	Yes
Dual audio ins/outs	Yes	Yes	added a “disable speaker” mode
Headphone jacks	Yes – 2	Yes – 2
Volume sync EQ	Yes – 3 types, off	Yes – 3 types, off	Added Master EQ
Speakers	2 x 6.3″+ 2 x 4″ + 2 x 2″	2 x 6.3″+ 2 x 4″ + 2 x 2″	New speaker design, richer tone & more bass
Amplifiers	30w x 2 + 20w x 2	30w x 2 + 20w x 2
Cabinet dimensions	57″ x 19″ x 38″	57″ x 19″ x 38″
Cabinet weight	171 lbs	171 lbs
Bench	Yes – height adjustable	Yes – height adjustable

If you want more info on New Digital Pianos & Lower pricing, including on the new Casio Grand Hybrids, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.