🎹 UPDATED REVIEW – Nov 1, 2024 | Casio PX-770/PX765CB – REVIEW | Digital Piano 2024 | $899/$849 internet price | Lower Price Here | Comes in a furniture style piano cabinet and is offered in matte black, matte white, and matte brown walnut. The PX-765CB is only available in matte black.What is it that makes this Casio PX770 or PX-765CB Privia digital furniture cabinet piano an instrument that you may want to consider in this price range under $1000? These 2 models include the compact furniture stand, triple pedal furniture attachment, and the piano has a built-in sliding key cover (which portable digital pianos do not have), included full music rest, and a piano control panel that is built into to the piano left side panel to give it a less cluttered look.
The only difference between the Casio PX-770 and the Casio PX-765CB is the Casio PX-765CB is a model number sold exclusively by Costco in the US and the PX-770 is the mainstream consumer model number. The PX-765CB also automatically comes with a basic bench whereas the PX-770 does not. Otherwise these two models are identical. The Costco model only comes in matte black cabinet color and the PX-770 also comes in a matte brown walnut and white cabinet color, along with a black color cabinet. So there is more available cabinet color variety with the PX-770. The PX-770 does have a couple additional benefits when buying through a regular on-line piano store dealer. If you want to know more about that then you can ask me.
***Important Update: We just found out that we can help you get a brand new top-of-line Casio PX-870 model for $200 instant factory rebate off the normal internet discount price of $1199. That would bring down the current price of the PX-870 to just $999…and we could also help you get it with no sales tax and free shipping along with a 3-year factory warranty.
The following information applies to both the PX-770 and PX-765CB – but I will only be referring to the PX-770 model number
So if you are looking for a more traditional piano style with a more natural piano cabinet appearance than other brands of pianos have in this price range (especially the portables), then this model certainly is better in that way and it’s not much more money than the lower priced portable digital pianos. I always recommend that people should plan for the future if possible and get something slightly better now instead of compromising just to save a bit of money and then wishing you had invested in something longer term for just a bit more money.
OK, so how about the piano playing experience a person can have on this new model…what is that like? This is the main thing that people ask me all the time is…how does the Casio piano play & sound? For 2024 Casio has improved the piano playing authenticity of this model over the former one in a few very nice ways and kept a some of  the popular features from the former model that most people enjoyed. For those of you who don’t know, Casio is headquartered in Tokyo Japan and has been making digital pianos for well over 40 years.
They produce their own proprietary digital technology that no one else has and they design and manufacture their own parts with high quality control based on my experience with their products over the years. The Casio company is obviously well known for advanced technology watches, calculators, keyboard, cash registers, etc, but their music instrument division produces some very impressive digital pianos and the PX-770 is one of them.
Here are the 5 main improvements on the PX770 over the previous model
1. The PX-770 has an upgraded cabinet over the previous model with less seams in the cabinet and smoother design with easier, quicker assembly. The built-in speakers are also sleeker and more minimized allowing the cabinet to have a less digital look.
2. The synthetic ivory/ebony material used on the keytops has been reformulated giving the keys a smoother and more natural textured feel as compared to the previous model which I believe people will like much better.
3. Although the key action movement is the same as the previous model, the piano sound chip has been improved with a more realistic acoustic piano sound allowing for more natural resonance and longer pedal sustain times. This is very nice especially if you are an intermediate through advanced player where these improvements would be most recognized and welcome. However this is helpful for beginner students so they can get into good playing habits.
4. There is an additional acoustic piano tone along with some re-voiced improved instrument sounds for a total of 19 sounds which add to the realism of what you hear coming out of this new model. This allows for more variety and better instrument sounds which is always good and helps inspire your music.
5. The piano control panel buttons on the piano has now been moved over to the left side of the keyboard which makes the piano look less cluttered and less digital looking and more like a real smaller piano.
Additional features on the PX-770 include special reverb Hall effects which simulates a big concert hall where there is lots of natural reverb/echo giving the piano sound a bigger feeling like you get when listening to a regular piano in a big room with natural reverb acoustic. The PX-770 also has the popular song feature called “Concert Play” which offers 10 popular classical songs recorded by an actual symphony orchestra in CD quality and then those songs are able to be played back on this piano. When playing back the songs you can also reduce the tempo so that you can play along with the PX-770 acoustic piano sound and interact with that fabulous backup orchestra at a slower speed while learning that piece. This is lots of fun and it makes you sound much better than you are, especially if you do not play well.
When it comes to practicing your songs a great way to do that is to use the PX-770 2-track MIDI recorder-player system which allows for independent practice and recording of your left & right hand. In this way you can isolate each part while you are learning your lesson or piece of music. Then you can play back the recorded left hand while playing live with the right hand against it, or you can play and record the right hand and then play it back while playing the left hand live along with the recorded right hand.It’s just like having a teacher sitting next to you playing one part while you play the other, only you are doing it all yourself. You can then playback both recorded left & right hand parts simultaneously to hear how you actually did and what you sound like. Beyond that you can play an instrument sound live (such as a harpsichord, organ, electric piano, etc on top of both recorded parts so it’s like having 3 tracks going at one time.
The quality of the piano sound and key action along with pedaling realism are ultimately what most people are primarily looking for in a new digital piano and the new PX-770 does not disappoint, even though it has a low price. Lower price does not necessarily mean that the low price equates to a low quality outcome. This negative outcome can be true of some generally poor brands in my opinion such as Williams, Suzuki, Artesia, etc, but this is almost never the case with the good reliable brands such as Casio, Yamaha, Kawai, and Roland. The PX-770 has Casio’s triple key sensor 128-note polyphony weighted graded key action that moves very nicely up & down with a piano-like feel. I like the weight and smooth movement of the keys better than some of the other brands in this price range but since this Casio PX-770 is one of only a few furniture cabinet models under $900 of the major brands, it really has little competition in that way.
The stereo recorded grand piano sound is fairly resonant for a small piano even though it only has 2 smaller speakers rated at only 16 watts total power. For a small piano it has enough volume for a smaller size room, but the newer Casio PX-870 model has an upgraded 256-note polyphony piano sound chip with organic tonal elements and a 40 watt sound system going into 4-speakers which makes it sound more like a big upright piano as compared to the PX-770 which sounds like a smaller shorter piano…so you do get what you pay for.
The PX-770 has some standard features found on other digital pianos including the ability to layer and play 2 different instrument sounds at the same or split any 2 sounds with one sound being on the left hand and the other located for the right had. The PX-770 also offers a “duet mode” also known as Duo or twin piano which allows two people to play the same sound using the same octave sound so they can practice the same exact parts even though one person is sitting on the left side of the keyboard and the other person is sitting on the right side of the keyboard. I find that many people never use this feature unless it was a teacher student situation or two students in the same family playing and practicing the same music at the same time. It’s fun to use but it just depends on what you want to do.
Also this piano has an industry standard USB to device connector which allows you to interface with iPad, iPhone, Android, laptop, etc so that you can enhance your piano learning and playing experience using music educational apps. I have personally used many iPad educational music apps to help my students learn piano playing fundamentals in a more engaging way which kids and adults really enjoy. There are other features on this new model that I have not mentioned but they are secondary to the main point of this piano which is an instrument for people who are on a restricted budget but still want good piano performance.
In the final analysis, for just $899 internet price not including a bench for the PX770, or $849 regular including bench for the Costco PX-765CB, they are models that I do recommend as being a good buy for someone who wants a smaller, compact entry level and more basic furniture style digital piano at a lower price. At just 70 lbs weight and measuring 55″ wide x 12″ deep x 31″ high, the PX770?PX-765 may be a good instrument for you. Yes there are other piano options from the competitive companies such as Kawai, Yamaha, and Roland in this price range, but those instruments are typically portables and not an all-in-one cabinet with sliding key cover.But don’t forget the popular PX-870 that I talked about at the beginning of this review. That one should also be a serious consideration, especially given that there is a large instant rebate available for it right now. Casio’s manufacturer warranty on all of their Privia digital pianos is 3 years parts and 3 years labor, which is a long time compared to other digital piano companies offering products in this price range. If you want more info on these digital pianos then please call or email us and we will be happy to help as we do on all the other top brands.
Hi.
This one is definitely on my short-list. But the Korg LP-180 and B1SP are furniture style pianos that go for $100 less. I'm a retired pro an am looking for something living room friendly, (my other gear was banished to the basement) and have always liked Korg.
Also, have you ever reviewed modules? Organs? Third party furniture cabinets?
Thank You,
Chuck
Price aside would you choose the px 860 or the 770?
Your review was extremely helpful & gave me more insight as to the need to examine these instruments more closely than just consentrating on ones that "look nice", have great features, etc. I was right about to purchase the Overture Bistro 2 until I stumbled across your review. Thank you!
Hi!
Thank you for this review.
If price wasn’t an issue. Or the fact that one is portable and the other isn’t, which one would Yukon choose between this one and the PX-S1100? Thanks!