UPDATED REVIEW – July 3, 2019 – CASIO AP620 piano is long DISCONTINUED and has been replaced by the current model AP650 which is much improved over the older AP620. The
Casio AP620 was a good piano in its day, but the newer Celviano AP series is
far better and vastly upgraded in terms of realistic piano key action,
piano sound, and pedaling sustain response along with digital features. Go to the following link to read about the new Casio AP650: Casio AP650 Review
Here is my review from 2010 of the long discontinued Casio AP620: Casio has a long history in the digital products business selling millions of popular products including beginner & professional keyboards, calculators, digital cameras, watches, commercial electronic equipment, and other digital products. In fact I have personally owned a Casio digital camera, TV, watch (a few), music keyboard, and calculator (many) over the years, and I have had good experiences with those things as well. It is true that many people do not associate the Casio brand with producing good digital pianos as they might with a brand like Yamaha or Kawai. But that does not mean that Casio doesn’t know how to build them or offer competitive features for less money. After playing very popular digital home & pro keyboards as well as furniture cabinet digital pianos for years, I can tell you that the AP620 is a good instrument.
Casio PX780 |
The main thing that most people are looking for when searching for a digital piano is something that reproduces a traditional acoustic piano sound & key movement action, and this model does a pretty good job. Reproducing an acoustic piano sound in a digital piano is very complex, and in my opinion, Casio has done a good job overall in this area although the new 2013 model PX780 is much better.
The key action movement in this model has been improved from previous years but all major (good) brands of cabinet model digital pianos have different key action mechanisms and overall do a pretty good job of recreating a decent piano keytouch once you get to the $1500-$2500+ price range. The AP620 key action feels responsive, and is overall a good moving key mechanism but is still not quite up to recreating an acoustic piano in terms of overall sound and sustain as compared to the new PX780. Although many of the higher priced digital pianos over $3000 are more advanced and sound great, there are digital pianos under $2000 that are more than adequate for an exciting piano playing experience including one of my favorites from the Kawai piano company, the CE220 (see below).
The AP620 offers 250 instruments and percussion tones (Yamaha has just 10 instrument sounds in this price range) including a wide array of electric pianos like Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzers, soft bell pianos, and Yamaha DX7’s. There are also some organ tones and other sounds incl clarinet, sax, acoustic steel and classical guitars, banjo, harmonica, violins & french horns, bells, and other tones. However after awhile most people tend not to use all of those instrument tones and go back to the most important tones, the pianos and a few of the other fundamental instruments
There is a chord accompaniment section for people (adults like this sometimes) who want to play with 1-finger or fingered chord styles without having to learn much or taking formal lessons. Also on board is a 16-track General MIDI recorder/player with built-in SD card storage which allows you to record 16 tracks of music one at a time and then play them back simultaneously. This can sometimes be a complex feature to use so it just depends on your musical goal and ability to use technology. There are also 360 drum patterns for rhythm training, which can be helpful if you don;t want to use a metronome, however connecting a good digital piano with a high speed USB connection to iPad can give you this and much more.
As far as cabinet design and color go, the AP620 is attractive in my opinion and well built (I’ve assembled them myself as I have with other digital pianos) in its contemporary satin black cabinet. It also has a good 4 speaker built-in audio system to deliver good descent and tone as compared to some other digital pianos in this price range.
Oh and another thing; Casio has designed the Celviano AP620 keys to duplicate the look and feel of satin ivory piano keys. However the new PX850 keys have been upgraded further with even better ivory feel keys along with ebony feel black keys. The new synthetic ivory key material gives a better tactile, solid touch for the player’s fingers (instead of regular plastic top keys), which is a very nice feature and one not found anywhere else in this price range.
Finally, you can connect the AP620 (and the new PX850) directly to a laptop/desktop computer using the piano’s USB output for interactive piano lessons with great learning software (available from music software companies). And now you can also connect the Casio pianos to the Apple iPad with Casio’s built-in “Class Compliant” USB CoreMIDI connection software for instant plug and play using the latest intuitive music apps on Apple’s iPad for exciting educational and composition tools (left pics) including the famous Garage Band program. That is a very cool thing and motivational for piano students to use. There will always be people who find that another digital piano brand, model, or price range is better for them, but when you add up all of the features of this Casio AP620 piano, it is certainly worth considering although this piano came out in early 2010 and as I said earlier, it is a discontinued model now and it would be even better to consider the new 2013 PX850 with a substantially better key action and piano sound and then using an iPad to get the interactive technology. If you put the AP620 on a 1-10 scale comparing it as a “piano” to the new PX850, in my opinion the AP620 would be about a 5 or 6 as compared to a 9 or 10 for the other two…it’s that much of a difference.
Thanks very much for your review of AP 620.
Thanks for this review. This would help. Do you happen to know about discounted digital boards?
Good evening,
Does the sound, touch and features of the AP620 compare to PX330, or more to PX-3 ??
Thank you for your advice
Ann Robitaille
AP620 compares to the PX330 with the ivory key feel of the PX3
Hi Tim,
Thanks very much for your wonderful review which finally helped me make my choice over the
Roland HP 302 or the Yamaha CLP 330.
Frank,
Shillong, India
Thank you Tim for your patient assistance and consulting. We love our new AP620. You were spot on about it being worth waiting for. Your opinions matched my daughter's piano teacher's. Thank you too for helping us get our new AP620. If anyone is wondering… Tim's AZ Piano is THE way to go. Casio's FedEx freight delivery worked out perfectly too.
Charlie M Bainbridge Island WA
I love my Casio AP620. I tried many other digital pianos before buying this one. Not one regret!
So glad I happened across your Web site. I'm having to retire my 1929 Davies and Sons player piano after 30 years of ownership, to help facilitate our move to a smaller home. Giving up piano is not an option though so I've begun researching on the web to discover what might be the best digital for me at age 60. So I need go no further … looks like the AP620 has got it all for a great price. Thanks Tim. Mike
Hi Mike. When you think you're ready to make a move to a new piano like this, please email me directly and I can help you get even lower prices and more useful educational technology for home practice.
Hi Tim,
Thank you for the very informative blog and I really enjoyed it.
I am just a beginner and want to get an inexpensive digital piano with an accurate key touch just like the acoustic piano. With all the features, the A620 looks like a very good deal for the money but with the current economy, I would rather spend less for one with lesser features and has a good looking cabinet to make my wife happy. Can you please give me some suggestions? Thanks.
Simon
I would be happy to give you specific piano advice & suggestions if you email me directly at tim@azpianowholesale.com.
Thank you.
Thank's for the blog and advice. I recently purchased an AP620 and am very pleased with it. This blog and several others played a big part in my research of the various models. I started looking at Casio when I saw a PX-130, the first time I saw a weighted 88-key portable keyboard. I was headed towards a keyboard, the PX-330 for its additional features like line-in and rhythms, but ended up at the AP-620 for its more powerful sound system. Casio does seem to have a good handle on this price range, all the way down to the PX-130. This is an excellent value and has many significant advantages over an acoustic for the practicing piano player. At a certain level of play, you probably want both.
Should I be concerned with the 1 year warranty. I know that some other models have a much longer warranty
For further info about the Casio factory warranty, you may email me directly. Thx
Hi Tim,
Can you please tell me about the Roland PT-3100. They want $800 and I need it for my 12 yold son.
We really want to get a piano with the follow lights to help our young children figure out some songs on their own (ok, it will help out the parents as well) and we also like the LCD screens. It sounds like the ap620 will cover the LCD screen by allowing you to use your iPad to display the music, is that correct? So it seems very difficult to find pianos with the follow lights. We've seen a light strip you can add to your piano that will do the follow lights, but I'm not sure how well that will integrate with everything. So we want the ap620 features and price, with follow lights & LCD screen/iPad compatibility. Possible?
hi,
I have been looking for a digital piano for last 5 months.It was such a confusion between Kawai CN 33 and other Yamaha Clavino models. But after reading ur review of AP620 i have finally made up mind to go with AP620. Thanks a lot…
Thanks for sharing your review of the Casio AP620. This is very helpful. I'm going to send you an email and hopefully you'll be so kind to respond. I am looking to purchase a digital piano/keyboard for learning how to play piano with computer software. I have a hard time finding all the components for my needs. Thanks.
Wendy
Tim,
I just received my AP620 this week, and were you ever right! This piano is awesome. The touch, the sound, the instruments, the features …. all way better than the competition at this price.
Buying from you was a terrific experience. You're obviously the expert when it comes to digital pianos. But most of all, thanks for the best price I could find anywhere!
Tim,
I just visited my brother in Phoenix who just bought this piano and he loves it. I am looking to purchase one now for my kids to start to play. I'll email you to see if I can get one through you. Thanks. Scott
Thanks for your help over the past couple of weeks as we finally settled on the AP620! My daughter is eagerly awaiting its arrival. We will give you a full review of it as soon as we have it set up and a few hours of playing under our belt!
Dr. Daniel Michael
Bonjour M.Tim Praskins
Mon nom est Serge Michaud,je vous écrit du Quebec, Canada.
For a year I did a lot of research to find the perfect piano for me?. I retired 65 years and I've never played before. My first choice was a Clavinova CVP 505, $ 5000.00 + taxes! And I stumbled on your article (Casio AP620). Since 1st January 2012 I have read many articles on the AP620, I just order one, and I looked forward to.
Thank you very much for your generosity.
I love your creation PIANO JAZZ GROUP
Can I have the piano score, thank you in advance
Serge Michaud sm.sm @ videotron.ca
Hi Tim,
Thanks so much for spending Saturday afternoon showing me all the cool features of my new AP620. I am so inspired to make music, and I've been having a blast playing along with the cool GM songs you brought me. I added an announcement to our Corp. Intranet this morning to recommend you to anyone looking for a piano.
Lisa McClure
Thanks Tim for the excellent piano reviews and advice. We are enjoying the AP620 we purchased from you for a fantastic price! It is a wonderful instrument and you made the purchasing experience an enjoyable one. Our AP620 arrived quickly, was packed extremely well and was easy to assemble. I am so glad we found your blog which led to our choice of this model instead of others in the same general price range. The features and quality are perfect for our family.
Mike & Wendy (Dallas TX)
by the way, the song you wrote (#4) is beautiful!! 🙂
Mom from Canada
Do you recommened the Kawai CE220 or Casio AP620, if I don't mind paying couple hundreds more. I just want to know if there are any benefits paying more for the Kawai. Any additional features in the Kawai? Thanks.
Dear Tim,
Thank you for providing your professional advice since I left a comment on Nov, 2011. I checked three local major chain stores thinking they would provide after sales service better than purchase online. I was wrong. The local stores do not have 20% of the product knowledge you possess. The post-sales support was wishy-washy. They don't even know about the special extended manufacturer's warranty, not to talk about if something goes wrong in case of a damage in the delivery. You made it all happen with the most positive experience and generously delivered the after sale goodies – the midi files in SD cards and hard copies of music score plus lesson books. The purchase and delivery of AP620 was smooth and on time before Christmas at the most attractive price comparing to other online offers and in store purchase at the time I made a purchase from you. You spent the time to make sure everything goes right and the iPad & PC connections for self-learning, I could not use any word to express my gratitude. They all integrated beautifully according to your clear and precise instructions. For an adult who gave up piano learning 34 years ago and be able to pick up where was left off. This is a miracle. I'm actually learning the first page of Chopin Concerto #1 movement 2 – Romance on my own with the help of other iPad apps and PC software (a.k.a. Finale etc.). Though there is a major road block without a teacher or solid foundation in music theory, I can expand my compassion on playing piano regardless how little I know and how slow I learn to play. I'm lucky to find your blog on the Internet. It has been my luck getting to know you and be able to enjoy life with music! I will refer others to contact you for digital piano investment and consulting. Good teaching and selling!
Regards,
Wendy
I highly recommend buying from Tim. He has a depth of knowledge that no amount of research can replicate. His wholesale prices are simply the best available price for a new instrument.
Speaking with Tim and getiing his valuable advice can turn a complicated purchase decision into a comfortable one.
Our purchase and delivery of Casio AP620 through Tim was so easy, smooth, thoughtful and fast delivery on time.
Tim clearly cares about helping you make a decision that is right for you, in terms of cost and style.
We chose the AP 620 after a 2 month search that included all digital pianos including player pianos. The Casio is the right balance of piano sound/feel and electronics for entry /mid level players or kids learning music.
I dont give references easily and rarely write reviews on the 'net. But Tim's genuine helpfulness and integrity deserve praise. Spending $1300 or more on an instrument can be a gut-wrenching experience. With Tim's help, you can make a comfortable choice and feel good about your purchase.
We have had our Casio for about a month, and have played it every day so far with 3 kids. Thanks Tim, without your guidance I would probably be reserching instead of playing!
Hope that info helps others,
/s/ Barry and Family
i was planning one purchasing a digital piano and there were many brand and style popping up and it was really difficult to decide, and when i decided on purchasing a casio and was reading after your review on the Casio Celviano AP420 and AP620 it was a really big help, and a great influence on my decision on getting a Casio Celviano AP620. So i would like to thank you and appreciate your time on posting these review and suggestion on each item.
Hello Tim,
Any idea about – Adagio kdp 8826pe.
Was sale at Costco for 799.00. Could not find many reviews any where.
I recently bought the ap-620. I love the way it looks and it is built very well, however I'm somewhat disappointed in the sound. The biggest part of my disappointment is the "digital noise" that is behind every tone. It is the same noise that you will hear when you play very cheap keyboards. Also, the reverb is very weak and is not really noticeable. Do you know if the newer versions of the Celviano are improved in these areas?