UPDATED REVIEW – June 1, 2019 – Casio CDP235CSCB…aka: CDP235R – Recommended. The Casio company has discontinued this model and they now call it the CDP240 which is available on Amazon. It’s an entry level 88-key “fun” digital piano and the following old review is on the previous The CDP235R which replaced the prior CDP230R that was out for a few years and in the US. These “CDP” fun pianos have only been available at Costco during the Christmas season. This CDP235R was known under a different name at Costco which is the CDP235CSCB and this is because the piano also came with a matching Casio stand and bench. Costco no longer carries this product and it has been renamed to be sold on Amazon although the 2 models are identical in every way. Please continue to read this review which will tell you what the CDP240 is like.
Even though the CDP235R replaces the CDP230R, very little has changed. The piano looks the same except for the display screen is back-lit in a blue color instead of a gold/orange color in the previous model. I happen to like the blue color a bit better and it seems easier to read and just looks “cooler.” Also the color of the button description text is now white instead of the previous gold color so this also looks much cleaner and easier to read. The other change which is the most important in this model is that the piano polyphony chip is 64-notes of polyphony instead of the previous 48 notes of polyphony, which simply means that the piano sound itself is a bit better and also layering two sounds together is less problematic. Otherwise the new CDP235R is identical to the previous CDP230R in key action, pedaling, along with functions and features. In fact both pianos are the same price so the new one did not go up in price.
As far as the functionality and digital features, this piano model is much like a cheaper Casio 61-key keyboard with all those “bells & whistles” including drum rhythms, hundreds of instrument sounds, lots of recording features, mic plug-in and even built-in music education lessons. In fact there are so many “fun features” built in to this model that it will be unlikely you’ll use them all, but for kids this might be cool to play around with, and even for adults too. I personally like some of these fun features but not if I have to give up getting a better piano so that I can learn to play more naturally like a real piano. At $449 regular discount price plus tax it doesn’t take a lot more money to move up to a higher quality digital piano that can better replicate an actual piano playing experience.
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| PX770 digital piano |
Even though this model is just slightly improved in a couple of ways over the previous model, there still are the same negative issues with the key action movement, key noise, and pedaling limitations with the small square sustain pedal that the previous model had. So when it comes to just playing piano, yes this instrument can do that and its fine for a beginner for awhile, but I would not suggest this would be the right instrument to progress on for piano playing. You would need to move up to a better model, especially if you had a child who was taking lessons and wanted to progress to a higher piano playing skill level. So it just depends on what you want and what is important to you, and also what your budget is. My recommendation would be to consider the upgraded new 2018 model Casio PX770 digital piano or even the more upgraded PX870. You can go to the following link to read my review so you know more the PX770. Casio PX770 Review
The fun bells & whistles are fine but ultimately many of these things can be had by connecting a digital piano to an iPad to access some very cool new digital educational and fun features in that way. So when you play notes on the piano the iPad apps would recognize your key playing and the app would respond to your playing by giving you instant feedback in a variety of ways. In my opinion it would make more sense to purchase a better digital piano with better key action, pedals, and piano sound but with less “bells & whistles” and spend a bit more money for it so that you can keep it for many more years. Then to get the extra “fun features” if you should want that, you just connect the piano to to a tablet or computer to have access to a wide variety of educational programs and apps. Please read my review of the previous model CDP230R at the following link to learn all about the CDP235CSCB at Costco (aka: CDP235R) and everything you read on that review will apply to the this new piano with the exception of the display screen light and the 16 extra notes of piano polyphony. Casio CDP230R Review
If you want more info on new digital pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.
