AZ Piano Reviews

  • Tim
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AZ PIANO REVIEWS – The #1 Most Trusted Digital Piano Review & News Blog in the world! LOWER PRICES than Amazon and internet music stores! Free ship, no tax on most items. Don’t order anywhere until you check with Tim & Erik Praskins 1st! Email us at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call 602-571-1864

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AZ PIANO REVIEWS – The #1 Most Trusted Digital Piano Review & News Blog in the world! LOWER PRICES than Amazon and internet music stores! Free ship, no tax on most items. Don’t order anywhere until you check with Tim & Erik Praskins 1st! Email us at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call 602-571-1864

Donner DDP-80 Review

UPDATED REVIEW – Nov 1, 2023 – Donner DDP-80 digital pianoThe Donner DDP-80 digital piano is a relatively new model and sells on-line (on Amazon) for approx $699 (plus tax) and is being promoted by the Donner company to be a digital piano substitute for a real acoustic piano. The Donner company apparently has been around for about 9 or 10 years and is manufactured in China. The Eastar company who makes similar models of digital pianos under the Eastar name, is the Chinese parent company of Donner. You will see Donner products advertised on the Eastar website. Also, as far as I can tell, they also manufacture 2 other brands of music products under different names. 

What makes this DDP-80 digital piano unique among other digital pianos in this price range is the fact that there are no buttons, knobs, sliders, user display screen, or speakers on the front or top of the piano and just has one preset piano sound. In other words, it is supposed to look and “act” more like a small piano as opposed to a keyboard or digital piano with buttons, etc. The 2nd reason for it being unique is its design and cabinet color. This cabinet design style is not found in other digital piano brands and models. For some people this unique design is a good thing and desirable in its minimalistic form, but this model also comes with a few limitations.

THE DDP-80 CABINET

Donner DDP-80 digital piano cabinet

An obvious aspect of this Donner DDP-80 model is its more unusual and unique cabinet design and color. In the box it comes with the piano slab portion which has front beveled edges (a nice touch) and the 4 longer, round tapered legs which are also minimalistic in dimension and size, and they screw into the bottom of the piano on either end for support.  The cabinet color does not seem to be defined by the Donner company but the color looks like, what is more commonly referred to as, Fruitwood, Bloodwood, or Light Cherry Wood, but it definitely has an orangey-brown woodgrain style to it. I would classify this cabinet style as “Boho chic” (retro) mid-century in design and color. In other words I think Donner is trying to offer this retro (50’s, 60’s) style for certain people who would gravitate towards it. That’s fine, but is it a really good digital piano for the money?

After closely reading the Donner advertising hype for this model on their web site, here is what Donner says about their DDP-80 cabinet: “Donner’s craftsmen created DDP-80, a wooden upright piano with meticulous workmanship and a beautiful appearance.” They also say “Donner DDP-80 – 88-key Full-Weighted Home Digital Piano, Beautiful Wooden Style with Three Pedals.” Donner makes other statements about the DDP-80 cabinet such as “Body material: Wood.” But…is it really wood?
Donner DDP-80 layer by layer process

Then in a large ad image they have a main heading which says “Layer by Layer Process.” Under that heading is a sub heading which says: “Beautiful color of 5A solid wood, environmentally friendly and odorless process.” This last statement is also in that same image showing a woodworker man with overalls on who looks like he is sanding on the surface of wood furniture. In that same image Donner also has sub headings that say “Environmental Protection,” “Easy to Clean,” and “Hard & Durable.” These people are somewhat “tricky.” Notice that they use the words “color of “5A solid wood.” They do not say this piano is wood, they say it is the color of wood. It’s just advertising hype to get you to think this piano is made of real organic solid wood.

DDP-80 luxury wooden appearance

There is a big image on the Donner web site which has a photo of the DDP-80 piano in a room and the sub heading says “Luxury Wooden Appearance.” Under that subheading in that ad image is descriptive text which says: The DDP-80 comes with a light weighted body, four delicate stands and a portable 3 pedal, while the deluxe wooden texture will grace every room.” Delicate stands (legs)? Metal is not delicate and the legs are metal, not wood.

Are you noticing a pattern here? That pattern in the words Donner company is using the word wood to describe this piano and its cabinet. Notice how often they use the words “wooden” and “wood,” and they also use the word “craftsman.” These words are all “buzzwords” to give you the impression this cabinet is made from solid wood, solid core wood, organic hardwoods, or traditional wood. So the question for me is “is the Donner DDP-80 an actual traditional wood cabinet with wood veneers and did skilled wood craftsmen make these cabinets using actual unprocessed wood? The short answer is NO.
For around $600 selling price for this model, I knew the answer had to be “no” but now I know for sure. What some of these digital piano companies tend do in their ad marketing over the years, especially for unknown brands in the mainstream US market like Donner, is they make references to target words to get you to think that something is true when in fact they are not really saying that it is true. For instance, when Donner says “”Luxury Wooden Appearance,” the operative word is “appearance.” They did not say in that statement the cabinet is made of actual traditional wood. Another reference is when they say “Beautiful Wooden Style.” The operative word is “style,” not Wooden.”
Donner DDP-80 MDF board

What I am trying to say is that the DDP-80 is (as far as I can tell by my personal experience and inspection), is not made of traditional wood with a wood laminate. The DDP-80 is made of of mostly MDF board with a vinyl laminate. Take a look at the bottom of the piano and you will see what I mean (photo included).

According to definition, MDF board is Medium-density fiber-board (MDF) which is an engineered wood product made by breaking down hardwood or softwood residuals into wood fibers, often in a defibrator, combining it with wax and a resin binder, and forming it into panels by applying high temperature and pressure.
MDF is generally denser than plywood and made up of separated fibers but can be used as a building material similar in application to plywood. It is stronger and denser than particle board. Over time, the term “MDF” has become a generic name for any dry-process fiber board. MDF is typically made up of 82% wood fiber, 9% urea-formaldehyde resin glue, 8% water, and 1% paraffin wax.
MDF board is a good material to work with in digital piano cabinets for strength and durability and pretty much all of the digital piano companies use this material in many of their lower priced and higher priced digital pianos. Unlike real acoustic pianos where the sound resonates through their actual wood cabinets, a digital piano sound comes through amplifiers and speakers and therefore actual solid core wood and/or solid core & laminate wood is not needed.
Inside Donner DDP-80 MDF board

MDF board for the bulk of the interior digital cabinet sides and structure is for the strength and durability and then a veneer vinyl wrap or artificial photo-finish laminate is used on the outside of the cabinet to give it the appearance of a wood finish. The wood-grain appearance of the DDP-80 is only skin deep. Under that appearance is not actual solid wood but instead it is MDF board and that’s fine. In my opinion, Donner did a very good job in manufacturing this cabinet and overall it does look good.

DDP-80 cabinet top

They also mention in their ad that this piano has a “deluxe wooden texture. I don’t agree with that statement because the outside of the piano is not real wood veneer. But nonetheless, the outside imitation veneer does have some built-in texture to it so it’s a bit smooth but not totally smooth and to some people it may feel like real wood, but it is definitely not real organic wood veneer. But either way that’s OK…you are probably not going to be touching the outside of this piano too often.

However, I personally think their advertising is misleading when it comes to people possibly thinking this cabinet may actually be traditional “wood.” This is because even though MDF is an engineered wood product made by breaking down hardwood or softwood residuals into wood fibers, and even though it (MDF) originally was actual wood at one point, MDF fiber board is really “engineered wood” with a thin artificial imitation veneer on top of it. So how can you tell if this Donner DDP-80 is that way? Well, you just look closely at it from the outside of the piano, on the edges of the piano, under the piano, and inside of the piano.
Donner DDP-80 underside of cabinet MDF board

Again, if you look closely at under the piano and inside of the piano you can see all the fiber-board and a very thin laminate of artificial veneer with a wood-like appearance on the outside of it. It’s the “appearance” that really counts and in that way the Donner company did a very good job at making their piano look like it is made of real wood…but it is not. Also, you can just “feel” the outside of the piano because natural wood really does not feel like that, although the simulated texture might fool you. It’s an imitation veneer and that technology is used by pretty much all of the digital piano manufacturer these days in one way or another with regard to making their digital piano cabinets.

Donner DDP-80 piano

In this case with the DDP-80 the Donner company made the outside of the piano look like it is a lighter color wood-tone and they did a good job of it. But using the words “wood or wooden” in their ads does not help them with their credibility in my opinion when they do not specifically say that it is not actual (non engineered) wood. They should just say that their piano “looks like wood” but is not real natural wood. If you want to see what this piano actually looks like, then you just go underneath the piano and in the inside of the piano. Take a look at the photos within this review and you’ll see what I am talking about.

Donner should just say that their cabinet “looks like” real wood and has the appearance of it and definitely leave that wood craftsman guy with the overalls out of their ads without the “layer by layer” process being mentioned because that image looks very misleading and almost deceptive to me. They are just trying hard to get you to like their cabinet and I get that, but they don’t have to do it that way. They should just use the words “engineered wood” instead of wood because then they would be giving the potential buyer all the facts. In other words “full disclosure.”
DDP-80 metal leg demo video
Metal legs

Oh, and by the way, Donner put an imitation wrapped veneer on each of the 4 legs of the DDP-80. The legs look like they could be “wood,” but they are not wood and they are not “delicate.”. In fact they are not even engineered fiber-board wood…those legs are metal. How do I know that? It’s easy, you just tap on the legs with screwdriver or another harder object and then you can “hear” the metal legs vibrate and sound like metal. Check out my video above to see and hear he metal legs.

Nevertheless, the legs do look attractive in my opinion…but they are definitely not wood and that veneer is very smooth and wrapped around each leg. Again, I expected that and metal will give the piano stand more strength and durability over time…but it is not wood although it still looks good.

THE KEY ACTION

Donner DDP-80 key action

OK, enough about the cabinet, now I will talk about the key action because Donner makes some pretty big claims about this key action in their piano. In their ads the Donner company says that this model has “real piano touch” Ok, so what is “real piano touch?” Real piano touch normally would mean the key action would feel like a “real acoustic piano.” There are basically 2 kinds of acoustic pianos; one type would be an upright piano and the other type would be a grand piano.

Donner DDP-80 key action

The Donner DDP-80 definitely does not feel or play like a real grand piano at all. That would leave an upright acoustic piano and the Donner DDP-80 does somewhat simulate an upright piano key action movement. However, an acoustic upright key action is made of wood and the DDP-80 key action is all plastic. That is not a bad thing and all of the brands and models of digital pianos in this price range have plastic key actions. Also, notice in the Donner ad here that they misspelled the word “weighted.” They left out the letter “e.” Whoever does their ads needs to proof-read and at least spell check better!

As long as the key action in a digital piano moves up and down smoothly, is not clunky or physically too loud when the keys are moving up and down, and the keys are balanced and have the correct weight to them, then that key action would be fine. The DDP-80 key action is relatively quiet and does move up and down in fairly smooth way, so that is good as other digital pianos have very noisy key actions. The visible white and black keys are standard length and the white keys measure approx 6″ long which is the visible white key length on all pianos. So that part is good.
Donner DDP-80 inside key action

However, all keys in acoustic and digital pianos extend beyond the end of the visible key into the console portion of the cabinet under the top. The entire key length of the white key in the DDP-80 measuring it that way (beyond the end of the key going under the piano top) is about 7″ long. As standard pianos go, that’s pretty short key length. In some Roland digital pianos the full key length goes from about 8″ to 11″ long. In some (not all) Kawai digital pianos the key length goes from about 12″ to 14″ long. Other lower priced models measure about 7 to 8″ long on their white keys. So as far as the DDP-80 having standard keys the answer is…yes, overall they do in this price range. But there are much longer and more realistic keys on other brands of digital pianos in different price ranges.

Key action down weight

But now comes the feel of the key action. How do they feel when you press on the keys and then they come back up? The white keys on the DDP-80 are actually a bit heavy when you press them down lightly (measured at middle C) and they come back up somewhat hard making the key resistance very firm for the white keys. So if you are looking for a key action that actually mimics a real acoustic piano for key weight (static touch down-weight and up-weight), then in my opinion this piano does not do that because most acoustic pianos I have played have a lighter key action weight to the keys are are noticeably easier to press down, especially when pressing down lightly. Some people will not mind the white keys being firm (a bit heavy) but other people may be bothered by the added weight/resistance.

Key action upweight

One other issue I have with this action is the weight of the black keys. The black keys on the DDP-80 are noticeably heavier (in a negative way) as measured at middle C#) than the white keys. In other words, the black keys take noticeably more force to press down than the white keys and they also come back up much harder than the white keys, which is called the “upweight.” So as an example, when you press down the white middle C key and then press down the black C# key, the C# takes noticeably more finger force to press it down, and that is not necessarily good. It is heavier to press down and more forceful going back up.

Heavy Black Keys

So not only do heavy black keys create a noticeable and somewhat heavy imbalance between the white and black keys, it can also cause hand, wrist, finger, and lower arm fatigue in certain individuals when playing for longer periods of time. In my opinion it is normally a good thing to get a piano with a key action that is comfortable to play. Playing comfort is important in the long term and key actions can be very different from each other depending on the brand and model..

The keys (both black & white) get even heavier as you move down towards the bass octaves, and that is normal to be a bit heavier down there because the keys are graded in weight. But if it starts off being heavy or firm at middle C, then as you go lower towards the bass octaves, then it is even less comfortable and natural to play to because it gets even heavier and more resistant to press down the keys.
black key finger position

Also, if you play on the black keys near the front tips of the keys, it is heavy as I mentioned, especially as compared to the white keys. But if you put your fingers more towards the center of the black keys and press the keys down in that position (which a number of people do), then it gets especially heavy and resistant there because you are further up towards the fulcrum where the key is attached. Being in that finger position and pressing the keys there is definitely fatiguing and not enjoyable.

I am not saying that you cannot play this key action and make music with it. But it is noticeably heavier than real new acoustic pianos that I have played (I have played thousands of them) and many other digital pianos in this price range. Some people might tell you that building up your finger strength is a good thing and heavier keys will help do that. That part is true to an extent, but it should not come at the expense of comfort and playability for the fingers, wrists, hands, and lower arms, especially when playing for longer periods of time. Plus as the song gets more complex and you need to play faster or do more key repetition, then it can become problematic. Weighted keys are good, but “heavier” weighted keys with too much resistance is not a good thing.
key action movement

Also, when pressing down the keys lightly and easily, that’s when you can really notice the extra weight and resistance of those keys, especially the black keys (flats & sharps). It’s actually more difficult on this model to play the keys more lightly and easier when the keys themselves are heavier in movement. When you are playing the keys hard with more force then it is not as difficult to get the keys going. But try playing the keys lightly, especially if you are a younger child, haven’t played piano before, or have arthritis and other issue with your extremities. It can be very uncomfortable.

Nevertheless, the key action overall seems to be built well, looks durable, and does the job of allowing you to play piano. However, there are other digital pianos in this price range that have a piano weighted, but more comfortable key action movement. So just consider all of that when trying to make your buying decision. It it not only the “looks of the piano” that is important to a number of people, but it also needs to be how it “plays as a piano.”

THE PIANO SOUND

Piano Sound

When it comes to the instrument sounds in this model there is just one…an acoustic type piano sound. The acoustic piano sound is sampled and then that sound is put into a computer sound chip (see photo below) and then comes out of the speakers. So what does this one piano tone sound like? Actually, I like the piano sound overall and it seems more realistic than I thought it would be for the price of this piano. It is fairly even in tone from the bass octaves up into the treble octaves as you play up & down the keys. However, this piano sound in a few ways is not what Donner claims it to be from their website.

DDP-80 main board with sound chip

What Donner says on their website is “As a single tone digital piano, DDP-80 has a very perfect piano original tone. The sound source adopts advanced intelligent sampling technology to sample the sound source of the famous French piano and adjust it to the perfect sound balance, making you feel like playing in a grand concert hall.” Very “perfect”…really?! Not hardly.

In my opinion the Donner company is trying to make us believe that somehow a $600 Chinese made digital piano has a “very perfect piano original tone” equating to a very expensive famous French piano sound. Not only that but this Donner piano should be making me feel like I am playing in a grand concert hall.” OK, I get it…they want to get you excited about this DDP-80. But, please…give me a break! Real pianos have all kinds of organic tonal sounds coming out of them when they are played and the DDP-80 does not have and the Donner does not come close. These organic, natural piano tones in a real acoustic piano include sympathetic vibrations & resonances where non played strings vibrate in “sympathy” with played notes. Also, in a real piano each note has its own natural overtones when a key is struck. There are also cabinet resonances as well which are not part of this DDP-80 digital piano model.
Piano sympathetic resonances

These additional acoustic tones that come from real acoustic pianos are sounds/tones that the average novice, beginner student, or occasional recreational player will likely not be able to discern or know they are missing from the Donner digital piano. But those natural organically produced piano tones occur in all acoustic pianos and those things are definitely not in the Donner DDP-80. Those acoustic vibrations, resonances, and tones in real pianos give a piano its natural authentic piano sound and without them a digital piano definitely sound more sterile and artificial like this Donner model.

But maybe in this case that’s OK for some people because of who may be playing it. I did not expect those natural tones to be there especially based on its price range. The piano sound is good enough overall and there is some dynamic range of tone as well depending on how hard you press the keys. Although there are also a few anomalies with the sound on a couple of notes, it does pass my test in this price range for a decent piano sound simulation for an entry level price digital piano.
No Reverb

However, I am disappointed that there is no reverb effect available in this model. A preset reverb effect feature would have given the piano sound a lot more depth, and it is a reverb (echo type) sound that makes the piano sound like it would be reverberating more like a natural acoustic piano would do in a room. Almost all digital pianos and keyboards these days in all price ranges have built-in preset reverb effects that you can turn on or off, and some are adjustable. Without a reverb effect feature the piano can sound “dry” and somewhat lifeless, particularly when playing staccato (quick) notes. A dry piano sound is not realistic although there are people who will play this Donner DDP-80 and due to their inexperience with playing or listening to real pianos, they may not notice the difference.

Donner DDP-80

So when Donner says in the website ad that playing the DDP-80 is “making you feel like playing in a grand concert hall,” that is just not true based on all my experience playing real acoustic pianos in all kinds of rooms including concert halls. This is because big concert halls have natural acoustic reverb/echo in them because of how large they are (think of a big cave or canyon) and a real grand piano creates natural reverb/echo inside of it because of all the natural wood and string vibrations that occur when you play a real acoustic piano.

Again, Donner is just trying to get you exited (their ads can be somewhat misleading in my opinion), but without a reverb feature, there is no reverb or simulated echo coming out of the Donner piano. It does make a noticeable difference to have it but for “some people,” these reverb-echo tones that normally occur in acoustic pianos and that are also in many other digital pianos may not matter much.

THE DDP-80 PEDALS

Donner DDP-80 triple pedal

Now we can talk about the DDP-80 pedals and how they work and what they do. The 3 pedal unit that is included with the DDP-80 is actually pretty cool. It looks good, matches the piano cabinet color (it does not have simulated woodgrain on it) and it is portable and just sits on the floor. It plugs into a proprietary input under the piano.

It has the 3 traditional piano pedals called sustain, sostenuto, and soft. The soft pedal is used occasionally by more intermediate and advanced piano players to mute the volume just a bit at specific times when you want certain notes to be slightly softer in volume and tone. It can be useful but it takes quite a while to learn how to use it properly. The middle sostenuto pedal is not use very often by beginners or intermediate players. It’s mainly there for most people because without it being there then the appearance of the pedals wouldn’t look correct.
Donner DDP-80 triple pedal

The most important pedal is the right sustain pedal. It sometimes called the damper pedal because real pianos have dampers that move up & down on & off of the strings to let them vibrate and resonate or to dampen those strings so they don’t vibrate or resonate. One thing about the sustain (damper) pedal on a real piano is that the amount of sustain is variable depending the the position of the dampers on the strings. Many digital pianos can simulate that variable amount of sustain and that feature is called “half-damper.”

Piano pedals

With the DDP-80 that variable amount of sustain (half-damper) is not  available on this model so the sustain pedal only offers an on & off for the sustained tones when you press down that pedal and then let it come back up. On & off sustain is what you normally would find on inexpensive keyboards but many digital pianos in the $600 and up price range have the complete half-damper sustain feature that better simulates a real sustain pedal on a real acoustic piano.

Single sustain pedal

An on & off sustain feature is OK and works fine and some people (students, beginners, and occasional players) will likely not notice the difference. But for those people who want to improve in their pedal skills and others who play well and want that variable sustain feature that real acoustic pianos have, the DDP-80 does not have it. Therefore, you would need to upgrade just a bit to one of the name brand digital pianos to a get a more authentic piano playing experience.

The Donner DDP-80 also offers a single sustain pedal feature where you can purchase a separate sustain pedal and plug it into the back of the piano and then you would not need the triple pedal unit. This would be useful if you are just playing general piano music and were transporting this model somewhere else to play it and did not want the larger triple pedal unit. Having this single pedal option is actually pretty cool but I don’t think that most people will be using it and buying a single pedal.

CONNECTIVITY

 
DDP-80 connectivity ports

When it comes to connectivity on this model, it has USB connection to computer or other external devices like iPad and that works well so that you can connect with those devices. The DDP-80 also has a single sustain pedal input, an audio output to connect to an additional sound system if necessary, and a stereo 1/4″ headphone jack for playing in privacy with a standard pair of headphones. There is a power on/off button in the back of the piano along with a master volume control knob.

Master volume and power button

As far as hardware ports goes, in this price range the Donner DDP-80 has good connectivity. Also, all of the connection ports and knob are in the back of piano so they cannot be seen from the front of the piano. This setup gives the piano clean, unobstructed lines and makes the piano cabinet look “less digital.” I happen to personally like that and it makes the piano look better that way in my opinion.

INTERNAL SPEAKER SYSTEM

internal speakers

When it comes to the speaker system, the Donner DDP-80 specifications in their owners manual says this model has two 20 watt speakers for a total of 40 watts. On the speakers themselves it says they are 10 watts at 4 ohms. Regardless, this piano has plenty of power, projects the sound pretty well has and more volume than you probably will  need for a normal or even larger size room in a home or small building. I also did not hear any noticeable distortion at louder volumes and the sound comes out of the cabinet quite evenly in my opinion. So Donner did a good job with their internal speaker system and it fills up a normal room in a home with no problem and even does a good job in a larger room without the need for more amplification.

Donner DDP-80 speaker

However, one thing I did notice is that when you play at quieter volume so that you are not blasting out the room. That quieter volume noticeably reduces the dynamic tonal range of the piano. In other words, playing at lower master volume takes away from the tonal expression of the piano sound from mellow to much brighter as you strike the key softer or harder. I have seen this situation occur on a couple of other lower priced digital pianos. To get more pronounced tonal expression out of this model, you really do have to play at a louder master volume, and that is due to the internal audio system and not just how hard you play on the keys.

HEADPHONES FOR PRIVATE PRACTICE

headphones

Speaking of the piano sound and expression, when you connect headphones to this model, the piano sound headphone amplification is very good and there is plenty of volume for your ears when using headphones. However, the over sound coming out of the headphones is very bright depending on the kind of headphones you are using. I have a number of different headphone models and even the more mellow tone headphones I have did not stop the DDP-80 from producing a much brighter sound than I expected. When I used another pair of headphones (a recognized pro model) the piano sound was extremely bright without much bass frequency at all. So depending on the type of headphones you use for private practice, you may or may not enjoy the tone being produced from the DDP-80.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Donner DDP-80 digital piano

The bottom line for the Donner DDP-80 is that it is a simple digital piano in its retro appearance. It has one piano sound that is pretty good overall in this price range although there is definitely more authentic piano sound in other models, 88 full size heavier weighted keys although there are better and lighter playing piano keys in other models, good overall pedaling with the included triple pedal unit but no half-damper feature, and a loud internal speaker system.

Donner DDP-80 digital piano

The cabinet does look good in its simulated lighter woodgrain imitation wood tone with its 4 minimalistic round style metal legs along with its music rack support for music. The cabinet does not have a key cover of any kind and the music rack is built for only one non adjustable angle and it can easily be taken off the piano for moving. There is no bench that comes with this model.

The weight of this model is 47 lbs so it is not light but is still movable. It measures approx 50″ wide x 14″ deep x 29,” tall and when you add the height of the music rack at approx 5.5 inches, total height is about 34.5″. Since the music rack (desk) is not very tall (it is shorter than most), if you put single sheets of music on it the music will bend over the back of that rack because there is not enough support behind it. So you would need to put those sheets in a hard notebook binder to give that sheet music the support it needs. Otherwise regular music books do work fine on this piano music rack and there is enough support for that.
Donner DDP-80 digital piano backside

Keep in mind that the 4 legs extend outward at an angle at about 3″ on either side of the piano beyond the actual width of the piano. So then if you add an extra approx 6″ because of the outward extending legs, the footprint of the piano would take up approx 56″ instead of the approx 50″ width of the piano itself. But still, the piano is still relatively small although there are other digital pianos with smaller footprints that are not as deep and have less width.

3 year warranty

Donner says the warranty on their piano is 3 years which is a good amount of time. I would assume you will need to do a carry-in service somewhere locally or ship it somewhere should you ever need service. Since Donner is typically not a digital piano that technicians would work on Donner DDP-80 interior of pianobecause it is not a widely known brand name in the US, you would need to contact Donner or who you bought it from to see what would be needed to get the piano repaired should it ever need it.

Since the inside of the piano is fairly simple as far as the main circuit board and connector board goes, and the key action is somewhat standard in design, there really is not much to go wrong with it so I would assume it is pretty reliable but I don’t know for sure. However, beware. Off brands (not mainstream) like this one may be difficult to get repaired because local technicians (assuming you have any in your area) may not work on them, especially if it’s under factory warranty. Technicians like to get paid for their work (obviously) and if they have never worked with a digital piano company before like Donner, they may be hesitant on doing the work, regardless of what it is…so be careful

If you like this piano from the way it appears to you and the features that it has, then buy it. However, if you are concerned about it and the way it plays or does not play, then don’t buy it…that choice is up to you. Personally I would recommend a Korg, Casio, Kawai ,or Yamaha digital piano in this price range (under $1000) because they offer a noticeably more authentic piano playing experience in this price range with regard to key action, piano sound authenticity, and pedaling based on my experience with them. Those models normally are available in either a black cabinet or white cabinet.
Donner logo

If you are really “hung up” on the Donner DDP-80 cabinet design and color and you think the deficiencies I outlined in this review are still acceptable to you, then you will not find this cabinet design or color in any of the the more well known top brands under $1000. But remember, the DDP-80 is not “real” natural wood for interior or exterior of the cabinet. It is all artificial, although it definitely will look nice in certain home décor and interiors. Before you make any decisions, please contact me and I can give you personal advice on which piano will best fit your musical needs and budget.

DDP-80 PLUS

Donner DDP-80 PLUS

Donner also has a new DDP-80 Plus model which has an upgraded cabinet design with a key cover, attached pedals, different music rest, and different legs/stand. The cabinet is upgraded but the piano itself is the same with the same key action, piano sound, pedal response, etc. The price of the upgraded cabinet model is approx $820 without additional discounts.

By the way, Donner advertises other digital piano models like the DDP-100 and DDP-90. Check out my review on those 2 models at the following link: Donner DDP-100 and DDP-90 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.

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0 Responses

  1. Excellent review.
    I am still researching digital pianos, and woukd be more likely to buy Kawai or Yamaha, despite the higher price. Especially if the piano ever needs servicing.

  2. one of the youtube videos released sep2021 showing C1 stuck, and C3 did not bounce back fast enough, not sure if this is noticed on yours?

  3. Thank you for this honest review. Donner is on to something, many of us just want one really good piano sample, with a great feeling keyboard. Maybe they'll get there.

  4. Maybe I missed it in the review but is this keyboard roadable? Can it be connected to an outside amplification source?

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