Casio PX 160 vs Yamaha P45
As practice makes perfect, it is necessary for any piano learners to have the instrument at home and both acoustic and electric piano should be fine to memorize and train our playing. If you want to get a good piano but without spending so much, Casio PX 160 Vs Yamaha P45 are two great options to go because they are made for any learners to polish their skills. But, before shopping, see what we can expect from them below so we can choose better.
In this article, we are going to give you information about:
– Which to choose between Acoustic and Electric Piano
– What are Casio PX 160 and Yamaha P45
– What Casio PX 160 and Yamaha P45 Look like
– How are the Keyboard in Casio PX 160 and Yamaha P45
– How are the Sound in Casio PX 160 and Yamaha P45
– What else Casio PX 160 and Yamaha P45 can offer
– Casio PX 160 Vs Yamaha P45
Acoustic or Electric/Digital Piano
As one of the most popular instruments to be played and learn, piano is a versatile musical equipment that many of us have been taught or learned since early age. Its capabilities to play a huge range of notes, have a suitable arrangement for music sheet to be easier to understand as well as fairly easy to get the right sound are all the benefit of playing this instrument that we can’t just get from another similar equipment. However, it doesn’t mean that mastering piano is an easy thing to do.
Many of us have to master the basic for years and then starting to enhance our skills many years later before we can achieve the level of playing our favorite musician may already have. The key to learning anything is by practicing and the more we spend time practicing our playing, it should be faster as well for the player to get into their desired level. This also means players have to own the instrument at home so we can access it anytime and practice more often.
When deciding to buy a piano as an instrument to learn or just because you are in love with the sound, we will be faced with the option between getting a real acoustic piano or the more modern electric piano. However, these are some important factors you may want to consider first before choosing whether to invest on acoustic or digital piano.
1. Sound is the most important part for any musical instrument and equipment so our piano is expected to sound great. An acoustic piano has a natural sound from their strings when struck by the hammer and they tend to be warm as well as resonant. An electric piano produce their sound digitally so those lower ends usually will not sound as good as the higher priced siblings.
2. The problem with acoustic piano and another acoustic instrument is maintenance especially acoustic piano in which we have to tend the material like wood and internal components as well as tuning from time to time. We can ask technician to deal with the whole process but then again, it requires additional budget unlike with electric piano.
3. Another important point to consider is versatility and portability because it is obvious that acoustic piano is hard to transport due to the bulky design and heavy weight in which electric piano usually only weigh around 25 lbs. In addition, electric piano also have lots of sound collection that can go well with various music genres and it is something that acoustic piano can’t provide.
About Casio PX 160 and Yamaha P45
All of those factors are a good starting point to help users decide which type of instrument they want to purchase and in modern day, budget also play a huge role in determining option. For those who are not yet on the professional level or just playing piano casually at home to entertain family and friends or to spend some free time, getting an electric model seems to be a wiser option including if you need it for recording purpose.
We do have lots of options when it comes to electric instrument because almost every popular brands out there who offer acoustic musical instrument also have the electric version, but it is also true that Casio and Yamaha are two among the best. Both of them are a well-known companies and already walking through a long history with their products that not only adored by casual players but also experienced players and professional musician as well for the reliable quality and nice sound.
These companies also have quite a lot of options into the catalogue so we can choose freely but, if you are looking for the model that offers the best value for the money and meant to be a polishing piano, Casio PX 160 and Yamaha P45 are two of the most ideal options. They are equally popular as the affordable entry-level piano from the respective brands and offered for those who are not going to use them as a starting piano but more for practicing the already learnt skills.
This is because none of them will offer you an extensive features on board and only comes with necessary capabilities so they do keep things as simple as possible and it is indeed better to shave some of the budget in production. Similarly, they are the continuation of an older model, in this case the PX 150 and P35 so if any of these pianos rings a bell, most of what we will find on the newer version will stay the same considering the small price different.
Casio PX 160 and Yamaha P45 Design
As you can see on the sample picture above Casio PX 160 and Yamaha P45 are very similar to each other because they are sporting the same fashion and currently, there is also another color option if you choose Casio because it is offered in 3 different shades; black, white, and champagne to match with your room’s nuance. Yamaha P45 is only available in black color and while there are Yamaha P45 Vs P45B, there is no other shade we can choose in the collection.
Checking the form factor, these pianos are very comparable because P45 is just slightly wider at 52.2-inch as opposed to 52-inch while the depth of both models are 11.6/5-inches and measured about 6-inches tall. As for the overall weight, they are only weighed around 25 lbs. making any of them a very portable piano to travel between your gigs as well as easy to put and stowed back.
Casio PX 160 and Yamaha P45 Keyboard
Casio PX 160 and Yamaha P45 are a full size keyboard featuring 88-weighted keys to give a prominent feeling of playing a real instrument but since they are made by a different company, the technology used are also different with Casio applying its Tri-Sensor Scaled Hammer Action II and Yamaha with its Graded Hammer Standard. Unlike semi-weighted, these technologies provide a very realistic response from the key and good dynamic range despite coming from the maker’s entry-level since they are using actual hammers to stimulate the response.
The material that made these pianos keys are plastic but those in PX 160 is also made with the finish material that stimulates the Ebony and Ivory feel to give excellent grip and preventing the fingers to slip easily. Similar to many other electric pianos with good dynamic range, the keys in both of these models are also touch sensitive between 3 level and can be completely turned off when not needed thus, we can train from the lowest and gradually get used to the widest dynamic range.
Casio PX 160 and Yamaha P45 Sound
Coming into the sound quality, both companies are based the sound output of these models from their own technology and Casio PX 160 is using the popular Multi-Dimensional Morphing AiR Sound Source that has been improved from the latest version. This new improvement not only increases the sampled sound by 3 times but also uses lossless audio compression for a better sound quality and without distortion. On the other hand, P45 is paired with Yamaha entry-level sample AWM technology which is stereo and recorded from their full concert grand piano at different levels.
On the sound collection, we have various instruments to pick in any of these pianos but Casio PX 160 is packing more with 18 instrument sounds while P45 is only counting at 10 instruments including 2 grand pianos. As for the polyphony count, we are already offered with 160 notes in the former and 64 notes on the latter, making them capable of playing a more complicated songs without the chance of dropped notes.
Casio PX 160 and Yamaha P45 Features
Nice sound is not the only part that shines in Casio PX 160 and Yamaha P45 because they are also packed with some useful features namely layering function, duet mode, and split function in PX 160. Layering mode is allowing users to play two instruments at once across the piano keys, and duet mode is splitting the piano in half with the same pitch range for two people to play at the same time and for Casio, we also have split mode which is dividing the keyboard in two to play two different instruments separately.
Comparison
These pianos are definitely worth the price because we are getting quite the amount of qualities in relatively affordable budget. The difference between the two are not only on the technology that are planted to build the unit but also in the sound collection, polyphony count, and additional features because Yamaha P45 with the same price point have lesser sounds available to be played, have lesser polyphony count, and don’t have split mode.
Casio PX 160 vs Yamaha P45
Conclusion
While any of these electric pianos will be a great option to have at home for polishing the skill or for song recording, it is still better to choose the best option and due to the pros we have with Casio PX 160, this piano is a better option for the budget.