Costxo Piano

[Otilia Mojarro]

Theaction on the FP10 (PHA4) is pretty good. I owned an FP30X for a while which has the same action, but I think there is a noticeable improvement in the PHA50 action (what I'm currently using). It's a bit lighter (which I like) and seems more solid overall. I'd really like to try Roland's "Hybrid Grand Action" which is basically a longer version of the PHA50.

NB This is often said and largely true, yet there's another (interesting) difference: the pivot points (hinges) for the black and white keys are in "staggered" positions, whereas in the PHA-50 these are on the same line.

Yeah, they are not something to rave about. But the action is excellent. The best in the class IMO. I have general problems with Roland piano sound as a whole, regardless of generation and technology, they just make it over-processed. But as a controller that action is excellent. And I think the sound and the speakers, while mediocre, are still quite OK for beginners. Better than Casio. Although I think the Yamaha entry level piano sound is better but then the GHS action is worse.

The internal sounds on my FP90X are terrible. I'm sure they can be improved if I spent the time tweaking them, but I wouldn't even bother. My order of preference for internal sounds (if I had to use them) would be Yamaha, Kawai, and then Roland at the bottom.

Some weeks ago I was at a piano store and wanted to compare the FP-10's feel to other instruments and had to use its internal sound of course. And I felt surprised that it was actually palatable! I also remember hooking it up once to my amp and speakers, just for giggles, and thinking it not too bad for a beginner level instrument. (And then swiftly went back to Modern U of course ? ).

Acoustic piano actions have this "stagger" (which I hope is a correct term for that in English) where the pivot points of the black keys also lie deeper into the instrument than the white keys'. This (to an extent) compensates for the difference, making black and white more alike in behavior.

When I play my PHA-4 (relatively short pivot, all in line, just shy of 20cm from the front of the whites), the differences are very noticeable. Playing something on blacks only and then on white only almost feels like playing two different actions (exaggeration). The times I am at an acoustic upright or grand, or any of the wooden Kawai keybeds for instance, I always feel a sense of relief regarding the black keys (while, in the case of the Kawai digitals, not being fully happy with their textures -- but that is another story).

Now a funny notion: the longer the distance from front of whites to pivot or hinge, the less the relative difference in length and depth between black and white keys becomes. So theoretically and relatively speaking, I'd say e.g. a PHA-50 would benefit more in feel from adding the "stagger", than a Grand Hybrid would (if it didn't have it). And a PHA-4 even more, of course*). The fact that in reality it is the other way around, undoubtedly has to do with the dreaded market segmentation and, maybe, production cost.

*) This also may be one of the reasons a VPC-1 feels quite a bit better under my fingers -- the base pivot distance for the white keys is the same or even a wee tad shorter than in PHA-4, but the stagger makes the pivot distance for the blacks rather more pleasant.

QuasiUnaFantasia The only problem I have with it is that playing fast on the black keys near the far end (i.e. near the fallboard, except the FP-30 does not have one) is a no-go area for me; it simply requires too much finger power to execute it.

I've been using my FP-30 (same action as the FP-10) for over six years now, and it's still performing admirably. The only problem I have with it is that playing fast on the black keys near the far end (i.e. near the fallboard, except the FP-30 does not have one) is a no-go area for me; it simply requires too much finger power to execute it.

By the way, the FP-30 (without the "X") uses sampled sound, and it's clearly a Steinway, and it sounds adequately good that I can sit and play it for half an hour, or so, without getting tired of it. Normally I use virtual instruments for sound.

I agree with you on this. I've tried the LX-708 a couple of times and find the action too light, I actually prefer the PHA-50 action. The new action on the GP-6 is nice though. I think it's basically the same as the PHA-50 with a re-mapped velocity response, different cushioning and a suposed faster readout.

I'm not saying you're right or anything (even a broken clock and all...?), but my FP90X came with a tweaked up key slip and an uneven key. The key slip was almost touching the keys on the treble side and had a large gap on the bass side. I loosened some screws, straightened it out, and then tightened things up again. I'd have to take the chassis off to see if I could fix the uneven key. It's literally a half a mm lower from the keys beside it, but it still bothers me. Not enough to send it back but probably enough to someday open it up and troubleshoot. There were a couple of other keys that seemed a bit off but after breaking in the action things have seemed to level off except for the aforementioned key.

Something interesting is that when I first got the piano the entire action was bowed. I placed a level across the key tops and they were actually slightly high centered. You could see it with your eyes when you got down a looked across the key tops. It was very subtle but clearly symmetrically bowed in the middle. It was so symmetrical that I was afraid maybe the key bed was warped. However, after playing for a few days everything leveled off (except for that aforementioned key). However, even though the bow is gone the key tops are not laser level. When you get down on one side and look across the key tops you can see slight variations that would be hard to measure, but they are there. I don't remember if my various Kawai actions were like this, but the Yamaha actions definitely are not. GHS and N1X hybrid seemed to be laser level across the top.

Costco has been offering a variety of digital pianos on their web site for many years and this model is one of the best they have offered to date in the lower price range. What makes this new piano unique is a number of things including being manufactured by a Roland who is a well known and respected digital piano company, the piano has a compact size that puts out a convincing piano sound, and it has the latest digital piano technology including wav file audio playback, interactive accompaniment backing tracks, and lots of unique connectivity including iPad wireless control that allows the user to easily control the main functions of the piano from their iPad touch screen. All of these features make the Roland CPF130 a very compelling instrument to purchase for beginner through intermediate piano players and anyone in-between.

The Roland company also markets the CPF130 under another name for mainstream internet music dealers and local piano stores and that model is called the F130R and sells for $1299 internet discount price. It is the more popular version and is the identical piano to the Costco CFP130 with the exception that the F130R does not automatically come with a bench, WiFi adapter & headphones, although some on-line music dealers do include some extra accessories at the $1299 internet price. I have played the F130R many times and like it very much. Although there are other good digital piano choices in this price range including Casio, Yamaha, and Kawai, the Roland CFP130/F130R is a great choice for those people looking for a small compact profile, low priced digital piano with realistic piano key action and full dynamic range, convincing acoustic piano sound, pedaling realism, and lots of very cool built-in digital technology with a large library of additional instrument sounds.

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