New Casio Celviano Hybrid has action co-designed with Bechstein

(According to the video's narrative) ".... literally indistinguishable from a real grand" -- hardly.
(                       <ditto>              ) " ... You're quite literally playing the real thing" --- give me a break!!!!

I watched Video #2 of 6 in this series -- and promptly noticed there is no escapement!  When the key note is held down, the "hammer" is held in its uppermost position!   When this video showed the "real piano action", the pivot points might correspond (at that's what the video's narrative says it does), but the geometry (lengths) of the various parts ... do NOT correspond to a real grand piano's action.

Incidentally, I visited a Yamaha dealer and looked at their AvantGrand, and noticed that its action is not a grand action; rather the hammers "strike" a vertically oriented set of strings, as in an upright piano!

Back to the Casio demonstration, I listened to it through the same AKG-702 headphones that I monitor my own acoustic recordings and of Pianoteq -- I don't need a double blind test to tell IMMEDIATELY was that this was nowhere in the vicinity of Pianoteq's audio quality.

For what it's worth,

Cheers,

Joe

Seems to be a step in a direction I'm not really interested in.   Of course it's probably aimed at "non" pianists who still are buying cabinets more than "pro" pianos.   "Pro" meaning light weight, easily transportable, and very playable.   I still think the best solution is a light weight keyboard with the genuine fully adjustable Pianoteq voices built in along with a good sounding speakers and amplification.  It's going to be difficult for any of these manufacturers to out do the musicality of Pianoteq which on almost all counts is superb.  One point they make is that there is no escapement mechanism needed.  From my perspective, hammers shouldn't be needed.  Much of the "feel" is actually psychologically related to the sound quality that is produced.  I think creating heavy instruments that have excessive parts and components that aren't genuinely needed just doesn't cut it, unless it's a justification for an excessive price point.   As others have already pointed out, this piano really doesn't sound very good at all, particularly if you've become accustomed to the Pianoteq sound.   The instrument is definitely not easily transportable.  In all likelihood this is largely a pressed board wonder.  In other words, mostly sawdust and glue fabricated into rather heavy boards lacking genuine rigidity, and next to zero acoustic resonance.  On the other hand, a talented person can make a pair of spoons sound great.

I like the sound of this Casio.

Also, the feel of the escapement is apparently considered a defect of real pianos, and is something they have been trying to eliminate.  Read about the "roller knuckles" here:
http://hurstwoodfarmpianos.co.uk/newsan...amp;atid=1 (scroll down) The problem that the roller knuckles introduces is irrelevant for the Casio, of course, because the Casio doesn't have any escapement mechanism at all.

Greg.

In the hybrid market, the only other options are from Yamaha which starts at a list price of $1500 higher for the NU1 (compared to the GP300) and then it goes into the stratosphere for the N1/N2/N3 ($10K/$15K/$20K).  It is a good step with Casio undercut the existing (if limited) market.

Whether you need a hybrid action or a Kawai VPC1 (or MP11) is close enough -- that's a personal choice for each of us that can only be settled by trying.  The hard part will be lining 3 places nearby where you can go from Kawai digitals to Casio hybrid to Yamaha hybrid without losing your immediate recollections.

AvantGrand NU1 has an upright action, but AvantGrand N1, N2 and N3 have a grand action.

http://www.casiomusicgear.com/resource/...index.html

Looks extremely promising.

That particular article is now almost 10 years old - and BTW was hardly "current news" then.
But yes, 4% conversion of finger energy to sound energy has been "traditional" and (fear of) deviation from "tradition" has held back development.

http://youtu.be/Z2vYljohg44

Enjoy

I received a phone call this afternoon informing me of the arrival of a Casio GP300 at my local music store. Off tomorrow morning to check it out. I'll also run it through Pianoteq and see how well it integrates. Review to follow.

Any questions regarding the GP300 I'll pick up before I go if anyone wants to know anything specific. Post question(s) here on this thread.

Kindest Regards,

Chris

How was the sound compared to Pianoteq?

Hi Greg,

To be honest, I didn't notice. Had it been quieter in the store, I may have, but I didn't specifically check for sustain length. I was a bit dissappointed with the noise of the builders which meant that I could not hear the sounds nearly as well as I needed to. The quality of the piano construction is excellent. Casio's production and quality control has always been good IMHO.

Feel:

For those who prefer to feel the mechanics of the action when playing you may need to look elsewhere. But for those who like a smooth (though not spongey) touch, the GP300 delivers with class. As the action is the identical in both the GP300 and GP500, if you are solely wanting to play through Pianoteq, the GP300 is 1/3 less than the GP500 which would mean a saving of £1000GBP!
The finish of the keys is outstandingly beautiful and a joy to play.

Build:

Some may prefer a polished finish, but for those who have kids for example, or don't want to be polishing off hand/fingerprints every 5 minutes, the GP300 may be the better choice. The finish of the cabinet is much like the black keys of the Casio PX5S. It appears hardwearing.

More later

Kindest Regards,

Chris

Way too expensive for what it is. For that kind of money one can get an excellent acoustic upright.

It IS unfortunate that Casio opted out of including an escapement mechanism. After seeing the new Roland PHA50 action, I shall be trying that out at the shop. The best feeling action I have ever owned was the Fatar TP40WOOD, however these are let down by poor regulation and (very) problematic midi implementation velocity-wise. The TP40WOOD also had a wood/plastic (Kostil) sandwich key.

Kindest Regards,

Chris