Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Functionality of the Casio Privia SP-33 3 pedal unit

Good morning,

I was hoping that someone may know the answer to my following questions? I would be very grateful for any feedback on this please...
I'm thinking of buying the SP-33 3 pedal unit for my Privia PX-350. Due to a limited budget at present I'm planning on buying the SP-33 unit without getting the CS-67 stand that it designed for (not yet anyway). I will use the SP-33 with my double braced X-Stand that came with the PX-350.

* Firstly I wanted to ask if anyone knows if the use of the 'soft' pedal on this unit actually softens or lightens the key action on the keyboard, like it does on an acoustic Piano?

I have my doubts on this but I really hope it does have this effect on the action because I'm finding it quite hard to play very soft parts ~(I have experimented with the 3 x touch sensitivity settings too).

* My second question is in relation to a gig I'm playing in a couple of weeks time. I'm going to be using my double braced X-stand and it is going to be situated on a gravel path (unfortunately this is the only option on the venue site).
My question, as you my already have guessed, is what would you recommend is best to minimise the movement of my X-Stand please?

I'm expecting quite a lot of movement and this will be a serious problem for playing. I wondered if to take some bricks and put them on the stand base legs?
I'm not sure what is the best solution here.
I currently don't have the budget to purchase a table legged style stand so I have ruled that out for now.

Any help with regard to these questions will be gratefully received and thank you in advance for your help.


Kind Regards

Rick Hopkinson

I don't know of any DP that lightens the touch of the action when the pedal is pressed. Pedal noise, whoosh of the strings, yes, on some.

Missed the second question. Put a plank or board down on the gravel, then the stand on the board.

Hmm, gravel? That stinks. Well, what I'd do is dig in the gravel around the base of the stand until I hit solid ground and then put the bricks as you say in the dug part. I just wonder if the bricks are a wide enough base for the stand to sit on, though. X-stands can be unstable to begin with, so maybe bring some shims with you as well so if the bricks don't work, you still dig down to the ground and put the stand right on the ground and shim it so it's level and stable. Then hope for the best.

The soft pedal doesn't change the action at all. What is your trouble with playing softly? Is it that the DP doesn't sound soft enough for you, or do you tense up?

FWIW (I've never played on gravel . . . ) --

1. The SP-33 "soft pedal" has no effect on the physical keyboard mechanism. It has _only a small effect_ on the loudness and tone of the piano. For an alternative "soft piano" sound, try the "Grand Piano Classic" tone. It's less aggressive, and quieter, than the default "Grand Piano Concert".

2. The three pedals are molded into the center section of a long (88-keys-wide)plastic extrusion. The extrusion is designed to attach to the Casio stand (that you're not buying). But you can tie it (with rope, or elastic straps) to the bottom of your X-stand to hold it in place. That's how I do it. The center (where the pedals are) _must be supported_. I put a piece of cardboard under the pedals, which works well with my studio floor, and my X-stand legs.

3. If the piano is going to fall over, it'll fall front-to-back (or back-to-front), not side-to-side. So for extra stability, rather than using bricks (very heavy, and not very effective), tie or tape extensions to the fore-and-aft "legs" of the X-stand (the parts that touch the ground). That will give you a more stable setup (because it's "wider", front-to-back, than the standard X-stand. The extensions could be wood, or PVC pipe, or aluminum tubing.

4. Not in your list of questions -- free advice (and untried):

. . . Forget the SP-33 (clumsy to carry and set up);

. . . Use an M-Audio "sustain pedal", and tie it (or glue, or
. . . screw it) to a 12" long x 8" wide plywood base.

That should be large enough so your foot will keep it steady on the gravel.

Please report back -- nobody ever played on gravel before <g> --

. CHarles


Unless you really use the SP-33 "half-damping"

My advice - couldn't you get a piece of hardboard / MDF about an inch thick, that's of big enough area to form a base for your stand?

Then put that down, then the stand on top of it?

It may be possible to attach some brackets on the board, such that the stand won't shift around once the stand is on it.

Sure, the board will take up a bit of space to transport, but then you still have to transport your keyboard, stand, and stool?

Hi SpanishBuddha :-)

Thank you for your reply.
I will try out your suggestion and let you know how it goes.

Thanks again

Kind Regards

Rick Hopkinson

Hello Morodiene :-)

Thank you for your reply to my questions.

I will probably look at digging into the gravel as you said...

My problem with the soft playing is that I have some soft arpeggios to play and due to the medium weight of the keys (in comparrison to the acoustic piano that I'm used to), it is quite hard to get the correct tone/sound level. By this I mean that if I press the key just hard enough to sound the note I find that its quite hard to do this fluidly across the rest of the arpeggio notes. It feels like I have to press each key fairly independently rather than being able to lightly bounce from key to key.
I hope this makes sense? Basically the weighting is a bit heavier than I'm used to and I'm just hoping that all I need to do is keep adapting to this and I will be able to play fluidly and delicately on a particular piece of music - I can on the acoustic piano.

Apologies if I have rattled on a bit :-)


Kind Regards

Rick Hopkinson

Hi Charles,

That's great advice I appreciate it.

I will have a look at these options and I will come back to you and let you know how it goes. There's plenty of advice you've given for me to look into too, so thank you.

P.S. Yes.... Gravel!..... This will be interesting :-)

Thanks again Charles.

Kind Regards

Rick Hopkinson

Hello Lester :-)

Thank you very much for your reply and advice on this matter.

I will look at actioning your advice and I will let you know how this goes.

Either way it's a good challenge and I appreciate your help.
I think the brackets may solve this issue :-)


Kind Regards

Rick Hopkinson

I already have an M-Audio SP-2 pedal which I expect to use as the PX350 sustain (when my PX350 arrives). Can the pedal that comes with the PX350 be used as a second pedal, and if so, is that a useful thing to do? (I don't plan to get an SP-33.)

Yes. [OMG -- an unqualified answer!<G>]

The "stock" pedal is an on/off switch, like the M-Audio SP-2 (but much lighter in construction).

You can use the M-Audio pedal (plugged into the "Sustain" pedal jack) as a "sustain" pedal.

You can plug the "stock" pedal into the second pedal jack, and use it as _either_ a "sostenuto" or "soft" pedal. "Which one?" is controlled by a menu setting.

It's in the PX-350 manual (pg E-6).

. Charles

Thanks. I asked about the usefulness, because when I was learning piano, a long time ago, I never learned about using any pedal other than sustain. I don't know what I would use sostenuto for, but it might be fun to experiment with.

"Sostenuto" pedal usage -- there have been some threads in the "Adult Beginners" forum about it.

Roughly speaking (you can read the threads), it's used occasionally in classical repertoire, and very rarely anywhere else. I've seen places in Debussy and Satie where a sostenuto pedal was the _only_ way to play the score "exactly as written".

I find that the "half-pedal" feature of the SP-33 is handy. It lets you "clear the mess" gradually, without completely losing the sound of recently-played notes.

. Charles

I recognise that description of playing!

Hello again guts,

I'm sorry for the delay in coming back to you all.
I wanted to feedback that I played that gig approx. 4 weeks ago on the gravel ground.
I ended up getting a half inch thick, 30cm wide and approx. 200cm long piece of MDF wood and placed that on top of my X-stand legs.
I then placed my stock sustain pedal on top of the board and I managed to play without hardly any wobble or movement at all! :-)

A big thank you to you guys for the advice on this.

I also had the PX-350 at a certain height so I could rest my right foot on/over the sustain pedal and the top of my knee/leg just touching the underside of the Piano. If needed I would press against the Piano and this would anchor down the board to the X-Stand legs.

P.S. I'm still thinking about what 'soft' pedal option to go for, but for now I'm in the thick of learning how to record with Cubase.

Thanks again for your help on this matter guys, and sorry for the delay in getting back to you all ;-)

It sounds like a successful gig. Congratulations!

. Charles