Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Thinking of getting a Casio PX-5S

I'm finally gonna get rid of my acoustic piano this summer and am wondering if PX-5S is a good Digital Piano\Synthesizer alternative.
Even though I have the acoustic piano for two years now, I'm still a complete beginner because it is such a pain to play(literally):
1. I have to move furniture to play.
2. I am very tall. And that is a very huge problem for me when it comes to this piano. I can't operate the pedals and my back is always bent, and hurts, and I'm pretty sure that my wrists are positioned wrong...

The reason I'm thinking of going with the PX-5S is:
1. It doesn't have a stand.(which is a good thing, I'll build one or buy one that is sure to be for my size)
2. Has 88 keys. Which feel like a real piano.
3. Has full functionality of a synthesizer.
(Or so they say these things.)
BTW I know about the absence of speakers and an amp.
So what do you guys think, is it a good choice?

I would go to a music store and try out some pianos or digital pianos and have someone there help you with your posture at the piano.

Or ...

Have a teacher come to your home and help you with your posture at the piano.

Or ....

Something else ... to help you with your posture at the piano.


Being tall is not a reason to have poor posture at the piano.

I would not buy anything until that issue has been resolved.

P.S. Talking about it on this forum is not likely to solve your problem. You need someone to SEE you at the piano in order to help.

Just a thought.

Good Luck

I like my PX-5S very much. Though, I'm sure this particular instrument would be good for you, it feels right to point out, that a quite a bit of other digital pianos can possibly fulfill your list of reasons, as well.

1. Most of the popular digital pianos can be bought with or without a stand...
2. ...and have 88 weighted keys, though some prefer the Casio action, others Kawai, Roland or Yamaha, to name a few.
3. Yes, the PX-5S is a very powerful and versatile synthesizer. There is a learning curve, if you want to do some cool things, people do on synthesizers. Depending on how large percentage of your piano playing, will be devoted to syntesizer stuff, and what you want to do, the newer Casio PX-560 may suit you better. It has speakers, and loads of rhythms, which are easier to call up, than on the PX-5S. On the latter, it requires more work and preparation.

Hope this helps somewhat, if not, just let me/us know.

Yes, try out a few different pianos to see what is best for you, if you haven't already. I'm assuming you did try the PX-5S, since you state it feels like a real piano. I agree with dmd, that you should work out your posture issues, before making a final decision about which instrument you will buy.

I have taught students that are particularly tall, and there is a problem with many uprights for them. The pedals are positions a lot closer to the pianist in relation to the keys, and sometimes even the knees do not fit under the keybed at all. Sitting further back can work but does require everything to be played leaning forward, which is not the best posture.

So I totally can see this as a solution.

RE: the PX-5S, do test it out as dmd recommended and compare with other DPs in that price range. Buying based on specs alone can sometimes lead to disappointment.

What are you thinking you'd want the "synth" aspects for? Perhaps we can recommend some other comparables for you to try out.

I didn't. Which is why I said (Or so they say these things).
Guys I would love to try out a lot of pianos and make a decision based on experience but I don't think that will happen. In my city there is only one music store which has only one piano, on a stand, that is too low for me(Shocking). Which is the main problem. I'll improve my posture once I'll make it possible to improve my posture by being able to put my legs where they should be.
And theres no teachers too... So it is all up to me to figure it out.

Which is why buying a piano without a stand is important i think. I'll figure\research where the piano needs to be, and build my own custom stand and the work on my posture.

EDIT:
I will try the piano before I purchase so I'm not going completely blind. But I need to know what I'm looking for.

I see, I thought the so they say...only applied to the synthesizer part. In that case, so many sales people, say their instruments feel like real pianos, though I'd like to maintain the PX-5S feels pretty good.

I can't tell if it feels like a real piano, since I've hardly touched acoustic pianos, plus, some acoustics/grands are more equal than others. The keys of the PX-5S feel heavy enough for me, and I wouldn't want heavier ones.

Since walking into a big music store, and start trying out one instrument after the other., look up discussion threads here in the digital piano forum, other forums, reviews, YouTube etc.

Beware though, there are cases where online reviews aren't really unbiased reviews, just disguised sales promotion.

That sounds familiar.


I want the synth aspect because I find that there is a lot of good music in retro genre(I don't really know what it's called...) and video games these days, especially in the indie scene. Things like FTL, but also the new DOOM got me to try the old DOOM, which has great music that I hope to emulate. But I also like JAZZ and some old POP and rock artists, like David Bowie, Billie Joel, Elton John(Sometimes). Some classical too, a lot of Beethoven, some Mozart and Bach(Sometimes). So I'm allover the place.

I believe you could benefit from this YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/user/PianoManChuck/featured

He has reviewed almost every popular digital piano, and even drops in every now and then on these forums.

Already seen them. Thanks.
His videos are actually the ones that made me want a PX-5S.

I think the PX-5S would be a great DP for you then. And yes, you will most likely need to create a stand to the specific height that you want. Even adjustable stands don't tend to go high enough for many tall people.

The Quik Lok Monolith is a perfect keyboard stand for you, IMO, easily adjustable up to even stand-up height, ultra stable, user-friendly (sets up and down in seconds). I'm 6 ft 2 in tall and have used it with my PX-5S for 2 yrs now with gratifying results.

Your piano bench/stool needs to be widely adjustable to accommodate your height.

I hope you realize that the PX-5S has no built-in music rest, so you have to buy a separate one like a Manhattan Voyager to hold your sheet music. It also cannot accommodate an expression pedal, or una corda, or half- or continuous damper.

There's an extensive review of the PX5S in "Sound on Sound", July 2014. It should be available free, I think -- try

www.soundonsound.com

According to that review, the PX5S _is_ a "real synth" (fully programmable), as well as having piano sounds similar to the rest of the PX-x50 line, and many predefined "real instrument" sounds.

Have fun --

The PX560 has a music stand and also speakers. It has an easy to use touch screen so editing is simpler than the PX5S so taking all this into account it is surely a better choice.

So far I find the PX-5S really cool...Now on the absence of sound part of the piano. I'm thinking about buying Sennheiser 650's with some kind of amp\dac for that. But I also would like to use them for the PC, is there some way that I can connect the headphones with my PC and Piano without having to reconnect the wires every time?
Like a simultaneous connection or a switch?

Buy a small mixer - e.g. Behringer Xenyx 502 or Xenyx 802. Or their "Q-USB" variants which have USB connection to a computer, so you can record without using the computer's soundcard.

Plug the PC into one stereo input ("left" and "right" Line inputs), plug the PX5S into another stereo input, plug your headphones into the "Phones" output.

I think the 802 is worth its extra cost. But it depends on your needs.

I think you should take the time to investigate the PX560. From the information I found on the internet, it appears to be the PX5S with just a bit more for your money.

Here is one place with reviews for both ...

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PX560

Oh ok...That works. Thanks.

Maybe, but I can't find this model anywhere in our stores. The only store that sells Casio pianos here is this one: http://www.muzpro.eu/index.php
And it doesn't have that model.
It does have the 860 but it's a little more expensive and it has a stand.

I have a couple of questions on the setup.

1. I have no idea how to connect to the Xenyx, where are the inputs I need to use?

2. If I get the Senn. HD 650 and a Schiit Stack(Which includes the DAC and AMP separately), and a Xenyx 802. Do I even need the DAC?
If yes, then should it be something like this PC - DAC - Xenyx - AMP - Headphones and
PX-5S - Xenyx - AMP - Headphones?
So that the DAC is only for PC and the amp is for both. But the DAC needs to connect to the amp through RCA right? I'm confused.

Here's what I'm talking about so you don't have to do any search.
http://schiit.com/products/modi-2 DAC (Regular Modi 2, not the Uber)
http://schiit.com/products/magni-2 AMP (Regular Magni 2, not the Uber)
http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-802-Premium-8-Input-Preamps/dp/B000J5XS3C Mixer

Man I have zero idea how these are going to work together...

If you haven't already joined the PX-5S Facebook Group, you should really check it out. We have plenty of people who joined before they bought one to ask questions and see what it's all about. It's a very friendly group and you can get help whenever you need it. 2,700+ people can't be wrong!

Come on over!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Casio.Px5s/

Ohh!!Will do. (Damn it!! Now I have to join FaceBook...)