NAMM 2024: If you want to buy a digital piano that looks like it belongs as much in your living room as it does your studio, one of Casio’s new Celviano models might well fit the bill. These three ‘furniture pianos’ - the AP-750, AP-550 and AP-S450 - prioritise both style and sound, and come with redesigned speaker systems and a visual information bar that promises to aid your learning.
The sonic highlight here could be the new Hamburg Piano Tone, which Casio has created to “faithfully capture the natural bloom of one of the world’s most coveted and majestic pianos”. This has been matched to the new Celviano speaker system, which is designed to emulate the sound of a grand piano by creating a 3D effect that feels like it’s coming from both above and below the soundboard.
In fact, both the AP-750 and AP-550 have a top lid that can be physically opened in order to project sound forward.
The new Visual Information Bar, meanwhile, can either display a pulsing metronome that will help to keep you in time, or provide feedback on your playing strength and pedal depth, giving teachers additional insight into students’ finger and pedal technique.
Elsewhere, the Instant RePlayer feature also sounds handy - use it to return in time to a recent performance or a moment of inspiration that you might otherwise have lost. This might also help you to avoid the stress that comes with pressing the red button and knowing that you’re recording, which can hinder performance.
The AP-750 is the flagship model here, offering a Grandphonic 8 spatial sound system and 39 built-in tones. Nine of these are grand pianos; as well as the Hamburg tone, you also get a Berlin Grand that was developed in collaboration with Bechstein, and the Vienna Grand, another tone that’s based on “one of the world’s finest pianos”.
In the middle of the range, the AP-550 has a 2-channel/4-speaker system and 26 tones, six of which are grand pianos. Here, the Hamburg tone is joined by the New York Grand. The AP-S450 is similar but more compact, and like the AP-550 is available in black, white and brown colour options. You can have the AP-750 in any colour as long as it’s black.
All three models include the Celviano edition of Casio’s Smart Hybrid Hammer Action Keyboard, a refinement of the action found in the most recent Privia models, and come with the WU-BT10 Bluetooth adapter, which supports wireless MIDI and audio. One of the many apps you can connect to is Casio’s own Music Space; available for iOS and Android, this enables you to adjust the piano’s settings, view and annotate sheet music, engage with interactive game-like lessons, work with audio files and more.
The AP-750, AP-550 and AP-S450 will be available in March priced at £1,999, £1,749 and £1,549 respectively. Find out more on the Casio website.
