The hotly contested beginner piano market just got a little more crowded, with a great-looking new contender from multi-instrumentalist Donner competing for your cash.
Their DDP-80 goes all in to deliver piano-style, genuine wooden looks with a 1268mm-wide full-size keyboard casing that’s both accommodating for players yet compact enough to fit practically anywhere in your home.
And instead of offering screens, buttons, options and bafflement the DDP-80 cleanly focuses on players and playing with an 88-note weighted Donner-built keyboard at the front and all controls and ports at the back out of sight.
The lower casing features a socket for the DDP-80’s included floor-mounted full three pedal unit, offering all the versatility and control of a full size piano and the two built in speakers (driven by a 2 x 20W amplifier) fire downwards from the piano’s lower chassis to fill the room with sound.
And that sound is a single multi-sampled French piano tone, expertly mapped across the keyboard at multiple velocities in order to recreate every nuance of the original tone. The result – when teamed with the playability and feel of that Donner keyboard – is a piano with all the presence, sound and class of a large, expensive, weighty original but in a controllable, versatile, home-friendly form factor.
Keeping things simple the DDP-80 sports only a volume dial and headphone jack (enabling near silent and completely silent practice and play) and a USB socket allowing you to use the Donner as a control keyboard for your favourite music software – including the Donner mobile music app complete with free lessons, of course. Alternatively plug the DDP-80 into your full-size DAW or recording system and create complete tracks in style.
Of course, the DDP-80 also comes with an optional piano stool perfectly matching it for size and aesthetics and – via the optional Customised Music Stand – Donner can even engrave the DDP-80’s stand with words of your choice – adding a little touch of personalisation that the owner will love.
