Review:
$850 USD
Build
The 88, weighted key action keys Casio PX-S3000 is lightweight (25 pounds) and has a super-slim form which is great for portability, but it causes short key pivots due to its compact design. It also comes with an optional carrying bag. The Casio PX-S3000 also boasts of a highly legible and backlit LCD screen, balanced keyboard action, non-tactile controls, a pitch bend wheel and 2 assignable knobs control which makes playing Synth and Acoustic voices such as Guitars and Saxophones significantly more expressive. However, the glossy fascia of the PX-S3000 is a massive fingerprint magnet and the UI is not that friendly as well due to its limited display and lack of keypad. The Casio PX-S3000 also comes with separate left and right stereo ¼” audio outputs, although weak, it is decent for monitor speakers and if you're playing for a small crowd. This allows you to hook the piano up with external stereo amplifiers for good stereo separation. This keyboard is also powered by double A batteries.
Built-in Features
The PX-S3000 comes with almost 192 notes of polyphony, 700 different voices ranging from Organs, Acoustic instruments and Synth from genres like Ballads, Pop, Rock, Jazz and even World Music, 60 different pianos and electric pianos tones, 200 rhythms and accompaniments with rhythm intro, ending, and multiple variation, 96 user registration slots (which allows you to save your settings) , 28 built-in DSP modules with highly editable parameters, and 100 DSP presets. The Casio PX-S3000 also comes with the ability to layer and split voices and it also allows you to play and sing along with your keyboard on 5.0 bluetooth audio which ensures lower audio latency, higher fidelity and greater power efficiency. However, something to note is that it does not provide a Bluetooth MIDI which is better for controlling other euro-rack synths during performances
Many of the voice patches are also sampled with string resonance, damper resonance, key & damper noises that adds a further dimension of realism to the sound. If that isn’t enough, these voices are also highly editable.
The triple pedal unit is also great for Jazz & Classical pianists who needs the soft & sostenuto feature. The PX-S3000 also supports expression pedal which allows one to perform volume swells and give your Strings and Bass voices a level of dynamics which is not possible without an expression pedal. In addition, the expression pedal input can also be configured to dynamically control the volume mix of your dual voice layers in real time based on your pedal inputs — a feature only found in expensive music workstations.
Conclusion
To summarise the pros and cons of the Casio PX-S3000 listed in this article,
If you are planning on getting yourself a Casio PX-S3000, I hope you have found this review useful. Do check out the links provided in this article to find out the latest prices and updated information about the PX-S3000.
To find out more about other keyboards, you can check out the different articles in this blog, or watch video reviews on my YouTube channel to discover the best keyboard for you.