Casio Celviano AP-460BN digital piano brown

General

Casio's dark brown Celviano AP-460BN digital piano has a classic look and offers the same features as the Privia PX-860BN, but packs them into a larger housing that looks more like an acoustic piano. Its comfortable Tri-sensor Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard II consists of 88 keys that feel as if they were made from real ivory and ebony. Instead of springs, the keys feature a special mechanism that simulates the hammer response of a grand piano. An Acoustic and intelligent Resonator (AiR) sound generator is responsible for the AP-460's convincing piano sounds, aided by features like String Resonance, Damper Resonance, Key Off Resonance and Lid Simulator (which emulates the effect of an opened or closed piano lid) The piano comes with a stand and three pedals.

AP-460BN: practice features

The AP-460BN allows you to choose from five different piano models, all of which can be made to sound more spacious with a special Hall Simulator that emulates the acoustics of famous concert halls. Of course you can also opt for other instruments, such as electric piano, organ or strings. Concert Play is another interesting feature, which provides full orchestral backing for ten of the piano pieces you'll find in the included sheet music book. That same book offers sixty more compositions that are programmed into the AP-460. For each piece, you can switch the left or right-hand part off and practise both hands individually. The piano's built-in audio recorder, meanwhile, enables you to record your own performance in WAV format to a USB stick.

Sound and playing experience

To precisely register the force of your key strokes, the AP-460BN is equipped with a tri-sensor mechanism. Quick repeats are accurately reproduced and this Casio is even capable of simulating the tiny differences in timing that occur due to different playing styles and keys. To make the sound really authentic, factors like attack, sustain and decay have been taken into account, and you can clearly hear the difference in timbre between softly played passages and more vehement parts. Damper Resonance effectively simulates the rich resonance that's audible when you press down a sustain pedal, while the equally impressive String Resonance reproduces the sound of strings resonating along with a lower note. Finally, it's possible to influence the overall timbre of the Privia AP-460BN by opening the lid that covers the speakers.

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