Strummedit

Musical instruments tried, tested and shared.

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Got hands on with this beauty today… more words later…

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Casio go for traditional but traditional ain't cheap... (Casio AP-450 Digital Piano hands on)

My first impression was a good one, nice looking bit of kit, would look good in the lounge. I wanted to sit down and be just as impressed by the sound but one thing stopped me in my tracks; the keys. The moment I touched them I pulled a funny face, the kind of face I pull when I realise I’ve put salt in my tea and not sugar. They key tops have a peculiar grainy texture, I can see what Casio are trying to do, they are trying to make it feel like your Grandmother’s dusty old piano, the trouble is it doesn’t feel like any old acoustic piano I’ve ever played! It feels unnatural and weird to me and the key top texture is a little too dry and slippy which meant I was constantly having to adjust my hand position whereas the nice friction you get from most traditional piano key tops allows you to push against them a little and play with better balance.

The second bad point is the hammer mechanism, to me it feels disjointed from the sound that is produced, ok for a beginner you play a key, it makes a noise, great! But this feels to me like where Casio have scrimped on this model, there doesn’t seem to be sufficient levels of ‘light and shade’ ie; playing gently and producing quiet notes and playing hard and producing loud notes. Judged against similarly priced models from other brands (Yamaha’s Arius YDP161 £979) I don’t think the Casio has the quality I would want after stumping up a grand of my hard earned money.

In case you’re wondering, it does all the things a good digital piano should; decent selection of sounds, recording, takes headphones etc. Although transposing the key took a referral to the manual (lost points for making me do that!).

It would be unfair of me write off all Casio pianos without trying them but we’re off to a bad start! This model feels overpriced to me and whatever they are attempting with the weird key tops has failed. My advice is compare with other brands before committing.

I give it a 5/10.

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Not a bad looking bit of furniture....

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Casio aim to please traditionalists.... But get it wrong

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Will be giving my thoughts on one of Casio’s latest offerings later…

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Gorgeous! Is this a custom design?

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Boy that's a pretty uke, what make is it?

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Gretsch retro uke hands on.... (G9101 NYC)

In the world of ukuleles retro is good at the moment and Gretsch have come up with a little beauty here taking us back to the 1920s with a recreation of their own ‘camp’ ukulele of the time.

A major issue with ukes is tuning and intonation, that‘s to say will the bugger stay in tune or will it slip out faster than you can say George Formby? On first playing it’s fab, holds its tuning excellently even when fretting with big fat fingers like mine! and produces good clean notes.

Because of its circular shape the sound is fuller and richer than the more numerous figure of 8 shaped soprano ukuleles and loses none of the percussive quality that strumming brings

I just couldn’t put this little puppy down and was nearly tempted to take one home with me as the price was pretty decent at about £125.

Well done Gretsch!

I give it a happy 9/10

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Sweet little headstock and NYC crest…

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Gretsch go retro…

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Gorgeous little uke, nice one Gretsch!

[justjenks]

i neeeeeeed this

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I have played this guitar many times and I can tell you it's LOUD! It really stands out in the Martin range. Sweet guitar!

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The Line 6 Toneport UX2 - without doubt one of the best pieces of equipment I've ever purchased. Makes home recording sound great and is mercifully simple to operate! Congrats to Line 6 who have really been 'putting their backs' into making home recording easy for the masses.

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This little beauty is one of the ‘Classics’ a USA Fender Telecaster (Road worn) - I will get hands on and tell you how it goes.

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Tools of the trade...

I love making music and the instruments I use are of huge importance. I am lucky enough in my job to try some of the music industry's best new instruments every week and occasionally some old classics too! As I go about using these 'toys' during my musical endeavours if I feel moved enough I will share on here.