Since 1980 Casio has been a leading manufacturer of powerful, affordable, and lifestyle-oriented musical instruments. Casio has always been a value-oriented brand, yet they manage to provide professional features at an attractive price point. Since debuting in 2003, Casio Privia digital pianos have become known for their high-quality sound, excellent touch, and attractive design.
The Privia PX-S1100 blends modern aesthetics, natural piano feel, expressive sound, and advanced connectivity. Eighteen sounds including grand piano, electric piano, organ, vibraphone, strings, bass are included. Recently released are two new limited edition color options “Calm Blue” and “Mellow Beige.”
With the PX-S1100, Casio set out to make an 88 key digital piano that was as small as possible. Sensing there would be a demand for an ergonomic full sized portable keyboard, Casio took a chance and was proved correct. At nine inches deep and 24 lbs., the PX-S1100 is slimmer and lighter than all its competitors, making it a great choice for working musicians tired of lugging massive keyboard controllers.
The PX-S1100 features a weighted keyboard with two built in speakers. Damper resonance, key-off simulation, and string resonance are part of the design, which Casio notes are features often missing in this price range. The PX-S1100 is the only digital piano in this price range that includes Bluetooth audio via its included WU-BT10 Bluetooth Audio and MIDI Adapter. Users can stream backing tracks through the instrument’s speakers, providing an integrated way to play or enjoy background music. The PX-S1100’s USB port offers MIDI connectivity without additional drivers. When connected with either USB or wireless Bluetooth MIDI, the Casio Music Space app for iOS and Android provides remote control, visual learning, and PDF score viewing with annotation.
MC plugged the PX-S1100 via USB-C into a Mac Studio M4 for a recording session, and the keyboard was up and running right out of the box. The session pianist was immediately comfortable and impressed with the feel of the PX-S1100 and ended up greatly preferring the touch of it compared to the studio’s other well-known and much more expensive keyboard.
Additional features include Chorus, Brilliance and other DSP effects. Split function enables a bass tone for the lower zone and assignable tones for the upper zone. A Duet function splits the keyboard into two zones of the same register. A Built-in MIDI record/playback and metronome functions for practice sessions. Part on/off function allows you to mute the right or left-hand part of song data saved in the user area of the digital piano or USB flash drive which can be used for practicing each part separately. Two headphone jacks allow for two pairs of headphones to be connected for private listening.
The PX-S1100 comes with a 12-volt power supply and can run up to four hours on six AA batteries. The optional SP-34 three-pedal unit and CS-68 stand provide a polished, console-like setup if desired. The PX-S1100 is designed to be attractive to all levels of keyboard players. It can be used in a professional setting yet is compact and affordable enough for casual use. $729
