DP-6 Digital Piano and accessories

Description

• DP-6 Digital Piano by Gear4Music with accessories
• Includes adjustable stool and HP-170 Headphones
• 88 Weighted Keys 
• 16 Stereo Voices & 64 Note Polyphony Provide Added Versatility
• Stereo Recording With 2 Memory Locations Ideal For Song Writing
• MIDI & USB Capability Allows Instant Connection To PC or Mac

DP-6 Digital Piano Review

The fantastic DP-6 Digital Piano package offers real value for money and is perfect for the beginner, or advanced player. The 88 weighted keys replicate the tone and feel of an acoustic piano, while the 16 Stereo Voices add effects you don’t get when buying acoustic.

The polyphony on this piano is 64 note, where some of the branded models offer 128 or more. The number of polyphony on a digital piano refers to the number of sounds that the keyboard can produce at any one time. For the huge majority of beginner and intermediate players, the effect 64 note polyphony will have in comparison to 128 note won’t be noticeable. It is extremely difficult to layer more than 64 notes at any one time using the pedal on a piano – so certainly nothing to ever worry about.

Sound

Price is always the most important aspect I have to consider when I review any piano or keyboard. This is around £300 and also has its own custom wooden stand. So this is certainly a digital piano for the home rather than the road. So how does it sound?

I personally really liked it. It was a little on the bright side, but that does come down to personal preference – and of course the price. You can of course get a better sound if you spend a lot more money, but then this piano is aimed at the beginner to intermediate market – and does a great job!

I could happily sit and play this piano for many hours, and although I would always personally spend more money and get a better overall sound, I would recommend this in a heart beat to someone on a fairly low budget buying their first piano – either for themselves of their child looking to take lessons.

There are lots of other additional sounds that come with this digital piano, like strings, electric pianos and organs – and although you can tell they don’t side exactly like the real thing they are still good enough. I would highly recommend anyone try out these other voices if they purchase a digital piano as they are a lot of fun.

To hear the main piano sound and some of the additional voices, take a look at this great video by Gear4music:

Features

Some buyers have commented that the pedal on this package could be better quality. You could certainly upgrade this by purchasing a separate pedal if you wanted to. However, given that you get a decent stool and headphones with this deal, you really cannot argue that it is anything but fantastic value for money. The flat foot pedal is never a substitute for a pedal action, so shop around if you’d prefer that – I personal do.

Apart from the additional voices you also get a graded hammer action keyboard. This means that the notes are heavier at the bottom and gradually get lighter at the top. This gives you a very realistic acoustic piano feel and really helps to develop the fingers and the hand.

You can connect headphones to the DP-6 which is an expected and necessary feature for some. Being able to practice without being disturbed or affecting anyone else in the house is a big plus. As a piano teacher myself I often hear stories from other pupils telling me how difficult it can be to find the time to practice with so many other people in the house either complaining or making a lot of noise.

Finally, there is an in-built metronome and a record and playback function. Again, I would expect to see this on most digital pianos, but always glad to be reassured that it’s there. If you’ve never even considered recording yourself I can highly recommend it. Not only is it a lot of fun to hear yourself back, you can also make some real headway with your practice. It can be hard to spot your mistakes when playing, especially when it relates to articulation or dynamics, so the recording feature can be essential for the learning process.

Price and summary

This is a really well built piano, and I think it looks simple but elegant. I like the clean and sharp lines of the control panel, and everything looks really stylish and modern. It would look great in the home and wouldn’t take up too much space – which is exactly what every digital piano maker is trying to accomplish these days.

In the past you would have to spend at least a thousand pounds on a decent acoustic piano. You would likely have to pay delivery costs as it would be impossible to collect it yourself without a van and two strong people to lift it. All of this hassle, and the fact that you couldn’t choose which room it could go in very easily. It would of course have to remain downstairs in the living or dining room. However, with the DP-6 you can easily collect and transport it yourself and assemble in any room you wanted.

It isn’t too heavy and could easily be carried upstairs by a couple of people and assembled in a bedroom. Sometimes it’s the little things which help motivate us to practice, and the fact that you could wake up every morning, pop your headphones in and play without disturbing anyone could make all the difference.

I would definitely recommend the DP- digital piano to anyone with a budget of around £300. It’s perfect for the home and for any level of player.