SDP-2 Stage Piano by Gear4music

Description

• SDP-2 Stage Piano from Gear4Music with 88 weighted action keys
• Touch sensitive
• Headphone jack for silent playing
• Powered by both mains or batteries
• 8 voices including grand piano, electric piano and organ
• 32 note polyphony
• Metronome
• Sustain pedal
• 4 speakers – stereo sound
• 8 demo songs

SDP-2 Stage Piano review

Quite a few years ago I used to gig all the time and I had a nice Yamaha stage piano that I used to take with me. It was very durable and the sound was quite good – but I wish this was available back then. Technology is moving very fast, and the digital piano is riding the wave too. The sampling of the grand piano is getting better and better every time I test one of these. Here is the full review for the SDP-2 Stage Piano!

Sound

One of the most important parts of this review is the sound. Unlike my many reviews of keyboards you are likely looking at this particular model because it is an actual piano. It has 88 fully weighted and realistic piano keys, unlike what you find on a keyboard. So if you are not too fussed about having hundreds of different voices, like strings, guitar and flute and you want an accurate and realistic piano experience – then you’ve come to the right place.

This digital piano is a hybrid and is designed for the home or the stage. I used to love my Yamaha because I could use it at home to practice and I could also take it anywhere. But the big misconception with a piano that’s labelled as a ‘stage piano’ is that you should only buy it if you play in a band. This just isn’t true, and you can purchase a fixed stand or a metal one to rest it on at home.

For me, the term ‘stage piano’ could also be defined as ‘portable’ or ‘put-where-you-want’ piano. This is because you can place this anywhere you want in the home and it won’t be a problem to move and assemble. Even if you wanted to constantly move it around the house every few weeks you can do so. Unlike a really heavy acoustic piano that you usually need two removal people to help get it into the house, let alone consider having it upstairs in your own bedroom – a stage piano is easier because it doesn’t weigh a great deal.

Anyway, so onto the sound – it’s great. It’s rich, earthy in the bass, but also bright and breezy at the top end of the pitch. The small speakers to a great job of projecting the sound even though they look like they should do a poor job. I often find that these types of digital pianos do a better job with the sound when compared to a more closed piano because they let the sound hit you right in the face. You don’t have to open a lid to allow all the best parts of the tone to strike out and project across the room.

Here’s how it sounds along with some helpful guidance on the SDP-2’s features:

Touch and feel

When buying a digital piano, even if you’re a beginner, it’s important to have keys which have a nice weight to them but to also spring back up quickly enough for the more advanced players out there. This has those features, and although it does come down to personal preference I had no problem instantly adjusting to the SDP-2’s own unique touch.

You also have the full 88 keys that you would expect to find on an acoustic piano, and the overall touch and feel is very authentic and accurate. The 32 note polyphony is always more than enough, which means that you can play a total of 32 notes at the same time before it stops you playing any more. And yes, if you are wondering how on earth you’d ever play that many notes at the same time – well it essentially comes down to the sustain pedal. If you are holding a lot of notes and paying an arpeggio up the piano, then it is possible to exceed 32 notes – but very rare and unlikely.

Features

Most people who buy this piano are mainly interested in the concert grand piano sound. I can assure you that it’s really good, and for this price point you would be very happy. Sure, you can go and sit at a real grand piano for £50k and find a better sound, but for around £240 you cannot get better.

Not only do you get the expected grand piano voice you also get 7 more, ranging from electric piano to organ. Strings is usually my personal favourite as I like to layer that with the piano and play movie theme tunes or ballads. If you haven’t tried that before then I can recommend you give it a go – it’s great fun!

Depending on which package you go for you can have a carry case included, or a set of headphones, music stand and bench. There is also a built-in metronome which is essential for those of you out there practising for the next ABRSM grade or just like to keep great time.

Price

Before I saw the price of the SDP-2 I would have guessed it would be around the £300 mark. So I was really surprised to see that it comes in at around £200-240 depending on what accessories you go for. This is probably the lowest price I have ever seen for a fully weighted 88 key digital piano. So if you are looking for something for the home or even the stage and don’t want to break the bank – then this is perfect!