Help deciding between Yamaha P525 and Casio Hybrid GP310

Hey Chris, wow these two are really different. What are you looking for in your upgrade?

Pianoteq specific thoughts:
- If you want to use the internal speakers, I'd recommend going with something that supports bluetooth MIDI, because otherwise you may end up getting interference from the cable loop formed by the midi + audio lines
- don't neglect the importance of a good pedal! in that sense the casio is the better of the two options.
- personally I find the form factor important: having a realistic grand piano sound coming from something that doesn't look convincingly like a piano breaks the immersion for me
- the keyboard action is of course the most important selection criterion for pianoteq. While built-in sounds can work around unrealistic responses by tweaking the audio, pianoteq is modeled after realistic actions, so the closer you get to that ideal, the better.

sigasa wrote:

Hi guys,

I'm seriously thinking of upgrading from my PX-S7000WE to either a Yamaha P525 or Casio Hybrid GP310. I'm currently leaning towards the Casio. However, I'd appreciated some input and advice from anyone who uses either of these with Pianoteq please.
We have no local dealers and I don't drive so travelling to a music shop is impractical for me. Therefore, any help would be gratefully appreciated.

Thank you,

Warmest regards,

Chris

Here are a few thoughts, facts , pros and cons  based on reviews and comments .

P525
The P525 doesn’t send variable note off .
White keys core is wood , black keys are plastic There is a USB audio interface , even though it’s basic .
Light touch with black keys lighter than white keys .
Good speakers ( for a portable, that is)
Good repetition speed , slower than Kawai RHIII action but faster than Roland PHA-50
Difficult to reach low velocities below 25-30 and above 110 so need a proper curve to fix it
No report on in inconsistent note on velocities

GP310
Probably ahead of the p525 for feel compared to acoustic
Speakers are ´so so’ according to reviews
No audio interface included
Quality relatively good except the back panel .
Good repetition speed , at a minimum as good as the P525 if not faster

Keys tend to become noisy . It has been reported a few times . Here’s a video after 3 years . https://youtu.be/hDsB4RUhNp0?is=MJgY_zq8TuhQzGeN
This digital piano is now old and will be presumably presumed .

Conclusion:hard choice . The P525 being more recent and portable is probably easier to resell.
Funny enough given the drivers you have mentioned and given you use pianoteq   , these are not the 2 keyboards I would have chosen . If I was to buy blindly a keyboard between the two , I will monitor the price of the Casio in sites like sweetwater and Thomann and wait for a price drop that will happen is Casio decides to upgrade the GP line . But nothing is guaranteed as the action is coming from Beichstein and I don’t know if this partnership was a one off or a long-standing commercial relationship .