Casio Updates Celviano AP Digital Pianos
Casio, the world’s leading maker of powerful and affordable musical instruments, has unveiled a trio of premium-level Celviano digital console pianos that feature a gorgeous new style and Rosewood finish, immaculately detailed Hamburg Grand Piano Tone, redesigned speaker system and an innovative Visual Information Bar to enhance learning.
Defined by exquisite sound quality, superior touch, and the latest smart learning technology, Celviano digital pianos are among the finest in the world, manufactured by a trusted brand with a long history in musical instruments. This is why families, music teachers, and schools delight in the fresh and authentic piano-playing experience offered by these highly capable and reliable console instruments.
Three new models—AP-750, AP-550 and AP-S450—are beautiful in design, representing one of the most alluring piano furniture styles available today. Luxurious appointments abound, such as a gorgeous front panel that reflects the keys and your hands, providing visual inspiration as you play. Illuminating touch sensor controls are inconspicuously located on the left side keyblock, which magically appear and disappear on demand to maintain functionality with a clean, simplistic look.
Unlike digital piano competitors that use coarse-grained wood for their keys, Casio crafts Celviano keys from fine-grained Austrian Spruce, which adds greater resilience, density and balance while communicating a familiar aesthetic of understated elegance. Simulated ebony and ivory key surfaces are subtly textured to help finger grip and provide extra confidence while playing.
Casio has built a reputation for having some of the best digital piano actions available. These new models incorporate the Smart Hybrid Hammer Action Keyboard Celviano Edition, a subtle yet significant refinement over the action found in their most recent award-winning Privia models, which provides the pleasingly quiet and smooth response you’d expect from a well-regulated grand piano.
Casio has also made a quantum leap with the new Celviano speaker system, which faithfully represents the three-dimensional sound of a grand piano as it emanates from above and below the soundboard with no distortion, even when played at high levels. Like a grand piano, the AP-750 and AP-550 incorporate a unique top lid that can be opened to project sound forward, enveloping the player and audience with deep bass, shimmering treble and clarity throughout the entire audio spectrum.
Each instrument features a new, immaculately detailed Hamburg Piano Tone that delivers the pinnacle of musical expression. Deploying dozens of meticulously placed world-class microphones, Casio devoted countless hours to faithfully capture the natural “bloom” of one of the world’s most coveted and majestic pianos—from the key strike, hammers, damper and string resonance to how the instrument reacts to its acoustic environment. The result is a stunning, vibrant, versatile piano Tone perfectly matched to the Celviano keys and speaker system.
Another Casio innovation is the new Visual Information Bar above the keys that empowers and reacts to performance. As a metronome, it displays a pulsing beat in a choice of patterns to help make playing and learning more accessible. It also can react to and display playing strength and pedal depth, enabling teachers and students to refine their finger and pedal technique.
A piano this inspiring will have musicians finding musical ideas flowing faster than ever, leading to those inevitable “I wish I’d recorded that” moments faced by most players. The AP models’ new Instant RePlayer allows players to return in time and reclaim their best performance. They can immediately hear the last few minutes of their playing at the touch of a button, even if they forgot to begin recording.
The AP-750, the flagship in this new family of Classic Series AP models, features 39 built-in tones, 9 of which are Grand Piano Tones. These Piano Tones include three of the world’s finest grand pianos, including the exquisite new Hamburg Grand; Berlin Grand, developed in collaboration with C. Bechstein, a 170-year-old manufacturer of pianos known for their warm and rich tone with exceptional clarity and nuance; and Vienna Grand, which provides a calm and stately sound with rich bass and beautiful tones when the keys are played softly.
The instrument’s new Classical Piano Repertoire presets put these luscious Tones to masterful use, invoking 10 period piano styles on demand, including Sonata, Etude, Romance, Nocturne, Polonaise, Concert Etude, Prelude, Partita, Waltz and Little Piece Upright.
A new Grandphonic 4-Channel sound system with 8 speakers—up from 6 in its predecessor—works in conjunction with Casio’s AiR Grand Sound Source to reproduce a grand piano’s rich, dynamic and complex sound.
The AP-550, also part of the Classic Series, features a 2-Channel/4-Speaker system, as well as 26 built-in Tones, 6 of which are Grand Piano Tones, including Hamburg Grand and New York Grand. This new model offers a rich, warm Rosewood color option, lending an air of elegance and sophistication to any setting.
The AP-S450 inherits several style and performance features of the AP-550, including the new Rosewood finish, 2-Channel/4-Speaker sound system and 26 built-in Tones, 6 of which are Grand Piano Tones, including Hamburg Grand and New York Grand. As part of the Casio Slim Series, the AP-S450 brings the company’s Smart Hybrid Hammer Action Keyboard to the family’s most compact body. It is the perfect home piano for anyone who needs to combine impeccable touch and beautiful sound with a compact design.
For the first time, all three Celviano models come with the WU-BT10 Bluetooth* adaptor, which allows for a wireless connection from a device such as a smartphone or computer, and connection to your favorite MIDI-capable apps, including the Casio Music Space app. This do-it-all app for iOS and Android devices provides the ability to adjust the piano’s settings, view and annotate sheet music, engage with interactive game-like lessons, work with audio files, and much more. With Bluetooth audio, Celviano AP digital pianos become a powerful, rich, clear speaker system that easily fills any room with music that begs you to play along.
Finally, all models feature a USB-B port for wired computer connection and a height-adjustable bench.
“These new Celviano digital pianos embody more than three decades of technology and design refinements, providing the organic experience of playing a traditional piano, with innovations and conveniences that make learning, educating and performing both enjoyable and inspiring,” says Stephen Schmidt, Vice President of Casio’s Electronic Musical Instruments Division. “Celviano has come a long way in design, sound quality, touch, and technology, and we expect these new models will be widely embraced by musicians of all ages and playing levels.”
Pricing and Availability
The Casio Celviano 550 and 450 are shipping now, and the 750 will ship in early March 2024. They are available at music retailers nationwide, and CasioMusicGear.com at the following suggested MAP prices:
· AP-750 (Black) $4,499.99 CAD MAP
· AP-550 (Black, Rosewood, White) $3,999.99 CAD MAP
· AP-S450 (Black, Rosewood, White) $2,699.99 CAD MAP
To learn more about Casio’s entire portfolio of electronic musical instruments, please visit www.CasioMusicGear.com.
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Casio America, Inc., Dover, N.J., is the U.S. subsidiary of Casio Computer Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of consumer electronics and business equipment solutions. Established in 1957, Casio America, Inc. markets calculators, keyboards, digital cameras, mobile presentation devices, disc title and label printers, watches, cash registers and other consumer electronic products. Casio has strived to fulfill its corporate creed of “creativity and contribution” through the introduction of innovative and imaginative products.
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