As you explore the C. Bechstein Centre Manchester, nestled in amongst the W. Hoffmann uprights, you’ll find a sleek digital piano with a beautiful polished ebony cabinet that could lead you to believe, at a glance, that you were looking at an acoustic upright piano.
The digital piano in question is the GP-510 Grand Hybrid. This model is Casio's first collaboration with C. Bechstein. As a world renowned Japanese manufacturer, Casio have produced a long line of industry leading digital pianos and have now started blurring the lines between digital and acoustic. The combination of decades of experience from Casio’s digital piano design team and nearly two centuries of being industry leaders in the manufacture of upright and grand piano from C. Bechstein, the flagship GP-510 is truly one of the best digital pianos around.
Whilst there are lots of up-sides to digital pianos, they usually fall short when it comes to the action. To maintain one of their biggest appeals of being lightweight and compact, generally digital pianos have short plastic keys that lack the responsiveness of an acoustic piano meaning they can't keep up with the more virtuosic pianists amongst us...and this is where C. Bechstein step in.
The revolutionary ‘Natural Grand Hammer Action’, featured in the GP-510, is the collaboration between Casio and C. Bechstein. It combines full-length wooden keys, made from the same Austrian spruce used by C. Bechstein in their industry leading grand pianos, with actual moving hammers to provide a more authentic experience when playing.
One thing that makes this action so special is the physical hammerheads. They make contact with the touch sensors at the rear of the piano as opposed to under the key bed as you would find on most other digital pianos. Also, the position of the fulcrum within the action which is the same as you would find in a grand piano. This means that no matter where you strike the key, the touch is never heavier or lighter creating a much more stable playing experience, and the responsiveness, expression and touch is much closer to an acoustic piano as the mechanics within are much closer to that of an acoustic grand than you would find on other digital pianos.
Something that is equally as important as the feel of a piano, is the sound of one. As we know, C. Bechstein pianos are renowned for their well-balanced tone. They have warmth and depth whilst maintaining a sparkling clarity, which Casio sampled in a unique way for the GP-510, giving this model a complex and visceral tone that you wouldn't usually find within a digital piano.
It's safe to say that the Casio GP-510 comes very close to replicating the experience of playing an acoustic piano. It is ideal for those who love the experience of a real piano but require the size and diversity of a digital. It is very comfortably, one of the most high-end digital pianos and provides a luxury aesthetic and an authentic feel which will, no doubt, leave you wanting to display this piano pride of place in your home.
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