Learn which piano offers more value for the money in this Alesis Recital Pro vs Casio CDP-S150 comparison.
Casio is one of the most recognizable digital piano brands on the market. And while Alesis doesn’t have as much brand recognition, they still make great pianos that are worth your attention. In fact, there are quite a few Alesis models on the market that easily beat out the Casio equivalent in the same price range.
A great example of this is the Alesis Recital Pro vs Casio CDP-S150 comparison. While the Casio model costs more and is a bit more popular, I found that the Alesis Recital Pro offers more value for the money. It has a great set of tones, is very versatile, and is honestly one of the best options in the price range.
I found the Casio model decent and still a good instrument, but it just didn’t compare to the versatility of the Recital Pro.
In this comparison, I’ll get into more detials of why I found the Recital Pro better and the features of both pianos. And by the end, you’ll know exactly which piano is more worth your money, so keep reading!
Alesis Recital Pro vs Casio CDP-S150: Comparison Chart
Last update on 2024-04-18 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Alesis Recital Pro vs Casio CDP-S150: A Head-to-Head Comparison
To compare these two pianos, I figured that I should look at their features. And by the end, the score was 3-1 in favor of Alesis. Despite being the cheaper option, the Alesis piano had more tones, better sound quality, and a more versatile feature set.
Granted, the Casio still produces decent tones and has a realistic feel when playing. However, as you’ll see in this section, it consistently fell short when compared to the Alesis Recital Pro.
Feel & Playability
The winner: Tie
The one area where these two pianos were tied was in terms of feel and playability. For two affordable pianos, they offer a very realistic feel that comes pretty close to a real acoustic piano. Of course, there are still shortcomings in both instruments. But for the price, the Alesis Recital Pro and Casio CDP-150 have a surprisingly realistic feel, and you can attribute most of this to the hammer action.
+Hammer Action
When you shop in this price range, you usually have to deal with weird types of hammer action. For example, some pianos in this range have semi-weighted keys that don’t offer any realism. On the other hand, the Alesis Recital Pro and the Casio CDP-S150 have Progressive Hammer Action installed on them, which gives them a much more realistic and satisfying touch.
This is because progressive hammer action replicates the weight of real acoustic pianos. You see, acoustic pianos actually don’t have a consistent weight to them. Instead, the lower keys on the piano have a bit more weight to them than the higher keys.
Most digital pianos in this price range don’t do anything to replicate those subtle differences. So, I was very happy to find that both of the pianos have a realistic and progressive weight to them, just like on an acoustic instrument.
One thing that both pianos could have done better would probably be the key texture. Both pianos have glossy plastic keys, which can get fairly slippery, especially if you’re used to the feel of real wooden keys. This is a small complaint, but it’s still worth considering if you plan on buying one of these instruments.
Tone
The winner: Alesis Recital Pro
When it came down to tone, I found the Alesis Recital Pro to be the superior option. To start, it has much more realistic tones that sound like they come from a more premium piano. On top of that, it has a slightly richer library than the Casio CDP-S150, which offers more versatility for pianists.
+Tone Generation
To start, let’s look at the tone generators. The Alesis Recital Pro uses the sampling method to generate its tones. This works by loading recordings of real instruments into the keyboard. And whenever you press down on a key, you trigger one of these samples.
The Casio CDP-S150 doesn’t have any information on its tone generation system. But considering the price and sound quality, it probably uses samples as well. And between the two, I found that the Alesis Recital Pro has more realistic samples.
I was fairly disappointed when going through Casio’s sound library because the tones sounded very digital. This isn’t what I was used to with Casio pianos and was fairly surprising, considering how realistic and bright the samples sounded on the Alesis Recital Pro.
+Sound Library
Neither of these pianos has a wide sound library. That said, the Alesis Recital Pro still has more voices than the Casio. The Casio only features 10 distinct voices while the Alesis features 12. This isn’t that much of a difference, but if you’re particular about your piano’s tone, the two extra voices on the Alesis might be what you need.
And even if these sound libraries are fairly limited, I found that they are both great for beginners and novices. The pianos are loaded with all the voices and sounds you need to discover your playing style as a pianist without offering too many options that can actually be distracting.
Piano Features
The winner: Alesis Recital Pro
The last comparison point I had between these two was the piano features. Specifically, I chose to look at the effects and the polyphony. And again, the Alesis Recital Pro won out. With a larger effects set and higher maximum polyphony, there was no doubt that this option is the better pick when compared to the Casio CDP-S150.
+Effects
Let’s start by looking at the effects. The Recital Pro comes with chorus, modulation, and reverb effects. These are about all the effects you’ll need as a pianist. You can use the reverb effect to add depth and character to your tone, while the modulation and chorus effects warp the tone to produce a unique sound.
The Casio CDP-S150 puts up a good fight by offering reverb and chorus effects. And while these two effects are very useful, it would have been much better if they also came with a modulation effect to give you more control over your tone.
+Polyphony
Another feature I chose to compare was polyphony. Basically, polyphony refers to the piano’s ability to play multiple notes at the same time. For example, if you play many notes with the sustain pedal on, you want to make sure that the piano can sustain all those notes until you lift your foot off the pedal to make sure you add all the emotion you need to your playing.
The Casio CDP-S150 actually has decent polyphony. With 64-note maximum polyphony, you can easily play dense chords and keep the sustain pedal on to increase the emotional weight of the piano. That said, the Alesis Recital Pro still beats out the CDP-S150 wth 128-note polyphony.
This allows you to have much more detailed and emotional passages of music. On top of that, it also makes it possible to use dual and split modes on the piano, which involves playing multiple notes at the same time.
Alesis Recital Pro vs Casio CDP-S150: The Similarities
These pianos are pretty similar on the surface level. They are both portable digital pianos available on a budget. And since they both come with limited sound libraries, they are great for beginners and people who would rather forgo all the extra voices that come with other pianos.
While both would make great picks for beginners, I still recommend the Alesis Recital Pro. Aside from higher quality tones, this is the more versatile option between the two, which is why it was the winner in thai comparison.
Quick Rundown of the Alesis Recital Pro
- A Digital Piano That’s Tailored to You - Feature-packed Electric keyboard with 88 premium full-sized weighted hammer action keys with adjustable touch response to suit your preferred playing style
- Premium Sounds - 12 voices (Incl. Acoustic Piano, Electric Piano, Organ, Synth, and Bass), built-in FX: Chorus, Modulation, Reverb, and two built in 20W speakers for clear, room-filling sound
- All The Right Connections - ¼” sustain pedal input (pedal not included), ¼” stereo headphone output for private practice and stereo outputs for connection to speakers / amplifiers
- Play the Keyboard Wherever You Go - Power via the included power adapter or 6 D cell batteries (not included) for professional piano performance anywhere
- Powerful Educational Features - Standard, split, layer, record and lesson modes with 128-note max polyphony and Skoove 3 month premium subscription for expert interactive online piano lessons
Last update on 2024-04-18 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Quick Rundown of the Casio CDP-S150
- 88-key Scaled Hammer Action
- 64 notes polyphony
- 10 built-in tones
- Class Compliant USB MIDI
- Chordana Play App for Piano
Last update on 2024-04-18 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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References:
- Alesis Recital Pro: https://www.alesis.com/products/view/recital-pro
- Casio CDP-S150: https://www.casio.com/intl/electronic-musical-instruments/product.CDP-S150BK/
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