My keyboard was well packed and arrived safely across the water to England. Very pleased with it so far. I wanted a weighted hammer action keyboard with dedicated line out, which meant Alesis, Donner or Thomann, and I am glad I chose Thomann.
For me, the plus points are:
- Fully weighted keys, with hammer action. It feels good & responsive to play. It is not graded action, but I do not notice this. The keys do not 'bounce', so fast repeated play is possible.
- Touch response is smooth and has a great range, just like an acoustic piano.
- Reasonable choice of voices, including 4 grand pianos.
- Layering 2 voices is easy, and the octave/volume of the 2nd voice can be changed.
- Tone control knob makes it easy to change the brightness of the sound.
- 20W speakers are insanely loud!! They do not seem to distort even at top volume.
- Hammer sound mentioned by other reviewers is not noticeable. Keyboard shortcut C#2 should turn it off anyway, though I do not notice any difference.
- Foot pedal squeak mentioned by some reviewers can be turned off using the keyboard shortcut A#1 ("damper noise").
- Bluetooth should enable control by a smart device (see below!).
- Metal music stand is sturdy.
Minus points:
- Unnecessary number of complex settings - string res, damper res/noise, hammer noise, lid up/down, temperament, etc.
- Too many of these settings are 'on' by default when the keyboard is turned on. Things like hammer/damper noise might be better 'off' by default.
- There is no way of saving the settings you choose - they all revert to default when the keyboard is turned off. It is a real shame that 3-4 setting memories are not provided, even though there is a recording facility for playing music.
- The bass is a bit lacking, but this may be the speakers? I have not yet tried the keyboard with an external speaker.
- The metal music stand has angled legs, which means it will not slip into the carry bag pocket (I got a Thomann keyboard bag 6). If put in the bag with the keyboard, it could damage the keyboard.
- The power cord is only 1.5m in length - rather short.
- I cannot find an Android app to use with the Bluetooth, which is a big disappointment. It seems PianoToolBox has been taken off Google Play.
For the budget I was given, though, this is by far the best keyboard I could have bought, I am sure. I enjoy playing it.