Thomann DP-26

I'm a classically trained pianist, but due to various living accommodations I've been unable to have a proper piano at home for well over 10 years. Lately, I've been playing keyboards quite often, and decided to buy a stage piano, so that I can finally get my chops back.

First off - the keyboard feels great. Yes it isn't quite exactly the same as an upright, or a grand at that, but no stage piano I've tried ever had the exact same feel of a real one. That said, it feels fantastic. Coming off playing midi controllers and synths at home, it is a breath of fresh air! It feels close enough that after a couple of hours of playing I'm not really noticing anything different from the upright at the studio - the keys are moderately heavy, the springback is good, not to sudden but not sloppy as well, so fast passages and trills feel very natural. Again, while it doesn't feel exactly like a real piano, I'd say that the difference present is definitely acceptable, even negligible.

Now, built in sounds - the pianos are sort of fine, the first grand seems too muffled for my taste, but the second one is much better, defined, bright, has some kick to it in the lows, moderately chimey highs. It sounds a little weird when, say, a chord is sustained for a VERY long time, but that's minor, and a nitpick of sorts. The electric pianos are not to my taste, but that's just me. I like some of the organs, and my favorite apart from the grand is the vibraphone, which sounds great.

There's also some built in styles, drum tracks, etc, which I don't use, but it's there if You need it. Also has a built in metronome, which is quite handy. Level of reverb and chorus can be adjusted separately, as well as be turned off completely, independent from each other. There are adjustments to the sensitivity of the keys as well, works fine.

Now, the midi stuff - I've only used it via usb, and it's pretty much plug and play, everything I've used it with recognizes it immediately, latency is quite okay, no hassle with setups at all, it's great. This means that You can make it sound like virtually anything You want, plus, most daws (or something like Sibelius) will allow mapping straight to notation, which is super handy. As I've bought it with the idea of composing in mind, this is a huge thing.

Overall, I am overly happy with this purchase, it feels great, sounds fine, the speakers are loud enough for home use, but it does tend to sound fuller through an external source, which is easy to hook up. Can't really say much more, 10/10, thanks to Thomann for such a great product, very happy with it.