With the recent release of Casio’s new models – the PX-S5000, S6000 and S7000 – their entire lineup received a shot in the arm, and the digital piano landscape as a whole has really shifted.
In light of this shift in the market and Casio’s own lineup, we wanted to take an updated look at some of their slightly older models to see how they look in this new light.
With that in mind, we’re going to be taking a brand new look at the Casio PX-S3100 portable 88-key digital piano with an updated piano review. The S3100 hit the market in late 2021 as the replacement for the successful PX-S3000. At the time it was viewed as an affordable yet solid gigging option for those looking for an all-in-one stage piano.
Given the expansion of the PX-S line, the question now is whether or not the S3100 remains a relevant option in the market, or if it’s poised to get lost in the shuffle.
Let’s dive in.
Casio PX-S3100 – Background & Overview
The Casio PX-S3100 was released alongside the PX-S1100, which itself was an update to the PX-S1000. It looked like the line would be remaining two models strong, so we were pleasantly surprised when Casio expanded the Privia PX line to no less than 5 models back in 2022.
The S3100 is now far from being the top PX-S model, begging the question; how does it now fit in the lineup? Is it still a great value buy? Does it make sense to either opt for the S1100 or leapfrog to the S5000?
Well, we’re happy to report that this instrument is just as fun to play today as it was when it was first launched. But there’s no doubt that the target market for the 3100 has probably shifted to some extent.
What Role Does it Fill?
What we’ve got with the S3100 is essentially a very capable arranger keyboard for people who don’t need a high level of editing to go along with some built-in rhythms and auto accompaniment. Instead, the focus is on portability, a good grand piano tone with tons of additional sounds, and a solid weighted key action.
Many arranger keyboards feature less than 88 keys, so Casio has fused this concept with a lightweight, portable 88-note stage piano into one unit that can be battery-operated.
It’s going to deliver lots of fun for hobbyists, but it would also come in incredibly handy for pianists who accompany vocalists, solo pianists who need good auto accompaniment, and of course, buskers who want something slim and battery-operated that can be played anywhere.
With that bit of context out of the way, let’s dive into the sound.
Piano Sound
Hamburg Grand Sample
Despite this being absent from Casio’s marketing literature, we were able to confirm with them directly that the PX-S3100 is in fact equipped with the Hamburg Grand sample, previously reserved for their higher-end models, though this is a simplified version so it’s not delivering the same fidelity as the version you’ll find on the PX-S5000 through S7000.
Still, this is still a really impressive core grand piano sample, which is being rendered through Casio’s Multi Dimensional Morphing AiR sound engine. It sounds quite dynamic, and there’s definitely more detail coming through than what the S3000 was producing, though part of this has to do with the speaker redesign which we’ll get to below.
For the price point, and given the fact that the S3100 isn’t built strictly to provide an acoustic piano experience, the piano tone is surprisingly sensitive and overall quite enjoyable to play. Surround mode does a good job of creating a cool 3D effect.
You also have a degree of control over the tone with the ability to edit various parameters via the Acoustic Simulator, with things like string resonance and damper resonance available to you.
Polyphony
Like the PX-S3000, the S3100 also has 192 notes of polyphony. This is on the higher end of what’s available for the price point and should be more than sufficient for the vast majority of applications.
There are probably some arranging situations where the full 192 notes might get taxed and earlier played notes will be dropped away, but generally speaking, the polyphony here should hold strong.
Other Sounds
As mentioned above, the PX-S3100 has a ton of onboard sounds with no less than 700 sound presets in total. Accessing and navigating the sounds is straightforward via the user interface, which is important when you’re working with such a large selection of tones.
There’s a wide variety of acoustic pianos depending on what you’re looking for, though the Hamburg Grand is definitely the highlight.
From there you’ve got a wide range of electric pianos with 24 in total, before moving a great selection of organs, strings, percussion, brass, woodwinds, pads and synths.
What’s really impressive here is that while a few sounds would be considered below a professional standard, many of these sounds are as good as you’ll find on instruments three and four times the price. We’re primarily working with sample-based playback here which means that all of the samples have been very well captured.
As a quick side note, for anyone considering the CDP-S360 due to its equally large selection of sounds but lower price point, keep in mind that the S3100 is working with significantly faster processing speed, which means that navigating the various sounds is much faster on the S3100.
Speakers
One of the key upgrades from the S3000 to the S3100 is a newly redesigned speaker system. We’re still working with dual 8-watt speakers for 16 watts of amplifier power, but they’ve strengthened the diaphragm which improves the clarity in the upper register, whereas a beefed-up inner structure has improved the low end.
Paired with the Hamburg grand sample, the sound here is noticeably superior to what the S3000 was capable of, so kudos to Casio.
Piano Action
Smart Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard
The PX-S3100 is equipped with Casio’s Smart Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard, which makes a return from the S3000 and S1000, the models it was originally introduced on.
Due to the super slim design ethos of the PX-S models, Casio had to come up with a very compact action to accommodate the frame. As a result, the Smart Scaled action has a remarkably short key stick length, and it presents a slightly different playing experience than what you’ll be used to if you have experience with acoustic pianos.
For people who are coming from waterfall or spring-loaded actions typical of keyboards but looking to make the jump to a weighted action, they’ll probably be thrilled with the Smart Scaled Action.
The thing to keep in mind with any short action is that there’s a huge differential in the sense of pressure and weight that you need to activate the key, depending on where on the key you press. This makes more technical repertoire quite challenging with this action.
However, for people who are generally going to be playing fairly standard repertoire that isn’t particularly technically demanding, you’ll be able to find the sweet spot on the keys where it will feel quite well balanced.
So, this action obviously isn’t intended for higher-level classical playing, but it wouldn’t make sense for that type of player to be looking at the PX-S3100 anyway.
Keytops & Other Action Specs
Casio also does a nice job with their keytops, even on more basic models. Here we have a nice texture in both the black and white keys here, providing a good mix of adequate grip but still enough glide. The Yamaha P125 for example has a glossy key action that some would argue has too much grip.
The texture is a little bit more exaggerated than what they’ve done with the new S5000, S6000, and S7000, but not to the point that it should be a turn-off.
In terms of other important action-related specs, this action is using a dual sensor and it doesn’t feature any escapement, though the touch sensitivity is adjustable.
The dual sensor and lack of escapement really signal that this action is not necessarily intended for studio use, but for live performance and personal use for most users it’s going to be just fine, and an intelligent compromise to deliver a highly portable unit at a great price point for musicians and other hobby players.
Features/Connectivity
Auto Accompaniment
The central extended feature of the PX-S3100 really could be argued to be its in-depth auto accompaniment and rhythm engine. The controls are laid out very clearly showing that it’s really built for real-time use, and you’ve got a choice beyond percussion-only accompaniment or accompaniment with a full backing band that follows your harmonic direction.
There are multiple modes on how the engine will harmonically follow your left hand, which is a real indication that this is not intended for people to just mess around and have fun – this is intended to satisfy people looking for a slightly stripped-down professional arranger keyboard with a weighted action.
The accompaniment options Chord mode, Full Range, Fingered Assist, Fingered on Bass, Fingered 2, Fingered 1 and Casio Chord, so there’s a very wide range of options depending on what you’re looking for. The built-in rhythm options are equally as diverse and also very high quality.
Other Functionality
The S3100 has two assignable knobs that can do things like tremolo or vibrato for example, or they can control settings like Reverb and Brilliance. There’s also a pitch bend wheel for more real-time control.
From there we have a built-in MIDI recorder, metronome, transpose and duet mode, so the basics are all checked off as well.
Connectivity
The S3100 has all of the standard connectors covered one would hope for, including dual headphone outputs, the ever-important 1/4” line outputs, Type A and B USB ports which allow you to record WAV files as well, a stereo mini line in, and ports for a sustain pedal, expression pedal and 3-pedal unit.
The S3100 is also enabled with both Bluetooth Audio and Bluetooth MIDI courtesy of the WU-BT10 Bluetooth adapter that Casio includes at no additional charge.
Bluetooth gives you wireless connection to apps, such as the new Casio Music Space app for iOS and Android which replaces the beloved Chordana Play app. This app gives you full remote control of the instrument, whether it’s tweaking the DSP and reverb settings, navigating the many sounds, or controlling the auto-accompaniment.
Accessories
The PX-S3100 ships with some accessories in the box, and there are a number of additional accessories available as optional add-ons.
In the box, you’ll find a cabled power supply (the 6x AA batteries for running on battery power are sold separately) a basic switch damper pedal and a music stand.
At a minimum, we would recommend upgrading to the SP-20 damper pedal with half-pedaling, but there’s also the option to add a triple pedal and a designer keyboard stand as well.
Closing Thoughts
In conclusion, the PX-S3100 feels just as relevant to us now as when it first came out. In fact, the overall usability stands out, even more, today than it did when it first came out due to the contrast with the rest of the models in the expanded PX-S lineup.
It’s not going be for everybody because this is not a piano delivering value primarily with regards to its ability to recreate an acoustic piano experience. For a similar budget, if action is your priority, the Roland FP-30X is probably a better choice, or if the piano sound is your focus then the Kawai ES-120 is probably the way to go.
The value of the S3100 and the reason you’d spend more on it versus 1100 is the much larger selection of sounds, extra controls, and the accompaniment engine. If those three things move the needle for you, then it doesn’t even make sense to jump to the PX-S5000 since it’s really offering a similar but upgraded experience to the S1100.
Just as relevant as when it came out, the PX-S3100 is worth a close look if the specs sheet catches your eye.
