Korg SP-170S
Pros
- Good Sound
- Simple Control
- Low Price
Cons
- Old Design
- Weak Speakers
The Korg SP-170s is a digital piano that provides everything a pianist could want in terms of sound quality and realistic key action. With this SP-170s digital piano, Korg has struck out to eliminate all of the unnecessary fluff of many digital piano and focus only on the vitally important aspects, such as key action and a nice realistic sound. In this Korg SP-170s review, we are going to take an in-depth look if this piano is for you.
DESIGN
The Look
As you can see, the design of the SP-170S looks simple.
The SP-170S is much smoother and beautiful than his older brother, the SP-170, and it comes with a black finish and it doesn’t have synthetic ebony/Ivory key top.
Since the SP-170S is a portable digital piano, there are a lot of bundles you can choose on the market, and some include the wooden stand.
Being a model released in 2010, the overall design is a bit outdated.
The SP-170S is compact enough to fit into smaller spaces.
Music Rest
There’s no change on the music rest about the SP-170s as it has the same design as the SP-170.
It is detachable and wide that it looks like a chopping board. But despite the look, you can display any score book or printed sheet music on it.
The only disadvantage of this music rest is that it has no comb-like stripes to prevent your sheets from sliding down.
Control
For the SP-170s, it has two new button that they have added, and that is the sound and a piano play button. The rest is a power button and volume control.
For the Sound button, you will have access and select one of the ten keyboard sounds of the SP-170s, and for the Piano Play button, you can quickly select the piano 1 sound that is the default sound of the piano.
The only disadvantage for me is that it does not have an LCD display so that you will see the sound that you choose.
But all in all, it sounds good, and the buttons are easy to use.
Keys
The Sp-170s comes with a full 88 keyboard with black and ivory white and a red velvet at the end of the keys.
The keys are fully weighted like a traditional piano, where the higher note is lighter and get heavier as you go lower.
The ability to switch touch sensitivity lets you adjust the response of the keys to your liking, for a more personalized feel.
Size & Weight
The SP-170’s has a Lightweight body and the Dimensions of this piano is 1,312 x 325 x 144 mm / 51.65″ x 12.8″ x 5.67″ and weight around 12 kg / 26.45 lbs.
For this SP-170s, you can carry the piano around your house as it won’t take a lot of space to it, and you can also carry it anywhere you want.
KEY ACTION
The key action on the SP-170s is the Natural Weighted Hammer Action (NH).
As you can see, the keyboard is accurately weighted like a traditional piano.
The SP-170s are no different from an even graded action that feels heavier in the bass and lighter in the upper registers.
It also has three levels of Key Touch Control that allow the keyboard response to be matched to nearly any playing style.
SOUND
The SP-170s has ten premium sounds such as electric piano, harpsichord, and organ, that you can play with it.
It also has a stereo sampling technology that mimics the sound and feel of an expensive grand piano.
The sound of the piano is nice that feels warm and rich and leaves a very satisfying sense of realism with the musician.
The Korg SP-170s is equipped with two 9 watt speakers. They are not the most powerful but do produce an adequate sound experience.
FEATURES
The SP-17s doesn’t have a lot of features.
As you can see, the SP-170s provide 10 high-quality sounds for performance use.
It has a quick play button so that users can return to the default piano tone in an instant.
The touch sensitivity of the keyboard can be adjusted in three-level settings to adjust the sensitivity for those who play heavier or lighter on the instrument.
The high-quality speakers of the SP-170s offer a reasonably spacious sound and give substance to the sound.
You can also use a headphone as the SP-170s have dual headphone sockets that allow two people to listen to performances in complete privacy.
That feature is great, and it can be useful, especially if you are an instructor you can listen to it, so that if both of you need privacy and want to get disturbed.
The sockets can also be linked to an external recording device or an amplifier for increased volume if required.
Here’s a list of features of the Korg SP-170s:
Keyboard
88 notes (A0-C8), Natural Weighted Hammer Action (NH)
Touch Control
Three Level(Light, Standard, Heavy)
Sound System
Stereo Sampling
Polyphony
120 notes / 60 notes (Stereo)
Sounds
10 Total; Piano x 2; E. Piano x 2; Harpsichord; E. Clavichord; Vibraphone; Pipe Organ; Electric Organ; Strings
Connectivity
Headphone/Line output x 2; MIDI OUT; Damper Pedal connection
ACCESSORIES
For the SP-170s, you will get an AC adapter and a pedal switch.
The AC adapter is for your power supply, so if you want to use the keyboard, you have to use this item.
You have to bring the adapter along with it if you plan to go outside and play the piano and also the place that you are going it must have an outlet.
This is one of the disadvantages of the piano because The SP-170s doesn’t run with batteries.
The SP-170s come with a single pedal switch where you can only do on/off and it does support half pedaling. It is advised to upgrade the pedal unit.
As always, a good pair of headphones are recommended for any digital pianos.
WHO IT’S FOR
If you are a piano instructor, this will be a good piano for your students because it has a nice touch and the sound of the key are very nice.
The SP-170 is not just suitable for beginners as it is also useful for the experienced musicians out there.
CONCLUSION
The best thing about the SP-170s is its price, and especially when you consider the functionality and features that this keyboard has to offers.
That is why this keyboard comes at a pretty good deal.
So all in all, the SP170s is a great piano, and the price is affordable and you will enjoy playing with it.
However, if you can afford to ease your budget a little, there are much newer models on the market that offer more features and maybe better sound and action. After all, the Korg SP-170S is nearly a decade old.
Leave a comment to let me know what you think of this review. And if you happen to have some experience with the Korg SP-170S, please share with us in the comment below.