Casio CDP 135 Review The Only Budget Piano You Need

The Casio CDP series didn't earned that level of respect that the Privia Series is getting from its user base.

But this doesn't mean that the CDP family deserve so.

There's are few successful individual digital pianos in the series and the one which really excels in the line is Casio CDP 135 digital piano.

CDP 135 is the younger brother of CDP 130 and has got decent face lift.

But with the latest installment in the CDP Series the CDP S350 , S150 and S100 Casio has redesigned the entire line from scratch.

Casio CDP 135 Review

The CDP series from Casio Digital Piano features :

  • CDP (Compact Digital Piano)
  • All CDP Series Digital Pianos has 88 Keys
  • Scaled Hammer Action Keybed
  • Well Balanced Performance and Value.
  • Compact and Lightweight (Weighs under 26 Lbs)
  • Budget Friendly Price Tag

Before diving in detailed analysis, I like to acknowledge that I used CDP 135 for more than a month in mid 2018 when one of my student purchased it.

So, all the details mentioned in this post are my personal experience.

Chances are that your experience may vary but its highly unlikely.

With that said here's a quick highlight with my thoughts on Casio CDP 135 :

CDP 135 Features Highlight
  • 88 Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard (Nice Feel at this price)
  • 3 Level of Velocity Sensitive Keys
  • Sound Source - (AHL) Acoustic & Highly-compressed Large-waveform (Samples are nice and rich but I feel they are same sample Casio is using since a long time.) 
  • Max Polyphony - 64 Notes (Enough for entry level)
  • Good Sound
  • Layer Mode (No Dual Mode)
  • USB to Host Connectivity Option (Great for mixing, education)
  • Comes with Sustain Pedals
  • Sleek and Lightweight (23.8 Lbs)

** Note -- Casio CDP 135 is not available in most of the countries nowadays.

So here are some of the keyboards similarly like CDP 135 in the same price range so have a look at them.

Comparing Casio CDP 135 With Other Casio BestSeller Digital Pianos

image

Model

Keys

Features

Price

Casio CDP 135

CDP 135

88

Scaled Hammer Action Keys

Powerful Speakers

Bundle Comes With Stand, Pedals

Recorders

Metronome

Casio Privia PX-160BK 88-Key Full Size Digital Piano

PX 160

88

Best Model

Great Sound 

AiR Sound Technology

Hall Simulator, Reverb Effects

3 Year Warranty

Casio WK 245

WK-245

76

Touch Response Keys

Lesson Mode

Tone - 600

Rhythms - 180

Bright Display

USB MIDI Port

Casio LK-190 61-Key Premium Lighted Keyboard

LK-190

61

Light Up Keys

Light Lesson Mode

Tone - 400

Rhythms - 150

Dance & Reverb Effect

Great Speaker

Casio CTK-2550 61-Key Portable Keyboard

CTK-2550

61

Touch Response

Lesson Function

Tones - 400

Rhythms - 100

Chordana App 

Dance/Music Mode

Casio Privia PX-870 Digital Piano

PX-870

88

Scaled Hammer Action Keys

Detailed Resonance

Sound Projection Speaker

Recording

Key Slider Cover

✪ Casio CDP 135 Features ✪


Layout and Design :

Minimum Layout

As CDP 135 is an entry level keyboard and Casio has done a wonderful job in keeping the layout to minimum and only focuses on what required to be focused upon.

In simple words, Minimalist Interface = Less Confusion. (Which is really beneficial for beginners)

All the function buttons are on the top left of the keyboard.

The Buttons are :

  • Power Switch
  • Demo
  • Function
  • Dedicated electric piano button
  • Metronome
  • Hall
  • Volume Knob

But minimalist layout does not mean less functions.

To access the other digital features like transpose, tuning, responsiveness.

You need to press the function key (on the interface) first, followed by the required feature key (piano key) you want to activate.

All the digital features are printed on top edge of the interface.

Unluckily CDP 135 comes in only 1 color Black, And I am also not a fan of matte finish, Instead, I prefer the glossy look like Priva PX S1000. But that's just my personal preference.

Keys :

Keys of CDP 135

The Keys of Casio CDP 135 is the best part of the entire keyboard.

It has 88 keys like an standard acoustic piano. Few years back the weighted action keys are crafted with spring key-bed.

The idea may look good on paper and feel good too for newbies who never experienced a Grand or Acoustic Piano.

But for experienced pianist its nowhere near the natural feel.

I mentioned the above fact because CDP 135 uses spring less mechanism to mimic the weighted keys experience.

The scaled hammer action makes the keys lighter on the right hand side (High Notes) and gradually increases towards the left (Low Notes).

The keys are also Velocity Sensitive (Touch Response) and you are allowed to control the responsiveness up to 3 levels or can completely turn it off when required.

As I said above the full size 88 keys feels firm and natural, I can very confidently say that Casio has done a wonderful job in mimicking the grand piano experience when it comes to keys of CDP 135.

Sound Quality of Casio CDP 135 :

CDP Speakers and Sound Quality

Casio CDP series uses AHL (Acoustic & Highly-compressed Large-waveform) technology as its sound source.

The sound can be categorized as standard with mellow and bright expression in the tones.

As I said above The rest 3 electronic sounds are standard electric sound but one of sound that caught my attention is the more Rhodes sounds feeling, that I have not heard of in pianos in this price range.

Casio CDP 135 also has a harpsichord, strings, pipe organ (perfect for wedding or traditional celebration), jazz organ and other instrumental sounds.

However, I believe the AiR technology is better than AHL but in the end "You Will Get What You Pay For".

Hall Simulator Effect :

Hall Simulator Effect Demonstration

The Hall simulator effect is an exclusive effect that only be found on Casio Digital Pianos and is only available on very few models.

To be honest Hall Simulator Effect is kind of not so important feature for entry level pianist.

But it comes useful when you form a solid base in understanding Acoustic and its characteristics.

What Hall Simulator Effect does is that it generates special acoustic characteristics and simulates sound effect like you are sitting in concert hall and other venues.

In short, It allows you to understand your music from an audience perspective.

It comes really handy in understanding and analyzing your music from a different perspective and further refine it.

There's not lots of options to choose the different venues which is found on the High-End Celvanio Series but still its quite useful in understand music and acoustic in greater details.

Modes, Digital Effects and Other Built In Options

Layers - Digital Effects - Metronome Casio
  • Layer Mode - The Inbuilt Layer mode in CDP 135 allows you to layer 2 different voices through out the keyboard. So when you press the keys you will hear both of the voices simultaneously.
    However, I was downhearted I when I figured out that the keyboard does not have duo/split mode.
    Its quite common mode and there's no reason to eliminate the mode in an entry level digital piano.
  • Metronome - The complete CDP series offers built-in metronome.
  • Effects - You will get 10 types of Reverb effects and 5 Chorus Effect and the Hall Simulator Effect explained earlier.
  • MIDI - The USB port on the back side allows you to plug the device on the computer and use it as a midi controller.
  • Connectivity Options - USB to HOST, Headphone, AUX In, Sustain Pedal

Casio CDP 135 Alternate

The Best Alternative Of Casio CDP 135 is Casio Privia PX 160. The Price is Bit High but PX 160 is totally worth it. (Check Detailed Review Here)

Casio CDP 135 Alternative Option - PX 160

My Experience With Casio CDP 135

My Experience With Casio CDP 135 Entry Level Keyboard

As I mentioned above that I used Casio CDP 135 for around a month and I can sum up my experience as "Good".

I can very confidently say that CDP 135 is a really nice keyboard for the value.

The spring-less 88 Scaled Hammer Action Keys quite closely mimicked the Grand Piano experience.

The sound and its quality is also better than average.

The No-Nonsense minimalistic layout will surely help the beginners to focus only on the essentials functionalities.

Lack of few modes and voices disappointed us a bit but I hope Casio consider adding these in new models which follows the same price range.

And Lastly, CDP 135 is quite compact and lightweight despite with big speakers and full size 88 keys.

If you are a newbie and need a decent digital piano with natural feel, good sound in budget friendly price tag than Casio CDP 135 might be a good option to consider.

** Note - Check the availability first.


Casio CDP 135 Manual

support.casio.com

That's all from our end Hope our review of CDP 135 helped you in making an informed decision.


Till then,

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Author - Daniel Cooper

About the author

Daniel Cooper loves to make weird sounds by pressing the Black & White Buttons on the instrument and claims to be a musician.