Pros and Cons
A home piano for less than 500 euro – too good to be true? With the Thomann DP-32, the music retailer from Treppendorf releases a small digital piano that with its classic console design also deserves its spot in the living room. However, the extremely low price makes you wonder where the catch is.
The DP-51 already was an absolute surprise, but Thomann has an offer for all those who have an even lower price limit: The DP-32. The production in the Far East makes this possible, and Thomann passes the low manufacturing price of its own-brand instruments and equipment on to customers. And these can be happy about features for which in the category of home pianos you actually would actually have to pay a few hundred euros more .
Compared to more expensive home pianos, you can immediately feel that the keys could still be improved. Nevertheless, the Thomann DP-32 offers a full 88-note keyboard with graded hammer action. Similar to an upright or grand piano, there is more weight on the keys in the bass range than on those of the treble. This gives the keyboard a pleasant and well-balanced feel.
The keys fall easily under fingers, which is good for beginners. However, they still have a good grip and repeat very well. The keys are not quite as easy to control in pianissimo as the let-off mechanism is missing. However, this is absolutely normal in this price range. Overall, not a top rating, but given the low price, it is really very decent.
A special feature is the possibility of a half-pedal function. Although this does not work as a continuous controller, there is an intermediate stage that at least allows this important expression possibility.
The Thomann DP-32 offers a total of 16 sounds, three of which are acoustic piano sounds. Basically, they are all the same sample of a concert grand piano recorded on stereo. Once as a muted version in the first preset, while Piano 2 is a more brilliant version of it. Piano 3 is somewhere in between and has been slightly enriched with a nice floating effect. This is good for pop music and song accompaniments.
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The piano sound is balanced throughout the tonal range and offers some dynamic assets. You cannot expect a super detailed pianissimo here (look at the price tag again). Nevertheless, at least in mezzo piano to forte various velocity samples provide expression. The damper resonance also creates a balanced effect when playing with pedal.
However, the piano sounds are a bit unnatural in the decay. The samples in the mid and high registers loop quite shortly after the attack, which creates a somewhat static decay. You can also occasionally hear loops in the bass range. However, this is negligible for your first piano etudes. A small technical detail stands out positively: Switching sounds does not cut the playback off.
In terms of electric pianos, the Thomann DP-32 offers a vintage sound and a modern DX piano sound. E-Piano 1 sounds full and brilliant – similar to a Fender Rhodes. When playing dynamically, you may notice a slight change in velocity. Nonetheless, it is still nice that you can play so expressively with this sound. The electric piano 2 seems a bit flat in comparison. Otherwise, you’ll find the typical sounds of a digital piano: a harpsichord and the electric variant clavinet, then a transistor organ, a Hammond organ with Leslie effect, and a church organ.
The additional sounds are not essential for playing the piano, but they increase the fun factor and don’t fail in quality. Thomann even took sound details like the attack into account: The Hammond sound with some percussion plays very grippingly, while the chiff of the pipes in the pipe organ provides realism. As a keyboard instrument, an accordion should of course not be missing. However, more important are the beautifully dimensional strings – with their floating sound they even have an orchestral effect.
In this price range, I would expect an On/Off switch and a volume control as “controls”. Surprisingly, to the left of the keyboard, there is another small control panel with seven buttons. This completely suffices for the most important settings: with it, you can access the metronome, recorder, sounds, song player, reverb and chorus. The labels on the buttons already indicate that some functions can be handled with key combinations. Otherwise, the keyboard works as a further control element as soon as you press the FUNCTION button.
Even though this is a bit awkward to handle, you may be surprised at how functional this little electric piano is after all. It offers the possibility to play two sounds at the same time – as dual or split sound. Interesting for piano lessons is the Twinova function, which divides the keyboard into two playing ranges with the same tonal range of the same sound. Optimal for parallel four-handed playing, which two headphone outputs also support.
A positive surprise is a USB MIDI port on the back as well as an audio output and an aux-in, each designed as a stereo jack. Hence you can connect the Thomann DP-32 to external speakers or a mixing console – a possibility that is otherwise only reserved for much more expensive digital pianos. The built-in speakers reproduce the sounds cleanly, but here the Thomann DP-32 is quite in line with its price range: Given the small size, you should not expect miracles from the speakers.
As a digital piano in the 500-euro class, the Thomann DP-32 is a positive surprise. Comparable instruments in home piano design are actually much more expensive. The DP-32 comes with a wide range of features and Thomann even offers it in a low-cost bundle with a bench and headphones. With a wooden case, keyboard cover, hammer action keyboard, triple pedal and two headphone jacks, it’s a full-fledged small home piano.
The piano sound of the Thomann DP-32 may have a slightly static decay, but a noble Steinway grand piano just doesn’t sell for this price. However, with balanced piano sound across the entire tonal range and the possibility of dynamic expression via the keyboard it convinces anyway. If you want to start playing the piano at a low price, you can’t go wrong with the Thomann DP-32.
Available since: May 2019
Keyboard: weighted hammer action keyboard
Polyphony: 128 voices
Sound generation: sampling, stereo
Manufacturer: Thomann
Pros and Cons
Jörg Sunderkötter
If you want to start playing the piano at a low cost, you can't go wrong with the Thomann DP-32.
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