****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
As a Rhodes Piano enthusiast, I was curious to try this keyboard out. The form factor will feel very familiar to anyone who’s played vintage electric pianos. It was refreshing to see a keyboard that included legs (no need for an external keyboard stand) and a carrying “case.” The lid doesn’t feel as heavy duty as it looks, but it’s suitable for load in/out for gigs in town. Without the legs, the keyboard and case is only about 40lbs - way lighter than a real Rhodes or Wurlitzer.The modeling on the Rhodes and Wurlitzer patches is very realistic sounding and responsive to dynamics. The key action is heavy, but not cumbersome. Though the Clavinet sounds great, it’d be hard to play stylistically with the weighted keys. Acoustic piano is not very inspiring, but there is a firmware update with new piano patches.Not a big fan of the RGB encoders, as it’s hard to gauge precisely how the volume, EQ, or effect parameters are dialed in. To set (and see) exact values, you have to attach the Wi-Fi USB and go into the mobile editor, which is a bit of a process, but somewhat easy to do. Also, sometimes when dialing the encoders, it will “jump” in value (eg. trying to lower the volume, it may randomly jump higher even while turning the knob counterclockwise).The onboard effects are pretty useful and sound good, but the main things I tend to use are the EQ settings and the amp simulator. These tone controls really help further liven up the already realistic sounds.When using an expression pedal, I was a little disappointed by the way it responded. I like to do a lot of volume swells on Rhodes to “fake” a steel guitar, and for some reason I can’t get this keyboard to smoothly fade in. There’s like a hard shelf between silence and even quieter volumes.Overall, I’m very happy with the Crumar Seven, despite some of my nitpicks. Many of those come down to personal preference, though I do think they could stand to clean up their user experience. Nothing beats a Rhodes, but the portability and playability of this keyboard is hard to pass up. Bonus points for having a flat top that you can stack a small synth on.
