The Alesis Recital was a great piano for the price, and a lot of students who needed an affordable starter piano could buy it for practicing. They’ve recently upgraded this model to the Alesis Recital Pro, an 88-key hammer action digital piano. I really loved the original model, so I was really excited to give the upgrade a chance. While it has some flaws, the Alesis Recital Pro has certainly offered a lot of upgrades, and done a great job with their new product. I really enjoyed this playing experience, and they definitely took feedback and reviews of the original into consideration when they made this model!
It was so much fun that I absolutely had to review it. This Alesis keyboard review takes a look at the changes between the Alesis Recital 88-key digital piano and the new Alesis Recital Pro 88-key digital piano. By the end of this Alesis Recital Pro review, you’ll know all about the strengths, weaknesses, and upgrades, including modifications to the display and the keys themselves. You’ll also see what makes it so fun!
Alesis Recital Pro Review
The Alesis Recital 88-key digital piano has upgraded their keys. These keys are now weighted to simulate real keys, and they have adjustable touch sensitivity. Although these are still not natural keys, and won’t feel the same as actual piano keys, they’re much better than previous models and other digital keyboards. I cannot overstate how much I love this new feature!! The feel of piano keys makes all the difference in playing experience, and having the extra weight made this feel less like a computer and made my playing more natural.
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The upgrade to the touch responsiveness was amazing, too. It really lets me play in the most natural way for my hands. Instead of having to adjust to the computer, it intuitively adjusted to my personal playing style! The touch response allows you to control the voice level based on how strong you strike the keys as you play. The harder you play, the louder the volume will be through the Alesis speakers. Just adjust your sensitivity level by choosing whether to have a soft, medium, or hard play strike. You can also turn this touch sensitivity off and have a fixed playing velocity.
Alesis Recital Pro Effects and Programs
There are 12 different voices available on the Alesis Recital Pro. Each of the 6 instruments comes with 2 voice variations. You can choose form harpsichord, piano, organ, synth, electric piano, or acoustic bass instrumentations when you play.
Just press one of the buttons on the screen and it will light up with blue. Pressing it a second time will cause it to light red, selecting the second variation of the voice.
There are also different effects for each sound. You can easily change the effect by pressing the button to add reverb, chorus, or modulation to your chosen instrumentation. The Alesis Recital Pro uses a 128-note polyphonic sound, which is almost unheard of for digital pianos in this price range.
The instrumentation let me have a little fun. It made this go from a practice keyboard into a playful one, letting me compose my own songs and see how different instruments affect the listening experience.
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Alesis Recital Pro Features and Options
The Alesis Recital Pro upgraded some of the features when they expanded the Recital model. The Pro offers a mode that allows you to layer two different voices and play them together. Select your first voice, hold down the layer button, and select a second voice. Now, you can play with both of those sounds together. This was really fun. Combining this feature with the split mode allowed me to really recreate the sound of a 3-piece band, which was incredibly fun.
Split mode is not one of my favorite features, but it definitely has its uses. It will let you play 2 different voices at once by dividing your keyboard. Simply choose one voice for left hand play and a different one for the right hand.
If you use the lesson mode on this keyboard, the split can be used to play alongside students. This lets teachers play their part with students, allowing students to watch while they’re playing.
The Alesis Pro Recital also comes with a metronome that lets you work from 30 to 280 beats per minute. This lets you slow things down while learning then speed them up gradually until you reach your desired tempo. To improve your flexibility and key memory, push the speed up higher and higher and start racing yourself to see how quickly you can get through familiar pieces. It really helps with memory and instinct!
One of the great features of this piano is that it can transpose music for you automatically. If you’re a singer or vocalist who as sheet music that isn’t in your vocal power key, simply use the dial to change the pitch up or down in semitone values until you reach your desired key.
This keyboard also lets you record a song and play it back so you can hear what you sound like and find any mistakes in playing. The pedal resonance can also be changed, and it has the ability to use the same sustain pedal as a classical piano. You can also adjust the EQ mode to sound like a traditional piano, or to create a rock, classical, jazz, or modern sound.
One of the really neat features of the Alesis Recital Pro is that you can use batteries to power it. If you don’t have access to a power outlet, then just stick 6 D batteries into the keyboard and it will play anywhere!
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What’s included with the Alesis Recital Pro?
The Alesis Recital Pro has a lot of connectors. It’s got 2 output lines that can connect to external amplifiers and home stereos, but it also has internal speakers that are sufficient to use in a medium sized room.
It’s got a headphone output so you can mute the built in speakers and practice without everyone else hearing you play. This is especially useful for people who like to practice late at night or early in the morning, because it allows you to play at a louder volume without waking everyone else. I love this feature because it also means other people won’t bother me while I play. I can retreat into my own little world!
The keyboard also comes with a Sustain pedal input. You will need to purchase the pedal separately, and you can’t connect other pedals or 3-pedal units.
It includes a USB output for midi. This lets you connect your Alesis Recital Pro to a computer, which can facilitate the use of software and virtual instrument plugins with your keyboard.
It also comes with the power adaptor and connection. This means that even if you don’t have D-batteries you can still play the keyboard wherever there is a compatible outlet.
The power adaptor, user’s manual, music rest, and piano are all included. You will need to buy a piano stand because it is not included.
Pros and Cons
This is an extremely affordable digital piano, especially given the loads of features. It’s really nice to have weighted keys and the option to power the keyboard with batteries for outdoor performances.
Unfortunately, the memory is pretty small and it would be nice to be able to record more than 1 song at a time. The outer range of the piano also doesn’t really sound like natural piano keys would. It is clearly a computerized sound. It would also be nice if the sustain pedal was included.
Conclusion
This is a great keyboard overall. It’s extremely affordable and pretty versatile. It’s easy enough for a beginner to use for practice, but advanced enough for professionals as well thanks to the ability to easily transpose songs to new keys and play without a power outlet.