Decent onboard speaker volume. SK5 Sample is Fantastic. Tone editing works.

I was looking for a digital piano with onboard speakers for a small restaurant gig. My usual rig is a Yamaha P80 and Bose L1 Compact (or 2 of them). The ES8 is surpasses my S90ES and Korg SV-1 and rivals the P80 piano tone using the SK5 patch with dynamic voicing and hard velocity setting. I am a piano player. I own a grand piano and know what a piano should sound and feel like. Many professional digital stage pianos are bright and perhaps intended to cut through in a band situation. The ES8 SK5 patch with dynamic voicing, and a little hammer delay for the very soft playing, is VERY warm and realistic. The onboard speakers (15wx2) aren't very big, but they are ported underneath (the point straight up) for a little bass and enough for a small restaurant gig without external amplification. A quick test with the Bose L1 Compact indicated I would need an external EQ to control the tone - particularly the bass (was too heavy straight in from the piano). It is mandatory for me that a digital piano have an upright bass split with a ride cymbal. I use this to play bass in my left hand while producing a trio sound because of the ride cymbal on every bass note. ES8 accomplishes this nicely. Also - the built in rhythms are tasteful and not over the top - usable to produce an acoustic sort of sound - little bit of rhythm guitar here and there, sometimes light strings - but no brass or bombastic arrangements. The chord scanning works very well so you can play a chart and have the keyboard follow the changes without too much effort. Haven't set up any registrations yet, but there are 28 locations (stores patch, rhythm settings, virtual technician edits, etc) and registration sets can also be stored on a USB stick - although it seems like 28 is the practical limit for quick changes between setups (wish there were more - I play 60 songs in a set sometimes and wonder if 28 is going to cover all the setups I need). I have been gigging 3 nights a week with the instrument for a few weeks and am very happy so far. Classy looking. Keyboard feel is nice - I like a heavy action - this one lighter than the P80 but heavy enough for a person who plays acoustic piano. If you like pianos that cut the other samples are very solid. I like a piano that sounds like a piano - and has good dynamic range - sounding soft (with hammers voice for a mellow tone) at pp and with bite at ff - this piano does it for me. So far, I am considering it the next best piano investment since I bought a P80 new in 1999 (although the SV1 88 and S90ES also rate highly with me for the piano sample). The non-acoustic piano sounds are fine - nothing to rave about - SV1 88 is the best at electric pianos (lots of authentic noises and stuff). If you are a fan of the synthesized Roland sound (vs sample based) you probably won't be into the ES8. If you are a Yamaha/Korg fan - you may find the ES8 a nice new flavor. Missing on the unit is a fill button for triggering fills during rhythm play (I figured it out by jumping up or down and immediately back to the original pattern to trigger a fill and continue - hardly ideal) and intro or endings buttons like a Korg Arranger. Next week I will attempt a gig using the built in rhythms - I'm optimistic. If the rhythms don't annoy me, they should please my audience - just have to practice "chording" in a clean fashion for the keyboard scanning (and various techniques for keeping the accompaniment on track) and hitting the simple pattern up/down buttons to switch between variations (2 for each style) and trigger endings. I'm feeling more and more at home on the instrument and consider it a keeper.Read full review

Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned