How Good is the $359.00 Donner DEP-20 (Simular to Inovus I-88) 

I really liked your performance in Revenge of the Sith.

For all those on the fence I took the plunge and got one for my daughter who is one year into piano lessons. She's playing Fur Elise in the next room and sounds super. The keyboard feel is solid, the onboard speakers are 20 watt and the sounds and rhythm options are a lot of fun...though our use case is as an actual piano. Im only posting this as I was very concerned about buying an instrument without seeing/feeling it first but I wish I bought it sooner. Absolutely no regrets...good luck everyone!

I bought this piano after watching your video. Love it and it feels great to get back to piano after many years of not playing

omg you just made me feel nostalgic about Minecraft, time to play

I really enjoyed your comprehensive review of this instrument, and demonstrations of its features! Sounds like amazing value, if it suits your requirements!

this is what i have been waiting for. thanks!

For the price I think it would be a really good piano for a beginner. It's already difficult enough finding a reasonably priced digital piano with decent weighted keys. I'm curious to know what the true dynamic range of the action actually is though. The built-in samples definitely aren't doing it any favors, but the cool part about digital pianos is you can hook them up to a computer and make them use whatever sounds you want. You should consider testing some of these with MIDI using a nice piano library with default, out-of-box velocity curves on both the piano and the particular library you use (personally I am a _huge_ fan of the Kawai EX-PRO from AcousticSamples). I think something like this would be a far more precise test on how good or bad a digital piano's action is (apart from how it just feels on its own), due to the fact that all of these pianos come loaded with their own kinds of samples, some of which are great, others being above average. It would be interesting to see if even a $350 digital piano with weighted keys could achieve similar dynamics as a really expensive one, and you could determine this with some incredible accuracy using MIDI and a good library. I think it would make for a very interesting experiment.

you are like an apple in mobile phones, your interest with the details is amazing , keep the good work, an excellent review.

Thanks James for making this year fun and educational. Everyone is tired of covid19. May everyone have a better 2021! 💪 💪 💪

Great review! I picked up one of these after seeing James's review (thanks, James!). It's a fabulous keyboard for the price with nice action and good speakers that go plenty loud (love the 25W speakers). The other reason I am commenting on this video is to point out one thing,: the issue that James had with the keys clicking against each other as he ran his hand along the white keys doesn't occur on my unit. They are nice and tight and there is no contact or looseness at all when I try to do so. So, maybe that was just a one-off issue with James's unit? As I said great keyboard for the price, especially what I got it at ($303.33 US direct from Donner). Great sounding instruments in general, with only a few duds sounds. And the fully weighted action and the solidly constructed foot pedal is the icing on the cake. Thank again James, love your keyboard reviews and inimitable style. :-)

Great and very thorough review of the DEP-20, JPS👍. For the price it seems attractive depending for what and individual wants to use it. Example: if someone with limited financial resources just wants to have a piano in their apartment, dorm room, or house and that person is not a serious musician the DEP-20 could be a good selection. I think it is great that something decent (respecting your review 😊) is available at such a low price!

Thank you for the thorough and honest review! The shallow range of dynamics actually was the deal breaker for me. I need to be able to play piano on piano, haha

Great review - you've gained a new subscriber from me (from the UK)! I've gone ahead and purchased this due to the price point and the fact i'm a complete beginner to piano. Hopefully if i ever get to half the skill level of you i can invest much more in a better quality upright. thanks again.

That was a great review. Thank you very much. What about the outputs? Also, I would like to hear how repairs can be made and who is going to be making those repairs when they are needed. This is also concern with other digital pianos but I think with the bigger brands like Yamaha Kawai, Nord etc you are more likely to find someone able to repair the instrument and to obtain repair parts.

Keep up the good work man.

Dear James, will you please do a review of the Korg B2 ? Thanks for all the great reviews, and I wish you a wonderful happy new year!

Just about to start learning piano and bought one for $310 on sale! super excited :)

Came here for a review and got a concert, nice playing!

Great review. Thanks :D

A great beginner instrument. You're right about that dulcimer, though. I wonder why they even bothered, since it's virtually unrecognisable as a dulcimer sound. Thank you for all you do. Merry Christmas from Aotearoa.

Merry Christmas James 🎅🎄🤶🎁

I think I like this one and you know why? There aren’t that much keyboards that include a lot of Chinese instruments and I love a lot of those. It’s a pity you didn’t show us more of those, however I can understand not everyone like them but I do. Overall for a low price as this one and with a couple of nice sounds in it. Yes, I think I would like to play something on it. O, and let’s not forget the pedal. That’s also nice. So, thank you for sharing and playing. Btw the song on the musicbox sound sounds really good.

Donner didn't get back to me when I suggested a slogan for them: "When you think Donner - think party".

LOVE your reviews. Will probably get a Kawai MP11SE because of your reviews of it soon :) I only have one request or piece of feedback concerning the reviews: It would be really useful to have time markings or some kind of index/table of contents to find specific aspects of the review, since the videos are quite long and as a viewer I don't always have the time required to watch the entire review or search for the information I'm really looking for.

Would you recommend this for advanced classical if I were primarily using this as a Midi instrument on my computer with a VST? Is the dynamic range of the sound limited because of samples or the keys themself? I'm looking for an overall well-actioned keyboard, as closest to an acoustic it can get at around this budget.

Thank you for the information

What a thorough review on the very affordable and pretty good quality Donner DP 20 digital piano❣Thank You. My first $399 dollars digital piano Roland GO:Piano88 has poor key actions. It's hard to play fast with the noise between my fingers and the keyboard. I am at level of late beginner piano. My next digital piano in two years will be a Yamaha P125, Yamaha DGX660 or Kawai ES110.

21:38 fills me with DETERMINATION

I'm going to buy one, as a beginner I think it sounds great.

I have no intention of buying a new keyboard/piano cause I already had a yamaha that I got 11 years ago yet I still watch all your new videos lol. keep up the good review !

When he said a piece many of you may recognize, I already had a feeling of what he was gonna play. I love it

21:42

Will you be using gram weights on the keys to indicate how exactly heavy the Donner DEP-20 keys are?

Thanks for actually playing it! Too many videos where someone plays 3 notes, talks 11 minutes, play for 5 seconds, speaks another 17, then... video over.

Great commentary.

I just got a DEP-20 on a Black Friday sale. $350 Delivered - and its the model with the full stand and 3-pedals. A couple quick comments in case anyone else is considering this model. The wood "base" is particle board, but solid and looks quite nice. It's easy to assemble and requires only a screwdriver. While everyone raves about the 25W speakers, I'm totally underwhelmed. They are BOTTOM firing speakers - the grills on top seem to be only for show. To me, playing with the sound coming out the bottom of the piano, instead of the top sounds "weird and unnatural". Headphones or an external amp solves this of course. Sound quality is what I expected for $350. Not great, but absolutely sufficient for a beginning pianist like myself. The weighted keys feel really really nice to my novice hands. I'm sure an experienced pianist would recognize it's not truly an acoustic feel but it's good enough for me. They keyboard feel is my favorite feature. My unit came defective - I'm working with Donner to get it fixed. If you turn the unit on for a minute or two before making a voice selection, the display doesn't change. The voices DOES change, but the display still indicates the default voice 000. There's no intro, outro, or fills for the rhythm accompaniments so start and end of songs are abrupt. This is a feature I truly miss as I was hoping to utilize them when I'm better. Overall I am happy with my purchase - it was $350 including the nice stand and 3 pedals - but this is a beginner model with corners cut to keep the price down. I still feel is an excellent first choice.

I'm getting the Donner DDP 300 in the mail soon. Do you like that one? and how much more better is it compared to this 20?

Hi, have y’all heard of the DDP-80? I’m new to the piano world and appreciate this review comparing the Yamaha and the Alexis but I stumbled upon this wood based Donner 88 weighted keyboard and wondered about how it would compare with these other 2 heavyweights. Any advice would be much appreciated. Also, price point comparable at $479. Looking for my daughter who just started taking lessons.

I was drawn to this purely because of the weighted keys at this price-point. The sound doesn't really matter to me since I would be using it as MIDI and running it through a DAW with Keyscape or something of that sort.. Does anyone know of any other cost-friendly fully weighted DP's / 88 key MIDI controller or keyboard, or is this the best option?

I trust his reviews

Nice review. Do the pedals have or support progressive dampening? Hopefully that's the right term. I'm looking at this for my daughter to practice at home with.

this looks like a yamaha p105. generally these companies promote themselves as hardware manufacturer, and will ultimately work with overseas partners with software strength to complete the whole system. we'll most probably see it again abroad in a bunch of different brand names, just like how madeli is doing for roland, beale etc.

thank you for this video

I have a older Kawia M-8000 control surface that I use in studio and midi. It’s in need of some repairs. How would this be in comparison far as the action and feel of the keys. Is it also midi

is it possible to use VST instruments if connected via midi to your pc through a soundcard that has midi connections? thanks

I have been looking for videos to see if you can export what you record to the USB drive port in the back. Can this be done? If so, could you do a tutorial on how to do so? New to your channel and I appreciate your help!!!

The video is very informational. Can you consider to review Donner DEP-10 model as well to compare with DEP-20 as I saw other comments over internet saying they are essentially the same in terms of the action. Thanks again.

Thanks for the vid. Does the keyboard have separate volume controls (keyboard/backing)?

I'm new to your channel and digital pianos. I'm interested in updating my "learning piano." How does this Donner DEP-20 compare to the Roland GO 88?

The price is good, within that price range. It's extremely good if you consider it has 88 keys. Thanks for the presentation.

How good or bad is similarly priced Artesia pe88 board?🙂

please tell me whats the best action of any digital stage piano?. thank you

would the velocity be better when plugged into a computer usiing midi?

Have you done a review on the Casio CDP 135?

Reminds of the early KIA cars, ,give Donner a couple years, lots of potential. They should work on the issues you’ve highlighted for them ( idiots if they don’t). Excellent review. Just remember, resale value will not be as high ( % wise) as the others.

...the Donner DEP-20 has a 'Euro-jack' for a triple pedal setup...as well as the usual 1/4" sustain pedal jack...definitely a plus...

can you check the Studiologic Numa Compact 2

What is the name of the first piece you played in the review? I really admire it.

Between this donner dep-20 and a Yamaha Piaggero NP 31 which do you recommend?!? ☺️☺️ thank you in advance !

Which one is better Alesis Recital Pro or Donner Dep-20?

When he busted out the minecraft I was sold

can it be used as MIDI? 88 keys with speed for 399 would be great

In the video you stated you cannot get the chord function to work. The chord function only works when the rhythm is playing. Turn on the rhythm, then it works fine.

Would you recommend the Donner DEP 20 or the alesis prestige artist?

What song did he play at 7 minutes?

which one is better ? the donner dep-20 or the thomann dp-26? they both have the same price and hammer mechanics

If you are going to learn classical piano is this going to be as good as a secondhand Yamaha P45 or an older flagship like a Korg sp500?

I would love to see your view of the Roland Go Piano.

Please do a review on the Alesia Recital Pro.

could you do the DEP-10 or at least tell me the difference? It's 100 dollars cheaper and I don't know the difference between the 10 and 20.

Recently purchased this Donner DEP-20. It sounds great, but the Left Speaker has no sound. I have seen that other keyboards can be "factory reset", by pushing on of the keys and the on/off switch. Does that work for the Donner Dep-20 as well?

could u please give me a link to this piano?

Could you do reviews of the Yamaha Arius and Clavinova series of products?

I want this for my birthday or Christmas, Ive only played for 2 years so I think its good enough, I have a rockJam one and I can hear the plastic, anything will be better than that

I already bought one so, after only watching the intro so far, I hope it is good ...

These cheap instrument reviews by you are really entertaining --but very informational as well. Those extreme toy versions are a crack up. It makes me wonder if we're going to see something like a kids bathtub xylophone in the future. lol.

This is better than I thought it would be! I am just starting out at 54. I am considering a KORG D1 for the RH3 action, which is twice as much. Do you think the Donner would last though my beginning phase? Or do you think I would be better served with a better keyboard action which might carry me farther in my lessons? Great review as always! :)

What song is at 7:20? Shazam keeps giving me random edm songs

James, I wish I had half of your energy. When you played the "Hammond" organ, it was evident it had a simulated Leslie rotating. Is there a way to adjust the speed of or at least on/off the Leslie?

What about using it as a MIDI controller with speakers, and playing iPhone/iPad Roland Module out to its internal speakers? You've got Ivory samples available there. I think there's room in the market for a device meant to be a controller/speaker combo for use with the amazing device they're already carrying and might be using on the music desk to display their sheet music anyway. Even if the internal sounds are poor, good controller and internal speakers are nice as long as the latency is good.

The DP20 is the same as the DP120? Any differences similarities?

how many years have you been playing piano ?

A lot of value for the money but the "violin" sounded more like a bagpipe -- especially in the upper registers.

great review :) what's the name of the piece played at 16:00 ?

🤣Concussion percussion !!! Thanks for another great review.

The sound is grating. Didn’t change my mind about buying the P125, still doing that.

Would love to see a review on the Alesis Recital Pro and the iNovus i88 (both about the same price as the Donner)

What is the song you play at 14:24

Would you recommend the DEP20 to use it for stage or gigs?

I love your videos and I value your opinion. I am 51 and looking to start out learning piano and I would like to know which keyboard out these 3 you would recommend ? I am looking at the Donner DEP-20, Alesis Recital Pro and the YAMAHA P71. I would like to know your opinion if you don’t mind. I do not plan on doing any kind of recording or creating music, just want to learn how to play piano... Thanks...

Can you do a review on Souidmy G-310W?

What is the name of the first song he played?

come suono del piano è meglio questo oppure la tastiera Alesis pro?

No hammer action I'm guessing at this price range. That EP2 sound was definitely supposed to be an FM EP, the weird resonance is actually not too dissimilar from the op amp noise on early yamaha FM-based DPs (like the first run of CVPs) and synths, they are quite noisy. Would be neat to hear your take on some kurzweils at some point, the PC4 and/or forte especially.

Very good sound

May I know where is from?

Do you buy this or get a good second hand branded digital piano?

What do you recommend for someone that would like a beginning piano for a beginning player in two categories - under $500 and under $1000?

the Donner DEP-20 looks like the Yamaha p115

How would you think this compares to Yamaha P71? It's a P45 that is only available on Amazon, currently for $445.00, about 80 bucks more.