TAHORNG, a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, has released the ORIPIA 88, a compact, foldable 88-key piano. Even though it’s compact, when unfolded it has the same width as an actual 88-key piano!

88-key but compact

The biggest feature of the ORIPIA 88 is that, as its name implies, it’s a foldable (ori) piano (pia).

When collapsed, the ORIPIA 88 can fit easily onto a bookshelf. It’s just the right size to carry around, and it even comes with a carrying bag.（see photo below for the box it comes in）

Size

When folded: 331×126×85 mm

When opened: 1318×126×22 mm

Weight: 1.6Kg

It’s about the same weight as a notebook PC.

In the box you’ll also find a sustain pedal, and a USB cable. The sustain pedal is of the small footswitch type, and is very compact.

The joints are made so that you can easily snap them into place when unfolding the unit.

Our impression after playing it? The keys are the same width as on a full-size piano, and there is ample depth to the touch of the keys themselves. However, the length of the keys is slightly less than that of a full size piano. We think this is a result of the unit’s size and as portability.

The difference between this and a mini-keyboard is that when playing, there’s no discomfort or unnaturalness with your fingers, as far as key width is concerned. So, you can play it very naturally. We think this may be the biggest feature of the ORIPIA 88.

Internal Speakers

Even though the ORIPIA 88 is foldable, and very thin, it comes with a set of internal 2W stereo speakers, located at the far left and right sides of the unit. The unit can be charged over USB, and then run off an internal battery. This makes for even greater portability, seeing as you can take it with you and play wherever you’re going. There’s a headphone output on the rear panel, so you can use headphones with it as well, though the output is mono.

USB connectivity

The ORIPIA 88 is first and foremost a foldable, 88-key piano, but on the rear panel you’ll find a USB connector, which allows it to be used as a MIDI controller keyboard with your PC! This is another big feature.

Of course, you can take this and your notebook PC, wherever you may be going, and use the set to run your DAW, which is very convenient. But, you can also use it with a desktop PC, especially in places where a full-size 88-key controller would be impractical or impossible. It’s easily connected, and easily folded away for storage when not in use. This is just one way you could use the ORIPIA 88, when space is a priority.

Because it’s a compact keyboard, it doesn’t respond to velocity unfortunately, but even so, as it transmits a fixed velocity to your PC, you can edit that to your liking within your DAW. Looking at this from another perspective, having a fixed velocity enables you to do away with fine details as far as velocities go, and is perfectly suited for electronic and techno music, where velocity might not be such a big necesssity.

Other Features

On the left panel we find:

・Left/Right Arrows, Tone Button
　The Tone button allows you to choose a sound from one of the 128 GM sounds on board, which are displayed by number on the LCD.

・Trans
　Transpose

・Tone／Tempo
　The ORIPIA 88 has 128 kinds of auto-accompaniment patterns to play along with. You can choose rhythms and play the auto-accompaniment with your left hand, while soloing with your right. The Tempo button controls both the playback and the tempo.

・BPM／Metronome
　A metronome is included, and you can set the BPM here.

・Volume
　Controls the volume output.

The ORIPIA 88 is compact, but it has features that surpass its size. You can also use a portable battery connected to the USB port to charge or power the unit.

DAW connectivity & the MIDITEC PIANOBOX PRO

In our Demo & Review Video, we connect the ORIPIA 88 over USB to our DAW, and then use it to drive an externa sound module, and even do some simple recording.

The sound module is the MIDITECH PIANOBOX PRO, from Germany. The big feature of this module is that the sound engine is the same as the company that brought us the PROTEUS and EMULATOR—E-MU SYSTEMS. There are even some famous vintage sounds included, and it utilizes the GM standard too, for 16-channel multi-timbral use.

For more about this, be sure to check out the video.

Demo & Review Video

You can get an idea of the size and playability of the unit by watching the video. It sure is a unique product in that you’d be hard pressed to find another device that is an 88-key piano as well as being a MIDI controller keyboard, with a handful of other features to boot.

Sales Info (Japan only)

by musictrack