Donner Keyboard Piano 61 Key, Electric Keyboard Kit with 249 Voices, 249 Rhythms - Includes Piano Stand, Stool, Microphone, Gift for Beginners, Pink(DEK-610S)

My wife was interested in learning how to play piano, and figured a keyboard would be the perfect learning tool. I had an old Casio (we're talking 20 years old), but wanted her to have something that would be a little more...updated. That's when I stumbled on this keyboard. I've heard the Donner name a few times (own one of their capos, an Alchemy effects pedal, and have heard good things about their ukeleles), and it seemed to have a lot of tools that would encourage her to learn, and at a great price to match. I mean, a full-size keyboard for under $100? There aren't too many of those floating around.This is a great keyboard for beginners, or even some intermediate players looking to hone their skills. It's made of plastic, but doesn't feel cheap, and the buttons also feel sturdy; I wouldn't go so far as to say that I'd feel comfortable taking it gigging, but for home practice it's a good fit. I'd say the build quality is pretty much on par with my old Casio, but at a much lower price point. It's also much lighter and less bulky, which makes moving it around a breeze, even for my short wife. It can be powered using batteries (just 6 AA, much more practical than the 6 "C" batteries required for my old keyboard), or the included AC adapter, and even has an automatic setting that disables draining of the batteries when the AC cord is plugged in.There's a large library of "voices" (500 of them!) that range from standard (piano, guitar) to more exotic, so you should have no troubles finding a sound that will fit your mood (or envisioned musical project). We haven't had time to noodle with them all yet, but ones I've heard are useable, and good for the price point. Personally, I wouldn't use most of them in any serious recordings, but for demos, or singalong practice, or posts to social media, they will fit the bill quite nicely.The electronic display is crisp and, for the most part, easily readable: the only drawback is the finger diagram, as it can be hard to see which fingers are being highlighted when you're playing along. Outside of that, though, it clearly lists all activated settings, and even has cool treble/bass clef staffs that highlight the notes you're playing as you press them (or in the case of learning mode, the notes that you are supposed to press). This can not only help users learn to read music, but also to quickly transcribe cool "riffs" and melodies for later use.Overall, this is an excellent keyboard for the price point, as long as you go in with the right expectations: this isn't something that's going to blow you away with its tonal qualities or versatility. But it has virtually every feature a budding pianist could want, including MIDI connectivity, a headphone jack to practice even in quiet surroundings, dozens of songs to practice along to, and a handy music stand. If you're looking to learn and don't want to waste a lot of money (who does?), there's no need to look any further.

Well packed, easy to assemble, and really fun to use!!

update: after a few other adventures (because of the flimsiness of the stand, the keyboard fell and the headphones cord broke in, and wasn't able to hear the sound anymore, nor use headphones), mic has its own personality and it's working at its own will, on and off). Donner reached out and they refunded me in full, and let me keep everything. I was able to mess with the headphone port and get the keyboard to have sound again, but i still can't use a headphone and the port is now compromised :(. the stand is still flimsy and annoying to no end. the seller, however, said this is not how it's supposed to be. they stood by their product. I would definitely give another chance to the keyboard itself (aka buy it again), having the confidence in good customer service. but not sure about the stand, really. Anyways, added a full star for the customer service. still taking one star off for all the nuisance with the stand, low-quality mic, and lack of stickers.purchased this for my 7 yr old. I have zero previous experience with buying a real instrument.cons:-keys are NOT pressure sensitive (aka sound is the same regardless how hard/easy you press the keys)-keys are NOT weighted, not even semi-weighted- a lot of the sounds advertised as different are VERY-VERY similar; some even don't sound as i think they are supposed to - for example a quitar sound, sounds anything but (at least as far as I can tell = we've only had it for a few days, and it might be an user error, but it's strange to say the least - pushing the guitar button and it still sounds like a piano)-i can't figure out how to revert to the "default" piano sound, when you're done with a certain effect/tone etc. meaning, there isn't a way to stop an added effect and keep playing; had to completely turn off and then back on (again, might be there, but it's not intuitive)-and now the biggest pain point for me: the stand. IT's A JOKE. I fear that if I turn the AC to full power it will come down. I'm not kidding!! It's wabbly like a toddler learning to walk. it shakes like a jell-o! Again, I'm not kidding; i'm being plastic, but not funny. I wish i just bought the keyboard alone, and then a stand vy itself. Chair is fine, though.- mic it's basically a toy (broke after 30 mins of using and a drop from 43 in)-we didn't get the stickers eitherpros:-seems like a sturdy instrument, looks good-sound quality is good-multiple ports (USB, sound in, sound out, allows for sustain pedal)-versatile, fun-teaching model-metronome-dual tone(split)-recording/playback-master vol+accompanying sound volother:-volume is loud on some sounds and not so much on others-cord extremely short (3 ft I think)-haven't tried batteries yetAll in all I would say I'm pretty happy with the keyboard itself (for the price point), but utterly disappointed with the stand.I'll update if anything changes or want to add more details.