Donner DEP-10 Review

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We rated the Donner DEP-10 a 7/10. The DEP-10 is a full-sized digital piano with half-weighted keys. The piano comes with 8 tones. It has MIDI transpose, comes with a pedal control, and dual voice function, and comes with a sustain pedal. If you are in the market for an economical piano to get a young student started on, the DEP-10 is a decent choice. While we wish it had more tones and more weight, it will suit beginners just fine.

$308.99

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We rated the Donner DEP-10 a 7/10. The DEP-10 is a full-sized digital piano with half-weighted keys. The piano comes with 8 tones. It has MIDI transpose, comes with pedal control, dual voice function, and comes with a sustain pedal. If you are in the market for an economical piano to get a young student started on, the DEP-10 is a decent choice. While we wish it had more tones and more weight, it will suit beginners just fine.

Donner DEP-10 Overview

Donner DEP-10 review

In this Donner DEP-10 review, we will be checking out the features of this simple, economical beginner keyboard.

The Donner DEP-10 is a full-sized 88-key digital keyboard. The keybed is half-weighted. The instrument comes with two built-in speakers, as well as a zinc alloy sustain pedal. This Donner is only about $300, so it is perfect for those on a tight budget who are just starting out. 

Donner 

The company Donner is a musical instrument retailer that makes keyboards, guitars, effects pedals, winds, children’s instruments, and more. They are based out of China, where all of their instruments are manufactured. 

Donner isn’t a well-known brand like Casio, Yamaha, or Roland, but they make great digital pianos for beginners to intermediates. So, let’s see what the DEP-10 is all about! 

Donner DEP-10 Features

8 Total Tones

The soundbank of this Donner DEP is small but mighty. It features acoustic pianos, grand pianos, and other keyboard instruments.

The 8 tones on the Donner DEP-10 include 

  • Acoustic Grand Piano
  • Bright Acoustic Piano
  • Electric Grand Piano
  • Chorus Piano
  •  Harpsichord
  •  Vibrating Harp
  • Church Organ 
  • Strings Ensemble

The acoustic grand piano sound is a favorite amongst musicians. It is truly rich and helps make up for the lack of quantity, in quality. 

Matte Finish

The matte finish on the DEP-10’s keyboard has some texture to it. This helps players fingers grip the keys better, and prevents finger slippage. 

Included Zinc Alloy Sustain Pedal 

I love that this instrument has included a high-quality sustain pedal. Typically, beginner keyboards either don’t include one, or include a flimsy one that breaks in less than a month with light use. This zinc alloy sustain pedal is a great addition to the instrument package. 

One Finger Chords

Yamaha keyboards are known for the one-finger chord feature, but Donner has this, too! One-finger chords are a great way to get new students interested in practicing one-handed melodies. 

25 Watt Internal Speakers 

The two built-in 25-watt speakers are powerful enough for home practice, and for coffee shop gigs. You won’t have to buy external speakers, which is a big pro in my book. 

Dual Voice Function

Dual voice allows you to pair multiple sounds, such as organ and piano, together. While there aren’t a ton of voices on the DEP-10, the dual voice function helps to open up more sound possibilities. 

MIDI Transpose

MIDI transpose allows you to take the notes you played and move them up or down. This is great for when you are working with a vocalist who needs to change the key of the song. This feature plays to intermediates who make be dipping their toes into a little bit of music production. 

Presets, Backing Tracks, and Demos

This instrument has 30 demo songs and backing tracks. You will also have 200 different rhythms at your fingertips. 

Pedal Control for Teaching

If you are a teacher looking for a beginner piano to purchase for use in your studio, the Donner DEP-10 is a great option.

Specifications

Donner DEP-10 price

  • Piano Type: Digital Piano
  • Effects: Reverb
  • Power adapter: 12V/DC, 3A
  • Size : 133* 29.5* 18.5
  • Key material: Plastic & ABS
  • Body material: Plastic
  • Pedal material: Metal
  • Other materials: Wire, Plastic

Specifications sourced from.

Who Is It Suitable For?

The Donner DEP-10 is best suited for those who are just getting started. It has great basic piano sounds, and just enough extras to keep it fun and exciting. 

It’s no secret that the Donner DEP-10 is not a top-of-the-line instrument. This Donner will also suit the needs of a piano teacher looking for an economical beginner digital keyboard for their private lessons studio. Lastly, gigging pros who want a sturdy yet basic piano 

The Donner in Action

In this video, Cole Lamb reviews and plays on the Donner DEP-10.

Here are some key points from this review: 

  • At 1:50 you can hear Cole playing the basic piano tone. Honestly? It sounds better than we expect! It’s lush and realistic. 
  • Cole really liked the amount of polyphony on this beginner instrument
  • He also says the sustain pedal that comes with it is really high-quality. He said ‘It’s sturdy, not a flappy one!’
  • At 7:30 we get a taste of dual mode, with piano and harpsichord
  • 8:00 in we get a taste of the acoustic grand, the Donner D-10’s most popular sound
  • 9:00 you can hear the organ in My Country Tis of Thee. For the price, it’s not bad!
  • We hear the string ensemble at 10:00. It sounds kind of canned, but I’ll let you decide how you feel about the sound yourself! 
  • The harp at 10:20 is quite nice

Cole said this is a respectable beginner piano, but not to expect the functions and features of a pro piano, on any beginner keyboard. I completely agree with him! The Donner DEP-10 is a good instrument for newbies, especially if they aren’t sure how far they’ll want to advance into keyboard lessons. 

Amazon Reviews

This instrument was rated 4.6 out of 5 stars on Amazon. Let’s see what the customers had to say about it! 

Here is what customers liked about the Donner DEP-10:

  • It is simple, feels good, and has a great price
  • One customer really liked how there were two headphone inputs instead of just one
  • It is light, which some reviewers enjoyed
  • It is well made
  • Another customer liked how many effects, beat types, and tempos there were
  • You can take it anywhere
  • The speakers are powerful enough for home practice or even small gigs
  • The Acoustic Piano sound is really nice
  • It feels a lot smoother than the unweighted beginner pianos that are out there
  • It feels balanced
  • The instrument has pre-recorded songs to play along to 
  • It has one-finger chords to help fill out your sound
  • It has lots of extra features that you can learn about in the manual

Most of the Amazon reviews that I saw had 5 stars. The customers seemed to be overwhelmingly happy with the instrument as a whole. 

Here is what they didn’t:

  • It takes a little while for younger students to learn all of the buttons and button combinations: You will need to make friends with the manual
  • The keyboard was a little bulkier than they expected
  • It does not come with a stand
  • The keys spring up faster than full-weighted pianos do
  • The dynamics are not as responsive as some intermediate to pro pianos they tried
  • It was a little stiff, but other than that, the features and every else about the instrument were great

The big thing that stood out in the negative Amazon reviews was the action. Because this is a half-weighted keyboard, you’ll definitely be wanting to try this one out in stores before you buy it.

Pros and Cons

Donner DEP-10 keyboard

Pros

    • This instrument has built-in speakers, so those just starting out won’t have to worry about connecting external ones
  • It has a full-sized keyboard
  • This instrument is very economical
    • The interface is simple and easy to use
    • It has a chorus effect
    • It has split mode, so you can use two sounds at once
    • The metronome has 4 types of beats
    • The DEP-10 has a pedal socket and supports 3-pedal units
    • Has a MIDI interface inside
    • Also compatible with MP3, making it versatile when it comes to connections
  • It is only 18 pounds, making it extremely portable for those on the go
    • In addition to this, it is slim and designed for small spaces
  • It comes with a sustain pedal

For just above $300, there’s a lot to like! 

Cons

  • The Donner DEP-10 does not have adjustable touch sensitivity
  • It only has partial weight (It is not fully weighted)
  • There are only 8 total sounds
  • It does not have duo mode

Quick View 

Keys 88 half-weighted keys
Touch sensitivity  No
Sounds 8 total voices
Recording capabilities  Built-in record, USB to MIDI
Metronome Yes
Polyphony  128 notes
Speakers Yes- Two built-in 25W speakers
Headphones Input available
Accessories Zinc alloy sustain pedal and power adapter included
Price point  $308.99

Comparable Instruments

The instrument that is most often compared to the Donner DEP-10 is the Donner DEP-20. In my opinion, the Donner DEP-20 is a much higher quality instrument than the Donner DEP-10. Here’s what the 20 has to offer us:

  • Fully weighted keys 
  • A larger sound library (238 voices)
  • Adjustable touch sensitivity 
  • Chorus

For only about $80 more, you can get more than 200 more voices, adjustable touch sensitivity, the full weight instead of half weight, and the chorus effect. I would recommend the DEP-20 over the DEP-10 any day. Sorry, DEP-10!

Donner DEP-20 all playing, no talking video.

Donner DEP-20 link to purchase:

Other instruments that are comparable to the Donner DEP-10 that you may enjoy include: 

  • Yamaha P-45
  • Alesis Recital Pro
  • DDP-90

Donner DEP-10 Conclusion

In conclusion, the Donner DEP-10 is a solid piano for starters. While it doesn’t have very many voices in its sound bank, the rock bottom price, rhythms, recording capabilities, and lightweight still make it an ideal beginner piano for many students. 

Come back next week to learn about the Roland RD-2000, a high-quality digital stage piano! 

Music quote of the week: 

“Music is like a psychiatrist. You can tell your guitar things that you can’t tell people. And it will answer you with things people can’t tell you.”

– Paul McCartney

7Expert Score
Donner DEP-10 Review We rated the Donner DEP-10 a 7/10. The DEP-10 is a full-sized digital piano with half-weighted keys. The piano comes with 8 tones. It has MIDI transpose, comes with a pedal control, and dual voice function, and comes with a sustain pedal. If you are in the market for an economical piano to get a young student started on, the DEP-10 is a decent choice. While we wish it had more tones and more weight, it will suit beginners just fine.
PROS
  • This instrument has built-in speakers, so those just starting out won’t have to worry about connecting external ones
  • It has a full-sized keyboard
  • This instrument is very economical
  • The interface is simple and easy to use
  • It has a chorus effect
  • It has split mode, so you can use two sounds at once
  • The metronome has 4 types of beats
  • The DEP-10 has a pedal socket and supports 3-pedal units
  • It has a MIDI interface inside
  • It is also compatible with MP3, making it versatile when it comes to connections
  • It is only 18 pounds, making it extremely portable for those on the go
  • In addition to this, it is slim, and designed for small spaces
  • It comes with a sustain pedal
CONS
  • The Donner DEP-10 does not have adjustable touch sensitivity
  • It only has partial weight (It is not fully weighted)
  • There are only 8 total sounds
  • It does not have duo mode

Videos: Donner DEP-10 Review

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