Let’s face it - the microPiano looks cute. In fact, its novel appearance is bound to be one of the reasons why a lot of people invest in it.

The big talking point is the lid, which can be propped up to reveal the speakers, controls and battery compartment (it takes six AAs or can be mains powered). Having this up does have a slight impact on the tone of the instrument, though it’s hard to say whether it makes it sound better or worse.

The microPiano’s speakers are just about powerful enough to fill a room, though we did encounter a little bit of rattling from them when playing certain sounds at higher volume levels.

The lid itself feels solid and has a nice shiny (though easily scratchable) finish. We had it in black, but it’s also available in red and white. The rest of the case, however, is plastic, which does cheapen the overall effect.

One point to make is that the controls can only be accessed when the lid is up, so if you’re going to need to adjust the volume or change the sound during your performance, that’s the way it will have to be.

What’s more, because sounds/songs are selected with a combination of a button and key press and there’s no display, you need to keep the reference sheet handy (unless you’re able to memorise which sounds/songs correspond to which key, that is).