Mikes Music Room – Music Articles

10 Comments

1. 

   J. C. says:

   Rating

   I bought this digital piano/keyboard several months back and I find it to be an excellent digital (recreational) piano.

   I decide to buy this model because it has sequencer built in it (to start composing), has quite realistic piano sounds (other sounds sound a bit cheesy though), and looks great! Its however a bit on the heavy side so if you plan on taking it out for performances, I would look to buy a true portable/stage piano.

   Several things I noticed about this piano
   
   1)for the piano sounds, at first the sounds don’t seem like they sustain for as long as the real piano. But then, after I played around with the reverb and the chorus effect, its now sustaining as long as a real piano would.
   
   2) the keys are slightly heavier, and maybe even a little more sluggish than an acoustic piano (which I have). The piano sounds, although sound very realistic, lacks the depth/variation of an acoustic (shouldn’t be surprising though). So if you are planning on advacing your piano playing skills, this is not the piano to practice/play on for too long.
   
   3) there should be some presets for quickly linking to various instruments/styles/effects. Its nearly impossible to change voices quick enough in the middle of the song due to having to find the voice/style/effect with the wheel/keypad. Not a big problem if you don’t change your settings in the middle of the song (which I don’t) but if you plan on playing complicated compositions, this is not the model you are looking for. I bypass this issue using the sequencer.
   
   4) the onboard speakers are adequate for a moderate sized living room at maximum setting. I haven’t found it necessary to buy supplemental speakers but if you plan to use in a hall, probably need to supplement it with more powerful speakers.
   
   5) the sustain pedal that comes with the piano is alright but I would get the FC4 as the factory pedal has too little depth, which sometimes makes it hard to know whether its really engaged or not. I also think the 3 pedal system is probably not necessary as it gives “soft”- which you can turn down the volume, “sustain”, which you can do with factroy sustain pedal or FC4, or “sustenuto” which you probably shouldn’t have to use if you are playing advanced piano compositions requiring sustenuto not supposedly to be played on a digital piano in the first place – above just my opinion about the 3 pedal system.

   Overall, after comparing it with numerous other models (casio/roland/korg/yamaha), I think this is an overall best beginner/intermediate recreational digital piano with a excellent piano sounds and with loads of features for an excellent price.

   August 26, 2010, 9:25 pm
2. 

   L says:

   Rating

   I am not musically inclined. I bought this so that my son could learn to play the piano. This keyboard is working fine for this purpose. It has all the keys of grand piano, and they are weighted which his teacher says is important. My son tells me the keys on the Yamaha are a little harder to press than the piano his music teacher uses for his lessons. I suppose that’s better than being easier to press. He has to build up his finger strength. The teacher’s piano is not a grand. I don’t know how the Yamaha’s keys compare to a grand piano’s.

   My son also enjoys all the different voices on the Yamaha, when he’s just fooling around. Maybe this will help keep his interest. Time will tell.

   My family is very pleased with this keyboard, and recommend it to others.

   August 26, 2010, 9:57 pm
3. 

   John B. Sandlin says:

   Rating

   The Yamaha YPG-635 is an excellent value. There are a few things I think Yamaha could have done better, and thus the four star rating. In summary: Good sound, great keyboard, great value.

   The Good:

   This keyboard has excellent and realistic keyboard action. I played on several at a music store to see which of the various brands felt best. To my fingers at least, none of the keyboards in the price range felt any better (and even many that cost more didn’t feel as real). It’s easily within the normal variation of real piano keyboards. This was the key deciding factor for picking this keyboard.

   The Grand Piano voice is good, easily acceptable. There are better sounding piano voices; typically found only in instruments at twice the price.

   The general MIDI spread of voices is decent, and many are top quality. The extended voices are very good as well, but are obviously synthetic. Two of the deciding factors for me were the 64 note polyphony and the general MIDI compatibility. I play a lot of MIDI files and my old keyboard was not general MIDI compatible (it had the voices on the wrong patches). Many songs overrun the 28 note polyphony of my old synth; they do not on the YPG. I’m sure I could create sequences that need more that 64 note polyphony, but for the most part, 64 is enough (128 would be great, though).

   For a complex keyboard, most of the functions are easy to use. For the complex things, there is a menu selection system and scroll wheel that I’ve found works fairly well. When I’m actually playing the keyboard and not running MIDI files through it, I prefer to use the “Grand Piano” button and have it simply be a piano. Easy.

   The Value is amazing. There are cheaper keyboards with as many voices. There are keyboards with as nice or nicer sounding voices. The combination of price and voices, at least for me, meets in the middle on this instrument.

   The USB-to-HOST port and associated drivers work with Windows 7 (64 bit). I was worried as my previous MIDI interface doesn’t. I have several MIDI capable devices and was planning to replace my no-longer-compatible MIDI interface box (and still may since I still have the other MIDI devices). See my note in the “the Bad” section about the lack of standard MIDI ports.

   The Neither Good nor Bad:

   OK, the title for this section is a little humorous (I know, very little). The points I want to make, though, fit in neither the good nor bad, but are comments on advertising hype and expectations.

   The advertising claims the Piano voice is the best… their words are: “You’re never more than a button push away from the most realistic piano sound in portable keyboards today.” I have to quibble with two parts. This keyboard, at 70 pounds or so, isn’t all that portable (unless you’re a professional musician with Roadies to move your stuff), and the sound is good, but not the best since Yamaha’s pro-Line portable stage piano’s have even better sound (along with much higher price tags).

   The display isn’t big. They advertise playing songs from the score display. You probably won’t. It’s big enough you could and small enough you won’t want to.

   The wood doesn’t seem to be real wood, but more like the particle board with veneer like that of cheap furniture (well, it’s a fairly cheap digital piano, so I guess that fits, huh?). However, it is solid (and 70 pounds or so).

   The auto-accompaniment isn’t as feature rich as I expected moving up from my ancient PSR synth. There are more choices, but fewer controls over them. Perhaps I just haven’t learned them yet.

   The Bad:

   As mentioned a few times in other reviews, the volume isn’t impressive. A real piano would easily drown out the YPG audio output. Not an issue if you listen on headphones or are in a small room – just be aware, a large room, like a church or club, will swallow the sound of the keyboard and not even burp. Of course, if you want, you could add amplified speakers or feed it to a PA, but there will be a signal to noise issue since you’re using a headphone jack as the keyboard does not have Line-Out jacks. I realize the YPG isn’t a pro-line instrument and Line-out is a pro-level feature.

   Speaking of the headphone jack, it’s on the back side of the keyboard, behind the music rest. A really awkward spot if you ask me. On the front would be much better. This is a minor deficiency.

   While we’re on the back of the instrument, the USB to Device (for flash drives) is on the back of the keyboard and hard to get to if you have the keyboard near a wall. I bought a 30 inch USB Extension cable so I can plug and unplug my flash drive more easily. Not a show stopper, and not an issue if you don’t use a flash drive, but how hard would it have been to put it on the front.

   The MIDI implementation is Yamaha’s USB to Host connection. You can’t use a MIDI controller to use the sounds of the YPG, or use the YPG to control an external tone module unless you have a computer handy – it doesn’t have the standard 5 pin DIN MIDI ports. I thought long and hard about this before deciding I could live without standard MIDI ports. If you need the standard MIDI jacks, think about another keyboard.

   Conclusion:

   The YPG-635 is an excellent value, you do get what you pay for and there are a couple of compromises and quirks at this price level. The combinations of features, though, are well worth the price. The sound is good, the keyboard action very good, and the good points far out-weigh the bad points.

   It doesn’t come with a cover, but Amazon sells one that fits: Musician’s Gear 88 Key Stretchy Keyboard Cover.

   August 27, 2010, 1:43 pm
4. 

   always skeptical says:

   Rating

   The other reviews cover the good points: the keyboard, the sounds, and the features. So, I’d like to cover one relatively small disappointment: the maximum volume. The built-in speakers seem decent enough, but the keyboard needs to be played at maximum volume in order to be heard.

   We bought this keyboard so that a parent could play along with our kid during practice. We have an upright piano with above-average projection (i.e., loudness). The YPG-635 isn’t as loud as our acoustic upright even at maximum volume, so we find ourselves playing with the volume set to max most of the time.

   Most people probably won’t find this a limitation, but if you want to perform for a small group with this keyboard, you may want external amplification.

   BTW, this keyboard appears to be identical to the DGX-630, so buy whichever is less expensive.

   August 27, 2010, 7:30 pm
5. 

   Ritand Wright says:

   Rating

   This was a replacement for our Yamaha Clavinova CLP-311 (ten years old). The power button broke and the repair places I talked to said that it can be hard to get parts for any keyboard over about 5 years.

   We decided to get this because:
   
   1. It fit our budget
   
   2. We live in a town home and need the option of headphones
   
   3. I hope the “bells” and “whistles” make it fun for my kids to play.
   
   4. Looks nicer than a keyboard on an X stand, but is still small and easy to move

   My initial response after purchasing it and bring it home is:

   1. Not too hard to set up, though you do need two people to move the 70LB box and for about 5 minutes of the assembly. Two phillips screwdrivers and follow easy directions and it was done in about 20 minutes.
   
   2. Sounds more like a keyboard to me (slightly softer quality of sound when compared to an acoustic piano)than when I tried it in the store, though better than what I had before
   
   3. “Wood” is coated particle board and there is an awful lot of plastic that these screws are going into. I really wonder how it will hold up.
   
   4. My girls like it so far

   For lessons now, I think it will be okay, but if any of us get more serious, then I would really feel like I needed to invest in a better alternative.

   August 28, 2010, 2:18 am
6. 

   J. Denton says:

   Rating

   Wow! I couldn’t be happier with this keyboard. It feels and sounds just like a real piano, not to mention the other 500 sounds you can get from it. We were looking for something for our 9 yr old son to start piano lessons on without buying a piano that might just gather dust in a few years. The entire family has been enjoying this keyboard. In fact, our kids are choosing to play it over video games and tv. It has great sound, even without an amplifier, and is very easy to use. It has enough features to keep our children entertained for hours and yet still has the ability to sound and feel like a real piano for serious practice. It is well worth the price.

   August 28, 2010, 10:33 am
7. 

   Scott M. Thompson says:

   Rating

   I have been wanting to upgrade my keyboard for a while, and I finally decided that I was ready for the investment. I wanted to do it right. I live in an apartment, so I wanted to play a “real” piano in a more manageable way. I only did a few hours of research, and it seemed to be clear that Yamaha manufactures solid digital pianos and are the industry leader. The YPG-635 seemed to be right in my budget and had everything I wanted. I bought the item with one-day shipping because I couldn’t wait. The keyboard rocks. I love the design/look and the feel of the weighted keys. The assembly was painless. The sound is simply amazing. Although the maximum volume is not as loud as I would imagine, the internal amp and speakers always supply a clean, crisp sound. The voices are great. The Live! Grand Piano effect sounds just the grand piano I played as a kid at the ole ‘rents house. I highly recommend this digital piano for all novice piano players. I am almost certain that this is the best digital you can buy under $1000.

   August 28, 2010, 9:44 pm
8. 

   P. Ziolek says:

   Rating

   I am very pleased with this keyboard after owning it for a month. I like the action of the keys and the “ease of use”. I have played many keyboards the past 20 years and this is one of my favorites.
   
   Although the sound reproduction through the speakers is very good, there is nothing like a good set of headphones attached. Close your eyes and it’s easy to imagine the original instrument playing.

   August 29, 2010, 2:40 pm
9. 

   Hexydes says:

   Rating

   I ended up buying this after looking around for a month and recommending it to my Father. I was happy enough with his, and found a really good deal on it, and ended up buying one myself.

   This is just a really nice piano. It has a really good feel (probably the best touch feel until you jump up another level in price), the piano sounds are very warm and realistic, the rest of the sounds are all very good (some of the strings/horns aren’t quite there, but come on, who really cares, you bought a piano, not a saxaphone). The included pedal does an adequate job, though I’m probably going to pick up with optional 3-pedal unit at some point. The speakers are very loud and produce a good sound. There is a headphone jack, as well as a USB port for MIDI-control.

   Overall, this is a great digital piano. It looks really nice, and is well constructed. The sounds are very good for this price-point, as is the feel. Does the sound/feel get better? Absolutely; just be prepared to pay 2-3 times as much. For anyone that just wants a nice piano for the family to have, one that won’t go out of tune, feels good, is full size, and has a nice sound, you can’t find much better than this! I would definitely recommend it to others!

   August 30, 2010, 10:36 pm
10. 

    N. J. Simicich says:

    Rating

    If you’ve ever moved a real piano, you know the problem. Moving a piano needs to be done by a professional. Pianos need tuning.

    But, at the same time, nothing is quite like a real piano. The feel of playing one, the sound – hundreds of years of development have combined to bring the sound and feel to its current state and, when it all comes together, there is nothing quite like it.

    But that comes at a price. Did I mention tuning? Action tuneups?

    So was developed the keyboard – and the keyboard feels like a keyboard – the action is wrong. And it does not have the rich sound of a piano.

    So we arrived at the electric piano. Early electric pianos were neither fish nor foul – they were partially mechanical devices that still needed to be mechanically tuned. The actions were more or less horrible. The sound was that of an electric piano, not a real piano.

    The Yamaha sounds like a piano – within the limitations of its speakers. Its action? Better than some real pianos and much less likely to need an action tuneup.

    And all the benefits that you can get from modern electronics. Full DSP so that you can get simulated concert hall acoustics if you want.

    This is an amazing item. It comes with 30 songs programmed into it, and 70 more on an included CD – and if you are inclined to learn them, it can teach them to you. More music can be downloaded using the software provided and your computer can load them into the piano or you can use a thumb drive to move them. You can learn the left and right hand parts separately. It will show you the music, and the corresponding piano keys that you need to press on the little display. You can start slow – and it will wait, patiently, until you find and press the correct key.

    (For Christmas I downloaded a number of Christmas Carols in Standard Midi Format – put them on a USB thumb drive and then plugged the thumb drive into the piano – it was able to play all of them as a midi player – and, for at least some of them, it could teach them to you – I believe that it may be a matter of determining how to select the right ans left hand parts, which I have not managed to do yet – the instructions are not simple. But it worked instantly as a player piano).

    At the same time it accompanies you, or not, as you choose.

    I first tried this piano in a store – it was lined up with a bunch of other electrics and it had the best action of any of them – the action was clearly the most piano like – in fact, I thought that it had a better feel than some of the real pianos, in terms of consistency and smoothness while still being weighted properly.

    The triple pedal attachment gives you a soft pedal, a full sustain, and a left hand sustain, just as the better pianos do (this is an option which I recommend).

    The ONLY downside, in my opinion, is the size of the display. It is actually rather tiny, and, as far as I can tell, there is no way to attach an external display.

    In my opinion, the controls are reasonably intuitive. And there is one button that you can press which says, “get out of my way and just be a piano”.

    This is the home piano of the present – frankly, while you need real pianos in concert halls, and even in piano bars, this is what you want in your home – for the kids to play and learn piano on, to plink Christmas carols out on, and to play yourself. Record your music. We need music.

    This is the piano of the apartment dweller – because it has a volume control, and a headphone jack. And it can be moved up and down the steps.

    I’m not a piano expert. I’m surprising my wife with one of these for Christmas, though. I think she will be really happy with it.

    I strongly recommend the optional pedal assembly. The keyboard comes with a portable keyboard style pedal that does sustain, but the triple pedal assembly has a piano pedal feel, and has soft, full sustain, and sostenudo, (which means, in this context, that it will sustain keys you are holding as you press the pedal, but not those that you press after you press the pedal). It takes a few minutes to install, and precisely fits the stand that comes with the keyboard.

    August 31, 2010, 2:22 pm

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