In addition to being a private violin teacher and having a degree in music from USC, Alecia started writing music-related articles and product reviews six years ago and has enjoyed this experience greatly. She likes to learn new instruments and write new compositions in her free time.
Marcus has a vast experience in digital audio and sound design. Thanks to his knowledge, he actively helps musicians with technical problems, improving their audio quality and promoting their tracks so that thousands of listeners can enjoy really good music.
Last updated: March 02, 2024
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A Yamaha digital piano is one of the best choices for your personal use, music class, concert, choir rehearsal, etc. A digital piano is a good choice for everyone out there that loves and appreciates the acoustic piano and will like to recreate such sound. A digital piano makes this possible. There are varieties of Yamaha digital pianos out there hence, selecting the best Yamaha digital piano might prove quite difficult. You have to consider your needs, your budget, and other factors to choose the one that best suits you.
As a result, we have dedicated hours to researching and testing the top Yamaha digital piano in the market. We were able to compile eight of the best Yamaha digital piano on the market. Of the eight we tested, our best choice is Yamaha P125 88-Key Weighted Digital Piano. We prefer this piano because it comes in the perfect aesthetic figure, providing a quality note and perfect sonority. It is easy to use, producing a deep resonant sound. It is also the best Yamaha digital piano for beginners and above all, comes at a pretty reasonable price.
Top 7 Yamaha Digital Pianos Review 2020
We know that Yamaha’s digital piano comes with different features and specifications. In selecting the best Yamaha digital piano, we examined the features alongside customer experience. Some of the important factors we considered before making our selection are the maximum number of polyphony available. We also examined the features of the keys, the materials, and the presence of the Graded Hammer System. We also prioritized the number of voices and other features like USB compatibility, LCD, and touch response. There is a table that provides some details about each piano and a pretty detailed review for people looking for more information. There is also a detailed buying guide to help anyone who wants to buy the best Yamaha digital piano make the appropriate choice. So, let’s delve into the review of the best Yamaha digital generator.
"This is our top choice because it is light in weight and compact, comes with many polyphony note and easy to control, suitable for home, churches, and offices."
"Comes with many interactive features that makes playing, learning and sharing fun for everyone, prioritizes acoustic piano touch and its superb tone, the keyboard comes with PureCF-sampled piano voices."
"Powerful sound system, touch sensitive keyboard, and more than 500 voices to make your playing time interesting, weighs only 14 pounds, and can be powered either by six AA batteries or an AC adaptor."
"Light and compact weight, it is ideal for learning pianist. Dual mode feature lets you combine different voices, the keys have superb traction and the piano is dust resistant."
"Slim and stylish in design. Ideal for learning, creating and rehearsing beautiful melodies, because this model creates great and realistic sound and USB port allows you to connect your smart device and DAWs on your PC."
"Abundant features and easy to use panel. Varieties of voices, sounds, special voices, and songs available. Key uses springs rather than hammer which brings out the grand piano touch, and the keys are adjustable."
"Perfect for beginners. Portable and lightweight with abundant high quality voices. Battery powered with phrase recorder to capture melodies. This model comes with free downloadable songbook and a nine-step lesson function."
The Yamaha P125 is our top budget pick for many reasons. It comes with lots of amazing features that make it appropriate for first-time players. If you do not want to spend hundreds of dollars on a piano, this is the best for you.
Yamaha p125 comes with many outstanding features that qualify it as our top choice for this best Yamaha digital piano review. It is an upgrade to the iconic P115 with many new and amazing qualities.
It is compact and lightweight, suitable for home, churches, and offices. There is a music rest made of plastic, wide enough to accommodate your music book.
It comes with a clean and straightforward control panel. Yamaha P125 uses Graded Hammer Standard Key action. The keys are full size and 88 in all.
There is the USB function to host function alongside a smart pianist app with which you get to store your favorite music alongside an iOS link up. This and many more are what made Yamaha P125 our top choice of this Yamaha digital piano review.
Yamaha DGX650B is a piano worth considering if you desire to learn how to play the piano and can’t afford a traditional acoustic piano. Also, if you want a digital piano that allows you to learn, play and share music, this is a good choice.
Yamaha DGX650B prioritizes acoustic piano touch and its superb tone. Little wonder it stands out as the best sounding digital piano. The keyboard comes with PureCF-sampled piano voices like the ones in the Yamaha CFIIS. The 128 note polyphony makes it produce many notes at the same time without dropping any.
It comes in both black and white colors. Suitable for beginners and professionals alike, and there are amazing learning features that are helpful for beginners as well as performing and recording options for pros. It comes with many amazing features and the scaled, graded hammer action gives the touch of a professional piano.
With smart chord technology, you can play chords on a single key. It comes with cool accessories that made it fit our choice of best digital Yamaha piano review.
Why are we impressed?
Produces real sound which gives the touch of a traditional piano
More features: touch response, 165 auto accompaniment styles, Touch tutor Lesson Mode, Yamaha Education Suite practicing mode with presets, USB to host connectivity with MIDI
If you are an intermediate player looking to develop your skill on the piano with access to greater chords, and more range of notes and tones, try the Yamaha PSR-EW310. It is a portable piano, ideal for students and all those that want to improve their skills on the piano.
Weighing 14 pounds, it is one of the best portable digital pianos and comes at a reasonable price. It can be powered either by six AA batteries or an AC adaptor. It comes with 76 touch-sensitive keys that respond to the force with which they are struck. There are two 12 – inch speakers alongside an amplifier that gives good sound.
This piano is made of strong plastic, robust, durable, and portable. The control elements are straightforward and easily accessible.
What are its best features?
Lightweight and battery-powered
The backlight LCD makes it easy to read
Abundant setting which allows you to customize the sound as you prefer
If you are in the market for a piano that offers the simplicity of features without sacrificing high-quality sound, Yamaha P45B is worth checking out.
Yamaha P45B comes with 64 polyphony notes with each key giving a deep and rich note. It comes with the latest Advanced Wave memory technology which means it gives a pretty authentic sound, closer to the real thing.
If you are looking to build your skill on the piano as well as develop your finger techniques, Yamaha P45B is a good choice. It comes with basic features for people starting on the piano. It is budget-friendly and fits as one of the best digital pianos under $1000.
It comes with hammer weighted keys which gives a pretty comfortable gradient when moving from one end of the key to the other. It is simple in design and has a few basic and extremely accurate control.
If you are on the market for a high-quality piano without bells and whistles to distract, Yamaha P71 is a terrific choice. It is portable, classic in design, easy to operate, great for beginners and the top choice of many customers.
It is a high-quality piano, built to last and comes with great and realistic sound. There is the USB port where you get to connect your smart device and DAWs on your PC.
Like other classy keyboards, it features the AVM sound engine which gives the sound of an acoustic piano. With this, users get to enjoy a deep, rich and spacious sound. It comes with the 88 weighted keys suitable for beginners to help develop their skills.
With its embedded sound sampling feature, users can create a sound similar to an acoustic piano. It comes with 10 different voices and you can record a loop with any of the voices. Users can combine piano and string for a superb playing experience with the dual-mode function.
Even though the YPG 535 Piano is older in the market, it stands out as one of the best digital Yamaha pianos. It is portable in design, weights 24 pounds hence fits perfectly in most spaces.
There are many buttons on the control panel which helps you navigate its functions. The buttons can get pretty overwhelming, about 40 of them and each controls different functions. With this in mind, if you ever get lost, the Grand piano button takes you to the default setting.
Rather than full weight, Yamaha YPG 535 comes with semi-weighted keys which feature Yamaha’s Graded Soft touch. The key uses springs rather than hammer which brings out the grand piano touch.
You get to adjust the sensitivity of the keys to your taste. In other words, you can determine how hard or soft you want to play. Like other classic Yamaha piano, it uses the AWM Stereo Sampling which reproduces the entire 500 inbuilt tones effectively.
Yamaha YPT 260 is the definition of quality, style, durability, and functionality. If you are just learning how to play, you will find this piano helpful.
It is compact and will fit perfectly into your space. The quality of the sound is superb and users get many different tones and options. It is the best digital Yamaha piano for entry-level players and musicians just starting.
It comes with necessary accessories (free downloadable songbook and a nine-step lesson function) to get you started on the piano with ease. Weighing 13 pounds, it is light and portable.
Without a doubt, this is the best beginner-friendly Yamaha digital piano. The best buy for the money.
What are its best features?
It can be powered by a cord or battery hence the user can play anywhere.
Custom LCD guides player through the keyboard function
A digital piano is an electronic musical gadget that mimics the sound of a traditional acoustic piano. Grand piano came as a portable, compact and less expensive alternative to the acoustic piano. It is great for beginners as it offers many avenues to learn and develop their skills. There are varieties of features that make it ideal for professional players as well.
Best Digital Piano
In choosing the best digital Yamaha piano, we have examined some key factors that users should prioritize. Whether for personal or professional use, we have examined critical factors that stand out.
Number of polyphony notes
The number of distinct notes or tones the piano can produce at once is known as polyphony. The simplest model comes with a polyphony of 32 notes. To create complex sounds, go for a Yamaha grand piano of 64 notes. The best model comes with polyphony ranging from 200 notes and above.
Keyboard action and touch response
What differentiates piano from electric keyboards is the way the key feels. Due to the mechanical components of piano keys, it produces resistance. The mechanical components include the wooden hammer which hits the string of an acoustic piano. When it comes to the digital piano, the degree to which it sounds like an acoustic piano makes a big difference.
Digital piano with weighted and semi-weighted actions gives a response similar to a traditional piano. The hammer action further pronounces the response by adding real mechanical hammers. The keys are embedded with small hammers which give a gentle “thunk” when played. This sounds just like the keypad of an acoustic piano.
Fully weighted keybeds are the best. They also come with graduated weighing which makes the lower octave key heavier – giving the same effect as the heavier strings and hammers of an acoustic piano. This is called the “graded hammer action.”
The touch or velocity sensitivity is also important. This Yamaha digital piano review discovered that the best grand pianos will be able to sense a slight variation in velocities. This determines the volume and attack of the various notes. The low-cost digital piano comes with volume level switches which might not have good velocity sensitivity.
Quality of sound
The tone and quality of a grand digital piano are equally vital. It should be noted that the objective of a digital piano is to produce a sound that mimics an acoustic piano, or very close.
The sound quality is a factor of its component. In other words, the sound is a factor of the samples used in creating the sound. This also depends on the digital memory of the piano. The more the digital memory of your piano, the better the sound quality. With this in mind, be sure to pay attention to the digital memory size before selecting it.
If you are a beginner, your priority should not be a piano with high-end tones and sounds. This is because the good quality sound piano is higher in price.
Effects
With effects, you can get creative and add a pleasant modification to the selected tone. The performance Hall Effect, for instance, gives you a rich, authentic sound. Other popular effects are chorus, reverberation, echo, and sustain.
Memory
Digital piano comes with various memory sizes. This allows for recording and playback of tones and sound. Be sure to choose a digital piano with adequate memory space if you will be doing a lot of recording with it.
Kit
There are some essentials that come with a Yamaha digital piano. Basically, a Yamaha digital piano comes with a storage bench, dust cover, pedal, adaptor, and manual.
Size
The best digital pianos come in small and compact sizes. They are smaller than the traditional grand pianos. Be sure to consider a piano that is easy to move around and will not take up much space in your apartment.
Most digital pianos are made of hard and strong plastic. When compared to acoustic pianos that are made of wood and heavy metal, they are pretty light. This makes them portable as well.
If you want to buy your digital piano, I guess you have a price range you are willing to consider. Your budget serves as a guide in selecting the best buy digital piano for the price. If you are a beginner, however, you are better off with less expensive grand pianos.
Digital piano comes in various sizes ranging from $200 to thousands of dollars. Be sure to do your research and select the digital piano that offers the best value for the money, based on your needs.
One of the best pianos under $200 that we reviewed is Yamaha YPT260 61-Key. The Yamaha PSR-EW310 is also one of the best pianos under $300. If you, however, need a digital piano on the high end, the Yamaha DGX650B Digital Piano is less than $900.
Number of instrument voices
Digital pianos are usually equipped with hundreds of sounds, notes, and voices from various instruments. This adds color and richness to your playing experience, allowing you to get creative as you explore how the various voices and sounds beautify your music.
For a beginner, the number of instrument voices and sounds might not be very relevant as your priority should be developing your skills. For the intermediate and experienced players, on the other hand, the variety of tones will come in handy.
Our best portable digital piano, Yamaha PSR-EW310 has a little less than 600 voices. Models like Yamaha P45B and Yamaha P71, on the other hand, come with 10 voices each.
Materials
The built materials are also one of the vital keys to consider when looking to buy a digital piano. We found out that cheap digital piano comes with plastic keys while expensive models are made with synthetic ivory built keys. This key type helps you have a good grip and gives a confirmed execution style which helps gives the feel of an acoustic piano.
In addition to the construction materials, touch sensitivity, as well as counterbalanced keys, are important, especially for beginners. With this key type, you get to play expressively and develop your finger techniques while helping you learn.
Sound Library
Many pianists upload their tunes to the internet for others to access for free. Many of the best Yamaha digital pianos come with connectivity options which gives you the option to use those tunes on your model. For instance, Yamaha P125 88-Key Weighted Digital Piano and others come with a USB port and iOS compatibility hence you can easily connect to your device and access the internet. In addition to that, there are built-in music libraries that are free on some pianos and paid in others.
Every time you play a note on the piano, the quality of the keyboard action which encompasses its responsiveness affects your experience playing. It is equally important to develop your skills as a pianist.
To answer this question, it is important to understand the importance of keyboard action. When you press and release the key, the way it moves is known as the keyboard action. Each of the keys is linked to a hammer inside. On pressing the key, the piano hits a string that vibrates and gives the tone that we hear.
The series of levers that links the hammer to the key create responsiveness and weightiness. This allows the pianist to vary the sound of the piano to give various effects. This makes responsiveness an important factor in buying a piano because different piano comes with varying weight and responsiveness.
The best digital piano to buy gives unique and fast responsiveness. This is in addition to mimicking the resistance, responsiveness, and natural weight of an acoustic piano. This is the best to buy as it provides the right avenue to develop your skill and give your finger the right feedback.
There are many digital pianos out there today. The aim of producing a digital piano is to produce the same playing experience, touch, feel and output as an acoustic piano. Even though many people argue that digital pianos will never compare to the good old-school wood-and-glue acoustic piano, this is not very true. The advanced technology has successfully mimicked everything about an acoustic piano in a digital piano.
However, no matter how developed the technology is, a digital piano cannot produce the same tone as an acoustic piano. Even though a digital piano produces a sound similar to an acoustic piano, the difference is there, even if you are playing the most advanced digital piano.
The sound from an acoustic piano comes from more than 200 strings vibrating across the board. A digital piano, even the ones for experienced pianists only copies the sophisticated process that creates the real sound. This complicated process is what gives an acoustic piano a real and lively sound while a digital piano will only sound sterile when compared.
Looking at the bright side, a digital piano gives the player the ability to select from various sounds and voicing while an acoustic piano will only sound like an acoustic piano, nothing else. With a digital piano, you get to play the flute, harpsichord, trumpet, organ piece, etc.
The power consumption of a digital piano ranges from 35W to 50W.
Conclusion
Of all the best Yamaha digital piano reviewed, our top choice is Yamaha P125 88-Key Weighted Digital Piano. It is suitable for beginners, comes with abundant polyphony, and light in weight. It is gorgeously resonant and produces a beautiful sound.
With 128 polyphony notes and 162 distinct voices, we are sure you will love Yamaha DGX650B our second favorite best Yamaha digital piano. With USB and AUX port, it is a good value for the money.
Our third favorite is the Yamaha PSR-EW310. It comes with more than 500 voices. Also, it offers Touch tutor Lesson Mode, and Yamaha Education Suite practicing mode with presets. And all that super stuff weighs only 13.7 lbs.
We hope that this review and guide will assist you in making informed decisions when buying your Yamaha digital piano.
