From classic orchestral sounds to the patter of rain against a window, synthesizers free you to create new and unique audio experiences. Over the years, technological developments have truly pushed the abilities of synths. Styles range from beginner basics to full-featured packages for experts.
The FP-10 offers many special features, such as a metronome, action adjustment, and the ability to split the keyboard in two so that middle C is in the middle of each half of the keyboard, allowing a teacher and a student to play together on the same piano. The easiest way to access these features is through Roland’s excellent Piano Partner 2 mobile app. It connects to the keyboard via Bluetooth (no need for an extra cable as on the Casio pianos), and through it you can easily adjust every parameter, including sound selection, volume, and metronome settings. Yamaha produces several different quality levels of piano action, ranging from the GHS plastic action all the way up to a fully acoustic action found in the N-series digitals. Like Kawai and Roland, their actions are well regarded and easy to service. Where Roland and Kawai have strived for consistency of touch and weight regardless of the action quality, Yamaha has provided a greater variety, with some ‘fully weighted’ actions below 40 grams, while others are above 80 grams.
A professional yamaha keyboard, like the motif, features 128 notes polyphony. A beginner doesn’t need more that the basic polyphony of 32 different voices. If you like to experiment with instrument sounds and recordings on a digital piano, consider the Casio CDP-S360. It’s the same keyboard as our runner-up, the Casio CDP-S160, but it offers a lot more features for only about $70 more. For us, the big plus of the CDP-S360 is that it has 700 sounds, versus only 10 sounds on the CDP-S160. On the downside, even though this model has a display panel, its inclusion of so many additional features makes it far more complicated to use.
A genuinely useful educational aid when coupled with the Smart Pianist app, this makes the CSP range an attractive proposition for beginners looking for an innovative way to learn piano. Accompaniment yamaha electric guitars styles – the cheaper yamaha keyboards contain around 100 accompaniment styles and the professional ones contain more than 400. This feature is very important if you want to play duos with a singer.
Physics aside, the P200 is visually striking in so much as Yamaha have taken the brave step of including two 30W speakers built into the top of the keyboard. Possibly with an eye to practising pianists, or as a good way of monitoring when playing as part of a live PA setup, these speakers offer a relatively clear and bright representation of the overall sound. Indeed, they kick out such a punch I can imagine them being used without too many problems at smaller gig venues, and would be perfect for the solo player in many small to medium‑sized performance environments.
Controlling the keyboard’s functions is much easier through Casio’s Music Space app, but that requires a wired USB connection to a phone or tablet—unless you spring for the optional Casio WU-BT10 Bluetooth adapter. In our tests, the grand-piano sound was pretty good, though missing the depth and character that we got from the more expensive options. It never sounded particularly full, and the note decay (how long a note takes to diminish to nothing while the player depresses the yamaha electric guitars sustain pedal) was much faster than that of an acoustic piano. The other 11 sounds were fine, and beginners are likely to have fun trying them out, but we didn’t find them particularly inspiring or useful. The Alesis Recital Pro is by far the easiest to use of the digital pianos we tested, which may be especially important for beginners. Despite being the least expensive of our picks, it offers a digital display plus a duet mode for a student and a teacher to play together.
Yamaha’s Arius range of console-style digital home pianos is designed to offer an elegant musical centrepiece for domestic spaces at an affordable price. The S models in the range are the slimline versions of the regular YDP instruments, featuring a shallower front-to-back profile to enable them to fit into an even smaller environment. Occupying an upper-mid slot in the current CLP-700 range, the CLP-775 is a compact digital model that looks every inch the classic home piano, resembling a cut-down upright piano but sounding like a concert grand. The grand experience is perpetuated by the inclusion of Yamaha’s GrandTouch keyboard action with individually calibrated wooden keys. Piano sound – the yamaha company has invested a lot of resources in order to make their keyboards sound like a real piano. If you are interested in a keyboard in place of a piano, you should be prepared to pay $1000 and more.
This keyboard also has 622 voices and plenty of instrument options for various playing styles. You can also connect the keyboard to your USB midi so you can record and explore music production. These are the best Yamaha keyboards and digital pianos right now (in our opinion). We have looked at high-end digital pianos and budget-friendly beginner keyboards, and we love them all.
After the panelists weigh in, we spend more time evaluating the ergonomics and special features of each piano before making our picks. The CDP-S360 has more features than most pianists need or want, but it’s a great choice if you play in a band or want to make recordings. Kawai actions also vary greatly in configuration, though the weight and response is more unified across the line.
It also features one of the most sought-after acoustic piano sounds from the Bösendorfer Imperial 290. Founded as a piano and reed organ company, Yamaha has a long and rich history of keyboard manufacturing. Though they produce a variety of products today, Yamaha has never forgotten their roots as a musical instrument company.