Yamaha YPG635 88 Key Weighted Portable Grand

10 Responses

1. always skeptical :

   (May 19th, 2010)

   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.

   Reply
2. Richard Schoenfeld :

   (May 20th, 2010)

   Rating

   My brother did a lot of research on these pianos and decided on this one. I took his word for it, and have not been dissapointed. Simple to use, and I love the quick button to return all setting to the basic Grand Piano setting. I am not a big musician, so I don’t have much experience with all that it has to offer, but it appears to be very comprehensive. The keys are weighted the same as my regular piano. I wanted to get rid of the big bulky piano… And it has not been missed at all. And you can’t beat the price for this quality.

   The only CON would be that I can’t find a cover for it. My wife is going to make one for it.

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3. N. J. Simicich :

   (May 21st, 2010)

   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.

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4. J. Denton :

   (May 22nd, 2010)

   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.

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5. P. Ziolek :

   (May 22nd, 2010)

   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.

   Reply
6. L :

   (May 22nd, 2010)

   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.

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7. Eugene A. Kozlenko :

   (May 23rd, 2010)

   Rating

   Feels and sounds like a really good piano, especially with a quality set of headphones. Perfect for practicing on at all times of the day without driving your room mates / neighbors / family up the wall. A much cheaper and more portable alternative to having a legit piano. My biggest complaint is that after playing on my Yamaha for a year, I am now spoiled, and a lot of the real pianos that I get to play on from time to time feel / sound like absolute garbage.

   Reply
8. Natasha :

   (May 23rd, 2010)

   Rating

   This is a very nice piano for the price. The quality of the sound is not identical to the real piano, but it’s better than any other electronic instrument I’ve used so far. I’m also happy with the quality of materials used, and it’s very easy to assemble. The selection of other instruments is diverse and you can get very creative with it. I bought it for personal pleasure rather than for professional use, and it works just fine for this purpose. One thing I didn’t realize is that it’s still not a full-size piano, one octave is missing compared to the real thing. I thought 88 notes was it, but I was wrong. Other than that, I’m happy with the purchase.

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9. J. C. :

   (May 25th, 2010)

   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.

   Reply
10. Scott M. Thompson :

    (May 26th, 2010)

    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.

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