Features

• Exclusive "DJ" function to modify sound
• General MIDI makes for great sound
• 61 Piano-size keys with 100 songs built-in
• Yamaha PA3C power adapter is included
• A special port on each speaker adds a powerful impact to bass sound reproduction

Reviews (5)

This keyboard's a toy
I beg to differ with the previous reviews. Before I go on, let me state for the record that I have been playing classical piano for over 15 years, and I bought this keyboard for jamming and multitrack recording (both midi/audio).

First, for those who are confused with the entry level Yamaha portable keyboards, the PSR-175AD is almost exactly the same as the PSR-175 and the PSR-172. The only difference is that the PSR-172 is much more widely available than the 175s. That said, let's analyze the more important features:

Keys: You get what you pay for. 61-keys is quite all right for beginners and for those who want to do some basic multitrack recording. Better players should go for a bigger keyboard, unless you don't mind using the transpose feature. However, I gave this keyboard a low rating because the keys are not truly touch-sensitive. These keys are not sensitive to the amount of force you exert on them -- the volume for each key remains the same regardless of the amount of force you exert on it. Instead, the keys are only sensitive to the length of time that they are depressed (this should have been called a portable organ instead). By playing on this keyboard, you will never be able to develop a feel for a real piano which requires varying amounts of force applied to different keys. Thus I would not recommend this keyboard for serious beginning piano players because it only hurts your musical foundation.

As for the other features, the sound patches are adequate for most users and are rather standardized in similar entry-level keyboards. I have no complaints because most of the main instruments are there and sound decent enough (piano, organs, guitars,wind, drums,etc). There is also an automated drum synthesizer that's been preprogrammed to different music genres (e.g. soul, rock, jazz, blues, etc).

Regarding size and weight, this is a small and light keyboard and I have no trouble carrying it around to jamming sessions.

On a final note, I recommend shelling out a little more (about $50) for the PSR-273, another 61-keyboard which is just one step higher and offers touch response keys that feel and react more like a real piano. A touch response key produces a louder sound when you strike it harder, vice-versa. Further, the PSR-273 is only slightly larger and heavier.

Hope this review helps. =)

Great Product
Beforing buying this, I went personally to a Best Buy store and compared it with the Casio keyboard.The store person recommended this one for the beginners like me.It has been just one week, and I think this keyboard is very good for the beginners.Though I am having tough time understanding the learning material, I was following some online free lessons on the internet, and so far it has been great.I am still exploring all the features of this piano and they seem to be endless.I strongly recommend buying this from Amazon.com, because they are giving this with the power adaptor which is a must I think, and also even with the Free Shipping option, I got in just 2 days.

Great sound
I bought this keyboard on sale at Wal-Mart for about $90 after tax, as a Christmas present for my boyfriend.I was a little nervous about not being able to listen to it beforehand, but boy it sounds great!The Portable Grand feature is especially nice with a sound very similar to a real piano.It has many other features too, including many other instrument sounds, backbeats, and a built-in tutorial program complete with book of sheet music for 100 (short) songs.One very nice thing is that it comes with a power adapter so that you can start playing right away... I noticed some of the other keyboards did not include this.
My boyfriend is really enjoying this keyboard and has taught himself 4 of the songs from the book in just the last two months (playing two-handed), with no previous musical training!His sister was so impressed when she heard it that she went out and ordered the same model from Amazon for herself.I think the other reviewers are right that this would have cost a lot more money a few years ago.It has a ton of great features and is really a fantastic keyboard for the price.

excellent keyboard
this is the keyboard i own because of technology advances youre getting a keyboard that woulda cost around 500 in the 80s for 100 the sound quality is suberb the piano the organ all sound like worldclass expensive keyboards it has 100 built in songs(mostly classical) and 100 sounds from flutes to harps to banjo u name it it has them all it also has an oboard drum machine and hundreds of various styles of music i use it when i play guitar u can have a whole band going on and record your guitar on top of it so its great to have around to create ideas or live performance its loud with good clarity and bass and has outputs for a keyboard amp if u plan on taking it to a gig overall i woulda paid 300 for this quality great sounding keyboard and its only 109 with adapter! the other reviewers right in the store this keyboards the same price without the adapter they charge 1999 for so if u buy this get it off amazon o and the box makes a nice keyboard stand until u can get a real one

Great keyboard.. Includes power cord unlike other sellers
I bought this keyboard elswhere. Wish I had bought it here. Amazon includes the power cord. Great keyboard, great sound. The Grand Piano feature is the best! ... Read more

Product Description

This 61 keys keyboard is perfect for beginners and students or anyone who doesnt havespace for a grand piano.It comes with advanced features like Rising/Descending tone function, Single and fingered chord/ auto-base-chord/syn. Also includes features such as Vibrato, sustain, fill in, base effect. The LED digital displays relate number. Includes external speaker, AC Power, Double channel output. Large Scale Integration. Includes Users manual. Stand sold separately. Specifications: 935 x 355 x 125 mm; Weight: 5.0 Kg; Tone Area: C2 - C7; Output Power: 4 W ... Read more

Features

• 61 Standar Keys
• 20 Timbres, 20 Rhythms, 8 Percussions
• Rhythm Programming and playback/record/playback
• 32 Stage Tempo Speed/ 16 Stage Volume Adjustable
• 8 Demonstration Songs

Product Description

The Yamaha 88-Key Touch-Sensitive Piano-Style Light-Weight Keyboard is the absolute top of the line in the Portable Grand series. It has an attractive, easy-to-use panel and a wealth of features such as high resolution stereo piano sample; SmartMedia storage; USB computer connectivity; a large bitmapped LCD screen capable of displaying notation and lyrics for songs; 6-track sequencer that is designed for the utmost simplicity; Yamaha Education Suite system; and much more. Also includes a matching wood grain keyboard stand, sustain pedal, and ac power adapter. Imported. ... Read more

Features

• Separate woofers and tweeters deliver sounds with clarity and precision for more lifelike instrument voices
• General MIDI and Yamaha XGlite makes for great sound
• 88 light-weighted, piano-style touch-sensitive keys with 100 songs built-in
• Yamaha power adapter is included
• Enhances sound quality with sophisticated digital effects like Harmony, Reverb, and Chorus

Reviews (10)

Good
This is a great keyboard but is nothing compared to a grand piano. Everything that the keyboard offers is great but learning how to play on a keyboard is entirely different form playing the piano. The keys feel nothing the same and the sound does not have that surround sound like a real piano does. If I had the choice between a keyboard and a piano I would choose a piano, even though the keyboard is fun to play around with the different sounds.

everything i need
This keyboard goes above and beyond what I would expect and need out of an instrument in this price range.I took lessons pretty seriously for 8 years growing up, but it's been a while and this is perfect to get me right back into it.It will take me a year to fully explore all of the voice/computer capabilities, but what's most important to me right now is the simple piano function.There are several piano voices to choose from, and the standard "live grand" one is simply beautiful.The pedal's a must, and the sturdy stand is another much-appreciated feature.I have no problem with the keys not being weighted; I can still get a wide range of dynamics (and it makes flourishes even a bit easier!).This is the best large purchase I've made in a very long time.My only regret is that my keyboard is sucking all of my time from my other activities!

Simply a Great Buy
Since other reviewers have pretty much covered the product's pros and cons, let me just add one thing for those who are concerned about the keyboard not being weighed.

I have two young sons who have been taking piano lessons for less than a year. As usual for anyone taking piano lessons, my boys get to use a real piano during their lesson sessions, while practicing at home using the Yamaha keyboard. Now, they both gave their first public recital playing a grand piano this past January, and I'd say that they made mefeel one proud daddy.

While I'd agree that going from piano to keyboard is probably easier than the other way around, as long as the student does not exclusively rely on the keyboard, you will not find any issue with adaptability.

I consider myself an extremely careful consumer, and this product is one of those that I'd rate a "perfect buy." Since I had no idea whether my boys would love playing or discontinue after awhile, I didn't want to spend thousands of dollars on a real piano. Well, even though I can tell that my boys will continue for years judging by their interest and talent level, this Yamaha keyboard is so good that, even if I invest in a real piano right now, we won't let the keyboard collect dusts.

By the way, when it's time for my boys to practice violin, I use the Yamaha's metronome to accompany their practice. It's such a versatile instrument that I simply cannot praise it enough. (And I have YET to play around with its PC connectivity!!)

Very Awesome For My Purposes
So I'm 19 living in a dorm room on campus. I figured the Clavinova was way too steep on my pockets. I played piano once upon a time, but never took lesssons really. I was attracted to the price of this keyboard and the fact that it was actually full-size. Being sick and tired of my 61-key keyboard, I figured I'd go seek out shopping for a better one and one that is full size.

I don't know digital pianos too well but from experience I've noticed that Yamaha and Roland were pretty formidable with their products. I wouldn't have given a second look to the other brands. I've tried this product out at a store some time ago several times before actually thinking about buying it. I thought it was very nice for a consumer based instrument.

After reading reviews and what not, I was determined then that I would put serious thought into buying it. One minute later I was already pulling out my card to pay for this online. After receiving the product, I was faced with an even bigger burden... carrying it back across campus to my dorm room.

So the package was pretty big. Makes for a good workout if you plan on carrying it back to your home. The contents were packed nicely. The stand was very easy to setup too. Being a computer freak, I have the keyboard sitting next to my computer. The whole USB interface was another thing that turned me on about the keyboard. Little did i know how great it would become when I actually connected it to my computer. The software was easy to use. I can transfer MIDI files to the keyboard via USB and store them on little memory cards.

The thing boasts about how you can take midi files and have them display the sheet music on the LCD screen. I thought that was nifty and all, but I would never use that feature. I'd rather have a software included that'll put the midi file on sheet music ready to be printed.

The "Digital Music Notebook" is a very awesome utility in my opinion. I found it to be so good that I'd place my computer monitor on where my sheet music would go on the keyboard whenever I'm using it with my keyboard (thank goodness it isn't CRT!). So you can use this notebook software to buy/download sheet music digitally. I thought it was pretty lame that you can only print it once (I understand a good few digital sheet vendors do it this way too). Nonetheless, after buying the sheet music, you can view it through the software and have it blow up on your monitor so you can see it full size. You can also make the software play the sheet music (it'll play through your computer or you can configure it to play through the keyboard). A cool thing about it is that you can turn on the learning mode through that software and it'll control your keyboard for it (i.e. there's a learning mode where the song'll play and wait for you to hit the right keys before moving on.) It'll display what keys you need to hit through the software and show you what key's you hit. I thought this whole digital notebook software interface thing was very well done. I thought that the USB interface was solely used for transferring MIDI files.

Though I'm not too much of a piano purist, I think the default piano sound is very nice. This thing holds like over 400 different types of sounds (instruments, voices, sound effects). To be honest, I would rather have them spent more time on perfecting the piano sound, eliminate all other preset voices/styles/songs on the keyboard, and just have it play that one piano sound.

Now, some of the gripes I have with the keyboard.

The sustain pedal isn't all too great. It works fine, but it doesn't really have the feel I'd like it to have. I'm not too whiny about it though to make me want to buy a sustain pedal they sell separately that's made to look like a real piano pedal. The pedal that comes with the keyboard serves its purpose though. If I knew this before buying the keyboard, I would've still bought it anyway.

The piano keys are not weighted. Looking at the picture, one can see that the keys are "fully" shaped like a piano rather than have spaces underneath the keys that the low-end keyboards have. I kinda accidently assumed that it was weighted because of the way they looked. This was back before I test drove it at a store. Playing on a keyboard is much different than playing on a piano. It'll be easier to adjust to a keyboard from a piano than vice versa. If anything, this is probably its biggest weakness in my opinion, but I guess to keep a piano at this price with such a feature wouldn't be too possible.

Overall, I think this digital keyboard is great. Travelling with it isn't bad either if you wish to travel with it. The keyboard has inspired me to practice the instrument more versus the 61-key instrumental junk I had before.

If you're a college student who enjoys playing the piano. I'd recommend this keyboard if you have the room in your dorm. This keyboard is worthy enough for enduring hours and hours of practicing songs and worthy enough if you want to seranade to a special someone or perform for a group (travel friendly once you have the keyboard bag, especially since you won't need to necessarily carry an amplifier with you since speakers are built-in or you can plug one in if you wanted to). It has a 32-note polyphony, but I don't think I'd even go that far. It's nice to know that you have that sort of leaway.

If you're a parent who has a kid growing up and you want them to learn piano, I probably wouldn't recommend this keyboard because of a lack of weighted keys. At that point, I think it would be more advantageous to invest in a Yamaha Cavinova, a Roland Digital Keyboard, or simply a real piano.

This has probably been the best consumer based keyboard I've used. If I were to get a new keyboard in the future, It'll be ranged between $1500-2000. I probably wouldn't be one who'd jump to buy the DGX-506 (if it were to hypothetically come out). For the price range, I couldn't imagine another keyboard that can compete with the DGX-505.

Great piano sound!
This is the best keyboard I have ever played so far... Worth every cent! ... Read more

Product Description

This Yamaha 61-key touch-sensitive keyboard is wonderful for people that want to learn to play music. Yamaha has beefed up their Education Suite found on previous models with a new version, Version IV. In addition to the standard left- and right-hand lessons, Version IV includes Your Tempo and Repeat and Learn modes. The keyboard comes with 30 pre-loaded songs; flash ROM internal storage for adding more; and 70 additional selections on an included CD-ROM. Simply connect the keyboard to your computer via the USB connector and transfer songs to the keyboard for learning or listening. Includes music rest; accessory CD-ROM; song book and user's manual. Imported. 5-3/4Hx15-1/4Wx37-1/2L". ... Read more

Features

• Enhances sound quality with sophisticated digital effects like Harmony, Reverb, and Chorus
• General MIDI and Yamaha XGlite makes for great sound
• 61 touch-sensitive keys with 100 songs built-in
• Yamaha power adapter is included
• Separate woofers and tweeters deliver sounds with clarity and precision for more lifelike instrument voices

Reviews (5)

Great Value for Money
[Please note that this product is currently available from Amazon under three packagings: PSR-295 (no adapter), PSR-295AD (includes adapter) and PSR-295MS (includes adapter and stand). I bought the PSR-295MS package.]

I got this full-length keyboard at a great price of $190 with included adapter and keyboard. Both accessories are a must, since this thing is huge.

The product shipped in two days (from PA to MD) with free shipping. I was delighted to find a helpful instructional DVD in the package to get started with the basics, so I didn't have to go through the manual, except for detailed and advanced features.

Also included was a Song Book, with staff music for some popular songs. It's great for someone who knows how to read music - I'm still learning to. There's also software to transfer music between PC and keyboard.

"Portable Grand" is just a one-touch button option to set the keyboard to Grand Piano mode. Of course, this cannot be expected to sound as great or realistic as a high-end digital piano or an expensive wooden one. However, the touch sensitive feature makes it as realistic as possible.

Here are the features I liked:
* Display shows notes and chords being played in three ways - staff notation, note name (ex. E# m7 aug etc.), and graphical (actual keys on a diagram).
* Truly Touch (Force) Sensitive Keys (can be toggled on/off).
* 487 Voices (incl. ~360 XGLite voices).
* 136 Accompaniment Styles to play along.
* Built-in songs which can be practised using Yamaha Education Suite. (Buil-in feature).
* Jog Dial to move between voice/style/song numbers.
* Flash memory to record your songs.
* Direct USB connection (MIDI-USB connecter cable *not* required - that cable would cost around $40).
* Software to transfer songs and voices between PC and keyboard.
* Truly stero output (not just two speakers).
* Phono/Line-Out socket.
* Sustain pedal socket (pedal not included).

Here are some things I didn't like:
* USB cable not included. ($7 extra from Amazon).
* Volume sometime seems a little low. But then, you can always pass output through amps if you really need it that loud.
* No mic or line-in socket.
* Phono out uses 1/4 inch pin. Had to buy a 1/8 to 1/4 converter from RadioShack.
* LCD display is highly "directional", visible only when looking at a particular angle. This is not much of a problem when playing sitting. However, if playing standing, this may be a little inconvenient.
* No sustain toggle switch. If you don't have a sustain pedal, turning sustain on/off manually takes a couple of steps.

Overall, at under $190, free shipping and included adapter and stand, this is a great buy for beginners as well as advanced users.

I had a Yamaha PSS-11 long back. It was a good beginner keyboard but it soon outgrew me, since you couldn't play it with two hands. Overall, I like Yamaha quality and find their keyboards much more professional than Casio ones (maybe I'm wrong). Of course, "real" professionals would use KORG, but that'll be upwards of $1000! :)

Great for those trying to learn piano
PROS:
-Extremely lightweight for its size
-Comes with power supply (unlike many other keyboards an amazon.com) and _adjustable height_ stand
-Instruction manual is very well done, and includes music theory (e.g. how to form almost any type of chord)

CONS:
-LCD Display is small; you'll need good eyesight
-The stand that comes with it is not too sturdy; once I decided on the right height for it, I had to reinforce it by wrapping an old piece of speaker wire around the hub a few times. (Hey, it worked!)
-Doesn't come with a USB cable

Although the songbook included is aimed at beginners (with less than, say, a year of piano experience), it's a great piano for anyone trying to learn chord-based playing. You can enter virtually any chord (such as F#m7b5) and the display will indicate what keys you must press to play it. This is very helpful when playing through a fake book and you come across a chord you don't know how to play. (NOTE: As you're playing, the display shows the bass and treble clef indication of every key you play, but does not name the actual chord you're playing (e.g. "Bm7") unless you have the ACMP activated.)

The transposition function is convenient--if you only know how to play in one key, you can play along with any other musician playing the same song in a different key. The pitch-tuning function is also nice (in case you're playing along side a slightly out-of-tune instrument and want to match its sound).

All in all there are well enough features to justify the price; you'll save 22 bucks in shipping by buying it from Amazon, and mine arrived one day after they shipped it out!

NOTE: This piano doesn't come with a sustain petal (as another reviewer indicated), but has a jack for one if you decide to buy one separately.

Yamaha's best value in a portable keyboard
The PSR295 was introduced in 2004. It has the same tone generator as the PSR275 with more focus on style (rhythm patterns) than in memory songs .The PSR295 is the entry level in Yamaha's intermediate line of portable keyboards, the PSR275 is at the high end of their entry level keyboards, so if you're just learning to play you might consider the PSR275.

The PSR295 is Yamaha's best value, for around $200 you get over 400 instruments, including a full GM set and Yamaha's XGLite instruments. A six channel sequencer allows for recording of your own songs and a USB port and MIDI USB bridge driver makes connecting the PSR295 to any computer a snap (the USB MIDI driver is especially great if you want to connect the PSR295 to a laptop for MIDI file downloading or connecting to PC sequencing software such as Sonar Cakewalk, Cubase, etc...).

Also I suggest you check out the Casio CTK691. The CTK691 features more on board memory for songs and more instruments (voices), however it lacks the sound quality of the Yamaha PSR295 , those who say otherwise are comparing the sound of the speakers (the speaker system in the CTK691 is a bit better), hook the two up to earphones or an amp and the PSR295 shines. Both offer a GM set, but only the PSR295 offers Yamaha's XGLite (there are quite a few MIDI files floating around that utilize XG) so don't be fooled by the CTK691 apparent more voices, the 400+ available on the PSR295 are better quality. The CTK691 features a standard MIDI port, to connect it to a PC or laptop you're going to be out$20-$40 for an adapter, worse yet if your sound card doesn't havea gameport you'll could be out $60+ for a MIDI card/cable. Yamaha has the right idea by providing USB and a MIDI bridge on top of USB, surprisingly it has very low latency when used as a MIDI Controller (using Cakewalk Sonar), the PC mode button makes it easy to tt configure the keyboard with popular MIDI setups and makes using an external sequencer extreemly easy.

My only compliant with the PSR295 is that they didn't include a standard MIDI IN/OUT port along with the USB. Although I was impressed by the low latency of the USB MIDI driver, it would have been nice to be able to use the keyboard with E-MU 0404 or M-Audio Audiophile 2496. Some of the new budget end "pro" audio cards include excellent MIDI I/O which this keyboard will be unable to take advantage of. Still if I had to pick between USB MIDI and standard MIDI, for a portable keyboard USB is much more practicle

Poor piano sound
The piano sound is dire on this keyboard.

It's muffled, and sounds more like a synth trying to sound like a guitar on a couple of notes.

I returned mine for refund and bought a Casio CTK-691.

Perfect for Begginers
It does all what it says on the official website and am very happy with the overall quality of the product. If you have a computer studio setup you can use the USB connection provided to create top quality music. And its design is great too.

Other feautures include-
3 touch sensitivity settings
built in flash memory
you can import midis from the pc to the keyboards memory and learn
Sustain pedal

The only drawback is the lack of aftertouch and average sounds apart from the piano and a few others. But if you are using the computer to create sounds this makes it a non issue. ... Read more

Features

• Enhances sound quality with sophisticated digital effects like Harmony, Reverb, and Chorus
• General MIDI and Yamaha XGlite make for great sound
• 61 touch-sensitive keys with 100 songs built-in
• Yamaha power adapter and keyboard stand included
• Separate woofers and tweeters deliver sounds with clarity and precision for more lifelike instrument voices

Reviews (2)

Great Value for Money
[This review holds for Yamaha PSR-295. Please note that this product is currently available from Amazon under two packagings: PSR-295AD (includes adapter) and PSR-295MS (includes adapter and stand).]

I got this full-length keyboard at a great price of $190 with included adapter and keyboard. Both accessories are a must, since this thing is huge.

The product shipped in two days (from PA to MD) with free shipping. I was delighted to find a helpful instructional DVD in the package to get started with the basics, so I didn't have to go through the manual, except for detailed and advanced features.

Also included was a Song Book, with staff music for some popular songs. It's great for someone who knows how to read music - I'm still learning to. There's also software to transfer music between PC and keyboard.

"Portable Grand" is just a one-touch button option to set the keyboard to Grand Piano mode. Of course, this cannot be expected to sound as great or realistic as a high-end digital piano or an expensive wooden one. However, the touch sensitive feature makes it as realistic as possible.

Here are the features I liked:
* Display shows notes and chords being played in three ways - staff notation, note name (ex. E# m7 aug etc.), and graphical (actual keys on a diagram).
* Truly Touch (Force) Sensitive Keys (can be toggled on/off).
* 487 Voices (incl. ~360 XGLite voices).
* 136 Accompaniment Styles to play along.
* Built-in songs which can be practised using Yamaha Education Suite. (Buil-in feature).
* Jog Dial to move between voice/style/song numbers.
* Flash memory to record your songs.
* Direct USB connection (MIDI-USB connecter cable *not* required - that cable would cost around $40).
* Software to transfer songs and voices between PC and keyboard.
* Truly stero output (not just two speakers).
* Phono/Line-Out socket.
* Sustain pedal socket (pedal not included).

Here are some things I didn't like:
* USB cable not included. ($7 extra from Amazon).
* Volume sometime seems a little low. But then, you can always pass output through amps if you really need it that loud.
* No mic or line-in socket.
* Phono out uses 1/4 inch pin. Had to buy a 1/8 to 1/4 converter from RadioShack.
* LCD display is highly "directional", visible only when looking at a particular angle. This is not much of a problem when playing sitting. However, if playing standing, this may be a little inconvenient.
* No sustain toggle switch. If you don't have a sustain pedal, turning sustain on/off manually takes a couple of steps.

Overall, at under $190, free shipping and included adapter and stand, this is a great buy for beginners as well as advanced users.

I had a Yamaha PSS-11 long back. It was a good beginner keyboard but it soon outgrew me, since you couldn't play it with two hands. Overall, I like Yamaha quality and find their keyboards much more professional than Casio ones (maybe I'm wrong). Of course, "real" professionals would use KORG, but that'll be upwards of $1000! :)

"Portable Grand" feature is not as advertized
In addition to a myriad of musical sounds, this keyboard has the "Portable Grand" button, which was the reason I bought it.Yamaha claims this keyboard produces a "stunningly real and authentic piano sound."Not so.It still sounds like like a cheap electronic keyboard.I was very disappointed and had to pack it up and return it to Amazon.

If you are looking for a keyboard with almost endless musical sounds, tempos, and computer features, this is a good buy; but be advised it will not sound like a piano.

Kona ... Read more

Product Description

Retail Price: $198.99 in Mail Order. ... Read more

Features

• 100% Brand New Item in Box
• 49 Standard Keys,100 Electrical Tones & 4 Octave in ONE
• Operates on Batteries or AC Power
• Built in Speaker with Volume Control + Plug in jack for earphones or external speakers
• FREE durable zipper travel bag, AC Adaptor & instruction manual

Product Description

This Casio compact electronic sing-along keyboard is good fun for the entire family. Features 61 full-size keys with 100 pre-programmed songs; MIDI for great sound; headphone and microphone jacks; 100 preset tones and rhythms; auto accompaniment; integrated speakers; 12 polyphony maximum; musical information system display; on-screen icons; song controller; and more. Imported. ... Read more

Features

• Headphone jack for private listening and microphone jack to sing along with the song
• 100 preset tones and 100 rhythms
• Auto Accompaniment to give a deeper sound to your songs
• 61 keys with 100-tune song bank
• MIDI makes for great sound

Reviews (4)

Good for Kids
Very nice keyboard for the price.Great for kids, (12 and under).Its a little odd that it doesn't come with a power adapter, and I haven't been able to find his mysterious sustain pedal, but it's a nice keyboard anyway.

Should have included adapter
This keyboard is fun and sounds pretty decent, however Christmas morning was a little disappointing because we had to run out and get more batteries, since we were one battery short.Also, the adapter power suppy was not included and is just about necessary since the keyboard zaps battery power in about 4 hours.Now I can't find the adapter any where. Big bummer.

BUYER BEWARE - NO SERVICE
Please be wary - Casio has the worst customer service I've ever seen from any company.First they told me a turnaround time for a repair is 5-10 business days.Then they told me that was from when they log it in.Well, it took 3 weeks to log it in.Now they tell me it's 10-15 business days from when it's logged in.If your product never needs warranty repair, then see the other reviews on the product itself.But if it ever needs repair, figure on at least 1-2 months before ever seeing your product again.And forget about getting any kind of straight answers from them - it's a different story every time and they won't let you speak to a supervisor or return calls.Good-luck.

A good buy for begginers.
When I first purchased this product I was ready to open it up and start playing, however, it doesn't come with an AC Adapter(it takes a 9 volt ac adapter) and it doesn't include batteries (as with most electronics nowadays). Although I fortunately had an adapter that fit the keyboard I didn't realise that until after I had already gone out and bought the required six AA batteries required to power the keyboard.

Apart from my power-supply fiasco, once I did get the product working I was surprised at how unrealistic the piano and a lot of the other sounds .. sounded. Another draw back about this keyboard is that it doesn't include the midi in/out cables used to connect to a computer or another midi device, however if you're just wanting to play and don't have any interest in using the keyboard in conjunction with a computer, then this product is great.

Pros:
affordable price
61 full sized keys
long battery life
lots of built in songs to learn
comes with a music stand and ~100 songs to play

Cons:
doesn't come with midi in/out cables
doesn't come with power adapter
certain tones sound horribly unlike the instrument stated (~30 in all of 100 total)

So if you're looking for something affordable, lightweight and easy to use, this is the perfect keyboard for you. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Unique among keyboards, the Yamaha PSR275-AD offers a backlit LCD capable of displaying musical notes, chord information and various functions, a touch-sensitive keyboard that responds like a piano, General MIDI (GM) compatibility for playing songs, XGlite technology that offers a huge selection of voices and even greater MIDI song-file compatibility, and even a PC Button for easy computer connectivity.

The PSR275-AD delivers 32 notes of polyphony--that is, it can sound up to 32 notes at one time--enough for the most demanding needs. If you're buying a keyboard with piano sound in mind, you'll want Yamaha's Touch Response feature. On an acoustic piano, striking a key harder will produce a louder sound, striking it softer will produce a softer sound. Yamaha's "Touch Response" is designed to make the keyboard respond like an acoustic piano.

The PSR275-AD features a stereo-sampled piano voice and dynamic filtering--technology previously reserved for much more expensive, professional keyboards. A single dedicated button brings up a great-sounding piano, rich and authentic in its sound and exceptionally responsive to your playing and sets up the keyboard to play as a piano in full-keyboard mode. Further, a wealth of special piano-only "Pianist" styles--like Piano Ballad or Stride, for example--provide professional-sounding piano accompaniment that changes chords automatically as you do, while you play a piano melody on top.

Portable keyboards are compact and light enough to fit just about anywhere--including next to your computer. If you're planning on connecting your keyboard to your computer, you'll be happy to know that the PSR275-AD is GM (General MIDI System Level 1) compatible. This means the keyboard will accurately reproduce any GM music files that you download into your computer--and almost all music files on the Internet are GM-compatible. It also has a large selection of XGlite voices, offering even greater compatibility with both third party and Yamaha XG software.

Now, instead of wading through function menus and fighting through a maze of selections, one button is your expressway to music on the Web and your computer. All Yamaha keyboards have a special MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) port on the back that let you connect your keyboard to a computer (your computer requires a MIDI Interface like the Yamaha UX16 and music software). Once connected, you can play your songs into the computer, edit them if necessary, and e-mail them to your friends and family. And with General MIDI (GM) compatibility, song data always plays back with the correct sounds.

The PSR275-AD comes with 100 built-in songs and a physical song book. But if you've never played before, where do you start? If learning to play music is important to you, the Yamaha Education Suite II, a useful set of music-training functions, greatly simplifies learning music. A special Chord Dictionary shows you how to play chords and tells you which chords you are playing by displaying the notes and chord name on the LCD.

The PSR275-AD comes with 100 built-in styles, waiting for you to play along with. Call up your favorite style of music (like Rock, Big Band, or Country), press a chord or play "single finger" mode, and the PSR275-AD will follow you through a piece of music, providing all the drums, bass, piano, guitar, horn, and string parts for you.

A special port on each of the keyboard's two speakers adds dramatic impact to bass reproduction. Digital signal processing (DSP) enhances sound quality with sophisticated digital effects like harmony, reverb, and chorus.

What's in the Box
Keyboard, music rest, song book, AC power adapter, and a user's manual. ... Read more

Features

• 100 Songs Built-in, Backlit Display
• Yamaha PA3C Power Adapter Included
• Replaces Yamaha PSR-225
• 61 Full Size Touch Sensitive Keys for Expressive Playing
• Makes Playing Easier and More Fun for Novices

Reviews (10)

More than enough for beginers.
I got this as a Christmas Present and I have been playing on it since then. The grand piano sounds very real, and touch sensitivity is a cool feature. It also comes with programs that can teach you how to play. It comes with 100 different styles of songs (classical, country, pop). I bought midi cables as accessories so I can hook it up with my computer and it works great. I recommend it.

Excellent value.
For the money, you won't do much better.A wealth of features for the price, and good sound for a beginner.However, do NOT let UPS ship this thing if you've got alternatives.They beat the you-know-what out of the shipping carton.I was lucky that it was well-packed.

Excellent choice for an starter keyboard or...
I received this keyboard as a gift, on top of just sounding better than the Casio models in this price range, the tone generator features 32-note polyphony (up to 32 tones can be sounded at once by the tone generator), casios comparitive model can do around 24.

The PSR275 lives up to being a solid keyboard for someone just learning to play by providing the capability of turning any song in it's memory into a lesson (the song slows down and the keyboard waits for you to play along), it has a good set of 100 songs to playback/listen to. A good number of drum styles and auto acompanyment. Standard MIDI IN/OUT for sequencing using a PC , etc...

The only negative here is that you don't get on board sequencer (you can't record anything) also the keyboard has no internal memory for adding additional songs. This was a big negative for me and why I ultimately returned the PSR275 for the PSR295. If you want all the features of the PSR275 with the additional benefit of being able to do multi channel/track sequencing of songs (recording) and the ability to download MIDIs into the keyboard, the PSR295 is your best bet. PSR295 currently retails for about $50.00 more, but I have actually seen it for less than the PSR275 (supply and demand I suppose).

The PSR295 comes with fewer songs in memory out of the box, but it comes with a CD-ROM full of songs a USB port (can easily connect to a laptop or desktop PC) and a USB MIDI driver (which works great with Cakewalk Sonar, Cubase, etc...) and software to boot. For that reason I give the PSR275 *** and the PSR295 *****

Nice sound and features
"pros like me" would know that a full piano is 88 keys, not 81. Generally keyboards come in 61, 76 or 88 keys. 61 is more than ample for a beginner keyboard in this pricerange.

the sounds are nice, but not fantastic. for the price range they blow away the similar casios, especially for piano.

if you are looking for an entry level keyboard this is your best bet.

Amazing Value for Beginners!
I purchased the Yamaha PSR275 with AC Adapter and Portable Stand at a major membership retailer for $140 on a whim, thinking that I would like to learn to play some music. I am awestruck by the features and value...it's perfect for a neophyte such as myself.

100 built in songs to learn to play along with (and you can download others from the internet), 100 styles of one-touch backup music, and 480 voices...from a real classical guitar to an actual choir to a car wreck or a machine gun. The drum kit voices turn each key into a different drum or percussion instrament. And by activating the Portable Grand button I can made my $140 keyboard sound like a grand piano.

I bought the keyboard thinking I would utilize its ability to connect to a PC and purchase some piano learning software, but the built-in learning suite will keep me busy for a long time! Last night I learned to play the right-hand part of "Greensleeves" in just a couple of hours. Fun and rewarding! The LCD display showed me which notes to play, both on the musical scale and on an idiot-proof keyboard map. Now I will learn to play the left hand part, then finally put the two parts together.

I can either play chords with one finger, or if I want to do the "real thing" the chord dictionary shows me how to play any chord, and the chord name flashes if I am playing it correctly.

Granted, if you think you are a rock star, this may not be the keyboard for you. But did you really expect to sound like Elton John for a hundred and fifty bucks? And yes, it only has 61 keys rather than the full 81. Did you not notice that when you purchased it? Hello! The volume of the keyboard can be increased by connecting it to some portable speakers or your home stereo. Seriously, for the price I don't understand what people are complaining about! I am totally impressed.

My six-year old granddaughter is over this morning and in less than an hour she has learned to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She has a piano at home and had never learned to play anything yet! She's stoked!

I'm going to buy headphones, a sustain pedal, a cable to connect to my PC, and a cord to play through my home stereo. This is totally fun! ... Read more

Product Description

The Keystation 49e is the perfect USB MIDI controller keyboard for getting started with music on your Mac. Class-compliancy with OS X mean true plug-and-play operationand the included Maximum Audio Tools software bundle is designed to get you playing immediately.

Despite its simplicity, the Keystation 49e includes a 49-note full-size, velocity-sensitive keyboard for authentic playing experience, as well as built-in MIDI interface, pitch and modulation wheels, and sustain pedal input. This sleek, compact keyboard is USB bus-powered, requiring no external power supply.

Compatible with most educational and studio software, the affordable Keystation 49e is the perfect companion with which to begin your musical journey.

• 49-Note Full-Size, Velocity-Sensitive Keyboard
• Pitch Bend And Modulation Wheels
• Volume/Control Slider
• Advanced Function Button For Programming
• Sustain Foot Pedal Input
• Octave +/- Buttons To Extend Keyboard Range
• Separate Midi Out Jack Routes Midi Signals From Your Computer To Control External Devices
• Powered Via Usb Or 9vdc Power Adapter (Not Included)
• Functions As A Standalone Usb Midi Interface
• Class Compliant With Os X And Windows Xp For Plug-And-Play
• Also Includes Drivers For Mac Os 9.1 And Later, And Included For Windows 95/98/Me/2000

Features

• Sustain foot pedal input
• 49-note full-size, velocity-sensitive keyboard
• Separate MIDI out jack routes MIDI signals from your computer to control external devices
• Class compliant with OS X and Windows XP for plug-and-play
• Powered via USB or 9VDC power adapter (not included)

Reviews (4)

Great keyboard for no-nonsense playing
I'm learning to play the piano, have an emac, and no room for a piano in my house.The keyboard is wonderfully easy to set up and use, and I haven't had a problem with it in 3 months.Not having an AC adaptor is nice, it's powered by the USB.Flawless integration with GarageBand.I move to a real piano once a week, and have no trouble playing on it after a week on the Keystation.I highly recommend this product.

MIDI controller generates error with MC-303 sequencer
I bought one of these to control my Roland MC-303 sequencer.It generates a "err 02" after pressing a few keys.Will not make music for more then a few seconds.Tried another one at a local music store and a both a keystaion 61es and 49e, both had the same problem.In talking with the salesman he said that other customers have reported simular problems, sound dropping, error codes with a variety of equipment.It seems that it works really well via USB to a computer but there are many issues with the MIDI out.I they tried a Radium 49 and it worked like a charm.From what I hear the Radium series is made by another manufacturer and is totally different.

Bottom line, if your not going to use the MIDI out it would probably work great, it also may work well with some equipment.Just would not work for more then a few seconds or notes with the Roland MC-303.

Buyer beware.

Hubby Pleased
Amazon upgraded my shipping of this item free of charge due to unforseen delays. Recvd item two days later. My hubby had emailed me this amazon website as a birthday request. I am quite happy with the service and quality of packaging.

As for the item, it is exactly what hubby was looking for to mess around on his computer. I don't think this is for professional use, but if you just want to putz around at home you cannot find a better deal than this one!

Good but could be better
As somebody who does all of my music recording and editing using software, I was looking for something with the right features for what I do.If you're familiar enough with your software, this keyboard will do the job.However, it has several short-comings.

First, the keys are very "springy".They actually resist depression more than one would expect.Although the keyboard is velocity-sensitive, the "springiness" actually makes it difficult to control the sensitivity.If you've played on better keyboards, or have never played on a velocity-sensitive keyboard, it will require some "re-learning".Also, 49 keys has a disadvantage in that an entire octave is missing as compared to larger keyboards.Having moved from a 61 key to a 49 key keyboard, you realize how important the additional octave is.However, you can shift the pitch an entire octave using the dedicated keys.

This controller lacks a display.Higher-functions (such as changing MIDI channels or programs) are accessed by pressing an advanced button and one of the keyboard's keys.This requires consulting the manual, especially when you need to do something you don't do on a regular basis.On a positive note, you can assign the volume slider and modulation wheel to any controller you choose, which is helpful for controlling pan, portamento, breath, or any other effect.You can also change the functionality of the "octave" keys, so that you can change the selected program(sound) incrementally.This can be extremely confusing at times -- I plan on cutting and pasting sections of the manual directly onto the unit's body for easy reference.

If using USB, the keyboard requires no power supply.There is a small power switch located on the back of the unit, however, which must be turned on in order for the PC to recognize the USB device.I often find myself forgetting to turn it on.The dedicated MIDI out jack is handy for connecting to legacy MIDI equipment, but since no power supply is included, you'll need to find your own universal adapter.However, using USB means I have one less thing to plug into the power strip.

The unit has significant weight, more than I thought it would have.It's definitely a sturdy unit.But this definitely isn't the best of the lot; it will do the job of a "controller" for under $100.Recommended -- "yes" -- but only if you have a little patience and prior knowledge of MIDI, MIDI controllers, and keyboards. ... Read more

Product Description

WK3000 Professional quality touch sensitive keyboard featuring SmartMedia Data Storage. Also included the unique Internet Data Expansion System which lets you download new sounds (including sound wave), patterns, songs and keyboard settings over MIDI from casiosongs.com Casio was the first company to develop the 76 note concept and the new WK3000 is the culmination of many years of design and research and is now the new benchmark as all who have played it call it the best keyboard in the category period. Power adaptor included! ... Read more

Features

• 140 preset rhythms including 20 piano patterns
• 3.0w of stereo power per side with Bass Reflex and stereo lineout jack
• 76 Fill-size keys and 32-note polyphonic
• Over 700 tones and 224 user programmable tones and SmartMedia TM expansion slot
• Built-in digital equalizer, Split & Layer function and drawbar organ function

Reviews (5)

Novice first impressions
1. Magnificent grand piano sound easily selectable with one dedicated setting button.
2. Mine came with the casio power adapter in the box. I would expect others would receive the same therefore no need to order the adapter separately at addiional cost.
3. lightweight!
4. keyboard action OK, but not the same as a weighted mechanical keyboard action.Keypress (touch) sensitivity works as advertised- 3 levels: very light, medium,full. Of course a real keyboard action that throws a felted hammer at strings has an infinite range, so three levels simply cannot match. But if you play carefully you can use and hear all three levels while playing.
5. Wide range of drum accompaniment and sounds very realistic.
6. No training program built in. I bought a seperate midi compatible training that runs on a connected laptop.
7. LCD display is very good- easy to read, has lots of info.
8. Keys do "clack" a little if you move around quickly on the keyboard. The key action will just not match a real keyboard, but what can you expect for the $$.

will add more info later as I use the board...

A Roland guy recommending a Casio...
I'm a die-hard Roland fan, and have always loved the Roland sounds and keyboards. Well, I recommend this Casio, because for $300, it really can't be beat. The piano sound on it sounds almost as good as my professional Roland, and the other sounds are very good too. My Roland still has the best orchestral sounds, but... I have to give my respect to this Casio unit. Keyboard Magazine reviewed this Casio and gave it a very favorable rating, which surprised me, because they usually don't "stoop" to consumer-level keyboards like the Casio. The fact that they reviewed it AND recommended it says a lot, since that magazine is a pro-keyboard magazine, not a consumer-keyboard magazine.
My roommate has one, and he's a very serious keyboard player. He's a Korg fanatic, and yet, he owns the Casio. This keyboard is going to convert a lot of people. When it comes down to $1000+ versus $300, and the sound quality difference is negligible, well, $300 wins.

Amazing . . .a review from a skeptic
I am a pro writer in Nashville. I needed some sort of highly portable keyboard to have access to in the trunk of my car, etc. for writing dates. It needed to be light, have it's own speakers, I wanted it to have a way of recording what I was playing, preferably have the option of battery operation and, most importantly, have a good piano sound. My final criteria was that I wanted 76 keys instead of the normal 61 key that are found on smaller keyboards (ala the Yamaha PSR series). I had decided that - for the money - the only contender was the Yamaha DGX series. What a surprise when several keyboard players recommended I check this unit out. I have to admit total bias against the casio name. But I tried it and it sounds great. The piano, organ and electric piano sounds are wonderful. It is a bit larger and heavier than the 61 key PSR series by Yamaha but the sounds really beat the DGX until you get to the top of that line (or certainly the top of the PSR line). One word of caution, the only audio output on this keyboard is the headphone output. So if you plan on playing it live you'll want to get a cable that goes from 1/4" TRS to Left and Right outputs. I can't believe what $300 can buy in a keyboard. Casio has really shocked me with this one.

Nothing but incredible
One word describes the WK-3000: amazing! I thought Casio was not all that great until I got this. It boasts over 300 different voices, almost any kind of rhythm you can think of, a SmartMedia memory card slot, drawbar organ, SMF player and much more.
You can also record your own song with up to 6 instruments. So you can sound like a ear-blasting rock band or a full-size orchestra.
I tried the SmartMedia card slot. It worked great, but I thought it was for putting your songs on the computer and burning them to a CD. Turns out it was for expanding your keyboard's memory.
Haven't tried the SMF player yet, but like all the other features on the keyboard, it should be great!
Advice: Buy if you love music.

Welcome, Casio! Yamaha: so long, until you can beat this...
After having being away from playing music for almost three years, I was curious as to what would portable keyboards be up to. As it was my habit (having owned three previous Yamaha Portasound keyboards) I went for the latest release in Yamaha's portable lineup, only to be dissapointed at the lack of versatility and mostly at the lack of power in the keyboard's output. Since I am up for portability (not wanting or being able to hook it up to a whole bunch of external gear to make it sound good), this was a major deal breaker for me... for the first time in my life, I turned Yamaha down.

Then, I turned around (I literally turned around, since I was in a Sam Ash store!) and I glanced at this baby. "A Casio!" -I said to myself... Wasn't thrilled at the prospects, I must admit, because I remember Casio's cheesy-sounding tones of ole. It's almost like I wanted to forget them: oh, how much I hated the tones that the Casio keyboards came with. But I gave it a shot, and today I am happy that I did. This keyboard, even today, almost two months after I bought it, comes with far more options than I think I will ever come up with uses for!

It comes pre-loaded with far more high-quality tones than you will ever need, with a wide array of pianos, electric pianos and organs, opening the line-up. Are you a synthesis freak? No problem! You can play with a bunch of parameters within all the tones and save up as many as 100 of your newly created tones,. and if you want more, you can download more tones and rhythms from the Casio music or elsewhere in the Web, ad nauseam, since you can expand the memory with an standard SmartMedia card.

As for rhythms, there's plenty of those too (you can also make different drum kits play different rhythms than those they're programmed for, for an array of very interesting combinations), and you can save quite a few of your songs for playback, as well as keyboard configurations, or split the keyboard, or mix two sounds to be played, with awesome control over volume of each, etc. I mean, with the Casio WK-3000 Professional Series 76 Key Digital Recording Studio Styled Keyboard by Casio (now, THAT's one deserved mouthful) you really have it all. ... Read more

Product Description

Touch Sensitivity, Stereo Piano, Drawbar Organ and the and the ability to expand your musical pallet via the Internet, make the CTK691 an unbeatable value! The Internet Data Expansion System lets you download new sounds including sound wave, patterns, songs, and keyboard settings over MIDI from casiosongs.com. 61 full-size keys. Touch sensitive (with On/Off). 32-note polyphonic. Stereo Piano.790 Tones: 566 preset tones (300 Advanced tones, 128 General MIDI, 72 Various, 16 Drum sets, 50 Drawbar Organs) plus 224 User programmable tones (100 User tone, 20 User tone +wave, 4 Drum set + wave, 100User Drawbar). Piano Setting Switch to get instant access of Stereo Piano Sound. Drawbar Organ lets you control simulated organ sounds easily. Synthesizer function lets you create and store your own sounds. 232 Digital Effects: 100DSP, 100 User effects, 16 Reverb, 16 Chorus. Digital Equalizer. Spilt & Layer function. Advanced Tone: panel sounds with much playability featuring bigger wave memory, velocity split and strong DSP units.140 Preset Rhythm including 20 piano patterns and 16 User Rhythms. 156 One-Touch Presets CASIO CHORD/ Fingered Chord/Full-Range Chord auto-accompaniment systems. Auto-Harmonize. Musical Information System (Backlit LCD) displays selections and status of Tone, Rhythm, Mixer and keyboard functions, and Tempo. On-screen keyboard and music staff icons display notes and chords played, and metronome icon i... ... Read more

Features

• 140 preset rhythms
• Built-in digital equalizer with split and layer function
• 61 standard size keys
• 700 tones, 224 user programmable tones
• Drawbar organ function

Reviews (2)

GREAT BOARD...NO INTERNET
A great sounding board.The new technology Casio implements certainly makes for very real and warm sounds.The keyboard is intuitive and reasonably easy to use and learn.
The problem is the alleged internet capability...it is NOT internet capable.The Casio Software downloads easy enough but do NOT try to download data or songs....Tech support is working with me but they have tried for a month to no avail.If they would design their software to work this keyboard would rate a 5.

Great value for money
It's fun , it's versatile, it's very playable and great value for money. Not only that; but AMAZON has it at a knock down price. You can't find a better keyboard value at this price! I'm using it in home recording, for live music applications and for songwriting. Its portability as well as versatility makes it a leader. The sounds are very realistic and the inboard speakers give excellent sound. Don't be put off by the Casio name and think this is just a toy. You can make some serious music with this puppy. I'm really enjoying mine (bought from AMAZON of course!). ... Read more

Features

• 32-note polyphonic
• Make multi-track recordings using the integrated 6-track song record system
• Go techno or chill out with the sophisticated DJ function
• An exceptional Piano timbre balances perfectly with shimmering strings, for a wonderful orchestral aura
• Backlit LCD screen

Reviews (3)

Certainly good enough!
OK, I haven't tried the Casios that some rave about, but I do know this...the keyboard does offer an adequate volume level (particularly how I play). If you want more volume: 1-Try turning the touch response off. 2-Go into the function menu and turn the M.Volume control UP. I'm certain that the naysayers didn't read into the manual. I admit that there's not a ton of additional sound, but it's set at "104" from the factory and can go to "127" if you choose to. That's because Yamaha has given the unit some "play" so you can raise or lower the sound to match other built-in settings. Also when a "song" is playing there's extra sounds like bass, cymbal etc., so how much can you expect of 12watts, total? 3-Go to radio shack, get the right adapter and plug it in to you stereo (or I've read about some adding inexpensive PC speakers for $30-$60). One or all of the above will do the trick.

It's got a great range of voices. The piano sounds great as well as others like guitar, church organ, etc. There's 600 to choose from. I advise the 202 model which will include a sustain pedal, AC power adapter, some 'phones and an extended warranty.

fun and easy to learn
It is a beautiful product. I've loved it since i got it on the very first day. Eventhough i am a beginner, i can play the music with happiness all the time.

didn't expect this!
I have plyed piano professionally and have a degree in music.i have a very expensive Yamaha Clavinova (as well as a real piano)
i bought this thinking of it as a toy for my 22 year old who suddenly wants to play.it has a fabulous piano sound (better than the expensive triton).the built in piano lessons are really helpful.my favorite part is when i taught piano, i could never get kids to practice one hand at a time.this keyboard will play the left hand for you as you play the right and vice versa. my daughter loved that it would record and play back what she had just played.

i always discoraged parents from having their kids practice on keyboards but the touch of these keys is very realistic.i would recommend it to someone starting out in piano not wanting to make that huge investment until they were sure they would continue.

but, as a keyboard (not a tiny piano) there are enough sounds and gimics for a beginner in keyboards but not for someone who really is into all the synthesizer effects.

But, what is this?no power cord?and no sustain pedal.the pedal i can understand but no power cord - that is just too cheap.they should at least put a huge notice on the front of the box that you're going to have to buy one separately.

still, i was shocked at the quality considering the price. ... Read more

Product Description

The Edirol PCR-50 keyboardthe most advanced 49-key MIDI keyboard controller available. Never before has there been a better compact keyboard for use with popular sequencers and software synthesizers. The PCR-50 takes MIDI control to a new level with unprecedented versatility. ... Read more

Features

• 1 Sustain Pedal Connection (Pedal sold separately)
• 49 full size velocity sensitive Keys
• 8 assignable Rotary Knobs (Cut Off, Resonance, Pan, Tempo etc.)
• 8 assignable Faders (Volume, EFX Send, etc.)
• 9 assignable Buttons ( Program Change, Track Mute, Start, Stop, etc.)

Product Description

The slim, compact design of the Casio Privia 88-Key Digital Piano is so lightweight you can take it with you anywhere! The scaled hammer-action keyboard offers touch sensitivity, and the New Sound Source feature rivals the sound quality of an actual grand piano. Features auto-accompaniment; primary tones including strings and pipe organ; lesson assemble functions that enhance your practice sessions; and song playback up to 5,200 notes. There are 8 effects (4 each reverbs and choruses); a built-in music library; 30 preloaded tunes plus enough memory storage for 10 downloadable songs; 32-note polyphonic; 8 tones; 140 preset rhythms including 20 piano and 16 user; 156 one-touch presets; SmartMedia Data Storage; and much more. Imported. ... Read more

Features

• Also includes strings, pipe organ, and other tones, 10 in total
• 88-Key Scaled Hammer Action keyboard with touch sensitivity
• Sound Source rivals the sound quality of a grand piano
• Auto-Accompaniment provides exciting dynamic and realistic background arrangements for pop, jazz, rock, and other genres
• Complete orchestral accompaniment on command

Reviews (5)

Keyboard's Great, Would Like Better AC Converter
I love this digital piano. Unlike my electronic keyboard, when I play the Privia it feels and sounds just like a real piano. It has other tones, of course, including a beautiful strings section sound. But if you want to play a piano, expressing yourself in each note, then this is an excellent way to go.

My only complaint is the power converter. You're supposed to unplug it when the piano is off. It apparently draws power from your AC even when the piano itself is turned off. And that's a nuisance. So I've got the converter plugged into a power panel that has an on-off switch. That seems to do the trick.

Best value available.
I'm not raving about this instrument--there are a lot of others I'd rather own.

But you can't get those, complete with furniture-grade stand, for $500 like you can this one--if your a member of everyone's favorite warehouse club based in Kirkland, WA.

Key action is decent, if a little light. Doesn't take long to accustom yourself to it. Samples are quite good, for such a cheap piece. Not long ago, you couldn't get piano sound this good from the $6000 Kurzweils, Rolands and Yamahas. Now everybody's got a new, improved piano sample, and they just keep getting bigger and better.

If you've been waiting for quality and price to converge at a point where it just makes sense to not go without a piano anymore, this might be your ticket. Any player will tell you you really need a real piano if you're really going to play. But as a low-budget piano alternative that doubles as a really fancy MIDI controller for your computerized composition needs, this thing is state of the art.

Of course, with something this small, if you really want the full range of the excellent piano sounds in its chip, you'll have to plug it into something a bit more substantial than its little bitty speakers. But for their size, these speakers don't do too bad. The sounds are stereo, giving a nice depth of field and providing a really good background with decent PA equipment. Much better than any of us had a right to expect from a $500 piece of gear in years gone by.

Mine is quite new, so I can't make any pronouncements as to longevity yet. But since it's sitting where it's likely to stay, this piano is likely to outlast those that get used for gigs.

Before this Privia line came out, I couldn't imagine using anything that said 'Casio' for performance. But if I were still gigging, I'd consider getting a road case for the PX-100 and putting it on my rack as one of the primary controllers--and I might even use its piano sample.

I'll say it once more: for $500 including a very nice stand, you can't go wrong. Use your favorite aftermarket pedal, though. The mouse that comes with this thing is a bit difficult.

Love it!
Just bought myself a Christmas present and this is it. I've played the piano since I was seven. A "real" piano is space- and cost-prohibitive for me right now but this is as close as you can get to the real thing and it's great! Since I'm a piano-playing purist, all the bells and whistles on this baby are new to me so I'm having fun discovering all the extra features. But the feel and sound are fantastic. I also bought the wooden stand for it, and it looks like a nice piece of furniture. Putting it together was easy (I did it by myself despite the directions to have two people put it together). Now if they could package this with a piano bench I would be really, really happy. And here's a hint...you can save some $ by buying this on the online store of a well-known warehouse store (yes, that one). You'll have to pay shipping but you'll still come out ahead.

BUYER BEWARE
I bought this item & the transpose function didn't work - might be a problem w/ the product - I know someone else who has the same problem.So, I sent it in for repair per their instructions.But, Casio repair service is the worst I've ever seen. They're even worse than Best Buy & that's pretty bad. They rec'd my item for warranty work on 11/23/04. At first I was told the turnaround for the repair was 5-10 business days. Then I was told that starts from the log date. THEN, I was told that it's 10-15 business days from the log date!!! They didn't even get around to logging it in until 12/7/04!!! They had the product 9 business days prior to even logging it in!!! I may never see my product again. So beware, if you purchase something from them, I hope you never have to have it repaired!

One of the best
I am obsessed with this keyboard. Why? Because it's the first one that I've seen and played so far that has PERFECT weighting on the keys, beautiful sound, and a GREAT price. This keyboard has been on my wishlist for a while now, ever since I first saw it at Sam's. I just want to reiterate how well Casio has done with this keyboard - While there are a limited range of tones available on the PX-100, there are plenty of features for someone who is like me - If you want the feel of a real piano with the weight of an electronic keyboard, this is the keyboard you want to look at. I just couldn't help but fall in love with the keys on this baby, I've played on keyboards with weighted keys before, but this one just takes the cake - The keys are weighted propertly, they spring back like they should, and the weight is ranged just right - the lower keys are just the slightest bit heavier than the higher end. This thing is a DREAM to play! Featuring midi input/output ports, two headphone jacks, pedal port and everything I've talked about so far, this keyboard is definitely something to look at if you want the warmth and feel of a real piano at the price and portability of an electronic keyboard. I highly reccomend this keyboard! ... Read more

Product Description

61 piano-sized keys with Portable Grand functionYamaha Educational Suite Multi-Fingering auto-accompaniment functionGeneral MIDI compatibility & USB port for quick online connectionDownload additional songs into FLASH memory480 instrument voices 100 built-in songs 100 accompaniment styles4 multipads for sound effects and fillsBass boost system2-way stereo speakers with bass ports headphone jack backlit LCDIncludes Konami Piano Mania softwareShipping package dimensions: 41x17x7.5 (len x wid x dep) ... Read more

Features

• Built-in flash ROM allows downloads of new songs into the keyboard
• Plays any MIDI file using lighting system and interactive teaching system
• Includes interactive software from Konami which plays songs and teaches musical skills like timing in game format
• YAMAHA Education Suite (Y.E.S.2) teaches timing and note ready using lights ? even grading your performance
• 80 built-in songs to learn, organized by degree of difficulty

Reviews (1)

Let there be Light
We got this keyboard just before Christmas 2003.Due to the pace of daily life, I haven't gotten too deeply into it.But since it has been several months and no one else has reviewed it, I'll start the ball rolling.The reason why I purchased THIS keyboard because it has a touch sensitive (velocity) and lighted keyboard. The only other model that fit this description was the Casio LK-55.I just thought the Yamaha sounded a bit better and was made a bit better. It is also more expensive.The sounds are quite good. There is an XG lite implementation as well as the standard General Midi soundset. The lighted keys make it easy to learn.

I have been too busy to hook it up to my computer yet to try out the downloading of General Midi sequences, but I am looking forward to it.The supplied USB cable is too short unless your keyboard is right up against your computer.

I was disappointed to find out that the only MIDI implementation is through a USB interface.There are no midi in and out jacks, so I couldn't hook this up directly to my other MIDI keyboard.

I'd love for Yamaha to come out with a version that had regular Midi jacks, pitch and mod wheels and an audio input (with reverb) for sing alongs.I'd pay double the price for those additions.For what you pay, I'd say you get your money's worth and then some.

UPDATE DECEMBER 2004

We've now had this keyboard about a year.Since my initial review, I've solved the computer problems that kept me from loading the software that came with the computer.(The problem was in my computer, and not in the Yamaha keyboard.)

I love the sound-filer software.This software allows you to load general midi files from the computer to the keyboard.The built-in flash memory on the keyboard will hold about 10 new songs, give or take.You can remove them and replace them at will with the songfiler software.Once loaded into the Ez-250i, the sequences play back just as the built-in songs do, lights and all, but with one exception, you can choose which instrument sounds are assigned to the left and right hand regions of the keyboard.This allows you to learn any of the orchestral parts of the song, and to see any of the parts assigned to the lighted area of the keyboard.

The software also allows you to use the EZ-250i as a midi slave instrument to play back sequences played by your computer's midi player or sequencer.This means the EZ-250i will play back any of the midi files you have stored on the computer without having those files actually loaded into the flash memory of the EZ-250i.In my experience, most songs sound better played by the Yamaha keyboard than the computer's Microsoft general midi instruments.

I'm not that thrilled with the Konami game that came with the computer.It seems like a Japanese home market game that doesn't translate well to American audiences.My kids aren't even that interested in it.I had no problems getting it going though.

Since my earlier review, I've explored the depths of the sound engine.There is a lot of synthesis horsepower under the surface.There is dynamic digital filtering on the voices, something you don't see on el-cheapo keyboards.In addition, the keyboard can split and layer voices, giving you up to four distinct sounds playable from the keyboard at any given time.The sound engine responds well over midi to pitch-bend and even portamento (gliding from note to note).It's a shame there's no pitch-bend wheel or portamento switch for live playing.

Since my earlier review, Casio has come out with a new lighted keyboard, the LK-90TV, that competes directly with the Yamaha EZ-250i.I haven't seen this personally, but it has some interesting features.It has a TV output to display Karaoke lyrics from sounds loaded by the user.It also accepts smartmedia cards foruser-loaded sounds, though, as I understand it, this is a read-only slot.In other words, you can't load the card with sounds while hooked up to your keyboard.The card must be loaded from a reader attached to the computer.Though I haven't heard it live, it appears the sound-engine is the same as the LK-55, which, to my ears, sounded distinctly inferior to the Yamaha's.

In summary, a year after my purchase, I'm happy with my purchase, and I'd make the same choice today.I think Yamaha should add the lighted keyboard feature to its upmarket products, including keyboards with microphone inputs, pitch & mod wheels and sound editing features. ... Read more

Product Description

Fancy yourself a rock starthe Creative Prodikeys can make your dream come true. This interactive music entertainment device not only functions as a full-featured, ergonomic QWERTY keyboard but also comes equipped with 37 touch-sensitive music keys and accessible music controls for endless entertainment at your desktop. Coupled with the Sound Blaster audio card, you can explore a wide array of realistic instrument sounds and have non-stop fun making music right at your desktop. ... Read more

Features

• Programmable Hot Keys
• Standard IBM compatible PS/2 computer keyboard
• 37-key MIDI keyboard (MIDI Controller)
• Removable palm rest
• Multimedia Hot Keys

Reviews (2)

Great device, compatible with notebooks.
The last reviewer is obviously not much of a computer user. A laptop and a desktop are quite different physically, but there is no way that an external componant such as a keyboard is INCOMPATIBLE with a notebook system. The reviewer must not have had any PS/2 ports on his notebooks, and after attempting to jam the male PS/2 connector into various non-PS/2 female slots, he decided that the device was totally incompatible with not only his notebooks, but everyone elses as well. True, many new notebooks no longer carry PS/2 ports, in exchange for more versitile USB ports, but there exists a cheap, small, and easy to find solution to this problem... a PS/2 to USB converter.

This keyboard IS compatible with notebook computers, and offers the user not only an ergonomic PC keyboard with hotkeys, but also an awesome 37 key touch-sensitive MIDI piano keyboard.

A helpful warning
I tend to think of myself as, at least mildly, an aware person. Yet, somehow, I managed to overlook the part about this not being compatible with laptops and notebooks. There are 3 laptops in the house and not a desktop to be found rendering the keyboard completey useless. This may actually be a worthwhile purchase if you have a desktop, I wouldn't be able to advise you on that. I may still be desperate enough to go out and buy a desktop, but isn't that getting a little rediculous? In the past I have purchased keyboards for my computers, but never a computer for my keyboard. In other words, don't bother buying this if you are a laptop/notebook user. ... Read more

Product Description

16-Pad MIDI Drum Controller for Itchy Trigger Fingers More DJâs, Hip Hop artists and electronic musicians are leaning towards software based setups to create beats and grooves due to the huge variety of sounds available as well as the limitless opportunities for mangling sounds that sofware offers. But most beat-makers feel that their most interesting patterns comes from banging out a rhythm on the edge of the desk or on their knees, which is much more intuitive than using a MIDI keyboard or the tiny finger pads on many drum machines. M-Audioâs Trigger Finger offers DJâs, Hip-Hop artists and drum programmers an easy-to-use dedicated drum pad controller, which offers larger pads than most drum machines. M-Audio Trigger Finger at a Glance: Dedicated MIDI drum control surface with 16 velocity and pressure sensitive pads. 8 assignable knobs, 4 assignable faders with pre-programmed maps16 MIDI Presets and editor/librarian software included.Powered via USB connection, fully Mac and PC compliant. Play Expressively with Velocity and Pressure Sensitive Pads M-Audio Trigger Fingerâs 16 "MPC" sized velocity and pressure sensitive pads contribute to the feel of triggering "real" drums and percussion, ensemble "blasts", and virtually any sample or loop requiring a more percussive method of playing. Or, for VJs, Trigger Finger can even control video projections - and applying pressure to the pads can generate any MIDI controller you wish. ... Read more

Features

• 16 velocity and pressure-sensitive pads / 8 assignable knobs / 4 assignable faders
• Pre-programmed maps for Live, Reason, GM Drum, XG Drum, and iDrum
• Velocity control including locked velocity mode
• Program/bank change capability
• Powered via USB connection or optional DC power supply

Product Description

For the serious music, start things off right with this Yamaha keyboard. It's larger than most, important for professionals and valuable for aspiring musicians. Features 76 touch-sensitive keys; 100 built-in songs; digital effects such as harmony, reverb, and chorus for enhanced sound quality; separate woofers and tweeters; general MIDI and Yamaha XGlite for great sound; large backlit LCD; Flash ROM that stores up to 99 songs; Yamaha Education Suite IV; and much more. Imported. 6Hx16-1/4Wx46-1/2L". ... Read more

Features

• Separate woofers and tweeters deliver sounds with clarity and precision for more lifelike instrument voices
• General MIDI and Yamaha XGlite makes for great sound
• 76 touch-sensitive keys with 100 songs built-in
• Yamaha power adapter is included
• Enhances sound quality with sophisticated digital effects like Harmony, Reverb, and Chorus

Reviews (5)

Wonderful sound, nice features
This keyboard seems to fall near the low end of Yamaha's middle series of electronic keyboards, judging by price and features.But it has everything I was looking for: large number of voices (400+), great sound, 76 keys, MIDI capability, USB interface.It also has teaching/learning tools, sequencing, styles/rhythms etc., but I wasn't as interested in those.The sound that comes out of this machine is wonderful.Even just the basic grand piano sound is terrific, and all the other instruments are incredibly realistic.The touch-sensitive keys are also a nice feature, and you can hook up an external sustain pedal (not included).

The previous reviewer who blasted this machine for having a long boot-up time and hissy sound is just plain wrong.This thing switches on and is ready to play instantly, and I haven't heard any kind of hiss, even at full volume.

This package came with a power adapter, which you would think is a given, but apparently is not in this product segment.It also came with a CD-ROM with software and drivers for the computer, and a DVD with some training videos.We've watched a couple and they're very easy to follow.The keyboard seems reasonably well built, but is also very light weight for its size so it should be easy to move around.I bought the Z-lock stand to go along with this also through amazon and it's a good fit.My only complaints are that some of the controls (like the jog dial and some of the pushbuttons) have a somewhat mushy feel that makes me wonder how they will hold up over time, and there doesn't appear to be a way to secure the keyboard to a stand.The piano keys themselves have a nice, springy feel with a decent amount of resistance that makes it easy to modulate the touch-sensitive response.

Best piano sound for the price!
AWESOME!!!I was looking for a keyboard to learn how to play piano on.The quality of the Piano sound was the most important feature to me. This keyboard has a grand piano feature that allows the grand piano sound at a touch of a button.Excellent piano sound.There is a lot of great features on the keyboard including a large lcd screen, chord dictionnary ,lesson mode great voices, midi and pc compatible with a standard ubs cable...just read the features of this keyboard.......there is so much more..i compared it to a casio and the sound of yamaha is much better!!!

This is perfect for anyone who is just learning how to play or is advanced it does have 76 keys which is very good if you want to learn piano. It also looks great with the keyboard stand LW15 which was design for the DGX keyboards. i also recommand this stand since it securely attaches the keyboard to the stand for more stability.

This keyboard is for me...the best quality for the price

Positively Awful
So I wasn't going to write a review, because I was always taught that if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.But this stupid piano has just pushed me too far so I feel obliged to try to help other people and persuade them not to get this.

Well, to start off, I need to get this out of the way - it *does* sound nice.It has a variety of voices (none of which I use), and a few other neat features.

But any positive thing I can say about the piano is completely obscured by some very obvious problems.First problem is the biggest - every once in a while, maybe every 500 times you play a note, the volume comes out wrong - completely wrong.I play very softly, and I keep the volume low, but just once in a while, a note comes out at deafening volume - literally, quite louder than you could get by hitting the key with a hammer, loud enough to hurt your ears at make you jump in fact, as if the piano were suddenly at max volume, so it is clearly not that I accidently strike the key to hard - no matter how hard I strike a key afterwards, the volume doesn't come close to these random highs.It completely butchers the song and ruins my mood.

Second problem is that the speakers hiss occassionaly - not always, but once in a while.Same thing happens when I put in head phones - again, only once in a while, but enough to be irritating.

Next problems are more minor - "boot up" time - the piano takes 4-5 seconds to start up - if you hit the pedal in that time, the piano will act as if it is pressed for the rest of the time it is on - you have to turn it off and start over if you want the pedal to work regularly.I don't know if this is a "feature" or not - all I know is that it is extremely irritating to have to wait to play every time I sit down.

Last - keys don't have nearly enough resistance, doesn't feel like playing a real piano at all.

In conclusion - this shouldn't even be something you consider when you're shopping.It's not like this piano has some good features and is missing others - it's just a piece of junk that you will regret buying.I'm stuck with it because it's huge and would be way too expensive to ship back.The numerous problems I have suggest that this is not just one faulty unit, but rather that they all have these problems.This is extremely upsetting coming from Yamaha, whom I trusted.I'm a college student and don't exactly have disposable income, but I'm looking at plopping down another 500 dollars just to get a decent working piano because this one is almost unplayable.

Great piano, missing accessories.
I really enjoy this piano.It sounds almost real and it has over 100 voices.I got it at Costco and the manual, songbook and software cd were missing.I am done buying durable goods at Costco.I wonder what songs, voices, etc. I am missing?

SUPERB
EXCELLENT! Easy to use with SUPERB WONDERFUL SOUND.I would recommend YAMAHA DGX-205 to everyone who has a great interest in and love of Music. Easy computer set-up with the free software disks. Quick Start DVD Information Guide is a PLUS. It also came with FREE SPECIAL BONUS POWER ADAPTER.
You also can't beat FREE SHIPPING, NO TAX, and UNITED PARCEL SERVICE(UPS)STRONG PERSON who delivered it right to my FRONT DOOR (Fifth floor walk-up). Note: When I purchased this at AMAZON.COM 8/24/04, there were 3 in Stock. When I was browing at it again 8/27/04 there was 0 left(more on the way)in stock. I felt very lucky to have made the decison to make this Purchase for my family of 5 without hesitation. It was love at first glance.EXCELLENT! SUPERB! ... Read more

Product Description

Lightweight USB Keyboard with 37 Mini Keys ... Read more

Features

• This compact 37-note mini keyboard comes with music software and games that make learning a breeze for all ages
• Installation is just as easy, simply plug eKeys into any USB computer
• The class-compliant design works immediately with Windows XP and Mac OS X, and installing the included drivers for other operating systems is a snap
• Learn to play the piano, create your own compositions, mix using the included library of professionally recorded samples, eKeys does it all

Product Description

This 61 keys keyboard is perfect for beginners and students or anyone who doesnt havespace for a grand piano.It comes with advanced features like Rising/Descending tone function, Single and fingered chord/ auto-base-chord/syn. Also includes features such as Vibrato, sustain, fill in, base effect. The LED digital displays relate number. Includes external speaker, AC Power, Double channel output. Large Scale Integration. Includes Users manual. Stand sold separately. Specifications: 935 x 355 x 125 mm; Weight: 5.0 Kg; Tone Area: C2 - C7; Output Power: 4 W ... Read more

Features

• 61 Standar Keys
• 20 Timbres, 20 Rhythms, 8 Percussions
• Rhythm Programming and playback/record/playback
• 32 Stage Tempo Speed/ 16 Stage Volume Adjustable
• 8 Demonstration Songs