Yamaha Portable Digital Pianos Specs and Review

If you do not have room in your apartment for a grand piano, then getting one of the Yamaha portable digital pianos is the next best thing. In this Yamaha portable digital pianos review, I’ll list the details and benefits so you can decide if one of them is the right portable piano for you.

These portable pianos from Yamaha can turn any room in your house into a recording studio or concert hall. These digital pianos come with various instrument voices and other effects, so even complete amateurs can sound professional. In addition, these famous digital pianos play nicely with your other electronic devices.

Read on to learn more about the Yamaha Portable Digital Pianos and their most significant details.

About the Yamaha Portable Digital Pianos

Most people associate the company, Yamaha, with motorcycles. What they do not know is that they also make quality traditional musical equipment. One instrument that puts them on the map is the digital piano. These days, when you talk about the best digital pianos or keyboards, you will always hear the name “Yamaha.”

Unlike other brands of keyboards, almost all the Yamaha portable digital pianos come with the standard 88 keys. Moreover, all Yamaha portable pianos use samples from the company’s flagship concert grand piano, which are then pumped out from built-in Yamaha speakers. Many clubs and studios use the same kind of speaker.

Yamaha Portable Digital Piano Models

Currently, there are six models of portable pianos that bear the Yamaha badge – the P-515, DGX-660, P-125, P-121, and P-45. Here is a brief overview of each one:

1. P-515

This model replaced the popular P-255 in the model lineup, making the P-515 the flagship model of the P-series. When reproducing the sound of an acoustic piano, the P-515 is right on top of its price range.

In addition, the P-515 sampled two of Yamaha’s top-tier grand pianos – the CFX Concert Grand and the Bosendorfer Imperial Grand. This also has a built-in 16-track MIDI recorder, so you already have a basic studio right there.

2. DGX-660

In essence, this portable digital piano is a hybrid between a digital piano and an arranger. This piano comes with hundreds of different sounds, songs, and rhythms. With that in mind, it is definitely the perfect choice for experienced pianists and those who are just starting to learn how to play.

For a “portable” piano, the DGX-660 is quite big and bulky. This keyboard weighs a little over 46 pounds without the stand. It is also 55” wide. You should, therefore, decide beforehand where you want to place this because you won’t want to move it that often.

3. DGX-670

The DGX-670 has a design that strayed far away from the traditional boxy piano design. Instead, its body prominently features curved and rounded edges. However, I am not a big fan of its L-300 stand. Unlike the DGX-670, its stand has completely straight and angular frames.

Regarding sound quality, this portable piano is one of the best options in its price range. The best feature is probably the DGX-670’s Virtual Resonance Modeling (VRM). This mimics how the other piano string reverberates when another string is hit, which is called resonance.

You can also mimic the acoustics of different performance halls, from concert halls to recording studios.

4. P-125

This portable digital piano provides the needs of pianists who need to take their instrument with them regularly. These include piano teachers who need to go to their student’s homes for their lessons. It also works for you if you are a musician who likes to perform every night in different venues. However, with portability, you need to compromise on other qualities.

Sound-wise, the P-125 has a clear sound with the right amount of depth to it. This is thanks to its excellent speaker system. Although this piano does not technically have an LCD, you can connect it to your laptop. This allows you to monitor the settings of the A-key.

5. P-121

Unlike the others on this list, the P-121 is a compact piano with only 73 keys instead of the traditional 88 keys. This makes this piano quite portable. The P-121 only weighs 22 lbs. and has a compact design. It is the ideal choice for the musician who likes to travel with their instrument.

For a portable piano, the P-121 has nice-sounding low frequencies, allowing it to replicate the sounds of an acoustic piano quite well. It also has a polyphony count of 192 notes, which is a rarity in 73-key pianos. Those are more than enough sounds for beginner to intermediate pianists, which this portable piano was made for.

6. P-45

Although the P-45 is the entry-level portable digital piano from Yamaha, that does not mean that it is not as worthy as the others. This is a full-sized 88-key portable piano that weighs only 11.5kg. This promotes ease when it comes to bringing it with you on gigs and other trips.

The keyboard is ideal for use by beginners and intermediate players. However, even with that mindset, Yamaha did not skimp on quality. Even though this piano only has ten voices, which is significantly less than most other digital pianos, you are still sure that you will be using all ten of them.

The built-in speakers are also quite nice. They are not the best in their class but great nonetheless. This also comes with a headphone jack for when you want to practice without waking up the entire house.

Again, what does the Yamaha Portable Pianos offer? Turn your house into a recording studio or concert hall with these Yamaha Portable Pianos. Plus, these portable pianos are equipped with instrument voices and other effects that’ll make you sound like a real professional. Lastly, these digital pianos go along with other electronic devices.

Pros and Cons of Yamaha Portable Digital Pianos

yamaha portable digital piano with 88 full-sized keys — Yamaha DGX-660

Yamaha portable pianos come with a huge array of benefits. However, they also have a couple of cons that you should be aware of. Let’s learn about them in this section:

Pros

1. Sampled the Sounds of Some of the Best Grand Pianos in the Market

Yamaha portable digital pianos provide you with the same sound experience as playing a grand piano. This is thanks to them sampling the sounds of their most popular grand pianos. It is also because of their use of high-quality speakers and sound engineering on their portable digital pianos.

2. Comes with a Lot of Features

When you own a Yamaha portable keyboard, it is like having your small recording studio, at least for making backing tracks. Even the entry-level models have MIDI recording capabilities, a huge sound library, and many other incredible features.

3. Excellent Weighted Keys

The older models of digital pianos have very light keys. Playing on them often felt like you were typing on a computer keyboard. This does not help with developing finger strength and dexterity, both of which are important to pianists.

Yamaha remedied this problem by using real wood keys and weighing them down. This made them almost feel like the real thing. Playing on a Yamaha portable piano does not feel cheap or tacky at all; quite the opposite.

4. Low-maintenance

Unlike real grand pianos, Yamaha portable pianos do not need even a fraction of the maintenance. Just make sure that it is clean. Moreover, Yamaha makes some of the most durable digital pianos in the market.

5. Take Them Anywhere

The beauty of having a portable digital piano is that you can bring them anywhere you go. This is especially true with the entry-level Yamaha keyboards. They are usually just a little over 10 pounds. They also come with a convenient and sturdy carrying bag.

Cons

Technology Is Constantly Evolving

One of the biggest drawbacks of owning a digital piano is that the technology behind them is rapidly and constantly evolving. It is not like acoustic pianos that won’t have any future enhancements.

With digital pianos, the one you have will already be outdated and replaced with a newer model after a couple of years. This means that you will constantly suffer from “tech envy” with every year that passes. On the other hand, if you are not tech-savvy, this would not bother you too much.

Are Yamaha Portable Digital Pianos Right for You?

Although Yamaha portable pianos are more expensive than other brands, they are still a good buy. The reason is that you will be investing in a quality musical instrument. Their build quality is excellent.

This means they do not need that much maintenance, and they sound great as well. They sound just like the real thing; sometimes, they even fool seasoned pianists.

It also does not matter what experience level you are at. If you are a beginner, you will discover that learning to play the piano on a Yamaha portable is easy. You will also stick to using the Yamaha even when you are an intermediate player or already a professional because of its neat features.

Conclusion – Yamaha Portable Digital Pianos Specs and Review

Yamaha portable digital pianos can make any room into a recording studio or concert hall. Also, these instruments come with a wide variety of instrument voices and other effects. This allows even amateur pianists to sound like experienced professionals.

Yamaha portable pianos have always been among the top choices of professional musicians and beginners alike. They are easy to use and save a lot of space. Some of them (especially the entry-level ones) are also quite affordable. There is nothing about them to dislike.