Yamaha started making pianos in 1900 and since then, the Yamaha name has become synonymous with some of the best pianos around. Yamaha also produces some of the best digital pianos that are currently on the market.
There are many reasons to buy a Yamaha digital piano. This is because Yamaha always gives great attention to detail and builds quality musical instruments. They are also used by professional musicians in some of the greatest concerts halls in the world. Even though the digital pianos are of a high standard and quality, they are also very reasonably priced.
This review looks at the 3 best Yamaha digital pianos that are currently on the market.
Picture | Model | Keys | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Yamaha DGX 660 | 88 | 82 lbs |
 | Yamaha YDP 181 | 88 | 149 lbs |
 | Yamaha YDP 143 | 88 | 108 lbs |
 | Yamaha YDP163B Arius | 88 | 136 lbs |
 | Yamaha YDP143B Arius | 88 | 108 lbs |
Table of Contents
Benefits of a Yamaha Digital Pianos
So, why should you consider buying a Yamaha digital piano?
All of the digital pianos that Yamaha produces are high-quality products. This is even true for their entry-level digital pianos. Their digital pianos contain samples from their top of the range acoustic concert grand pianos. Yamaha also makes sure that the piano keys are as close as you can get to playing a top of the range grand piano. This is achieved by their graded hammer action technology and giving the keys an ivory feel to them.
Yamaha also produces digital pianos for players with all levels of experience. So, if you are just starting out learning the piano, or if you are already a professional piano player, you will find a model to suit your needs and taste.
Yamaha also keeps to the forefront of digital technology and their newest models always have the latest in innovative technology. Yamaha has become the digital piano brand that others copy.
How to Choose a Yamaha Digital Piano
Depending on your level of expertise and musical requirements, there are a number of factors to think about when buying a digital piano. Some of these are:
- Connectivity to digital equipment
- Polyphony (the number of sounds that can be played at the same time)
- Size, if you need one that is portable
- Built-in recorder
Let’s look at the 3 best Yamaha digital pianos that are on the market.
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Yamaha Digital Piano Review
Each one of the digital pianos listed below has different features and comes in different price ranges.
Yamaha DGX 660
The Yamaha DGX-660 comes with a wide range of interactive features so make playing music very enjoyable. The piano sound sample is from Yamaha’s renowned CFIIIS 9′ concert grand piano. The keys use Graded Hammer Standard, which replicates the weight and feel of a grand piano. Therefore, the DGX-660 has all the elements you need to make you feel that you are sitting at a grand piano.
The digital piano features a number of pre-sampled voices which sound very crisp. It also has 192-note polyphony, which means that you will not hear the difference in sound from an acoustic piano.
There are a number of amazing interactive features on this digital piano. It comes with a built-in LCD digital display which can show a music score or lyrics. So, it is very easy to play and sing your favorite song at the same time.
It is possible to connect a USB flash drive to the digital piano which allows you to record your songs or play along to songs that have been downloaded from Yamaha MusicSoft.
Features of the Yamaha DGX-660
What are the best features of the Yamaha DGX 660? Here is an overview:
- Yamaha’s Pure CF Sound Engine
- Graded Hammer Standard (GHS) full-size 88-key keyboard
- MIDI connection
- Connect wirelessly to your iOS device (optional adapter required)
- USB audio recording/playback
- Smart Chord technology to play chords with one finger
- Aux audio connection
- 192 polyphony
- Natural! Live! Sweet! and Cool! voices for authentic sounds
- Built-in 6-track recorder
- 2 6w stereo speakers
- Weighs 46 lbs
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Felu4GMCMSg
Benefits of the Yamaha DGX-660
As you can see from the list of features, there are many reasons to buy the Yamaha DGX-660. If you like to record your own music then the 6-track recorder is perfect. One really great feature is the ability to connect to an iOS device. This can be used as a MIDI controller, to display a score sheet or to use the Chord Tracker.
Verdict
The Yamaha DGX-660 represents great value for money. It is suitable for piano players of all levels, but especially beginners. The number of features on it means that it is very easy to play and record your own songs. It also is fairly light and can be transported easily.
Yamaha YDP 181
Yamaha has made sure that their YDP 181 model from their Arius series looks and sounds amazing. The piano comes in a dark rosewood finish and will grace any room. What’s more, it also sounds as good as it looks.
The main purpose of the Yamaha YDP-181 is to have the authentic look, feel, and sound of an upright acoustic piano. The keyboard features 88 full-size keys with Yamaha’s Graded Hammer action. While this isn’t the highest grade on Yamaha models, it certainly is enough for this digital piano.
The piano features 14 voices which deliver crisp clear sounds identical to the original. The piano also has 128-note polyphony, which is enough for most piano players. For serious pianos players, the inclusion of 3 built-in pedals is a great feature.
Features of the Yamaha YDP 181
What are the features that you can expect to get with the Yamaha YDP 181?
- Graded Hammer (GH) 88-key keyboard
- 128-note polyphony
- Variable Touch Sensitivity – set to hard, medium, or soft to reflect your playing style
- Advanced Wave Memory Dynamic Stereo Sampling
- USB connection
- Built-in recorder
- 2 large 20w stereo speakers
- 50 preset songs to play along with
- Weighs 110 lbs
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhRp5BvJJYg
Benefits of the Yamaha YDP 181
One of the main benefits of the Yamaha YDP 181 is the fact that it looks and feels like an authentic acoustic digital piano. It also has powerful stereo speakers which provide deep bass sounds.
Verdict
The Yamaha YDP 181 is a heavy digital piano and will suit someone who loves playing the piano. It doesn’t have as many features as the DGX-660, but most serious piano players don’t need those anyway.
Yamaha YDP 143
The Yamaha YDP 143 is from their Arius range of digital pianos and this model is one of the best digital pianos on the market. It has the Yamaha Graded Hammer Standard keyboard which mimics exactly how a grand piano plays. The digital piano also features the Pure CF Sound Engine with a sample from the world-renowned CFIIIS 9′ concert grand piano.
The keyboard also features a split mode, allowing you to play different voices on the keyboard or also play along with someone else.
With the inclusion of Damper Resonance technology, Yamaha makes sure that the sound you produce is just a crisp and clear as from an acoustic piano. The fact that it has 192-note polyphony is an added bonus. This means that you can play very intricate songs with ease and sustained notes won’t get clipped.
If you have an iOS device (iPad or iPhone) then you can use the Digital Piano Controller to turn it into intuitive instrument controller. With this, you can control the digital piano and also even record your own songs.
Features of the Yamaha YDP 143
What are the features that you can expect to get with the Yamaha YDP 143?
- Pure CF Sound Engine sampled from the CFIIIS 9′ concert grand piano
- Graded Hammer Standard (GHS) 88-key keyboard
- Touch Response keyboard
- Half-damper pedal
- Built-in 2 track recorder
- Digital Piano Controller for use with an iOS device
- Stereophonic Optimizer for better a headphone sound
- USB Connection
- MIDI recorder
- Weighs 83 lbs
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx7h2oZMjcM
Benefits of the Yamaha YDP 143
The main benefit of the Yamaha YDP 143 is that you get one of the best digital pianos that Yamaha has produced in this price range. With the Acoustic Optimizer and the Stereophonic optimizer, you can enjoy authentic sounds from your digital piano through the built-in speakers or through headphones.
Verdict
Although this digital piano is in the top price range bracket, you get value for money with the quality of sound. This will definitely suit serious piano players who want the feel and sound of a top-quality digital piano.