Yamaha Pianos & Organs

The Yamaha Electone D-85 is a three keyboard analog organ. While they call these Electones organs, they don't have the traditional sounds you would think of when you think of a pump or Hammond organ, as this has more synth organ and synth emulations of acoustic instruments built in. It has a built in speaker and is a fully polyphonic keyboard. The two bottom keyboards have full sized keys, while the top one has mini sized keys. UTILIZATION The configuration of the Yamaha Electone D-85 is somewhat complex because of how many different sections there are, but after some playing around it won't take long to understand exactly what everything does. On top, there are levers for adding different instrument tones to your sound, and there are then a ton of buttons and sliders for various arpeggios, sustains, and other settings. There is then a section for effects and another for making drum and rhythmic patterns. While it would take forever to outline each section of the Yamaha Electone D-85, suffice it to that they are a great deal of options available on this organ. I don't have a manual for the this keyboard, but it would probably be a good idea to have it around while learning this unit, as there are a lot of ins and outs. SOUNDS The sound of the Yamaha Electone D-85 is unique and while the emulations aren't too realistic sounding, the outcome is a unique blend of emulation of acoustic instruments and synth like sounds. This will work in a lot of situations, but I wouldn't recommend it at all as a emulation of any other instrument. It is what it is in the sense that it has its own unique sound and should be used creatively as its own instrument. OVERALL OPINION I've been using the Yamaha Electone D-85 for about five years and have come to really enjoy playing this. It is really its own instrument, sounding like a unique synth that definitely has the 1980's mark branded on it. If you can find one of these used, you can probably find a pretty good deal on one, and if you do it is definitely worth a play to see if it might fit with your style.

88 notes midi in out 2 pianos 2 rhodes or dx7 1 violin pad 2 organs you can combine two sounds and when you fiddle with the settings, you can really achieve something! UTILIZATION perfect feel for the price Comprehensive user's manual Even for this price, selecting of functions deserves dedicated buttons. It isn't that expensive! in this case we need to go through key combinations and........everybody hears it!!!!! especially to transpose "on the fly." my level is not good enough to allow me to play in all keys comfortably. and it's not uncommon to have to adapt to a singer or clarinet or to have to play a song a semitone up! so rehearse, rehearse and rehearse again.....! the pedal doesn't hold the notes too long. you need time to master it and play pianissimo really expressive or play "with guts". But it's not that hard anyway. And then again, it all depends on your character. The amp output is the same as the headphones. So if you want stereo, which is very well accomplished, you need an adapter! not much too say about the rest. SOUNDS It is better, but even in 2013 it is much more expensive! The sound comes into its own only with an external amp. The integrated amp is enough to amuse yourself in the hallway or to practice without disturbing everybody in the room, if you can't stand using headphones. Or to start warming up before the PA is installed and you are not responsible for it (which can happen sometimes). OVERALL OPINION 7 years secondhand. I would need to win the lottery to change it. All-around perfect. It can be transported comfortably in a semi-rigid flight case. But......it's 88notes. So if you are on your own, you'll need a trailer :) I might tweak it to have two (L+R) output jacks instead of the single headphones one. It may be a bit fragile to be moving it around frequently. Pay attention to where it is installed or stored. For the 2 rhodes or dx7, you need to take your time to find a good sound playing with the reverb and other options. but it can be done. When it comes to the 2 pianos, there is a classic one with very warm lows!!!!!!!!!! and a very clean jazz piano. it requires an external amp to get the best out of it. in short. it's just what a pianist needs and it's not expensive. But in any case, it only reproduces whatever the pianist in front of it is willing to give it.

This portable digital piano is a very good instrument, comprehensive, versatile and rather compact. Each sound has variations, you can split the keyboard, the effects are simple but effective enough. UTILIZATION An 88-key Yamaha piano is no surprise, it will satisfy both budding and experienced pianists. SOUNDS The piano sound is sampled on 3 layers with the resonance of the pedal. OVERALL OPINION After several years using it for very different styles (jazz, blues, pop, classical), it is still relevant.

The features can be read in previous reviews. UTILIZATION The keyboard was quite all right at the time it came out and compared to competitor products. The ones on the most high-end CLP back then (the CLP 170), which was much more sophisticated, wasn't that much better. When you put yourself to serious things, like studying Chopin, the keyboard is not enough to really progress. It's incredibly easy to use. SOUNDS It doesn't have too many sounds. As a consequence, they are good and usable, generally speaking. The relation between keyboard/sounds is satisfying. The polyphony is enough (when using a pedal, the notes that disappear due to overlapping aren't too noticeable). The piano sounds are realistic. The effect are...what they are: You need to like them and they can't be adjusted. The piano is very useful, both for concert piano style or a piano bar. As usual, the church organ isn't what I was looking for and I keep asking myself what use are the harpsichords. OVERALL OPINION I had it for about a year until I decided I needed a true piano keyboard. I tried the entire product range (clp 110, 120, 130, 150, and 170) before picking one. The sampling of the 110 is not enough, which disqualifies it right away. The amplification of the 110 and 120 isn't enough and they have a too mids-heavy sound, for my taste. The 150 has a more powerful sound and more sounds.. And even more so the 170. I chose the one that offered a good sound without useless options. Compared to similar products, its value for money was unbeatable back then. However, all in all, it is expensive. I would never buy this product again, first of all because the new Yamaha products are impressive, in terms of sound obviously and, especially, regarding the keyboard. On the other hand, right now I prefer a stage piano without any amps or speakers.

The Yamaha CP300 is an 88 key digital piano with 50 plus different instrument sounds, with two on board speakers. It has everything you need to go perform with or just play in the comfort of your own home with. When you play the CP 300 you will have the feel of a grand piano in digital form right at you finger tips. The CP 300 does have a built in sequencer which is decent but its nothing compared to the workstation sequencers that come with some of the higher end Yamaha keyboards. This is not the type of keyboard you want to buy if you are looking for a powerful sequencer and song arranger. UTILIZATION The CP 300 has a few effects mainly just reverb and some chorus though, all of the knobs and controllers like pitch bend and modulation can be done right on the CP 300 in real time as well as messing with the EQ sliders. There is a Master EQ on the CP 300 that can be tweaked in real time, it is a 5 band EQ. SOUNDS The weight of the Yamaha CP 300 is the down fall for me, it weighs so much more than it should. There are so many other digital piano’s and workstations that way 1/3 less than the CP 300 does. So if you plan on getting a digital piano that you are going to have to move around a lot then you might want to look elsewhere , also the CP 300 is pretty big when you are in front of it, it seems bigger than a lot of other digital piano’s that I have worked with over the years. OVERALL OPINION Value for the price of the CP 300 is respectable, and the sound quality of the instruments are very good. I recommend people looking at the CP 300 to take a look at the Yamaha P 155. It is lighter, easier to move and has better sounding piano’s, and it is a lot cheaper!

On of the biggest issues that I thought I would face when getting the Yamaha P-95 was the fact that it would feel like a real piano. Now im not professional piano player but I do know how to play a little bit and have been getting lessons for a while now. I have always wanted to get a really good grand piano but my apartment is just too small for one of those and most of the good grand piano’s just cost way to much to buy when you live in an apartment so I will wait till I buy a house to get a real good grand piano. So for now I needed something that would get me a real good piano feel for a small price and in a digital form so I can keep it in my room to practice and write songs with. This P-95 has been one of the closetst affordable substitutes to a real piano I could find. I am very happy with the purchase of it. UTILIZATION The sound is great, it is a full 88 key with weighted keys that feel like a real piano’s keys. The sound that it provides is excellent there really isn’t any substitute for a real grand piano but if I would have to pick out someone that could compete with it it would be the Yamaha P -95 SOUNDS Easy to set up and use, really no set up involved at all. Just plug it in and start playing right away. OVERALL OPINION Great sounding piano’s and a great feel to it, you truly wont be able to appreciate this until you try it. I do suggest trying it before you buy it though so go to your store that has one and sit down and start playing to see if you like the feel and the weight of it.

The Yamaha P-155 was the piano I wanted. I spent so much time in a local music store banging away on this piano in awe, especially since it didn't cost so terribly much. I couldn't afford it at the time, so I got a Casio Privia PX-330. (See my review for that, as well!) You'll never wont for polyphony on this big guy. This is a very crucial point, because while I love the quality of Yamaha instruments, Yamaha does have a rather despicable habit of artificially limiting its lower end models to entice buyers into the higher end. For example, if you look at the P155's younger brother, the P95, you'll see next to no connections, and a 64-note polyphony. Anemic compared to its 128-polyphonic and full featured peers! This is also peevishly exacerbated by the lack of a direct USB connection to the computer. It's not something I needed, as I do own an audio interface with MIDI, which thankfully, the P155 has the decency to support, but seeing competitors load their pianos with features while Yamaha pretentiously totes its superior sonic signature around in a Burberry handbag does get a little obnoxious from time to time. The P155 is a full piano; it has the 88 keys expected of a digital piano, and while it does have the standard extra sounds that come on the board (these are actually quite phenomenal!), the focus is, of course, on the actual piano sound. UTILIZATION This is obvious because many of the parameters for the piano sound are right there on the surface; there are no clunky menus that you have to scroll through, (like on my PX-330, which doesn't even have non-volatile memory! Gross.) with adjustments for curves, brilliance, and other things accessible with their own dedicated buttons. SOUNDS This is the part where I tell you to go listen to the samples that are no doubt floating around the internet. You'll see a definite increase in quality from the next tier of pianos down from the P155 (P95, PX330, SP250) so I urge you to go find them yourself. I'll tell you, for the sake of the completeness of the review, that it's phenomenal! And the touch is something to dream about. Very few digital pianos come close to the P155. Even the Roland's, with their precious realistic escapement somehow seem to pale in comparison to this. I have no idea how, but remember that this is an incredibly subjective point. OVERALL OPINION It's a shame that this wasn't cheaper when I was shopping for a piano. If it were the price that it is now (about $1000) I would have sprung the extra cash for it. If you have the money now, get it. You won't be disappointed.

The Yamaha C3 is a grand acoustic piano that has all the modern features and design that a great acoustic piano should. It has 88 keys, three pedals, and is quite large in size overall. I have used this piano in my school's recording studio for doing overdubs and I love the sound that this piano has. It is easy to play as it feels good the fingers and a I feel confident while I'm playing it. I'll usually get a stereo spread of the piano using a pair of large diaphragm condenser microphones and this gets me an extremely wide piano sound. It is actually pretty easy to get a good sound from the Yamaha C3 as it has a full sound that is suitable for a variety of different genres. I've used the piano for recording rock, pop, and folk music for the most part as that is what I play, but I definitely think that it would make for a great piano for recording classical and jazz music as well. I assume that if you are thinking about buying a grand acoustic piano that you understand you will be paying a decent amount of money as any good piano like this will. This being said, when compared to some of the other acoustic pianos out there in this quality range, this is actually a great deal. Since Yamaha is such a large company they can afford to mass produce these pianos and sell them at an extremely low cost like this, even if it seems like a lot of money to those unfamiliar with the world of acoustic grands. Yamaha definitely knows what they are doing as they got their start making pianos, and the C3 is a great example of the quality of work that they are capable of. This piano is worth a look for anyone who wants an acoustic grand piano!

My first electric piano when I started gigging in 1981/82. Had I the money I would have bought a CP80. The CP20 and larger twin CP30 were polyphonic, touch sensitive, and had a sustain pedal, but the similarity to either a piano or Rhodes ended there. Very cheesy electronic sounding, was sort of convincing in a band with several loud guitarists and the audience had been drinking heavily. Distinctive sound but not in a good way; any synth VST could easily reproduce, not that you'd want to. Not even a good tine piano, semi-convincing harpsichord. (Think "Right place wrong time" by Dr. John.) Replaced with a Helpinstill Roadmaster 88 Mk. II which, happily, was the acoustic sound I looked for, albeit with its own myriad issues; sold the CP20 in 1984 and though I've regretted selling many instruments over the years, this is not one of them.

This instrument has a lot of realistic sounding instruments. Meanwhile, this type of piano is 10 years old, but that doesn't matter. All of its features comply with current standards. When it was new, the instrument was too expensive for most. But meanwhile it is affordable. The new CVP's from Yamaha are off course more advanced, but the price difference is too high, the new line will not offer you that many new features. When playing the CVP 505 using a headset, is sounds devine. All of the instruments without hiss or noise. You can record a lot of tracks over and over and export the result to a .wav file. This .wav file sounds perfect, with no hiss or noise whatsoever. After my first CVP (55) I doubted whether I would ever need a new piano. But after 29 years of faultless duty, I sold it (with pain in my heart) and purchased the CVP 505. I'm enjoying it every day. The piano sound is perfect, and the built in accompaniments make it even more fun to play. You can download tons of Midi files from the Internet, write 'm to USB and let your CVP play them (and you can play along). The sky is really the limit.

I use this piano to play classical music at home, often at night for myself, with a headset. I already had an upright acoustic piano and a Clavinova digital piano, both too heavy to be easily moved. I wanted a keyboard of good quality that could be easily moved, and didn't want to spend too much on it. When I went to the music shop, I tried all the available keyboards cheaper than this one, and was satisfied with none of them (gadgets, low sound quality, number of keys too low, or bad touch that prevented to put enough feeling). This digital piano was the cheapest one that met all my needs. Unlike my former Yamaha digital piano, the trebles are not too weak at the extreme right end of the piano. The keyboard is well-balanced, the keys quickly come back, and the touch is neither too weak nor too strong. It is a bit long and won't fit in all cars, but it is light compared to the other ones I've owned - one person can easily carry it alone -. It is easy to carry it if you often change rehearsal places. You can connect two headsets at the same time, and digital output for computers is also available. A very good product that I recommend to everybody. Beginners, don't buy a cheaper product, otherwise you will have to buy a new one again once you have realized the piano you bought was more a gadget than a music instrument.

... this is your instrument. The Yamaha P-85 has one of the best piano sounds that I ever heard. Other sounds are very good too, but the acoustic piano deserves to be highlighted. The P-85 can be used by all kinds of pianists, from beginners to professionals, in nearly all styles, from classical to jazz, also rock and blues. And the best thing is that it's not expensive. It has a downside, though: no Line Out jacks. You have to use one of the two frontal Phones jacks - I recommend using a Y cable with one stereo banana plug on one side and two mono banana plugs on the other, so you'll not lose the integrity of the sound. But it may be not a problem, actually.