Yamaha DGX-205AD Portable Electronic Keyboard with Adapter Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)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.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Yamaha DGX-205AD Portable Electronic Keyboard with Adapter

For the more serious musician in your life, start them off right with the DGX205. It features 76 keys, double the power of the next model down and a professional pitch bend wheel for more expressive playing of brass and string instruments. The larger keyboard, important for professionals, is also valuable for aspiring musicians. In fact many music teachers encourage new students to get a keyboard that will grow with their needs. Learning to play songs moves to a new level of simplicity with the new "Your Tempo" learning mode. Call up a song, press left hand or right hand or both at once for two-handed learning, and the keyboard will speed up and slow down as you do, literally following you through the song. Once you get accustomed to where the notes are, you can keep the keyboard at one fixed tempo to learn correct timing. If you find one section of the song a little difficult, simply engage the "Repeat and Learn" button and the DGX205 will stay on that section, repeating it until you feel comfortable.The DGX205 has many state of the art features to make connecting to your PC as quick and easy as possible. These features include the PC Button, which takes a snapshot of your MIDI settings so that you can instantly return to them with just the press of a single button, and a USB port for transferring song data from your computer. In addition, the USB port acts as a MIDI interface, freeing you from having to purchase other MIDI peripherals like cables and adapters to play music. Simply connect to your computer, open your favorite music software program and hit PLAY. The DGX205 comes equipped with 487 voices that include stereo-sampled Piano, a selection of Sweet! Voices including Trumpet, Flute, Pan Flute, Soprano and Tenor Saxes, Cool! Organ and Electric Piano, 10 Drum Kits and 2 Sound Effects Kits. Sweet! Special voices from Yamaha that reproduce all the natural expression and vibrato of their respect

Click here for more information about Yamaha DGX-205AD Portable Electronic Keyboard with Adapter