Yamaha DGX650B Digital Piano

If you close your eyes and play the Yamaha DGX650B, you won't know it isn't a real acoustic piano. This 88-note keyboard is loaded with smart functions that make it feel and sound like the real thing. The Damper Resonance DSP function digitally reproduces sympathetic string vibration when the damper pedal is depressed. And, all 88 keys are weighted for a heavier touch in the low end and lighter on the high end, just like a real acoustic piano.

The Yamaha DGX650B is definitely a great alternative to a real piano, but it's also loaded with some amazing functions that only a Yamaha keyboard could provide. For instance, it's XG-optimized for Yamaha's "You Are The Artist," meaning you can choose the song you want to play from the keyboard's song files and have an instant backing band. And, with the easy-to-use USB recording capabilities, you can easily transfer your playing to your computer and share your masterpieces with anyone. The perfect marriage of technology and realism- the Yamaha DGX650B!

Review By a Professional Musician and Teacher

ByCaliGal

I've had this piano for about 6 weeks now. I decided to wait to write the review, until I had some experience using it. So here goes.

As the title of my review states: I am a professional musician. I studied piano for 10+ years, had a 30-year career as a professional opera singer, and have played piano ALL my life. I have used my piano skills to accompany myself, learning roles, etc. and also as a private voice teacher. This is all by way of saying: I know pianos, and, I am most accustomed to a traditional acoustic piano. I recently moved back to CA from NYC, and was not in a position to buy a "regular" piano. After a great deal of research and reading NUMEROUS reviews, I settled upon purchase of this Yamaha Digital Piano. As someone who dearly misses the upright grand I played all my life, let me just say: I am THRILLED with this purchase.

Sound: Several reviews on Amazon are noting things such as: a lack of clarity in the lower range of the keys / imperfect action of the keys / imperfect sound here and there. If you are looking for a PERFECT Grand Piano sound - then you need to buy a Grand Piano, or spend many thousands of dollars on a Clavinova. If you are looking for a really FINE digital keyboard that can get as close as possible to that lovely and true acoustic sound produced by a grand piano - then this is the one. The sound is fabulous - as true and clear a Grand Piano sound as you are going to get in a digital keyboard. In my teaching I keep it pretty much always on the Grand Piano setting. One thing I'm REALLY liking about it is, in fact, the volume control. I have several students whose voices are not quite as developed or "loud", and the ability to calibrate the volume of the accompaniment is helping greatly in my instruction.

Action of the keys: Personally, I really LIKE the action of the keys. They feel properly-weighted and not terribly different from what I'm used to in an acoustic piano. Others on this site have made note of a mild clicking sound when one depresses and releases the keys. This IS present, but quite honestly, is nothing I really notice - at all. It is VERY mild, and does not bother me.

Pedals: Be aware: if comes with just one pedal that attaches via cord to the back of the piano. This functions as the damper (sustain) pedal. For my immediate purposes it's working fine, but I will definitely purchase the add-on, three-pedal unit. The single pedal, over time, will not be sufficient for my needs.

Set-up: I am a fairly strong, athletic woman, and I was able to get this up two flights of stairs, on my own. I set it up on my own as well, and set up was clear and straightforward. Just follow the instructions EXACTLY as indicated, and it will be very easy. It took me about a half-hour. HAVE AN ELECTRIC SCREWDRIVER ON HAND---it will make the set-up monumentally easier.

As others have said here as well: having the ability to utilize headphones, and play / practice, in a way that does not bother others, is invaluable. Lastly---the only thing I did NOT anticipate is the fact that the detachable music stand sits farther back on the console, than on a regular acoustic piano. Of course this makes sense - because there are so many digital settings. So just be aware of that one detail. I'm used to the music being right at the front. But this really is not a big deal.

If you're looking for a really GOOD, good quality and reliable keyboard that can give you the best possible sound, without breaking the bank, then I HIGHLY recommend this keyboard. Good luck and Happy Music Making!

As a longtime Yamaha owner/player/fan, this has a few very nice features that made me upgrade.

ByBleugrassBoyo

There are several other good reviews here that discuss a lot of the features of this new flagship model in Yamaha's Digital Piano lineup. I have been playing various models of these machines for 8 years. Previously my at-home model was a YPG-535. Also, at church I play a DGX 640 - the version immediately previous to this one.

(The main difference between the DGX-6xx series and YPG-5xx series being increased polyphony, memory and the Graded Hammer System (GHS) which mimics the "feel" of an acoustic instrument).I have replaced my home YPG-535 with this DGX-650 to take advantage of the following NEW FEATURES.

By the way, these are all improvements over the previous model, the DGX-640 too)

1. "Style Recommender" - a NEW FEATURE in this lineup, allows you to set a tempo, start playing a song and based on the rhythm you are playing, it will list a few likely "styles" that fit what you are playing. This is a nice time saving feature as you don't always want to scroll through 150+ styles, this can narrow down your options for you faster.

2. "Audio Recording" - another NEW FEATURE in this lineup. Previously, I would make a recording onboard then use a laptop PC with line-in to create an MP3 version. Now I can save the onboard recording as a WAV audio file to a flash drive, pop the flash drive into my computer, import the file into iTunes and it's there. (iTunes can convert WAV files to MP3 with just a click). This is a lot easier. No cables, no more additional software steps. Keyboard to flash drive to PC. Done. Love it.

3. "Speaker override" - The onboard speakers are only 6 watts but they are large and sound very nice. With all previous models though, the speakers cut out if you plugged in headphones (or in my case, at church, plugged the keyboard into our sound system). Then I have to turn around and set up a separate monitor to hear myself when the musicians are all playing. Now, you can set the speakers to stay on (and I can use them as a monitor while the keyboard is plugged into the sound system). Hmmmm....I may have see about upgrading our church model to the DGX-650 for this feature alone!!

4. "Auxiliary Input" - you can now plug your MP3 player into the keyboard and play along with it through the speakers. Frankly this is not something I expect to do much of, but it's nice to have it, right?

For me, upgrading from the YPG-535, I also gained a few other improvements such as more voices, more styles, more memory registration banks, additional memory for the onboard 6-track recorder, and up to 128-note polyphony. All these were present in the previous model - the DGX-640 which I play at church, but I didn't have them at home on my YPG-535. Now I do!

Over the past 10 years or so Yamaha has really done a nice job with these digital pianos. This is really the top of the line in this space. There are three models in this family. First, the basic YPG-235 ($250), then the YPG-535 ($500), now the DGX-650 ($800). From here you spend more money and you either have to move more towards a "real" piano (less voices, styles, etc.) - or towards a workstation/ arranger keyboard. Both cost more than these. These are an excellent value and great compromise.

As a longtime fan of these digital pianos but I have to admit there are some limitations on these too. For example, Yamahas have lots of great features and things but they are often only accessible through a layered menu system. This can make it difficult if you want to make a lot of changes very quickly. For instance...you only get 4 registration-buttons to set up your favorite settings. Now Yamaha does have 8 banks for those 4 buttons so theoretically you have 32 presets to work with. But you only have direct one-touch access to 4 at time. Otherwise you have to hit BANK, then whatever number - say 5, then the registration button. It's hard to do that in the middle of a song!). Keyboards with lots of buttons can be intimidating to look at - but they are great to have. Often there's nothing like direct-access to a setting or feature you need quickly!

But honestly, you will probably play this for a lot of years before you really bump up against these type of limitations. This might even be too much keyboard for some first-time or second-time buyers who might consider a YPG-535 and be able to save about $300. For those folks, the biggest difference to consider may be the lack of GHS. The YPG-535 sounds great and I have loved it - but it will not give you the tactile feedback the DGX-6xx models will. If the player wants a more authentic feel and the $300 won't break your bank go ahead and get this DGX-650 flagship model. You won't regret it. Also consider adding the LP7 3-pedal unit for another $75 or so. It looks great, feels great, and most importantly, it'll keep your pedal from sliding around all over the place!