Customer Reviews

Yamaha DGX505-AD DGX505 88-key Electronic Piano Keyboard

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

So I'm 19 living in a dorm room on campus. I figured the Clavinova was way too steep on my pockets. I played piano once upon a time, but never took lesssons really. I was attracted to the price of this keyboard and the fact that it was actually full-size. Being sick and tired of my 61-key keyboard, I figured I'd go seek out shopping for a better one and one that is full size.

I don't know digital pianos too well but from experience I've noticed that Yamaha and Roland were pretty formidable with their products. I wouldn't have given a second look to the other brands. I've tried this product out at a store some time ago several times before actually thinking about buying it. I thought it was very nice for a consumer based instrument.

After reading reviews and what not, I was determined then that I would put serious thought into buying it. One minute later I was already pulling out my card to pay for this online. After receiving the product, I was faced with an even bigger burden... carrying it back across campus to my dorm room.

So the package was pretty big. Makes for a good workout if you plan on carrying it back to your home. The contents were packed nicely. The stand was very easy to setup too. Being a computer freak, I have the keyboard sitting next to my computer. The whole USB interface was another thing that turned me on about the keyboard. Little did i know how great it would become when I actually connected it to my computer. The software was easy to use. I can transfer MIDI files to the keyboard via USB and store them on little memory cards.

The thing boasts about how you can take midi files and have them display the sheet music on the LCD screen. I thought that was nifty and all, but I would never use that feature. I'd rather have a software included that'll put the midi file on sheet music ready to be printed.

The "Digital Music Notebook" is a very awesome utility in my opinion. I found it to be so good that I'd place my computer monitor on where my sheet music would go on the keyboard whenever I'm using it with my keyboard (thank goodness it isn't CRT!). So you can use this notebook software to buy/download sheet music digitally. I thought it was pretty lame that you can only print it once (I understand a good few digital sheet vendors do it this way too). Nonetheless, after buying the sheet music, you can view it through the software and have it blow up on your monitor so you can see it full size. You can also make the software play the sheet music (it'll play through your computer or you can configure it to play through the keyboard). A cool thing about it is that you can turn on the learning mode through that software and it'll control your keyboard for it (i.e. there's a learning mode where the song'll play and wait for you to hit the right keys before moving on.) It'll display what keys you need to hit through the software and show you what key's you hit. I thought this whole digital notebook software interface thing was very well done. I thought that the USB interface was solely used for transferring MIDI files.

Though I'm not too much of a piano purist, I think the default piano sound is very nice. This thing holds like over 400 different types of sounds (instruments, voices, sound effects). To be honest, I would rather have them spent more time on perfecting the piano sound, eliminate all other preset voices/styles/songs on the keyboard, and just have it play that one piano sound.

Now, some of the gripes I have with the keyboard.

The sustain pedal isn't all too great. It works fine, but it doesn't really have the feel I'd like it to have. I'm not too whiny about it though to make me want to buy a sustain pedal they sell separately that's made to look like a real piano pedal. The pedal that comes with the keyboard serves its purpose though. If I knew this before buying the keyboard, I would've still bought it anyway.

The piano keys are not weighted. Looking at the picture, one can see that the keys are "fully" shaped like a piano rather than have spaces underneath the keys that the low-end keyboards have. I kinda accidently assumed that it was weighted because of the way they looked. This was back before I test drove it at a store. Playing on a keyboard is much different than playing on a piano. It'll be easier to adjust to a keyboard from a piano than vice versa. If anything, this is probably its biggest weakness in my opinion, but I guess to keep a piano at this price with such a feature wouldn't be too possible.

Overall, I think this digital keyboard is great. Travelling with it isn't bad either if you wish to travel with it. The keyboard has inspired me to practice the instrument more versus the 61-key instrumental junk I had before.

If you're a college student who enjoys playing the piano. I'd recommend this keyboard if you have the room in your dorm. This keyboard is worthy enough for enduring hours and hours of practicing songs and worthy enough if you want to seranade to a special someone or perform for a group (travel friendly once you have the keyboard bag, especially since you won't need to necessarily carry an amplifier with you since speakers are built-in or you can plug one in if you wanted to). It has a 32-note polyphony, but I don't think I'd even go that far. It's nice to know that you have that sort of leaway.

If you're a parent who has a kid growing up and you want them to learn piano, I probably wouldn't recommend this keyboard because of a lack of weighted keys. At that point, I think it would be more advantageous to invest in a Yamaha Cavinova, a Roland Digital Keyboard, or simply a real piano.

This has probably been the best consumer based keyboard I've used. If I were to get a new keyboard in the future, It'll be ranged between $1500-2000. I probably wouldn't be one who'd jump to buy the DGX-506 (if it were to hypothetically come out). For the price range, I couldn't imagine another keyboard that can compete with the DGX-505.

Having read the other reviews of this item, it is interesting to me that someone complained that the keys are not "weighted". I will agree with them that the keys do not feel like the stiff unyeilding keys of some pianos however, my much loved and much played but still wonderful baby grand has keys that feel very similar. Having taught piano and various other instruments for many years, if you are not in the market for a "real" piano or don't have the space or move around a lot, then this one will serve very well. I have this as well as my "real" piano. I play them both regularly and have no problem going back and forth. Neither do my students whether they are beginners or advanced. This is well worth the price tag!

I'm very pleased with this product. The DGX-500 was a popular and highly-touted digital piano in its price range. The DGX-505 does everything the 500 did, and adds USB, Smart Media capability, and other great features. I'm not going to compare this to a $2,000 or $3,000 piano, because that's ridiculous. If you were in the market for a $3,000 piano, you wouldn't be browsing in the $600 price range. For the average person, just looking to have home access to a full-featured digital piano, the Yamaha DGX-505 is perfect. It has more features than most people will ever need, and the sound is excellent. I also really like the look of the wooden side panels and the bench that came with it. The bench really makes it resemble a piano - rather than just a keyboard with a fancy stand. I have no regrets at all about buying this digital piano, and I can't imagine upgrading for many years. I'd buy this again in a second.

I have had this digital piano for one month now, playing it almost every day. I love everything about it EXCEPT for one very important thing - the keys are NOT weighted. Yamaha says the keys are "lightly weighted," and I suppose they are, but you can barely tell. I know other people have written reviews saying that "it feels just like a real piano." I'm sorry to say that it does not. It feels like a regular keyboard and does not at all feel like a real piano. One does not have to play the piano for several years to know that the Yamaha DGX-505 feels more like a keyboard than a real piano. You will realize it the moment you lay your hands on it.

I will be returning the Yamaha soon to get something in the Casio Privia line of digital pianos. I hope this helps others who are not sure about which unit to purchase.

I'm a music teacher, and I've used Yamaha electric keyboards in education for many years. When I started looking for a keyboard for my personal use to supplement my acoustic piano, I concentrated my search on Yamaha because of the good experiences I'd already had with the brand.

This particular keyboard is a great value for the money. The sound quality is very good, the educational features are good, and the touch is fine for a lightly-weighted instrument. It is attractive and sturdy, and I couldn't be more pleased with the instrument for this price.

To be honest, my school owns a $3000 Roland that has a richer sound but a similar touch.

I think I got a great deal.

I went to BJs today just looking around, and I happened to start playing on this piano. I couldn't take my hands off of it. Now, I am not a pianist nor have I studied piano much, except for a bit of Alfred's. I have a cheaper keyboard I got for $100 so I would have something to attach to the Mac so I could use Garageband (part of Apple's iLife package). But this keyboard.. one word: "wow". The instruments are absolutely beautiful, and sound exactly like the real things.

I'm amazed at all the reports about the keys not being weighted. Honestly, if I hadn't read these reviews, I wouldn't have even known. The keys certainly FEEL weighted. Maybe if you have been playing piano for 10 years you can tell the difference, but I'd like to emphasize that in NO WAY do the keys feel cheap or in any way (that I can tell) detrimental to your playing. To me, they feel absolutely perfect.

It seems to me that a lot of parents who are used to pianos may be slightly obsessed that their child learn on a "real" piano. Me being born in the digital age though, I honestly can't see why the comparison with a "real" piano is really all that relevant anymore. Modern keyboards and computer software are so good that IMHO they can replace concert pianos, and nobody the purists would be able to tell the difference. If you're going to get an instrument you're going to be playing on for a long time (which this is), then what does it matter if it's not exactly like a real piano? Look guys, the purpose of playing music is to enjoy the experience, and to share that experience with others. If the instrument sounds good, feels right to you, and people love it, then what does it matter if it's "real" or not? What matters is the music, not the method of expression. And this instrument is very, very good at making music. Certainly as good as any piano, if not better.

Since other reviewers have pretty much covered the product's pros and cons, let me just add one thing for those who are concerned about the keyboard not being weighed.

I have two young sons who have been taking piano lessons for less than a year. As usual for anyone taking piano lessons, my boys get to use a real piano during their lesson sessions, while practicing at home using the Yamaha keyboard. Now, they both gave their first public recital playing a grand piano this past January, and I'd say that they made me feel one proud daddy.

While I'd agree that going from piano to keyboard is probably easier than the other way around, as long as the student does not exclusively rely on the keyboard, you will not find any issue with adaptability.

I consider myself an extremely careful consumer, and this product is one of those that I'd rate a "perfect buy." Since I had no idea whether my boys would love playing or discontinue after awhile, I didn't want to spend thousands of dollars on a real piano. Well, even though I can tell that my boys will continue for years judging by their interest and talent level, this Yamaha keyboard is so good that, even if I invest in a real piano right now, we won't let the keyboard collect dusts.

By the way, when it's time for my boys to practice violin, I use the Yamaha's metronome to accompany their practice. It's such a versatile instrument that I simply cannot praise it enough. (And I have YET to play around with its PC connectivity!!)

Here's a comparison with some other Yamaha digital pianos that are not wildly different in price: the DGX-203 (about $300), the DGX-505 (this item, about $530), the P-60 ($750), and the P-140 ($1200). I own the DGX-203 and the P-140 and tried the other two out in a store.

The DGX-203 and DGX-505 are very similar instruments. Both can sound like any musical instrument you've ever heard plus many you haven't, both have a whole lot of fun gimics like "auto-arrange", "performance assistant", etc. If you want to hear "Killing Me Softly" played on tympani to a rumba beat, you can do it. They have a lot of eye-candy: buttons and wheels, an LCD display (that, frankly, you're not going to be too impressed with, but it's more than the P-series have), ... They have excellent computer connectivity and come with software. The differences? I could only find three that seemed important: (1) The 505 has a flash memory slot. (2) 76 (the 203) vs 88 (the 505) keys. (3) According to the Yamaha web site, the 203 has unweighted keys, while the 505 has "lightly weighted" keys. I have to say, I seemed more like "evanescently weighted" to me. I absolutely could not feel the difference between the 203 and the 505. Oh, and weight: the 203 weighs 20 lb, the 505 30.

The P-60 and P-140 are very different beasts. They're rather simple and severely styled. (And, without all the buttons and wheels, the music stand is closer to the eye, something another reviewer complained of in the DGX-505.) They don't do much compared to the DGX's, especially the P-60. But what they do, they do well: and that's act like a piano. Playing an acoustic piano, you literally throw the hammers at the strings with your fingers to produce the energy that, converted to sound, fills a concert hall. The P-60 and P-140 have that same feel of really throwing something (very different from the DGX-505), giving your fingers more control, and the strength to play a real piano. They have a far smaller collection of voices than the DGX's, and what they have are focused on keyboard instruments: several different types of pianos, as well as organs, harpsichord, etc. And they pay a great deal of attention to reproducing the sound of an acoustic piano in all its subtleties. The P-60 has just this and no more. The P-140 is more featureful: metronome, more voices, better emulation of an acoustic piano (for instance, it reproduces the small sound a piano makes when you take your finger OFF the key), more information-technology aware -- it can record your playing and transfer it to a computer and back. These are almost as good as a digital piano gets. I tried out a more expensive Roland in the music store and it was not as good as the P-140. A friend of mine who came with me has a Clavinova ($2000 a couple years ago) and she said it was no better than the P-140. I mentioned weight before: the P-60 is 35 lb, the P-140 40. Not instruments to lightly carry around.

In summary: to me it seems the DGX's are for fun, the P-series are for more serious musicians. If you want to learn piano, especially if you want to develop the strength and control to play an acoustic piano, the P-60 or P-140 is the ticket. The P-60 is, as Yamaha says, "a good beginning". The P-140 is something to keep for life. If you want a fun, portable instrument that can sound like anything, including quite a good piano, go for the DGX-203 or 505. These would be especially good as toys for your kids to bang on. Frankly, although the DGX-505 is a great deal, I think the 203 is even better. The keyboard feels little different. Flash memory and an extra octave hardly seem worth the big jump in price.

If you're planning on buying this keyboard for your gifted child please be advised that my online and showroom research indicates that the old DGX-500 (that the DGX-505 replaces) got rave reviews except for the fact that the keys are not weighted. And neither are the ones on the new DGX-505.

In other words, if you're a non-musical parent like me, this means that they do NOT have the feel of a REAL piano. For example, the better Clavinova line has ... "The GH (Graded Hammer effect) keyboard uses a weighted mechanism and grade-weighted keys (gradually heavier, top to bottom) to provide a natural feel."

As it was explained to me, it's like an old typewriter that you had to really whack the keys to make it print as opposed to the new electronic computer keyboards that we now use.

I'm told that if you learn on a regular piano you can easily play the keyboard, BUT, if you learn on the keyboard you'll have to relearn the weight and feel of a real piano and build the muscles in your hands.

Additionally, and Yamaha seems to be the king of electronic instruments, the tone of the various ranges of their instruments vary with the price.

So, if your junior pianist really has an ear for music, it may be to your advantage to step up in price and quality.

The CLP-130, from their Clavinova line is a beauty and sounds like a large grand piano costing thousands more.

The other difference is that the 505 is more of a multitasking, crazy, zany, music making machine, while the CLP line is a real (digital) piano with lots of extra features and truly magnificent sound from the 130 up.

Availability for the 505 says September 15th here at Amazon.com but you may find them now just under $600. The CLP-130 will run you just under $2,000 but sounds like a million bucks.

If junior's worth it go for it!

Did I mention that they come with headphones!

The piano arrived very well packed.I hung on to the carton just in case there was a problem but everything is working great. The sounds are very rich. Unfortunately this piano is smarter than me. It is taking me some time to learn all the different sounds and arrangements it is capable of. I recommend that you sit down and read the instruction book from back to front if you desire a full comprehension of this extremely intelligent machine. I was, however, able to take it out of the box and immediately play it. The piano is easy to understand. There are a few tricks you may want to learn about in the instruction book. Most importantly if you're looking for instructions to assemble the keyboard stand look in the instruction book. We were looking for a seperate sheet of paper but even without finding the instructions until much later we were able to easily assembly the stand. I highly recommend this piano to every age that wants to seriously play the piano. I have been playing for over 45 years and find this electronic piano a very relaxing and fun instrument to play. It can take you from home enjoyment to the professional stage. Buy it, you'll love it!