In the music world, Yamaha is one of the heavy hitters. If you were in band at school or have ever seen a live performance, chances are you have looked at a huge amount of Yamaha instruments.
In this article, we’ll be diving head first into the Yamaha product line to learn the ins and outs of what makes it such a trusted name in music.
About Yamaha
Yamaha began 1,000 years ago—alright, that’s not true, but it sure feels that way, doesn’t it?
At age 35, Torakusu Yamaha built his first reed organ in 1887, which started it all. The Yamaha philosophy can be read here:
“With our unique expertise and sensibilities, gained from our devotion to sound and music, we are committed to creating excitement and cultural inspiration together with people around the world.”
This quote is basically saying that through the passion of music we can connect with other people and enrich our lives. I couldn’t agree with this more.
Never have I felt more bonded with someone than when they are playing me something on their main instrument or singing me a song that they feel emotional about.
You have most likely felt this exact same connection when you went to see your favorite band live at a concert. The feeling is hard to articulate, but unequivocally present. Yamaha aims to share this primal feeling with as many people as possible.
The first digital piano Yamaha released was the YP-40 in 1983 which will look, feel, and sound much different than the pristine Yamaha digital pianos that you will find on the market today.
Yamaha YP-40
These days, the company has entry-level to premium keyboards, music workstations, synthesizers, arrangers, stage pianos, and more.
Yamaha is, by a good margin, the largest maker of audio gear and musical instruments—rising far above companies like Gibson, Sennheiser, Shure, and Fender.
Yamaha Logo
The Yamaha logo since all the way back in 1898 has been based around the tuning fork.
If you didn’t realize it was a tuning fork, don’t feel bad. I played on a Yamaha trumpet and stared at the logo on my case for 5 years before I knew what it was.
For those of you that aren’t familiar with them, a tuning fork is a U-shaped piece of metal with a handle.
When you strike that piece of metal on a hard surface, it produces a pitch that you can tune your instrument to. Most of us now will likely use a digital tuner, but they are fun to mess around with.
The first iteration of the logo showed a Chinese phoenix holding a tuning for in its mouth.
The modern logo shows three tuning forks on top of each other. Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd—the sister company—uses a very similar logo.
Yamaha Product Lineup
Portable Keyboards
Many people confuse keyboards with digital pianos because they share a lot of common traits, but there are some notable differences.
A keyboard will typically have semi-weighted or synth-type action that is not designed to give you the feel of playing on an acoustic grand piano.
It’s also rare to find a keyboard with 88 keys (which is what an acoustic piano has). Most keyboards will have 61, 73, or 76 keys.
Keyboards have a bit more shock and awe in terms of their feature set when compared to digital pianos.
When I was growing up, we had a portable keyboard in our play room that could teach you songs with light up keys, play accompaniments while you sing, and came loaded with hundreds of instrument voices to use.
None of them sounded realistic though—I remember the trumpet setting sounding more like my family dog biting a chew toy than an actual brass instrument.
Keyboards are closer to a fun machine that beginners or kids can play on to figure out if they may want to play piano in the future. Portable keyboards are by far the cheapest product in this lineup.
PSS Series
Instrument type: Mini Keyboard
User Level: Beginner
Price Range: $60-$100
Models:
- Yamaha PSS-E30
- Yamaha PSS-F30
- Yamaha PSS-A50
The PSS series seems like a toy line, but the sound and build quality feel much more similar to Yamaha’s PSR budget arranger series.
The best way I’d describe the PSS series is that it’s a last-gen PSR-E series sound chip, implanted into a mini-keyboard enclosure.
While I wouldn’t use these keyboards for actual performances or recordings, that’s not what they’re designed for. The PSS-series is a simple way to explore ideas wherever you are.
With a phrase recorder and basic tools like arpeggiators, you can quite easily sketch out an idea without too much hassle.
However, if you want a serious practice tool, you’ll definitely need to look elsewhere.
YPT & EZ Series
Instrument type: Portable Keyboard
User Level: Beginner
Price Range: $120-$250
Models:
- Yamaha YPT-270
- Yamaha YPT-370
- Yamaha EZ-300
The most affordable Yamaha portable keyboards with full-sized keys you can buy.
These keyboards are ideal for kids, new piano players, or people who are not really sure if they want to become a piano player that need a low cost option.
Quantity over quality is a common approach at this price point, so expect to find hundreds of built-in sounds, songs, rhythms, and other cool features on most YPT keyboards you come across.
EZ series keyboards are known for having light-up keys — used to teach the beginner a song. For both series the focus is on fun — the slogan for the YPT series being “Real Music, Real Fun.”
PSR-E Series
Instrument type: Portable Keyboard/Portable Arranger
User Level: Beginner
Price Range: $120-$400
Models:
- Yamaha PSR-E273
- Yamaha PSR-E373
- Yamaha PSR-EW310
- Yamaha PSR-E463
- Yamaha PSR-EW410 – flagship
The use of the PRS-E Series is similar to the YPT & EZ Series in that it is a device to explore music as a whole, not necessarily just piano.
The PSR-E series can be used as a portable arranger — having the ability to create a beat, tweak a mix, and get full songs created.
This series includes an onboard lesson function to teach the student music as an educational tool. The flagship model (Yamaha PSR-EW410) has the ability to capture external sounds using a sampler.
In recent years, Yamaha’s YPT series that we previously mentioned have been almost identical to the PSR-E models (e.g. YPT-270 & PSR-E273; YPT-370 & PSR-E373), the only difference being the body finish and availability (the YPT and PSR-E series target different geographic areas).
Piaggero Series
Instrument type: Portable Keyboard
User Level: Beginner
Price Range: $150-$300
Models:
- Yamaha NP-12
- Yamaha NP-32
The Piaggero Series is aimed toward piano players while the previous ones were more geared to learning and entertainment.
Piaggero keyboards have far fewer tones to play with, less bells and whistles, and a much more streamlined appearance.
Even though the Piaggero Series is for piano players, it does not have fully weighted key action and lacks the 88 keys of a full-sized piano. So if realistic piano feel is important to you, the NP keyboards aren’t going to impress you.
At the same time, these are extremely portable and can run on batteries, which can be very helpful for players on the go.
Portable Digital Pianos
We are now moving away from the portable keyboards and moving on toward the portable digital pianos.
The main difference between the two is that digital pianos will have fully weighted hammer action, which will be much closer to the feel of an acoustic piano.
Portable digital pianos, also called slab pianos, typically do not come with a furniture-style cabinet to turn the whole thing into one unit. The entire product is the keyboard itself, similar to the portable keyboards we discussed earlier.
Contemporary (P Series)
Instrument type: Portable Digital Piano
User Level: Beginner to Advanced
Price Range: $400-$1,500
Models:
- Yamaha P-45
- Yamaha P-125
- Yamaha P-121
- Yamaha P-515 – flagship
If you are looking to get a Yamaha digital piano, this is where you will start. The P-45 is Yamaha’s most affordable digital piano with fully weighted keys.
These digital pianos are spartan in nature—no frills, no learning tools, no samplers.
It’s simply a digital piano that tries to emulate the feeling of an acoustic piano as best as it can. These digital pianos will fit well in places with limited space.
Portable Grand (DGX & YPG Series)
Instrument type: Semi-Portable Digital Piano
User Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Price Range: $500-$800
Models:
- Yamaha YPG-235/DGX-230 (discontinued)
- Yamaha YPG-535
- Yamaha DGX-670 – flagship
The Portable Grand series is similar to the P Series in that it is piano-focused, but with some additional features – recording functions, auto accompaniment, present songs, connectivity options, etc.
With those extra features, the Portable Grand series will have some overlap with arrangers.
It’s important to note that the YPG Series does not have fully weighted hammer action, even though it will look similar to digital pianos that do.
Console Digital Pianos
When looking for Console Digital Pianos, expect it to look a bit like furniture, especially when you get to the higher-end models.
Some of these will have fancy cabinets that may contain speakers to push more sound out into the space you are playing in.
Lower end models will have many similarities to the portable digital pianos we looked at earlier.
Arius (YDP & YDP-S Series)
Instrument type: Console/Home Digital Piano
User Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Price Range: $900-$2,200
Models:
- Yamaha YDP-103
- Yamaha YDP-144
- Yamaha YDP-164
- Yamaha YDP-181
- Yamaha YDP-184 – flagship
- Yamaha YDP-S34 (slim version of the YDP-144)
- Yamaha YDP-S54 (slim version of the YDP-164)
The Arius Series is targeted toward the same people that would be interested in the P Series—affordable, yet high quality digital pianos.
These console digital pianos will have no frills and focus on sounding like an acoustic grand piano.
The YDP pianos will have a full sized cabinet, while the YDP-S pianos will be slim with a more space efficient design.
Clavinova (CLP & CSP Series)
Instrument type: Console/Home Digital Piano
User Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Price Range: $2500-$8500
Models:
CLP Series
- Yamaha CLP-725
- Yamaha CLP-735
- Yamaha CLP-745
- Yamaha CLP-775
- Yamaha CLP-785
- Yamaha CLP-765GP (grand piano-like design)
- Yamaha CLP-795GP (grand piano-like design)
CSP Series
- Yamaha CSP-150
- Yamaha CSP-170
Premium home digital pianos for players that are searching for the most realistic and natural piano playing experience.
The key action in the Clavinova digital pianos is more advanced than what you will find in the Arius Series. You will also discover that the samples are better and the cabinets are much fancier.
Recently, the Clavinova Series added the CSP (Clavinova Smart Piano) digital pianos.
The concept is that the piano itself has no buttons or controls – every setting can be adjusted using the Smart Pianist App available for both iOS and Android.
CSP digital pianos also have a lot of extra features that digital pianos usually don’t have such as hundreds of tones, accompaniment styles, built-in songs, etc.
Another feature of the CSP Series pianos is unique teaching feature that will teach you how to play songs using stream lights technology, which shows the exact keys you need to press.
AvantGrand
Instrument type: Hybrid Digital Piano
User Level: Advanced
Price Range: $6,000-$22,000
Models:
- Yamaha NU1X
- Yamaha N1X
- Yamaha N2
- Yamaha N3X
This is probably the closest—and most expensive—you will get to a grand piano without actually having a grand piano.
The AvantGrand doesn’t try to emulate the hammer action on an acoustic grand piano because it actually has hammer action keys.
The natural vibration that comes off of a grand piano will be felt when playing the AvantGrand. Its design is almost identical to the action of a grand piano.
Yamaha Specialized Grand Piano Action
The AvantGrant Series gives you access to Spatial Acoustic Sampling, which offers the sound of the Yamaha CFX and Bösendorfer Imperial grand pianos captured from four different mic positions and delivered via multi-speaker sound system to ensure the immersive playing experience.
Stage Pianos
One key feature, or lack thereof, is that stage pianos won’t have onboard speakers because when performing on stage there will (or should) be external speakers for you to connect to.
Many of the features you will find on a stage piano will be things that you can quickly change during a live performance.
You’ll find extra ports/jacks to connect to multiple devices. Because there are no speakers on stage pianos, they will be fairly lightweight and portable.
There is a blurry line between stage pianos, digital pianos, and synthesizers as all of them can be used for gigging pretty reasonably.
CP Series
Instrument type: Stage Piano
User Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Price Range: $1,400-$2,500
Models:
- Yamaha CP40 (discontinued)
- Yamaha CP4 (discontinued)
- Yamaha CP300
- Yamaha CP73 / CP83
While the CP Series isn’t updated frequently, Yamaha takes huge pride in the series, stating that “The CP4 is simply the best stage piano Yamaha has ever made.”
The CP instruments will have a large selection of quality sounds from various eras to fit whatever style you’re playing. The CP Series emphasizes portability and ease of use.
Yamaha recently introduced the CP73 and CP88 giving a lot of new features to an old lineup – NW-GH with synthetic ebony and ivory key tops, brand new sounds, and additional ports/jacks, to name a few.
Synthesizers & Synthesizer Workstations
Now we’re moving away from piano-focused instruments and entering sound design, music production, etc.
Using a synthesizer, you will be able to craft a sound from nothing using a series of knobs, sliders, and buttons.
Similar to the stage pianos, you likely won’t find speakers on any of these synthesizers. The need for a realistic feeling of playing an acoustic piano is very low in this category.
MX Series
Instrument type: Synthesizer
User Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Price Range: $500-$1,000
Models:
- Yamaha MX49 / MX61 / MX88 (49, 61 and 88 keys)
The MX Series synthesizers use sounds from the Yamaha Motif XS—pianos, strings, drums, and complex synth sounds.
Bring these sounds into your DAW using a MIDI interface and monitor everything by connecting your headphones to your MX Series device.
With an iOS device, you get access FM Essential which lets you twist and pull your sounds in crazy ways.
Despite being a synthesizer, the flagship model, MX88, will also feature the Graded Hammer Standard (GHS) action, making it much more suitable for piano players.
I can easily see these instruments used as stage pianos or in studios.
Reface
Instrument type: Synthesizer
User Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Price Range: $250-$400
Models:
- Yamaha Reface CS – Analog synthesizer
- Yamaha Reface YC – Combo Organ
- Yamaha Reface CP – Electric Piano
- Yamaha Reface DX – FM synthesizer
The Reface series offers four different synthesizers that each have an incredible amount of sounds to create.
Each model targets a different kind of sound—the Reface CP for example gives you the ability to create 70s stage keyboards.
These instruments are very portable yet have a lot of potential when it comes to sound shaping.
Montage, MODX Series
Instrument type: Synthesizer Workstation
User Level: Advanced
Price Range: $1,300-$4,000
Models:
- Yamaha MODX6/7/8 – 61, 76, or 88 keys
- Yamaha Montage 6/7/8 – 61, 76, or 88 keys
The Montage and MODX Series synthesizers are supercharged versions of the entry-level synthesizers.
These synthesizer workstations give you more control over your sound and freedom to dive deeper into what sound you want to create.
An interesting feature of this series is that they are platform-focused meaning that Yamaha frequently sends out updates to improve the devices over time.
The Montage8 Series has a Balanced (non-graded) Hammer Effect Keyboard while the others have FSX action. The MODX8 has fully weighted keys (GHS), while others are semi-weighted.
All of these instruments feature a big multi-touch screen which makes navigation much easier considering how many settings, sounds, and functions they offer.
Arranger & Music Workstations
While synthesizers are perfect for people creating wild sounds, arrangers are more useful to songwriters, composers, and solo performers that need full accompaniments.
You don’t have as much control over your sound, but you do gain the ability to sound like a full band all by yourself.
With workstations, there is a lot of work you can do before you have to switch to your computer or another device. Editing, mixing, recording, and performing can all be accomplished on a workstation—these are very powerful machines.
Genos Series
Instrument type: Music Workstation
User Level: Advanced
Price Range: $5,000-$5,500
Models:
- Yamaha Genos (76 keys)
The flagship arranger workstation in Yamah’s arsenal. The samples on the Genos are far and above in terms of quality—giving you access to the Yamaha CFX and C7 Grand pianos, for example.
AEM (Articulation Element Model) is used to give realistic sound of whatever instrument you are playing.
It does this by choosing the best samples based on the styles you are playing in. Everything you need to put together a great song can be accomplished on this powerful workstation, even vocal recording and effects.
PSR-S & PSR-A Series
Instrument type: Arranger Workstation
User Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Price Range: $800-$2,000
Models:
- Yamaha PSR-S670
- Yamaha PSR-SX700
- Yamaha PSR-SX900 – flagship
- Yamaha PSR-A3000
The PSR Series excels in a specific area—reproducing the subtle nuances and quirks of instruments. This includes vibrato, brass falls, guitar and bass slides, and much more.
In order to control all of these different elements, the PSR series includes assignable live controllers, a modulation wheel, and assignable foot pedals.
This gives you the ability to not only control many things at once, it lets you do them in a live setting as well.
With onboard storage, you are able to add expansion packs to get more sounds or use that space to create your own.
Composers and songwriters will benefit greatly when creating on the PSR Series.
Being able to craft accompaniments, use arpeggio functioning, and other arranging tools will make writing a great song much more streamlined.
This arranger is also equipped with onboard speakers unlike most of the products in this category.
Yamaha Sound Generation
Yamaha puts the sounds on their digital pianos in multiple ways. With digital pianos, there is typically one goal in mind: create the most accurate representation of a piano possible.
But, which piano? There are many to choose from—Bösendorfer, Steinway, or maybe a Yamaha (might be a good choice for them).
What room should it be recorded in? A concert hall? A studio? Where a piano is recorded impacts the sound heavily.
Who should play it? I wouldn’t want that kind of pressure.
What microphones should be used? Neumann! Sure, which one? TLM-103? 102? U87? Maybe a Manley, AKG, or Blue microphone?
After the recordings are made, should they be filtered at all?
Are samples enough? Yes, you may have captured the note, but there are a ton of nuances that you may have missed.
Sympathetic string resonance, for example, is nearly impossible to accurately reproduce because it depends on which notes you have held down when others are being played.
Another is key-off resonance, which is the sound of the damper hitting the strings after a note is released.
These are just some the questions that Yamaha—or any company creating a digital piano—have to ask themselves before doing or making anything.
I’d like to walk through some of the techniques Yamaha uses to make this possible.
AWM Stereo Sampling
AWM stands for Advanced Wave Memory, first used in 1986.
Two microphones are used to capture the performance of a grand piano. All the notes are recorded separately with three recordings taken for each note: soft, medium, and loud.
When someone hits a note on a digital piano that uses AWM, the piano determines which sample would be the most appropriate or blends a combination of two.
There is also a 4-layer version of AWM that takes an additional sample. These days, AWM is typically used on the entry-level digital pianos.
The progression of AWM is extensive. It first began with 1-layer mono samples that were filtered for different velocities as opposed to recording multiple samples and choosing the appropriate one.
In 1990, stereo samples were used and recordings were taken of various pianos—the Yamaha S6 grand piano for example.
Pure CF Sampling
Pure CF Sound Sampling is a newer and more advanced method of piano sound production that samples the Yamaha CFIIIS 9-foot grand piano.
You can find Pure CF on intermediate digital pianos, such as the P-125, DGX-660, and YDP-143.
The latest iteration of Pure CF Sound Sampling, found in the Yamaha P-125, utilizes sympathetic string and key-off resonance to more accurately capture the sound of an authentic grand piano.
Yamaha CFX and Bösendorfer Sampling
Samples are taken from the Yamaha CFX grand piano and the Bösendorfer Imperial (which is also owned by Yamaha).
These are Yamaha’s most impressive sampling in their entire library, fitting for their fanciest pianos.
The Yamaha CFX tone is also coupled with Binaural Sampling to create three-dimensional sound so that when you are playing with headphones on, it acts as if the sound is coming from the piano rather than your headphones.
This sampling technique is used in the premium models, such as the P-515, YDP-184, and all Clavinovas.
Spatial Acoustic Sampling
In the AvantGrand series, Spatial Acoustic Sampling is used to convey realism by recording a piano in four separate locations across the soundboard.
Those sounds are used in a four-point speaker setup. This technique creates the sound of a grand piano in a three-dimensional space, giving a full and rich response.
Motion Control Synthesis Engine: AWM2 and FM-X
The AWM2 uses waveform and subtractive synthesis to create acoustic instruments, drums, and synthesizer sounds.
The FM-X, on the other hand, uses pure frequency modulation synthesis.
In the Montage and MODX Series, each of these sound engines can be used separately or layered together to produce sound.
Every other sound engine I have mentioned so far has had the goal to create an authentic sounding piano. That’s not the case for the AWM2 and FM-X. You won’t find them in a digital piano, but in Yamaha’s music workstations and synthesizers.
In this engine, you will get a few exciting features:
- The Super Knob – get creative with your sounds using the Super Knob. Go from punchy and hype to mellow and warm with a single twist.
- Motion Sequences – manipulate your sounds while keeping them in sync with the tempo.
Yamaha has put a lot of work into making sure this sound engine offers creative freedom and bleeding edge quality.
Yamaha VCM Effects Engine
The Virtual Circuitry Modeling Effects Engine can be found on the MX series (MX49, MX61, MX88).
It models many vintage sounding effects – EQs, phases, flangers, and more to twist and pull the sounds that come with those devices.
Yamaha’s goal with VCM was to accurately recreate the sounds that you would get from analog processors and gear in recording studios.
They did this by modeling the electronic circuitry and using it in their software—compressors and EQ, for example.
These emulations are found in many of Yamaha’s products: MOTIF XS, CP series stage pianos, synthesizers, and many more.
Aside from these sampling and sound engines, there are other technologies that Yamaha uses to improve the sound of their products. I’d like to cover some of those here.
Sound Technologies
Intelligent Acoustic Control (IAC)
When playing at lower volumes, it is sometimes more difficult to hear low and high-end frequencies.
Intelligent Acoustic Control compensates for this and rebalances the instrument so that you can hear its full range of frequencies at any volume.
Stereophonic Optimizer
If it is late at night or early in the morning, you may want to plug some headphones into your digital piano so you don’t disturb the people around you.
When you plug them in, nothing special happens—it just sounds like a piano in some headphones.
Stereophonic Optimizer adjusts the sound of the piano to sound more spacious as if you are in a room listening to the piano, rather than wearing headphones.
Sound Boost
Playing piano with a band can be difficult because you are oftentimes competing with extremely loud instruments—guitars, drums, etc.
Sound Boost can help by making your piano louder and increasing its presence to help you find your place in a mix.
This feature is effective on both the onboard speakers and if your digital piano is connected to an external setup.
Acoustic Optimizer
The way speakers are built into the body of the digital piano will cause some frequencies to ring louder than others due to the body itself resonating.
Acoustic Optimizer counteracts this effect to provide a smooth playing experience across all the keys.
Virtual Resonance Modeling (VRM)
The subtle nuances and quirks of an acoustic piano are terribly difficult to recreate. VRM steps in to save the day, turning the dull and digital sound into a lively, organic experience.
A grand piano makes sound by hammers hitting strings. What makes them ring out so beautifully is the huge body of the piano.
On a digital piano, we don’t have this body to resonate our sounds, so Yamaha came up with a solution.
The Virtual Resonance Modeling inside the higher-end Yamaha digital pianos simulates the sound of a note resonating in the body of a grand piano.
It also takes into account how the notes would resonate in different octaves to stay true to a grand piano.
Using VRM, each string has multiple states for different situations like for velocity and pedals that drastically affect the sound.
Yamaha Keyboard Actions
A digital piano’s key action is largely responsible for why you would love or hate the feel of a Yamaha digital piano (or any digital piano really).
Before we get into the different types of key actions that Yamaha uses, I would first like to discuss what a “key action” is exactly.
What is Key Action?
In the most basic sense, key action is what a key on a digital piano is doing when it is pressed and when it is released.
A grand piano has strings and when a key is pressed, a hammer strikes one or more of those strings. The string then resonates in the body of the piano so we can hear it.
On a digital piano, we don’t have strings or hammers or a body, but when we play we want to feel like all of those things are happening.
The perfect key action on a digital piano would be indistinguishable from an acoustic grand piano.
The trouble for companies like Yamaha is that not all grand pianos feel the same way when you play them, making it difficult to determine exactly what it should feel like.
Another issue is with the player—not every player will like the same key action.
For example, someone who plays aggressive on the keys might find a better playing experience if the keys felt a bit more heavy while a more delicate player may feel the exact opposite.
Synth Type
Most of Yamaha’s synthesizers use the FSX action. This action is not weighted and designed to be extremely fast and responsive.
Synth-type Action
Semi-Weighted
Some of Yamaha’s entry-level or beginner friendly keyboards (YPG-535, NP-12, NP-32) will be using Graded Soft Touch.
This spring-loaded action will have some resistance to it in order to feel more like an acoustic piano.
Compared to the FSX action, it won’t feel as fast, and it will take a bit more pressure to press the keys
The Graded Soft Touch has no hammer mechanisms or weights. It’s heavier on the lower notes and lighter on the higher notes to roughly simulate an acoustic piano.
Semi-weighted actions may have full-size keys and a keyboard that looks exactly like the one found on acoustic and digital pianos but don’t be tricked by its looks, it’s still miles away from a real piano as far as feel is concerned.
Fully-Weighted
Fully weighted key actions are designed to mimic the feel of an acoustic piano as closely as possible, but not all hammer action keys are created equal.
While the lower-end actions will feel clunky and unrealistic, the higher-end will be insanely close to that of a real piano.
Yamaha has more than one type of fully weighted key action that range in quality.
Balanced Hammer Effect Keyboard
The Balanced Hammer Effect Keyboard is a non-graded hammer action which means that all the keys have the same resistance, rather than needing more and less force on the lower and higher keys, respectively.
This type of action is used on the Montage8 synth workstation.
Not very sophisticated compared to their piano-focused key actions, which are graded, but still reproduces the weighted nature of an acoustic piano action.
GHS
Graded Hammer Standard. This type of action is typically found on beginner and intermediate digital pianos—aimed at aspiring piano players.
The lower keys will have more resistance than the higher keys, similar to an acoustic piano. Yamaha digital pianos under $1500 will most likely have this type of action.
The GHS keyboard features a matte finish on the black keys which makes your fingers less likely to slip off of the keys.
GHS has been around for many years and Yamaha still stands behind the action, showing off its reliability.
This action has two sensors, as opposed to three that are found on the more premium actions. Three sensors allows more accuracy in the behavior of the piano, quick repetition of notes, and expression.
GH/GH3
Graded Hammer/Graded Hammer 3. Compared to the GHS, these are more true to what an actual acoustic piano would feel like.
They will be heavier with more resistance. You can find this type of key action on the YDP-164, YDP-184, YDP-S54, and the 500 series Clavinovas.
The main difference between GH and GH3 is the third sensor which offers all the benefits found above. GH3 also has synthetic ivory tops to give the player a more tactile experience.
GH3X
Graded Hammer 3X. This is the newer iteration of the GH3 that includes an escapement mechanism which is a feature found on grand pianos that allows the note to be repeated quickly before the action returns to its resting position.
Since digital pianos don’t have strings, escapement action doesn’t really serve any purpose except to reproduce a subtle clicking sensation felt when you gently press a key.
The GH3X key action is used on the lower end Clavinova digital pianos (CLP-625, CLP-635).
NW-GH
Natural Wood-Graded Hammer. This is Yamaha’s older wooden action used in the CP4. It does not have the escapement mechanism and has three sensors.
NWX
Natural Wood X. The newer wooden action used in the CLP-545+ (CLP-645+), CSP-170, and CVP-705+.
Just like the GH3X, the NWX has the escapement mechanism causing you to feel a “click” when the keys are played softly – more noticeable in the higher register.
Despite having a lot of similarities with the GH/GH3 family, the NWX is slightly better balanced and more responsive, which, coupled with the wooden keys, provides a more natural feel.
GrandTouch-S (plastic and wooden versions)
In summer 2020, Yamaha introduced their updated Clavinova line (CLP-7xx) and with that revealed their new GrandTouch-S key actions.
Yamaha designed two variants of GrandTouch-S.
The wooden version of GrandTouch-S comes with wooden white keys and is based on the previous NWX action, while the plastic version of GrandTouch-S has plastic keys and is based on the previous GH3X action.
Despite the new name, the key actions share a lot in common with their predecessors (GH3 family) and therefore feel quite similar. The biggest improvement here is the optimized pivot length of the black keys, which makes it easier to play further into the keys.
GrandTouch
This is a flagship wooden action used in the higher-end Clavinovas (CLP-775+).
The goal of GrandTouch was to replicate the resistance and feel of a grand piano with as much accuracy as possible.
This offers the player a responsive and heavily dynamic experience with huge amounts of control when playing very soft or loud.
You also get much longer keys (including the hidden part). This makes it very easy to play further up the keys, which is an important characteristic that experienced pianists will appreciate.
Conclusion
Yamaha has a long history of creating great equipment for sound designers, piano players, composers, and many others.
If you have a specific musical need, chances are Yamaha has the perfect tool for you to use – you just have to go out and find it.
If you have any personal experiences with Yamaha digital pianos or keyboards, feel free to let us know in the comments. If you liked the article, feel free to share it around.
You might also like:
The Worst | Best Digital Piano & Keyboard Brands Guide
The Ultimate Guide to Buying a Digital Piano
Best Digital Pianos & Keyboards (All Price Points)
Digital vs Acoustic Piano: In-depth Comparison (+ Infographic)
Cool overview and history of Yamaha products, that was an entertaining read! Would you cover other brands like Korg, Nord, Roland etc with this treatment too?
Hey Dan, thank you, I put a lot of effort into this one. I’m definitely going to cover all the other major brand in a similar fashion.
Hi there I am so happy I found your web site, I really found you by mistake, while I was
browsing on Bing for something else, Anyways I am here now and would just like to say
thank you for a fantastic post and an all round entertaining blog
The Rugs Cafe
Dear Lucas,
Recently I bought the Yamaha CLP 675 and two weeks ago I discoverd a strange problem with one of its simulated piano’s, the Bosendorfer. The second octave E key has a definite sounding problem, while all other keys are okay. It is NOT the key itself because if you select another piano (CFX Grand, Mellow Grand, Jazz Grand, etc) all the keys, including the second octave E key sound perfect! It seems that the recordings are made with an acoustic piano that has a problem with that particular E key.
I found out that it is very hard to get in touch with Yamaha Support and tell her about that problem. I have two questions:
1. Is there anaway you can check on a CLP piano (preferably the CLP 675) that the Bosendorfer indeed has e problem with the second octave E key? It sounds muffled as if the strings are not properly vibrating. I really would like to hear your comment!
2. How can I get in touch with Yamaha to make them aware of this issue and how can I get them to fix it (update software)?
Thanks for your reply!
Tom
Hey Tom, sorry to hear you’re experiencing a problem with your CLP-675. Unfortunately, I don’t have a CLP-675 to try it out, so I cannot confirm or deny if the problem is widespread or not. However, to me, it seems very unlikely, since the same sounds are used in most of their CLP-6xx series as well as some of their other keyboards such as the P-515.
The first thing I’d recommend is to contact Yamaha support and see what they have to say. You can contact them by following this link.
Also, you could share your problem on the PianoWorld forum, which has a lot of active members and some of them will most likely have this model at hand, so they’ll be able to test it for you (though again if the problem was common, there would be a lot of forum threads and discussions by now, and Yamaha would attempt to fix it as soon as possible, via a firmware update, for example.)
Either way, I hope the problem with your piano resolves quickly and you can enjoy playing it once again.
Dear Lucas,
just about the piano sound, should I consider p125 higher than mx88? Or are they the same? Thank you!
Hi Raffaele, if you’re interested strictly in piano sounds, I’d definitely go with the P-125. Since it’s a digital piano and not a synthesizer, most of all it focuses on delivering a natural piano playing experience. Therefore, the piano tones on the P-125 are more detailed and nuanced than those found on the MX series.
I was considering an Alesis Recital Pro; how does that piano compare with the Yamaha P-125 and the Roland FP-30?
Hi, I’d go with the Yamaha or Roland any day. The Alesis Recital Pro is a decent digital piano, but there are just better alternatives in my opinion (both sound- and feel-wise).
Hi! I’m considering either a arius 164 or Clavinova 625. The price difference is just $500. I love the Clavinova, but my husband doesn’t want to spend the extra money. Which would be a better instrument?
Hi Sara, I actually compared these instruments in the YDP-164 review. Here it is (see the Alternatives section).
When the dgx 670 and the genos 2 will be available?
Hard to say, maybe in the next month, maybe in several years. Provided that they recently updated their PSR-S series (PSR-SX700 and PSR-SX900), I’m not sure if they plan to update their Genos at all since the new keyboards are somewhat similar to that model.
Hello Lucas!
I am considering between Roland FP10 and Yamaha P45 for my daughters’ practice and beginner level. Which one do you recommend? Thank you for your opinion.
Hi Fazrina, my choice would be the FP-10 because of its arguably more realistic key action. The Yamaha P-45 is not a bad instrument, but I like the FP-10 better.
Thanks for the review, Lucas! A lot of heart and effort in these articles, and we are the beneficiaries of them. Appreciate it!
It looks like Clavinova is for intermediate-advanced players, I was curious to know, do the lights for students make it also a good beginner option? And do you think that this system is a good way of learning, or will it “rusty” our technique? Again., Thanks a lot !!
Thanks for your kind words, Ed! Are you referring to Yamaha’s CSP series when talking about “the lights for students”? If so, not really. I don’t think it’s a good system to learn the piano.
It’s fine for absolute beginners and smaller kids, but if your goal is to learn the piano, it’s not an ideal system. In fact, you may develop some bad habits if you use it as your main learning tool since you’ll get accustomed to looking for those light hints.
You may want to check out our guide where we cover different methods that you can use to learn the piano. We also have reviewed many popular piano learning apps, so feel free to take a look at those as well.
Great article! I was looking for something like this back when I was shopping for my piano, but never found it. I’m bookmarking this for future reference. I have one little clarification to point out. In the DGX/YPG section, you say that that these keyboards do not have “fully weighted hammer action.” I suppose it is true that they are not “fully weighted” but at least the more recent models (such as my DGX-650) have the Graded Hammer Standard that you describe in the key action section.
Hi Allen, sorry for the confusion. The DGX series does come with fully weighted keys, while the YPG series does not. Could you please point me to the part where I say that the DGX series doesn’t have fully weighted keys.
In the DGX/YPG section, it says “It’s important to note that the YPG Series does not have fully weighted hammer action, even though it will look similar to digital pianos that do.” Because that is the only mention about weighted keys in that whole section, it gives the impression that it applies to the DGX series, too. I am suggesting that you explicitly say that the DGX series has the GHS. (Is that the only difference between DGX and YPG?)
Hi Allen, sorry for the confusion. I’ll see how I can make that part a bit clearer.
My logic was that since the DGX/YPG is in the Digital Pianos category, it implies that everything in that category comes with fully weighted keys. But since the YPG series doesn’t have weighted keys, I pointed that out (I didn’t want to move it to a different category because the YPG instruments have a lot in common with the DGX series).
Lucas, thanks for the great, extensive review! I am wavering between purchasing the YDP-184 and the CLP-625. They both come out to around the same price. I wonder if it is better to get the high end Arius or the low end Clav. Thoughts?
Hi Phillip,
Have you checked out this article? Let me know if it answers your questions.
Lucas
I was considering the Yamaha MX 88 but wanting an acoustic piano action thought the Yamaha P 515 might be a better choice. I am concerning with the action on the P 515, do you think the Kawai ES 8 might be a smarter choice? I also like the fact of the built in speaker system. If I had purchased the MX I would have also went with the Roland 30 W KC220 because of its stereo capability. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Too Many choices
Dennis Coy
Hi Dennis,
If the piano playing experience is your priority, I’d definitely prefer the P-515/ES8 over the MX series. After all, these are two different categories of instruments. The former ones are designed with the sole purpose of delivering a realistic playing experience.
As for the action between the P-515 and ES8, I don’t have a strong preference here, and I would recommend trying both to see which one you prefer. Also, feel free to check out my reviews of these instruments, including the Alternatives section where I share my thoughts on how they compare.
Hello Lucas,
Do you know what country the P-515 is made in?
Hi Brad,
I don’t remember exactly, but even if I found out, chances are they are made in several locations and your unit may not be produced in the same country. Most likely, it’s either China or Indonesia, but I would contact Yamaha directly for more specific information.
Hello There Lucas 🙂
Greatly appreciate your time and effort for the reviews..
I am having a difficulty to choose between yamaha p515 and p255 and dgx 660.. i am slightly less than intermediate level i guess.. and i used till now the yamaha psr e 353.. which was nice at the begining but.. u know 🙂
i also saw roland fp 60 but didnt like the fact it use the same action key as fp 10 and fp 30.. i dont care much about effects as i am using 95% of the time the default piano sounds which i like the most..
also saw kawai es8 and didnt like it overall..
would u be kind as to let me know what is your opinion on those? or maybe there is some new model upcoming soon? or anything that exist that i missed? i am guessing you already figured out i am looking for portable one as i dont have room for permanent furniture like..
Thanks a lot in advance..
Eithan =]
well.. i just came here to say that i ended up with Kawai es8.. the action is too heavy for me on the p515.. i need way more finger strength and dexterity to play on p515 especially fast pieces.. which is also a bit difficult on the es8 due to the keys bounce when u let them off.. but for me its better than yamaha and roland at this price tag anyway.. so ty anyway for the great content of yours.. i use it alot to make decisions.. take care.. 🙂
Oops, didn’t see your last comment 🙂 Congrats on your new purchase! The ES8 is a great instrument.
Tyvm Lucas.. i got few days ago and it is great instrument indeed.. i don’t really know why i disliked it at the first place lol..
Even my sister that agreed to play only once on the Yamaha Psr-E 353, can’t leave now the ES8.. it’s disadvantage for me.. but.. i am lucky she don’t visit much ;p jk.. i love her 😀 thanks tons again.. and stay safe 🙂
Hi Eithan,
The Yamaha P-255 has been discontinued and replaced by the P-515 model. The P-515 is a step up from the DGX-660 model, which is more of a beginner-intermediate model with a lot of bells and whistles (piano-wise, it’s similar to the P-125).
The Kawai ES8 is a direct competitor to the Yamaha P-515, while the DGX-660 is more comparable to the Roland FP-10/FP-30 (not taking into account the extra sounds and features on the DGX-660).
That’s a Brilliant article and as a Yamaha Tyros player, I found it immensely interesting.
At the moment, I don’t feel that there’s an arranger keyboard that I’d swap out my Tyros for. The Genos doesn’t appeal, and looks too plain. It’s also too expensive for what it does.
But if Yamaha brought out a Tyros 6………I’d be there in a flash.
Glad you liked the article, Keirh. Yamaha’s recently released PSR-SX700 and PSR-SX900 are probably not as powerful as your Tyros but might be an interesting and more affordable alternative to the Genos.
Hi Lucas,
Do you have any idea whether there are new Clavinova CSPs on the horizon (since they just updated their CLP series)?
Some blogs offer the possibility to automatically send an email, when an answer/new comment was posted. I would find that helpful.
Your website is excellent. It saves a lot of time to clear the fog of marketing speak of producers.
Hey Garnot,
Glad you’re finding the site useful! It’s hard to predict these things, to be honest, especially considering that the CSP series is relatively new and we don’t have a long history of updates to look at and analyze. But I haven’t heard any chatter about the new CSP recently (though these things are often kept secret until the announcement).
Regarding the email notifications, that should work as you described. Aren’t you getting the notifications?
Hey Lucas,
The CSP is currently difficult to get. I wanted the CSP-170 but it is not clear when it will be available again. I was able to test Roland’s Piano Partner 2 app with an FP-30 and some other supported models. It also offers the band accompaniment feature, although not as impressive and with less styles than the Smart Pianist app with a CSP. Piano Partner 2 does not properly work with my Android phone (lag via Bluetooth and not recognized via USB cable) and tablet (Android version not supported). And I am reluctant to buy an iPad just for the piano. On the other hand iOS looks to be the better choice for music applications in general.
Your explanations about keyboard actions in many of your articles helped me a lot in my decision making process. With this and your comparisons in different price groups I can quickly zoom in on the models that are of interest for me.
What I could not find, when searching the internet, was a comparison of apps that major piano brands offer for their digital pianos. It was even difficult to get more than just superficial information from their brands’ websites. I find it quite surprising that the major brands treat their apps like appendixes, as if the majority of clients were from the pre-smartphone generation.
It seems to me that Yamaha’s Smart Pianist app can be used with almost all recent Yamaha digital pianos but the functionality is highly dependent on the specific piano model. Roland seems to have chosen a different path. Its Piano Partner 2 app is only compatible with some recent Roland digital pianos (and even some of the latest models are not supported) but functionality seems to be quite similar between supported models. It looks like Kawai’s Virtual Technician app is even more limited in capabilities to just adapting sound parameters. Korg doesn’t seem to offer any app. Casio’s Chordana Play app also seems to offer an auto accompaniment mode similar to Smart Pianist and Piano Partner 2 but its functionality seems highly dependent on the piano model in question.
The email notification does not work in my case. Maybe it’s because of my email provider’s spam settings. I will try another email address, where I have full control over spam, and let you know.
Hey Garnot,
Yeah, many digital piano models are out of stock right now, so all we can do is wait I guess.
Regarding the apps, the reason I don’t spend so much time talking about them is because in many cases those are just helpful companions and don’t really bring anything new to the table. Their functionality is often limited to the functionality of the instrument itself and their main design ethos is to give users access to the instrument’s features via the on-screen interface. Some of them offer some additional educational, MIDI-based features, but in my opinion, they are far from being fully fledged learning/performance tools.
Hi Lucas,
Thanks for your clarification about the apps.
I did not receive an email about your reply (and there was no notification email in spam). In case you set it up that notifications are sent, it does not work as intended.
Thanks for letting me know, Gernot.
I actually thought that it’s taken care of by default since I myself get email notifications about new comments. Turns out it’s not the case. I’ve now added this as an option. Whenever you leave a comment, you can choose if you want to subscribe or not. Hope this helps!
Another hint: The layout of the tables on your website cause problems when printing an article. There are also some other layout choices of your website that make a printout a challenge.
I printed some of your articles instead of reading them on the smartphone while on the go. To make it print nicely I have to use the Firefox add-on Print Edit WE.
Thanks, Gernot! These are all very valuable insights. I never realized that some people prefer to print out online articles, so I never really looked at it from that perspective. Tables are actually quite complicated for me to work with, especially when I start customizing them to fit my needs. I know that on mobile they don’t look great exactly, but it’s the best I could do so far. Not sure if there’s anything I can do with the tables to make them look better when printing out, but I’ll look into it.
Are you going to introduce the PSS series? Yes, they are very low-end keyboards, but if the SA series gets introduced for Casio maybe it’s a good idea to introduce what seems to be Yamaha’s equivalent (and Yamaha’s looks just a BIT more serious).
It’s funny you mentioned that 🙂 When publishing the Casio guide, I was thinking the exact same thing! Thanks for the suggestion, will add the PSS series soon.
Good afternoon Lucas,
Thank you for the fantastic article! I am looking to purchase something here in the next few weeks to replace my aging YDP213. I went to our local Yamaha dealer and tried out the action on many of the mid-upper end models that they had on the showroom floor. I made an observation that it might be worthwhile to mention in your article: Many models which tote the same ‘action’ can actually have a drastically different feel. For instance:
CLP 675 – Grand Touch (without counter weight)CLP 685 – Grand Touch (with counter weight)
I noticed that the keys on the 685 felt almost ‘sticky’ during the initial press. Like there was a small piece of tape holding them up, which when ‘pulled away’ released the key and led me to a normal press of the note. The keys on the 675 did not have this ‘sticky’ initial feel to them. I tried a CLP 685 and CLP 695GP and they both had this sticky feel. I had initially thought this ‘sticking’ was due to the grand touch of these models having “counterweights”, but I later tried the CVP805 and it also had that sticky feel (and I do not believe the 805 has counterweights). So I’m not entirely sure why some of the “Grand Touch” actions have such a drastic difference than others, but in any case I would definitely recommend that anyone interested in purchasing something always try that EXACT model before making a purchase. Grand Touch doesn’t always mean Grand Touch!
Hey Roger, apologies for the late reply.
Hmm..that’s interesting. There are a couple of things that might be going on here, but generally, it’s quite rare when the same key action feels different on different models (though not impossible). I don’t remember noticing it with the Yamaha Clavinova models, but who knows…Only Yamaha can give a definite answer about whether they use a different variation of GrandTouch in their CLP digital pianos.
Maybe there’s an error in the specs on their site (which I’ve seen in the past), so CVP805 might in fact have counterweights. But yeah, it’s definitely a great idea to try out the model you want to buy in person.
This is very helpful review, thank you! I am a professional classical pianist looking to purchase a portable keyboard (to possibly use for outdoor concerts for solo/chamber music, late night practice, etc). I am leaning towards Yamaha p515. Is it worth spending additional $1k for CP88 instead? I will have to explore those functions/switches on CP88. Bringing amplifiers around seem little cumbersome to me but I may have to bring one with me anyways for P515. I am willing to do anything if the instrument itself is good and if CP88 wil enhance the performance quality. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Hi Sue, apologies for the late reply.
If you mostly gonna be using acoustic piano sounds, the P515 should provide you with everything you need for your piano needs since it’s the main focus of digital pianos (the P-515 is no exception). The CP88, on the other hand, is a stage piano, and while it does provide more sounds, options, and better flexibility, you aren’t going to get a better piano playing experience with it.
So unless you need to switch between different sounds and adjust effects on the fly, or need expanded connectivity options/performance features, the P-515 would be a better choice, in my opinion.