Yamaha Debuts P250 Digital Stage Piano

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Yamaha Corporation of America, Digital Musical Instruments, debuts the P250 digital stage piano at Winter NAMM 2003. The P250 is a refinement of its legendary predecessor, with major upgrades designed to enhance its applications as a professional live performance or studio instrument.

The Yamaha P250 incorporates a reproduction of the sound and touch of an acoustic piano. Proprietary Dynamic Stereo Sampling (DSS) features three Yamaha CFIIIS grand piano stereo samples taken at various levels from loud to soft, for dynamic selection according to the user's touch. The result is a delicacy of tone and expression that is virtually indistinguishable from an acoustic instrument. String resonance, sustain and soundboard samples emulate the reaction between different notes, giving the P250 an even more richly detailed sound. The 88-key Graded Hammer (GH) action simulates the feeling of an acoustic piano keyboard, where the lower-pitched keys are heavier to the touch and the upper-range keys are lighter.

"The previous Yamaha P200 model has been the standard in professional stage pianos, based on the combination of sound quality and authentic 'feel,'" states Athan Billias, marketing director, Technology Products. "Now, Yamaha has set a new standard and raised the bar for what a professional digital piano should be with the P250."

A generous 128 notes of polyphony provide enhanced layering of voices and sounds. Up to 38 stereo-sampled voices are available from the front panel, and General MIDI (GM) plus XG offers an additional 480 XG voices. Different voices may be selected for the left- and right-hand in "Split" mode; any two voices may be combined in "Layered" mode.

A 16-track song recorder allows users to record their performances, then play along, overdub additional voices or save them to the internal FLASH ROM. The P250 also features onboard digital reverb and effects, plus Enhanced Performance Memories which will store program changes and volume settings for external MIDI gear. In addition, the Performance Mode and Mod Wheels allow the P250 act as the controller for controlling professional MIDI setups.

Connections include MIDI IN/OUT/THRU, plus USB and TO HOST ports. To deliver the sounds with all the power and authority they deserve, the P250 features 16cm polypropylene woofers and a 30W/side stereo amplifier.

"As with any digital product, the piano sound has always been the most important component for the customer," states Avery Burdette, product manager, Digital Musical Instruments. "The enhanced piano sound of the Yamaha P250 will exceed those expectations, and the upgrades will make it a complete performance instrument."

The Yamaha P250 carries and MSRP of $2,295 and is currently available.