Yamaha YPG-625

Hi,

I have found only a scant number of reviews online for the Yamaha YPG-625---and none them aimed at professional users (and maybe there's a reason for that?).

Does anyone here have experience with these, and if so, could comment from a reliability standpoint?

The YPG-625 seems to fit the bill for me, as I'm looking for a fully-weighted and graded keyboard for ~US$700. I need pitch and mod wheels but all other knobs and buttons are superfluous; plus the YPG is capable of accepting the three traditional piano pedals, which I would like.

I'll be using it solely as a dummy controller in my project studio---no gigging with it, no moving it, no reason to care about onboard sounds. I just want to make sure the YPG-625 is built to last and won't break after 6 months of my hammering away at it!

I haven't made it out to my local dealer yet, but if it plays fine, I thought I'd simply buy it on the spot-----BUT I'd feel a LOT, LOT more comfortable with a second opinion.

Why YPG-625 Vis-a-vis other keyboards?

----Price

----Casio privia (e.g. px-200)=no pitch or mod wheels

----Higher-end Yamaha stage pianos=price too high, plus I don't care about on-board sounds, and I'm not gigging with this

----CME=maybe, but support and repair not as easy as with Yamaha

----Studiologic=hard to find these days, same issue with CME

----M-Audio=the "spinet" of electronic keyboards; not a professional option

Any views thoroughly appreciated!

Cheers,

Dt

First of all, there are no reviews of the product... I don't know where you've looked...

I have a Yamaha DGX-620 (same model as the YPG-625 excactly). I think that the DGX is the europen version of the product while the YPG is the American.

I can compare it to the Yamaha P-60 that I own.

PRICE:

The price is AMAZING for this product. It just has so much to offer... The piano, was definetly better then the P-60's. Definetly.

Couldn't find differences of keys-feeling.

The YPG625DGX620 has a fully hammered graded keyboard, which is great.

The piano sound is neat, and it has some other TERRIFIC sounds. Great EP's, and an awesom Flute. It's actually a whole keyboard (You know, like the older DGX's - not very special , has lots of styles and stupid sounds like clapping, door smashing, etc'... but it's still a great digital piano...).

I hardly use it's "keyboard" features.

It's a great digital piano, and I recommand it.

Disadvantages: no MIDI outin ... But it does support MIDI, so you can probably connect an extarnal MIDI interface to it's USB port.

Besides, it only has one line out (Called: Phonesoutput), Unlike High End digital pianos Yamaha has..

Polyphony is only 32.

I had a chance to gig with it, and it's definetly gigable.

Hello,

There were a few user reviews at, I think, musiciansfriend.com, but most were written by hobbyists.

That's good to hear. But, I hope the plastic casing is sturdy. I am not afraid to pound the keys with good force if the dynamics of the passage necessitate it. If the casing is sturdy enough, I should be fine. Otherwise, it will break, even if the keys themselves are strong.

Yes, that is a disadvantage from my point of view, too. I can live with midi out, but I would rather have the option of direct midi in and out.

It won't matter for me, as I'll be playing via my DAW sequencer, but I can see that is how they're able to keep the price relatively low.

I was just looking at the spec sheet, and I noticed that there is no modulation wheel. That I can live without; and, I am willing to forgo aftertouch, which this keyboard does not have.

However, as far as I can tell, I will not be able to plug in a piano three-pedal board. (Correct me if I'm wrong.) I absolutely cannot buy a keyboard that will not let me use at least sustain and soft pedals (with 'half pedaling').

Cheers,

Dt

I found that this was a nice board. My only complaint was that the keys are way too light. But if you're using it as a MIDI controller, that may not be a bad thing.