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Many piano manufacturers claim that their instrument is truly portable. However, the pianist will soon realize that many important features may be forfeited to get portability. The Yamaha YPG-535 88-key portable grand piano includes just the right number of features while maintaining a great size. This piano is truly a good value as it includes a stand that is 4 feet long and 2 ½ feet tall. The keyboard weighs in at only 37 pounds. While this is not extremely lightweight, it is lighter than some models that weight 50 to 60 pounds.
Many pianists enjoy the Yamaha YPG-535 keyboard’s build and design. One unique feature is this piano’s color – champagne gold. This is a clean, crisp color that is not featured on many alternative digital pianos or keyboards. This keyboard has two speakers that are 12 cm each and have 6W amplifiers. You will enjoy the nice sound these speakers provide. The keybed has a black lining around it making it a nice match for the black piano stand.
Keyboard Touch
Because of the GST (Graded Soft Touch), this keyboard features keys that have a very light touch. Yamaha pianos often feature a variety of action systems for their keys. These include GH3 (Graded Hammer 3), GHE (Graded Hammer Effect), GHS (Graded Hammer Standard), and GST (Graded Soft Touch). Each different key action system gives a unique feel because it is created by different engineering standards. You will find GST as the most inexpensive and lowest quality system. This is the system that is a part of most low-budget keyboards. The GST is responsible for the clicking sound that you hear when playing the Yamaha YPG-535.
This keyboard might not have top-notch keys, but it does include the Advanced Wave Memory (AWM) technology for stereo sampling. The AWM takes 3 unique concert piano samples and matches the samples to your manner of playing. It does not matter if you play hard or soft, AWM matches your style with internally stored samples and creates realistic piano sound. This piano includes a 32 note polyphony which is a bit low. When you use your pedal or play more detailed music pieces, the piano will start to drop notes.
Additional Features
When playing the Yamaha YPG-535, the pianist may select from a wide variety of voices. One of the voices is the grand piano. However, there are more than 500 other voices from which to select. These include brass, string and drum sections. Additionally, twelve drum sets, sound effect kits, and 127 voices are available for use. The piano also features 361 XGlite voices. XGLite sounds also includes their signature ‘Sweet!’, ‘Cool!’, and ‘Live!’ voices. Pianists who like to utilize MIDI items will enjoy this feature because it helps maintain the same sound when you transfer it from one device to another.
Yamaha touts their company as a leader in digital piano technology. So, it comes as a surprise that the YPG-535 lacks an onboard Digital Signal Processor (DSP). This piano does include a Master EQ system which has the capability to synthesize the music in 5 alternate ways. Also included are 9 reverb versions and 4 chorus effects. This amazing Yamaha technology meshes seamlessly with the recording system that features 6 tracks. The pianist can record and store the data and later transfer it to their Mac or PC.
Data transfer is simple when you use the USB capability. Since some digital pianos and keyboard lack any USB ports, it is awesome to learn that the Yamaha YPG-535 includes two ports. The USB to Host port allows the pianist to connect with a PC or Mac to record and transfer MIDI data. Also, a USB to Device port allows the pianist to add a flash drive to transfer stored music or download music from the World Wide Web. Using these advanced technological features can enhance your musical experience.
The chord and lyric display on the Yamaha YPG-535 is phenomenal for beginning pianists and anyone else who would like a visual of the notes and placement for the hands for each song. Also, the Yamaha Education Suite comes with up to 100 songs for enhancing the ability to learn to play the piano. When using this unique feature, the right-hand and left-hand parts are separated and provide direct instruction as a well as a dictionary of chords.
Yamaha YPG-535 Videos
Summary
When you take a look at the Yamaha YPG-535 overall, you will notice that it includes quite a bit of quality. Despite the inconsistent keys, it has many great features for a digital instrument. Considering that it costs less than $550, you are really getting a good value for your investment.