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Digital Piano Yamaha EZ 220. Full Review. A good Piano?

Yamaha EZ 220 Full Review

The Yamaha EZ 220 electronic keyboard is a keyboard for beginners with curiosity. Its 61 keys are illuminated, so you can learn to play with its learning suite while reading the score on an iPad.

From our point of view, it is a very specific product for people who want to experiment with a inexpensive keyboard. It can serve you perfectly for the first 2 years of learning.

yamaha-ez-220

Sound

The Yamaha EZ 220 comes with a 32-voice polyphony for easy learning. The polyphony is the number of notes that can sound at once and this includes those you are playing with your hands and also over an accompaniment. A medium-level keyboardist will easily overcome this polyphony.

Where to Buy Yamaha EZ 220?

Amazon

  • Free Shipping and the possibility of shipping in one day with Amazon Premium.
  • Full Guarantee but they are no experts in music equipment
  • A leader in fast shipments.
  • Prices change a lot daily.

Thomann

  • Free Shipping with pack Bundle Deluxe.
  • Full warranty. If you have any problems, they take care of everything.
  • 100% reliable payment.
  • A leader in trouble-free shipping.
  • Usually Best Price.
  • Best Reputation: They are the leading online store in Europe and have the best catalog and information.

It’s got about 392 sounds. Plenty of variety to play with and a moderately acceptable piano sound. But it’s still a keyboard for beginners.

On the other hand, it has 100 styles of accompaniment to play on and that follows what you are playing. All electronic keyboards typically have these features in this price range

Take a look at this video, where you can see how to make an iPad compatible with the illuminated keyboard. It is the most striking feature of this keyboard, which for many can be very interesting.

Keyboard and Connectivity

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It has a sensitive keyboard (with no Hammer Action) which is worth starting and see if you like it, but from the second year is better to have the Hammer Action, to simulate the keyboard of an acoustic piano and the weight of its keys.

The keys are plastic made, but for the price they are good. Sensitivity has the normal quality that comes in this range.

The good thing about the keyboard is that it has the basic features to make it very useful.

It has a USB MIDI to HOST connection that allows you to connect the keyboard to a music editing program such as CUBASE and record MIDI tracks that can then be exported to the music sheet directly. It brings connection to plug a sustain pedal, which serves to maintain the note in time and is basic as an interpretative resource in the piano. It is not included and you have to buy it separately, but at least it has the connection and that is a basic way to study piano from the beginning.

It has an output for headphones to be able to study in silence, although it does not have an exit of line. You can connect it to an amplification system by the output of headphones but in certain equipment, you may need an injection box to play live. Although to connect it to guitar amplifiers it’s worth it. It’s not a professional stage piano, though. Still, we will bring you a cheaper option, if you require it.

Portability

It’s very good, weighs only about 4 Kg. and can work with batteries. It is too light as to take it home with your classmates and rehearse in acoustics. Includes power supply.

It has 2.5 W speakers, enough to rehearse with friends in a house but no more without an extra amplifier. Includes music holder.

Yamaha EZ 220 vs Yamaha PSR E353

Both are very similar and their functionalities are similar. Both have MIDI, sensitive keyboard, sustain pedal input, etc. Although the Yamaha PSR E353 includes some modulation controls and has more sounds oriented to electronic music.

Now there is the new version of the Yamaha PSR E363 with some improvements (raises the polyphony to 48 notes) although it must be said that now the Yamaha EZ 220 has been put at a good price. We will share here with you our review with the Yamaha PSR E363.

Other options to Yamaha EZ 220

If you have an iPad the Yamaha EZ 220 and its function of illuminated keys is a good feature to motivate you in the initial learning of the piano. But the truth is that the Yamaha PSR E363 is cheaper and the functionality of the illuminated keys makes the Yamaha EZ 220 cost a little more (although now the difference has decreased). For everyone’s liking, we would buy the Yamaha PSR E353 or its new version for that budget, to be honest.

If your budget is very low, the minimum is that you can have is MIDI and sustain pedal input. In that case, take a look at the Casio CTK 3500. Impossible more for less.

If you want to do other more serious options within the PSR range, the Yamaha PSR E463 is a very interesting option for a low budget.

Although if you want something that will last for many years, between 500 and 650 € and you want to study classical piano and you are interested in the technique, is important that your keyboard is 88 Hammer Action keys. In that case, the most balanced portable digital piano is the Yamaha P125. You can also play it live. At the end of the post, you will see very interesting links, if you were thinking about this keyboard.

Where to Buy Yamaha EZ 220 at the Best Price

The most reliable store that works best in Europe is Thomann and worldwide (USA, ASIA) Amazon:

For a similar price you have the following pianos and keyboards:

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review-roland-bk

Digital Pianos Roland BK 5 – Review. Is it worth it?

The Roland BK 5 is an electronic keyboard with full synthesizer functions very powerful and comparable to the keyboards of the Yamaha PSR S series. So we can consider it professional

Sound and Synth Functions

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It has more than 1172 sounds and a polyphony of 128 notes. That’s the amount of notes that can sound at once. This includes what you play and the accompaniments.

It has a very expressive piano sound and electric piano also very achieved as you can see in the video in this section.

On the other hand you have more than 305 rhythms or accompaniments. These accompaniments synchronize with what you’re playing and enrich your performance. We would say that they follow you so that you can have a string accompaniment while playing classical piano for example.

In addition, the Roland BK 5 brings a lot of rhythms and accompaniments with very interesting Latin sounds.

The Roland BK 5 has full synthesizer functions and on the left wheel you can set which parameters you want to affect in real time. Modulation, etc.

In addition the Roland BK 5 has the accompaniment function. So you can play without worrying about the harmonic accompaniment of the left hand. It’s done by the keyboard itself (Pianist Mode).

Of course it brings many reverb and chorus effects. More than you’ll ever need… and attention to the Hammond organ sound, very good as you’ll see in the video. After the video follows the review.

Quick Control Commands

Very good pads or One Touch buttons, in which you can save sounds to access them quickly. A basic in this type of keyboards that are always needed.

It has highly recommended sounds for creating soundtracks for movies and videos.

Connections and MIDI

It has MIDI output so you can use it as a MIDI controller and do things like record a MIDI track on your computer and then automatically turn it into a music sheet or transport it in tone in a few seconds with any program that supports MIDI tracks.

You can also record multiple tracks in wav format on your own flash drive and work from it. So you don’t have to load them on the computer. It also has controls to delay the tempo of the theme or accelerate it without affecting the quality.

It has an auxiliary input IN mini-jack so you can add any sound that will pass through the keyboard and sound through the speakers so that you can treat and synthesize it. In the video they use it to connect the voice microphone through a pedal.

It has sustain pedal input but it is not included. This is vital to keep the note in time even if you stop pressing the key.

Extras

Pay attention to the Loop functionality that allows you to mark a point in a start and end song and repeat those pieces in a loop. This can be very useful for study or interpretation.

It has a voice suppressor so that in a song you remove the singer’s voice and only the accompaniment of a song that you have in the flash drive for example…

With the MIDI functionalities on the keyboard display I can see the lyrics of sounds I have downloaded and the harmony. Very good as Karaoke functions. It has video output to do Karaoke on a monitor.

It’s got 12-watt speakers. Quite powerful for accompaniment of other instruments even outdoors. But if you need it, it has a stereo line output to connect it to any amplification system with what it’s worth as a stage keyboard.

Keyboard and Hammer Action

It has a sensitive keyboard, but it’s not Hammer Action. It’s not optimal for learning classical or conservatory. Its intention is more for people who already play a certain level of piano or who want to experiment with modern music.

Yamaha PSR S670 vs Roland BK 5

El Roland BK as a weight of 7 kg. Really portable

Both keyboards are for similar purposes. The Roland BK 5 has more sounds although the Yamaha S670 is much cheaper and the interface is more usable. Yamaha has more worked usability. The Yamaha PSR S670 has hit the road and the Roland BK 5 has been loaded. Don’t miss our review of the Yamaha PSR S670.

Both have 128 polyphony notes but the Roland BK has sounds with a very remarkable expressiveness. Although the Yamaha PSR S670 wins by price.

Both the PSR S670 and the Roland BK5 have a set of sounds to create very interesting electronic music and both have line output for live.The Roland BK weighs about 7 kg.

He’s tremendously portable and that’s his forte.

Where to buy the Roland BK 5?

Right now there two good options to buy it. Amazon and Thomann. Roland BK 5 is growing again in popularity

For a similar price you have the following pianos and keyboards:

 

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Digital Piano Yamaha CLP 685 – Full Review. Is a good professional Piano?

The Clavinova Yamaha CLP 685 is the top model in Yamaha’s Clavinova range. They are digital pianos with a long journey and most of the things we talk about in this review and in the video are valid for the other pianos in this range. At the end of the review, you will find the video we have made in collaboration with Yamaha.

We also detail where you can buy it at the best price. The good thing is that being a digital piano you can buy it online and save a lot of money. There is only one place in Europe where you can buy items of this price online and you get it without any problem. No doubt It is Thomann, but in Asia and the United States the best option is Amazon:

In Europe Thomann is a good choice:

  • Free Shipping
  • Full warranty. If you have any problems, they take care of everything.
  • 100% reliable payment.
  • A leader in trouble-free shipping.
  • best price.
  • Best Reputation: They are the leading online store in Europe and have the best catalog and information.

Mechanical System

This is one of the highlights of the Clavinova series and the Yamaha CLP 685. The aim is to look as much as possible like an acoustic grand piano.

It has a GrandTouch keyboard with little long keys and has more depth (the top of the key) to have much more control over the interpretation.

On the other hand, it has the simulation of a double escapement of a grand piano. This allows you to play a note again without having to raise all the drafts of it. Very necessary for legato passages.

The Hammer Action is very precise, each key has a different weight. It doesn’t go into zones like other lower-end digital pianos. And the Yamaha CLP 685 has a Hammer Action very faithful to that of the grand piano.

The white keys are made of synthetic ivory and the black keys are made of synthetic ebony, which is important because when you play for several hours you sweat and these materials are very absorbent. In the Hammer Action of the CLP 685, the initials carry the X which means that it has an exhaust (all of the Clavinova series).

As for the pedals, it has the same pedals as a grand piano. The resonance system has a gradual response system that perfectly simulates that of an acoustic piano (you will see it very well in the video of the review).

Sound

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With 256 polyphony voices (the number of notes that can sound at once) the Yamaha CLP 685 has legendary sounds in its extensive catalog.

In the review, you’ll hear Yamaha’s CFX grand piano. The maximum of its range in Yamaha. The sound is directly recorded from one of these grand pianos. In the video of the review, you will see several samples, such as the sound of the grand piano C7, very good for salsa and Latin music.

The Yamaha CLP-685 comes with more than 400 XG sounds with very extreme quality.

It’s important to talk about tri-amplification. The Yamaha CLP 685 has an amplifier for basses, another for mids, and another for basses. With 50 W each you can play in small auditoriums without extra amplification.

A very important aspect that makes this digital piano look like an acoustic is the VRM or virtual resonance modeling. The video explains very well but basically it is a system that calculates all aspects of resonance that occur in an acoustic piano in order to simulate it perfectly and have the complete feeling of being in front of a grand piano.

This piano has the possibility to study with headphones and even divide the keyboard in two so that teachers and students play both with headphones.

Studying with headphones for many hours is very tiring so this piano brings a binaural sound that gives you the feeling of playing without headphones even if you have them on. You can hear it in the video.

Connectivity

Of course, this digital piano has USB Midi To host so we can do such wonderful things as record a MIDI track with programs like CUBASE and then export it to score directly. It also has MIDI output with the classic connector if you need it.

It also has a USB port so you can record what you play on a flash drive. This is very useful.

You can also connect your mobile phone to listen to a Bluetooth song and play on it. And record it on the flash drive at the same time for example… great, isn’t it?

All these things that we have advanced to you and many more you have in this video review. So don’t miss it and give it to the play that will surely give you a lot in your search for the piano you want.

We hope that this post has contributed to you. If you’re thinking of something more portable to play on stage in the future, take a look at our selection of Yamaha’s best portable pianos.

Where to Buy Yamaha CLP 685?

This type of digital pianos are very expensive and it is true that you can save a lot of money buying online. After all, from a physical store, they also have to transport it to you. With what risks the transport always has. That’s why it’s very important to buy it at the most reliable store known

.I have bought very expensive items online and always recommend Thomann and Amazon. They have a total guarantee and a lot of experience transporting instruments of any size. Here’s the direct link to the Amazon shop of your country and Thomann in case you live in Europe:

For a similar price you have the following pianos and keyboards:

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