I have tried out many keyboards at many different music stores. For under a grand this seemed to be the best bet. I have played many other brands (korg, Roland, kurzweil, Alesis...to name a few) and this keyboard, hands down had the best touch and feel. Now for the sounds...The piano I think is great. The primary reason for buying this was to use the piano sound. Im not a professional keyboardist or much of a critic to the sounds. As long as they sound decent and massivly fake, im happy. Also, it helps if you use good speakers, as that can really make a big difference.

Came with everything i needed to get started right out of the box; power supply, manual, driver CD. Did not come with MIDI or USB cable...but thats ok, ill worry about that stuff later.

Most everything I have read about regarding Yamaha keyboards have been positive. Now having one i would agree. It doesent take away from your decor. It seems very well build; that is keys are solid and not flimsy, buttons are not going to break off and oh, did i say it looks good?

Yes, this is worthy of my hard earned $999.99, Trust me, i have looked all over and for under a grand you cant beat it with anything in its class. It could be more money but for my sake im glad it was only $1000

Have not called them so I cannot say. Manual seems to be well written with helpfull illustrations to go along with.

This keytboard looks pretty and does not have a crappy "cheap" look to it. I would go for practicality over looks anyday. Fortunately This keyboard gives a good mix of both looks and performance.

everything

Really good pianos,strings, brass. I use it mostly for piano and organs. For the price the sounds are great.

The multis are nice for setting up multitrack sequences. I love the action of the S08. That was one of the main reasons I bought it.

Here's where I wish I could change a few things. Sounds are not easily edited. Manual can be difficult. The midi file sequencer player is also difficult to get to work properly. The weight of this board also makes it tough to gig with. It weighs close to 60 pounds.

Well built. I have owned it for about 5 years and it works like new.

Great overall board for the buck.

n/a

hobbyist

rock

Great patches! Full, rich sounds, and all the required favorite flavors.

88 keys. Great weighted action. All the patches you really need. MIDI and USB. Mod wheel. Not a lot of "fluff" features to drive up the price, just the stuff you need and will use.

Solid construction. INCREDIBLE piano action keys. Am sure this unit will stand up to decades of gigging.

All the features you really need, and none of the the ones you don't, so you're paying for quality in the parts you need, not for additional fluff you'll never use.

The feel of these keys are as sweet as I've ever played... Except on an actual piano.

Rock, Jazz, Blues

The pianos have a living quality to them which was missing on the others I've tried. I know it sounds stupid to attribute life to an inanimate object but that's the best analogy I can come up with. They are very bright and expressive, and have a moving quality when run into a stereo system.

Didn't even get into one tenth of the avalible features yet, but plab on doing so soon.

Probably the best piano-players keyboard for this price anywhere. Very solid, and if your play from the elbows as I see alot of pianists do, I believe this will take a pounding. I prefer to play from the wrists, but everyone has his own style.

This product actually is under priced for what you get for your money. A great value.

Yamaha has great support, and i found a guy named Matt Traum at Patchman music who knows everything about Yamaha. I think he's even created a sound voice chip for them. He's great.

This will be my next purchase. Period.

active musician

jazz, rock, pop

the sound is like cream... class a

the best- for this money

Yamaha stand for quality- class a

The sound and the features- i like it verry well

I hadn't the pleasure -but the service s good

I saw it it first time and i want it...

Hobbyist,

Rockn'Roll, eletical music like Herbert Groenemeyer

Good sounds, not mind-blowing but VERY good for the price. I mostly use this board as a MIDI controller.

I thought it had built-in speakers when I bought it, but I have a system at home and it was easy enough to plug into that. Now I mostly use it with headphones.

Haven't done a lot of tweaking but for getting basic sounds etc it's pretty straightforward. I also have not sequenced on the board (I use Logic) so can't comment on that.

Seems pretty well-built. The USB port did break on me but it was under warranty and was fixed for free. No problems since. The feel is very nice. I do not have experience with Graded action versus the Balanced action of the S08 so I cannot speak to the difference there. But the S08 feels very nice.

Compared to other 88-key pro boards, this is about the cheapest you're going to find, and I am very happy with it. A very good value.

When the USB port broke, I called Yamaha who referred me to a local authorized repair shop. Dropped it off and got it back in a reasonable time frame.

Meh - it's a keyboard. Looks good, and I agree the red felt is a nice touch.

Touring musician

Jazz, Funk, World, Electronic

The sounds and action were most important to me. This was my first keyboard so I wasn't accute to hearing between different boards for piano sound quality. None the less, the piano sound is good, just good. Now that I have played with it for about a year, the highs are pretty thin and don't sustain very well. Also, there is a definite ring on the D above middle C. The rest of the sounds are good and bad, probably more useless sounds than useful. I'm decently happy with the sound though. The action is probably not as heavy and solid as a typical grand, but my piano at home has a very light touch so im used to this. It is NOT GRADED, in case anyone wanted that and was looking for it you wont find it here. Its balanced action.

It has decent features for the price. No sequencer on board, although there is one with the CD program. Seeing that this was my first keyboard, I haven't really gotten into sequencing or sampling. I mostly use it on stage. The foot controller you can get is helpful but it doesn't seem like you can control pitch or wah in real time. I don't know if that's possible but it would have been cool.

Built like a...tank? Well that seems to be the standard saying so i guess i will use it too. Its built well, it's yamaha, nothing has broken yet.

Good good, price is good. Its solid so i know it will last and its brought me tons a musical adventures so it really is worth it.

no experience, but it's yamaha so im just assuming decent.

Its not a sex machine, it wont get you laid. The red felt is classy? maybe?

hobbyist, musician

jamband, rock, jazz

Alot of the time, I feel like they put way too many voices in the keyboard. Its kinda hard to find the voice you want. Otherwise, the Weighted hammer effect is great. Everything else is great!

ITS A YAMAHAH!WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU EXPECT!

rock, jazz, and blues

many of great sounds, piano sound is not good enough, but when pach some aqualizer itp sounds much better now great orgrans, rhodes piano, el piano, strings i'm very glad for this keboard

offer 2 controlers, MODULATION WHEAL - you can link it with other parameters and FOOT CONTROLER - i made myself one - easy job, much money in the pocket ;) -- i thing 2 controlers its enough KEYBOADR IS SUUPER GREAT bad side is --- no slots for extra cards -- you can pach new soumds from SMART MEDIA or computer - but they use samples from ROM memory - you can't load new samples

best - big, heavy (20 kg), hard,

for that price is very good synthesizer

jazz, blues

amazing quality as if it were a $3000 synthesizer

great selection of sounds. Best weighted keys that I've ever played on

It's a Yamaha, you definitely get what you pay for and more

I think that this is the best synthesizer money can buy for under a grand.

never needed to call them, but I'm guessing they're a 10

This is one dead sexy synthesizer