I did a lot of research before deciding on this unit. WOW! Definitly the most bang for your buck! Granted there are a lot of better pianos on the market right now, but none close to this price range in my opinion. The built in sequencer is a must for songwriters! The piano sounds sound slightly tingy through the built in speakers BUT, plug this baby into a mixer or outboard amp and POW! You have an honest to goodness grand piano under your hands! The feel of the weighted keys mimick some great true-life baby grands I have played in my life. I was blown away by the realism of the touch and hammer action in these keys. If I was forced to come up with some negatives about this model, it would be the onboard speakers- weak volume wise and lacking that "depth" in the low ranges not to mention many reviews have said they have a tendancy to blow at prolonged high volume(I've yet to have a prob. but then again, there's no such thing as "high volume" through the on board speakers!) and the string ensembles don't sustain very long with the sustain pedal. They sustain almost as a plucked string with almost immediate decay. And last, it is NOT a portable grand. It may say "Portable Grand Piano" but there's nothing portable about this monster. She's heavy, awkward and I won't be moving it from gig to gig if you know what I mean. But if you're looking for a solid, high-end sounding piano for your home or studio for under $1000, you can't beat this unit.

A brightness adjustment would be GREAT for the display. It get's a little nervy now and then when you're concentrating on a score or a melody. Kind of "always in your face" like that bright stereo face in your car at two in the morning. I bought the bundle with the pedal unit, headphones and bench. I wasn't very happy with this part of my purchase. The pedal unit is very cheaply constructed (All plastic) and I wasn't aware that the piano came with a sustain pedal in the box! (That is constructed of metal I should add) Most units do NOT include a sustain pedal. The bench is just that, a bench- nothing fancy. It doesn't have a flip open top for storage as every other piano bench on earth does. Which, in my opinioni is a waste of space and space is essential in a studio. In all I would say the bundle is only worth about $60. So if you have a chair at your place, keep in mind that it already comes with a sustain pedal, and the headphones are probably the cheapest on the market so I wouldn't bother with buying the package. If I had it to do over, I wouldn't have.

99% of the features of this unit operate as you would guess they would with common sense! I only opened the manual once because I was curious about a few commands and wouldn't you know it, they worked exactly how I thought they should! Someone actually THOUGHT about how this baby was laid out. We musicians aren't nuclear scientists! (If so we would be making a lot more money!) So the folks at Yamaha did us a favor and kept it simple yet very powerful and user friendly.

All plastic construction, especially the PLASTIC 3-pedal unit. The stand comes with a "reinforcement steel bar that mounts to the underside of the unit to keep it from sagging! That should have been a hint to the engineers of this baby. The pedal unit is waht most surprised me in means of quality construction. I'm interested to know how long this will last. It even FEELS cheaply made when you step on it. I find myself consiously "taking it easy" on the pedal unit for fears of breaking it with normal use! The speakers, well... they suck to be honest. But when you plug in the sound is there! Not much volume or punch without being plugged in. You can play comfortably with an acoustic set (Couple of acoustic guitars, etc.) but other than that, not enough volume to support itself without amplification.

I am a performing songwriter but I am also a fataher of ten children so budget friendly is everything to me! All in all I am satisfied with my purchase. Sure there are better pianos out there but not near this affordable price tag.

Haven't needed support as of yet. But i did go on the Yamaha site to attempt to register my piano, there is no registration page! And I've yet to find a registration card! How do I activate my warranty?

I am confident I will write and master-record many songs with this baby. The looks could be improved a little. I mean, come on, feaux veneer wood around the keys? Really? As for the feel, sound, features, and such; the possibilities for a songwriter are endless! If you're a songwriter, especially a recording songwriter on budget- BUY THIS PIANO AND LOOK NO FURTHER! If you have over a grand or so to spend, invest in a higher end unit.

Performing Songwriter, studio musician

country, southern rock, blues, classic rock

Excellent Grand Piano reproductive sound. The only downside (if considered one) is that the amplification of the piano alone is low - I have mine in a relatively small room (about 10' x 13') and have to have a minimum volume level of about 3/4 to max - it would be difficult for it to fill a large room. I plan on buying a PA/amp system next to see how it does.

I bought it with the deal that contained the bench and three pedal system - most definitely required for a full piano experience. The only downside is that there seems to be no ready-made dust covers for this instrument. I bought the "survival kit" as it advertised the dust cover, but it is nothing more than a felt cloth that just covers the keys. I was hoping for something more substantial like a vinyl cover that completely covered the keyboard.

Just turn it on and go - Yamaha has included many great sound samplings in this instrument, allowing for a host of instruments to be accessed. I especially like the fact that there is a button that no matter what is programmed with return the instrument to it's original function of a grand piano sound. There are many advanced features, which do look to have a somewhat steep learning curve - however, since I haven't needed those, I can't comment authoritatively on those.

So far so good - I don't think it is an instrument that is made to be moved frequently or "on the road" - a large part of the device is plastic and doesn't look like it would take a large amount of abuse before having issues. This one is definitely made more for the house than the venues. Taken care of and not moved continously, I would give it a lifespan of 3 to 5 years.

Since the DGX-640 is out (and the "new" version of this keyboard) I think that the pricing should be lowerd a bit; while still manufactured I would imagine that it won't be long before it is discontinued. I chose this one over the DGX-640 because (a) it was about $100 less, and for my needs, the additional benefits of the DGX-640 would rarely (if ever) be utilized, and (b) this has the "wood" accents on the keyboard itself - missing on the DGX-640, I think these accents give the keyboard richer look that is missing from the 640.

Haven't needed service, so I am non-commital on this - however, Yamaha has had an excellent history with their musical instruments so I don't expect any problems if I needed support. I did get the two year warranty upgrade, just in case.

How sexy can a keyboard be? It is as good as it gets - as stated above, the "wood" accents make it look better than it's newer cousin the 640.

Active Musician

Varied

I am very impressed with the sound quality of my keyboard. I was in search of a keyboard that could give me the tools/bells & whistles of studio-type functions. The look as well as the sound fits my home perfectly.