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Today's Bonus:
I don't know much about music, but after tinkering around with "Virtual Piano 2.0" I decided to give the real thing a try.
Browsing online I saw that there were literally dozens of different keyboards out there, many at affordable entry-level prices. So what made me pick this one?
PROS--
EXTRA FEATURES: Sure, you could buy a real basic model for less, but sooner or later you're going to wish you had a few extra sound effects and knobs to tweak. The Yamaha has a nice display with a blue back-light, which makes it easy to see which note you're playing.
SOUND: Plug in some Bose 2 Quiet Comfort headphones (worth every penny, believe me) and you can bang on your keyboard all you want without disturbing whoever is next door to you. The sounds and sound effects that this keyboard produces are really amazing, everything from pianos to church organs to brass, world sounds, guitars, choirs, drums and special effects.
NITPICKINGS--
SIZE: Call me naive, but I thought it would be a little bit smaller, like small enough to fit in a large footlocker. Not quite. Fortunately the box is pretty good if you toss in some extra foam when you ship it. I wouldn't really call this keyboard portable, though. As much as I'd like to bring it to work I'd consider it too much of a hassle and just leave it where it is.
EASE OF USE: The basic actions like playing the keyboard itself and selecting a "voice" to use is really straightforward. However, other actions like transferring data to and from the keyboard to your PC is still a puzzle to me (granted I haven't tinkered with this that much). And as I'm still a beginner, there are lots of functions I have no clue what they do or how to use them, which is good in a way, because that leaves you something to discover later on, giving your keyboard more "replay value".
CONS--
ACCESSORIES: About the only thing that might turn you off is the fact that you need to buy the power adapter, headphones, USB cables to plug into your PC and foot pedal all separately. Or you can just buy a Survival Kit (which comes with a foot pedal that didn't work, cheap Koss headphones, a CD and the all-important power adapter. So whatever the price of this keyboard, make sure you factor in all the accessories you, unfortunately, need to buy separately.
OVERALL--
As this is my first keyboard, I have nothing to compare it to, but I feel like I got my money's worth and I'd definitely say it's worth 4 stars out of 5.
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The Yamaha PSR-E403 keyboard has been replaced by the Yamaha PSR-E413 as of May 2008. The two models look almost the same and are EXTREMELY similar in terms of features, though E413 has a few upgrades (165 vs. 155 styles; 100 arpeggio functions vs 50; etc..). The two are so similar, in fact, that purchasing the PSR-E403 at a respectable discount below the PSR-E413 is something new musicians on a budget should consider. Check around for the best prices and then make up your own mind if the upgrades are worth the additional expense.Buy Yamaha PSR-E403 - Portable Keyboard & Synthesiser w/61 Touch Sensitive Full Size Keys Now
Bought this for my daughter to start lessons on, and am very happy with it. Sounds great, isn't too large, has volume control and headphones for when we don't want to hear it. Way better, though less romantic perhaps, than having a great big piano in the living room. My daughter loves the pre-recorded music that came with it as well, and now my wife is starting to plunk away and learn it also. Sounds exactly like a real piano, or you can choose many other sound effects. We paid a bit more (around $65.) for a good stand for it, the cheap ones will not hold it effectively, see reviews elsewhere. this is a very impressive product... a small piano with great sound... I am glad that I did not buy it from Amazon however since Sam Ash has it in stock for a third less money $199...it do pay to shop!!Want Yamaha PSR-E403 - Portable Keyboard & Synthesiser w/61 Touch Sensitive Full Size Keys Discount?
I'm a college kid who has fun playing the keyboard, mostly just teaching myself songs and playing along by ear.I also write some songs through software arrangers and this keyboard works fine with the midi drivers provided (I'm using windows 7, 64 bit).
Noteable Functions:
*So many great voices and 'styles' (beats)
*synthesizer functions are great, especially when playing along with techno songs!
*Simple to use arpeggio maker and harmony maker
*'Performance Assistant' is the biggest cheat I've come across, only letting you play the notes in the chord being played
*works with any sustain pedal (resets polarity when turning on)
*Good speaker range
Cons:
*menus are a bit difficult to change settings in (you press the function menu, then flip through the 55 categories to find what you want, but it's mostly technical settings)
*Yamaha makes you want to upgrade your keyboard with flaunting the slightly better models
*You have to wait 3 seconds after turning the keyboard on before it allows you to change anything (it turns on to just the piano, displays "YAMAHA" then lets you do whatever you want after 3 seconds)
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