The future of music

10 Best Yamaha Keyboards & Digital Pianos: Ultimate Guide

January 19, 2023
Best Yamaha Keyboards & Digital Pianos

Yamaha is known for its philosophy of creating excitement and cultural inspiration worldwide through its devotion to sound and music. That is not surprising as they have dominated the musical instrument industry, making high-quality keyboards and digital pianos for a very long time.

A simple search of the best keyboards and digital pianos will reveal a plethora of options from the Yamaha brand. So much so that you may feel overwhelmed when trying to find and choose from the best Yamaha keyboards and digital pianos on the market, so I’ve used my knowledge and extensive research to make the decision easier for you!

Whether you are looking for a digital workstation, portable keyboard, or digital piano, Yamaha has plenty of industry-leading options suitable for beginners to more advanced piano players.

The following is a list of the 10 best Yamaha keyboards and digital pianos available today!

Oh, and a heads up! There may be some products which I recommend for which I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you should you make a purchase. All recommendations are genuine and/or verified by myself!

10 Best Yamaha Keyboards & Digital Pianos

1. Yamaha PSR-E363 61-Key Touch Sensitive Portable Keyboard

YAMAHA PSR-E363 61-Key Touch Sensitive Portable Keyboard.

The PSR-E363 is the newer version of the popular E353 and makes for the best Yamaha keyboard for beginners and those early on in their piano learning experience.

Even if it doesn’t have weighted keys, you still get a weighted feel through the responsive keys. This model has touch-sensitive keys, so you can still enjoy the heavier and lighter tones depending on how hard you press. The portable keyboard’s added feature is the touch tutor lesson mode to track the key’s velocity and strength.

Beginners will find the learning mode features of the onboard lessons and built-in song selections to master highly useful. Yamaha’s “keys to success” feature teaches beginners how to play the entire song as they develop their piano skills, making it a great option for entry-level piano players. The package also includes 3 months of the popular piano learning app Flowkey, a nice addition for beginners.

What is more impressive in this portable keyboard is the duo mode feature. It allows the keyboard to be divided into two sections in which other people can play together on the same keyboard. You can follow your piano instructor easily this way.

When it comes to portability, the Yamaha PSR-E363 weighs only 13 pounds, so you can easily carry it anywhere you want to play. Overall, this model is most suitable for aspiring piano players due to its touch-sensitive keys, high-quality sounds, and various learning modes it offers.

Pros

  • “Keys to success” lesson features
  • 61 touch-sensitive keys
  • Duo mode
  • Aux input terminal and melody suppressor

Cons

  • Non-weighted keys

2. Yamaha YPT-260 61-Key Portable Keyboard

YAMAHA YPT260 61-Key Portable Keyboard With Power Adapter (Amazon-Exclusive).

The Yamaha YPT-260 model is a beginner-friendly 61-Key portable electric keyboard and is a great budget-friendly option with its expanded features and capabilities such as the aux line input, educational functions, and portable design.

It’s made with portability in mind, weighing only 12.4 pounds and measuring 42.1 x 16.9 x 6.6 inches, which is extremely handy for a portable electric keyboard. Not only won’t it take up much space in your room, but it’s also great for transporting between gigs, band practice, or piano lessons.

The high-quality recording and filtering technology means you can listen to your music and use the playback function to review your performance.

The Yamaha YPT-260 also comes with an education suite with a nine-step lesson function. It provides practical and simple piano lessons for complete beginners, educating users on tempo, note recognition, two-handed technique, and much much more. You can also download for free the beginner songbook.

The Yamaha YPT- 260 61-Key portable electric keyboard is best recommended for complete beginners and young ages. For an affordable price, it’s hard to resist this model for those looking to begin their piano learning journey.

Pros

  • Recording and playback function
  • Consists of a 9-step educational feature
  • Provides hundreds of voices, rhythm, and preset songs
  • Connects your device using the AUX-In port
  • Creates authenticity of audio quality
  • Flowkey piano learning app included

Cons

  • No USB connection

3. Yamaha P71 88-Key Weighted Action Digital Piano

YAMAHA P71 88-Key Weighted Action Digital Piano With Sustain Pedal And Power Supply (Amazon-Exclusive).

If you are a beginner piano player and looking for a digital piano that fits your budget, the Yamaha P71 is the best choice for you. A digital piano with features of a fully weighted keyboard model, it is also part of the portable ‘P’ series.

The simplicity and attractive price make it popular in the market, not to mention the main attributes of the Yamaha P71 are suited for aspiring beginners. You won’t get sidetracked or distracted by any fancy features.

Digital pianos are designed for those who prefer the realistic sound of an acoustic piano. When choosing the right digital piano, consider the sound quality and key action. It is worth mentioning that not only is the Yamaha P71 affordable; these two essential factors are present in this portable digital piano.

The keyboard comes with Graded Hammer Standard (GHS) weighted action, meaning this model is fully weighted, and you can feel the lighter touch when playing lower registers and in the high end a heavier touch.

The GHS weighted action comes with a soft, medium, and hard level of sensitivity for you to put expression into your music in various styles.

The Yamaha P71 is known for its AWM dynamic sampling technology. The sound engine can recreate the feel of the hammers inside an acoustic instrument. You can enjoy the experience of realistic key action and can practice figure techniques that will help if you ever move to play the acoustic piano.

The model also features a built-in metronome tempo, ten instrument voices, portability, compact design, and much more.

The Yamaha P71 is the best Yamaha digital piano for beginners or those who want to learn proper piano skills with its fully weighted digital keys.

Pros

  • Realistic instrument sounds
  • Affordable for a portable digital piano
  • Easy to use for beginners
  • Lightweight and compact

Cons

  • Pedal sustainer of keyboard is low quality
  • Key action can be too light for advanced piano players

4. Yamaha P45 88-Key Weighted Action Digital Piano

*Please note, the Yamaha P45 and P71 are the same digital pianos!

If you are looking for a digital piano keyboard cheaper than the Yamaha P45, the Yamaha P71 is what you are looking for!

The Yamaha P71 88-key weighted digital piano comes with the same elegant performance and design, just like the P45. The two models are the same in terms of functionality and features. It’s merely cheaper in price due to its exclusivity with Amazon.

Check the price of the cheaper Yamaha P71 88-Key Weighted Action Digitial Piano here!

5. Yamaha Arius YDP-103 Digital Piano

Yamaha YDP103 Arius Series Piano with Bench.

The best digital pianos feature the highly desirable weighted key action to accommodate for a pianist’s expressionism and skill. This model does that superbly and at a reasonable price. It’s a very wise investment as it offers the same quality music experience as an acoustic piano but with no key tuning issues.

The main attraction to this model is its weighted keys, which utilizes Yamaha’s GHS (Graded Hammer Standard).

Graded Hammer Standard piano action creates an acoustic piano’s touch and provides a grand-piano style feel and response. Weighted keys are important for pianists when they touch the keys.

You can feel the heavy touch in the lower register and a lighter touch in the upper octaves. It gives resistance to feel the natural weight when you play the same keys while playing a quick note repetition or whilst playing fast songs.

This digital piano keyboard offers the complete package with accessories like a bench, furniture stand, and a three-pedal unit attached to the stand.

Finally, it also has a controller app with a user-friendly interface optimized for iOS touch screens, which adds a new functionality level to use the digital piano.

Overall, the Yamaha Arius YDP-163B may be a little expensive but worth the investment for those serious about getting that authentic acoustic piano sound.

Pros

  • Graded Hammer Standard keyboard action with sensors and synthetic ivory keytops
  • Digital piano controller app with an interactive interface
  • Exceptional piano sound quality
  •  

Cons

  • A little bit pricey

6. Yamaha P125 Weighted Digital Piano

YAMAHA P125 88-Key Weighted Action Digital Piano With Power Supply And Sustain Pedal.

The Yamaha P125 replaced the Yamaha P115 in 2018. The previous model was popular in the digital piano market, but the new Yamaha portable series model exceeds the previous digital piano’s high-quality functions.

The package comes with a compact and portable design, reasonable price, and the finest sound quality, making it recommended to beginners to more advanced piano players.

When it comes to sound quality, the P125 stands among the best Yamaha digital pianos with its Pure CF sound engine, which reproduces the tone of a concert grand piano, the Yamaha 9 CFIIIS series. The sound will give you a fantastic listening experience in which every note is recorded numerous times at different velocity levels.

Overall, the Yamaha P125 features superb sound quality and is user-friendly, making it a great option for all ability levels.

Pros

  • 192-note polyphony
  • Incredible stereo sound
  • Two-track recorder
  • Table EQ feature

Cons

  • Lack of bluetooth connectivity

7. Yamaha YPG-235 76-Key Touch-sensitive Keyboard

Yamaha YPG-235 76-key Portable USB Keyboard.

This model is the affordable YPG-235 touch-sensitive Yamaha keyboard. It is a trendy choice for new players to begin their piano learning journey.

It features 76-full size touch-sensitive keys with recording functions. These two features are what makes this keyboard popular in the market. You can enjoy several features like 160 preset styles, 500 built-in sounds, and 30 preset songs.

The Yamaha YPG-235 76-Key touch-sensitive keyboard offers a numerous selection of styles, rhythms, and sounds. It is equipped with Graded Soft Touch Technology, which makes the sound of the keys graded (lighter touch for higher notes or heavier touches for the lower notes) and touch-sensitive meaning the harder you play, the louder the sound.

Overall, this model is suitable for anyone who wants to bring their music anywhere and play with remarkable expressiveness.

Pros

  • Portable design good for transportation
  • 76-full size touch-sensitive keys
  • Lesson functions with Yamaha Education Suite
  • 6-track MIDI recorder

Cons

  • AC power adapter and pedal are not included in the package
  • Non-weighted keys

8. Yamaha DGX-660 88-key Hybrid Digital Piano

yamaha dgx-660 digital piano.

The Yamaha DGX-660 is a digital ensemble piano that features various interactive features with 88-weighted keys. You can enjoy the combination of the best features of arranger keyboards and digital pianos.

The versatility of the Yamaha DGX-660 such as the several rhythms, voices, and LCD lesson features makes it interactive for all users to enjoy.

If you enjoy the sound quality of an acoustic piano, you will appreciate the Yamaha DGX-660. The brilliant sound is closely similar to an acoustic piano. The GHS weighted action is lighter in the treble range, and you can take advantage of the realistic key action for finger techniques when practicing.

From beginner to advanced piano players, the Yamaha DGX-660 provides accompaniment styles and over 554 voices you can enjoy. Yamaha’s smart chord is also designed to create band parts and chords.

The piano room feature can give you a numerous selection of piano ambiances with auto-created chords. Even if you are just a beginner in piano, this can be useful for you!

Get your musical inspiration with the Yamaha DGX-660, in which the versatility of its features and functions allow you to hone your innate potential in music.

Pros

  • Onboard LCD screen with learning functions
  • Keyboard stand included
  • Hundreds of voices and rhythms available
  • Best quality grand piano sounds

Cons

  • Not the best usability

9. Yamaha PSR-S975 61-Key Arranger Workstation Keyboard

yamaha psr-s975

If you are working on a musical arrangement in the studio or performing live, the Yamaha PSR-S975 is best recommended for you. This 61-key arranger workstation keyboard comes with an incredible array of functions and features.

This model comes with 480 XG voices, 1625 voices, and 55 Drum/SFX kits. Its large memory capacity means you can store Yamaha expansion packs or even your own.

The powerful performance of the Yamaha PSR-S975 includes realistic voice sound quality with versatile effects such as the synth vocoder feature, where you can combine your voice with the built-in sound. The vocal harmony 2 feature will make your vocals stand out through a programmable vocal harmony function.

The unique functions of the Yamaha PSR-S975 make this ideal for live piano performers or those wanting to explore endless musical opportunities.

Pros

  • Attractive sound library
  • Top-notch sound with powerful vocal harmony
  • Expandable with 2 built-in Yamaha expansion packs
  • Powerful sound features for live performance

Cons

  • Limited keys unlike other key arranger workstation keyboards

10. Yamaha PSR E-263 61-key Digital Keyboard

*This keyboard has been discontinued.

The Yamaha PSR E-263 is considered one of the most trustworthy portable keyboards from the Yamaha PSR collections. This is a series from Yamaha that contain portable arrangers and keyboards. This keyboard sells for normally around the $100 mark and is, therefore, one of the best cheap Yamaha keyboards.

However, don’t be put off by this model’s cheaper cost. It will not disappoint you in giving a wide variety of sounds and functions ideal for beginners who are just starting out.

The AWM stereo technology of the digital piano keyboard the Yamaha P45 is also used in the PSR E-263, producing excellent sound quality.

You can also create unique sounds with the wide selection of sound effects available, which includes nine types of reverb effect and chorus.

You will be amazed at the portability design of the Yamaha PSR E-263, which only weighs 11 pounds.

Yamaha’s education suite, onboard lessons, and duo mode also come with the package. For a very affordable price, beginner players can maximize the full potential of the Yamaha PSR E-263 61-key portable keyboard.

Pros

  • 61-full sized keys
  • Available with AUX line input
  • Portable
  • Superb stereo sound
  • Affordable

Cons

  • Built-in recording and playback function is not available

What Are the Different Yamaha Keyboard Series?

Yamaha Arius Series

This series is designed to recreate the touch of a Yamaha acoustic piano in a digital piano. The Yamaha Arius series are digital upright pianos and suitable for all piano players from beginners to advanced. The features, design, and advanced technology create the feeling of a grand piano.

Yamaha DGX Series

The DGX keyboard series is recommended for beginners to intermediate players. The keyboards are highly versatile and offer a wide selection of performance functions.

Yamaha PSR Series

The Yamaha PSR series keyboards feature a variety of types such as beginner keyboards and even stage keyboards. The series’s most significant aspect is its reasonable prices.

Yamaha P-series keyboard

This is the most popular series from Yamaha because of its high-quality sound and portability. The series includes multiple highly popular weighted keyboards.

Keyboards Versus Digital Pianos

  • Digital Pianos

Digital pianos are designed to replicate a grand or acoustic piano’s sound and have weighted keys to replicate the experience of playing the traditional piano. Portable keyboards and digital pianos vary in terms of features and functions.

Digital pianos have different types such as upright digital pianos, digital console pianos, stage digital pianos, and many more. The design is mostly focused on the weighted key actions and sound quality to replicate a real piano’s acoustic sound.

  • Portable Keyboards

If you have kids who want to learn basic piano or are a beginner piano student, portable keyboards are highly recommended.

Portable keyboards are convenient as you can bring them anywhere. Despite lacking in some of the aspects of acoustic pianos, many of Yamaha’s keyboards have a plethora of features that make them suitable for all ability levels and those that want a bit more flexibility.

Things to Consider When Choosing the Best Yamaha Keyboard or Digital Piano

  1. Budget

Budget will play a big role in helping you to decide the right Yamaha keyboard or digital piano for you. However, Yamaha has plenty of options for all price ranges. Generally speaking, portable keyboards are the cheapest, while digital pianos and more progressive keyboards cost more. But don’t be put off by the cheaper models, the Yamaha name holds true throughout all their models and always offer high-quality components.

  1. Portability

Most of the Yamaha keyboard models weigh between 7 and 15 pounds, making them portable to use and handy for traveling.

The size and weight of Yamaha portable keyboards depend on the number of keys. Unlike a conventional piano, portable keyboards have fewer keys, 61 keys and 76 keys, and the regular piano 88 keys.

Digital pianos are heavier due to the weighted keys but some portable digital pianos in the Yamaha P series weigh between 20 and 25 pounds.

  1. Weighted Keys and Touch-Sensitive Keys

Yamaha’s touch-sensitive feature is the greatest highlight of the brand. Players can play their musical piece with expressiveness as they can control the volume depending on how hard they play. Astonishingly, some of Yamaha’s keyboards under $250 have this feature.

In my opinion, weighted keys and touch-sensitive keys are two of the most important features of any Yamaha keyboard or digital piano.

Weighted action imitates the key to a real acoustic piano. Different models are equipped with the technology, such as Graded Hammer Effect (GHE), Graded Hammer Standard (GHS), and Graded Hammer 3 (GH3).

Yamaha’s keyboards under $1000 are created with Graded Hammer Standard weighted action, which is suitable for beginners. Its hammer action has a lighter feel in the high key and heavier touch in the low key.

For intermediate to advanced players, it is recommended to have a keyboard with GH3 weighted action. GH3 is Yamaha’s premium weighted action technology and has improved sensors, which allows quick note repetitions.

Final Thoughts

I hope that this article will help you to decide which is the best Yamaha keyboard or digital piano for you. Without any doubt, Yamaha’s keyboards have garnered respect from consumers and professionals worldwide due to the quality of their components but most importantly the sound they produce.

Rest assured, whichever Yamaha digital piano or keyboard you choose, you know it will last a very long time.

Want an easy way to practice and learn the piano? Check out our comprehensive guide on the best online piano lessons

Will Fenton

Will, the founder of MIDDER, is a multifaceted individual with a deep passion for music and personal finance. As a self-proclaimed music and personal finance geek, he has a keen eye for futuristic technologies, especially those that empower creators and the public.

view profile

Piano Marvel review
Previous Story

Piano Marvel Review: Does It Actually Work?

Best concert ukuleles
Next Story

7 Best Concert Ukuleles [With Videos]

Latest from Piano

Can Piano Be Self-Taught?

Can Piano Be Self-Taught?

The journey of learning the piano has traditionally been associated with in-person lessons, music schools, and structured curriculums. But in today’s digital
best keyboards for beginners

10 Best Keyboards for Beginners

If you’re looking for the best keyboards for beginners in 2023, you’re in luck. Keyboards have become the go-to instrument for those