Best Synthesizers & Workstations
The Stylophone is a miniature stylus operated synthesizer invented in 1968 and used by such iconic musicians as David Bowie, Kraftwerk and Erasure. That's right, over four decades ago with computers the size of a gymnasium and nary a PDA in sight the Stylophone was a portable electronic music instrument with stylus based control. Built in speaker with volume control, Optional headphone jack.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"came nicely packed."
"It is the instrument I have always wanted."
"This thing is pretty damn cool!"
"Very cool requires musical dedication and the joy of experimenting."
"i have the stylophone and this device is even more fun."
"Fun toy but the wire is fragile."
Op-1 comes loaded with great kits, but if you feel that you want more just press the mic key to sample anything. Op-1 comes loaded with great kits.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I wouldn't do anything using the built in speaker - you really need headphones or some real speakers to output to... but in a pinch it's better than nothing! The only real lack of usability I feel is with the knobs - if you don't spin them fast enough on the menu screens they won't start to scrub through the options, so i feel like I'm having to flail around a bit to get the functionality to catch and start responding (I wouldn't call it lag, it's just the way they set up the hardware talking to the software that's a bit funky."
"This thing is a beast and it's deep."
"Watched YouTube tutorials to figure it out."
"Synthesizer+Video game+Work of Art all in one purchase."
"All in one, stand alone creative tool that do it's job."
"Owned this for about 7 months and still learning new things."
"Fun music maker."
"Really great and fun way to play with music and make it whenever and wherever you want, if you can afford it."
Color: black. By pressing down various parts of the tail button, different pitch and tone will start playing.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Pros: greatest toy instrument ever, easy to change batteries, extremely adorable, everyone loves it. Cons: it's not as loud as I thought it would be, gets dusty quickly due to the gummy-matte surface."
"I've lost contact with friends, family members, pets... Small children cry when they see me approaching."
"My brother wouldn't give me any ideas on what to buy his kids for Christmas, so I made it my mission to seek out the most annoying toys in existence."
"A wonderful musical instrument that allows me to replicate the theramin's part in Good Vibrations!"
"Endless creativity with the sounds and cuteness of the otamatone."
"Not sure if the one I got was defective or not, but you have to press HARD on the contacts to make it sing."
"I love this and so did my daughter."
"Got it for my grandson for Christmas and he really liked it."
Best Production Stations
The Motion Control Synthesis Engine unifies and controls two iconic Sound Engines: AWM2 (high-quality waveform and synthesis) and FM-X (modern, pure Frequency Modulation synthesis.).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This review will be updated periodically as I discover new features and as Yamaha (hopefully) addresses concerns. I have continued to play for fun in a small church group (mix of contemporary and traditional) about once a month. While not having much more than a Kawai digital piano to play on at home, I've always managed to borrow boards from others, including Korgs, Yamahas, and even the occasional Roland. Granted, I remember feeling that way about my first Yamaha PSR, and it has been boxed up for years. - Envelop follower - this is one reason I purchased the board, and while I have yet to use it in a live performance setting, I'm excited to try. The ONLY reason I don't list it in the good section is -- 1) Of all the samples Yamaha provides, few of them actually use the full power of the MC. Even the Montage 8 key action, while better -- doesn't take advantage of triple sensor technology. Both sizes are huge when compared to something like a Nord or stage piano (e.g. smarter placement of wheels). It's like it was built organically, especially the newer features (selecting arpeggios, configuring Motion Contol, and editing FMX are a few I'm still struggling with). This is pretty typical in a hardware only device (controllers, especially those which work well with their software bundle often are better). Yamaha soundboards have motorized sliders, would it kill them to have that in a flagship keyboard? I didn't think I would miss it, as I expect to use a DAW once I get back to studio work. In the 10k number, include drum beats of every musical genre, guitar licks, symphony runs, etc. [Edit: I may have found a couple of decent workarounds for the lack of explicit sequencer, but I need more time to evaluate. If you're on the fence because of this feature, check out the Yamaha Synth forums for possible workarounds / solutions.]. If AWM and being able to play a variety of real instruments is your thing, this also will greatly please, though Korg is a very close option to consider. If studio work is your thing, again, consider carefully, based on what else you have that will complement this one's deficiencies. In short, this board is a master of some - even blowing others out of the water (e.g. as a Synth), but not a jack of all trades like the Motif was or the Korg is. If Yamaha was looking to recapture some of what was lost to PCs and VSTs, I'm not sure they're quite there yet (maybe some software updates). No doubt it is better than Mosaic now, and probably the best true modern synth on the market today."
"Overall, at this price range, IMHO the Korg Kronos is probably still a more capable instrument and is a better alternative, especially with it's much more advanced sequencer. However, if you don't mind paying the hefty amount, what you get is probably one of the world's most "sonically" powerful keyboard targeted for live audience."
"If you are looking for a unit that has beautiful natural and synth sounds, then this unit is for you!"
"The last time a keyboard blown me away was when Yamaha first introduced the first Motif, over 10 years ago. For those who sometimes (including me) judge the sound of instruments based on what we hear in YouTube, I will say this: Find a store where you could play this amazing instrument and ask if you could hear this keyboard trough a pair of professional monitor speakers (please do not listen to this instrument via a keyboard amp). This keyboard is very expensive and I hate when they hook something of this caliber into a cheap pair of headphones or some mono speakers. The Kronos is a very good keyboard not question but the Yamaha Montage is in a league on its own."
Best Digital Pianos
P-Series has long been known for its compact and stylish lineup of products. Yamaha is the industry leader in digital piano technology, and you can hear this in the sound of digital pianos that utilize the Pure CF piano sample. The Bundle includes knox double X stand an ultra sturdy stand that has been tested to make sure this piano sits stable on the stand.The stand adjusts to practically any height so you can play sitting or standing no matter what your height.In addition the knox bench is a large and stable bench with 3 height adjustments to match your preference. 192-note polyphony ensures the suppression of dropped notes even with simultaneous Dual and Split modes and a drum pattern playing.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"For playing middle C as 16th notes, it starts to get muddy around 120 with somewhat sloppy technique (but is fine on good technique), becomes significantly more difficult to play around 160, and becomes almost impossible at 200 even with the best technique. A note played and held without pedal sounds different from a note played and held with pedal. If you press the pedal, play a note, release the note, press the note again without making a sound, and release the pedal, the note will still be sustained. However, if you hold down one key without making a sound and play the same note an octave away (and release), the key will not sound, suggesting that sympathetic resonance is only simulated locally without regards to other keys which are pressed. This keyboard is for beginners who want a piano with realistic action but don't want to shell out thousands for an acoustic before deciding whether to continue learning piano, or advanced amateurs who used to play piano growing up but have now moved out and can't fit a real piano in their new place or justify the expense. We got an upright piano about 2-3 years into my learning, and before that I was playing on an unweighted Yamaha that couldn't even produce dynamics."
"By the way, I now hold the record for receiving the largest package at the post office."
"Second one purchased for my other daughter."
"Sound is better than expected."
"Piano is great."
"I needed a way to practice when not at home."
"Can't beat the price with all that is included."
"I love it."
Best Portable Keyboards
This listing features a Casio CTK2400 PPK 61-Key Keyboard w/ Samson HP30 Headphones Stand & Power Supply. Keyboard pack includes a pair of Samson HP30 closed-cup headphones, x-style stand, and power supply.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon":). I asked around a lot to finally decide what to buy, since I was a rookie myself. The keys are not like the ones on the cheap keyboards (empty underneath), and you could really get a good sound out of them by pressing hard, or play a soft, smooth tune. Other perks include a USB outlet, which means you can connect the piano to your ipod or pc, great sampling system, and a song bank."
"Casio is the perfect next step for anyone looking to start creating their own music at home. It has so many great features and even though we have been jammin' on this keyboard for a few weeks now, I feel like we haven't even scratched the surface with what it can do. Features: Sound EFX Sampler. Built-In Microphone. Step-up learning system. 400 Keyboard Voices. 48 Note Polyphony (so you don't have to worry about dropping notes). 150 Rythms. 110 Built-in Songs. USB MIDI. casio keyboard. What makes this keyboard go a step further is the USB MIDI connection which allows you to hook this digital piano up to a Mac or Windows computer. To help them learn, there is even the Step Up Lesson system which shows players which keys to push. My kids love the microphone part of this keyboard where they can say something and have their voice be changed into silly tones."
"It is NOT touch sensitive, regardless of how hard or soft you press it gives the same volume sound."
"I bought this for my 9 year old son who has started playing classical piano."
"Just as you see in picture."
"Since Xmas I have received photo after photo of the keyboard being used."
"Great sounding keyboard and quite easy to set up."
"I am returning the 2nd one of these for malfunctioning."