Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)We got this keyboard just before Christmas 2003. Due to the pace of daily life, I haven't gotten too deeply into it. But since it has been several months and no one else has reviewed it, I'll start the ball rolling. The reason why I purchased THIS keyboard because it has a touch sensitive (velocity) and lighted keyboard. The only other model that fit this description was the Casio LK-55. I just thought the Yamaha sounded a bit better and was made a bit better. It is also more expensive. The sounds are quite good. There is an XG lite implementation as well as the standard General Midi soundset. The lighted keys make it easy to learn.
I have been too busy to hook it up to my computer yet to try out the downloading of General Midi sequences, but I am looking forward to it. The supplied USB cable is too short unless your keyboard is right up against your computer.
I was disappointed to find out that the only MIDI implementation is through a USB interface. There are no midi in and out jacks, so I couldn't hook this up directly to my other MIDI keyboard.
I'd love for Yamaha to come out with a version that had regular Midi jacks, pitch and mod wheels and an audio input (with reverb) for sing alongs. I'd pay double the price for those additions. For what you pay, I'd say you get your money's worth and then some.
UPDATE DECEMBER 2004
We've now had this keyboard about a year. Since my initial review, I've solved the computer problems that kept me from loading the software that came with the computer. (The problem was in my computer, and not in the Yamaha keyboard.)
I love the sound-filer software. This software allows you to load general midi files from the computer to the keyboard. The built-in flash memory on the keyboard will hold about 10 new songs, give or take. You can remove them and replace them at will with the songfiler software. Once loaded into the Ez-250i, the sequences play back just as the built-in songs do, lights and all, but with one exception, you can choose which instrument sounds are assigned to the left and right hand regions of the keyboard. This allows you to learn any of the orchestral parts of the song, and to see any of the parts assigned to the lighted area of the keyboard.
The software also allows you to use the EZ-250i as a midi slave instrument to play back sequences played by your computer's midi player or sequencer. This means the EZ-250i will play back any of the midi files you have stored on the computer without having those files actually loaded into the flash memory of the EZ-250i. In my experience, most songs sound better played by the Yamaha keyboard than the computer's Microsoft general midi instruments.
I'm not that thrilled with the Konami game that came with the computer. It seems like a Japanese home market game that doesn't translate well to American audiences. My kids aren't even that interested in it. I had no problems getting it going though.
Since my earlier review, I've explored the depths of the sound engine. There is a lot of synthesis horsepower under the surface. There is dynamic digital filtering on the voices, something you don't see on el-cheapo keyboards. In addition, the keyboard can split and layer voices, giving you up to four distinct sounds playable from the keyboard at any given time. The sound engine responds well over midi to pitch-bend and even portamento (gliding from note to note). It's a shame there's no pitch-bend wheel or portamento switch for live playing.
Since my earlier review, Casio has come out with a new lighted keyboard, the LK-90TV, that competes directly with the Yamaha EZ-250i. I haven't seen this personally, but it has some interesting features. It has a TV output to display Karaoke lyrics from sounds loaded by the user. It also accepts smartmedia cards for user-loaded sounds, though, as I understand it, this is a read-only slot. In other words, you can't load the card with sounds while hooked up to your keyboard. The card must be loaded from a reader attached to the computer. Though I haven't heard it live, it appears the sound-engine is the same as the LK-55, which, to my ears, sounded distinctly inferior to the Yamaha's.
In summary, a year after my purchase, I'm happy with my purchase, and I'd make the same choice today. I think Yamaha should add the lighted keyboard feature to its upmarket products, including keyboards with microphone inputs, pitch & mod wheels and sound editing features.
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Yamaha EZ-250i Portatone Lighted Musical KeyboardA great starter and advanced instrument, Yamaha's EZ-250i touch-sensitive keyboard features the Yamaha Educational Suite and lighted keys to help you learn, and quality sound topped by a stereo-sampled piano voice with dynamic filtering--technology previously reserved for much more expensive, professional keyboards. In addition, you'll find that playing piano is fast and easy with Yamaha's Portable Grand function. One dedicated button brings up a great sounding piano, stunningly rich and authentic in its sound and exceptionally responsive to your playing touch.The 32-note polyphonic EZ-250i comes equipped with 480 voices that include all the sounds of the orchestra, synthesizer patches, 10 drum kits, and 2 sound-effects kits. It is both General MIDI (GM) and XG Lite voices, making it compatible with pretty much every MIDI file available anywhere.The EZ-250i also has many state-of-the-art features to make connecting as quick and easy as possible. These features include a dedicated PC button, which takes a snapshot of your MIDI settings so you can instantly return to them at the press of a button, and a USB port for transferring song data to and from your computer. In addition, the USB port acts as a MIDI interface, freeing you from having to purchase other MIDI peripherals like cables and adapters.Once you're done practicing, challenge yourself to a multi-level game against the computer using Konami Keyboard Mania software (PC only). Post your scores online and see and how well others are doing. And without even knowing it, you'll still be learning to play music. The software challenges you to find notes on the keyboard before they disappear from the computer screen. There are different levels and different tasks, such as practicing your timing as the notes drop or finding the actual pitch of the notes. In addition, there are variations that stop and wait for you to find the notes before continuing. You can choose any tracks of the music that you like (even the drum track) and load in new General MIDI songs that you download online with your computer.And no matter what your level of playing, you'll appreciate being able to build combinations of your favorite sounds. Pressing the "split" button divides the keyboard into 2 parts, allowing you to have 2 different sounds on the keyboard at the same time, such as piano on the right and bass on the left. "Layer" mode allows you to combine 2 sounds across the keyboard range. For example, you could layer piano and strings and play both sounds at the same time. With 480 voices to choose from, the combinations are only limited by your imagination. The EZ-250i comes with 80 built-in songs. But if you've never played before, where do you start?The Yamaha Education Suite, a set of music training functions. Seven types of lessons are included, as well as a convenient chord dictionary. You get 3 keyboard lessons for each hand, timing mode (you can play the melody or chord by pressing any key using the correct timing), waiting mode (playback pauses until you find and play the correct chord or melody note; keys illuminate to guide you to the correct notes), minus-one mode (mute the left-hand, right-hand, or both parts of a song and play along nonstop). Lesson grading monitors your progress as you practice each lesson, and the chord dictionary shows you how to play chords by lighting the keys.The EZ-250i comes with 100 built-in styles--it's like having a built-in band. Call up your favorite style of music like rock, big band, or country, press a chord or play single-finger mode, and the 250i will follow you through a piece of music, providing all of the drums, bass, piano, guitar, horn, and string parts.What's in the Box Keyboard, music rest, song book, CD-ROM, USB cable, a user's manual, and warranty information. Batteries and PA-C3 power supply not included.
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