A great keyboard for almost everyone, November 21, 2002
(4 stars) Reviewer: Rob Tarr from Floyds Knobs, IN USA
Yamaha has made an excellent product, here.
I will grant, right away, that if you compare the sound and feel of this keyboard to a
REAL piano or even a keyboard that costs two or three times as much, you will be
disappointed.
HOWEVER, given that the price point on this item is what it is, there's lots to be excited
about.
The keys are weighted -- not as heavily as a real piano, but they feel MUCH meatier than
the lower-end models in this product line (the DGX202 and the DGX300). The fact that
the keys are not fully weighted cost the keyboard a half of a star on my rating.
The grand piano voice is outstanding. I'm sure you would be able to tell the difference
between it and a real grand piano, but it is still an excellent sound.
The piano voice is the most important, naturally, but there are other voices that are very
rich sounding as well - there's a great electric piano, some good synth sounds, an amazing
flute, and even some good organs (though still nothing quite like a B3).
The sequencing function seems very intuitive and adequate, though I'm sure you have
more options if you get Yamaha's XG Works software (for an extra cost) and a MIDI
connection to your PC. This cost the keyboard the other half-star that brought it down
from from 5 stars to 4.
The bottom line is this -- if you have lots more money to spend than this item costs, it's
worth it to check out higher-priced models and compare them to the DGX500, but if
you've only got enough to afford the DGX500, I don't believe you'll be disappointed in
this keyboard at all.
I'm not.