Yamaha PSR-225 w/stand

[treyter]

I got it a coupla years ago, and haven't used it very much. I certaintly don't expect too much for it, because I'm desparate to unload it. Anyone interested, just email me (treyter@hotmail.com), and we can work out a reasonable price...I wish I had a digi-camera so I could take a picture. It's in perfect shape.

Here's one of the reviews I found on it...it'll give you the basic idea of what it includes:

Price Paid: US $200

Ease of Use: 8

As far as basic operations go, it's pretty straightforward. It's pretty simple to select different voices and styles, which is a plus. I like the one-touch Portable Grand piano that resets all your settings so you don't have to do it manually. As far as reverb, tremolo, DSP, recording, and MIDI, it's pretty complicated. You're going to have to read the manual and play with it for a few hours to get everything down. I still don't understand all the features on this keyboard.

Features: 8

It has a very nice Portable Grand sound, which means it's a digitally sampled piano. Probably the best sound you can get for this price, as far as the piano goes. I don't use many of the features. Sometimes I use an occasional drum loop or ambient effect (THOSE are cool) when I play with my band, but that's about it. Has general MIDI and Digital Filter, which basically means the keys are pressure sensitive. There's a optional footswitch which I recommend for using as a sustain pedal or to switch between effects. Not as many options as a higher quality synth, obviously, but more than enough for a beginner piano player or casual pianist. 32-note polyphony (i.e., 32 notes at the same time), 61 touch sensitive keys and a full range of MIDI sounds.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 9

One thing about this keyboard - it's rather quiet. Using headphones won't help because the jack is a line-out rather than a headphone jack and therefore won't power out the sound. I recommend plugging this into an external amp or PA and playing. Speakers are loud enough for personal use, but the touch-sensitive feature really dampens the volume. I usually play with the touch feature off. As for the instruments, this thing really synths piano, strings, and organ well, as well as some cool electronica-type ambient sounds. The rest of the sounds are pretty much a joke, but I've yet to find a synth that can produce good guitar sounds, which was something I was hoping for. Oh well. Reacts very well to playing style. If you know how to utilize MIDI, I'm sure you could really put out some amazing sounds on this thing. The demo songs on the PSR-225 sound really cool, but of course you'd have to use DSP and that sort of thing. Very cool for a $200 keyboard.

Reliability: 8

Never used it in a gig, just with friends. Looks solid, reliable. Get a bag for it if you want to carry it around.

Customer Support: 8

Bought through Musician's Friend, they're pretty good with customer service. I don't play it much so it's sitting at home collecting dust (never took the time to really learn piano). Yamaha is pretty dependable.

Overall Rating: 9

This keyboard was discontinued by Yamaha, to the best of my knowledge. Therefore, I wouldn't buy it new, only if someone's selling it used. There's a PSR270 which is essentially the same keyboard for the same price (I think Yamaha just supplanted that one over this one) which you should probably get. If you have the extra dough, Roland just released an EM-10 keyboard for $300 - their cheapest synth ever, so check that out. I kind of wish I waited for the Roland, not because the PSR225 is a bad keyboard, but Roland is the standard as far as keyboards go. Overall, though, the Yamaha is an excellent value for the starting keyboardist.