Yamaha DGX650B Digital Piano Reviews 2023 Update

If you're looking for a new digital piano from Yamaha, then you're probably wondering if the Yamaha DGX 650B is the right choice.

After all, Yamaha instruments are known for their high quality and craftsmanship.

In this article, I will review the Yamaha DGX 650B digital piano so you can decide if this is the right instrument for your needs. I will examine the design, features, keyboard, sound quality, playability, and pros and cons.

By the end of this post, you'll have a better idea of whether or not the DGX650B is the right choice for your needs.

So, let's get started!

Yamaha DGX 650B Digital Piano: A Detailed Review (2022)

Before we get into the details, let's take a quick overview of this popular and one of the best Yamaha digital pianos.

Overview

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The DGX650B is part of Yamaha's extensive lineup of portable digital pianos.

It offers various interactive features for learning, sharing, and playing music. This DGX 650 emphasizes the traditional acoustic piano touch and its superb tone.

It features a weighted 88-note Graded Hammer Standard keyboard that offers the feel of a real acoustic piano. It has PureCF-sampled piano voices like those in the Yamaha CFIIS. This allows for a more realistic sound and feels when playing the piano.

This piano also has a built-in chorus and reverb effects that add to the realism of the sound. You can connect this keyboard piano to your computer and other devices through its USB port.

Furthermore, it includes Yamaha Education Suite (Y.E.S.) lessons, a metronome, and a selection of songs to help you learn how to play the piano.

On top of all that, the DGX 650 has a compact and portable design making it great digital piano for traveling musicians.

Overall, the DGX 650 is one of the best-sounding digital pianos with many impressive features and educational tools. Because of that, it is an attractive choice for both beginners and more experienced players.

Key Specifications

In this section, let's look at the main specifications of the Yamaha DGX 650 digital piano.

Dimensions: 55 x 17.5 x 5.75 inches
Keyboard Type: Graded Hammer Standard (GHS) Keyboard
No. of Keys: 88
Touch Sensitivity: Soft, Medium, Hard, Fixed
Voices: 500+
Polyphony (Max.): 128
Demo Songs: 100
Display: Yes (Full Dot LCD)
Speakers: Yes
Effects: Yes
Metronome: Yes
Pedal: Sustain pedal
Recorder: Yes
Split Mode: Yes
Connectivity: DC IN, USB To Device, USB To Host, Headphones jack, Sustain Pedal Input, and AUX IN
Power Supply: Adaptor (PA-150 or the equivalent)
Color: Black
Weight: 22.5kg (49lbs. 10oz.)

Now that you know a little about the Yamaha DGX 650 digital piano, it's time to discuss each point in more detail to make an informed decision!

Design

The Yamaha DGX 650 piano has a sleek, modern design with a black finish and excellent wooden elements (side panels, stand). It is durable because it is made of top-notch materials.

Even though it belongs to the Portable Grand line, I wouldn't call the DGX 650 very portable. The keyboard is heavy and spacious compared to other Yamaha models in the range and P-series digital pianos.

The piano is 55" wide, 17.5" deep, and 5.75" high (29.9" with the stand), which is pretty standard for 88-key keyboards. It weighs 49 lbs without a stand and 65 lbs with the matching stand that comes with it.

Most importantly, the Yamaha DGX 650B features a 320×240 full dot LCD screen, making the keyboard more user-friendly. This display will show you the current setting and the scores and lyrics of songs.

If you use the Lesson function, you'll also be able to see what notes you're playing and what notes you need to play (on the on-screen scores).

The display has various buttons and knobs to adjust settings like touch sensitivity, voices, etc. They are easy to use and make it very simple to control the keyboard.

Aside from all that, this model comes with a well-built matching stand. It is sturdy enough to hold this rather large keyboard and lets you find the correct positioning to play comfortably.

Keyboard

As with most Yamaha products, this model comes with a Graded Hammer Standard (GHS) keyboard. This touch-responsive keyboard features 88 fully weighted keys.

The GHS-weighted keyboard allows you to play with refined dynamics and nuanced tone, emulating the sound of an acoustic piano. Also, it offers an identical graded touch similar to that of an acoustic piano, with heavier touch in the low end and lighter touch in the higher ranges.

The keyboard comes with four levels of touch sensitivity (soft, medium, hard, and fixed) that allow you to adjust the touch sensitivity of each key. This makes it easier for you to play complex pieces or practice specific Techniques.

It will help you develop the excellent technique and finger strength needed when playing the acoustic piano.

Sound

One of the most important aspects of the Yamaha DGX 650B is its sound quality. It delivers a natural and realistic piano sound.

This DGX650 features Yamaha's acclaimed Pure CF sampling technology, which reproduces the meticulously recorded sound of the Yamaha CFIIIS concert grand piano.

The damper resonance and CF sound engine together produce a superb tone. Besides, the CF sound engine provides many dynamic levels between pianissimo to fortissimo.

This digital piano has more than 500 sounds, including most instruments and things like fireworks, bubbles, laughing, and clapping.

In total, there are 543 instrument sounds you can choose from:

10 Piano sounds (Natural, pop grand, warm grand, live grand, studio grand piano, etc.)
12 Electric Pianos
14 Organs
5 Accordions
16 Strings
14 Guitars
9 Bass Guitars
14 Saxophones
9 Trumpets
And brasses, synths, drum kits, flutes, etc.
You can easily create beautiful music with such a wide range of options.

Effects

This Yamaha model offers an impressive library of sound effects, so you can customize the sound of your music to suit your taste. It includes 44 chorus types, 35 reverb types, 237 DSP types, and 5 Master EQ types of sound effects.

Polyphony

This digital piano has 128-note polyphony, allowing you to play complex compositions easily.

That means you can perform and layer multiple piano sounds, use backing tracks, and use accompaniment styles without worrying about RAM and notes cutting off.

Speakers

The Yamaha DGX650B is also equipped with 12cm x 2 + 5cm x 2 built-in speakers with two 6W amplifiers, offering a rich, well-balanced sound.

It has a total output power of 12W, which is on the low side of power, but because the speakers face upward rather than downward, the sound feels louder.

Features

The DGX650B also includes a variety of additional features. In this section, we'll take a deeper look at some of them.

Modes

The DGX650 digital piano offers split and dual mode (layering) features so you can play two instrument sounds simultaneously.

The Split Mode divides the keyboard into two parts and assigns two different instrument sounds to each piece.

The Dual Mode (layering) will allow you to layer two instrument sounds so that they sound at the same time over the entire range of the keyboard.

Style Recommender

With this feature, you can find the perfect accompaniment style to match your playing style without searching through the endless menu. All you have to do is to play the rhythm you like, and the Style Recommender will suggest an appropriate accompaniment style.

Smart Chord

Smart Chord is a feature that allows you to play chords easily and quickly. It will recognize the chord you are playing, even if you don't play it perfectly. With it, you will only need to play the single notes, and Smart Chord will do the rest, providing a complete, perfectly-sounding accompaniment.

Yamaha Educational Suite

This keyboard piano comes with the Yamaha Education Suite (Y.E.S.), an excellent learning program and something that makes it a great piano for beginners. This educational program makes it easier for beginners to learn how to play the piano.

This program will allow you to isolate specific parts of songs to learn them perfectly. And once you have mastered each part, put everything all together. Using the waiting mode, you can pause tracks until you get everything right and are ready to move on.

The program also includes a "Chord Dictionary" to help you understand the chords and their positions. The Repeat & Learn mode provides excellent opportunities for you to practice and helps you to improve your timing and accuracy.

Music Database & Songbook

One of the best features is that it has 305 built-in songs, so you can practice and learn at your own pace.

Additionally, this digital keyboard piano comes with a songbook loaded with popular songs. You can play them while learning.

The selection includes hits by some of the most prominent artists, including Elton John, Coldplay, Adele, and many others. These songs are professionally arranged, so even beginners can play along with a backup accompaniment.

USB Audio (WAV) Recording & Playback

The Yamaha DGX 650B features a built-in USB Audio (WAV) recorder, so you can easily record and playback your performances with the touch of a button.

It allows you to record up to six tracks (5 Melody + 1 Chord) on the device. It has approximately 1.7MB of internal memory.

You can save and playback your recordings to listen back to your work and make adjustments as needed. You can even add effects to customize your recordings and make them more engaging and unique.

You can connect the piano to your computer and transfer your recordings if you wish. You can easily share your creations with others this way.

Connectivity

One of the best features of the Yamaha DGX 650 is its connectivity. You can connect it to several devices. This musical instrument has a USB port for inserting a flash drive to store or transfer WAV files or MIDI recordings.

Using the USB ports (USB to device and USB to host), you can share music, edit sound, or create a CD using your computer. Also, you can save data on a USB flash drive.

Besides, you can connect an external device, such as an iPad or computer, through the AUX-in port and listen to the music through the piano's speakers. This model includes a headphone jack for connecting your external speaker.

Accessories

The Yamaha DGX 650 comes with a few accessories most users will find necessary for this instrument. These include a keyboard stand, Footswitch, music stand, piano bench, owner's manual, and AC Power Adaptor (may not be applicable in some countries).

You can also buy some other accessories separately if you want. For example, if you're trying to learn how to play the piano, you can get lots of song files from the Hal Leonard "You Are the Artist" songbooks.

If you are serious about learning how to play, purchase a separate damper pedal.

You may also buy headphones if you're going to practice privately or do not want to disturb your family members while practicing.

Price

The cost of a product is always a vital factor to consider. Especially if your budget is limited, you would like to get the most value for your money.

The Yamaha DGX 650B is a mid-priced digital piano, and you can purchase it for $1,099.99 on Amazon. It is the perfect blend of a regular acoustic piano and electronic piano, offering a wide range of features and excellent sound quality.

According to most Amazon users' reviews, the Yamaha DGX 650 is the most outstanding digital piano for $1,000 compared to other electronic keyboard pianos.

This product offers great value for its price, considering its features and sound quality. It delivers a top-quality piano-playing experience while saving you a lot of money.

Pros and Cons of the Yamaha DGX650B Digital Piano

Pros

It looks sleek and modern with a black finish.
The low learning curve makes it easy to use for anyone.
Easy to use controls.
It sounds professional, making it one of the best digital pianos for teaching and recording music.
Authentic audio production thanks to Pure CF sound sampling. Even though it is a digital piano, it sounds like a real piano.
The keys respond to your touch exceptionally well.
Thanks to weighted keys, excellent sound sampling, and touch sensitivity, it feels like an acoustic piano.
It can connect to various devices to improve your playing or recording experience.
A good value for money since it has all the features you are looking for in other grand pianos.
A perfect choice for both learners and advanced users.

Cons

It is pretty heavy and difficult to move around without help.
No access to MIDI.
Some users find the pedal to be quite uncomfortable and hard.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Yamaha DGX 650B Digital Piano is the most famous piano for both beginners and professional players.

It has all the features you would expect from a piano and more. It looks nice, provides excellent sound quality, and the keys respond well to your touch.

Even though the Yamaha DGX650 has some drawbacks, this model is still the best. It is one of the most popular digital pianos under $1,000.

I hope this review article has helped you to make an informed decision.

Now I'd like to hear from you!

Have you ever used this digital piano before? What is your opinion on this model? Please share your experience or idea in the comments!