Combine a great sounding piano sound with attractive wood finish, then add in a host of useful and advanced features and the Yamaha YPG-635 88 key weighted portable grand piano might just be the perfect portable digital piano for you. After this review, you will know significantly more about the YPG-635 including its pros and cons and other important considerations you should be aware about.
Overview
The Yamaha YPG-635 digital piano comes with standard 64 note polyphony, a two-way speaker system (separate woofers and tweeters), a handy digital display, a multi track recorder, built-in reverb effects and digital signal processing (DSP) which adds different special effects.
If that's not enough, Yamaha also throws in a fully adjustable metronome is also available together with a total of 130 voices, 12 special effects and drums kits, and 361 XGlite voices. That's quite an impressive list of voices and features for a piano of this modest cost.
The Good
For me, the big selling point of the Yamaha YPG-635 portable grand piano is the piano action which is very similar to a real piano. Just like a real acoustic piano, the weighed hammer standard action keys enables responsiveness and a touch that feels heavier on the low parts and lighter on the high notes. Every time I play this model when I see it in a music store I'm always blown away by how fun it is to play.
Equally impressive is the pleasing quality of the grand piano sound which is all made possible by Yamaha's proprietary AWM technology which produces exquisitely realistic sounds. What makes sound quality even better is the digital signal processing which enhances the overall sound quality of the piano and really takes it to the next level.
I can't let this review go by without mentioning the aesthetic quality of this model. The neutral wood accents really make one of the most attractive portable pianos I've seen in a long while and make it the perfect addition to any room.
The Bad
Sometimes I found myself overwhelmed by the sheer number of features the YPG-635 has. As someone who just likes to sit down and play the piano it can get overwhelming. However, once you read the manual and figure out what each button does you'll have no problems.
Another possible downside for this model would be its small display which can be quite of a hindrance to those who are relying on the display for digital sheet music while playing. Sadly, there is no available option to make it bigger.
Unless you are using an external amplifier, the volume of the speakers might actually be disappointing to those who play with the YPG-635 in front of a live audience.
Final Verdict
Overall, the Yamaha YPG-635 88 key portable grand piano is a terrific buy considering its realistic grand piano sound and authentic piano action. When you take into account the incredible number of features that Yamaha has packed into this piano, nothing can come close. Somehow Yamaha has found that elusive sweet spot of sound, action, features and price. That's quite a remarkable achievement in a very competitive market.
Despite a few minor annoyances, this model scores so amazingly well on every criteria that I don't hesitate to give the flagship Yamaha YPG-635 top marks all around. So when it comes to looking for a great portable digital piano for a reasonable cost, this particular model should be the first model on your list to consider.
