1. The YPT-310 is functionally identical to the earlier model YPT-300. The new model changes simply made the device more environmentally friendly (”greener”).

2. The YPT-310 is not a piano. A piano doesn’t need batteries or an adapter that plugs into an outlet. If you are willing to pay thousands of dollars, you can purchase a piano that produces wonderful sounds, and the key action has a good feel. On the other hand, pianos take up a lot of room. They need to be regularly tuned. They are sensitive to humidity and temperature. Eventually a piano will need to be repaired. The sound you create on a piano can bother your neighbors. In addition, pianos produce only one kind of sound, that which is generated by hammers striking strings. (Some people have done bizarre things to pianos, such as putting tacks into the hammers, but most of us are not going to make these modifications).

Pianists who have played a great deal of piano music, who have no interest in expanding their palette of musical tone color, or who have neither the time nor desire to learn about the controls on a modern synthesizer are unlikely to be happy with the YPT-310. On the other hand, someone who appreciates the tone color of different instruments and is willing to invest a small amount of time learning about synthesizers, will find that this keyboard opens up a whole new world of musical possibilities.

3. Sustain Pedal (foot pedal). The sustain pedal allows the sound to continue after you release a key. This is critically important; without a sustain pedal, you have only half an instrument. This keyboard does not come with a sustain pedal; you will have to purchase it separately. The pedal costs very little, and the cheapest one (about $15) can be glued to a piece of wood to keep it from moving around under foot.

Note: when you power up the YPT-310, the keyboard software “assumes” the foot pedal is not depressed. If the sustain stops when you press the foot pedal, that means you had it depressed when you turned on the keyboard.

4. Sound Quality. There are three ways to produce sounds from the keyboard. You can use the speakers that are part of the device; you can use the headphone jack and the analog signal available there to externally produce sound; or you can use the MIDI interface to have external equipment generate sound based on key press characteristics. The YPT-310 is capable of producing fabulous sounds as well as horrible sounds. The following notes give further details and make some specific suggestions on how to produce the more pleasing sounds.

5. Speakers and Headphones. The built-in speakers have very limited bass response; that is, the low frequency sounds (sounds with a low pitch) are weak. Ironically, some of the most beautiful sounds the YPT-310 can produce are in this low frequency range. The violin (instrument 53), flute (instrument 84), and Vibraphone (instrument 101) are examples of this. In order to hear these sounds, rather than the poor imitation coming from the built-in speakers, you will need headphones or the ability to connect the headphone output jack to a more capable sound system. If you want to listen to some of the beautiful sounds this instrument is capable of, check out the 30 second samples of the music found on the Time album at http://cdbaby.com/cd/peterbaum. The voices from the keyboard were sent via the headphone jack to a computer where they were mixed using multi-track software. Typical of professionally mastered CDs, post processing was performed on some of these tracks using software; for example, echo effects were sometime used and multiple tracks laid down to create ensembles. However, the instrumental voices heard on every single track were generated by this inexpensive keyboard. The quality of the 30 second samples isn’t the best possible, since they are in MP3 format, but you will hear some amazing sounds if you are using headphones or a good speaker-driven sound system. The tracks on the CD itself sound better. More information about the YPT-310 voices used on each track of the CD can be found at http://mysite.verizon.net/aesir_research/Peter%20Baum%20-Time-%20Notes.htm).

6. Listening Environment. Your music listening environment can dramatically change how the music is perceived. For example, most cars are not good places to listen to music, especially if you don’t use headphones. If you are composing music, your sonic environment can also influence the content of your compositions.

7. “I Hate Synthesizers.” There are some people who simply hate the sound of synthesizers; they often describe the sound as harsh, mechanical, or cold. In addition, there sometimes is an unnatural, high frequency component to the sound. I agree that some sounds from some synthesizers have these characteristics, and I will even agree that many of the sounds from the YPT-310 sound this way. However, I also found very pleasing sounds among its many voices. Even the sounds that are less than pleasing can be put to good use. I found that some voices, such as the bassoon, could be made warmer by using the built in dual voice function to add an accompanying string section. I also found other sounds that became important compositionally, even though they sounded cold as solo voices.

8. Finding Beautiful Sounds. Because of the way this synthesizer generates different notes based on a sound sample from a real acoustic instrument, the tone quality (sometimes called tone coloration or harmonics) can depend on the pitch of the note. This is also true of real acoustic instruments, the bassoon being a striking example. As I mentioned previously, the violin, vibraphone, and flute sound especially good in their low registers on this keyboard. The “Clavi,” “Baritone Sax,” and “Fretless Bass 4″ voices do too. Some instruments sound best when played in a range that is higher than normal. For example, the Oud sounds like a sweet, tiny bell in its upper register. If you want to produce a variety of useful sounds, you have to be willing to explore the keyboard by sampling different voices in a variety of registers and other settings.

9. The Bottom Line. For around $150, this is an amazing instrument. It can be used to produce professional quality music, if its limitations are respected and its strengths taken advantage of.

The different voices are what I find the neatest. I just take a few measures of my piece and cycle through all the voices quickly to find something good. Even though you have only 61 keys, some voices fill in a lower base line, and you can get a very full complex sound without much effort.

Since I already play piano, I don’t use any of the learning stuff. And I don’t use any of the pre-recorded songs or percussion tempos, etc. Either you are going to play something authentic, or listen to a recording on you iPod. All the in-between automatic electronic combo features don’t have the variance of a real group playing … way too smooth and regular.

Also the touch sensitive feature doesn’t have a lot of touch sensitive, not even close to a piano.

I don’t know how anyone could find any fault with this keyboard. The next step up (88 full size keys with piano touch sensitive) is three to four times most costly and a heavier weight to carry with little difference in sound.

So this is definitely the best value I’ve ever seen.

I then came upon an idea. I had in my closet an old 2.5 PC speaker system – two stereo mini speakers with a woofer box. I hooked this PC system up to the keyboard and WOW – what a difference! Point is, you don’t have to get an amp and big, expensive speakers to get more ‘tone’ out of this (or any) portable keyboard. Just search for cheap, second hand PC speakers of decent quality.

When I opened the huge box that came in the mail I felt as though there had been a misunderstanding. My beautiful Yamaha keyboard was included in its own glorious box, but there were also two cheap, nondescript boxes as well. Those boxes contained the stand and the headphones. Although the headphones looked as if they were purchased at a swap meet for about $5, they work. It’s the stand that is the problem.

I had assumed that the stand would be compatible with the keyboard. It isn’t, really. If you live alone without and pets, this stand should be fine. But I have a baby, dogs, and cats in the house, and I just couldn’t risk leaving a $200 keyboard unsecured on top of this stand. It could easily tip and fall over. The bottom of the keyboard has two groves to create a secure fit with a stand, but this stand DOES NOT FIT IN THE GROOVES! Since it is an adjustable x-stand, as the stand gets lower the bars on top get farther apart. Also, it’s not a Yamaha stand.

I ended up ordering the Yamaha L3C Attachable Keyboard Stand for an additional $35 (http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-L3C-Attachable-Keyboard-Stand/dp/B000YID5OG/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_2). I suggest buying the JUST THE keyboard through Best Buy or another electronics store for around $170 and then ordering the stand separately through Amazon. That way you’ll come out at the same price instead of having to spend an additional $35 after the fact, like me

Note: This set does not include a pedal, so you may want to buy one separately, as most people find them necessary.