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.