Best portable keyboard out there! Excellent keybed! To me it felt exactly the same as the Yamaha Reface series's keybed. The sounds are really great, the pianos, the leads, strings - all of them. The recorder function is really handy! You can record 1 track + 1 arps track, so kind of works like more than 1 track. Can be powered by your iPhone (or iPad/laptop), and also with 4 x AA batteries. In terms of sound quality, keybed and portability, I would confidently say this keyboard is probably the best one out there! Read more
I needed a small keyboard for my kids to practice piano during our vacation, the keyboard we have is a standard one (88 keys). I ordered this mini keyboard and I’m very pleased with it. It has everything for practice on the go, the size is perfect, It’s battery operated and the sound is pretty good; they keys response is amazing. Keep in mind the size of the keys are smaller. I agree with one of the reviews about when you take it out of the box it gives you the feeling of a toy, it’s smaller than I thought, lighter and it looks fragile, but once you try it, play it, you can tell it’s not a toy! it worth every penny. It’s fragile, so you will need a storage case for it. I ordered the LTGEM EVA Hard Storage Case for Alesis V25 | 25 Key USB MIDI Keyboard Controller - Travel Protective Carrying Bag (outer dimensions 22.2" L – 9" W – 3" H.) and it fits like a glove. I’m attaching pictures. Read more
If you gave this to me without the branding and without knowing anything about it I would not have guessed it was a Yamaha product, nor would I guess that it cost a hundred bucks. It has a lot of "features" and a ton of versatility, which brings it up from a 3-star, but only just barely. The core of it just isn't that great. The keyboard itself just feels cheap. The sound is actually pretty decent. Although the volume levels of some of the instruments is hugely different from the others, which seems like a basic quality control issue and one of those things that would make you think this was some cheap knock-off instead of a proper Yamaha instrument. On top of that, when using headphones there is a noticeable level of noise (hiss), even though it's fairly quiet. The structure is also not very sturdy, but there's good news and bad news there. The bad news is that mine was warped enough that it wouldn't sit flat with all four feet on a table, with maybe a full quarter inch of movement between the feet. The good news is that the body of the keyboard is so soft that you can just apply a very modest amount of force to bend it and make it sit flat (which is what I did). OK, enough complaining, what are the good things about it? Being able to use batteries makes it very convenient. As I mentioned, the actual sounds it makes are not half bad given the price. The keys are actually reasonably velocity sensitive, which is pretty impressive for a cheap portable keyboard. It's also very portable. Overall, it makes for a decent instrument for practicing or noodling around. I just wish that it had a little bit more attention put into the hardware side at this price level. Read more
This keyboard is very small and easy to carry around. A big plus is that there are a couple of ways to power it. It has a lot of sound variety for such a small keyboard but the most important thing to notice is the SOUND QUALITY. It doesn't sound like a toy, but an actual Yamaha musical product. Yamaha lives up to its name again and again. Great product. Beginner adults might find the keys too close together for comfort and skill development. This is best for an adult who already knows their way around a keyboard or a child beginner, since a child's hands won't yet have bad habits. Perfect size for beginning child or seasoned adult. Excellent sound for everyday use. I'm using it to compose a little ditty and loving it. Read more
First of all , I''m not a musician . I decided to get into music after seeing ads for many different keyboards priced from $50 to $150 . After researching many different ones , I decided on the Yamaha PSS-A50 . I've always loved Yamaha products and wanted something compact . It just arrived today , and WOW , I can't put it down . This thing is just jam-packed with features . It still has it's limitations , though . But for $100 you don't expect a Moog synth. ! There is only one sound I haven't been able to achieve - the sound of a steel drum . Some day when I learn how to use the midi function , I should be able to produce that unique tropical sound . I highly recommend this pss-a50 to anyone with a hundred bucks to spend that is looking for a great quality compact keyboard for a great low price . If you want to further investigate this instrument , the owners manual is downloadable ( pdf Amazon ) . Read more
Excellent sounds on this little keyboard. Sounds heavy-duty on batteries with 1/8 " plugged in to portable Bose speaker. Fills the room with sound without hauling out my big gig powered speakers. I just wanted a couple of solid piano and organ voices and ways to tweak those. Love the velocity sensitive keys with three diff settings for key response ( heavy touch, stand, light touch, equal tone regardless of velocity). Ultra portable. I could stuff this in a backpack. Didn't know something like this existed. Internal speaker fine for just me- too soft for playing with others. 1/8" output jack means I can go big or small in output. Minikeys were tricky at first, but I'm getting used to them. Band already has keyboard player soam just adding embellishment which I can do easily with right-hand on this smaller keyboard. Jigs, reels, slip jig fingerings are actually easier because of my small hands. It's not comparable to my Korg X50, but it's not meant to be. I can't stuff that synth into a backpack with some batteries and play anywhere. Good purchase. Haven't tried midi work with it yet. Read more
