This is fairly simple keyboard with great piano samples. If you're looking for something basic, and not too expensive this is the keyboard for you. The fact you can layer with other sounds quickly and in the middle of a performance is a big bonus. Grand Piano 1 and 2 layered with strings sound amazing when played through an amp. Built in speakers are acceptable for practice, but not powerful enough for a live performance.

The touch on the keyboard is "graded". While it's not a weighted action it responds as such and is a big upgrade from the syth feel. The keys become easier to press the higher the note, making it feel more like an acoustic piano. Layering of sounds, and the fact you can make one sound an octave higher than the other adds either lower or upper end to playing. A+

It doesn't get much easier than this. Take it out of the box, plug and play. Very simple use, and easy to modify sounds to set the mood for exactly the type of feel you are looking for. The weight of this keyboard is somewhat unreal. It can be picked up and transported with one hand. Given the action of the keys and the weight this is a great production on the part of Yamaha.

Sleek, slim, and basic. Doesn't feel as cheap as it should for the price, but I wouldn't be too reckless with it. Feels pretty solid and like it will last a while as long as it's taken care of.

This is a no-brainer. A digital piano that weighs 12 pounds, has graded touch, great piano samples, and a few very useful features for 300..... A+

Haven't had any problems yet, but my experience with Yamaha in the past has always been positive.

Very slender, slim, and light. No contrasting colors or parts that throw off the overall look of the piano. Basic, normal design.

Active Musician

Rock, Contemporary, Jazz, Country

Sound is good. Not a concert piano or a Hammond B-3 but gets the job done for $299.95

Basic stand included as an accessory. Sturdy. Is ok for home use. Power supply was included. Saved around $26.00 right there.

Very easy to use. Just follow the owners manaual. Set up and playing in ten minutes.

No defects. It's Yamaha.

Hell yes.

Haven't had to use Yamaha or ZZounds for support yet but I'm sure they're great.

I don't know about sex appeal. I just wanted a half-way decent keyboard that wouldn't bust my wallet. I found the NP-30 filled all my wants as far as constuction quality, features and affordability. I'm very happy with it.

Hobbyist

R&B, Rock, Jazz

With the unit plugged into a decent amp, the piano, strings and harpsichord are very good (I would compare them to models that cost twice as much), the rest not so. This makes a great companion to my Hammond XK-1 and sounds good enough to gig with.

I think it does not officially come with the adapter, but it was included in the deal. I think for the price you cannot expect all the accessories 76 keys was a good choice for a stack setup. I wish the keys had a little more weight to them.

I found it easy to use

It seems to be well made and it is very light

This keyboard is an incredible value. You have to pay twice as much for something a little better

Have not had any issues, but there web site is helpful

What is appealing is the value for the price. This is no toy

Part Time Musician

Blues

This piano sounds GREAT! This is my first keyboard, and for the price it sounds like a real piano. The vibraphone voice also sounds real (I used to play vibes in high school). It has very good dynamic response, soft struck notes have a softer timbre than loud ones (not just a different volume). This is true on all ten of the included voices. The reverb effect makes the grand piano voice sound like I'm playing in a large concert hall.

It comes with a nice music stand that can be placed on top. The base of the stand is two inches thick so it can hold a lot of music. The brochure on Yamaha's site said it comes with an AC adapter; mine did not. It was an extra twenty dollars at the local music shop.

Very easy to use, just turn it on and go. To change a voice, you just hold the voice button and play a certain key labeled with the voice you want. The keys are very easy to play. The graded response does make the lower keys a little stiffer, but this is consistent with acoustic pianos.

Great quality product. All made of sturdy plastic. There are no little parts that make you think, "Oh, that will break in a week" or anything.

This is a value keyboard and I couldn't be happier with the sound and playability.

Haven't had to deal with Yamaha support so I don't know.

The reason I picked this keyboard was because I just wanted to play piano without the bells and whistles. I didn't want a keyboard with 300 voices and drum kits that I would never use. They call this keyboard a "portable grand" and that's exactly what it is.

Hobbyist

Classical

The sound of this piano is great! The only reason I give it a lower score, 8, is that I noticed that it DID have the slight buzz in the right-hand speaker that many people complained about. This is clearly a generalized factory defect because I had read about this in reviews before I even bought the thing. The buzz is not hugely audible and for a practice piano not really a huge bother. People say that it does not occur if you plug the piano into an amplifier, so it appears to be a problem related to the wiring in right-hand speaker. I hope that the Yamaha people wake up to this defect and try to do something about it.

The product included a power adapter and a music stand. It did not include a piano stand nor a sustain pedal. I think it might have at least come with a sustain pedal, because there is no way to improvise that and it is pretty basic equipment for a piano.

The sounds are fantastic considering the price of this piano. Really nice sounds and a fairly decent variety...you can get most of the basic keyboard sounds and then some. This is not a synthesizer or anything...nobody said it was. The interface is a bit cumbersome for somebody who doesn't like to mess around with "programming." Reminds me a bit of those old VCRs. Lots of pushing buttons with no prior indication of what the outcome will be. But if you have patience, you can do some pretty versatile stuff with this piano. The manual is clear enough.

This is a pretty solid basic product. The low weight, 12 pounds, is incredible. The product would be especially useful "on the road" as you could carry it around with little more effort than carrying around a laptop computer. The only complaint I have, again, is that slight buzz in the right speaker...but for less than $300, there's not a lot to complain about.

Very good.

Have not dealt with the company directly.

Definitely sexy for the price, weight, and sound. I don't know if it is an aesthetic or technical "marvel," but it gets the job done when the job description is "electronic piano" with a piano-like feel and sound. It doesn't go out of tune like a regular piano, although it does have 12 fewer keys. The semi-weighted keys are also a definite plus.

Hobbyist/Semi-Active Musician

Jazz and Pop

The 10 sounds are stock Yamaha AWM2 fare; good enough for practice or for playing in a band, but not too convincing when played solo. Certainly it's adequate for the first-time buyer or student, which is probably the NP30's target market.

Well, the "graded key action" is disappointing. The actual keys feel just like any other entry-level synth, with just a little more resistance on the bottom couple of octaves. The ten sounds you get are average at best, and the built-in speakers sound like a boom box from Wal-Mart. On the other hand, the MIDI is very well specified, with individual channel assignments for the splits and layers, as well as local control on/off.

Turn it on and you get a piano sound; hit the +/- keys to switch sounds. Hit start/stop to control the metronome. Super-easy. The more complex functions, like changing MIDI channels or velocity curves, require some fairly un-intuitive multiple-button-presses, but it's all explained in the manual. Overall, an excellent use of a very low button-count.

As stated above, the key action is not even comparable to any real "digital piano." On the other hand, neither are the weight or the price. The whole unit is made of injection-molded plastic, and the "matte finish" looks classy, but feels like sandpaper. Fit-and-finish are acceptable; I'd trust it on the road, not because it's so robust, but because there's simply not much here that can break.

Well, obviously this is where the NP30 makes up for lost ratings. If your interest is specifically in playing the piano, not in having a wide range of General MIDI sounds or control knobs, then the NP30 just kills anything else in its price range. It's also a great way to expand your software synths from one-trick techno-toys into a proper instrument for full-range musical performance and composition.

Yamaha has always been responsive to my inquiries, although their replacement parts are so hilariously expensive that on a keyboard like this, you'll buy a new one before you fix the old.

Well, It certainly looks a thousand times more appealing than any cheesy home keyboard or M-Audio controller. It's actually a heck of a lot classier and more attractive than Yamaha's MM6 entry-level synthesizer, which costs twice as much! The NP30 is a $300.00 keyboard that looks like a $600.00 keyboard, at least from across the room - and that's no bad thing.

Future Rockstar

Electronic Music Of All Kinds

It has a strong distinct sound that is very similar to a real piano.

It came with a great stand. And it's lighweight and slim so it does not take up a lot of room in our house.

It was extremely affordable for a quality keyboard that feels and sounds like the real thing.

Its beautiful. Not gaudy at all.

active musician

all

For the price this is one fine sounding and playing keyboard. Its rich full tone surprised me. It is truly a portable grand. Yamaha obviously put their efforts into the piano with samples recorded in AWM stereo. This unit sounds more like a piano than any electronic keyboard I've played.

This board DOES have a jack for a sustain and you can use it in two modes. It has 4 reverbs, 10 voices, and you can layer any two for a new sound. It has a stereo 1/4" out and MIDI i/o, which are becoming rare these days, most having only phones and USB MIDI out. The graded hammer action is far superior to standard, non-weighted keys like most synths. It takes a while but you'll learn to like it. The metronome is simple but more than adequate. Variable tempo with all time signatures, is what a met does. The power adapter is optional, but only $20.00.

Plug it in, turn it on, and play a grand piano. That's how it is. No huge menus to plow through or learning curve. That is the beauty of this beast, everything has been geared towards a piano. No extra bells you won't need.

This unit is rugged, and light weight, only 12 lbs. It even looks good. It feels very solid and I would not hesitate to take it on the road. Just get a case.

The features, the sound quality, the rugged feel, THE PRICE, make this the best deal in the keyboard realm. If you need a great piano, you'd be throwing money away buying anything else.

I haven't had to use support for any trouble, but when I've E-mailed with questions they answer back in twelve hours or less.

I will definitely return my sister's to her and buy myself one. SOON! At this price every pianist should own at least one.

Long time amateur musician, writer, producer, and director.

I play any genre that is asked of me. I'm a hard rocker though.

All the voices (including grand piano, organ, harpsichord) are well done and beautiful. While individual sounds are beautiful, their combinations may not parallel the richness of an acoustic piano's. This is probably because there is no is no resonating effect between the various strings. (Which is quite understandable at this price level.)

SIMPLICITY. The controls are few and quite intuitive. FEATURES (missing). The ones I cared about: additional voices (NP30 only got 10) and the 12 keys for the full-size 88-key keyboard. Again, it's all about a trade-off against portability and price. ACCESSORIES (missing). Power adapter and the sustain pedal are not included, and Best Buys charges $25-30+ for each. This is a RIP-OFF, people. For power, look around; maybe you have a compatible one already (12V, 1500 mA, negative is outside) - or use rechargeable batteries. And maybe you are fine without the pedal (I am still to answer that question for myself).

KEY WEIGHTING. NP30's keys are something like "semi-weighted" and "touch sensitive" (but consult the official specs on this) and somewhat easy to press. But see "CONS" below. BTW I researched this "weighted" topic quite a bit and tried several options, but my practical conclusion is this. If you care about the feel, go more high-end or get the real thing (an acoustic piano, that is). Otherwise you will likely get used to what you have, even though it isn't perfect. While offering you an approximation of an acoustic piano's feel, NP30's keys are not quite there. First, they are hard to press if you place your fingers far from the edge of the key (i.e. towards the back of the keyboard) - I have never noticed this on an acoustic. Second, in some cases when I press several keys at once, NP30 doesn't sense one or two of them, whereas an acoustic piano would. I have to re-adjust the pressure to get NP30 to play them. PORTABILITY - especially for an (almost) full-size keyboard. I really didn't want another piece of furniture. NP30 just lies on the table, and (to my own surprise) it ended up being the deciding factor for me. YMMV.

It's all relative, of course, but compared to other full-size keyboards out there, it's among the cheapest - $300 at Best Buys. (And that's without any sale discounds - Best Buys felt kinda thin on sales to me.)

The sound quality on this piano is wonderful. I grew up with acoustic pianos and this is pretty darn close.

You have to buy the accessories separate, but it wasn't much of an expense. I got the power cord and the pedal...both are worth it.

For the price, this plays, feels, and sounds like an acoustic. I'm not a professional musician and it suits my needs -- playing for fun.

This product is lightweight and well made. It looks good and it feels good (not that plastic "toy" feel that some digital pianos have)

I did a lot of research before buying this piano. This was the best price around.

I just got this product and do not need any service. Yamaha appears to have a good reputation.

yeah, it's sexy to me.

hobbyist

classic

Simply put. This thing sounds real expensive.

No, accessories. But the power adapter is fairly cheap at aprox. 20 bucks. And a cheap X-stand will hold this elec. piano with no problems.

Put it this way. My 8 yr old knows how to find the sounds she likes easily.

Very elegant. Especially for a 300 dollar porta. piano.

I feel like I've ripped Yamaha off. Plug this thing into a large sound system and you'll know what I'm talking about.

Have'nt needed it. After living in Japan for 5 yrs and dealing with many Yamaha products. I've never encountered any problems ever with their equipment. Yamaha takes pride even in their lower end products.

Put it this way. I'm a drummer and bought it because the price for that classic Yamaha sound and look is unbeatable.

Active Musician

Latin Jazz, R&B, Gospel, Rock

The piano sound doesn't cut it if you're trying to use it with a working band. It's harsh, honky, mid-rangy. Maybe with the right EQ it could sound good. Run my keys through a Roland KC500. The far-cheaper PSR280's piano sounds better than this AND you'll get almost 300 other voices.

The best feature is.....IT'S 12 POUNDS! Thought this could replace my heavier 'board which I'm tired of luggin' but the sound doesn't make it.

Turn it on & play it but if you plug a sustain pedal in while it's on it reverses the function (pain-in-the-butt).

Seems to be well-made for the weight but sound quality isn't there. Worst aspect is only piano & strings are nearly usable. Organ & other sounds are poor.

I think you're better off with an entry-level PSR Yamaha if you're a beginner or the P70 (twice the price) if you're a pro.

Sent my unhappy attitude in an email to Yamaha & they have yet to respond. I own MANY other Yamaha products (Acoustic piano,PA Speakers,P200 high-end digital piano) that I am thrilled with.

Best feature.........IT'S 12 POUNDS! That's all it's got.

Active musician/engineer home studio owner

Rock/Blues/Pop

I play in a seven piece R&B band and the Yamaha has really impressed all. When I purchased the piano I was looking for exactly that, a piano. The grand is excellent as the other sounds which I don't really use. Maybe a good rock organ could finish this piano off nicely.

I did not purchase this product through ZZ but at a local music shop. I received a Yamaha sustain pedal with it.

Being a guy the manual was the last thing on my mind. I was up and running in 5 seconds. Taking a little time to go through the functions is really helpful as I think that doing away with a million function buttons was a good idea. Most functions are done through the keys.

Perfect for the road, light but still gives the feeling of a 'keyboard'. I don't like the almost tectured finish of the piano casing as it tends to leave light marks if one wipes it.

Certainly!

The transformer burnt out after about two months. Easy enough to replace and was done efficiently by the music shop.

I like it, so do the rest of the band!

Playing since childhood, active band member.

R&B, jazz.

Well since this keyboard is pretty much intended for use on the main voices in my opinion (grand piano 1 and 2), I gave it a rating of 8 for those two voices only. This is my first ever digital piano, and it's my first ever instrument related to piano. So from that perspective, both voices sound awesome. However, I do know how a quality, full-sized grand piano sounds, and the NP-30 of course, does not match up with it. But, if you're a beginner/intermediate player, and don't really have a keen sense of hearing, you probably can't tell much of a difference. Sound output on the speakers aren't that great when played on highest volume. It's flooded with too much bass, even when playing the higher treble notes. Versus the headphones I use (Sennheiser HD201 Closed-Back Headphones), it's much much better. As for the other voices included with this, don't expect much from them. It's really not the selling point of the NP-30 anyway. If you wanna learn piano, or have a fairly good keyboard that emulates piano without any other concerns, then you don't really need to look further.

When I bought mine, it came with the X-Stand and AC adapter for $299.00 (the pedal did not though, which I bought seperately). Supposedly, in the past, it didn't. So if you're reading this, and zZounds does not have the deal, then prep yourself to shell another $50 or so for the stand and adapter (and the pedal +$15). As for the features on the NP-30: *Pros* -Does not contain the bells and whistles of other digital pianos, eliminating clutter and one-time-use-and-never-use-again features. It has 5 buttons, and a volume control, that's it. Simple and classy. -Velocity control, I believe 3 sensitivity (soft, medium, hard). -Weighted Keys, although the weighted feeling isn't enough to be effective, but it's there. Additionally, some people may not like this feature due to being use to having no weighted keys from their previous keyboards. -Comes with a built-in customizable metronome which makes things extremely convenient. -Has 76 keys, which is pretty much all most people need which also helps the size be a tad smaller. -Has MIDI IN/OUT, for recording purposes. (You'll need a USB-Midi Interface device to do so, usually goes for around $30.00) *Cons* -Does not contain the bells and whistles of other digital pianos. Some people may think it's too simple, and might find themself wanting some more fancy features. -Does not have Line IN/OUT (which is usually how you can obtain the best quality of sound). -Mentioned in Pros about the weighted keys, the weighted feeling isn't there that much. -Does not have a display screen, making it difficult to do some settings and to see if the change actually took place. It's like having a MP3 player with no display screen. It all depends on what you want. I initially thought having it be a simple unit was what I wanted. But it turns out, I kinda wish for more. Such as more high-quality sounding voices, beats, lighted keys, display screen, etc.

There's really nothing to learn when using the NP-30. It's simple, clean and has minimal buttons. If you know how to get to use a computer to surf the web to read this review, then you'll know how to use the NP-30.

This keyboard is friggin' LIGHT. It's 12 pounds, you can pick it up with 1 arm and not break a sweat. Also, being only 12 pounds and all, expect to have no trouble bringing this puppy around on the road. But don't be fooled by it's low weight. The device feels sturdy and well-made. Very smooth and classy little thing. I do have my share of complaints though. I'm not sure if it's worse on other digi piano's, but the thumping sound when you press the keys, are moderately loud. After you play on it for a week or two, it'll soon begin to become noticed to your ear, and it's rather annoying. The effect can be nullified though, by using closed headphones. Also, another thing about the keys.. is that they have this semi-springy feeling, and it's unnatural. But if you're a total beginner, you won't notice any of these key problems. And last but not least, I believe they could've made the unit much smaller (in length) if they had put the speakers on the top left/right portion of the device. Instead, it's on the direct left/right position of the device, placed before and after the keys.

Well this is my first digital keyboard, so I can't really comment on the value compared to other keyboards, but I can say that it's cheap compared to most and that it's the world famous named brand, Yamaha.

I am neutral with this, since I have not had to deal with any customer service yet. Just to note out, it's been a month since I've had this at the current time of writing this review and everything's working just fine. So, the 10 rating is just a placeholder.

There's nothing too surprising about this unit in terms of looks. But it does deliver in being very classy. Simplicity is written all over it, and just like how, say, the original iPod has that simple, pure white look to it, I get the same impression from this unit (although it's black). And of course, the Yamaha tag on the center of unit =) Pure, simple, light, clean.

Pianist

Everything

Very thin sound. Piano is the only useful voice on this. The other voices are worthless novelties.

No sustain pedal or A/C adapter included.

Quality is marginal. You get what you pay for--so for the price, it's not bad.

You would be much better off with a similarly priced keyboard from either Yamaha or Casio.

Haven't needed support.

Like going to bed with your sox on...

Recording Musician

Multiple Styles

The piano sounds are what you'd expect for the price. Don't let anyone tell you they're descent, the mids and highs are tingy and the lows have too much bass in them. The EP's are pretty cool. The organs are limited, only churchy style organ sounds. I definitely would NOT invest in this if you are a gigging musician.

It comes with a power adapter ( of course) and a music stand. No sustain pedal, and my M-Audio sustain pedal would not work with it, so that was reallly annoying. thats about it.

Pretty straight forward to use. There aren't really any shortcuts to get to the sound you want. They do have a "grand piano" button which can be useful when switching from an EP sound to the piano in a hurry.

Mine was built pretty sturdy. Feel kind of cheap, but what do you expect from a 12 pounder. This is used as my backup, so the quality is good for the rare case in which i need it.

For the price, it can be used as a back up, or a beginners keyboard at home. Don't expect much from this one.

Good warranty.

Nah....

The piano has a surprisingly decent sound. I found the touch a bit awkward though in relation to the sounds I got. It often over-emphasized hard touches and didn't quite get the light touches as lightly as I would have expected them to be. The touch is NOT graded-hammer and it's obvious. I've read many reviews that are impressed with this keyboard's action, but I'm not. It's admittedly better than a synthesizer, but the touch was awkward. It's hard to describe, but the word "springy" comes to mind. The key bounces up too quickly and the pressure it exerts is unnatural (when compared to a piano).

It's a little frustrating that the keyboard does not come with a sustain pedal nor an adapter. The voiced that the piano carries are plenty for my use, but if you're looking for something with a synthesizer's ability, look elsewhere.

The features are few, but very intuitive. It comes with a built in metronome which is handy.

The product is surprisingly sturdy. As light as it is, I expected it to look and feel cheap, but it was quite solid.

I would recommend to piano players to dish out an extra $300 and get the p70. This is an upgrade from a snyth (as far as touch goes) but definitely a downgrade from hammer-action pianos.

The piano has a nice classic design. I have the black model, which was the only one made available to me, but apparently there is a silver model available as well.