Started piano lessons at 5 years of age; switched to saxophone & organ around age 10; drummed age 13-34 & then back to keys.

Contemporary classical

The sound is excellent and the instrument has high quality and very usable presets. Some of the sounds can use a bit of tweaking to get them exactly the way you want them (to your personal taste)but all of the tools are there to do it. Being able to modify sounds live in real time is a GREAT advantage to being able to express yourself - with some practice this can be every bit as expressive as a sax or even a voice! I have always been impressed with Yamaha and never had a single problem with any of them with the exception of one that arrived damaged and that was no fault of Yamaha. I am strongly considering switching my top keyboard to an MM6, I currently have a Yamaha Portable Grand above this but I love the expressive capabilities of this MM8 and it has everything I want in sound so I may end up with the MM6 also. Amazing instruments for the price.

You have to buy a couple of pedals but both together are less than 100 bucks. I already owned pedals (other brands) that work for this. Simple layout and well thought out. One feature I wish it had was a numeric keypad so I could go directly to the sound I want by entering it numerically. You have to hit a button and then use a dial to get to the sounds which can be a pain if you work in a band that hammers songs straight through with no breaks between - keeps you on your toes. Although this thing is plastic, it is high grade and tough stuff - I've never had a problem with any plastic Yamaha I've owned and I've owned many. I play for a living and the fact this thing is only 35 pounds is a godsend - the keyboard this replaced in my setup was over 80 lbs which felt like lugging a dead body at 3 in the morning. The keyboard feels great, like an acoustic piano - the only downside is the keys do not snap back fast enough to do rapidly repeated notes and I do a lot of organ work that requires it. The MM6 will do it, the MM8 will not. My last weighted keyboard wouldn't either, nor will many acoustic pianos.

Well written manual - clear, to the point and well translated. No strange phrases that often pop up in manuals originally written in another language. Everything is intuitive and obviously written by, and for working musicians. Modifying sounds is easy and everything works the way you expect.

For a light weight plastic keyboard it's tough as nails - built to stand up to years of road abuse. It will scratch up like any plastic product but will keep on ticking. With a little care, you'll still be playing this thing in ten years.

The very best at this price point - this is a better keyboard than anything I have tried for twice the money.

Yamaha is the best I've seen in support. The folks are well trained and know the products inside and out. I have never needed a repair on any Yamaha product but any time I have a question, they have the right answer.

Not sexy, just smart. Smart is always better in the sack anyway so in that way I guess it's sexy. Other products might have a "wow" look that this lacks but with the lights off this ones gonna get you where your going with a lot more finesse. The sounds are sexy - from deep throated growls to breathy whispers in your ear, hard wood woodwinds and brass with a sass that reminds you of the finest, ask anybody who's played one.

Active musician - full time professional keyboardist

Jazz, Country, Rock, Blues, Funk, Fusion

The sounds are very good and high quality. The keys have fantastic action and are very expressive. This product gives you a huge sound bank to chose from.

There is so much you can do with this. Besides being able to record your own songs into the machine, you can store them on external storage via usb or even use the mm8 as a midi controller. The product doesn't come with any accessories, but I did buy both optional foot pedals.

The manual is very helpful, if you read it there shouldn't be too much confusion.

This thing is quality personified.

1,000 dollars is a pretty big price, but as with most things, you get what you pay for. Look around for deals. I've seen this as low as 869 dollars blemished.

I emailed yamaha a couple of times regarding using this machine as a midi controller. They answered promptly and sent me a direct link to download a driver.

I played it once and had to have it.

hobbyist

better than yours

Love the sounds.Electric keyboard sounds are top notch, some great brass sounds. Synth tones are great too, and playable pretty well for only attack, resonance, cutoff, and release dials. Very good piano tone, not Yamaha's best tone out there but better than any other tone for boards this price.

Many aspects of effects are controllable, but not easy enough to access in live situations, great to build the tones you want and save them in the presets. I do wish there was an expansion slot i would love to and a piano tone to the board, although the existing is very good. The keys are top of the line, action is amazing and super expressive. The dynamic range is huge.

Super easy to use. Comes with great sounds preset and its easy to modify them.

Very well made, I've been taking it to gigs for about a year and a half and no issues. Travels well and it's nice and light for the heavy duty keys built into it.

Best board in this price range hands down.

I'm gonna give them a ten, but honestly i haven't had to deal with support at all, which is the way I want it when I buy an instrument! Great quality and I'm sure I'm going to get years more good performance from it.

Definitely looks nice on stage!

Hobbyist/Active Musician

Rock

EXTENSIVE

ALL GENRES... PRIMARY REGGAE/FUNK

Great piano sounds

Has a lot of options

I don't like the roler dial, but not hard to operate.

Light-weight, great sound.

Great price for what you get.

The best support is support you don't need. Have not needed any.

Active Musician

Varies