Comparison Yamaha DGX-670 vs Yamaha DGX-650

— Stationary. Stationary tools have their own stand and are designed to be installed directly on the floor. At the same time, in accordance with the name, such models are designed for constant stay in one place and are poorly suited for regular movements even within the same room, not to mention longer distances. However, this is not a disadvantage, but only a characteristic feature of such cases. But the unequivocal disadvantage of stationary tools can be called their rather high cost. On the other hand, such models are as similar as possible to real pianos in appearance, layout and equipment: the keyboard, usually, is located at a standard height, and pedals are installed in the lower part of the case (and there are usually as many as three of them, a complete set). And it is much easier to provide high-quality sound and an abundance of features in such an instrument than in a portable one — the manufacturer does not need to pay special attention to compactness and weight reduction.

— Portable. Portable are called digital pianos, made in the form of portable keyboards and devoid of stands; to play such a keyboard, you need to put it on a table or other support. Outwardly, such instruments are similar to synthesizers, and sometimes almost indistinguishable from them. At the same time, unlike synthesizers, portable digital pianos have mostly full-size keyboards with 88 keys, and displays are rarel...y equipped. And in terms of functionality, the differences are that digital pianos are more oriented towards traditional music: they can provide relatively few timbres, often do not support auto-accompaniment (see below), but provide a fairly high sound quality. If we compare portable models with stationary ones, then the key advantage of this option is obvious — the tool can be moved from place to place with relative ease and even carried with you, if you have the appropriate case. The disadvantage also naturally follows from the design — it will be extremely difficult to play such an instrument without additional support, and not every piece of furniture can play the role of such a support. So it is almost impossible for a portable digital piano to do without a stand (see "Packaging").

The number of voices supported by the digital piano — more precisely, the maximum number of voices that the instrument can play at the same time.

This parameter should not be confused with the number of notes that can be played simultaneously on the keyboard. The fact is that in many timbres, several voices (tone generators) are used for each note at once — this is the only way to achieve a more or less reliable sound. Thus, the required number of voices can be many times higher than the number of notes — for example, the simplest chord of 3 notes may require 9 or even 12 voices. In addition, tone generators are used to play auto accompaniment parts and built-in songs (see below), and here the number of voices can already be measured in tens.

In light of all this, polyphony of less than 90 voices is typical mainly for relatively simple and inexpensive instruments that are not designed for complex tasks. The smallest number found in modern digital pianos is 32 voices. It is desirable for a more or less solid instrument to have at least 96 voices, and in top models this figure can reach 256.

The number of built-in sounds provided by the Digital Piano.

Despite the name, digital pianos are extremely rarely designed to imitate the sound of only a piano — the electronic hardware allows them to provide other timbres of sound. In addition, even the piano has its own varieties — for example, among the grand pianos there are 6 main classes, from large concert to miniature. So the built-in sounds can cover different kinds of pianos, as well as other instruments and sound effects.

The abundance and variety of timbres in digital pianos as a whole is not as great as in synthesizers, however, in this category there are very “charged” models, with a hundred timbres or more (in the most multifunctional, this number can exceed 900). However, it is worth specifically looking for a “multi-instrumental” model if you do not intend to be limited to the sound of the piano and would like to have more freedom of choice. It is worth remembering that a specific set of timbres can be different.

If the instrument is bought exclusively as a piano, then here, on the contrary, it is worth paying attention primarily to solutions with a small number of timbres. Such models are not only cheaper than "universals" — they can also sound better (due to the fact that there are few timbres and the manufacturer can carefully approach the sound quality of each built-in "instrument").

The number of Auto Accompaniment Styles (see above) originally stored in Digital Piano memory.

Different auto accompaniment styles differ from each other in the same way that different melodies differ from each other — in tempo, time signature, rhythmic pattern, set of instruments used, etc. Accordingly, the more styles initially available in the instrument, the wider the choice of the musician and the higher the probability of finding the option that best suits a particular situation. However even numerous styles does not guarantee that among them there will be a suitable one; in addition, we note that with the same number of styles, their specific set in different instruments can also be different. However, custom styles can be provided for this case (see below).

Summarizing, we can say this: if you plan to work intensively with auto accompaniment, in addition to the number of styles, it will not hurt to clarify their specific range.

The range over which the tempo of the sound played by the instrument can change. It can be either a built-in melody or a part recorded on a sequencer, or an auto accompaniment, a tutorial or a metronome. For more information on all of these features, see the corresponding glossary entries. Here we note that a change in tempo is often required in fact — for example, to speed up an initially "sluggish" accompaniment or slow down a training programme that is difficult to master at the original tempo.

Tempo is traditionally indicated in beats per minute. The classical, "academic" range covers options from 40 bpm ("grave", "very slow") to 208 bpm ("prestissimo", "very fast"), however, in modern digital pianos, the working range of tempos is often significantly wider.

The type of display installed in the Digital Piano.

— Monochrome. Single colour display, not capable of working with a colour image; such screens are often referred to as "black and white", although other colour combinations are actually possible (for example, a blue image on an orange background). Despite their simplicity, the capabilities of such displays are quite sufficient for both simple and fairly advanced digital pianos; and they are inexpensive. Therefore, most models that have a screen at all use monochrome matrices.

- Coloured. A screen capable of displaying a multicolor image. Such displays are more advanced than monochrome, they not only look nicer, but also provide more information and visibility (colour is often used as a way of highlighting). At the same time, such functionality is rarely required in the case of digital pianos, and colour screens are noticeably more expensive. Therefore, this option is typical mainly for premium-class instruments.

The power consumed by the tool during normal operation.

The cost of electricity, as well as connection requirements, depend on this indicator. At the same time, we note that digital pianos require relatively little energy — even in the most powerful and advanced models, consumption usually does not exceed 60 watts. So in fact, power consumption data is required mainly for specific cases — for example, to calculate the total load when connecting a tool to an autonomous generator along with other devices. In addition, this information may be useful when assessing the power of the built-in speaker, for more information, see "Built-in acoustics".

Additional items included with the instrument.

— Music stand. A music stand mounted above the keyboard, in front of the musician's eyes. Note that in this case, only the detachable music rest supplied with the portable instrument is meant (see "Body"); in stationary digital pianos, by definition, such a stand is available; moreover, it is often a non-removable part of the body.

— Pedal. Only portable digital pianos (see Body) can be equipped with an external pedal. stationary are equipped with built-in pedals. Note that there is usually only one such item in the kit, even if there is more than one input for the pedals. However, this cannot be called a serious drawback: situations where a musician needs more than one pedal are extremely rare. For more information about the inputs and the pedals themselves, see Connectable Pedals.

— Power Supply. Power supply for connecting the tool to the network. Even for portable tools, an outlet is often the most convenient way to power; and in stationary cases, other options may not be provided at all. Therefore, the power supply is an almost indispensable element of the digital piano package. The absence of such a block in the kit, usually, indicates that it is made built-in; however, this is rare.

— Disk. An optical disc (CD or DVD) containing various digital piano supplements. These can be instructions and other documentation, drivers for connecting to a computer, specialized software for edit...ing music on a PC, etc. Such a medium can be very useful if you need access to information or specialized software, but there is no Internet connection at the moment or there is a problem with it.

— Rack. Stand for floor installation of the tool. It is used only in portable models (see "Chassis") — stationary, by definition, do not require additional stands. Such a device, usually, is made folding, which provides ease of storage and transportation. Racks are also sold separately, but in some cases it is more convenient to buy a stand immediately, along with the tool.