The Yamaha DGX 660 digital piano is part of Yamaha’s best models released under the “Portable Grand†line and its keyboard the only one to have fully-weighted keys. [easyazon_link identifier=”B01MSWY6KX” locale=”US” tag=”digitalpianoplanet-20″]The Yamaha DGX 660[/easyazon_link] has a full 88-key keyboard consisting of high-quality grand piano sounds, incredible and educational features. It also has a high performance and is quite fun to use.
The DGX-660 comes with a wide variety of features that allow any piano user to navigate through and experience smooth performance. This high performance enabling swift navigation in addition to the high-quality keyboard helps to provide an advantage in increasing the user’s creativity.
The Yamaha company promises quality, and we’ve already witnessed it from the previous release of the DGX-650, which delivered a great experience to pianists and is still hitting high sales in the market. The DGX-660 has a lot more to offer compared to its predecessor the Yamaha DGX 650.
From the 88-key fully-weighted keyboard to the newly added features, the DGX-660 is a quality digital piano capable of fulfilling the grand elements of music needed from a digital piano.
Yamaha DGX-660 has an increased polyphony compared to the DGX-650 model. The polyphony reaches 192-note maximum from a previous 128. Yamaha Educational Suite (Y.E.S.) which should be very useful to beginners is also another fantastic feature to look in to, and we are going to talk about that later in the review.
Features of the Yamaha DGX 660
Features are considered among the most essential parts within any digital piano, and this is true since they are responsible for sound quality, performance, and much more. Yamaha has never disappointed in delivering market quality pianos with digital features hence, making the brand maintain a competitive, productive business. Yamaha has for a long time been producing some good pianos with excellent features. We are going to outline these features below.
Specs
Just like the DGX-650’s amazing specs were, so are the new model DGX-660’s are but on this model, they are a bit more detailed to fit the user’s specifications. There’s a vivid difference seen from the height, depth, size, and also weight of this DGX-660. The piano is 5.7†high without a stand and 29.9†high with the stand included, and for an 88-key keyboard, it’s actually standard height.
For the width, the piano is 55†wide, and the depth goes up to about 17.5†deep. Although the DGX-660 is released under the Portable Grand piano line, it might be a bit bulkier to consider moving it around more often. This is made a reality due to its weight that is 21kgs (46lbs) without the keyboard stand. Now with the stand, it gets heavier to about 28kgs (61lbs).
Design
The DGX-660 is bigger and heavier than other models released under the portable line. It has a sturdy, well-built standard stand to offer needed support to the piano considering its weight. The stand is available in both black and white colors and consists of wooden side panels.
The DGX-660 has a 320×240 LCD screen which creates a user-friendly experience for the keyboard. In the screen, a pianist can observe the notes they are playing and those supposed to be followed, lyrics of songs, scores and the default settings on the keyboard.
Among the design features is the Yamaha Educational Suite (Y.E.S.) which promises excellent advantage to the beginners as it offers quick, easy-to-learn lessons. The long term pianist has also been considered by a new additional feature Yamaha developed. It is called the Piano Room which has its dedicated button, and once the button is pressed, it activates the optimum function of the piano.
Keyboard
The keyboard is where it gets touchy, and it has a lot to offer. The DGX-660, as mentioned earlier, has an 88-key, plastic, touch-sensitive fully-weighted keyboard with Graded Hammer Standard (G.H.S.) action. The G.H.S action utilizes its effect which is connected to the keys in order to produce an acoustic piano feel.
The action explains why there is a heavier touch in the low end, which then becomes progressively lighter in the higher ranges. The touch-sensitive feature acts in a way that when you press the keys harder, the sound also gets louder. That, in turn, gives the total user control over the expressions and dynamics.
However, the keyboard sensitivity may be adjusted to suit your customs of play. This is made possible by four pre-set settings, namely;
- Soft
- Medium
- Hard
- Fixed
The “Fixed†setting l neutralizes the keyboard’s sensitivity and produces a level sound no matter how hard, or low a key is pressed.
The black keys have a matte finish and the white ones a glossy finish to prevent the slipping of fingers when wet from sweating after long sessions of playing the piano. The Graded Hammer Standard action is also available on the Yamaha P-115 and the Yamaha P45 from Yamaha’s digital piano P-series.
Sound Quality
The DGX-660 uses a Pure C.F. Sound Engine that is the same source of sound for the P-255 and P-115. This Pure C.F. Sound Engine is utterly responsible for the sound recorded on the Yamaha CFIIIS Full Concert grand piano. The piano has also enabled room for creativity due to its many sounds. It has a total of 554 instruments. They include:
- 10 piano sounds such as the Live, Natural, Warm Grand, Pop Grand, and more.
- 14 Guitars
- 12 Electric pianos
- 14 Saxophones
- 5 Accordions
- 14 Organs
- 16 Strings
- 9 Trumpets
- 9 Bass Guitars
Drum kits, synths, flutes, brasses, and many more sounds have also been incorporated. There are 26 harmony types of effects responsible for a much better performance, 41 reverb types that act by simulating the acoustics of different environments, and 44 chorus types for giving a much more thicker, and richer sound capable of simulating timing variations and pitch in order to produce a sound that seems to be coming from several players performing at the same time.
The DGX-660 has a Pitch Bend wheel that will make it capable of producing various exciting sound effects. The polyphony reaches a maximum of 192 notes, and the speakers are 12cm x 2 plus 5cm x 2 built-in, with two 6W amplifiers. Intelligent Acoustic Control ensures the quality of the sound is improved by intelligently adjusting the treble and bass frequencies.
Connectivity
Unlike many digital pianos, the DGX-660 offers a lot more connectivity options. All of them may be found on the rear panel of the keyboard aside from the USB to the host terminal located on the front.
USB to Host terminal – This is useful in connecting the keyboard to a computer in aid of exchanging files/songs.
Headphone jack – The jack is ¼†and has multiple uses. It can be connected to a pair of headphones, and one can play without disturbing anyone. The other function is that it can also be connected as a Line Out to an external sound system such as a mixer, amplifier, etc.
USB to Device terminal – This is responsible for any Data/files sent to/from the keyboard by using a USB flash drive. That is, data produced in the piano may be saved to a disk. MIDI files may also be downloaded from the internet and played directly from a flash drive.
Aux in – It enables connectivity to external sound systems to the keyboard through a 1/8†mini-jack.
Pedal unit jack – There is an optional LP-7A/LP-7AWH can connect to this jack.
Sustain jack – A sustain pedal or footswitch can be connected to the keyboard using this jack.
Extra Features
The DGX 660 has all the necessary functions needed to provide an excellent experience. It includes extra features such as the transpose, an onboard metronome, tuning functions, Split Mode, Dual mode, and a 2-track MIDI recorder. The split mode is capable of playing two different instruments by dividing the piano into two sides.
Dual-mode ensures there is a layering of two different sounds on the keyboard so that they end up sounding at the same time. The piano is capable of working with two different types of data which are the MIDI and Audio.
MIDI is responsible for recording the actual sound of the instrument but in their lengths, the sequence of notes and velocity. Audio, on the other hand, records the actual sound of the keyboard, and the DGX-660 accepts up to 80 minutes of recording and stores it to a flash drive in W.A.V. format.
The audio recorded can be played in any of your smart devices. The piano also features a metronome which assists in improving the speed and timing accuracy of the player. The transpose and tuning functions may be applicable in adjusting the pitch of the keyboard.
Benefits of Yamaha DGX 660 Digital Piano
If you are looking for the best cost-benefit digital piano, then you’re lucky because the DGX-660 has lots of benefits to offer its users. It is both suitable for beginners and seasoned pianists. As I had explained earlier, the Yamaha Educational Suite feature will go a long way in assisting both a beginner and even an experienced pianist. The DGX-660 has three types of lessons, namely; Your Tempo, Waiting, and Minus One.
Your Tempo – This is mostly about correct timing. The playback tempo adjusts to become level with your playing speed. The melody also adjusts itself if wrong notes end up being played and will only resume to the initial tempo when the correct notes are played.
Waiting – Here, the song waits until the correct notes are shown on the LCD screen are played before the playback resumes.
Minus One – In this lesson, the user can choose either the left or right-hand part of a song for practicing and play at a reasonable tempo besides the playback of the other hand part of the piano. The DGX-660 also displays music scores and lyrics of songs. There are also a lot of new beneficial features alongside advanced, already pre-existing features within the digital piano. This outstanding model has created an enabling environment for creativity, customization, and high-performance features, which sets it apart from the others released before it.
Reasons You Should Buy the Yamaha DGX 660 Digital Piano
From the genuinely versatile keyboard which is the only one to have fully-weighted keys to its new and more advanced features, the Yamaha DGX-660 digital piano offers a lot of advantages to its users. Having replaced its successful predecessor, the DGX-650, this new model has no room for disappointing its customers.
On top of that, the DGX-660 is a cost-effective digital piano with additional features that enable the user to exhaust all sorts of creativity with efficient performance. Considering Yamaha already put smiles on their customers’ faces by the release of the DGX-650, this means that we can only expect quality and advanced feature quantity in the DGX-660 which will offer you a good run for your money.
Who Is the Piano For?
From its design to its features, the DGX-660 speaks for itself as it can cater to the needs of different kinds of users. The Yamaha Educational Suite (Y.E.S.) will make it easier for any learner to indulge in the world of good quality music through the lessons explicitly designed for lesson purposes.
Yamaha also went out of their way to create a particular Piano Room that will interest seasoned pianists because it works well to help improve creativity and wholesome convenience too.
Though heavier than other models, the DGX-660 is still part of a portable line and can be transported without much strain.  Dubbed a “Portable Grand†line, it can perform in big stages and produce the quality needed by the player to suit the performance.
So the DGX-660 appeals to different kinds of users with different specifications and somehow fulfills their desires through the detailed and perfected quality that it offers.
Buying Guide
Yamaha DGX-660 is a wonderful piano that buyers can keep for years and has a reasonable price even a bit fairer as it is valued below $800.
It is favorable to use on stage, home, church, and many more places. It comes with quality accessories which are quite convenient for the users. Some of the accessories include a sturdy stand for its proper support, headphones, a sustain pedal, and a, which are bag all included in the price.
Unlike its competitors, the DGX-660 stands out in the market due to its featured capabilities. As discussed earlier, the features of this digital piano are more advanced and exceptionally detailed to suit a player’s criteria and ideology of producing excellent quality sound.
How to Clean the Yamaha DGX 660 Digital Piano
For the keys of the DGX-660 piano to continue offering great touch-sensitive performance, they have to be kept clean. The cleaning durations of such a digital piano would, however, depend on the number of times it is in use.
If the DGX-660 is used within a learning institution, then it would require cleaning on a weekly basis. Since the DGX-660 keys are made of plastic, the cleaning process is not that difficult.
Here are the easy steps to follow:
- Prepare a solution for cleaning. Add some warm water to a small container with 1-2 drops of any light dish/cloth washing liquid.
- Proceed to take a damp soft and color-free cloth then dip it slightly in the solution you prepared.
- Rub the fabric gently over all the white keys – this will remove any clouds of dust or fingerprints lying on the keys. Follow that by taking another soft dry cloth which you will use to wipe any lying moisture on the keyboard.
- Take another soft damp cloth and dip it slightly in the solution; this will be for cleaning the black keys. Follow similar steps as those of the white keys.
- There are also commercial cleaning sprays for these functions and work quite good as well.
The Pros and Cons of Yamaha DGX 660 Digital Piano
Pros
Here are the pros of the DGX 660 digital piano:
- 88-key hammer-action keyboard
- LCD screen
- Extensive library of styles, rhythms, songs and sound effects.
- Digital piano sound tested from the Yamaha CFIIIS concert grand.
- MIDI/Audio recording features.
- Different useful connectivity options.
- Learners features.
- Accompanied by a matching sturdy perfected stand.
Cons
There is also a negative side of the DGX-660, even with all the great capabilities it has. The cons are, however, not that many.
They include:
- The piano is a bit heavier than other portable digital pianos, and one may find it hard to move it around frequently. The heavyweight makes it a bit inconvenient for users.
- DGX-660 competitors offer a more portable capability due to their lightness.
- Unlike other digital pianos, the DGX-660’s headphone jack is located at the back of the keyboard panel.
- A seasoned pianist will notice that the pedal is very basic and not that of a digital piano.
Yamaha DGX 660 digital piano is a versatile piano with a keyboard designed to suit both a beginner and an experienced pianist. The 88-key keyboard is the only one to have fully-weighted keys in any digital piano.
The piano sound is also of great quality having been sampled from Yamaha CFIIIS concert grand piano. The increased 192-note polyphony produces a realistic piano experience.
Conclusion
From the piano, you get hundreds of rhythms, songs, styles, and effects. There is the educational feature (Y.E.S.) which makes learning more interesting and effective from the availability of a virtual keyboard.
The Yamaha DGX 660 digital piano also offers great recording capabilities and a lot more connectivity functions. All these features set it apart from other digital pianos.
In-depth review of the Yamaha DGX 660 digital piano. Learn about the features and benefits it offers.
