Portable Keyboard Review | Yamaha EZ-200

Review of Yamaha Model EZ-200 | 61-Key Portable Keyboard

View Keyboard at Yamaha's Site

Review Summary:

A good beginner keyboard for young children, or any beginner pianist who might learn best with visual aids. The light-up keyboard feature can help young students develop a relationship with the piano keyboard layout.

Features:

• Keys: 61, light-up
• Polyphony: 32-note
• Touch Sensitivity: Yes; 3 velocity settings, or off
• Reverb/Chorus: 9 reverb settings; no chorus
• Metronome: Yes; 1-127 BPM
• Available Colors: Dark gray

Price: $150-$180 for keyboard; $160-$320 for bundle (see Bundle Package, below)

 

Pros:

• Lighted keys show you which notes to play
• Comes with the Yamaha Education Suite & chord library
• Easy “Portable Grand” option (see Voices)
• Compatible with MIDI and Yamaha’s XGlite
• Lightweight at just under 11 lbs.

Cons:

• No sustain pedal included
• Keys are not weighted
• Power adaptor may not be included

Keys & “Action”:

The EZ-200 is a starter keyboard, so its keys are unweighted and light – something not uncommon on inexpensive portables. Touch-sensitivity can be adjusted with three preset velocity settings, or may be turned off for a completely uniform volume-level.

Splitting is supported (two different voices can be played on either end), and the exact point at which this split occurs is adjustable.

Transposition from -12 to +12.

Voices & Tones:

There are a multitude of instruments, sound effects, and drum kits built in, coming to a total of 375 voices (including the XGlite tones).

One impressive voice was the Portable Grand™, a touch-sensitive, stereo-sampled grand piano tone that can be activated with its own button. However this voice cannot be layered (when more than one voice can be played simultaneously on one key), while the other piano tones can be.

Keyboard Speakers & Quality:

The two integrated 2.5W speakers get a bit murky in the bass notes, and could be more powerful all around (although your level of satisfaction will depend on your intentions with the keyboard). They’re fine for simple practice sessions, but an external amplifier is recommended for anyone who wishes to fill a larger room with sound. Speakers switch off automatically when the headphones input jack is in use.

Included Accessories:

• Free song book
• Music rest

Power supply not always included with this model, ask your retailer. An available bundle package does come with an AC adaptor; more below.

Optional accessories which may be purchased separately include:

• Sustain pedal (models # or ) – $25-$30
• 12V AC power supply adapter (models # or ) – $15-$20

 

EZ-200 Bundle Package Accessories:

The bundle package for the EZ-200 includes the keyboard; stereo headphones (model # HPE-150 or HPE-30); AC power supply; music rest; song book, and keyboard stand.

Yamaha recommends the stand model # L-2C for this keyboard (the model included in the bundle), but a significant number of customer reviews from various sites stated that the stand does not fit the EZ-200 (I could not test this first-hand as I only sampled the keyboard, not the bundle; however the keyboard fit just fine on a standard x-stand). The stand does fit other Yamaha digital piano models, so if you buy the bundle, you may find a use for it. Yamaha has since discontinued the L-2C for individual sale.

Shop around when looking for this bundle. The list price is $380, but can be found as low as $162, and every price in between on other retailers’ sites.

Back Panel:

○ headphones/OUT, 1/4"
○ MIDI in/out
○ Sustain pedal input, 1/4"

More Yamaha Instrument Reviews:

■ P95 - 88-Key
■ - 76-Key
■ Piaggero NP-V80 - 76-Key
■ NP-30 - 76-Key
■ PSR-E423 - 61-Key
 

Beginner Piano Lessons
 ▪  Notes of the Piano Keys
 ▪  The Point Of Double-Sharps
 ▪  Finding Middle C on the Piano
 ▪  Essential Piano Fingering
 ▪  Comparing Major & Minor Chords

Getting Started on Keyboards
 ▪  Finding the Right Piano Teacher
 ▪  Sitting Correctly at the Keys
 ▪  Playing Piano vs. Electric Keyboard
 ▪  How to Buy a Used Piano
 ▪  Musical Keyboard Comparison Guide

Piano Chords
 ▪  Chord Types & Symbols in Sheet Music
 ▪  Root Notes & Chord Inversion
 ▪  Diminished Chords & Dissonance
 ▪  Essential Piano Chord Fingering
 ▪  Different Types of Arpeggiated Chords

Piano Care
 ▪  Everyday Piano Care
 ▪  Safely Whiten Your Piano Keys
 ▪  When to Tune a Piano
 ▪  Easy-to-Spot Signs of Piano Damage
 ▪  Piano Room Temps & Humidity Levels