Yamaha Arius YDP-144 Digital Piano - Classic and elegant home piano for beginners or hobbyists, in black

Product Information

In early 2019, Yamaha updated the YDP line with new models, including the YDP-144, YDP-164 and YDP-S54 (slim, modern style version of the YDP-164), replacing the previous YDP-143, YDP-163 and YDP-S52 models. I’m a fan of the Korg sounds (I use the Korg Kronos consistently), but there’s just a certain magic to Yamaha’s detailed sampling. Being in love with music for as far as he can remember, Lucas started this blog as the “ go-to”place for the most accurate and detailed information about the world of music. From what I can tell, this handles the interlacing between samples, making a subtle and barely noticeable difference when you release each key.

The YDP164 has a more traditional look of a real piano along with a bit more height on it than does the YDP144 so it just looks more elegant and sturdy. Note that to connect to an iOS device, you’ll need to rely on a Lightning-to-USB Camera adapter, or the Yamaha Wireless MIDI adapter. Compatibility with Yamaha’s free Smart Pianist app lets you connect a smart device and perform operations such as Voice selection and Song playback.As far as connectivity is concerned, both digital pianos have headphone jacks and USB connection capabilities. Much like the YDP-144, the YDP-164 is a good digital piano, diminished slightly by its less-than-stellar controls. The previous generation YDP-163 used Yamaha’s Pure CF sound engine, which was good when it was first introduced, but was slowly surpassed by its competitors. Look to Roland’s consistently updated SuperNATURAL modeling/sampling hybrid sound engine and it’ll be easy to see why.

If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of cabling, you can consider the Yamaha UD-BT01 wireless MIDI adapter. I personally don’t see this as a negative, as the sounds are great right out of the box; but the simplicity is certainly welcome for players wanting a straightforward experience without the hassle. However, if you prefer lighter, more versatile key actions (for playing organ, synths and other types of music that require a lighter touch), there’s a good chance that the GH3 will not be very much to your liking.It’s true that you can use the Smart Pianist app to improve the experience, but the integration isn’t seamless, requiring a separate dongle or connector to work. The application is available on iOS (Android version is coming in June, 2019), and it supports both phones and tablets alike. Another example of polyphony consumption is when you’re playing along with a song playback (can also be your own recorded performance) or auto-accompaniment. Although sounds are not necessarily the main advantage of the YDP-144, as in it doesn’t have a very large number of sounds, the ones that are included are very high quality. However, I am happy to announce that for the first time Yamaha now has what I consider to be a very big upgrade in terms of the organic nature and realism of the piano sound in these new models.