YAMAHA NP-12 Piaggero - Slimline Home Keyboard for Hobbyists and Beginners, in Black

Product Information

Polyphony is a measure of how many notes you can play simultaneously without cutting off earlier notes. As such, if you play 65 notes around the same time, the 1 st note you played will stop abruptly. With that said, I do believe that the sluggish keys hurt the NP-32 / NP-12 in this regard. I’m more used to the weighted keys of fully-fledged digital pianos, but I still found the flatbed keys on the PSR-E363 usable. TRANSPOSITION. You can transpose the keyboard either up 5 semitones or down 6 semitones to adapt to unfamiliar key signatures. Yamaha is one of the digital keyboard brands that is constantly updating and refining its products. It’s no surprise then that the NP-12 is the successor to the popular NP-11, and that it debuts alongside other keyboards in the series like the NP-32. OCTAVE. You can transpose up or down 1octave to adapt to different voices to different sound registers, this can also be applied individually to each layered sound.

The keys themselves have a good feel to them. Although not full-weighted (which is to be expected given the price), the keys still feel quite realistic, albeit slightly lighter. They are made with touch sensitivity, however, so there is more of a realistic feel compared to most other models in this range. You may wonder how it is possible to have 32, 64, or even 128 notes playing at the same time, if there are only 88 keys and we never play them all at once. This is the perfect choice for a beginner who wants to hit the ground running with a piano that provides more than enough to enable a great learning experience, as well as spending a small amount of money. Dual Mode allows you to play two sounds simultaneously with each keypress and allows you to get richer sounds with minimal effort. Now, thekeys on the NP-12 themselves feel great (well, at leastwhen you factor in the fairly cheap price of the NP-12), although it’s important to note that these keysare not full-weighted. While they’re a little lighter, they’re built with touch sensitivity to attempt to simulate a more realistic piano. The use of lighter keys brings down the weight of the keyboard to around nine lbs., which is relatively light for a keyboard. Still, it feels sturdy enough to withstand portability, and I think it would take a lot of stress testing to break this thing.For those looking for a full-sized stage piano with weighted keys, we highly recommend the Yamaha P-45. The base piano sound is important here. It surpasses my expectations. Ultimately, that’s the biggest part of why I consider the NP-32 a great beginner keyboard. This is a missed opportunity, but most people today directly record their songs using the USB to Host connection, which we’ll cover in a bit. But the 61-keys are a good bit fewer than a full range keyboard of 88-keys, so classical players probably want to stay clear.

RECORD & LISTEN FUNCTION– Practice sessions, performances and original compositions with a single touch. Share your masterpieces with friends and family. With 76 graded soft-touch keys, the NP-32 is the perfect option if you are looking for a larger keyboard with an improved key action. You can tell right away that the NP-12 is built quite well—especially for a fairly inexpensive keyboard. It’s clean, minimalistic design proves that the manufacturer set out on a very specific mission with this keyboard: create a simple user interface that allows players to immediately sit down and start playing. The same goes for the volume knob. It’s smooth plastic, but the actual turning of it barely gives any resistance, which means it’s difficult to make precise volume changes. These are non-issues for most beginners, as the keys and sounds are of top importance.While the PSR-E363 is reactive to dynamic changes (say, fortissimo to pianissimo), you can clearly hear that the same audio file is being played for most ranges, with volume being the only thing changing. The Yamaha NP-32 has 64 notes of maximum polyphony, and that’s a good amount, allowing you to play most classical and modern pieces without issue. One of the main differences between the NP-11, NP-12, and NP-32, is that the NP-11 does not have a recording function, whereas the other two do. For those looking to upgrade from the NP-11 to the NP-12 or NP-32, this is a good reason to do so.

So if you are on a budget (and aren’t we all!), and you want to see how fun it is to learn the piano before you decide to spend some serious money, then the Yamaha NP12 Piaggero may just be for you. Moreover, a good pair of headphones will provide a clearer and more detailed sound compared to the onboard speakers. The NP-32’s limited number of controls is a blessing in disguise. For one thing, it helps reduce the top-to-bottom width, and they also avoid the unnecessary options that might be overwhelming for beginners. I do wish Yamaha used semi-weighted keys instead, but that might have increased the price beyond the accessible range. Unfortunately, you can only save 1 single recording at any time, and there’s also no way to export the song as a MIDI file either.

Firmware / Software

The Yamaha NP-12 is a 61-key digital piano that brings a great balance of performance and affordability. While it may not be ideal for advanced players looking to play classical music, there is plenty here to like for beginners and session musicians that need a reliable digital piano to use on the go. Another fantastic feature is the inclusion of a metronome. It’s perfect for beginners that need some help keeping pace with the rhythm, also helping to better understand when you need to slow down or speed up. After one touch, that illusion breaks down. The keys are unweighted, but their piano-style shape means there’s a slight bit of added heft, which can make the keys feel slightly more sluggish than similarly unweighted flatbed keys on other keyboards (like the PSR-E363).