10Notice: one of the keys plays on max volume when pressed. The DGX 505 Portable Grand is an 88-key keyboard from Yamaha. Apart from having 88 keys, it's pretty much the same as the Yamaha DGX 305. Like the DGX 305, it comes in a package with a music rest, an owner's manual, an accessory CD-ROM but unlike the DGX 305 it also comes with a keyboard stand and a footswitch. Its keyboard stand looks nice and elegant and is designed specifically for the Yamaha DGX 505 and is not just a generic keyboard stand. The Yamaha DGX 505 Portable Grand sharesthe same features as the DGX 305 except for those already mentioned. The features include 121 panel voices, 12 drumkits, 359 XG Lite voices, and 2 XG Lite optional voices. It also has 32 polyphony and dual and split voice features as well as 135 Preset styles and one user style file. The voices sound really good especially its main piano voice called Portable Ground which sounds superb. The feature called Performance Assistant is also found in the Yamaha DGX 505 Portable Grand. What this does is itadjusts the backing tracks or style file that's being played such that the music still sounds good and in key no matter what's being hammered on the keyboard. This together with another feature called Repeat and Learn where playback is continued up to the point at which the Repeat and Learn button is pressed then playback would jump back 4-10 measures depending on the user's setting and begin again after a count-in, are certainly great for beginners especially kids who want to start learning how to play the piano. Unfortunately, the Yamaha DGX 505 Portable Grand also has the disadvantages found in the DGX 305. Recording is limited to five songs total, it uses Smart Media for external memory storage, and its speakers' volume is a bit low for me. Smart Media is already obsolete and I could no longer find one in my area to buy. The Yamaha DGX 505 Portable Grand, however, can be connected to a pc via usb so it lessens this problem to a degree. However, I don't like connecting to the pc everytime I play since I'm lazy and I think it's too much work! Overall, the Yamaha DGX 505 Portable Grand is a very good instrument. I have a Yamaha DGX 305 and I also like it very much. The DGX 505, however, looks more elegant than the DGX 305 with its stand. The Yamaha DGX 505 Portable Grand not only plays nice but looks nice as well. If you're looking for a good sounding 88-key portable keyboard, look no further. The Yamaha DGX 505 Portable Grand is an excellent choice.
- ConditionOkay