Yamaha P50-m

Couldn't be easier. Switch on, play, and twiddle....

It is only worth it for piano sound 1 actually. Rest are so so or worse.

I only use piano 1. Having said that, I tried a few boxes, (Gem Novo piano, Krurz. nano) and although I wouldn't use this solo, it is the only one that cuts the mustard over the band. (swing, jazz)

Been fine for 7 years.

Never contacted.

I built a weighted keyboard out of an old piano action, used a sensor strip under the keys, then midi into this box. It's not a piano, but at least it feels like you are hitting something. I would get a new module if i could find one that did the same job.
I had a Casio px-330 but my fingers hated it big time.

Please note I haven't tested this module to its full potential yet, this is mostly a first impression review of the sound quality.

Easy editing, push button and dial for values. Manual is good. Presets not really workable for me: preset pianos are way too bright and need tweaking by default.

32 voice polyphony, but note that the layered voices only have 16 voice polyphony. (Note: you can use two of these modules to increase to 64/32-voice polyphony.)

The action can be tweaked to some extend by the 'touch' parameter. I'll come back to this later.

Built-in reverb, brightness control, touch sensitivity presets, 3-band graphic equalizer are the most interesting features.

As said, the presets are quite useless to me. All the (grand) pianos are too bright, tonky and have bad touch sensitivty.

Fortunately, this can all be edited. The brightness can be adjusted to great extend: you can darken it or make it even brighter with great precision. However, I feel that when you take away brightness, the sound in itself loses character and realism. Therefore it's hardly useless darkening the sound with more than -14 steps (the setting I usually use).

In addition, there's a 3-band graphic equalizer built in, which allows you to shape the sound some more. Very convenient considering the overall brightness of this module. It has a -12dB through +12dB reach, only in stereo patches the mid-slider doesn't work.

The NOTE SHIFT function is just a transposer... I wonder why they don't just call it that.

The TOUCH section is a series of presets that allow you to use different velocity/sensitivity settings. There are 8 touch-presets you can choose from, but quite frankly only preset #2 is workable for me: all the others are either too harsh or way too soft. This could have something to do with my keyboard as well, but I wish it had more precise editing features for velocity and touch sensitiviy. #2 however is very workable.

Most presets are typically pop-pianos: most are bright and will cut through in a mix easily. I find patch #5 most useful: dark grand piano, that still is very bright in response, but can be edited into a lovely classical concert piano, or a jazz piano if you will. #5 is definately the reason to buy this machine if you're looking for acoustic piano sounds.

Onboard reverb is 'okay'. Not spectacular, but adds that little ambiance to the sound that just makes it more fun and inspiring to play.

The electric pianos and the other 'electro-mechanical' instruments featured here are okay as well, but I wouldn't buy this machine for them: they're a bit outdated and artificial.

The overall sound quality of the acoustic pianos is really very adequate. The samples have a realistic 'ring' to them and could still compete with today's machines, although with increased memory and improved technology, sampling will of course be better nowadays.

As the overall touch response and brightness makes the presets sound a bit tonky, Yamaha has done a reasonably good job in making the sounds editable.

Keep in mind this machine is over 12 years old (1996), it was never a very expensive module and can be picked up easily for under 100 euros nowadays, if you can find one.

Seems a sturdy box, dial knobs seem a bit fragile but will hold.

Gig without a backup? If you must, as in any other case.

Sorry, don't know.

It's definately worth what I paid: if you can pick this up for cheap, it's a great value machine with some great sounds.

I also use an E-mu Proformance /1+ piano module, which is even older than this Yamaha, but still holds up pretty well. I couldn't choose between the two: they both have their charm. The E-mu sounds very realistic, especially for its time, and is a classic module. The Yamaha has more body, more features and more options to edit.

I like the overall sampling quality for the money and the editable features, I don't like that the touch sensitivity is only limited to some presets: I would've been better to be able to completely edit velocity manually: would make it sound more realistic. Also the reverb is a nice addition.

Despite its slight flaws, it still is an inspiring little machine. Great value if you can get it cheap, if you can spend more: maybe look for a newer/better piano module.

I give it an 8, mainly for the value. Otherwise it would've been a 7, probably.

It doesn't get any easier than this. Read the top of the box and then turn the dial to what sound you want. The same dial changes the sounds and the effects. It is very easy to use.

Every once in a while I read the complaints about polyphony. The Yamaha is 32. Thats 22 more notes than I have fingers. I know with sustain etc you can get more notes playing at once, but I always wonder if you have 32 notes playing, will anyone really miss number 33 and 34. The real limitation is if you are playing it stereo. At the time when you are more likely to miss more of the notes you have half as many. I don't use the stereo sounds so it doesn't bother me. The effects are OK. There are built in effects and there are effects that are meant to be. Like most the built in effects here are OK. They aren't great but the are decent and do add to the sounds. Midi functions are good. It is just one of those basic boxes that you plug in and get good sounds.

I have played this box with several controllers. I don't have a problem with anyone of them. It is very responsive and with a good controller you get a very acoustic like feel, touch and sound. The sounds are Yamaha. Yamaha has great piano sounds. I was most amazed at the CP sounds. The sound was better than the CP I use to haul around and more in tune cause there were no strings! The real bonus is that my three year old can carry this. It took two of us two trips to bring in my CP. The piano sounds are great, the other stuff is also very good. There are better there are worse sounds but there isn't anything that is easier and lighter to move in and out.

Mine is old and still working. No complaints.

Not had any experience

If it were stolen I would try to replace it. If you compare the sound quality and weight you can't go wrong with this one.

Pan stereo is missing

There are 32 samples, but accustic piano is probably just one sample differently modified by internal effects. So it is multiplied into five or six versions - pretty boring. So there are say 2 usable samples of accustic piano.

I guess I would not buy it again if I had a choice. So if you are looking for a realistic sound - you can survive with this, but if you can, look for some newer model.

Turn it on and play. Not much else to worry about.

Adequate effects and polyphony, tone controls are also adequate for tweaking the sound of the acoustic pianos (which are the only ones I use in the unit).

I ask you, why buy a Yamaha piano module and then complain that it does not sound like a MicroPiano? In my opinion Yamaha has the best piano sounds, period. Personally, I bought a MicroPiano when they were new and sold mine three days later. Yamaha, Emu, Roland and Korg each have a different interpretation and approach to modeling the sound of an acoustic piano, so if you like the Yamaha way (which I do without doubt), you will be happy with this unit. My suggestion: try whatever you are considering through headphones. Be sure to try the Yamaha unit last.

I have no doubt that this thing can easily outlast me on any gig.

I don't remember what it was, but I do remember having some sort of question or need and it was speedily and effectively handled.

If this were lost or stolen, I would not hesitate to march right out and buy another one off eBay for $5 from a MicroPiano enthusiast.

The only way that Yamaha could have improved this box would have been to put a more prime-time reverb in there.

We are squarely in opinion territory here, but the above is mine. I have been playing piano professionally since 1969, and I think I've played a fair variety of pianos including Bosendorfers and nine-foot Steinways. I gigged with a genuine suitcase Rhodes when they were new, I have owned Farfisas while they were in music stores new, and I have rebuilt Leslies. In the past I have owned a Yamaha PF-70 (the best FM electric piano ever made, a better patch than on the DX-7 if you can believe it), a PF-85, a P100, and a P-150. I also briefly owned a Roland FP-8 which was a terrible mistake. I have owned or played ARP's, Polymoogs, various Hammond models, Clavinets, Mellotrons, Prophet 5's, Juno 60's, DX7's, JV's, Fatars, and I now run a Motif Rack off my P-150 (notice I don't do Korgs).

But wait, this is about the P50-M, not me. Years after it has been discontinued, nothing can touch this box for price/performance. If you are a gigging MIDI pianist, you should get one of these and stick it in the closet for insurance.

Very straightforward. It's a black box with piano sounds inside, and two knobs for volume and sound selection/data. How simple could it be?
The lack of effects editing, and the tiny display, both take away points here but otherwise it's fine.

32 note poly which was fine for it's time. Unless you play clasical pieces (and who would with this box) this is fine. Effects are basic but passable. It's sparse on features, but has what it needs to produce piano sounds.

Very playable acoustic piano sounds, with some nice stereo samples. I bought this because my Korg Trinity has a piss-poor piano sound (like all Korg synths) and this Yamaha box fills the gap nicely. Not in the same class as my P80 at home, but easily good enough for live gigs. Good acoustics, good clavs, but poor electric pianos generally. The DX7 bell-piano sound is a joke, given that Yamaha made the original !! Similar to my P80 in that the main Grand Piano sound is fine, but the electrics are hopeless. A Yamaha trait?

Very solid module which has never let me down. I'm the second owner and it just keeps working.

I've never needed to call Yamaha. They can't be as bad as Korg UK, can they??

I used to own a Kurtzweil Micropiano years ago, and wish I'd kept it. The Yamaha has more versatile piano sounds, but the quality of the KMP1 is better overall I think.

This synth is not to "deep", so easiness is a bonus.

The unit has a onboard reverb effect, you cannot edit it, just mix the amount of reverb sound. Im not shure what to expect, but a litte poor effect handling.

Some sounds are good, some are horrible casio sounds from the 80's!
But that sounds who is good , are very very useful, and playable. I mormally use brightpiano 1 and 3. Nr 1 has a more dept than 3, but 3 cuts through the soundpicture more easily. Besides this i use the CP80 and wurlitzer sound, very playable sounds.

There is no physical moddeling, just samlple playback. The sounds have some brightness control that affects how hard you play, useful and works vell. I don't expect heaven in this price range. The pianos lacks base, or depth, if you eq this you can improve the sound. This module only contains PIANO sounds, electric and acustics (besides the last sound called silent).

No problems here.

Never have the needs.

I gonna use this until i can pay for a GEM promega 3, the best stagepiano on the planet. The band members like the sounds from this box, so does the croud. But its tecknolgy is somewhat outdated, but if you are going to buy a cheap module with playable sounds this is it.

This thing is pretty much foolproof - in part because there's pretty much bugger all in the way of editing capabilities (though the basic stuff that it does have is useful), and totally intuitive - no manual needed to do anything I'd want to do with it. Does nice things like store settings automatically when you power off and on, which makes life a little easier

It's a pretty basic piece of kit - the effects are OK, but not fabulous, though the brightness control is very effective. I do like the fact that it's pretty darn hard to run out of notes, regardless of what you play.

The acoustic pianos are OK - it's possible to get some decent sounds from this machine, though there's a slight artificiality to some of them. I've got a Yamaha p-300 stage piano that has the best acoustic samples I think I've ever heard, and I was a little disappointed in the quality of these, as I figured they probably just stuck those sounds in this little box - but that was more than a little naive of me!! This said, although this wouldn't be my 'box of choice' for acoustic pianos, I really think that both the electrics and clavis are outstanding. The soft rhodes patch is terrific - very Ray Charles, and the Wurlitzer is pretty darn good in my opinion. To be honest, given that you can comfortably pick these modules up for around $70 on ebay, I think that it's probably worth it simply for the rhodesy/wurli/clavi sounds - but then you get into how these sounds stack up to less 'dedicated' modules like the Triton etc, and have to make the call about whether you'd rather pay much more for a ton of great sounds, or pay barely nothing for 5!

I wouldn't use it alone at a gig simply cause I don't think the acoustics are up to snuff, but I wouldn't have any reliability worries - there's pretty much nothing that can go wrong with this I wouldn't think!

Yamaha are OK once you get hold of the right person, and they've been helpful in the past at figuring out some operational issues, but it really can be difficult to talk to somebody who really is the right person for your query

If I only had $100 to spend, I might go for it again - we really shouldn't lose sight of the value for money factor. I also have a korg sg pro x rack - and in all honesty I'd say save up your cash and go for that, or perhaps the oberhim module (haven't played it but it has a great rep!) - but, this is useable, and for the money I have no complaints!

Plug and play, so very easy. The dedicated hardware EQ sliders on the front are a great thing--very easy to adjust the sound to your liking. The little bit of editing required is easy. I don't have the manual. There's a voice list printed on the top of the unit, which is nice.

Polyphony is fine for me, since I don't do multi-timbral sequencing, just playing. Effects are not professional studio quality and they're aren't a ton of them, but they're fine, too. Responds fine to velocity over MIDI (no keyboard, of course). Two units can be linked together to double the polyphony, although I don't think the two units can talk to each other. That means that if you edit a sound, you have to make EXACTLY the same edit to the other unit,too.

A mixed bag. If you play in a band, you'll be fine on all counts. If you play a lot of solo piano, you may be a little disappointed. The Wurlitzer sound (only one) is great. I love it, and it's the main reason I keep this unit. I love the fact that there's a CP80 sound in it, but it's not the best I've heard. The acoustic/grand pianos are OK. Again, if you play classical or solo a lot, you may not like it. I also hear the 'thwack' and 'phhhttt' that other reviewers have mentioned, and the sounds overall are not as rich or warm as those on other electronic pianos. They're probably great if you play in a band, where the subtleties will be lost. The clavinet is good, but there's only one. I personally dislike Rhodes piano sounds, so I don't use them and can't comment on them. One thing I like about this box is that there's no harpsichord, celesta, or vibes. I never use those sounds and don't like paying for them. More wurlitzers, CP80s, and clavinets would have been nice.

Seems great. No problems yet.

I haven't dealt with Yamaha, but given my experience with other companies, I have a hard time imagining them hiring knowledgable people who care about customer service and try hard to deliver it. Maybe I'm cynical, but I've never actually encountered that. (...with one exception: someone at Sequential Circuits cheered when I called to tell them that I'd purchased a used Prophet T8. After that, he was super-helpful and friendly. They're now out of business, of course.)

I don't know if I'd buy it again. A Roland JV-1010 with the 60s &70s card might be a better buy--I'd get the Session pianos and the vintage pianos on the card. This would add up to ~$400 used, though, and I only paid ~$65 for this box. A LOT more versitile, though, and better sound quality. Hmmm. For people in rock or blues bands, this box is definately great. For jazz, it depends on how much solo time you'd get. For classical, I'd shop around. If you're a piano student who already has a good keyboard, it depends on how picky you are. I'm kind of picky, and I would get tired of these acoustic piano sounds. If you don't have a good keyboard yet, save your money and get a Yamaha P80, a Korg SP200, or a Kurzweil SP88X. This unit has good electric piano sounds, but I wish it had more variety and better acoustic pianos. I play it through an Ensoniq TS12, and I also own a Roland P55 (see review here) and JP8080, and an Ensoniq ESQ1 (the king of cheap but fantastic synthesizers).

Easy Peasy

Its a great box, tho I agree with Don's observations ('thwack' and 'phhhttt' - right on). I've had it 3 years - gigging in a covers band mostly playing 70's rock (guess my age!).
I have a question - how to add TREMELO to the Wurlitzer. My mod wheel adds trem AND vibrato which sounds sick...in a bad way. Can some one walk me through sending a sysex string to the unit, or whatever solution works?? Appreciated - Jon