The Yamaha PSR E363 61-Key Touch Sensitive Portable Keyboard is a beginner keyboard with onboard lessons that makes learning to play the piano fast and easy. However, it's also packed with digital capabilities and advanced functions that allow a beginner to create songs, sounds, and compositions that go well beyond most beginner keyboards. It's an excellent keyboard for the next generation of digital musicians.
Quick Overview of the Yamaha PSR-E363 61-Key Touch Sensitive Portable Keyboard
The piano has become a wonderfully versatile musical instrument. Today's piano is not just an instrument for concert halls and cathedrals, but, with the huge range of instrument voices, rhythms, and effects, it can be the driving sound for any kind of ensemble performance, or allow a single musician to create multi-instrument soundscapes by themselves. Learning to play the piano unlocks a whole world of musical possibilities.
The Yamaha PSR-E363 61-Key Touch Sensitive Portable Keyboard is designed for the next generation of musicians, with the sound of a portable grand piano, and so much more.Summary of the Yamaha PSR-E363’s Features and Specs
Keys
61 touch-sensitive keys
Display
Backlit LCD display
Songs
154 preset songs, including touch tutor, chord study, and chord progression practice songs
Reverb
12 levels of reverb
Style Control
165 built in styles with style control
Record and Playback
Record and playback up to 5 songs with 2 tracks each with onboard memory
Functions
Power
AC or DC powered with 6 AA batteries
Weight
Weighs just over 10 lbs. without batteries
Effects and Voices
574 total instrument voices, with 197 panel voices, 18 drum and effects kits, 20 arpeggio voices, and 339 XGlite voices, 5 types of chorus.
Harmony
26 types of harmony
Polyphony
48 max levels of polyphony
Music Database
158 music database
Jacks and Ports
Metronome
Yes
Who the Yamaha PSR-E363 is Most Suitable For
Yamaha makes a number of entry-level 61-key keyboards with different feature configurations. They are always highly praised by instructors and experts for their high-quality Yamaha sound and construction. Piano beginners, particularly older ones, prefer them for the same reason: they aren't toys, and don't look like toys. They are serious instruments, with the look, sound, and feel of adult musical instruments, that have onboard educational and learning tools.
The PSR-E363 has a much wider range of instrument voices, accompaniment styles, and sound customization effects than many of their entry-level keyboards. It also has touch-sensitive keys, where the volume of a note is affected by the pressure of your fingers. However, it doesn't have weighted keys – where the keys are harder to press depending on the lowness of the note.
Weighted keyboards simulate the amount of pressure required to move the hammers on an acoustic piano, and are a valuable learning tool for students who need to practice the fingering technique and build strength and endurance to transition to an acoustic piano.
The non-weighted keyboard and advanced features of the Yamaha PSR-E363 make it a fantastic keyboard for older beginners, who want to learn how to play the piano, but also unlock, adjust, and create music using the latest technologies, and won't get confused by the large variety of options and settings. The ability to record, playback, and export your songs also creates the opportunity for your songs to be mixed, edited, and shared online.
In other words, the Yamaha PSR-E363 is the perfect entry-level piano for those who intend to be and remain digital musicians, and never transition to an analogue piano. It is a fast, simple, easy introduction to the world of digital possibilities in a single instrument.
What's Included with the Yamaha PSR-E363 61-Key Touch Sensitive Portable Keyboard?
The Yamaha PSR-E363 61-Key Touch Sensitive Portable Keyboard comes with a music rest, and has the Yamaha Education System built in.
It's worth noting that the default bundle does NOT come with a power adapter, which you will need. It's better to upgrade to the bundle that includes the power adapter, unless you already have a 120V power supply at home.Overview of the Yamaha PSR-E363's Features
The Yamaha PSR-E363 61-Key Touch Sensitive Portable Keyboard has a lot of attractive features to help beginners and intermediate piano players get the most out of their instrument.
Design
It is compact and lightweight, at just over 10 lbs. Being able to play with batteries or with AC power allows you to take this instrument anywhere, to practice or perform, indoors or outdoors.
LCD display
The backlit LCD display is clear and easy to read, guiding you through the lessons and settings of the keyboard.
Instrument voices
It has a rich library of 574 total instrument voices, with 197 panel voices, 18 drum and effects kits, 20 arpeggio voices, and 339 XGlite voices, for nearly any instrument sound you may want to reproduce, or explore and discover a sound that is all your own.
Functions
The Master EQ has six settings so you can customize the sound of the keyboard.
Duo keyboard
Duo keyboard is ideal for piano lessons and hand's on instruction. A built-in metronome also helps beginners keep time.
Melody Suppressor
Melody Suppressor function eliminates the vocals when pre-recorded songs are played through the Yamaha PSR-E363 keyboard, so you can take the lead in any song you choose.
Record and playback songs
Record and playback songs using onboard memory, so you can share your music or track your progress over time.
61 touch-sensitive keys
61 touch-sensitive keys play louder when the keys are played more forcefully, or quieter with a softer touch, just like an analogue piano.
Sound
The Yamaha PSR-E363 is driven by the Yamaha AWM stereo sampling sound engine, for good grand piano sound from a compact digital keyboard.
Reverb
It has 12 levels of reverb, 5 types of chorus, 150 types of arpeggio, and 165 built in styles, and the 48 levels of polyphony allow you to fully explore all these sounds and complexities without overloading the sound.
Dual keyboard function
It has dual keyboard function, so you can play two instruments with every note, split keyboard function, so you can play two instruments with each hand, or duo keyboard so two players can share the keyboard and play along with each other.
Features
The Portable Grand Piano button automatically sets instrument voices and audio settings to instantly produce the sound of a grand piano.
One Touch Setting
One Touch Setting allows you to choose from a variety of sound and instrument presets, or customize and save your own and restore them quickly.
Yamaha Education System
The Yamaha Education System provides simple, effective music lessons within the keyboard, with practice and exercises for one hand or both hands, so you can learn the piano at your own pace.
Pros & Cons of the Yamaha PSR-E363
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An Alternative Product to Consider
The biggest downside of the Yamaha PSR-E363 61-Key Touch Sensitive Portable Keyboard is that it does have so many options, settings, and features, but you need to access and control them through onboard buttons and the LCD screen. This can mean frequently referring to the user manual to navigate what all these features do and how they are controlled. A musical novice may not be able to understand or take advantage of all these capabilities, or get annoyed by referring frequently to the manual.
For an absolute beginner, it may be better to opt for a simpler keyboard with fewer functions, so that they can explore and grow without getting confused or frustrated, or opt for a Yamaha keyboard that is compatible with the Yamaha Piano Controller or Smart Pianist apps, that allows you to access and control the piano's functions with your mobile touchscreen, simplifying navigation.
For a keyboard with fantastic Yamaha sound, but fewer features and simpler operation for beginners, consider the Yamaha YPT260. It has many of the same features as the PSR-E363, but fewer of them (lower number of instrument voices, reverb settings, onboard songs, etc.), so you can still explore and grow, without as much complexity or confusion.
The YPT260 doesn't have arpeggio, and has fewer onboard recording and playback functions, but has all the same beginner tools and lessons, and is a great choice for entry-level musicians.
For beginning and intermediate players who really want to take advantage of the digital capabilities of their instrument, consider upgrading to the Yamaha PSR E463. It has the same or more musical capabilities as the PSR E363, but has a greater range of app and computer compatibility, for easier control and enhanced features.
Advantages of the Yamaha PSR E463 over the PSR E363:
4 levels of touch response
758 total instrument voices
Crossfade function
235 preset styles
Built in preset grooves
Record and playback wav files
Quick sampling capability
Live control knob
More convenient USB connections to devices and apps
Louder onboard amplification
Advantages of the Yamaha PSR E363 over the PSR 4363
Lighter weight and more portable
Greater number of preset songs
Less expensive
The Yamaha PSR E463 is more interactive, with onboard DJ and sound sampling features, and greater amplification, so it is better suited for live performances, and has a greater range of potential for intermediate to advanced musicians. Easier connection to devices and computers greatly expand the capacity of this keyboard, making it worth the additional investment.
Conclusion
Yamaha makes great-sounding keyboards for beginners and piano practice for those who want to easily transition to an acoustic piano in the future.
But there are a growing number of musicians who don't aspire to playing a concert grand piano, and who want to make digital music for online audiences.
Non-weighted, touch-sensitive keyboards with advanced connections, instrument voices, and digital capabilities are a great choice for these aspiring musicians, and the Yamaha PSR E363 is a fantastic choice to begin your musical journey.