Yamaha YDP103R Review (2020): An Elegant & Affordable Console Piano from Yamaha’s Iconic Arius Series

Design

The  Yamaha YDP103R Arius Series Digital Console Piano comes in a handsome console with the real wood look of a piece of furniture, and a matching bench, for a stylish accent in your home.

Sound

It has a library of 10 piano voices, allowing you to change the entire sound of the instrument on demand. Built-in voices include grand piano, electric piano, organ, harpsichord, vibraphone, and strings.

88 keys

The 88-key keyboard is full size and fully weighted. Graded hammer standard key weight technology has a heavier touch on the low end of the keyboard, and a lighter feel in the high notes, just like the feel of an acoustic piano. Practicing with standard size, correctly weighted keys builds proper finger technique that translates easily to an acoustic piano.

Touch sensitivity

Touch sensitivity can be adjusted for hard, medium, or soft playing, or touch sensitivity can be disabled altogether.

Polyphony

Polyphony is an indication of the instrument's ability to play multiple sounds at once. While a maximum of 64 is an ample quantity for most needs, some voices use 4 or more elements at once, and that's before you begin sustaining and layering in complex sounds. When the polyphony is exceeded, some sounds may decay prematurely or even cut off abruptly, so it's a good idea to not exceed maximum polyphony capabilities.

Matte finish

The matte black keys on the Yamaha YDP103R are treated with a matte finish so they do not get slippery during extended play. 

Reverb​

It also has 4 levels of reverb and chorus effects, including Room, Hall1, Hall2, and Stage reverb settings.

Transpose function

The transpose function allows you to control and adjust semitones, and is perfect for accompanying a vocalist.

Advanced Wave Memory (AWM)

Advanced Wave Memory (AWM) sampling is Yamaha's classic sound engine. Sound is captured with two pairs of microphones, for left and right waveforms that give deeper, richer, and more spacious sound.

Dual mode

Dual mode allows you to layer sounds together, such as piano and strings, and play two instruments at once with every touch of the keys.

None tuning

Unlike an acoustic piano, the Yamaha YDP103R never needs tuning, but you can still use the fine tuning feature to adjust the pitch of the entire instrument. This ability is useful when you play along with other musicians or pre-recorded music from your own song library.

Duo function

The Yamaha YDP103R's Duo function splits the keyboard in half, so two players can each have a 44 key keyboard and their own middle C. This is perfect for piano lessons, allowing teacher and student to sit side-by-side play at the same time, mirroring hand motions and positions, and use the built-in metronome function to keep time.

USB out

USB out allows you to connect the YDP103R to your computer or mobile device for recording and playback using compatible apps, so you can also use your favorite software to edit, mix, and share your songs.

Slim piano

The Yamaha YDP103R doesn't have a built-in screen, which helps keep the slim, acoustic look of the piano, but would otherwise make it necessary to refer often to the manual in order to access and customize many settings. However, using the digital connective capabilities of the piano along with the Yamaha Digital Piano Controller app, all those functions can be accessed, controlled, and customized using your iPad or iPhone with touchscreen ease.

Piano Diary apps

The Yamaha YDP103R also doesn't have onboard memory for recording or playback of your songs, so you can use the My Music Recorder and/or the Piano Diary apps to record, playback, store, and share your music as you progress.

Visual Performer app

The Visual Performer app “listens” to your music and creates mesmerizing animations based on the notes and tempo of your playing, adding a mini light show to your piano performances.

Auto shut off

The Yamaha YDP103R will automatically shut off after a period of inactivity, in order to conserve power. You can adjust this feature or disable it if you prefer.