DGX Owners Review 2022.
I'm just into the 4th week after my purchase of the DGX670.
I'm basically an arranger player but the DGX being initially piano based gives me the opportunity to learn piano when the need takes me.
This is the first weighted key-bed I have owned and after the first few weeks I'm very much liking it . The weighted keys do feel and respond like a piano to play,
The Voicing are all of a very high quality standard providing a good selection and includes the excellent Yamaha CFX Concert Grand Piano.
There are a wide range of styles Pop/Evergreen. Pop/Rock. Ballads. Dance/R&B.
Country/Blues. Jazz/Standards. Entertainment. Latin/World. Pianist. Other Yamaha styles can be loaded and played from USB,
Overall appearance is very attractive and the Piano is heavy so not really portable.
There is an optional dedicated stand which I preferred not to purchase.

Three very good playing options which are new to DGX (Not On Other Arrangers)
1. Playing In UNISON or ADDING ACCENT To Style Playback.
2. ADAPTIVE Automatically Shifting The Style Variation, Dependent on you playing pressure.
3. SIMPLE Button. A quick way to just have Bass & Drums...All other style parts are muted.

It's not all good news because the editing menu is a complete departure from the Yamaha norm and I do wonder what substance R&D were on when they designed the OS Menu. Every small adjustment one feels needed, you have to go through a number of button pushes in the Menu. Adjustments to styles have to be resaved in Registrations.
There are thankfully no limit to the number of Registration Banks one can save on USB.
I understand being a piano and the R&D wanting a clean appearance they have limited the number of button options.

Prices at present January 2022 are £799 which dare I suggest Yamaha have underpriced this DGX670 so it offers very good value.


Finally anyone wanting a Piano with Arrangement backing styles facilities I would suggest you consider the DGX670.

Could you elaborate on what you mean by ‘pressure’ when it comes to changing Variations? Do you mean ‘velocity’? And if you do, how quickly does the accompaniment change and how quickly does it go back to a previous Variation if you play softer?

I’m a bit confused about how this could work if you play pretty dynamically… is it constantly changing backing unless you play very evenly?

Is there a programmable ‘window’ of how quickly it changes variation, so the odd fff note in an mf passage doesn’t send the backing to an unwanted variation?

I’ve often dreamed about a backing band that actually LISTENS to you to determine how to play, but the practicality of it seems difficult to pull off…

By the way, is there a way with a button or footswitch to turn off the ‘listening’ function if you want the backing to remain steady no matter how you play? That would be handy…

DIKI...Epianos tv DGX670 Video. Go To 43:45 Minutes where It Explains ADAPTIVE.

https://www.epianos.co.uk/tv/casual-keyb...tions-answered/

Hope this helps

His demo of it was a bit underwhelming. Hard to understand why anyone wants to play with backing if they play so loud on top of it that you can barely hear the backing!

But I get what’s going on…. Velocity gradually pushes the style to more intensity (higher variations) but it doesn’t happen suddenly. Not bad, although some kind of ‘window’ parameter to allow you to adjust how quickly it changes would be nice. I guess it’s taking an average over a time period.

I didn’t hear any fills as this all happened, are those still triggerable with the fill buttons? It might help to smooth out some of the weird junctions between no snare, side stick and snare that the Imagine style used. I guess, as the velocity detection is already deciding which variation to jump to, you only need one fill button or a footswitch and the appropriate fill could be triggered.

All in all, a good start to a good idea, but I think there’s room for it to improve, and certainly room for far more of these type styles to be created. They currently are only 10% of the style selection, if the system is any good, you’d think pianists would want more!

Diki.., I absolutely LOVE the concept of the Adaptive Styles. The ones on the 670 are pretty interesting, and honestly they take some getting used to. The analyzing algorithms are really what intrigues me about them. It’s very cool to see the intensity of the style and even the variation change based on how I’m playing.., but again I do have to emphasize they take some getting used to when compared to the tradition button press approach as we navigate our way through a style.

I think Yamaha needs to take their Adaptive Technology and freakin run like mad with it. They need to put as much work into it as they have with Mega Voice and Super Articulation. If they can finely tweak this system I think it will be very well received by players.

Sqk

I’d love to hear you post a few examples showing off the strengths of the system.

Ideally, the goal is to not have to alter your playing from EXACTLY what you’d play if you had no auto-accompaniment. How close do you think they’ve come?

Also, how good’s the chord recognition? Currently, I am very impressed by Roland’s ‘3 notes for a new chord pedal up, 5 notes before a new chord while the sustain pedal is down’ system. What system does the 670 use?

I wish Yamaha would steal this system, and also the ‘Dynamic Arranger’ system that Roland used on a few arrangers, where velocity subtly (or not subtly, depending on how you programmed it!) would make the style Parts play harder (more velocity). That, when used on sounds like drums and guitars that are velocity-switched as you play harder made it sound not just like the accompaniment was getting louder as you got louder, but they actually were ‘digging in’ and PLAYING harder! It’s scary how good that can be…!

Can’t sayI found Graham’s posted video very inspiring. Not a well recorded or very musical example, IMHO. I’d love to hear you show off the function, squeak…