DGX better percussive sound. And I love the organ sound you didn’t like. Reminiscent of a calliope. Agreed on all other points. Thank you for making these comparison videos. mVm
Thanks and good job comparing these two keyboards. Also enjoyed your playing of that Bach fugue. Even though the DGX-660 has been out for several years, it's my current pick among 88-key weighted hammer action arranger keyboards in its price range (including the Korg XE20 which I understand will be available in the USA in September 2020). One of the main reasons I like the DGX-660 is its 6-track sequencer with 30k notes per piece, and especially its ability to record audio (as .wav file format) directly to a USB stick inserted into the instrument. Also, the microphone stuff it can do is very helpful. The DGX-660 seems like it would be too heavy to use as a portable gigging keyboard. But anyway I would be using it exclusively as a composing/arranging instrument.
@@mouwa7793 I was concerned with that also, but then I figured that a keyboard amp/speaker would be good to have anyway. Only problem is no line outputs. So, for me anyway, I would not be using the DGX-660 for any sort of performing, but just as a workstation/arranger/piano-practice tool. The fact that you can record in .wav file format directly to a USB stick inserted into the DGX-660 is very handy. I just hope that the .wav files it produces are actually lossless, at least CD quality. For a to go keyboard I think I'm going to get the Korg EK-50.
I have both digital pianos ... I find the touch of the keys and the sound very similar ... I use the DGX 660 at home (it weighs almost double the P125) while the P125 I carry it with me for open concerts (with covid permission...) ... In any case, beyond the weight difference, the DGX660 is more appropriate as home studio becouse it allows musical arrangements that the P125 does not have ... on the other hand the P125 is more versatile and suitable to be conceived only as a piano and also can be connected to the intersting app SMARTPIANIST (the DGX does not have this possibility)
I’m focused more on piano playing and recording than exploring other sounds, would you comment which one is better on the basis of purely tone basis? Because I feel that by hearing the sound of both these, p125 got a bold and a deeper tone than the dgx 660. So would like to hear more from you on this matter
You make really good reviews because of your focus on sound and playability rather than gimmicks and hype.. thank you! Please do Korg B2 - I would really like to know what you think of the way it sounds in its first 3 piano voices!
Thanks for this. Realizing that you do a great job on these reviews. I find your videos more useful in a practical sense than most of the videos the music shops put out.
Nice video. It was a surprise that you compared the very two models I came down to choosing from. I went for the 660, and you stated most of my reasons. My goal was for playing at home, exclusively, so the additional bells and whistles suited my needs. Love the action of both, but the boatload of voices on the 660 won out.
This is exactly the comparison I was looking for. I like the fact that DGX-660 you can plug in a mic, record, and record with USB. I want a portable piano for small gigs. I think the weight is the biggest dealbreaker regarding portability. So in the end, I will probably get the P125 for gigs. Thank you for this great review.
You're probably one of the most knowledgeable on keyboards given all your reviews and background, it's really refreshing watching your reviews. My combo works fine in terms of instruments - Casio CDP S-100 (portable can be battery-driven, perfect for the beach, excellent piano sampling (only really everything else sounds cheezy)) and the stationary Kawai CA-99. But I am always looking for your reviews, if something can improve my mobile option, I am all game to switch.
Great review and informative enough to lead you to a decision. If you know what you need. Great videos dude, seeing your vids first time ever. Really enjoying them, Gl :)
I am gonna be biased here since i own a dgx but i have a couple of points that might encourage comment reviewers to buy a dgx instead. I own a dgx 650 however all of its features are carried out to the 660. There is a section of settings that is rarely ever talked about in the dgx pianos but it is the fact that you can change the octave and add a dual sound. Change reverb volume and octave level of both sounds. Also some more extra effects that you need to fiddle a lot more in the settings to find, such as changing tonality of instruments up to about 120 effects i believe and yes you can change the level of each effect applied. Effects could be like distortion, echo, more reverb, that rotary sound you hear and even more. Also the accompaniment that is played when u hit a chord carries out to the midi output which is a huge bonus same does for octave effect. If you want to know more do reply.
O I loved to fiddle around on my keyboard. I once played fur elise with frog sounds. That was really funny although maybe barking sounds will do either. I can’t say which one is better or less with this two. They got both there one style if you know what I mean. But I think lots of the sounds of the dgx-600 got a lot of reverb and that’s not always what I want. Still they got both a market. Thank you for sharing and playing.
M Oldenburg you may not be aware but you can alter the reverb and chorus in the Dgx and there are hundreds of different DSP (digital signal processing) settings (some of which are for keyboards, some for guitars etc) that can really add to the basic sound. While true these are in the function menu and not so easy to navigate to, I find most reviews of the dgx fail to mention any of the features in the function menu which includes setting volumes for layers, splits, aux in, keyboard sensitivity, tuning, portamento, pedal function and there are many many more-few of which I believe are in the P125
I find this one a strange comparison. I own a dgx-650 (99% the same as a dgx-650) and a Yamaha Arius Ydp-141. it's 2 different worlds and 2 different purposes. the dgx is for people who want to play piano, but at the same time want the functions of a synthesizer on steroids aka 88 keys. You seriously can make a record on it! That's why people like me bought it, since after a while I noticed that my Casio CT-X5000 with 61 keys (great thing btw!) missed octaves to fiddle with blues and boogie woogie styles. The learning mode also does a nice trick. The P125 is great for just playing piano, like the Arius. At the same time a P125 would look nice in the living room. What's even nicer than one piano? Two piano's :-D
I'm looking for an affordable digital piano with good rhodes sound. P 125 rhodes sound pretty good to me, compared to both DGX 660 and 670. Guess I'd pick P 125, it's a lot lighter too. Kinda hope a new P series come up when I already have the money to buy. xD
I want a good choir patch to play Bach chorales. The P-125's choir sounds very synthetic. The DGX-660 has more choices of choir sounds, but it's hard to find demos of how they actually sound.
Hello James! Will you please consider doing a video teaching us newbies about amplifiers..and how to best use them? I saw you Like the Roland..but can you compare a few of them for us? Behringer KXD15, Roland, Peavey, etc... Just bought a Yamaha P125B..and yep..I’m a newbie.. Not a big fan of speakers they put directly in/on electronics..iPad, phone, Computer, etc. they all sound “Tinney ”..I’d really appreciate your input..Thank you!
James, the "extra sounds" on the DGX are the Yamaha MIDI XGlite library. This is from before your time, from the tail end of the era of hardware MIDI Sound Modules.
Very nice video, this is exactly the questions I'm asking myself in my first piano buying experience. Also, computer related issues are important for me, are these pianos both efficient to use music software such as Cubase when connected to a computer through the USB midi connection?
James, I really appreciate your videos. It would be great to see you review the Casio PX560 and the new Korg XE20, and to hear your thoughts about how they compare to the Yamaha DGX660. I really like the DGX660’s piano sound and broad range of arranger features, but I’m concerned about its weight/portability. Both the Casio PX560 and the new Korg seem to have similar feature sets to the DGX, but they weigh far less (around 26 pounds, vs 46 for the DGX). I suspect many players will cross shop these models, so it would be great to get your insights. Thanks!
Hi, thanks for this interesting demo. I would like to know about the touch sensitivity keys/velocity and also the touch weight between the two. Are the DGX keys touch similar ? Claude
Any chance you will review the new DGX-670 and the P-125? Was very close to buy the P-125 but now with the new DGX-670 which I understand comes with a better key action.
I played a DGX-670 in a local music store and made a video about it which will be going up tomorrow morning! It does not have a different action than the P125, it still uses the GHS.
@@ThePianoforever James really appreciate your fast reply. I got confused about the key action and the tone generation. The DGX-670 use the Yamaha CFX like the P-515 and the P-125 use the older Pure CF Sound Engine. Is there a big difference? This will be a main factor which one I gonna buy for my young daughter. I was already set on the P-125 but when I saw the DGX-670 has the same key action. Spend a little bit more and get much more features. Still the main focus is the piano setup. Cheers
Yes, we were there a few days ago and did a first impressions review. We are on a road trip, but shortened our west coast visit due to the unrest in many of the area's we like to go. Looking forward to being back in Tennessee.
Arturia KeyLab 88 MkII is a controller but how does its keyboard action compare to the Yamaha p125? Is the Arturia KeyLab 88 MkII playable from a pianist point of view?
I have never played one, and want to keep the focus of my channel on traditional digital pianos for now, but I have played some of Arturia's hardware synths and they are impressive. I'd be surprised (and disappointed) if the action of the KeyLab 88 MkII was massively bad or flawed, although I'd also be surprised if it even came close to rivaling the actions from Yamaha or Kawai's digital instruments.
Regarding recording quality of the DGX-660 (via headphone jack) in the absence of line outputs, have you checked out the .wav file recording to USB stick? Any idea as to whether the .wav files produced by the DGX-660 are lossy or lossless? That is, are they true lossless .wav files, or are they somewhere between .mp3 and .wav?
Oh I think you are probably referring to the WAV's that were first compressed with a lossy algorithm and then saved as WAV and you're wondering if this is the case here. No, it's not.
James. Can I ask a cheeky question... Actually a question that sounds stupid at first glance. But it relates to your comments on volume setting between these... How high should I set the volume on an arbitrary digital piano? As a learner. Who has never practiced on an acoustic piano. I'm probably not alone. Stupid question, right. But I just realised that I have probably had mine too quiet (all along) and this has led to my touch generally being too heavy! I guess it should be set something like so that if I thump it, it's a bit too loud? Any thoughts welcome, or just ignore this if it's too daft a question. Thanks for all the videos!
Unless I am trying to be quiet so as to not disturb anyone, I have the volume of my digital pianos turned all the way up when using the internal speakers. When I'm using an amp, it's a different story, but for a digital piano with built in speakers, all the way up is the way to go for me.
Nice comparison. The DGX-660 sounds fun. I’m looking to get a new piano to take with me when I’m traveling extensively in a small trailer. Thinking of the P121. Also intrigued by the Dexibell VIVO S1. Have you ever had a chance to play one? I would love to know what you think of it. I love the compact case and light weight. 68 keys may be a bit limiting in the long run, but it may just make the perfect travel piano.
68 keys will majorly dissapoint you, once you have the extra notes you won’t want to go back. The p125 definitely beats the 660 In terms of portability, and is less thick
I have a P125, it is good :) Good learning keyboard. I switched from a P45 and I don't do as many "strengh" mistakes as before when I'm in front of an accoustic piano.
I know you're a piano review person but had you ever though of something gimmicky like a Yamaha pss-a50 something you can stuff in your backpack and just make some music. It would be a fun change maybe in the park
DGX 660 sounds more realistic. The top one left hand sounds drowned out the right. I have the DGX 660 and I by myself am able to transport it. I have a Gator bag and hand truck and place it in the back of my Nissan Rogue and keep going. P125 sounds yucky to me.
Ah, nice. I was hoping there would be a comparison between the DGX-660 and the P-125. I'm so glad you did this video!
I watch a ton of reviews on you tube and you are an excellent reviewer! And after watching your review I bought a DGX-660.
DGX better percussive sound. And I love the organ sound you didn’t like. Reminiscent of a calliope. Agreed on all other points.
Thank you for making these comparison videos.
mVm
Thanks and good job comparing these two keyboards. Also enjoyed your playing of that Bach fugue. Even though the DGX-660 has been out for several years, it's my current pick among 88-key weighted hammer action arranger keyboards in its price range (including the Korg XE20 which I understand will be available in the USA in September 2020). One of the main reasons I like the DGX-660 is its 6-track sequencer with 30k notes per piece, and especially its ability to record audio (as .wav file format) directly to a USB stick inserted into the instrument. Also, the microphone stuff it can do is very helpful. The DGX-660 seems like it would be too heavy to use as a portable gigging keyboard. But anyway I would be using it exclusively as a composing/arranging instrument.
can dgx 660 record audio as midi files?
I transport my DGX easily all by myself.
@@Diamond88keyz how does it sound live?
@@mouwa7793 I was concerned with that also, but then I figured that a keyboard amp/speaker would be good to have anyway. Only problem is no line outputs. So, for me anyway, I would not be using the DGX-660 for any sort of performing, but just as a workstation/arranger/piano-practice tool. The fact that you can record in .wav file format directly to a USB stick inserted into the DGX-660 is very handy. I just hope that the .wav files it produces are actually lossless, at least CD quality. For a to go keyboard I think I'm going to get the Korg EK-50.
@@Diamond88keyz It would be too much for me to lug around. I've opted for a Korg EK-50 to use as a to go keyboard.
I have both digital pianos ... I find the touch of the keys and the sound very similar ... I use the DGX 660 at home (it weighs almost double the P125) while the P125 I carry it with me for open concerts (with covid permission...) ... In any case, beyond the weight difference, the DGX660 is more appropriate as home studio becouse it allows musical arrangements that the P125 does not have ... on the other hand the P125 is more versatile and suitable to be conceived only as a piano and also can be connected to the intersting app SMARTPIANIST (the DGX does not have this possibility)
I’m focused more on piano playing and recording than exploring other sounds, would you comment which one is better on the basis of purely tone basis? Because I feel that by hearing the sound of both these, p125 got a bold and a deeper tone than the dgx 660. So would like to hear more from you on this matter
You cannot use any apps with the DGX? Why?
thank you
Thank you! I needed exactly this review
This is exactly what I needed, thank you so much. Please consider reviewing the casio px 870, I really trust your opinion.
Val, what did you decide on?
You make really good reviews because of your focus on sound and playability rather than gimmicks and hype.. thank you! Please do Korg B2 - I would really like to know what you think of the way it sounds in its first 3 piano voices!
I just ordered a Korg B2 based on so many positive reviews.. I am also curious about this..
Thanks for this. Realizing that you do a great job on these reviews. I find your videos more useful in a practical sense than most of the videos the music shops put out.
Nice video. It was a surprise that you compared the very two models I came down to choosing from. I went for the 660, and you stated most of my reasons. My goal was for playing at home, exclusively, so the additional bells and whistles suited my needs. Love the action of both, but the boatload of voices on the 660 won out.
What do you think about the brand new DGX-670? It looks they put a CFX GP inside! Is this mean that it now similar to P515?
This is exactly the comparison I was looking for. I like the fact that DGX-660 you can plug in a mic, record, and record with USB. I want a portable piano for small gigs. I think the weight is the biggest dealbreaker regarding portability. So in the end, I will probably get the P125 for gigs. Thank you for this great review.
You're probably one of the most knowledgeable on keyboards given all your reviews and background, it's really refreshing watching your reviews. My combo works fine in terms of instruments - Casio CDP S-100 (portable can be battery-driven, perfect for the beach, excellent piano sampling (only really everything else sounds cheezy)) and the stationary Kawai CA-99. But I am always looking for your reviews, if something can improve my mobile option, I am all game to switch.
Thank you once again James, for an excellent review.
Awesome video and thanks, got the dgx660 for my 4 years old daughter for practicing and having fun playing the piano...
Great review and informative enough to lead you to a decision. If you know what you need. Great videos dude, seeing your vids first time ever. Really enjoying them, Gl :)
I am gonna be biased here since i own a dgx but i have a couple of points that might encourage comment reviewers to buy a dgx instead. I own a dgx 650 however all of its features are carried out to the 660. There is a section of settings that is rarely ever talked about in the dgx pianos but it is the fact that you can change the octave and add a dual sound. Change reverb volume and octave level of both sounds. Also some more extra effects that you need to fiddle a lot more in the settings to find, such as changing tonality of instruments up to about 120 effects i believe and yes you can change the level of each effect applied. Effects could be like distortion, echo, more reverb, that rotary sound you hear and even more. Also the accompaniment that is played when u hit a chord carries out to the midi output which is a huge bonus same does for octave effect. If you want to know more do reply.
Thanks brother!! Nice playing!! From Chile :)
O I loved to fiddle around on my keyboard. I once played fur elise with frog sounds. That was really funny although maybe barking sounds will do either. I can’t say which one is better or less with this two. They got both there one style if you know what I mean. But I think lots of the sounds of the dgx-600 got a lot of reverb and that’s not always what I want. Still they got both a market. Thank you for sharing and playing.
M Oldenburg you may not be aware but you can alter the reverb and chorus in the Dgx and there are hundreds of different DSP (digital signal processing) settings (some of which are for keyboards, some for guitars etc) that can really add to the basic sound. While true these are in the function menu and not so easy to navigate to, I find most reviews of the dgx fail to mention any of the features in the function menu which includes setting volumes for layers, splits, aux in, keyboard sensitivity, tuning, portamento, pedal function and there are many many more-few of which I believe are in the P125
I find this one a strange comparison. I own a dgx-650 (99% the same as a dgx-650) and a Yamaha Arius Ydp-141. it's 2 different worlds and 2 different purposes. the dgx is for people who want to play piano, but at the same time want the functions of a synthesizer on steroids aka 88 keys. You seriously can make a record on it! That's why people like me bought it, since after a while I noticed that my Casio CT-X5000 with 61 keys (great thing btw!) missed octaves to fiddle with blues and boogie woogie styles. The learning mode also does a nice trick. The P125 is great for just playing piano, like the Arius. At the same time a P125 would look nice in the living room. What's even nicer than one piano? Two piano's :-D
sounds like you wish you bought a P125...
That Fugue is brain busting, but that’s what I love about it.
James,
That was fun, you covered the bases well!
Cheers,
Rik Spector
Excellent reviews James!
Please please PLEASE do a more detailed look at the dgx-670. I know it would mean a lot to so many people.
I'm looking for an affordable digital piano with good rhodes sound.
P 125 rhodes sound pretty good to me, compared to both DGX 660 and 670.
Guess I'd pick P 125, it's a lot lighter too.
Kinda hope a new P series come up when I already have the money to buy. xD
Love my P125. May someday get a P515, depending on the action.
I want a good choir patch to play Bach chorales. The P-125's choir sounds very synthetic. The DGX-660 has more choices of choir sounds, but it's hard to find demos of how they actually sound.
Hello James! Will you please consider doing a video teaching us newbies about amplifiers..and how to best use them? I saw you Like the Roland..but can you compare a few of them for us? Behringer KXD15, Roland, Peavey, etc...
Just bought a Yamaha P125B..and yep..I’m a newbie..
Not a big fan of speakers they put directly in/on electronics..iPad, phone, Computer, etc. they all sound “Tinney ”..I’d really appreciate your input..Thank you!
Bravo ! 😃 Another great video, you have just convince me, that for my needs, I will buy a P-125,... 😁😁😁
James, the "extra sounds" on the DGX are the Yamaha MIDI XGlite library. This is from before your time, from the tail end of the era of hardware MIDI Sound Modules.
Both are fine with some differences. Thank u for nice review.
Very nice video, this is exactly the questions I'm asking myself in my first piano buying experience. Also, computer related issues are important for me, are these pianos both efficient to use music software such as Cubase when connected to a computer through the USB midi connection?
James, I really appreciate your videos. It would be great to see you review the Casio PX560 and the new Korg XE20, and to hear your thoughts about how they compare to the Yamaha DGX660. I really like the DGX660’s piano sound and broad range of arranger features, but I’m concerned about its weight/portability. Both the Casio PX560 and the new Korg seem to have similar feature sets to the DGX, but they weigh far less (around 26 pounds, vs 46 for the DGX). I suspect many players will cross shop these models, so it would be great to get your insights. Thanks!
Hi, thanks for this interesting demo. I would like to know about the touch sensitivity keys/velocity and also the touch weight between the two. Are the DGX keys touch similar ? Claude
They are the same, its the same piano hardware and sound engine, one portable and serious while the second is heavier and has tons of special sounds
excellent review!
Good vid. As you stated, both pianos seem good for home playing. But neither sounds as bright as the P-515.
I mean, yeah, half the price, you get what you pay
Do a comparison of yamaha p-515 and roland fp90
That digital screen is nice. They can go out though. Mine went out on my dgx 625
It’s sometime just a dry solder joint.
Any chance you will review the new DGX-670 and the P-125? Was very close to buy the P-125 but now with the new DGX-670 which I understand comes with a better key action.
I played a DGX-670 in a local music store and made a video about it which will be going up tomorrow morning! It does not have a different action than the P125, it still uses the GHS.
@@ThePianoforever James really appreciate your fast reply. I got confused about the key action and the tone generation. The DGX-670 use the Yamaha CFX like the P-515 and the P-125 use the older Pure CF Sound Engine. Is there a big difference? This will be a main factor which one I gonna buy for my young daughter. I was already set on the P-125 but when I saw the DGX-670 has the same key action. Spend a little bit more and get much more features. Still the main focus is the piano setup. Cheers
Wonderful review James. Thank you so much! Any chance of you reviewing the Kawai CA99 when you’re over at DC Pianos? I’d love your thoughts on it
Yes, we were there a few days ago and did a first impressions review. We are on a road trip, but shortened our west coast visit due to the unrest in many of the area's we like to go. Looking forward to being back in Tennessee.
How about covering some Kurzweil keyboards?
Will the p125 play iTunes or other files if plugged into it ??
DGX-670 supposed to be shipping end of March 2021.
Great job !!!
Thank you! Cheers!
What's the verdict on hammer action?
Arturia KeyLab 88 MkII is a controller but how does its keyboard action compare to the Yamaha p125? Is the Arturia KeyLab 88 MkII playable from a pianist point of view?
I have never played one, and want to keep the focus of my channel on traditional digital pianos for now, but I have played some of Arturia's hardware synths and they are impressive. I'd be surprised (and disappointed) if the action of the KeyLab 88 MkII was massively bad or flawed, although I'd also be surprised if it even came close to rivaling the actions from Yamaha or Kawai's digital instruments.
@@ThePianoforever Thank you.
Well done!
Regarding recording quality of the DGX-660 (via headphone jack) in the absence of line outputs, have you checked out the .wav file recording to USB stick? Any idea as to whether the .wav files produced by the DGX-660 are lossy or lossless? That is, are they true lossless .wav files, or are they somewhere between .mp3 and .wav?
WAV's are by definition lossless.
Oh I think you are probably referring to the WAV's that were first compressed with a lossy algorithm and then saved as WAV and you're wondering if this is the case here. No, it's not.
James. Can I ask a cheeky question... Actually a question that sounds stupid at first glance. But it relates to your comments on volume setting between these...
How high should I set the volume on an arbitrary digital piano?
As a learner. Who has never practiced on an acoustic piano. I'm probably not alone.
Stupid question, right. But I just realised that I have probably had mine too quiet (all along) and this has led to my touch generally being too heavy!
I guess it should be set something like so that if I thump it, it's a bit too loud?
Any thoughts welcome, or just ignore this if it's too daft a question.
Thanks for all the videos!
Unless I am trying to be quiet so as to not disturb anyone, I have the volume of my digital pianos turned all the way up when using the internal speakers. When I'm using an amp, it's a different story, but for a digital piano with built in speakers, all the way up is the way to go for me.
Same sound engine, pure cf. So piano sound i believe is equal
Nice comparison. The DGX-660 sounds fun. I’m looking to get a new piano to take with me when I’m traveling extensively in a small trailer. Thinking of the P121. Also intrigued by the Dexibell VIVO S1. Have you ever had a chance to play one? I would love to know what you think of it. I love the compact case and light weight. 68 keys may be a bit limiting in the long run, but it may just make the perfect travel piano.
68 keys will majorly dissapoint you, once you have the extra notes you won’t want to go back. The p125 definitely beats the 660 In terms of portability, and is less thick
Hi, can you please do a review for korg d1?
Same action as the SV2. I have wanted to review one, but honestly they have had a lot of problems arriving broken.
I love the song you used for the strings and pizzicato demo.... Pls what's the name?
It's the Pirates of the Caribbean theme
@@ashleyfrye6671 thanks a lot
Graciiiias 🙏🏽🌸
I'll have a P-125 with the DGX screen and sounds.......a portable DGX :-)
I'm planning to buy p125. Before I was thinking to get psx1000 🙈 🚮
I have a P125, it is good :) Good learning keyboard. I switched from a P45 and I don't do as many "strengh" mistakes as before when I'm in front of an accoustic piano.
Those pieces for church organ sound wonderful! What are they from??
Very helpful thank you!
I need dgx 770 2021
Yamaha 660 or Korg xe20?
I know you're a piano review person but had you ever though of something gimmicky like a Yamaha pss-a50 something you can stuff in your backpack and just make some music. It would be a fun change maybe in the park
Interesting comment.
I just want a p125 with Bluetooth capabilities
DGX 660 sounds more realistic. The top one left hand sounds drowned out the right.
I have the DGX 660 and I by myself am able to transport it. I have a Gator bag and hand truck and place it in the back of my Nissan Rogue and keep going. P125 sounds yucky to me.
Studiologic Numa Compact 2x
do it pls
1st comment and like
Everything is echoed/spread by reverb on DGX-660...
All controllable in settings. you can have it as 'dry' as you want, or like you're in the Albert Hall. just press a button or two.