Yamaha YPT 270 Review

We rated the Yamaha YPT-270 a 7.5 out of 10. It’s a good instrument for the price, and it meets the needs of the target audience well! (The target audience being beginners). However, we still have a hard time recommending the YPT 270 to the ‘serious beginners’ demographic as the keyboard lacks touch sensitivity, and some buyers have had some issues with the keys. I personally wish it had a USB to MIDI out, too.

YPT 270: Overview

The Yamaha YPT 270 is a portable keyboard in the under-$200 price range. It has 61 keys and is an entry-level keyboard. It was first released in 2020 and is advertised as being an ideal beginner’s piano. 

Yamaha has been a brand I’ve personally trusted for a very long time- but how good could a $140-$160 portable keyboard by them be?!

Well, let’s find out.

Yamaha YPT 270: Features

The YPT’s best features include its wide variety of sounds and accompaniments and level of portability.

Hundreds of Sounds (AWM Tone Generator)

There are silly sounds and FX (like the cat meow) but also great piano tones as well. The instrument also has drum kits and other FX onboard. Of the tones, the lovely ‘portable grand’ was my absolute favorite- This sound even has its own button.

The AWM tone generator has the following collection of tones:

• Pianos
• Organs
• Guitar&Bass
• Strings
• Winds
• Synths
• World
• Perc&Drums
• Others

It’s Extremely Portable 

The YPT 270 can run on regular power, or batteries, so you can take your music-making with you on the go. Considering the fact that the instrument is only 8 pounds or so, it’s really easy to throw in your car and take to your friends of family’s place for a jam session. 

Smart Chords for New Learners

“Smart Chord lets you play great-sounding chords from simple Pop triads to complex jazz 7th chords with only a single finger” -Yamaha/Amazon

This piano has both the Smart Chord feature, as well as the single and multi-finger chord features. 

An Entry-level Keyboard with a Reliable Chassis

The YPT 270 is an all-plastic model, which is totally to be expected in this price range. The quality of the build feels nice overall. 

Auto Accompaniment, Phrase Recording

“Whether you are playing country, rock and roll, or a samba, styles bring your music to life by adding natural feeling accompaniment instruments to your playing.” -Yamaha/Amazon 

The YPT 270 has a wide variety of genres available as far as accompaniment goes-and the instrument also has a little recording feature, too. What the company is calling a ‘phrase recorder’ is a little onboard recorder that allows you to store a short clip of music onboard. 

Quiz Mode, Lesson Mode

This feature allows you to turn learning the piano into a game, with one example being the ‘guess the note’ quiz.  This instrument also has Yamaha’s standard Lesson Mode, so it includes the 100+ lesson songs inside the instrument. 

Other Features

• Duo mode 
• Enhanced effects: Reverb, chorus, ultra-wide stereo 
• Multi-finger and single-finger chords
• Transpose+Tune

Specifications

• Weight: 8 pounds, 13 ounces
• Dimensions: 104 mm tall, 317 mm deep, 940 mm wide
• Onboard songs: 112
• Auto accompaniments: 143

Who is it suitable for?

The YPT 270 model is best suited for those looking for an instrument for beginners to get started on, or for those who are in need of an economical portable backup piano. While the 270 model is by no means fancy, it has plenty to get you by,

The YPT in Action

This overview by Yamaha will give you an idea of what to expect.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• The price is right- for those looking to get an instrument for a student/someone who may not ‘stick with it’ for a long time
• It’s very portable
• The build is good
• The speakers are powerful, especially given their relatively small size
• There are learning features inside
• Features like Smart Chord and auto accompaniment make it easy for beginners to get a full sound while playing 
• It has hundreds of voices in the sound engine, including FX and drum kits (which I didn’t anticipate for the price point)
• The silly voices will keep the young ones entertained!
• You can attach a sustain pedal

All in all the YPT 270 isn’t bad- the price is right, the build is good, and it’s portable. The features inside will please almost all young players- and some adult beginners, too! I was pleased to see that this model has speakers (the YPT 220, for example, doesn’t have them). There are so many sounds onboard, from orchestral instruments to phone calls, bells, and world strings like sitars and Gamelan Gongs. While they might not all be ‘the best’ it’s still great exposure for new musicians (especially young ones).

Cons

• It has an LCD screen, but it isn’t backlit 
• The polyphony is pretty low
• The recorder can only capture short musical moments
• Some buyers have found that their keyboard doesn’t have a middle c that is in the middle
• It’s hard to be expressive on it from note to note
• It isn’t MIDI-compatible- So you can’t connect it to your DAW
• Lack of storage overall– in regards to both recording and slots

Playing in the dark isn’t going to be possible on this instrument- because the instrument isn’t backlit. This isn’t a huge deal for beginners, but it would’ve been nice to have a bit more light. 

Another con that isn’t really a con for complete newbies is the bare-bones 32-note polyphony and phrase recorder- Both will be enough to serve a new player, but students may grow out of the instrument sooner than later.

Ever heard of a middle C that wasn’t in the middle?! Yikes. Several buyers who bought the YPT 270 on Amazon ended up with a keyboard that had a middle C that was off-center. If I ever ordered and received a keyboard like that, it’d be a big dealbreaker for me. Another ‘dealbreaker’ for some is going to be the lack of touch sensitivity- meaning the dynamic range from note to not isn’t going to vary, and it’ll be harder to add variations into your articulations, too.  

Lastly, I decided that this instrument was more geared towards young learners when I saw that it isn’t MIDI compatible- ideally (at least in my mind) entry-level pianos for adults should have some sort of way to record, and this is another area where this particular YPT is lacking.  You also can’t save any of your settings in slots or anything, so each time you cultivate a sound and shut off the instrument, that data is lost (and you’ll have to punch everything in again).

Ultimately, I ended up taking off the most points for the lack of touch sensitivity and reports of keybed quality issues. 

Comparable Instruments

• PSR E273 
• YPT 220 and 320
• For something higher-end: the PSR-E473

The YPT models are extremely similar to some of the ‘E’ models. If you take a look at the PSR E273, you’ll notice that there isn’t much of a difference-at all. The user manuals even say E273/YPT 270. The color of the area surrounding the buttons of the models is a bit different, but most of the controls and features are identical.

 It’s also worth taking a peek into the YPT 220 and 320 models. The 220 model is another 61 yet 32-note-polyphony YPT instrument that has a similar AWM sound engine, and a sustain pedal. It costs around $150, but is rated a bit worse than the model we reviewed today- and it doesn’t have speakers. The YPT 320, on the other hand, is a 61-key instrument with XGlite voices and FX. It’s a pretty easy one to find on the used market. 

And for something along these lines- but for more advanced players, consider the PSRE473. This one has quick sampling and a mic input, so it makes it more geared towards those prepping for live performances. 

Quick View 

YTP: Conclusion

In conclusion, the Yamaha keyboard YPT 270 is a decent instrument for those who are completely new to the piano. This YPT was made by a reputable brand, has a solid budget, and has enough sound and accompaniment features to keep new learners busy making sound. Thanks for sticking around until the end!

And be sure to come back next week for another Yamaha write-up- I’ll be reviewing the YamahaModX8! 

Music quote of the week: “Anyone who works as I do will succeed as I do.” – J. S. Bach

7.5Expert Score

We rated the Yamaha YPT-270 a 7.5 out of 10. It’s a good instrument for the price, and it meets the needs of the target audience well! (The target audience being beginners). However, we still have a hard time recommending the YPT 270 to the ‘serious beginners’ demographic as the keyboard lacks touch sensitivity, and some buyers have had some issues with the keys. I personally wish it had a USB to MIDI out, too.

PROS

• The price is right- for those looking to get an instrument for a student/someone who may not ‘stick with it’ for a long time
• It’s very portable
• The build is good
• The speakers are powerful, especially given their relatively small size
• There are learning features inside
• Features like Smart Chord and auto accompaniment make it easy for beginners to get a full sound while playing
• It has hundreds of voices in the sound engine, including FX and drum kits (which I didn’t anticipate for the price point)
• The silly voices will keep the young ones entertained!
• You can attach a sustain pedal

CONS

• It has an LCD screen, but it isn’t backlit
• The polyphony is pretty low
• The recorder can only capture short musical moments
• Some buyers have found that their keyboard doesn’t have a middle c that is in the middle
• It’s hard to be expressive on it from note to note
• It isn’t MIDI-compatible- So you can’t connect it to your DAW
• Lack of storage overall- in regards to both recording and slots