The DGX-505 is in the words of Yamaha: "a Keyboard for the novice and or those just starting out on Keyboard or Piano".

It is a good priced 88 Key Arranger that has a good Piano sound plus other good sounds too. But remember it does not have any Main Outputs just a Phono/Line Out, Midi In/Out plus USB. The Keys are once again cheesy IMO and have nowhere near the feel and action of a real Piano. The speakers are half the wattage of the PSR 2000/3000 and it has only - cough, cough: 32 notes of Polyphony. But at least Yamaha acknowledges the fact that it's not for seasoned players who want professional features. So they're upfront about it anyway.

The price is right if you're a beginner who just wants to piddle and play around at home and cheesy keys don't bother you. But if you want an Arranger that gives you much more in the way of Professional features and you still need 88 keys then I'm sorry but Yamaha doesn't make such a Model to fulfill your needs. In fact none of the Arranger Manufacturers make an 88 Key 'Pro' Arranger to my knowledge. >> The key here is "PRO"fessional btw. Well..., I take that back. GEM makes an 88 Key Arranger that they tout as Professional but Korg says the same thing about their SP-500 so I'm not sure what they mean when they use that term, i.e. "Professional Arranger Workstation" on their site. Plus GEM skyrocketed their prices if you've noticed. The Genesys PRO (61 Key) is listed on GEM's web site factory direct for $5,199.99

Maybe that's why GEM personnel seem to be taking a back seat to posting here on the SZ anymore. They're either too embarrassed at what their Employer is charging for their Keyboards or they're sniffing out other Forums to see if members there have 'muchos de dinero', i.e. "deep, and I mean deeeeeepppppp - pockets".

I do like the concept of their Instrument Of Praise Keyboard though. But at $3,199.95 they should throw in the kitchen sink if it's not already in there. And it doesn't help matters when you want to check it out and the links are broken. Arrrgh!!!!

Best regards,
Mike