Introduction to the Yamaha PSR E343

Portability used to be a key selling point for most keyboards back in the days when we were used to enormous keyboards that could barely be moved from one part of the room to another. Things have however changed rapidly and currently; portability alone doesn’t cut it. The manufacturer should be in a position to offer something more than just a light compact keyboard. After all, of what use is a light keyboard if it cannot deliver when it is called upon?

Yamaha, one of the leaders in the music instruments industry, has an extensive experience in the making of all types of keyboards. If anyone is in a position to deliver a portable and high performing keyboard in them. In the PSR E343, Yamaha believes they have given us the ultimate portable keyboard that is fitted with all the right features to meet a user’s demands. But has it really? Is the keyboard as good Yamaha paint it out to be?

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Sound

The Yamaha PSR produces satisfying sounds all things considered. Remember that this is a portable keyboard that couldn’t be fitted with more powerful amplifiers for better output. Additionally, the keyboard is designed to be within the affordable price range and hence this limited how much they could spend on making the keyboard; they are a business after all. Surprisingly, the keyboard still manages to produce high-quality sounds that can fill a fairly big room.

All sounds in the keyboard are very well done especially the electronic ones. Capturing piano tones accurately is always a difficult task that most entry-level keyboards usually fail to achieve. With the Yamaha PSR E343, we were quite pleased with the piano tones which sounded very decent for an instrument so small.

The sound options are also very well spread out allowing for the creation of different kinds of music. You will also get a chance of using the EQ in fine-tuning specific tones to your liking. This allows you to get the sounds or tones you are looking for more accurately thus making it easy for you to create unique music. You will also get various other effects including harmony, wide stereo, reverb and chorus.

The keyboard also comes with a melody suppressor that provides endless music creation opportunities. Thanks to this feature you can connect the keyboard to a mixer, computer, smartphone or another keyboard using a line output to Aux-in connection. Once connected, you’ll be able to edit songs and mix up different sounds. You can even mute vocals of a song and replace them with your own sounds! All of this boosts creativity and is also ideal for learners as it allows them to play along with different kinds of music until they master and diversify their skills.

Touch

The keys of this keyboard felt a bit frustrating. There are so many issues about the keys used here which may question whether even learners should use the keyboard.

First of all, the keys are quite narrow. Hitting the wrong key with this keyboard is hence going to be a prevalent problem for many learners out there. In the long run, they will get used to these keys but the thing is that by the time this happens they will probably be advanced players looking for a new keyboard set. A better keyboard that comes with standard keys meaning that they’ll have to again go through a readjustment period. Again, this is clearly the price we have to pay to get a compact and portable keyboard.

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Secondly, the keys are neither weighted nor pressure sensitive. In this day and age, all keyboards out there try to emulate the touch and responses of acoustic instruments by coming with weighted keys which are also pressure-sensitive. Therefore, it means that the keyboard won’t give you even the slightest of experiences of how an acoustic instrument feels like. Of course, as a learner, this may not feel like much of a big deal because you are also not sure whether you are ever going to afford a grand piano but the problem is a bit more serious than you think. You will learn using this keyboard and at some point, you will call yourself a pianist but one day you’ll get an advanced digital piano and you will feel like you have never touched a keyboard before. We, therefore, believe that this is a huge misstep by Yamaha. They should have tried to at least design the keyboard even with a cheap weighting technology to give the users a glimpse of what advanced keyboards feel like.

All in all, the keys play pretty well and people who have never used any other keyboard won’t notice anything wrong with them.

Other Features

Clearly, the Yamaha PSR E343 is made for learners and that is why the keyboard is also fitted with the famous Yamaha Education Suite. This is a program or rather a guide that helps users in learning how to play the keyboard, playing along with various demo songs and even how to utilize certain effects for a lively performance. The Education Suite’s presence is a huge plus that all learners will find very useful. It comes with 102 songs and a vivid demo showing how you can play the songs. It even goes as far as showing you finger sequences that can help you to play each of the demo songs. With the finger sequences and all the demo songs, you can practice or even learn on your own.

At the center of the keyboard’s top panel is a backlit LCD Screen. This performs various functions including showing you the notes you are playing and the chords that are currently in use. It’s also through this display, with the assistance of a few buttons, that you’ll gain access to the various features offered by the PSR E343. You will also see the finger sequence and access the entire Education Suite through this display. It’ll help you to see how to place and move your fingers to play the songs that you have picked out.

The keyboard also allows for recording of two tracks and up to five songs. Yamaha PSR E343 has an onboard recording capability. It also provides the option of connecting it to external devices where you can export the songs you’ve made. We also loved how the keyboard is compatible with mobile devices such as iPod touch, iPhone and iPad. Yamaha also provides an app through which you can control the keyboard using your mobile device. All you have to do is download the app and connect your gadget through the i-UX1 and you’ll gain control over the modulation and pitch bend.

Yamaha PSR E343 Specs

• Dimensions: width 945mm (37 3/16”); depth 368mm (14 ½”); height 121mm (4 ¾”)
• Weight: 4.4kg
• 61 touch response keys
• Backlit LCD screen
• AWM Stereo Sampling
• 32-notes polyphony
• 550 preset voices
• GM and XGlite compatibility
• Effects: reverb, harmony, ultra-wide stereo, master EQ and chorus
• Functions: split, panel sustain and dual/layers
• Multi-fingering
• 136 preset accompaniment styles
• 102 preset songs
• Recording: 2 tracks and 5 songs
• SMF playback
• Yamaha Education Suite
• Tempo range: 11 – 280
• Transpose: -12 – 0 – +12
• Metronome and tuning are available
• 7MB internal memory
• Connections: AUX IN, AUX Pedal, USB to HOST, DC IN and Headphone jacks
• Two 2.5W amplifiers
• Two 12cm speakers
• Uses six AA batteries or an option adaptor (PA-3C/PA-130)
• Power consumption: 8w and an optional PA-130

Final Thoughts on the Yamaha PSR E343

For its price and portability, the Yamaha PSR E343 is a decent machine. It provides pleasant tones and quite a number of useful features including the Yamaha Education Suite. Unfortunately, this is not the kind of keyboard that you would see yourself using for too long. As far as we can tell, the E343 could become obsolete the very moment you learn the way around the basics of a keyboard and the various tricks necessary for creating excellent music.

The keyboard, therefore, is more recommendable to absolute beginners who have never touched a keyboard before. To them, this machine will provide them with all the essentials of learning, playing along demo songs and creating your own sounds. Its low price tag also means that everyone can, probably, afford it and hence no one should have an excuse of not pursuing their music career.