ez220 - due for an update?

[NYBeginner]

Complete newbie here that had zero'd in on the Yamaha ez220 to start off with (honestly, the lighted key learning technique did it for me!) and in no particular hurry to buy. My only hesitation is that, having been released almost 6 years ago, this seems a bit long in the tooth and overdue for an update (perhaps better iPad connectivity, and/or on board recording capability). Their other "consumer" models seem to have been updated more recently/frequently.

Any opinions on this? Anyone track this sort of thing?

Tx

 

[SeaGtGruff]

I don't think the lighted-keys models have been as popular in the West as they might be in the East, at least judging from the fact that Yamaha has released at least 10 different EZ-J lighted-keys models over the years for the Japanese marketplace, but only 6 (I think) EZ lighted-keys models for the Western marketplace:

EZ-20
EZ-30
EZ-150
EZ-200
EZ-220
EZ-250i

EZ-J14
EZ-J15
EZ-J22
EZ-J23
EZ-J24
EZ-J25
EZ-J53
EZ-J200
EZ-J210
EZ-J220

There's no telling if or when they might release a new lighted-keys model for the Western marketplace.

If you like the lighted-keys learning method, what you might do is use the EZ-220 for learning a song, but buy a newer keyboard-- such as the PSR-E363 or PSR-EW300-- for playing the song after you've learned it.

 

[NYBeginner]

Thanks for your input (I see that you contribute a LOT around here. Tx!)

Do you happen to know if Yamaha's "Sound Controller" ios app would work with this? It's hard to decipher from their web page - all it says is that the app is compatible with "your connected keyboard" (but no mention of supported models) and mentions a "iUX1" cable - but on the info page for that it says it's discontinued(!)

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical_instruments/pianos/apps/sound_controller/index.html

 

[SeaGtGruff]

If you mean would the app be compatible with the EZ-220, I think so.

The EZ-220 has a USB-MIDI (or "USB TO HOST") port rather than MIDI ports, so to connect to an iPad or iPhone you'll need a standard USB 2.0 printer cable. If you prop up the iPad on the keyboard's music rest then a short cable is ideal (no excess hanging down behind the keyboard); I use a 2-foot cable.

You'll also need a "Camera Connection Kit" or something similar for your particular model of iPad. The older Camera Connection Kit was for connecting a USB device (such as a camera with a USB connection, or in this case a musical keyboard with a USB connection) to an iPad having the older 30-pin connector port. The newer version is for connecting to an iPad having the Lightning port.

The "Sound Controller" app cannot do anything that your keyboard isn't capable of. Fortunately, that refers to the types of MIDI messages that the keyboard can respond to, and not simply the functions that are accessible via the keyboard's panel controls.

For example, the EZ-220 doesn't have a Pitch Bend Wheel or a Modulation Wheel, yet it does respond to MIDI Pitch Bend messages and Modulation messages, therefore you can use the app's virtual Pitch Bend Wheel and Modulation Wheel to bend notes as on a guitar or add vibrato to them.

The EZ-220 also does not have functions or controls for editing the Attack Time and Release Time of a voice, yet it does respond to MIDI Attack Time messages and Release Time messages, therefore you can modify the sound of a voice by changing its attack/release settings.

And the EZ-220 doesn't have functions or controls for editing the Cutoff Frequency and Resonance of the LPF (low-pass filter), yet it does respond to those MIDI messages, therefore you can modify the cutoff/resonance settings of the filter to get interesting results.

 

[NYBeginner]

Thanks again, Very informative. Definitely a big help in figuring out what is and isn't possible with this model.

I think I'm going to pick one up! I'll just hold off for a bit until Black Friday...

Tx!