Review:
Yamaha PSR-EW410
$469.99 USD
The Yamaha PSR-EW410 portable keyboard was first released in 2018. At about $469, the PSR-EW410 is Yamaha’s most expensive E-Series keyboard. It is, after all, Yamaha’s most advanced and capable E-series keyboard to date. I will be making an in-depth review of the PSR-EW410 to help you make an informed purchase.
Key Actions
One of the unique selling points of the Yamaha PSR-EW410 is the 76 keys. Most keyboards are either 61 synth-action keys or 88 hammer action keys. If you play serious piano pieces, you will find 61 keys limiting.
On the other hand, very few piano pieces really take advantage of all 88 keys on the keyboard. After all, many classical piano pieces were composed for the Pianoforte which had between 68 to 80 keys.
The 76 keys on the EW410 are quiet and are perfect for when you use the piano & electric piano voices and needed a wider range.
The lightweight and quick synth-action keys are also perfect for when playing guitar, organ, saxophone, and other non-piano voices. However, if you intend to mostly use this keyboard for playing piano pieces, you are better off with an 88-key hammer action digital piano. If you like the PSR-EW410, You might be interested in this recommended list of digital pianos as well.
Voices
With 758 onboard voices, there is a generous selection of acoustic & electric pianos, jazz and pipe organs, orchestral, world instruments, and a massive selection of lead and synth sounds. As this keyboard is marketed towards the EDM crowd, the synth, electronica voices & drum kits on the Yamaha PSR-EW410 are more impressive than those found on the Yamaha PSR-E373 or PSR-E273.
If 758 voices are not enough, you can layer dual voices, split various instruments across the keyboard, volume balance each layer, route any of the 10 powerful digital signal processors to the tone.
You can also use the 2 control knobs to tweak the attack, decay, sustain and resonance to get the sound you envisioned in your head.
It is impressive that many of the tones were pre-configured with dual layers and had suitable DSPs applied and a balanced volume mix right out of the box. A gesture beginners will no doubt welcome. The thick & rich synth sounds coupled with the 150 arpeggiator patterns will no doubt get your audience grooving in no time.
Sampler
The Yamaha PSR-EW410 ability to load instrument samples as well as record your own sounds, such as a cat meowing or a dog barking, via the auxiliary audio jack of the keyboard giving you an infinite sonic palette.
You can record up to 7 of these samples which can then be pitched across the keyboard or played as a single shot or a loop.
Just like the onboard voices, you can apply effects, reverbs & choruses to further malleate your sample. This level of personalization truly makes this keyboard uniquely powerful and creative.
Styles
Using the 6 track sequencer and the 24 drum & sound effect kits, the more advanced musician will feel right at home in creating their next Spotify hit.
While a 16 track sequencer would be nice, it is what it is at this price range. Most people who buy this keyboard may not be proficient in multi-track recording yet, and that’s where the 235 onboard rhythm accompaniments come in.
With rhythm styles encompassing pop, rock, jazz, Latin, ballroom, world, and EDM music, you will be able to find a suitable style for the music you want to play.
On the rare occasion when you cannot find an appropriate accompaniment, you can load up to 10 more styles from the thousands of 3rd party styles available for free on the internet.
The PSR-EW410 is able to turn on and off any of the 6 instrument tracks of the accompaniment, a feature not found on the PSR-E373, PSR-E310 or PSR-E273. the feature of turning on and off the various instrument tracks will give you up to 720 accompaniment variations. Coupled with the 2 variations per style Yamaha provided, you essentially get as many as 1,440 accompaniment variations with each style. The 2 control knobs can also be assigned to modulate the rhythms in real-time too.
This is how powerful the rhythm accompaniment section of the Yamaha PSR-EW410 is. One downside of the PSR-EW410 is that Yamaha only provided one chord detection mode on this keyboard which can be limiting. This is quite a shame, as competing brands that cost half as much have more than 5 methods of chord detection.
Groove Creator
For those who have very little music knowledge but would love to experiment with daisy-chaining musical patterns & phrases, the Yamaha PSR-EW410 comes with a Groove Creator with 35 grooves.
You can imagine yourself on a DJ console, manipulating each groove, mixing and matching 6 musical sections, and applying real-time effects with the 2 control knobs to come out with your own unique musical creation.
Notable Features
With a huge palette of voices, rhythms, effects, and grooves, it is important to have a way to store your own settings. This keyboard can save up to 32 user registrations in 4 banks for quick one-button recall of your musical creations.
For a keyboard this powerful, you would have expected more registration banks but 32 memory slots will suffice.
The amplification on the PSR-EW410 is also the most powerful in the entire Yamaha E-series keyboards. Two 12 watts amplifiers drive a pair of 12 cm speakers for a total output of 24 watts ensures that your music creation will sound loud and clear.
When these speakers are not enough, a pair of stereo ¼” outputs allow me to hook up external speakers for whatever amplification the venue requires.
The PSR-EW410 can be battery operated and is a life-saver on numerous occasions.
A very underrated feature often overlooked on the EW410 is the USB audio interface.
This means you can connect this keyboard to an iPad or a laptop and send digital audio directly to your audio workstation software without spending a couple of hundred dollars on an external audio interface. A standard USB MIDI interface is also available if you just need to send a MIDI signal to your DAW or a music learning app on your iPad or smartphone. If you are interested, I have recommendations for speakers, headphones, microphones, and other connectivity devices which you might be looking for. I also have beginner piano courses and a beginner app that may you might want to check out
Conclusion
I hope that this review of the Yamaha PSR-EW410 has been useful for you. Do check out the links provided in this article for the latest updates and prices of the PSR-EW410 If this keyboard is not for you, do look at the other articles in this blog to find your ideal instrument. Also, do check out my Piano App and beginner keyboard course available for you.