Where to Purchase a Yamaha Digital Keyboard

When you are ready to purchase a keyboard, remember that when you buy from a local "superstore" you not only get what you pay for, you also do not get the one on one hands-on support or phone support that you would get from an authorized dealer. If you pay $100 for a keyboard, do not expect the sound quality and incredible voice sampling of the arranger workstations that Yamaha dealers sell. If you want to sound good, you have to have a keyboard that sounds good. Nothing is worse than putting your all into a song and it sounds "tinny" and lame. Buying from a Yamaha authorized dealer will not only be beneficial when you have questions but makes life much easier if your keyboard has technical issues.

The first place you should look is on the Yamaha authorized dealer locator web site to find an authorized dealer in your area. If you already own a keyboard, most dealers take trade-ins so keep that in mind as well. If you are looking for a decent used Yamaha keyboard, check with any local music store but make sure they offer a warranty.

The recommended dealers if you live in Florida are Showtime Music Center in The Villages, Florida or Carlton Music Center in Winter Haven, Lakeland or Sebring, Florida. Having worked with a co-owner of Showtime Music Center, I know they are very reputable. Expect to get the great customer service and support that you deserve.

While most of the authorized dealers sell their PSR-S700/S900 and Tyros 2 keyboards for about the same price, you do have room to bargain. If they will not drop the price by any means, tell them to "throw in" something that you would like with the keyboard such as a bench, pedal, gig bag, etcetera. You will be surprised what you can get out of the deal. This is what is great about buying at a local dealer rather than off of the internet. Researching Yamaha dealers' prices, the above listed keyboards run around $999 to $3495. Financing is usually available if you cannot afford to shell out that kind of money up front.

I did not research the "low-end" keyboards on the internet because to musicians they are nothing but toys. Researching the Yamaha authorized internet dealers, three were found that stood out. The best deal I had found was through musiciansbuy.com. MusiciansBuy offers package deals which in turn is the same price of the keyboard alone on other dealer web sites. The current sale on the Tyros 2 offered a free stand, speakers, phones and a pedal for $3495. Prices tend to change so keep your eye out for sales or "package deals."

The other two notable authorized internet dealers are 8thstreet.com and keyboardsusa.com. At the time of digging through their sites, both dealers sold their keyboards for the same price. Both internet dealers sold decent lines of Yamaha keyboards.

I cannot overstress the reasons to buy from a Yamaha authorized dealer. Ebay is not the place to go for deals. It is way too risky to purchase a high dollar item for next to nothing. With "scammers" on Ebay, the deal may sound too good to be true and it probably is. I have dealt with the conviction and arrest of a former employee who stole keyboards from a music store I worked for. He sold them on Ebay. Another reason involves the warranty. The warranty through Yamaha is as follows:

Warranty Policies: Yamaha provides warranty coverage for new Yamaha products originally sold by Yamaha Authorized Dealers located in the United States. Check our dealer locator for a list of U.S. Authorized Dealers. Yamaha products purchased from retailers other than Yamaha Authorized Dealers (whether via the Internet, or otherwise) will NOT be covered by Yamaha's warranties, and U.S. service centers will not repair such products under warranty.

Sit down at a local dealer and allow them to do a demonstration for you. If you have not kept up with the technology in the arranger keyboards, you will be in for a big surprise.