A contraction of the words piano and leggero, which is Italian for "light", this new line of light weight keyboards emphasizes portability. The NP-V60 and NP-V80 are both 76 note keyboards with new levels of interactivity and piano voice quality to complement their new standard for portability.

"With the evolution of portable keyboards over the years, manufacturers have been packing in more and more features, like 76 keys and hundreds of Styles and Voices," said Dane Madsen, marketing manager, Yamaha Electronic Keyboards. "With that, the products have gotten bigger and bigger. Now with our Piaggero line, not only have we made the size slimmer and lighter, but we've also streamlined the interface to be as inviting and intuitive to pianists as possible."

A unique concert took place on April 17 of this year at the Strathmore Hall in Bethesda, Maryland. Showcasing some of Yamaha's latest Disklavier and hybrid piano technology, Frederic Chiu, a Yamaha Piano artist, played the AvantGrand piano and the Disklavier Mark IV CFIIIS. One of the concert highlights was a unique piano duet that was played with Jarrod Radnich who just happened to be located three time zones away in Anaheim California. Jarrod played live on a Disklavier performance reproducing piano which was connected to the internet. At Strathmore Hall an identical Disklavier piano was also connected to the internet and it reproduced every keystroke and pedal press complete with all of the delicate phrasing and nuance of the original performance. In this fashion Jarrod and Frederic were able to perform a coast to coast piano duet in realtime. This performance showcased not only the talents of the two accomplished artists but also the cutting edge technologies of the Yamaha pianos.

The Yamaha IM8 series brings experience and know-how accumulated over 35 years in the production of industry-leading mixing consoles to bear in three mid-size consoles that cut no corners when it comes to overall performance and sonic quality. In addition to no-compromise design and development aimed at delivering the finest performance and most useful feature set available in this class, production and assembly are carried out at Yamaha's own domestic facilities – the same factories where the legendary Yamaha PM series consoles are produced – to ensure unrelenting quality control throughout. Every inch of these extraordinary consoles is well thought out and built for a purpose. There are no unnecessary features, and nothing is out of place. The IM8 series consoles deliver a basic but plentiful complement of features plus truly transparent, high-resolution sound with tireless reliability.

These are consoles for serious sound applications, and will provide eminently professional performance, sound, and control in permanent installations or on the road.

Available in 3 Models.

• IM8-24
• IM8-32
• IM8-40