Yamaha P 250 Owners Manual

P-25021
Connecting to External Devices
Basic Operation
Type of serial cables and pin assignments
Depending on the type of computer you connect, use 
one of the following serial cables:
Windows (with a 9-pin D-sub serial port)
8-pin mini DIN plug → D-sub 9-pin plug
(Yamaha CCJ-PC2 or equivalent)
Macintosh
System peripheral plug → 8-pin plug
(Yamaha CCJ-MAC or equivalent)
Pin assignment
The following diagram shows the pin assignments for 
each cable.
8 (CTS)
7 (RTS)
2 (RxD)
5 (GND)
3 (TxD) 1
2
3
4
8
5mini...

Connecting to External Devices
22   P-250
Basic Operation
3 MIDI connection (the computer’s 
MIDI interface or external MIDI inter-
face to the P-250 MIDI IN and OUT 
connectors)Local On/Off when a computer is connected
If the P-250 is connected to a computer, keyboard perfor-
mance data is generally sent to the computer, then returned 
from the computer to trigger the P-250 internal tone genera-
tor. If the Local Switch is set to “on,” the P-250 will play the 
song in unison, since the internal tone...

P-25023
Connecting to External Devices
Basic Operation
■Connecting Pedals
You can connect an optional foot switch (FC4, 
FC5), foot pedal (FC3), or foot controller (FC7) 
(instead of the included FC3 foot pedal) to the 
ASSIGNABLE FOOT PEDAL [1 (SUSTAIN)], [2 
(SOSTENUTO)], [3 (SOFT)], [4 (AUX)] jacks on 
the rear panel to control various parameters 
(page 69).
■Connecting headphones
You can connect headphones to the [PHONES] jack 
located on the front panel.
TIP
For more information on basic operation...

24   P-250
Basic Operation
P-250 Quick Guide
■Listening to Demo and Preset Songs
For each voice group, the P-250 contains one demo song and one preset song that shows off the charac-
teristics of the voices. This section explains how to listen to demo and preset songs for the voice 
groups.
Listening to the demo songs
1Engage Demo Song mode.
Simultaneously press the [MIDI SETTING] button 
and the [OTHER SETTING] button.
The VOICE/PERFORMANCE button indicators flash in 
succession.
2Select a song and start...

P-25025
P-250 Quick Guide
Basic Operation
Listening to the preset songs
1Select the desired song.
Press the SONG SELECT [ ]/[ ] buttons to 
select the number of the tune you want to hear. 
The song number is displayed as [P-***].
2Start playback.
Press the SONG[START/STOP] button to start 
playback.
Adjusting the tempo
You can use the TEMPO [DOWN]/[UP] buttons to 
adjust the playback tempo as required. The default 
tempo (the song’s original tempo) is set when you 
press the [DOWN] and [UP] buttons...

P-250 Quick Guide
26   P-250
Basic Operation
■Selecting, Editing, and Storing a Voice
The P-250 features a large number of high grade piano, organ, and other voices. Follow the steps below 
to play your favorite voices, change the parameters, and store the edited voices.
1Make sure the Performance mode is turned 
off.
If it’s on, press the [PERFORMANCE] button to 
turn off the button indicator.
2Select a voice.
Press one of the VOICE/PERFORMANCE buttons 
(from [GRAND PIANO 1] through [XG]) to select...

P-25027
P-250 Quick Guide
Basic Operation
■Selecting, Editing, and Storing a Performance
A performance is a group of stored settings regarding the tone generator, MIDI, and so on. The P-250 fea-
tures 32 preset performances. You can select and play any of these performances. You can also change 
the parameters, and store the edits as a new performance.
1Load a preset performance.
Press the [PERFORM. FILE] button, then press the 
A [–]/[+] button to select “LoadFromMem.” Press 
the C [–]/[+] button to...

28   P-250
Basic Operation
P-250 Design
This chapter explains the terms “Voice,” “Performance,” “Song,” and “Memory.”
■Voice
The P-250 features 45 preset voices and an XG voice set (equivalent to a single voice). You can combine 
any of these voices in Dual or Split mode and play them simultaneously on the keyboard. The diagram 
below illustrates voices in Dual and Split modes.
You can set the effects and various controls for each voice. These settings are automatically recalled 
when you select a voice....

P-25029
P-250 Design
Basic Operation
mainpart
XG
XG
Fretless Bass
XG
Grand Piano 1
Rock PianoGrand Piano 1
Mellow Piano 2Grand Piano 2
Honkky Tonk
PianoMellow Piano 1
Grand Piano 1
Rock Piano
Grand Piano 1
Honky Tonk
Piano
Grand Piano 1
Grand Piano 2
Grand Piano 1
Each voice in a voice combination has 
its own parameter settings.
These voices are used for the Main part. • Non-Dual and non-Split mode
• Dual
• Split
• The right-handed area in Split mode is
  set to Dual.
• The left-handed area in Split...

P-250 Design
30   P-250
Basic Operation
■Performances
On the P-250, a “performance” refers to a group of settings that control the tone generator, MIDI, and so 
on. You can recall any of 32 performances from the panel by pressing just one button.
The performances are divided into two banks (A and B). Performances in Bank A are called A01-A16, and 
performances in Bank B are called B01-B16.
Refer to “Performance Operation” (page 41) for more information on recalling performances.
Performance parameters...