SeriesYamaha P

The Yamaha P 105 is a 88 key stage piano with a graded hammer, it only has 14 sounds but if you use it for live performance or on stage you will love the quality of piano sounds it will give you. This is the perfect performance keyboard. I recommend this digital piano to anyone who is a working musician. If you only need piano sounds then why go out and purchase an expensive workstation that has more than just piano on it. The Yamaha P 105 does not come with a stand or a bench. So you will need to take those extra expenses into consideration because some stands can get pretty expensive. UTILIZATION Setting it up takes no effort, just plug it in pick your piano then start playing. If you like how grand piano’s sound but don’t have access to a grand or baby grand then the Yamaha P 105 is the perfect replacement. Plus when you are traveling around you cannot take a grand piano with you though some stages and venues may have one there for you to use. SOUNDS The Yamaha P 105 does have a 14 watt 2 way speaker system on it, it is decent but it could be a lot better. There are also built in drum patterns to play along with or you can use to work on your playing with drums like you are playing with a live drummer. OVERALL OPINION The only thing that the Yamaha P 105 could improve is the speaker system. But for the money it cost you cannot really expect to get a better speaker system. I recommend if you are going to get this digital piano to go out and get a good external speaker or monitor to use instead of the on board speakers. You will get a much better sound and a sound that will travel farther than the on board 14 watt speakers can.

88-key practice piano to move on to the real thing! Midi In Out Audio RCA & Jack OUT Sustain pedal connector Double headphones output Sounds can be edited in terms of effects, chorus, reverb...Bu that's not what this type of product is for, the effects are there to improve your listening experience. UTILIZATION This is the main strength of this digital piano, the keyboard is really interesting, rather hard, but you can obviously adjust it (hard, medium, soft) to make the sound come out easier with soft or have the sound respond to the keyboard with hard. I always use the latter, because the playing is more subtle, and it's also easier to play with another piano (if you can play the hardest, you can play the softest). In terms of setup, the manual is very clear, but the interface on the piano doesn't allow for an intuitive approach of the parameters (MIDI channels), although it's better for sounds. SOUNDS I'm hooked to Afro-American music, blues, reggae, jazz. The expression is convincing for this type of product (which shouldn't be compared to an upright or grand piano). The sounds are good, I like especially the Piano1 sound and the organ, the rest is all right but I never use it. I use it mainly to forget about my home studio and play standards. But that doesn't stop me from using it as a master keyboard with a MID USB interface to build my songs at home, the keyboard is truly YAMAHA! The sound through the speakers is very good and also through the different outputs. I use it a lot with headphones in the evening (due to my neighbors) and it's impeccable. OVERALL OPINION I've used it for two years. I bought it secondhand and I am very happy with it. Compared to the more recent P85, the keyboard of the P120 for live applications is really good.

The P95 is a fine digital piano; it may not be as entirely full-featured as its peers, the Casio Privia PX-330 and the Korg SP250, but I believe its piano sound does indeed surpass either of the other two's. Unfortunately for the poor P95, Yamaha has a habit of crippling their entry-level products with convoluted and arbitrary limitations, like 64 note polyphony. I have no idea why Yamaha didn't decide on the standard 128 note polyphony. Most playing is fine; but when I was comparing it to its peers (I ended up buying the Privia PX-330, and have written a review on that as well) I found that notes did in fact drop out when playing through heavier and more saturated passages in the music. In fact, when you're trying it out, since pianos have 88 keys; gliss from the bottom to the top or top to bottom on both the white and black keys and you'll hear the ever jarring note dropouts. Finally. Don't make me mention the lack of 1/4" outs. Do not presume to gig with this guy, especially for reasons explained in sound. Thank goodness for the MIDI connections. UTILIZATION This piano does get lots of points for being incredibly easy to use. Everything from metronomes, to sound selection, to layering; it's all very intuitive to use. Nothing much to be said here. SOUNDS The sounds are fantastic. The piano sound is the best in its class by a respectable margin. I, however, am not a huge fan of the touch. I find it to be a little bit too light; it doesn't feel quite weighted. It seems to be closer to semi-weighted. This was quite the turn-off. It's a shame that without the necessary line outs, that the built-in speakers aren't better. They distort fairly easily. OVERALL OPINION The Yamaha P95 is a perfectly respectable board, until you discover Yamaha's painful limitations imposed on it. You could tell me that I should like it for what it is, and I do. You could tell me I am bitter about the piano because it wasn't what I was looking for, but the truth is that if it is designed to compete with full-featured pianos, Yamaha cannot arbitrarily take out important features to drive the consumers to the next model up while still hoping for it to be a viable option against its peers. So before you buy a P95, know that it's not a flexible machine. It sounds good, but it can't do much with it when its hobbled by Yamaha's ridiculous business model. Anyone notice the new MOX synthesizers have 64-note polyphony? Absurd.

88 keys, weighted keyboard. Piano sound and several other basic sounds (electric piano, harpsichord, strings, church organ, vibraphone) No audio output apart from headphones (stereo minijack). Midi in and out (but no midi through), jack input for sustain pedal. UTILIZATION The keyboard is adapted to the piano sound (for the price, they spared no expense). The rest of the sound are only accessory, and for the price they deserve a very good mark. The few settings available are described on the instrument itself, it's not necessary to read the manual to find them. There are certain "advanced" options (like the reverb adjustment on the piano) that require a more complex manipulation (and therefore are hard to find without the manual), but I have never made use of them. SOUNDS The piano sound is all in all very good. The electric pianos are OK as well. The rest are only toys. Keyboard dynamics is adapted to the piano sound. OVERALL OPINION I have used it (on and off) for six years, but most of all as a master keyboard. I looked at other 88-key master keyboards, but its feel convinced me (especially given its price at the time...). A major disadvantage: very limited connections: it lacks midi through and a real audio output. But hey, it does the job...

The Yamaha P35 is a digital piano keyboard with a speaker system right on it. It comes with the full 88 keys and all of the keys are touch sensitive with a great feel to them. Out of all of the keyboards/digital pianos that I have used in this price range. This is one that just feels like it is the most well rounded. The keys feel great and the piano sounds are amazing for 400 bucks. This digital piano is not a workstation so there are no LCD screens or a bunch of knobs and sliders. But it has a very nice matte black finish and a built on music holder so you can read your scores right in front of you. I didn’t keep the music holder on the keyboard though because most of the pieces I play are by ear or I already have the music memorized to the point where I don’t need to look at the score. UTILIZATION I have been using this digital piano for a few months now, and to my surprise there are some other sounds on it. Some of the synths are pretty good. I was also able to split the keyboard and play with different sounds on different octaves like higher end digital pianos will let you do. There are 4 different type of reverbs, but they are pretty standard and do not give a lot of flexibility to alter them. SOUNDS The P35 comes loaded with 10 demo songs to play along with. If you are a beginner this keyboard will work great for you because of how the keys feel. It will be a great starting point to work your way up to a grand piano. If you have been playing for a while this is still a great digital piano to have because it will give you the feel of a full piano without taking up all of the space in your house or apartment. OVERALL OPINION I am very happy with my purchase of the P35 and I look forward to keeping it for a while.

The Yamaha P80 is a full size electric piano with 88 weighted keys. It is easy enough to transport if you wanted to, and is big enough to provide you with the full flavor of a real piano without actually having one. It’s got all sorts of different sounds, but the grand piano ones are definitely the most realistic sounding. Other sounds that it has include electric piano, organs, harpsichord, strings, guitar, choir, and a number of others. It also has built in reverb and other effects, as well as a metronome and a couple of built in tracks including a demo. UTILIZATION If you’re familiar with the general make up found on electric pianos, you’ll definitely feel at home here. Nothing about the P80 is difficult to understand, as everything is pretty straight forward. Choosing the different sounds is as easy as hitting a button, as is the same with the built in reverb and other effects, which include chorus, a phaser, tremolo, and delay. You can also change the sensitively on the touch and transpose. I haven’t had a need to use the demo or the built in recording features, but certainly they are nice to have there just in case. The overall feel of the P80 is definitely realistic and is about as close as you’ll find to a real piano. A manual won’t be necessary to use most of the features, but if you’re looking to learn it inside and out, you might as well have it handy. SOUNDS As I stated earlier, the grand piano sounds are definitely the most realistic sounding tones on the Yamaha P80, but I can’t complain too much about the way the other sounds come across. Some of them are a bit cheesy sounding, as is the case with the electric piano sounds, but others are pretty realistic like the harpsichord. The effects are nice to have, but I haven’t really used them other than the chorus. While the effects do sound pretty good, you don’t have any parameters for them, so what you hear is what you get… OVERALL OPINION The Yamaha P80 is a very solid electric piano. While you would think that this would be a bit cheap, I guess the real feel and body of the piano make it a bit more expensive. The price still isn’t too bad when you consider what the price of a real piano costs, but at the same time you could put together a better sounding collection of sounds on your computer with a MIDI controller for the price of the P80. Still, if you’re interested in a portable electric keyboard with a very good feel and sound, the P80 is fine choice.

The Yamaha P-155 was the piano I wanted. I spent so much time in a local music store banging away on this piano in awe, especially since it didn't cost so terribly much. I couldn't afford it at the time, so I got a Casio Privia PX-330. (See my review for that, as well!) You'll never wont for polyphony on this big guy. This is a very crucial point, because while I love the quality of Yamaha instruments, Yamaha does have a rather despicable habit of artificially limiting its lower end models to entice buyers into the higher end. For example, if you look at the P155's younger brother, the P95, you'll see next to no connections, and a 64-note polyphony. Anemic compared to its 128-polyphonic and full featured peers! This is also peevishly exacerbated by the lack of a direct USB connection to the computer. It's not something I needed, as I do own an audio interface with MIDI, which thankfully, the P155 has the decency to support, but seeing competitors load their pianos with features while Yamaha pretentiously totes its superior sonic signature around in a Burberry handbag does get a little obnoxious from time to time. The P155 is a full piano; it has the 88 keys expected of a digital piano, and while it does have the standard extra sounds that come on the board (these are actually quite phenomenal!), the focus is, of course, on the actual piano sound. UTILIZATION This is obvious because many of the parameters for the piano sound are right there on the surface; there are no clunky menus that you have to scroll through, (like on my PX-330, which doesn't even have non-volatile memory! Gross.) with adjustments for curves, brilliance, and other things accessible with their own dedicated buttons. SOUNDS This is the part where I tell you to go listen to the samples that are no doubt floating around the internet. You'll see a definite increase in quality from the next tier of pianos down from the P155 (P95, PX330, SP250) so I urge you to go find them yourself. I'll tell you, for the sake of the completeness of the review, that it's phenomenal! And the touch is something to dream about. Very few digital pianos come close to the P155. Even the Roland's, with their precious realistic escapement somehow seem to pale in comparison to this. I have no idea how, but remember that this is an incredibly subjective point. OVERALL OPINION It's a shame that this wasn't cheaper when I was shopping for a piano. If it were the price that it is now (about $1000) I would have sprung the extra cash for it. If you have the money now, get it. You won't be disappointed.

... this is your instrument. The Yamaha P-85 has one of the best piano sounds that I ever heard. Other sounds are very good too, but the acoustic piano deserves to be highlighted. The P-85 can be used by all kinds of pianists, from beginners to professionals, in nearly all styles, from classical to jazz, also rock and blues. And the best thing is that it's not expensive. It has a downside, though: no Line Out jacks. You have to use one of the two frontal Phones jacks - I recommend using a Y cable with one stereo banana plug on one side and two mono banana plugs on the other, so you'll not lose the integrity of the sound. But it may be not a problem, actually.

81 key...Midi in and out...Footswitch compatable and pedal compatable too... There are not many sounds but that's the idea...This is a piano, no a synth...It's built well and feels like the real thing down to the proper weighted keys... UTILIZATION Use is simple...The manual spells it all out just fine...A child could learn to effectively use it in 15 minutes...There are more functions like a 2 track recorder, metronome, effects...But I use it and bought it to use as a piano... SOUNDS The piano sounds are amazing...Very rich, full, and non-digital sounding...It captures every nuance of your playing and translates it very nicely into what sounds like a well tuned, real piano...The other tones are what you might expect - Strings, Elec Piano, Organs, Wood/Brass, Choir, and, of course, a few exquisite Grand Pianos...Perfect for practice or studio use...Records very well...The producer in me loves it, the player in me appreciates it for the tone/feel/ease of use... OVERALL OPINION I like it's playability and piano sounds...Those were my two criterion going in...I got that....I really don't use the other functions enough to speak as to how well they function or sound.... I don't like that it's heavy but do like that it's solid so it's a fair trade... The value is so so...By now it's worth crap since it's over 3 years old but I have no intention of selling it anyway...ANd when I say it's not worth much it's only because there are many newer models, that's all... I tried many and settled here...The best tone and feel for piano... I'd buy it again....