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Yamaha P121 73 key


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This is starting to look quite interesting. I didnt realise the USB supported audio as well as MIDI. So using audio loop back you could play Korg Module or similar back through the audio outs of the P-121? In the UK iif you want a USB host to MIDI converter this is a cheap option.

 

USB to MIDI

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For what I can gather from listening to YouTube videos, I'm liking the piano sound on these recent Yamaha DPs quite a bit. Next step, of course, would be to check the action...

 

Well, the P-125 (and presumably P-121) seem to be based upon the sound set of the P-255 which has been out for several years now and is a much more expensive DP with (heavier) GH action, both USB & 5 pin din MIDI & external analog audio input, among other things. The newer pianos seem to have a couple of sonic differences, such as a "Rock Organ' voice addition and slightly modified Rhodes voice, but are otherwise relatively similar sonically. Whether or not the samples are identical, well, only someone from within the company can confirm that! Given that, the size, weight & cost reduction value of these new pianos is quite remarkable. For those who really need the 5 Pin MIDI the P-255 is still available, at least for the moment. But the newer pianos also support audio over USB according to the manual, so at least gigging with something like Korg Module or an unlocked version of Yamaha's own FM Essential iPad app could be possible with the P-121/P-125.

Thanks for the info, that's very useful. I have played the P-255, and frankly, I didn't exactly fall in love with its piano sound - although I thought that the action was ok. Judging from the YouTube demos, my impression is that the piano sound of the P-121/125 has more resemblance with the new P-515 than with the 255 - but I could be wrong of course.

 

The lack of 5-pin MIDI is a *big* letdown to me... but I'm going to check these new low-cost pianos as soon as I can. I'm really curious about how much they had to compromise the action.

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In the UK iif you want a USB host to MIDI converter this is a cheap option.

 

USB to MIDI

This is becoming ridiculous; now we need adapters for instruments which don't have MIDI sockets, but just USB, transmitting, um, MIDI.

I wonder how much they are saving by omitting a couple of MIDI ports... close to nothing, probably.

 

So when we are playing out, we have to remember stand, pedals, cables, modules, °and° MIDI adapter... plus of course the f'çk!ng EXTERNAL POWER SUPPLY. :eek::mad::evil::freak::eek::mad:

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very welcome addition to the range, I'm always banging on about how I don't need the extreme top and bottom notes on an 88. Does anybody?

lack of midi not a biggie for me, you can always connect via your PC.

I wouldn't want it any lighter than it is, prefer heavier for better feeling of quality and to prevent it sliding around on table or stand. Lightweight often equates to flimsy plastic.

hang out with me at woody piano shack
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I'm always banging on about how I don't need the extreme top and bottom notes on an 88. Does anybody?

Hi my friend, so did you register on KC in 2002?! :D

 

I'm one of the very early members, registered in 2000 when the forum had just started. And since the very early times, I have been asking for a 73 or 76-key *fully* weighted digital piano or master controller. We have a few choices now... but they are 0.0001% of the market... and the usual deluge of 88-key instruments. (please don't even mention the word "semi-weighted" :mad:)

 

What I don't get is, the vast majority of pianists doesn't need those extra notes. But when asked about the matter, they usually say, "I just prefer to have them".

Yeah, right.

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This one is bang on target for me. Ive been eyeing the P125 as an affordable backup/rehearsal/pickup gig instrument, but the 73 key has much more appeal.

 

Ill have to find a P125 to demo for the sounds and keyboard feel. If it checks those boxes, the P121 will be on my purchase list.

.

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In the UK iif you want a USB host to MIDI converter this is a cheap option.

 

USB to MIDI

This is becoming ridiculous; now we need adapters for instruments which don't have MIDI sockets, but just USB, transmitting, um, MIDI.

I wonder how much they are saving by omitting a couple of MIDI ports... close to nothing, probably.

 

I don't think saving few bucks was their goal - by omitting some features they want to guide you to their other (more expensive) products. I.e. - you want 5DIN MIDI socket - you'd have to buy the Yamaha P255.

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What I don't get is, the vast majority of pianists doesn't need those extra notes. But when asked about the matter, they usually say, "I just prefer to have them".

Yeah, right.

Exactly. As someone who plays jazz using an acoustic piano plugin on a 61-key unweighted 10 lb (4.5k) keyboard, I can say that with a little time one can get very adept at using the octave switch buttons at the right moments. I don't miss 88, 76 or 73 keys! To each their own, of course...

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What I don't get is, the vast majority of pianists doesn't need those extra notes. But when asked about the matter, they usually say, "I just prefer to have them".

Yeah, right.

Exactly. As someone who plays jazz using an acoustic piano plugin on a 61-key unweighted 10 lb (4.5k) keyboard, I can say that with a little time one can get very adept at using the octave switch buttons at the right moments. I don't miss 88, 76 or 73 keys! To each their own, of course...

Well, well. Playing pianistically on an unweighted 61-key board is an extreme choice for the opposite reason... :D

I had to do it for a while years ago, and althought it was a "semi-weighted" ( :roll: ), I'd rather not repeat the experience if possible. But it's very possible to build a 70-something-key instrument that's light and compact, and not give up the piano-like action.

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I don't think saving few bucks was their goal - by omitting some features they want to guide you to their other (more expensive) products. I.e. - you want 5DIN MIDI socket - you'd have to buy the Yamaha P255.

The big plus of the P-121 is being small and light, the P-255 is over 38 lbs. If a potential P-121 customer decides not to buy because of the lack of MIDI port, and is willing to consider an 88, I think he'd more likely buy a non-Yamaha (i.e. Kawai ES100, Casio PX350/360) before considering a P255.

 

I'm always banging on about how I don't need the extreme top and bottom notes on an 88. Does anybody?

I'm okay with a 7x when I go that way, but yeah, I do miss the extra keys now and then. One of my bands does prog, and if you're playing ELP, you use the keys. In another band, the very last note of Let It Be uses that low C, but if your 7x has a convenient octave shift button, I guess you can get around that. It also psychologically seem more comfortable, for everything to be where it belongs, if you grew up playing piano. I remember someone here posting that they found 73 C-to-C to be particularly disorienting, they'd be unclear about octaves, i.e. where middle C was. I guess you could put a sticker above it. ;-)

 

The other thing extra keys can come in handy for is splits.

 

 

 

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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Latest info I have is that the p121 will be available in October (in the UK at least). But I did have a chance to play the 88-note p125 today - and liked the action really quite a lot. It's not quite as perfect as something like a CP4, but I struggled to play Bach and Rachmaninov on it, but for most other purposes it's fine - I'd say it's improved over the p255/115/35 action, and comparable to the Casio PX series.

 

I also (finally) played a Studiologic SL73 with the TP100 action - and was a little disappointed. It felt better than the Acuna I tried (not difficult), particularly with the "light" keyboard curve, but still had that TP100-characteristic of playing "through" something spongy or viscous.

 

I'm looking into combining a MIDI/USB HOST translator, 12v PSU, IEC socket, and a 12v/5v transformer, all packaged into an enclosure, to allow me to power the board and USB translator off a kettle lead, and a MIDI cable to connect to my sound source. Velcro that bundle to the side of the p121 and make it a useful controller.

 

I remember someone here posting that they found 73 C-to-C to be particularly disorienting, they'd be unclear about octaves, i.e. where middle C was.
Right in the middle, no? 6 octaves of C-C means 7 Cs (of Rhye?), so one central, three below and three above. I suppose we become familiarised with the piano layout (4 Cs above middle C, but only 3 - and three further notes - below) where middle C is actually left of centre.

 

Cheers, Mike

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I'd say it's improved over the p255/115/35 action

P255 uses GH which feels pretty different from GHS (115/35). P121 is also GHS, but they could have improved it, or sometimes even the same action feels different in a board that differs in other aspects of its design.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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GHS is going to feel like a big compromise for anyone playing at a pro level. But if portability is paramount, this could be the best option out there right now. Anyone who's ever swung an 88 around on a metro train knows that length matters. I'd fork over my last penny for a CP4-73.

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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it's not only portability that can be inconvenient with 88s. I simply cannot fit one into my studio, they are too long to fit into the available areas in my room. Even worse if it's an 88 with a big slab of control panel on the left for the pitch and mod. I could make one fit if I put it diagonally in the middle of the room, but a bit awkward. A 73 would fit nicely in front of the window.

 

I know this doesn't apply to everybody and if I had the large studio room of my dreams then an 88 it would be.

hang out with me at woody piano shack
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Latest info I have is that the p121 will be available in October (in the UK at least).

annoying that they always announce a product a couple months, or more, before they ship it to dealers.....

 

 

 

.... Jeff /// Yamaha P515 /// Roll Tide
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People complain when products are pre-announced, and people complain when they're not. ("If I knew that was coming, I would have waited.")

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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People complain when products are pre-announced, and people complain when they're not. ("If I knew that was coming, I would have waited.")

we gotta complain about somethin.....

i want one NOW!

theyll probably announce something else i want before this one ships to dealers.... :crazy:

 

 

.... Jeff /// Yamaha P515 /// Roll Tide
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Latest info I have is that the p121 will be available in October (in the UK at least).

just heard back from yamaha that the P121 doesnt ship until november here in the usa

 

 

.... Jeff /// Yamaha P515 /// Roll Tide
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  • 2 months later...
Good size and weight, 4 on board monitors ... but it has a very annoying velocity switching "Rhodes" imitation, that would be upsetting for soloing with, imo.

 Find 660 of my jazz piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Harry was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book."

 

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Took delivery of a white P-121 today. After about an half hour on it, I can say I really, really like it so far.

 

The GHS action doesn't feel like a big compromise to me, even when factoring in the low price and weight. Ran through the changes of Beatrice and Solar repeatedly, and my right hand had no issues (besides the usual ones!) with triplets and sixteenths at a decent tempo.

 

Speakers are reasonably powerful, will do just fine for small trio or solo gigs where I'm wallpaper to the patrons. APs sound decent, and the Rhodes and Wurlitzer on the thing surprised the hell out of me - in a good way.

 

Haven't ran it through my SSv3 yet but I plan to test that out soon.

Nord: Piano 5 73, Electro 6D

Casio: PX-5S

Yamaha: P-121

Novation: MiniNova, BSII, Circuit

DSI Mopho x4

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4 on board monitors
It has a stereo pair of 2-way speakers. I guess you could count the woofers and tweeters as separate speakers, but saying it includes 4 monitors is a real stretch to me!

 

ut it has a very annoying velocity switching "Rhodes"

That's always been my issue with the Rhodes on the low end boards...I'm okay with the tone, but the velocity switch to the "bark" is abrupt (not enough velocity layers, I guess) and comes in too soon (i.e. you should have to hit harder before you get that bark).

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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  • 1 month later...

Bumping the thread.

 

Any news? Did anybody have a chance to try the P-121 (or its big twin the 125)?

 

I'm VERY interested in this for the obvious applications, like piano-only gigs where I mostly do background stuff and don't need the full 88 keys...which means most of my gigs lately, so the 121 is looking more and more interesting.

 

Any insights? Is it just a repackaging of the same old sounds and GHS action, or there's some tweak to playability, velocity curves etc?

Comments on the AP/EP samples (in such a context I'll probably never use anything else) and sound-to-finger connection?

 

 

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Looks good except for the lack of 5-pin MIDI. I know this was discussed earlier in the thread. It's a deal breaker for me, esp. if the DP does not have good EPs or clavs.

 

This is what put me off from using a Casio Privia 160 as my main piano board. The acoustic pianos were great. The Rhodes really sucked. Would have liked to MIDI it to my PC3 for better Rhodes plus Clav, etc.

 

But no dice without using a laptop as a MIDI bridge.

 

I could use the USB connection to a PC running Mr Ray (that was nice), or just to use as a MIDI bridge... but I hate to drag a laptop to gigs, plus the extra setup time and troubleshooting of MIDI signals, etc.

Kurzweil PC3, Yamaha MOX8, Alesis Ion, Kawai K3M
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For live use, yes I'd have to have midi as well.

 

My ancient studiologic controller has an issue so I'm kicking around some home options that can be both easy-for-junior practicing and act as a software controller. This looks like a contender.

 

Of course, I mentioned this to my keyboard-playing buddy and he wants to sell me his MOXf8. Is this the same "GHS" keybed in both? I find that...ok.

 

I also need to check out the p515.

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This piano sure makes me curious. The only playing out I do are infrequent hospice gigs and they'd be easier with a lighter and smaller piano. With retirement, I'll play out more frequently.

 

On a completely different note, I'd be interested to know how this product is selling. Is the demand really there?

Steve Coscia

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My initial feelings on the board remain true a month and a half later. For me, this board is perfection for small, quiet gigs. I've used it several times already in drummer-less acoustic jazz duos and trios and was not wanting in any way.

Nord: Piano 5 73, Electro 6D

Casio: PX-5S

Yamaha: P-121

Novation: MiniNova, BSII, Circuit

DSI Mopho x4

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  • 2 months later...

From the MIDI reference manual:

 

MIDI transmission channels in Dual, Split or Duo

Voice 1 data is transmitted on its specified channel and Voice 2 data is transmitted on the next greater channel number relative to the specified channel. In this case, no data is transmitted if the transmit channel is set toy OFF.

 

Can anyone confirm this? This would give me the option of sending upper or lower to the iPad or Gemini from a split on the P121.

 

 

 

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