Any thoughts on the Yamaha P-515?

[RogerL]

I am looking at buying a P-515 but I am not finding hardly any posts on this keyboard. I know its new but they have delivered many I am told. The UTube videos look great but would be interested if anyone actually has one and especially how it sounds and how the action feels as compared to the CP4, which I really like.

[Dave Ferris]

A few reports from owners over on Pianoworld. I believe Jeff from Al. just recently got one. There seems to be a popular comparison with the Kawai ES8 and Roland FP90. I've played the latter and didn't care for it fwiw.

 

Haven't played the Yamaha myself, but to be honest, I haven't even called around to see if they're in any GCs. As lazy as I am about going out, I might not play one till NAMM.

 

I'd expect it to play a little better then the CP4. For my home use, the internal speakers are a big selling point. Get tired of phones after about 5 minutes.

 

I can't see it being a big seller for frequently gigging folks like the new MODX8 will be. But for home or a stationary context, like a church, I think they'll be fairly popular.

 

For my taste, no one does digital pianos better then Yamaha.

[Sven Golly]

Yamaha P515 thread.

[RogerL]

I saw that thread thanks, it just stopped before anyone actually had one. But I will make my way over to Piano World and see what people say over there.

 

For me, its the 515 versus the Kawai ES80 or KMP7SE and I cant quite decide. I know Bonners did a comparison.

 

I guess the good news is that all these new keyboards sound great and the action is good. Maybe an abundance of riches these days so not to worry too much and spend the time practicing.

[Dave Ferris]

For me, its the 515 versus the Kawai ES80 or KMP7SE and I cant quite decide. Maybe an abundance of riches these days so not to worry too much and spend the time practicing.

 

From what one person posted on PW, he thought the speakers in the Kawai ES8 sounded a bit richer and fuller then the P515. Although he did sell the Kawai to buy the Yamaha.

 

The MP7SE seems more dedicated to having a wide variety of quality gigging sounds and a deeper editing mode. Also remember no internal speakers. I played it briefly and felt the updated action, along with the new samples, were a huge improvement over the MP7.

 

I feel it's more of a "band" keyboard - albeit pretty hefty by today's standards- then a piano substitution practice tool at home. For that purpose, having something with internal speakers, I'd limit the comparison to the P-515 and ES8 personally.

 

The Kawai ES8 has been out for a few years now, where the Yamaha is brand new tech. If that means anything or fwiw. Perhaps Kawai will update it at NAMM '19.

[Marillo]

I tried a P515 - it's going to be my next DP. I had, loved and sold a CP4 which doubled both as a home and stage piano...but just got a bit too heavy to constantly lug in the end.

 

So I have a Nord Electro for general gigging with my band now and wanted a good home piano with speakers BUT which, if I ever got a solo-piano gig, I could suffer to move. The P515 fits that bill.

 

The action (NWX) is excellent, better than the CP4. The speakers were, like any slab, 'good enough' and actually surprisingly rich for their size. I preferred the action to the Kawai ES8.

 

There are two samples, the CFX and Bosendorfer but I can't imagine using anything other than the CFX. The Bosie is more mellow and woody but just sounded less present and sparkling to me.

 

Then there's the very reasonable price of the P515...it's a winner for me.

 

 

[Chris Towns]

Hi,

I was in Chappell's Wardour Street London at the weekend and sat down at a P515. Unfortunately the store was rammed with people playing all the instruments at stupid volumes so I did not get around to auditioning the P515 properly.

What I can say is that P515 feels complete, total quality. It feels like a beautifully made instrument with a quality keybed. Even the stand looks and feels the business.

I would be surprised if anybody disagreed after actually getting their hands on one.

Sadly I cannot comment on the sounds and speaker system but everything else ticked the boxes (for me anyway).

I have a Roland RD2000,a Korg arranger and a Viscount Legend organ, so I consider my opinion to be fairly impartial.

 

[RogerL]

I would be very curious as to your thoughts and impressions when you do play the 515. I tried it at lunch today and wasn't as sold as I thought I would be. I found the action pretty stiff, more then my CP4 I think, and a little difficult to play (could also be my lack of technique). Normally I like a harder action but this one seemed too stiff to me. In one video, Bonners pointed the heaviness of the action out also, over 50 grams I believe.

 

The sounds were very good (esp the CFX grand) but the others weren't great, but I was also listening through a pair of probably not so great headphones so that didn't help. At this point, not sure its worth upgrading from my CP4 yet (which I love) even though I like all the new features of the 515. May wait and see about NAMM 2019 (although I say that every year). But would be interested in what you think when you play one.

[RogerL]

For what its worth, I went back to play the 515 and brought a pair of good headphones (Sennheiser 650HD) and spent more time.

 

I like the keyboard more. The weight is a little heavy but I imagine better plays prefer this. The CFX in binaural mode sounds really amazing. I was less impressed with the Bosendorfer which is pretty soft but can be tweaked up in piano room settings.

 

Speakers were ok, but not great. You also cant tweak any of the other sounds past reverb and EQ, so none of the Rhodes etc can be tweaked at all as far as I can tell. The built in sounds are good but there are only 7 of them in the Rhodes subset

 

So... given that I believe to get good speaker sound one would need better speaker amps anyway (I am looking at the new CP8s or 12) so the built in speakers aren't worth it, and that I already have a CFX in my CP4 (although without the binaural feature), this isnt worth the upgrade to me. I am going to hold off and hope that Yamaha upgrades the CP4 soon. If one wanted a home digital piano with speakers then the 515 is a really good deal and worth it. Makes me also really appreciate the new 73 key Yamaha P121 which is only like $600 and has the new CFX and is super light.

 

I am curious if anyone has a recommendation on keyboard amps for AP clarity.

[Dave Ferris]

I have the Senn 650s and yeah they would make any keyboard sound great.

 

I don't mind a heavy action , as long as it connects well with the sound and is consistent and responsive to my technique - which generally all Yamaha DP are. With the exception of the entry models, which play how they are priced.

 

The internal speakers would be the main reason I would consider the 515, otherwise I'd just continue to keep the CP4 set up in the office. Lately though, I'm really hating headphones past 5-10 minutes. The internal 515 speakers don't have to sound like a pair of Neumann KH310s for my purpose.

 

From the people I speak to at NAMM, there seems to be no hurry to upgrade/replace the CP4.

 

Regarding amps, they're ALL tied for last place, except for maybe the Motion Sound KP500s. I haven't heard it personally so all I can do is speculate based on my experiences with MS KP200s. And that was horrible for piano, nails on a chalkboard sound quality.

 

For best hi-fi reproduction of a digital piano, consider running stereo into a pair of active cabs. Maybe the EV ZXA1, haven't heard them but I would consider the newer QSC K8.2 model.

[Dave Ferris]

My friend Pete Calandra in New Paltz, NY posted a short FB video, iPhone quality, of the P-515. Kind of in a Chick-ish mood.

 

https://www.facebook.com/petercalandra/videos/10214015368237796/

 

If you read the comments, I asked him about how it plays compares to the CP4. Pete said he prefers it to his CP4.

 

Dear Santa...

[Bobadohshe]

From the people I speak to at NAMM, there seems to be no hurry to upgrade/replace the CP4.

 

Fine with me. It ain't broke.

[Dave Ferris]

Pete Calandra sent me this today. He said , " I bounced as a wav file right inside the p515 and saved it on a usb stick".

 

It mostly hovers around the middle to low register in the beginning till around the 3:20 mark where he starts exploring the higher registers. Ballad, introspective type playing.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ith84fy0zloh1dn/Piano_1-22-19_PC.mp3?dl=0&fbclid=IwAR1ABh9sO8fjruF1XShQ7RhNYAFr8KCIOLYLPqTmpYJELl9ijtfOEeMfTEs

 

I posted this from Pete already a few days back but putting it here again just so it's in the right thread.

 

[video:youtube]

[RogerL]

Nice playing, thanks for posting.

 

Looking forward to all the NAMM postings about the new CP88 and how it compares to the P-515. There is a lot of chatter about the differences, I gather the CP88 doesn't have string resonance and escarpment. I don't really know how important these are for the causal player. I really like the new CFX piano in the 515, I hope its in the CP88. Piano sound, action and feel is what matters to me. The 515 is a lot less expensive so not sure why the CP88 has less features, puzzling. I didn't like the 515 speakers so why buy them, but if the CP88 sounds aren't any better why pay more? Yamaha is charging more so why not give more.

 

But I know that all shall be revealed soon enough by you all lucky enough to actually go to NAMM.

[AnotherScott]

The 515 is a lot less expensive so not sure why the CP88 has less features, puzzling.

More expensive boards often lack some features of less expensive boards. They're just different designs with different features, and there are often trade-offs. Krome is missing Kross features, FA is missing DS features, PX560 is missing PX5S features, MP11 is missing MP7 features, XK5 is missing SK1 features, the list goes on.

 

While you lose some things in moving from a P515 to a CP, you also get a ton of stuff... the real-time control surface, pitch/mod controls, recallable user presets, internal power supply, aluminum chassis, XLR outputs, etc. Plus there's a compact/light 73. As is often the case, you get some stuff, you lose some stuff. But sure, if all you care about is piano sound/action, the P515 is the better buy.

[LX88]

I have been playing one at a local piano shop, and I absolutely love it.

 

The CFX sample reminds me a lot of the CP4 sample, but there is also a Bosendorfer sample plus several variations.... can't remember all the names but most of them sound good.

 

The Rhodes / Wurli samples are also excellent. There also also 5 or 6 Rhodes variations, such as Phaser Wurli etc. I didn't have issues with most of these.... they sounded more authentic to me than most of what Yamaha had in their Motif line. They all seemed to be warmer a fatter sounding than many of the Motif samples that I remember.

 

The speaker system also sounded beefy and fairly loud. We Paired the 515 to a subwoofer in the store I was in, and the thing really had some oomph with that.

 

My impression of the 515 was that it had pianos that were comparable to the MODX, but I seemed to like the keybed better. It is priced significantly lower than the MODX, but then again it is heavier.

 

There is a lot of bang for the buck in the 515. A new level in the stand alone digital from what I can tell.

[Dave Ferris]

Hi, this is Pete Calandra's agent posting yet another clip of Pete and the P-515.

 

Some variations on Layla.

 

[video:youtube]

 

[LX88]

I though that the 515 had a fair amount of output. And with a subwoofer it has quite a bit of output.

 

I haven't looked at the specs.... what are they saying about the keybed? I liked it pretty well. It definitely felt more forgiving than the classic CP-33 type action.

 

I did most of my demo through headphones and I also liked the Bosendorfer quite a bit, and there was also a " soft" piano or " mellow" piano... can't remember which but through phones this was just about my favorite. I like a warm sound in a digital.

 

I have kept the Roland RD300GX for years because I still love the main Rhodes and I like the Superior Grand Roland sample much better than what came after it. For whatever reason, I just could not justify the cost of a CP4 but now this is getting closer to it.

 

I really do like the idea of something with speakers that has a natural sound. I will take a look at the CP88 and see how it compares, but I really also like the price point of the 515.

 

Yamaha does it again. This could be a classic for basic home use, definitely.

 

[Dave Ferris]

I pulled these quotes from the Casio thread so as to not muddle up that thread with stuff on the P-515.

 

Im relegated to spectator on this thread from now on. I just bought the P515 home bundle plus (somewhat customized). Im stoked, might have it by Saturday.

Lets hope were all happy with our new gear!

 

I think your gonna be happy with it Bobby, please post a review when your ready...!

 

Yes, please let us know how it is. Still highly jonesing for it here. One of the few highlights, of an otherwise dismal NAMM for me.

 

I read the integrated stand is back ordered till the end of June ?

[Mighty Motif Max]

Check my review on the original P515 thread.

[Doerfler]

I read the integrated stand is back ordered till the end of June ?

 

I read the same.

[LX88]

I liked the 515 when I demoed it a few months back. I thought the piano sample, action and electric pianos were quite good.

 

I do not like the weight. This is definitely a home instrument.

 

I did speak to a Yamaha rep at a GC recently, and I basically told him that I do not care for Yamaha organ samples !!!

 

He did not seem to want to listen.

 

This guy also did not seem to know much about how gigging musicians need good contemporary organ sounds. It is certainly a fundamental sound for any classic rock, blues or jazz gig.

 

Another issue I have had with Yamaha are defective keys. I am having this issue with a recent Yamaha portable, purchased approx. 3 years ago.

 

Meanwhile a am taking a Roland FP 30 for a spin. Surprisingly good acoustic piano sample ( Supernatural) and one of the better Wurli samples I have heard.

 

The Rhodes sucks on it though.

 

P 515 is an overall good choice for home use.

 

 

[Stokely]

Yamaha could take over (our little) world if they added a good organ engine IMO

 

I'm interested in this dp...though debating going after a modx8 simply because I could gig it far easier (despite the dreaded wall wart, grrr). Obviously the GHS action isn't going to be quite as nice as the action in the P-515, but I'm hardly a "pianist" so it might not matter. Ironically, my ancient studiologic controller finally having key issues (got it used in 1995 or so) is what is creating the interest...that still feels mighty good to me, it has the fatar tp40. Part of me would hate to go from that to the GHS in the modx, though another part of me would love to have those modx sounds available at my gigs!

[Bobby Simons]

Mine is 'out for delivery'.

 

http://www.quickmeme.com/img/91/91bb089b70e905b1896954f28bae759fd1d86ee50fa799b6a749c6b5d2568631.jpg

[Mark Schmieder]

Don't forget that organ goes in and out of fashion periodically. In the SF Bay Area, I hear WAY more Rhodes Electric Piano in the jazz world than I do Hammond Organ.

[Bobby Simons]

Mine arrived this afternoon. After a dinner party obligation I finally got home to set up and play for an hour or so. So...

 

I am absolutely thrilled with the feel of this action. I had been sweating this purchase because I never actually found one to play for myself. (You had to see me ripping the box open, panicked, and reaching under the packaging material to play some notes.) I was afraid Id never find something I liked as much as my ancient, beloved KX88 - but Im thinking this surpasses it easily. I need more time with a clearer head to organize my impressions. Ive been mostly in the headphones, but Im pretty happy with the internal speakers. I have yet to unbox the subwoofer, or get into the iPad app. The bench included in this bundle is quite comfortable, and Im loving the Z stand. I cannot wait for that furniture stand.

 

OK, Im going back. Dont know how much sleep Ill be getting tonight.

[lvercaut]

I have yet to unbox the subwoofer,

 

 

Bobby,

 

may i ask wich subwoofer you ordered ? Thanks.

[Bobby Simons]

Kinyo, a brand I dont recognize. Its part of the Kraft Music Home Bundle + Sub package. My expectations were not high and I have other subs here, but it sounds fine. Not too heavy, 60 watts - a good match to the keyboard. I dont turn it up very high and am still experimenting with the crossover setting. I think its actually marketed for tv use. In fact, I was going to use it on mine but wasnt getting any signal from my audio outs.

[Fleer]

That sub seems a good idea.

[Bobby Simons]

I was pleased to be notified that my backordered furniture stand shipped today, a month sooner than they expected.