Yamaha P125 Alternative?

[MotiDave]

Hey Gear Gurus - a guy i know is looking to buy his son a keyboard. He was looking at Yamaha P125, which is a fine entry level electric AP keyboard. Wonder what other options you might recommend in that value range (I think P125 is just short of $700?)

 

Thanks in advance

[The Piano Man]

Kawai ES110

- perhaps a more mellow tone than the Yamaha

- benefit of standard midi outs, if he wants to connect to sound modules

 

Roland FP30

- different tonality again

- slightly heavier action, which he may or may not prefer

 

Korg D1

- no built in speakers. More a 'stage piano'

- very nice keyboard action

 

As always, the best advice would be to visit a store and try all of these, and others, out.

[Joe Muscara]

The Casio PX-160 was a direct competitor but it's getting hard to find. Here are some comparison points, however.

 

1. PX-160 is lighter.

2. PX-160 is a lot smaller. Since the P-125 has speakers facing downward, the case is much taller than most other instruments. Among other things, this makes the PX-160 much easier to use as a master controller in a home studio.

3. PX-160's piano sound is a Steinway. The Yamaha P-125 uses a Yamaha. Fine if that's the sound you want.

4. PX-160 keys have textured surfaces on black AND white keys. This means your fingers won't slip, no matter what the playing conditions.

5. PX-160 amplifiers are more powerful... and they're not located on the underside of the instrument, like they are on the P-125.

6. PX-160 listed $100 less than the P-125.

 

That being said, the Casio PX-S1000 is more or less replacing the PX-160. It is even smaller than the PX-160. The piano samples and Smart Scaled Hammer Action give an improved level of realism to piano playing. It can also be used as a Bluetooth speaker, letting you play along with music on your phone, or simply as a great speaker to listen to music. The PX-S3000 is a little more money ($849 vs. $649), but it adds 700 tones, 200 rhythms, a graphic LCD, pitch bend, expression pedal, an arpeggiator, audio recorder, and more. Both will also run on batteries, and can use Casio's SP-34 three-pedal unit that does NOT require mounting to a stand.

 

OTOH, the CDP-S150 and CDP-S350 from Casio are $479 and $549 respectively. The CDP-S150 has 10 tones, the CDP-S350 has 700 tones and 200 rhythms. The CDP-S350 has an LCD display and pitch bend. Both will take the SP-34 three-pedal unit and can be run on batteries.

 

If he's looking for a home package, all of these Casio models have optional matching stands as well, and there are fitted gig bags available too.

 

Based on the information you provided in your post, I'd consider the CDP-S350 or the PX-S1000. However, I wanted to include the other models for completeness and if he wants to look at the full range. But between the CDP-S350 or the PX-S1000, it depends on if he wants more sounds (CDP-S350) or more realistic piano (PX-S1000). The PX-S is designed to be a bit more elegant if it's in a living room, and it does have 1/4" outs which make it more convenient for gigging. The CDP-S series only has a headphone jack for audio out (the PX-S has headphone out as well).

[Biggles]

Search this section of the forum and you will find quite a few posts on this very subject.

 

I have a Yamaha, the others are a pain to change instrument voices.

 

I disliked the Korg action and piano voices.

 

The Kawai ES120 that I tried had a very and I mean very clunky keyboard.

[ElmerJFudd]

Yamaha P-255 if you can find one.

[LX88]

I started the thread on the FP 10 Roland available at Costco for $499 for this very reason.

 

I have had it with the Yamaha keybed on on my 2 year old P 45 which has gotten quite noisy.From what I understand this is the same keybed as the MODX 88. Yamaha has a history of keybed issues...but the CP 4/ CP 88 being the exception.

 

Also...I am not a fan of the Casio piano sample in this price range. Too much plunk in the C5 register....well documented by others on this forum. Apologies to Casio lovers. Every time I hit C5 in a chord voicing.... Clunk.

 

This why I am doing as much investigation as I am on Roland FP 10. Virtually the same as $699 FP 30. Pretty good Supernatural sample but please use the keytouch adjustment because Supernatuals in general tend to be a bit bright.

 

The Costco bundle also includes stand and bench.