Yamaha P-125 and P-45 Successor Announced

[ElmerJFudd]

11 minutes ago, AnotherScott said:

 

Casio gambled on slimness being a big selling factor, and my guess is, the gamble paid off in sales, so Yamaha wants to grab some of that.

 

 

True, 5/8 of a pound is not much, but it's not necessarily unnoticeable, especially if the distribution of the weight is different (as it is likely to be in the smaller chassis). But no, that weight difference would not be much of a temptation to prefer it over the P125. I agree that's it's not really a selling point over the P-125, I don't think the goal was to make it 5/8 lb lighter, but I think a goal was to make it smaller in height and depth, and having done that, yeah, it's going to end up a bit lighter as well. Regardless, I think its biggest advantage over the P125 should be the sound quality of the piano, it's the CFX piano sample with key-off samples and a VRM implementation.

 

Which makes me wonder if they’ll continue to sell the 125 and just put this out for their dealers to offer aesthetically as a Yamaha option vs Casio slim and shiny. 

 Otherwise, what is the cheapest GHS Yamaha DP?  PS500?  Not cheap!  

[AnotherScott]

14 minutes ago, ElmerJFudd said:

Which makes me wonder if they’ll continue to sell the 125 and just put this out for their dealers to offer aesthetically as a Yamaha option vs Casio slim and shiny. 

 Otherwise, what is the cheapest GHS Yamaha DP?  PS500?  Not cheap!  

Cheapest GHS is probably P-45.

 

Whether they continue to offer the older models may depend on how these new ones price out compared to those. If a new model is pricier, they may keep the older model around at a lower price point. If it's going to be the same price, I would expect the older model to disappear.

[Biggles]

P125 £489

 

P225 £799

 

Quite a hike up in price for what, very Minor changes.

[JohnH]

Yamaha 88 key width is always 22 mm with an octave width of 16.4 cm so I would be interested to see if it's less than that on the new P series models. I don't think so.

[AnotherScott]

On 7/11/2023 at 5:38 AM, Biggles said:

P125 £489

 

P225 £799

 

Quite a hike up in price for what, very Minor changes.

 

OTOH, if it gives you the the CFX piano sample with key-off and VRM from the P-515, at about half the price of the P515, someone else might see it as a bargain. 

[CHarrell]

1 hour ago, AnotherScott said:

 

OTOH, if it gives you the the CFX piano sample with key-off and VRM from the P-515, at about half the price of the P515, someone else might see it as a bargain. 

 

I could've sworn when I got a P125 5 years ago it was around $700, so doesn't seem like a price hike to me.

[AnotherScott]

40 minutes ago, CHarrell said:

 

I could've sworn when I got a P125 5 years ago it was around $700, so doesn't seem like a price hike to me.

Good point. I took those figures at face value for that locale, but at least here in the U S, currently the p125 is showing at $699 at sweetwater vs $749 for the p225, so not much of an increase. I wonder if the p125 was always that much cheaper where biggles is, or if maybe that reflects a more recent price reduction, perhaps linked to the introduction of the new model. 

[ElmerJFudd]

15 minutes ago, AnotherScott said:

Good point. I took those figures at face value for that locale, but at least here in the U S, currently the p125 is showing at $699 at sweetwater vs $749 for the p225, so not much of an increase. I wonder if the p125 was always that much cheaper where biggles is, or if maybe that reflects a more recent price reduction, perhaps linked to the introduction of the new model. 

I’d say its design and price are perfectly set as a tactical counter to PXS1100/3100.  

[pjd]

Kind of liked these videos about the Yamaha P-225. Dude is like Ujiie's laid-back grandfather. 🙂 🤩

 

 

 

[Biggles]

On 8/11/2023 at 3:04 PM, AnotherScott said:

Good point. I took those figures at face value for that locale, but at least here in the U S, currently the p125 is showing at $699 at sweetwater vs $749 for the p225, so not much of an increase. I wonder if the p125 was always that much cheaper where biggles is, or if maybe that reflects a more recent price reduction, perhaps linked to the introduction of the new model. 

The price I quoted in UKP was current which is more now than it was pre Covid

 

 

[CHarrell]

Looks like my GC has 225 in stock! Might hit it up today and give y'all a field report!

[CHarrell]

Didn't make my way yesterday, on my way to GC now.

[Chris Link]

I’d have been tempted (since they showed it as “in stock”) to have them ring it up and then demo it. As long as they allow returns. 
 

 

[pjd]

I had the same luck Saturday, but did have a useful chat with the store manager -- a decent guy. We've all had our ups and downs at GC... 😐

 

He checked inventory and saw that a P-225 was delivered Friday. Might set it up this week.

 

Stacks of P-45 and P-125 on the floor. Blow-outs ahead?

 

CP88 sell like hot cakes according to the manager. One comes in, one sells out immediately. Explains why I still have not laid hands on one.

 

I did play through my Sunday gig music on a GHS DGX-670. Should offer a basis for comparison against GHC.

 

-- pj

 

Music tech blog: sandsoftwaresound.net

 

 

 

[Artomas]

21 minutes ago, pjd said:

I had the same luck Saturday, but did have a useful chat with the store manager -- a decent guy. We've all had our ups and downs at GC... 😐

 

....CP88 sell like hot cakes according to the manager. One comes in, one sells out immediately. Explains why I still have not laid hands on one.

 

 

 

Did you really mean CP, or the newer CK? I'm assuming it's the much cheaper CK... but then again, Yamaha has the CK88 on sale already,  and it just came out a little while ago.

[CHarrell]

2 hours ago, pjd said:

I had the same luck Saturday, but did have a useful chat with the store manager -- a decent guy. We've all had our ups and downs at GC... 😐

 

He checked inventory and saw that a P-225 was delivered Friday. Might set it up this week.

 

Stacks of P-45 and P-125 on the floor. Blow-outs ahead?

 

CP88 sell like hot cakes according to the manager. One comes in, one sells out immediately. Explains why I still have not laid hands on one.

 

I did play through my Sunday gig music on a GHS DGX-670. Should offer a basis for comparison against GHC.

 

-- pj

 

Music tech blog: sandsoftwaresound.net

 

 

 

 

Nice to see another Western WA peep here!

[JoJoB3]

Just played the P-515 last Friday.  Well to do owner of said gorgeous venue bought it and full sound system on a whim.
Rare, cool, well to do dude actually. Restores vintage cars and trucks to near orig factory and new. Woof!
Excellent bourbons ensued.

Consensus: Loved the ac pianos (nearly all) and the keybed and feel. All other sounds onboard were VERY underwhelming however. I was kind of shocked at this (and I'm a Yammy fan to a degree).
Don't recall seeing 5-pin midi (saw usb).

Happy still with my simple little P-115. If no baby G it's 'fine'.

Is this new model comparable to the 515 to any degree?

[pjd]

4 hours ago, Artomas said:

Did you really mean CP, or the newer CK? I'm assuming it's the much cheaper CK... but then again, Yamaha has the CK88 on sale already,  and it just came out a little while ago.

 

CP. I'm looking for a digital piano something for practice and need the feel to translate to an acoustic Petrof grand at my church gig.

 

The CK88 and its GHS keybed just doesn't step up. I have respect for the CK88, but it doesn't fit my need.

 

CP88 demo units are hard to find in my immediate area. There is a CP88 40 miles and one+ hour away through I-5 traffic. Yikes! 🙂

 

-- pj

 

[pjd]

2 hours ago, CHarrell said:

 

Nice to see another Western WA peep here!

 

Cheers! Spent most of the day dealing with a flat tire. Thank goodness for Les Schwab!

[mrk7421]

Hello....I had high hopes when I went to demo the P 225 but I could not prevent it from sounding overly bright.I probably should try a touch sensitivity adjustment but how would that be done? I did like the action the default piano sound is not my cup of tea. 

[pjd]

1 hour ago, JoJoB3 said:

Just played the P-515 last Friday.  

Consensus: Loved the ac pianos (nearly all) and the keybed and feel. All other sounds onboard were VERY underwhelming however. I was kind of shocked at this (and I'm a Yammy fan to a degree).
Don't recall seeing 5-pin midi (saw usb).

Is this new model comparable to the 515 to any degree?

 

Great minds think alike. 😀 I came to a similar conclusion about the P-515: http://sandsoftwaresound.net/yamaha-p-515-i-played-one/

 

I'd like to play the P-225, but spec-wise, it's not up to the P-515. The new GHC (Graded-Hammer Compact) action is a complete unknown. The P-515 has the Natural Wood GH with escapement (X) and the Bösendorfer. The P-515 has 5-pin MIDI IN/OUT according to the manual; I didn't go looking for it in the store.

 

BTW, I'm seeing signs in the tea leaves of a P-525. I don't expect it to be much of a bump beyond the 515.

 

I totally agree about the 515 lacking decent secondary sounds. Why does Yamaha still sling these 1990's sounds? That's why I'm looking to CP88 or even the new Montage M8X. I loves that NWX keybed! 😄

 

-- pj

 

http://sandsoftwaresound.net/yamaha-p-525-on-the-way/

 

[CHarrell]

47 minutes ago, pjd said:

That's why I'm looking to CP88 or even the new Montage M8X. I loves that NWX keybed! 😄

 

Getting to try out the P515 a few weeks ago, I was shocked by how different they felt: I thought it was just going to be NWGH (as on CP and YC88) plus escapement, but the 515 felt much firmer, with more resistance...I didn't actually test out the escapement. I know it gets dissed for being heavy and I have arthritis, but at least for me, what makes keybeds comfortable or not is not so much the "raw" weight but aspects like bounce, bottoming, and key return speed, and damn, I thought it felt so good. 😂 I'd actually go so far as to say it's in the top 3 digital piano actions I've tried.

 

My major hope for P525, beyond escaping the closing model number loop they've trapped themselves in, is a lighter body...might be a big ask since I think it might use plastic anyways, but Kawaii is tantalizingly close to getting their RH3 in a relatively very lightweight package (just imagine if the ES920 didn't have speakers!), and I'd love to see Yamaha engineer a solution to get the NWX in a lighter form factor as well.....bring out the NWXC!

[CHarrell]

49 minutes ago, mrk7421 said:

Hello....I had high hopes when I went to demo the P 225 but I could not prevent it from sounding overly bright.I probably should try a touch sensitivity adjustment but how would that be done? I did like the action the default piano sound is not my cup of tea. 

 

With built-in speakers, you could try several things: heavier touch curve to get those brighter timbres come out with more effort, speaker EQ settings (don't know how to find those on this series without a manual), and in the case of P225, it has its resonance modelling which might contribute to some brightness depending on certain settings...you could try dialling some of those down to see if that makes a difference. Did you try listening with headphones as well?

[D. Gauss]

in this day and age, there has to be a way to have great action and not weigh 50 lbs.  just saying...

[pjd]

Just played the P-225 for about an hour or so. I played through this week's music for the church gig.

 

Bottom-line, not for me. The GHC action has a springy resistance that tired my hands in a very short time. Even the GC manager (a keyboard player) was surprised at the springy-ness. More at:

 

http://sandsoftwaresound.net/yamaha-p-225-review-its-not-for-me/

[mrk7421]

III tried looking at the owner's manual to see if I could find touch sensitivity on or EQ settings.I have a Roland FP 10 and fortunately it does have touch sensitivity and treble brightness settings from using the function button on certain keys. If you spend any time with an FP 10 you can get it to sound virtually identical to the Supernatural sample in the Roland FP 30x if you happen to like to tame the brightness down.A lot of upper harmonics sound artificial to me unless you are really hitting it. The same goes for electric pianos. Let's see if I can tame down the touch on these newer Yamahas.

[mrk7421]

Is there an easily accessible touch sensitivity function on the P225? How about brightness control? Out of the box the 225 resembles a Baldwin Acrosonic spinet  more than it does a real CFX acoustic. Let's hear about some adjustability of this. And whatever happened to 5 pin midi????

[CHarrell]

20 hours ago, pjd said:

Just played the P-225 for about an hour or so. I played through this week's music for the church gig.

 

Bottom-line, not for me. The GHC action has a springy resistance that tired my hands in a very short time. Even the GC manager (a keyboard player) was surprised at the springy-ness. More at:

 

http://sandsoftwaresound.net/yamaha-p-225-review-its-not-for-me/

 

Thanks for the report. I really hope you get to try the CP, it's a heavier action but it's also really smooth and the sounds play so well with the keybed.

[LarsHarner2]

Hello, I went back and checked my GC account, and saw I got my P-125 back in 2018 (middle of year) for $480; the list was $600 and I must have had a 20% off coupon which they had at the time (these days 15% seems max). I had gotten a ES-110 as my road board but found I liked the P-125 sounds better. I am going to keep it as it works great.

I had a P-95 back in 2010, traded it in for a P-105 and had 2 defective ones.

 

I am very much looking forward to the P-525, I played  a P-515 in NY this week, I like the bosendorfer sound as well and the action is really good 

[pjd]

8 hours ago, mrk7421 said:

Is there an easily accessible touch sensitivity function on the P225? How about brightness control? Out of the box the 225 resembles a Baldwin Acrosonic spinet  more than it does a real CFX acoustic. Let's hear about some adjustability of this. And whatever happened to 5 pin midi????

 

P-225 Owner's Manual, page 20

 

The P-225 uses the keys to set parameters, e.g., Hold down PIANO and hit C6. The manuals have a bunch of charts:

 

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical_instruments/pianos/p_series/p-225/downloads.html#product-tabs

 

Might want to give the Smart Pianist app a try, too. Yamaha advertise Smart Pianist support for the P-225 and you may be able to access more parameters through the app.

 

Hope this helps -- pj