Yamaha P-125 and P-45 Successor Announced

[pjd]

1 hour ago, CHarrell said:

 

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.

 

You're welcome and thanks for the tip. I hope to try the CP88 and the new Montage M8X before making a decision. Right now, the P-515 is the front-runner and it looks like a P-525 will be announced sometime this Fall (maybe, I hope).

 

The word "smooth" got me thinking. I couldn't play the GHC with much fluidity and everything felt/sounded choppy. OK for Little Richard, but we ain't doin' Little Richard at the church. 😀

 

Have a good holiday weekend -- pj

 

 

[AnotherScott]

12 minutes ago, pjd said:

OK for Little Richard, but we ain't doin' Little Richard at the church. 😀

Little Richard did. 😉

[Mighty Motif Max]

On 8/31/2023 at 6:59 PM, 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/

Yep. Just played a P-225 at Guitar Center, right next to a P-45. Unbelievably, the P-45 won by a large margin, which is really unfortunate. A few things I noticed about the P-225...

 

First, I didn't interpret the keybed as springy per se, but it's definitely on the fatiguing side and isn't the greatest for refined dynamic control. It has a resistance but it's a sluggish heavy-feeling resistance, whereas I think of a springy resistance as having a quick rebound.

 

Second, whatever Yamaha did with the onboard speakers is really bad IMO - it sounds like a toy with no low mids or lower end, and given that I was able to play the much older P-45 next to it, I can say that it's significantly worse than the older Yamaha boards in that regard. It's honestly embarrassingly bad.

 

Third, I will say, for a compact action, I think it is a bit better than the action that Casio used in the PXS-1000/3000, but it's a pain in a different way. The PXS compact action wore out my wrists from the pivot point, whereas the P-225 wears out my hands from a weird resistance, kind of like the old PC3-76 (TP8-P) action but with the heaviness/sluggishness of a TP-100. Not impressed. This may be the first Yamaha hammer action that I strongly dislike.

 

IMO the sound/action combination started going downhill with the previous-generation Yamaha boards - the P-125 was a downgrade in that area from the P-115, which I thought was actually pretty decent. Maybe that's why I find the old P-45 (from the P-115 generation) better, even though it's not as fully featured of a board and isn't as good as the 115 was.

[stoken6]

Wow, that's damning feedback @Mighty Motif Max

 

"Introducing: the all-new digital pianos from Yamaha! All the plasticky build you've come to expect from budget digital DPs, but now with:

- Truly crappy action!

- Worse speakers!

- A bit shallower!

- Discontinued 73-key model!

And featuring favourites such as:

- External PSU!

- No 5-pin MIDI!

Yamaha - what's not to hate?"

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Mighty Motif Max]

3 hours ago, stoken6 said:

Wow, that's damning feedback @Mighty Motif Max

 

"Introducing: the all-new digital pianos from Yamaha! All the plasticky build you've come to expect from budget digital DPs, but now with:

- Truly crappy action!

- Worse speakers!

- A bit shallower!

- Discontinued 73-key model!

And featuring favourites such as:

- External PSU!

- No 5-pin MIDI!

Yamaha - what's not to hate?"

 

Cheers, Mike.

Honestly I was taken aback by how bad it was. I'm a big Yamaha fan but this one...this just ain't it.

[mrk7421]

Thanks to the person who said I could go to the owner's manual and adjust touch sensitivity sensitivity parameters on the p225. One just showed up near me so I will go for another spin tomorrow. Does it's sample have anything to do with previous CFX samples....P515 , CP4 etc. or is this something else?

[pjd]

On 9/1/2023 at 5:59 PM, Mighty Motif Max said:

Yep. Just played a P-225 at Guitar Center, right next to a P-45. Unbelievably, the P-45 won by a large margin, which is really unfortunate. A few things I noticed about the P-225...

 

First, I didn't interpret the keybed as springy per se, but it's definitely on the fatiguing side and isn't the greatest for refined dynamic control. It has a resistance but it's a sluggish heavy-feeling resistance, whereas I think of a springy resistance as having a quick rebound.

 

Second, whatever Yamaha did with the onboard speakers is really bad IMO - it sounds like a toy with no low mids or lower end, and given that I was able to play the much older P-45 next to it, I can say that it's significantly worse than the older Yamaha boards in that regard. It's honestly embarrassingly bad.

 

Thanks for the report. At first, I though it was just me. I had a pretty strong reaction, too. I don't like trashing my hands.

 

I agree that "spring-y" is not the best word choice. Maybe, "sponge-y"? I could not play with any fluidity or grace. 

 

Makes me wonder, do real people test these Yamaha products? Yamaha is such a bloomin' secretive company that I could just image them keeping the GHC in a lab and then, "Voila!", public release. Surely, they know they are in the ergonomics business?!

 

Thanks, again -- pj

[pjd]

18 hours ago, mrk7421 said:

Thanks to the person who said I could go to the owner's manual and adjust touch sensitivity sensitivity parameters on the p225. One just showed up near me so I will go for another spin tomorrow. Does it's sample have anything to do with previous CFX samples....P515 , CP4 etc. or is this something else?

 

De nada. BTW, I couldn't find anything like a 3-band EQ. There are things called "Wall EQ" (Ref manual, page 32) and "Sound Boost" (Ref manual, page 29) which effect equalization. Might want to look up those particular three-finger button/key combinations before trying the 225.

 

As to CFX samples, I would bet they are recycled from some other product. I wouldn't expect champagne quality at a beer-budget price. 😀 If you can stretch to a P-515, you'll be better off. Or maybe wait for the P-525 which is right around the corner. P-515 has the full VRM vs. the 225's VRM Lite, and the NWX action generally draws good marks from players.

 

Hope this helps -- pj

 

Music tech blog: sandsoftwaresound.net

 

[mrk7421]

Campaign on a beer budget . . . . Is more likely to be found on the Roland FP30x at this price point. When I demo these through phones at GC I don't find much not to like. And the recent FP4 action issues seem to feel a bit more friendly. I wanted to try the P225 before possibly picking up an FP30x. I do have the FP10. Talk about a beer budget...one showed up used on Craigslist for 150 bucks. A lot of FP 10s were sold at Costco a few years back and are showing up at used prices. It is very tweakable and a good overall tone can be had from the FP 10 but the speakers are complete poop.