YAMAHA Digital Pianos-Home, 88-Key (P143B)

I have an acoustic piano, but I’m a night owl and wanted to be able to practice without disturbing other people. I tried a very low end partly weighted piano and found that it would not be suitable for practice because it would require a radically different touch for anyone going back and forth between that and the real thing. Next I considered the Yamaha P45 or P71, but when I learned that this one would work with the Yamaha software that expands its capabilities, I decided to spring for this. I have only had it a few days and haven’t tried the software yet. I have an Android phone, and reviews from several years ago say that the software isn’t great with Android, but I trust they’ve had time to iron out at least some of that problem. In any case, this sounds great to me and the keyboard feels wonderful. So far my only complaint is: What the heck were they thinking when most of the connections are hidden where I have to crouch down behind the thing to even see them? We have had a lot of thunderstorms lately, and I unplug every time I walk away. Doing that at the wall is also inconvenient in my set up, and I prefer to unplug the pedal and headphones also, rather than leave cords dangling. Even the headphone jacks, which are on the front, are below an overhang, out of sight. I didn’t realize they were there and tried to use the headphones from the aux jack. If you do that, you might get a muffled sound from the headphones at best and think there’s something wrong with them or the piano. The information is in the manual, but not terribly obvious. Follow the dots and lines. It came with a print manual, but in case anyone isn’t aware, the Yamaha site has the manuals in PDF format – big and searchable – yay! I suppose hiding the plugs makes for a sleeker appearance, but function is more important to me. My suggestion for improving the design would be to hide the plugs on a horizontal surface behind the music rack if you must, but not out of reach. But don’t change the music rack. It’s good. It’s not very tall, but I lived in a humid (floppy paper) part of the country and keep sheets in 9″ x 12″ sleeve binders that stand flat. Overall, I’m thrilled with this piano purchase so far. I’ll update if there are problems down the road, but I don’t anticipate any.

Got this for my wife for Christmas, as we had elected to sell her upright acoustic piano a while back due to the difficulties of keeping it in tune. I spent several days researching a few different Yamaha P-series models before settling on this one. While they are all excellent digital pianos, this one has a few features that make it worth the difference in price.

They all have a great feel. Yamaha spent a lot of time getting the weighting on these keys to feel as much like their acoustic grands as possible, and having sat down at a C5 myself a few times over the years, I can say that their work paid off. This really does accurately capture the touch of a real piano.

The other thing they spent a lot of time on was the sampling. Unlike a lot of much cheaper options, every individual key on a Yamaha grand was recorded for sampling, and each key is playing back its corresponding sample as opposed to saving a bit of space on a drive somewhere and using a single sample for a range of keys. This is most evident when you’re wearing headphones and playing because you can hear the coloration of the sound provided by all the unique internal reflections at a particular string, and the little bit of sympathetic vibration of the surrounding strings that occurs in a real piano. Your immediate though might be that this isn’t a good thing… but that’s what real pianos sound like and part of why you can often hear the difference between a real piano and a cheaper digital copy.

The other thing that stands the Yamahas head and shoulders above others is the touch sensitivity. There is a wide range of “velocities” available, allowing for nearly the same flexibility dynamically that a real piano has. The faster you press a key, the harder the hammer hits the string which changes the tone… except there are no hammers and no strings, just more magic in the sampling and playback process.

Speaking of playback… this is the lowest model in their lineup that offers “full duplex” audio through the USB connection. This means you can connect the piano to a computer for MIDI capture or audio recording, but the computer can also play a backing track simultaneously that you can listen to through the headphones. This is an indispensable feature if you’re planning on recording because it allows you to listen to a click (or whatever other tracks you might want) as you play and record.

I have not yet played with the iPad app, but I’ll update this review if there’s anything worth noting.

The only Not Amazing thing is the included sustain pedal. The P-225 ships with an FC5 Foot Switch “for sustain and other momentary (on/off) functions.” It’s fine. It works as advertised, but it is not elegant in any way. The biggest advantage it has is that it is exactly what it says it is, i.e. a “momentary” switch. It can be used for anything you might want to control with a momentary foot switch and can plug a 1/4″ TS connector into. So, as a sustain pedal it is “functional”… but you can get creative with it and that’s kinda cool.

The Yamaha P-225B is an exceptional digital piano. The sound quality is outstanding, with rich, authentic tones that closely mimic an acoustic piano. The weighted keys provide a realistic touch, making it a joy to play. Its sleek, compact design fits perfectly in any space, and it’s lightweight enough for easy transport. The built-in speakers are powerful and clear, and the various sound options and features, including recording and playback, are impressive. This piano is perfect for both beginners and advanced players. Highly recommend the Yamaha P-225B for its quality, performance, and versatility!