Yamaha P105 Portable Digital Piano - Black

Positive things first: this is an 88-note weighted Graded Hammer Standard keyboard - in simple terms this means it feels like you are playing a real piano (I'm used to using a 76-note synth-style keyboard, which is fine, but probably classed as an aberration by classically trained piano players) So if you are an experienced piano player you will feel right at home with the p-105.If on the other hand your used to the lightweight keys of a typical synth/home keyboard;your fingers and their muscles will get a bit of a work-out! (That said, the keys are touch sensitive and this can be adjusted to suit your playing style)

The other features are very nice: you can split the keyboard and have a different voice (sound) on the left and right e.g. Electric Bass on the left and Vibes on the right (you can also choose the split point, if you need to, and lower or raise the octave of each voice).The transpose feature allows you to change the pitch of the keyboard, which can come in handy when playing with some other instruments that have fixed ranges/keys or, if you can only play in the key of C (the white notes)There is also a Layer mode which allows you to play 2 voices simultaneously, across the whole keyboard, as well as adjust their octaves and respective levels.

Perhaps less useful (at least for me) is the Duo function which splits the keyboard into 2 halves (at G6) which both play the same octaves (a bit like chopping off the lowest and highest octaves of the keyboard - cloning what remains - then sticking the 2 clones together).Or imagine 2 small-3 octave(and a bit)pianos sitting side by side.Again, each of these `smaller keyboards' can have their voice,octave and volume changed independently of each other. Added to this there is a dedicated headphone output for each of these `2 small pianos' (These 2 headphone outputs work in all other modes and cancel out the on-board speakers - handy for playing/practicing late at night or when you don't want to disturb anyone).This feature is clearly aimed at a Teacher-Pupil situation (whether formal or informal) and allows something that would be impossible on a traditional piano.

There are also on-board metronome,rhythm and `pianist styles' for those who want them (the former again useful in a teaching environment) Another clever teaching/learning feature are the demo songs, of which there are 50! You can turn off the Left or Right Hand part as well as slow down the tempo to play along but you may have to do this by ear as the sheet music is not in the manual and I couldn't see a link to a download site.But these features make me think of the `home keyboards' of yester-year and of John Shuttleworth (check him out on Youtube if you dare!)Don't get me wrong I have used these features, in an attempt to be thorough, but it sort-of feels like cheating a little (Dave Brubeck,God rest his soul would, surely never have used these)
As a footnote to the above there are also 50 Preset songs that are included `for your listening pleasure' and include offerings from Beethoven,Bach,Chopin and Debussy.

The P-105 is described as a Portable Digital Piano and yes it is more portable than a real Piano but, weighing in at 11.7kg (nearly 26lbs) and with a length of 1,326 mm (52 inches), I wouldn't fancy taking it on the bus!

Connectivity is fair with a USB port which can link to a PC or Laptop but there is no `standard' MIDI port which makes it problematic if you wanted to connect to older equipment (pre USB).There is sustain pedal in-put - a basic sustain pedal is supplied (a 3 pedal version is available at an extra cost)- also included are an AC Power Supply and a Music Rest) There are 2 Aux Out/Jack Sockets for connection to an external amplifier if required.The P-105 has 2 x 7W Amplifiers on-board which power 2 x 12cm 2 x 5cm Speakers ( the manual suggests that, while you can play the instrument on a flat surface it will sound better with a dedicated Keyboard Stand. Just as a test, I tried turning the volume up full and could not hear any distortion at all.

The voices (14 of them) are a bit of a mixed bag.There are 2 pianos - one sounds pretty good but I'm not really struck by the other.4 electric pianos 3 of which are fine but the forth has a bit too much vibrato for my ears.3 decent sounding organs.The vibraphone and harpsichord are nice, as are the 2 basses ( an upright and an electric) but the strings are not really convincing at all.
After stating that some of the voices (only 3) fall short of expectations I have to flag-up again the USB connectivity which allows access, via a PC/Laptop, to thousands of voices/sounds/samples which are readily available. There are too many pieces of software to mention but some examples are: Cakewalk,Reason,Ableton,Fruity Loops and Magix. A lot of these are reasonably priced or have `lite' versions which are discounted or free!

The P-105 has a basic recorder (2 tracks) but link it up to a PC/Laptop (with the appropriate software) then the number of tracks and instruments can be almost unlimited!
To sum up, the P-105 has a very realistic feel and although the piano sound itself would not fool an experienced ear; as an alternative to a much heavier space hogging `traditional' piano this has got to be a strong contender.

I was astonished when this came up on Amazon Vine and leapt at the chance to receive and review it. I only tinker on piano but in the past my wife was really into it. We already had a digital piano (a Bentley something-or-other) but it was pretty cheap and you could tell from the sound so I was very happy to be able to replace it with a Yamaha, who's reputation for making pianos is very good.

I was a little surprised at first when I opened the box as the piano actually feels quite cheap, especially compared to my our old one which was partly made with wood (or something that looked like wood). The P105 is much lighter and, alas, does not come with a stand (or fit the old one we have) so that's something to bear in mind. If you buy this and want a stand, you'll have to fork out an extra £85 (ish) for it.

That's the only negative thing I have to say about it however, as when I turned it on and had a try I was very impressed. As I've already said, I don't have much experience with pianos but I do have some. To me, the keys felt as weighty as a real piano and the sound, while digital can never compare with a real grand, is excellent. It far outshines the old piano.

The other voices, including another variation of grand, four electric pianos, three organs, vibraphone, harpsichord, strings, wood bass and electric bass, all vary in quality. The pianos and organs are all good but the strings and harpsichord are a little ropey. The basses are pretty good though.

One feature I love is the ability to split the keyboard into two sections (the bottom 29 keys and the top 49) which I can see being very useful in the future if our children want to learn how to play.

The piano also comes with a sustain pedal and music stand. Again, they feel a bit cheap but they do the job (although depending on how heavy footed you are, I don't know how long the pedal would last!)

On the back the piano has a USB socket, sustain pedal socket, expansion pedal socket (for a three-pedal board), two jack aux out (left and right) and the power socket. On the from there are two large headphone jack sockets.

Overall I'm very happy with the piano and expect to get years of use out it.

The Yamaha P105 is great. I've been playing away on it for a few weeks now and I don't think I've even sussed 90% of the things it can do. It's not just great for someone who wants to play the piano, it's also dead handy if you want to produce your own music for use with film projects (that's what I'm using it for mostly) and if you're an amateur one man band this is a good place to start.
The sound quality is very good too.