Yamaha is one of the leading companies in the industry at producing high quality digital pianos. The Yamaha digital piano is renowned all over the world for having a highly realistic key action, a great acoustic piano sound, and dozens of useful digital features.
Yet with such a large catalogue of great instruments, it can often be difficult to choose the best one. In this short guide, we will review the best Yamaha keyboard and best Yamaha digital piano to help you in making your selection.
Our Top3 Picks
BEST CHOICE
Yamaha P-45
PREMIUM PICK
Yamaha P-115
BEST VALUE
Yamaha YDP-181
Benefits of Choosing a Yamaha Digital Piano
There is a large number of reasons that Yamaha digital pianos are so popular today. From their price to their realism, here are the top reasons for you to purchase a Yamaha electric piano:
Affordability
Affordability Even if you are on a tight budget, you still do not have to settle for a mediocre digital piano. Yamaha produces some excellent digital pianos that are priced much lower than the competition.
While it is certainly the quality of their instruments above all else, the affordability of Yamaha digital piano prices has certainly helped boost the company’s popularity.
Quality of Construction
Quality of ConstructionUnlike some digital piano companies who produce pianos that are poorly put together and feel more like a toy than an instrument, Yamaha is known for making high-quality instruments that are built to last.
The level of craftsmanship in their pianos is superb. Not only does every digital piano Yamaha produces look great, it is built with a level of quality that makes it durable and long-lasting.
Realism
Realism Realism, both in terms of sound quality and key action, is paramount in making a good digital piano. Recognizing this, Yamaha set out to fill their catalogue with the most realistic sounding and playing instruments on the market.
Whether you are purchasing a Yamaha stage piano or a Yamaha portable piano, you can rest assured that the instrument will sound rich and expressive and have a weighted key action that provides a realistic acoustic piano feel.
Digital Features
All of the extra settings and features that a digital piano offers is one of the main benefits to owning the instrument, and of all the companies producing digital pianos, Yamaha is the best for outfitting their pianos with the best and most digital features. Each electric piano Yamaha produces is loaded with dozens of various settings and features for you to put to use.
Whether you are a beginner making use of Yamaha’s Propriety Education Suite to learn how to play or an advanced musician using one of Yamaha’s many music editing features to create your own sound you are bound to find the digital features on a Yamaha electric piano to be extremely useful.
Yamaha Digital Piano Reviews
Reading a Yamaha digital piano review is a great way to learn more about the instrument. In order to help you find the best Yamaha digital piano for you, here are the top seven Yamaha digital piano reviews:
1. Yamaha P-45
The P-45 has a Graded Hammer Action keyboard that is the flagship of the company’s excellent keyboards. It has a highly realistic key action that provides exactly the right amount of responsiveness for each of the eighty-eight keys.
The P-45’s Advanced Wave Memory stereo sampling technology accurately records and recreates the sounds of Yamaha’s finest acoustic grand piano down to the finest detail. The P-45 weighs just 36.2 pounds, making it a great portable keyboard, and comes equipped with the company’s renowned digital features.
Best yet, the P-45 is the most affordable, fully-weighted keyboard that the company offers. This is a versatile, low-priced digital piano that is just as suited for beginners as it is professional musicians, making it one of the most popular instruments in the Yamaha P Series.
2. Yamaha P-115
Another great instrument in the best-selling Yamaha P Series, the P-115 offers a Graded Hammer Standard keyboard that has all the realistic responsiveness of an acoustic piano as well as the company’s most powerful sound engine—the Pure CF sound engine which accurately samples and recreates notes from the Yamaha CFIIIS concert grand piano for rich and expressive acoustic piano sound.
The P-115 is slightly more expensive than the P-45, though the reason for this is the P-115’s improved sound engine as well as the fact that it comes equipped with more digital features such as a Pianist Style mode that gives each chord you play full piano accompaniment and a controller app for iOS devices that allows for quick and easy navigation.
All of these features are packed into a digital keyboard that weighs just 37.5 pounds, making this a great Yamaha portable piano.
3. Yamaha Arius YDP-181
The YDP-181 is a beautifully crafted furniture-style digital piano and is arguably the best Yamaha digital piano that the company makes.
The YDP-181 comes with a Graded Hammer keyboard that is as realistic as it gets in terms of key action and responsiveness, and the piano’s Dynamic Stereo Sampling sound engine with Advanced Wave Memory technology and 128 notes of polyphony creates an acoustic grand piano sound that is simply unbeatable.
The YDP-181 comes with a host of powerful digital features such as variable touch sensitivity, a built-in 3-track song recorder, 50 preset songs, and USB connectivity. To top it all off, the YDP-181 is simply a gorgeous instrument, with a rosewood cabinet and LED display that will make it a centerpiece in any home.
The Yamaha YDP-181 isn’t cheap, but if you can afford the price tag then it is the best upright digital piano you will find.
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4. Yamaha P-255
Yamaha P255 Pros
The Yamaha P255 scores highly when it comes to providing an amazing sound quality. Using this piano, you get a more realistic live piano experience and it’s evident Yamaha has done a lot of sound engineering to enable the voice on this piano be similar to the CF, their world’s most popular grand piano. The piano has 24 preset tones which include 4 grand piano sounds, 4 organs, 4 electric sounds among other sounds.
- The piano is portable despite having numerous great performance and design features
- The Yamaha P255 has a powerful engineering architecture from Yamaha that is evidenced by the impressive tone generation sound system
- With a Graded Hammer set of keys, the Yamaha P255 replicates what would be on a real grand piano
- The design and layout of the control panel is not cluttered which makes it easier to use and navigate
Yamaha P255 Cons
- Lack of an LCD screen that makes it challenging to easily navigate through numerous piano functions
- While the matte finish is superb, the plastic sides tend to be a distraction to the piano’s good looks
5. Yamaha DGX650
The DGX650 has all of the features that make the Arius Series pianos so great, minus the full sized cabinet, allowing this instrument to be both more affordable and portable.
The Pure CF sound engine that the DGX650 comes with is astounding, able to produce all of the nuanced sounds of a high-end acoustic piano, and the Graded Hammer Standard key action provides the perfect level of weight and responsiveness.
The Yamaha DGX650 is an upright piano, though its slimmer stand helps keep the weight down to just 84 pounds, and at almost half the cost of the YDP-181 it is a highly popular choice, especially among beginner pianists looking for a great, affordable digital piano.
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6. Yamaha P35
The Yamaha P-35 is one of the most well-reviewed digital pianos on the market today. Yamaha digital piano reviews of this instrument praise both its highly-realistic key action and its top-of-the line acoustic piano sound.
The P-35 comes with Yamaha’s best keyboard, the Graded Hammer Standard, and a powerful sound engine that comes equipped with Advanced Wave Memory technology, allowing it to produce rich and accurate piano tones.
The P-35 is a compact and lightweight instrument that is built to survive frequent transportation, making it one of the most popular choices for musicians wanting to purchase an instrument that they can take with them on the go.
Thanks to the P-35’s affordable price tag and fun digital features, it is a popular choice among beginner pianists as well.
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7. Yamaha P-105
The Yamaha P-105 is an incredibly versatile digital piano and is near the best Yamaha keyboard that you will find. The responsiveness of the P-105 can be adjusted to suit the preferences of any musician and the Graded Hammer Standard key action is top-notch.
The P-105 has a Pure CF sound engine that produces extraordinarily rich and detailed acoustic piano tones. 128 notes of polyphony means that you can play any piece, no matter how complex, without dropping a note, and dozens of useful digital features such as built-in drum patterns, a built-in duet partner, and a wide selection of voices to choose from let you use the P-105 for almost any function.
Finally, its affordable price tag makes it an even more attractive option.
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8. Yamaha CP40
If you are looking for a great Yamaha stage piano then the CP40 is your go-to choice. The Graded Hammer action keyboard is wonderfully realistic, and a large selection of sound samples, ranging from Yamaha’s best acoustic grand to four different electric pianos all sound great and give you plenty of versatility as a musician.
The CP40 has an intuitive interface that lets you control all of its various functions with ease, allowing you to make on-the-go changes to your performance and making the CP40 one of the easiest stage pianos to learn how to use.
The Yamaha CP40 isn’t cheap, but it is far less expensive than many of the best stage pianos. All things considered, this is an excellent instrument for serious musicians.
9. Yamaha PSRE-243
The Yamaha PSRE-243 offers a massive 385 voices, 102 songs, and 100 styles, as well as a grand piano button. It offers full iPhone and iPad connectivity, and Yamaha Educational Studio (Y.E.S), which helps new users to learn more about how to play the instrument.
Although the Yamaha PSRE-243 does not offer as many features as other keyboards, and does not have the diversity of play, it is still a great keyboard for beginners. Although it may not be the best on the market, the Yamaha PSRE-243 is very well priced, it is very portable, and still produces a great sound, so it is great for both performance and practice.
10. Yamaha PSRE-343
The Yamaha PSRE-343 provides plenty of digital extras to for diverse playing. The AUX and USB port allow connection with endless opportunities to connect with different materials and applications. The Yamaha PSRE-343 also offers connectivity with your iPhone or iPad to control the sound with your phone. There are built in lessons to help you develop your skills and learn more with the Yamaha PSRE-343, so you will never get bored with this powerful little keyboard.
With 550 voices and 136 styles, as well as recording capabilities, you can create a diverse sound and style that fits your vision perfectly, as well as share it and perform it on any available platform.
Final Thoughts
Yamaha digital pianos are renowned for their quality, affordability, and functionality and make excellent instruments for both beginner and advanced pianists. Most every digital piano Yamaha produces is a superb instrument, however, there are still a handful that are the best of the best.
By reading Yamaha digital piano reviews and considering what you want to do with the instrument, you can find the best Yamaha digital piano for you.