Yamaha P Series digital piano comparison

Edit: Updated July 2023 to incorporate new models.

Yamaha introduced the first two models in its more compact and portable P Series of digital pianos in 1994, and now nearly thirty years on there have been twenty-three models in the entire line, with seven currently on sale and sixteen discontinued.

Portable may be a relative term in comparison to some of Yamaha’s other keyboard instruments, but for a well-functioned and high quality digital piano, it’s fair to say the models in the P Series are easier to move around, even for a solo musician, which is good news for gigging and session players.

The main selling points of the P Series has always been producing a fairly lightweight instrument with emphasis on the quality of the keyboard feel and piano sound. Additional features tend to be aimed at the pianist, including pedal support, metronome, and decent speakers, along with a smattering of extras such as a handful of other real world acoustic/electronic instruments, keyboard voice split/layering, audio and MIDI and basic recording functions.

Although there are fewer functions than might be found on Yamaha’s portable home keyboards, the P Series not only stand as good mid-level digital pianos but can also be used as basic keyboard controllers for use with MIDI, where other keyboards, modules and computer DAWs (digital audio workstations) can be connected.

All but one of the P Series instruments has a full 88-key range, the current P-121 has 73 keys making it more compact, but otherwise functionally identical to the P-125.

There are no additional performance/manipulation controls such as aftertouch, pitch bend or modulation on the keys or the keyboard.

Current Models

As of 2023, the seven current models are the top-of-line P-515, the P-225 (which will soon supersede the P-125a), P-121, P-145 (which will soon supersede the P-45), and P-S500. Yamaha updated the P-125 slightly to the P-125a, with the only apparent difference being the ‘a’ model includes key-off samples.

View the latest Yamaha P Series digital pianos on Amazon.

Keyboard

The P-515 features the NWX (Natural Wood X) keyboard, which means the white keys have wooden keys and all keys are constructed with synthetic ebony and ivory key tops, plus escapement.

The P-125a, P-121 and P-S500 all feature the Graded Hammer standard keyboard, with a matte finish on the black keys, while the P-45 has a standard Graded Hammer standard keyboard. The P-225 and P-145 feature a GHC keyboard with matte black keytops.

All have 88 keys except the P-121, with 73.

Sound Generation

The P-515 uses Yamaha CFX, Bösendorfer Imperial, CFX Binaural Sampling, so is arguably the most realistic of all the P Series instruments to date.

The P-S500 uses Yamaha CFX & Bösendorfer Imperial piano samples.

The P-125a and P-121 use the Pure CF sound engine, while the P-45 employs Yamaha’s well-established AWM Stereo Sampling system.

The P-225 features Yamaha CFX sampling with a “lite” version of Virtual Resonance Modelling, while the P-145 samples the Yamaha CFIIIS and has no additional processing capabilities.

Polyphony

The P-515 and P-S500 have a hefty 256 note polyphony, for almost limitless playing possibilities even when dual voices are used. The P-125a, P-121 and P-225 have 192 polyphony while the P-45 and P-145 have adequate, but now rather outdated, 64 notes which will cause noticeable dropouts when playing more advanced/sustained pieces of music.

Voices

The P-515 adds a lot of nuanced features to its piano voices, including key-off samples, virtual resonance modelling and binaural sampling. The other models do not have these features.

The P-515 has a total of 40 standard voices, as well as 18 drum kits and 480 XG voices for compatibility with MIDI standards. This makes it a little more versatile for musicians who want a wider selection of voices. The P-225, P-125 and P-121 have 24 voices while the P-45 and P-145 have ten.

The P-S500 has 660 voices including 13 VRM Voices, 111 Super Articulation Voices, 25 Natural! Voices, 27 Sweet! Voices, 47 Cool! Voices, 58 Live! Voices, 29 Organ Flutes! Voices.

Recording

All current P Series pianos except the P-45 and P-145 have the ability to record songs in some format or another. The P-515 has a wide range of features including direct audio recording and MIDI storage, while the P-125a and P-121 don’t allow audio recording. The P-S500 can also do time stretching, pitch shifting and vocal cancellation in its audio recording.

Connectivity

All models have a good range of pedal, audio, MIDI and USB connection options. All models can support a sustain pedal with half-pedalling capability, and all but the P-45 can accommodate one of Yamaha’s pedal units. The P-515 offers Bluetooth connections.

Price

You’ll pay a premium for the top-of-line P-515, coming in at a RRP of $1,999. The P-125 is $999, the P-121 is $899, while the entry-level P-45 is $599. The P-S500 is listed at $2,499 although Yamaha has shown a reduced price of $1,999. The price of the P-225 and P-145 are to be confirmed.

Full Specifications

Here is the full specification table as provided by Yamaha.

		P-225	P-145	P-515	P-125	P-121	P-45	P-S500
Size/Weight
Dimensions	Width	1,326 mm [52-3/16″]	1,326 mm [52-3/16″]	1336mm (52-5/8″ )	1326mm (52.20″)	1114mm (43.86″)	1,326mm (52-1/4”)	1,329 mm (52-5/16″)
	Height	129 mm [5-1/16″] (with music rest: 327 mm [12-7/8″])	129 mm [5-1/16″] (with music rest: 327 mm [12-7/8″])	376mm (5-11/16″)	166mm (6.54″)	166mm (6.54″)	154mm (6.0”)	167 mm (6-9/16″)
	Depth	272 mm [10-11/16″] (with music rest: 362 mm [14-1/4″])	268 mm [10-9/16″] (with music rest: 320 mm [12-5/8″])	145mm (14-13/16″)	295mm (11.61″)	295mm (11.61″)	295mm (11-1/2”)	410 mm (16-1/8″)
Weight	Weight	11.5 kg [25 lb, 6 oz]	11.1 kg [24 lb, 8 oz]	22.0kg (48 lb, 8 oz)	11.8kg (26.01 lbs)	10.0kg (22.05 lbs)	11.5kg (25lbs., 4oz)	21.8 kg (48 lb, 1 oz)
Control Interface
Keyboard	Number of Keys	88	88	88	88	73	88	88
	Type	GHC keyboard with matte black keytops	GHC keyboard with matte black keytops	NWX (Natural Wood X) keyboard: wooden keys (white only), synthetic ebony and ivory keytops, escapement	Graded hammer standard (GHS) keyboard, matte finish on black keys	Graded hammer standard (GHS) keyboard, matte finish on black keys	Graded hammer standard (GHS) keyboard	GHS (Graded Hammer Standard) keyboard with matte black keytops
	Touch Sensitivity	Hard/medium/soft/fixed	Hard/medium/soft/fixed	Hard2/Hard1/Medium/Soft1/Soft2/Fixed	Hard/medium/soft/fixed	Hard/medium/soft/fixed	Hard/medium/soft/fixed	Hard2, Hard1, Medium, Soft1, Soft2, Fixed
Display	Type	N/A	N/A	Full Dots LCD	N/A	N/A	N/A	Full dot LCD
Display	Size	N/A	N/A	128 x 64 dots	N/A	N/A	N/A	80 × 16 dots
Panel	Language	English	English	English	English	English	English	English
Voices
Tone Generation	Piano Sound	Yamaha CFX	Yamaha CFIIIS	Yamaha CFX, Bösendorfer Imperial, CFX Binaural Sampling	Pure CF Sound Engine	Pure CF Sound Engine	AWM Stereo Sampling	Yamaha CFX, Bösendorfer Imperial
	Binaural Sampling	–	–	Yes (CFX Grand Voice only)	N/A	N/A	N/A	Yes (CFX Grand Voice only)
	Key-off Samples	–	–	Yes	–	–	–	Yes
	Smooth Release	–	–	Yes	–	–	–	–
	Virtual Resonance Modeling (VRM)	Yes (VRM Lite)	–	Yes	–	–	–	Yes
Polyphony	Number of Polyphony (Max.)	192	64	256	192	192	64	256
Preset	Number of Voices	24	10	40 Voices + 18 Drum/SFX Kits + 480 XG Voices	24	24	10	660
Effects
Types	Reverb	4	4	6	4	4	4	58
	Chorus	–	–	3	–	–	–	–
	Intelligent Acoustic Control (IAC)	Yes	–	Yes	Yes	Yes	–	Yes
	Stereophonic Optimizer	Yes	–	Yes	–	–	–	Yes
Vocal Harmony	–	–	–	–	–	–	Yes
Functions	Dual/Layers	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
	Split	Yes	–	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
	Duo	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	–
Functions
Overall Controls	Metronome	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
	Tempo Range	5 – 280	32 – 280	5 – 500	5-280	5-280	32-280	5-500
	Transpose	-6 – 0 – +6	-6 – 0 – +6	-12 – 0 – +12	-6 – 0 – +6	-6 – 0 – +6	-6 – 0 – +6	-12 – 0 – +12
	Tuning	414.8 – 440.0 – 466.8 Hz (approx. 0.2 Hz increments)	414.8 – 440.0 – 466.8 Hz (approx. 0.2 Hz increments)	414.8 – 440.0 – 466.8 Hz (approx. 0.2 Hz increments)	414.8 – 440.0 – 446.8 Hz	414.8 – 440.0 – 446.8 Hz	414.8 – 440.0 – 446.8 Hz	414.8 – 440.0 – 466.8 Hz
Rhythm		20	–	40	20	20	–	370
Storage and Connectivity
Storage	Internal Memory	–	–	Total maximum size approx. 1.4 MB	–	–	–	–
Storage	External Drives	–	–	USB Flash Memory (optional)	–	–	–	–
Connectivity	DC IN	Yes	Yes	16V	12V	12V	12V	24V
	Headphones	Yes	Yes	Standard stereo phone jack (x 2)	Standard x2	Standard x2	Standard	Standard stereo phone jack (x 2)
	Sustain Pedal	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (Half pedal available with optional FC3A)	Yes (Half pedal available with optional FC3A)	Yes (Half pedal available with optional FC3A)	Yes
	Pedal Unit	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (Optional)	Yes (Optional)	No	Yes
	MIDI	Yes	Yes	In/Out	–	USB	No	USB
	AUX IN	–	–	Stereo mini jack	–	–	–	Yes
	AUX OUT	Yes	–	[L/L+R][R]	[L/L+R][R]	[L/L+R][R]	No	Standard phone jack (R, L/L+R)
	USB TO DEVICE	–	–	Yes	–	–	–	Yes
	USB TO HOST	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bluetooth	Audio	–	–	Yes	–	–	–	–
Amplifiers and Speakers

Amplifiers		7W x 2	7W x 2	(15 W + 5 W) x 2	7W x 2	7W x 2	6W x 2	(20W + 6W) x 2
Speakers		(Oval (12 cm x 8 cm) + 5 cm) x 2	Oval (12 cm x 8 cm) x 2	(Oval (12 cm x 6 cm) + 2.5 cm (dome)) x 2	12 cm x 2 + 4 cm x 2	12 cm x 2 + 4 cm x 2	12 cm (4-1/2”) x 2	(Oval (12 cm × 6 cm) + 2.5 cm (dome)) × 2
Power Supply
Power Supply		PA-150B or an equivalent recommended by Yamaha (Output: DC 12 V, 1.5 A)	PA-150B or an equivalent recommended by Yamaha (Output: DC 12 V, 1.5 A)	PA-300C or an equivalent recommended by Yamaha	PA-150 or other Yamaha-preferred parts	PA-150 or other Yamaha-preferred parts	PA-150 or other Yamaha-preferred parts	PA-500
Power Consumption		9W	6W	15 W	9 W	9 W	6 W	40W
Auto Power Off Function		–	–	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Accessories
Included Accessories	Music Rest	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Included Accessories	Pedal/Footswitch	Yes	Yes	FC4A	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Songs (Audio)
Recording Time		–	–	80 minutes/Song	–	–	–	Varies
Compatible Data Format	Recording	–	–	WAV (44.1 kHz, 16 bit, Stereo)	–	–	–
Compatible Data Format	Playback	–	–	WAV (44.1 kHz, 16 bit, Stereo)	–	–	–
Songs (MIDI)
Preset	Number of Preset Songs	21	10	21 Voice Demo Songs + 50 Classics	21 Voice Demo Songs + 50 Classics	21 Voice Demo Songs + 50 Classics	–	403
Recording	Number of Songs	1	–	250	1	1	–
Recording	Data Capacity	100KB	–	Approx. 500 KB/Song	100 KB per song (approx. 11,000 notes)	100 KB per song (approx. 11,000 notes)	–	Varies
Format	Playback	–	–	SMF (Format 0, Format 1)	SMF (Format 0, Format 1)	SMF (Format 0, Format 1)	–	SMF (Format 0, Format 1)
Format	Recording	–	–	SMF (Format 0)	SMF (Format 0)	SMF (Format 0)	–
RRP		TBC	TBC	1999	999	899	599	TBC

Discontinued Models

There are sixteen models Yamaha has discontinued, dating back to 1994. Clearly, technology has advanced, and prices generally reduced, since then, so we would not generally recommend picking up one of these older instruments unless they are in very good working condition and can be bought for a small price.

The earliest lower-end models only had 32 notes of polyphony, which is generally considered far too low for all but the simplest piano music to be played without glitches and drop-outs. Later and higher-end models had 64,, 128 or even 256 notes of polyphony, putting them more on a par with the current lineup of P Series digital pianos.

Sound technology has advanced, and although Yamaha’s AWM sampling system is good, it will not rival the more advanced systems found on the latest models. That said, you pay a premium for the newer, advanced instruments.

Take a look at the specifications, based on the information given in the official Yamaha manuals for each instrument. The mid- to late 2010 models are definitely still worth considering if they can be found in good condition.

We have not included the pricing information as it would generally be unhelpful, given inflation and the fact these can no longer be bought new.

P-300

P-500

P-200

P-120

P-60

P-70

P-140

P-65

P-85

P-155

P-95

P-35

P-105

P-255

P-115

P-515

Keys

Type

includes aftertouch

GH Keyboard

Graded Hammer Standard (GHS) Keyboard

GH Keyboard

Graded Hammer Standard (GHS)

Graded Hammer (GH) Keyboard with Synthetic Ivory Keytops

GHS (Graded Hammer Standard) keyboard with matte black keytops

NWX (Natural Wood X) keyboard: wooden keys (white only), synthetic ebony and ivory keytops, escapement

Polyphony

128

256

192

256

Sound Generation

AWM Dynamic Stereo Sampling

Pure CF Sound Engine

Yamaha CFX, Bösendorfer Imperial

Sensitivity

Velocity Curve

Hard/Medum/Soft/Fixed

–

Hard/Medum/Soft/Fixed

Hard2/Hard1/Medium/Soft1/Soft2/Fixed

Voices

40 Voices + 18 Drum/SFX Kits + 480 XG Voices

Accompaniment

–

Recording

–

Audio

In/Out

Out

In/Out

Out

In/Out

Out

In/Out

USB

–

Host

–

Host

–

Device

–

Host

Host/Device

Host

Host/Device

MIDI

In/Out/Thru

In/Out

–

In/Out

–

In/Out

Pedals

Sustain, Foot Controller x 3

Foot Controller, Sustain, Sostenuto, Soft

Sustain/Aux

Sustain

Sustain/Aux

Sustain

Sustain/Unit

Sustain/Aux

Sustain/Unit

Sustain

Sustain/Unit

Aux/Unit

Amplifier

20W x 2

30W x 2

12.5W x 2

8W x 2

6W x 2

12W x 2

6W x 2

7W + 7W

15W x 2

7W + 7W

(15 W + 5 W) x 2

Speakers

13 cm (5-1/8”) x 2

Oval (12 cm x 6 cm) x 2

Oval (12cm × 6cm) × 2

(12 cm × 6 cm) × 2

12cm x 2

12 cm x 2 + 5 cm x 2

(10cm + 2.5cm) × 2

12 cm x 2 + 4 cm x 2

(Oval (12 cm x 6 cm) + 2.5 cm (dome)) x 2

Power

25W

28W

20W

15W

16V

Year

1994

1998

2001

2002

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2012

2013

2014

2018