Yamaha P Series digital piano comparison

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 models in the entire line, with four 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 five current models are the top-of-line P-515, the P-125a, P-121, 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.

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.

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.

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 and P-121 have 192 polyphony while the P-45 has an 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-125 and P-121 have 24 voices while the P-45 has 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 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.

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.

Full Specifications

Here is the full specification table as provided by Yamaha.

		P-S500	P-515	P-125a	P-121	P-45
Size/Weight
Dimensions	Width	1329mm (52-5/16″)	1336mm (52-5/8″ )	1326mm (52.20″)	1114mm (43.86″)	1,326mm (52-1/4”)
	Height	167mm (6-9/16″)	376mm (5-11/16″)	166mm (6.54″)	166mm (6.54″)	154mm (6.0”)
	Depth	410mm (16-1/8″)	145mm (14-13/16″)	295mm (11.61″)	295mm (11.61″)	295mm (11-1/2”)
Weight	Weight	21.8kg (48lb, 1 oz)	22.0kg (48 lb, 8 oz)	11.8kg (26.01 lbs)	10.0kg (22.05 lbs)	11.5kg (25lbs., 4oz)
Control Interface
Keyboard	Number of Keys	88	88	88	73	88
	Type	GHS (Graded Hammer Standard) 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
	Touch Sensitivity	Hard2/Hard1/Medium/Soft1/Soft2/Fixed	Hard2/Hard1/Medium/Soft1/Soft2/Fixed	Hard/medium/soft/fixed	Hard/medium/soft/fixed	Hard/medium/soft/fixed
Display	Type	Full Dots LCD	Full Dots LCD	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Size	80 x 16 dots	128 x 64 dots	N/A	N/A	N/A
Panel	Language	English, Japanese	English	English	English	English
Voices
Tone Generation	Piano Sound	Yamaha CFX, Bösendorfer Imperial, CFX Binaural Sampling	Yamaha CFX, Bösendorfer Imperial, CFX Binaural Sampling	Pure CF Sound Engine	Pure CF Sound Engine	AWM Stereo Sampling
	Binaural Sampling	Yes (CFX Grand Voice only)	Yes (CFX Grand Voice only)	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Key-off Samples	Yes	Yes	–	–	–
	Smooth Release	–	Yes	–	–	–
	Virtual Resonance Modeling (VRM)	Yes	Yes	–	–	–
Polyphony	Number of Polyphony (Max.)	256	256	192	192	64
Preset	Number of Voices	660	40 Voices + 18 Drum/SFX Kits + 480 XG Voices	24	24	10
Effects
Types	Reverb	5 (58 when connected to smart pianist)	6	4	4	4
	Chorus	–	3	–	–	–
	Intelligent Acoustic Control (IAC)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	–
	Stereophonic Optimizer	Yes	Yes	–	–	–
Vocal Harmony	Yes	–	–	–	–
Functions	Dual/Layers	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
	Split	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
	Duo	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Functions
Overall Controls	Metronome	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
	Tempo Range	5-500 + tap tempo	5–500	5-280	5-280	32-280
	Transpose	-12 – 0 – +12	-12 – 0 – +12	-6 – 0 – +6	-6 – 0 – +6	-6 – 0 – +6
	Tuning	414.8 – 440.0 – 466.8 Hz	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
Scale Type		9	–	–	–	–
Rhythm		370	40	20	20	–
Storage and Connectivity
Storage	Internal Memory	Depends on smart device	Total maximum size approx. 1.4 MB	–	–	–
	External Drives	Depends on smart device	USB Flash Memory (optional)	–	–	–
Connectivity	DC IN	24V	16V	12V	12V	12V
	Headphones	Standard stereo phone jack (x 2)	Standard stereo phone jack (x 2)	Standard x2	Standard x2	Standard
	Sustain Pedal	Yes	Yes	Yes (Half pedal available with optional FC3A)	Yes (Half pedal available with optional FC3A)	Yes (Half pedal available with optional FC3A)
	Pedal Unit	Yes	Yes	Yes (Optional)	Yes (Optional)	No
	MIDI	–	In/Out	–	USB	No
	AUX IN	Stereo mini jack	Stereo mini jack	–	–	–
	AUX OUT	Standard phone jack (R, L/L+R)	[L/L+R][R]	[L/L+R][R]	[L/L+R][R]	No
	USB TO DEVICE	Yes	Yes	–	–	–
	USB TO HOST	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bluetooth	Audio	–	Yes	–	–	–
Amplifiers and Speakers
Amplifiers		(20 W + 6 W) × 2	(15 W + 5 W) x 2	7W x 2	7W x 2	6W x 2
Speakers		(Oval (12 cm × 6 cm) + 2.5 cm (dome)) × 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
Power Supply		PA-500	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
Power Consumption		40 W	15 W	9 W	9 W	6 W
Auto Power Off Function		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Included Accessories	Owner’s Manual, Online Member Product Registration, AC adaptor PA-500 (May not be included depending on your area.), Music Rest, Footswitch, USB cable (USB Type A – USB Type B), USB conversion cable (USB Type A – USB Micro B / USB Type A – USB Type C)	Music Rest	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
	Pedal/Footswitch	Yes	FC4A	Yes	Yes	Yes
Songs (Audio)
Recording Time		Depending on smart device	80 minutes/Song	–	–	–
Compatible Data Format	Recording	WAV/AAC	WAV (44.1 kHz, 16 bit, Stereo)	–	–	–
	Playback	Supported formats of smart device	WAV (44.1 kHz, 16 bit, Stereo)	–	–	–
Songs (MIDI)
Preset		Number of Preset Songs	403	21 Voice Demo Songs + 50 Classics	21 Voice Demo Songs + 50 Classics	21 Voice Demo Songs + 50 Classics	–
Recording	Number of Songs	16 track	250	1	1	–
	Data Capacity	Dependent on smart device	Approx. 500 KB/Song	100 KB per song (approx. 11,000 notes)	100 KB per song (approx. 11,000 notes)	–
Format	Playback	SMF (Format 0, Format 1)	SMF (Format 0, Format 1)	SMF (Format 0, Format 1)	SMF (Format 0, Format 1)	–
	Recording	SMF (Format 0)	SMF (Format 0)	SMF (Format 0)	SMF (Format 0)	–
RRP		$2,499	$1,999	$999	$899	$599

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.