Since this article was first written, both the P-120 and P-140 have been superseded. See the Yamaha P Series digital piano comparison article for more details.
Be sure to read the comments section at the end of this article for some excellent additional information and opinion.
I’ve noticed a few people searching for more information on the differences between Yamaha’s P120 and P140 contemporary digital pianos.
Yamaha P140: What’s New?
Yamaha P140
Yamaha P120
Yamaha P120S
Buy Yamaha P140 88-key Digital Stage Piano at Amazon
Buy Yamaha P140S 88-key Digital Stage Piano at Amazon
Update: Do look at the comments section at the end of this article for some interesting insights into several user perspectives on quality and playability issues.
The P140 and P140S are Yamaha’s newest digital pianos in what they call the Contemporary range. By this I presume they are referring more to the aesthetics and look of the instruments rather than their features.
Comparison without actually playing the keyboards is difficult because Yamaha’s website offers different information for each model.
Nevertheless, there won’t be major differences in functionality, because the P140/P140S is simply the newest member of the ‘P’ series.
Here’s what’s the same:
- Keyboard: both implement Yamaha’s Graded Hammer Effect mechanism – though several people have noted that the P140’s keyboard action is better and more reliable than the P120s
- Polyphony: both can handle up to 64 notes (a moderate amount for a modern digital piano)
- Sound system / quality: both use AWM Dynamic Stereo Sampling, which is Yamaha’s most up-to-date acoustic piano synthesis system to date.
- Voices: Both models have 14 voices, plus some method of variation. Though I couldn’t find a list for the newer P140 model, I doubt the voices are any different. Update: The P140 has dropped the “Rhodes” sound, the sounds aren’t identical, but similar.
And here’s what’s different:
- Casing: all four models have different wood effect and metallic casings.
- Effects: there are minor differences in the effect capabilities of the machines.
I’ve discovered that the P140/P140S are upgraded replacements for the P120. In other words, Yamaha will phase out the P120/P120S over the next few months as the newer models are shipped.
That’s probably why I’m seeing similar prices (of around US$1200) for both models, even though the P120s are about to be phased out.
I would suspect that in the next few months, dealers will be selling off P120/P120S at a slightly reduced price. After all, you don’t sell an old and new model at exactly the same price.
So, it seems that there is very little difference. The newer model may have improved internal electronics (the operating system, and so on) but effectively the models are the same.
The best thing to do is to try out both, and see which you like the look, feel and sound of, and go for that. You may also find some good deals on end-of-stock and second-hand P120s.
If you know of any significant differences that I’ve missed, do leave a comment below.
Buy Yamaha P140 88-key Digital Stage Piano at Amazon
Buy Yamaha P140S 88-key Digital Stage Piano at Amazon
57 thoughts on “Yamaha P120 and P140 comparison”
I bought the P140 almost exclusively for the acoustic piano sounds so I’m not too bothered about the organ sounds (I use a Yamaha module for most of my organ sounds when on the road).
re comment 20 above from me, it’s all been resolved by the new CP 33! When my son tried it he rported that like the P140 it lacked the lovel;y Rhodes of the P120. But when I played around with it today I was able to get a virtually identical sound and feel to the P120 Rhodes (EP2) by selecting the CP 33 EP1, setting the touch to ‘hard’ and knocking off the Chorus effect which is preset for it – that gave me a beautiful naked Rhodes to play with and great relationship betsween touch response and tone. Hitting the EP1 button again gives you the variation sound, which is a pretty good Wurltixer. The CP33 is beautifully neat for a stage piano, no wastewd space at each end of the keyboard, a bit lioghter than the 120/140 due to lack of amps and speakers internally, HAS 1/4″ jack outputs AND a front panel volume control. I felt sorry for people who had bought a P140 recently when I picked up my somn’s new CP33 this morning. This is piano perfection, having used both Rhodes and CP80 on stage in the past. And it cost the same in £s as my Rhodes did in 1975!
A reply to Jeannine,
Key breaking has been a nightmare for my P-120. It began with certain notes sticking in the down position, mainly E notes (a couple of D’s too). These notes stay down because the pivot point where they attach to the key bed is a plastic nub. As soon as the key cracks near the pivot, the key does not stay attached the way it should be. Have had these notes replaced, only to see some of them stick again…. According to the tech who did my work, his replies from Yamaha said that ‘yes, this kind of problem has been encountered before, and when it happens, key replacement is suggested. If that doesn’t work, replacement of piano is in order…’. Something along those lines. What is frustrating though, is that during a trip to France, I mentioned this to a music store owner over there. And he encountered this problem too. However, when he called Yamaha to order the replacement keys, they suggested he send back the keyboard, and they replaced it! I wish Yamaha service in North America were like that… Anyway, I must front the money to replace a problem that Yamaha is aware of. I don’t understand this logic.
Concerning the CP-33:
Just to add, I have tried the CP-33, and find the layout great. The 1/4 inch jacks and neat front panel makes this a great stage piano. I have one gripe, and I would like people to add to this if they have discovered this also. The one thing that made me bring the CP-33 back to the store is the loudest piano sample. That is, the sample that kicks in when the keyboard is played in its highest velocity range. Compared to the other samples, this one has a loud percussive attack which sticks out like a sore thumb. In live situations, the piano is my main axe, and gets played through its whole dynamic range. Right now, I play in a trio where I cover the bass on the piano, along with whatever else I’m playing with my right hand. Whereas on the 120 and 140 you have smooth dynamic change, like on a rumbling crescendeo, the CP-33 throws this big attack sound all of a sudden. To me, this is not acceptable for stage situation. I find this stage piano should be relegated to the practice basement. Why would Yamaha make such a drastic change to an already wonderful piano recipe? I mean, the piano sounds are superior on the CP33, but again, that loud sample… Partial compromise, but still not satisfying, is to play the mellowest piano sound, that destined for classical playing, I think, and play it with ‘bright’ EQ. The attack is still there, but a little less bad that on the other piano patches. Sorry to complain, but it’s because Yamaha pianos are still my favorites. To me, they offer the best marriage between piano feel and natural dynamic response. The CP33 kills the ‘natural’ adjective in my last sentence. Any comments? Anybody know if Yamaha has planned a software upgrade for this?
About CP33:
I find that some samples in CP33 play very bad: especially F2, did anyone notice it?
tk, bye
Roby
I own a P-140. One gripe I have is that you can not get Midi out for recorded songs. That is, if you want Midi for your playing, you must record the Midi out signals while you play. You cannot store the song in the internal memory of the piano hoping to get midi out later. I called Yamaha support – and (I’m not sure how much to trust it) the support guy told me that in the P-120, you CAN get the Midi out from recorded user songs…
I just listened to the P120 and P140 piano sounds that were VERY helpfully provided by Brian above. The P140 pianos clearly blow away the P120s. Somebody above said that the 140 has brighter and sharper sounds, I disagree (based on these Yamaha website samples). The P140 sounds more natural and more like a piano. Especially check out the No. 2 sample for grand piano in each case — no comparison!!
The author of the initial article above tried to describe differences between the 120 and 140, but totally missed the fact that the key action was ENTIRELY REPLACED for the 140 series due to the fact that the 120’s keys were constantly breaking. A quick search on Google will reveal countless stories about 120 keys breaking and Yamaha’s fix of sending 120 owners brand new sets of keys — the key mechanism from the 140. Also I would not be surprised if the piano sampling technology for the 120 and the 140 are also entirely different, based on the higher quality 140 sounds that you can hear on the Yamaha website (provided by Brian above). Can anybody from Yamaha comment? Or can anybody ACCESS somebody from Yamaha to confirm?
Hi Hukkfinn,
Thanks for clarifying this – very interesting. I could only go on what I was presented with, partly based on specifications and also based on my own subjective assessment of the sounds.
I see that you’re missing the in/out connections that have been changed from having the option of either adjustable volume 1/4″ Tip Sleeve outputs or fixed volume RCA jacks to only fixed volume RCA jacks. The headphones jacks have also been changed to 1/8″ as opposed to the p120’s 1/4″ jacks. There is no longer the option of toggling the speakers with the headphones or simply the speakers alone or having the speakers off altogether as there was with the p120. The PC jack and host selection switch has been omitted. It’s also the case that the connectors have been moved to the center of the outward face on the p140 as opposed to the left of the side face on the P120,(which actually might be an improvement). Apparently there are extra speakers added to the cabinet. I see two on the outward face as well as two on the top panel. The controls aren’t exactly the same on the top panel though they are very similar. The demo songs can no longer be tempo adjusted as they were able to be with the p120 also.
Overall I think the p140 has been made into more of an amateur product than the p120, although not by much. It’s still a significant downgrade to me who happens to be a very frequent user of the p120 and many of it’s features.
Liz