Yamaha P-155 Digital Stage Piano - Black And Ebony

Absolute winner of a stage piano

Posted on 08/11/2012 by Gary

As a student that has just recently moved out from home I needed to upgrade my piano at home to something much more solid, portable and ergonomic. Before making a decision, I went to my local store in Liverpool to try out different models by different manufacturers. They did not have the P-155 on display so I tried its previous series the P-95. Though it was a good piano to practice on in the likes of your bedroom, in my opinion it lacked much of the important characteristics that simulate a real sounding and feeling acoustic piano. Together with YouTube videos and reading forum and store reviews of the P-155 I decided to give it go and immediately ordered one in store.

The first thing I noticed upon opening the box was the sheer weight of the keyboard. It is a heavy unit with a solid design that fits elegantly by the wall. On the user panel you have an LED display and flat buttons that are nice to the touch, the layout is actually very simple and clear.

You then have the keys that are constructed of plastic. One thing I noticed is that each individual key has a very solid design that does not move left and right unlike many cheaper stage pianos. Then came the most important part, which was the feel of the keys. Yamaha's GH (Graded Hammer) system was specifically designed for this model in the P Series to achieve a realistic feel and response of an acoustic piano for the player. The construction of the heavy keys in the bass ranging up to the lighter keys at the top provides for a very realistic feel. The weighted feel is one you can use to your advantage for fast scalic runs and arpeggios. In contrast to my old piano keys, these feel absolutely amazing.

The sound bank is of course filled with quality samples. Apart from the beautiful multi-layered default Grand Piano you have all your basic instruments such as Electric Pianos (the Rhodes in particular has a very rich and warm sound to it), Jazz Organ, which I think is a B3 Hammond (not entirely sure), and church organ. You then have other presets for strings, choir and bells etc that are definitely not your typical low-end samples found on lower-end models. You then have the options to change the Brilliance of the piano between three different types, ranging from Bright to Mellow. The touch option allows you to configure settings from Hard to Soft (which I don't use but should)! Lastly, if you can't get enough of reverb then you will love the presets on this Piano. With four different ambience settings ranging from your average room to the likes of a cathedral hall and the option to change room size, your performance will be enhanced realistically depending on the reverb amount that you’re after. All of this is driven by the piano's dual internal 12-watt speakers, which do the job perfectly without any external monitoring.

Compared to some of the Roland and Korg models, with Ivory keys and a price tag worth a pretty penny, the feel of the keys and realistic multi-layered samples on the P-155 make it a strong competitor, especially if you look at it's reasonable price. I have full confidence that beginner to intermediate players will enjoy this piano whether it is your first buy or you are in need of an upgrade. I took the chance and did not regret buying it. So should you.