Yamaha, 88-Key Digital Piano with Weighted, Sound Boost, Compact Design, Keyboard, Music Rest, and Foot Switch for Home Practice or Travel, (P143B)

If you are considering this piano, do not hesitate. It is amazing. I had to sell my baby grand piano and this has the same touch and sound of what I played on my previous piano.

It’s only for a beginner because of the price point. The weighted keys are Yamaha’s standard. It’s close enough to a real piano to practice. I have been playing for almost 50 years and play advanced Chopin pieces. This is a great product. And the price is well worth it.Definitely ideal for the beginner in that you have a volume control and headphones…unlike a real piano. So, great for the aspiring student that loves practicing for hours everyday and won’t make the family suffer!

I needed to get a replacement for my old P-140, whose now-noisy action has worn out considerably, but is still better than the terrible sloppy and noisy action on the Casio Privia I wasted money on three years ago. So I waited until retirement and finally could try again. As it happened, the 525 was/is a new model with the latest tech, some of which I had never heard of and thought it might be a bit of overkill, as I really didn't need to have the mechanical noises of an acoustic grand reproduced to get a sense of authenticity. The action is slightly lighter than I expected, but that being said, the action is SO much more responsive than the P-140. Unfortunately, one of the Yamaha apps that they claimed works with the 525 did not; and I really don't need to change the settings on the piano via an app, but that's what SmartPianist does. The other app was for recording, but it either doesn't work or I haven't figured out how to hook everything up properly to make it work. Directions these days are so terrible, and although the Yamaha site has expanded itself a lot, it is still hard as ever to find what you are looking for. Anyway, it will be interesting to see how long this action lasts. I can play Hanons on the P-140 instead of wearing out the new piano. But seriously, for me this was like getting to play a $200,000 instrument (actually two counting the new Bösendorfer sampling), for under $2000 including a 4-year Asurion "no-matter-what-happens" protection plan. (If I live long enough, maybe I can afford a Nord!) I was really nervous about buying this to be shipped, but it came in perfect condition. If you can afford it, don't hesitate!Addendum 9/22/24:I forgot to mention one downside to the redesign. I guess to improve the sound quality they placed the speakers on the top facing up. While improves the sound quality it leaves the speakers vulnerable to dust and worse possibilities. I feel compelled to cover them whenever I’m not using the piano so I miss out on having the aesthetic near me all the time. It definitely makes me nervous.Another thing worth mentioning is the Baudrilliard-esque experiencial paradox. The detailed reproduction of every minute mechanical acoustic grand sound to try and replicate the experience of playing a real 9 foot acoustic grand actually creates a sort of disconnect as you are aware that you are playing in a small space on a small instrument. It sounds real and fake at the same time. Still, I like the sound boost and auto adjusting EQ that adjust to how loud you are playing.Finally, I just wanna comment on the action once more. I had said it surprised me. It felt a little light. When I compared it to my P140, the P/140 definitely had a firmer action even after 15 years of pounding. But while the 525 action is lighter, it is far more responsive. Okay I’m done. I hope my blathering on helps someone feel more confident making a decision.

Got this for my wife for Christmas, as we had elected to sell her upright acoustic piano a while back due to the difficulties of keeping it in tune. I spent several days researching a few different Yamaha P-series models before settling on this one. While they are all excellent digital pianos, this one has a few features that make it worth the difference in price.They all have a great feel. Yamaha spent a lot of time getting the weighting on these keys to feel as much like their acoustic grands as possible, and having sat down at a C5 myself a few times over the years, I can say that their work paid off. This really does accurately capture the touch of a real piano.The other thing they spent a lot of time on was the sampling. Unlike a lot of much cheaper options, every individual key on a Yamaha grand was recorded for sampling, and each key is playing back its corresponding sample as opposed to saving a bit of space on a drive somewhere and using a single sample for a range of keys. This is most evident when you're wearing headphones and playing because you can hear the coloration of the sound provided by all the unique internal reflections at a particular string, and the little bit of sympathetic vibration of the surrounding strings that occurs in a real piano. Your immediate though might be that this isn't a good thing... but that's what real pianos sound like and part of why you can often hear the difference between a real piano and a cheaper digital copy.The other thing that stands the Yamahas head and shoulders above others is the touch sensitivity. There is a wide range of "velocities" available, allowing for nearly the same flexibility dynamically that a real piano has. The faster you press a key, the harder the hammer hits the string which changes the tone... except there are no hammers and no strings, just more magic in the sampling and playback process.Speaking of playback... this is the lowest model in their lineup that offers "full duplex" audio through the USB connection. This means you can connect the piano to a computer for MIDI capture or audio recording, but the computer can also play a backing track simultaneously that you can listen to through the headphones. This is an indispensable feature if you're planning on recording because it allows you to listen to a click (or whatever other tracks you might want) as you play and record.I have not yet played with the iPad app, but I'll update this review if there's anything worth noting.The only Not Amazing thing is the included sustain pedal. The P-225 ships with an FC5 Foot Switch "for sustain and other momentary (on/off) functions." It's fine. It works as advertised, but it is not elegant in any way. The biggest advantage it has is that it is exactly what it says it is, i.e. a "momentary" switch. It can be used for anything you might want to control with a momentary foot switch and can plug a 1/4" TS connector into. So, as a sustain pedal it is "functional"... but you can get creative with it and that's kinda cool.

Best digital piano for me. $400, plus I get 5% back from Amazon. (otherwise I would have purchased from my main music supplier, Sweetwater. Works perfectly for my needs, I don't even care to change the "voice". This comes with a free 90 day subscription to Flowkey, you have to go to the Yamaha site and look under "Promotions'" to get it. It is not simply a coupon in the box. Then, of course, I needed to get a tablet (from Amazon) to use the Flowkey. All works well. Happy camper here.

This is the best piano. Easy to use, great sound. It's a great choice for both a beginner and a professional. Perfectly packed, safe. Good price for a new tool.