Yamaha P115 88-Key Piano Review

We gave the Yamaha P115 a 9/10. It serves a wide range of people well. The hammer action is really realistic, because of the level of resistance. The sounds are beautiful, and the speakers are quite powerful. It has plenty of features, including recording and great connectivity too. We wish it had a few more sounds, but overall, this keyboard is an excellent choice.

Overview

The Yamaha P115 is a good quality 88-key weighted and graded hammer action keyboard which would serve any student of music well. The action and sound may not meet the standards a very high level player would require, but would probably be fine for short practice sessions. It could double as a MIDI controller to use with a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) very well.  

It’s more piano than an absolute beginner needs, but would be a really good choice for a beginner if it’s within budget because the hammer action keys give quite a realistic impression of an acoustic piano. When beginners start out with an authentic feel, they are much more likely to get into good habits of technique and touch. Lower price keyboards often have little or no resistance to the keys, giving the student too little of a workout for the fingers. Controlling their timing can become an issue. So for that reason particularly, it’s good to go for weighted hammer action right from the start if possible. 

Features

Pianist Styles 

This is a lovely feature on the P115, especially for early intermediate players who have chord knowledge. Just play held triads (3-note chords) in the left hand and play the melody in the right hand. The keyboard will take your chord and create a pattern with it within the given time signature. There are ten chord patterns to choose from including Arpeggio, Boogie, Swing, Jazz waltz and Slow Rock among others. This means you only have to learn the chord pattern instead of complicated left hand patterns, and the melody in the right hand and your song will sound instantly full of rich harmonies.  

Recording Capability 

Recording capability is just one song, two tracks, up to 11,000 notes. It’s a pity this keyboard doesn’t have more recording functionality, but you can also use the keyboard to record via your computer or onto a device. You can take MIDI files from another device, (such as a DAW on a computer) and transfer it onto the Yamaha P115 via USB to play back through the piano. Because it uses MIDI data you can play files back using any of the sounds on the P115.  

If you’ve saved a song, you have to delete it before you can record another. So you have to remember to save it via a USB onto a device before deleting or you’ll lose it. You can record to other devices, however. 

Metronome 

Students often complain that using a metronome is boring and irritating – and who can blame them? However, using a metronome really makes a huge difference when used even a little bit during practice. The P115 offers not just the traditional “click” sound but a whole other 14 different rhythms to choose from which makes it a whole lot more fun. This could be a game changer for developing evenness in playing as well as learning to listen to another performer while playing. Practicing with a metronome makes improves your skills of keeping in time when you play with other members of a band or accompany another musician. This metronome can be set from 5 to 280 BPM.  

Duo, Dual and Split modes 

Like many keyboards, the Yamaha 115 has these three modes: 

Duo Mode 

This splits the keyboard into two identical sections, meaning two players can play at once at the same pitch. This is most useful for teachers who can demonstrate on one half of the instrument while the student copies on the other half of the keyboard. Although this isn’t essential, it can be easier for a beginning student to hear the exact same pitch when they copy the teacher. If they are hearing a tone one or two octaves higher or lower than their teacher is playing, it can be confusing. Note that the footswitch sustains notes across the keyboard in this mode while the optional pedal unit (consisting of 3 pedals) varies the application. The most useful thing about this is that the player on the right of the keyboard can use the right pedal and the player on the left can use the left pedal.  

Dual Mode 

This mode allows you to layer two voices across the entire keyboard, for instance you can mix strings and piano, or electric piano and rock organ.  

Split Mode 

Split divides the keyboard in half from middle C so that the lower part is one voice and the upper part another. This is great for playing bass with the left hand and piano with the right. 

Specifications 

Keyboard

The Yamaha P115 keyboard weighs in at 26.3llbs, which is solid enough to sit on an X frame safely, but also light enough to be able to be carried easily from room to room or packed into a carrying case and taken to gigs.  

The 88 keys are fully weighted with graded hammer action. They have touch sensitivity which is adjustable by hard, medium, soft or off, so you can set the keyboard resistance to your preference. You may want to change this depending on the type of music you’re playing. Soft is best for children’s little fingers. The black keys are matte black, which helps prevent your fingers slipping.  

This keyboard doesn’t have an LCD display of any kind. There are several buttons that just do one specific thing. To access other functions – ones you probably won’t use as regularly – you have to push two buttons at once. However, this keyboard also works with Yamaha’s Digital Piano App which, with a little bit of practice, makes switching between functions and settings much easier. In order to use it, you just connect your device to your piano keyboard. (This app has recently been updated and is now called the Yamaha Smart Pianist App). 

Connectivity 

Connections include AUX OUT and AUX IN for connecting to external devices and speakers. SPEAKER ON/OFF determines if your speakers will play along as well as external speakers. USB TO HOST – for connecting your devices to your keyboard. Damper pedal connection. Headphone socket for playing without disturbing those around you.  

Sound 

The main piano sound on the Yamaha P115 is beautiful. Its sound is sampled from the Yamaha CFS 9-foot concert grand. The samples change depending on how hard you hit a key, so that you get a really true experience of playing the original acoustic piano. There are 14 different sounds included on the keyboard. Polyphony is 192 which is plenty, even for the most serious player. 

The speaker system is 7W X 7W for a total 14W, which is a big output. There is an auto off function so the keyboard switches off if it hasn’t been used for a while. There are 14 demo songs 50 preset piano songs. The P115 comes with a footswitch (pedal) and with an AC/adaptor (although in some areas this may not be included – check with your store before buying).  

There is a transposing function which goes from -6 to +6. You can also fine-tune the piano – useful if you’re playing with another musician whose instrument isn’t quite in tune. There are 10 “pianist styles” to play along with. The P115 has damper resonance, sound boost, and Intelligent Acoustic Control (IAC).

Reverb 

There are several reverb types to choose from: Recital Hall which is a good choice for an acoustic piano sound with a rich reverb as if you were in a small size recital hall. Concert Hall recreates the reverb you would hear in a large concert hall such as Carnegie Hall or Royal Albert Hall. Chamber Hall sounds like a spacious room and is good for intimate size chamber music. Club Reverb simulates the very live sound you would hear in a live music venue or jazz club. You can also choose no reverb. Within the reverb choices, you can choose how much to apply to your sound, so you can have a touch of Concert Hall, or a lot, depending on what and where you’re playing your keyboard. Reverb amount goes from 0 – 20.  

Voices 

There are 14 different voices to choose from on the P115. There are three different acoustic pianos including Grand Piano, Bright Grand and Mellow Grand. DX EP is an electric piano sound that is reminiscent of ballads from the 80’s. Stage E. Piano is another good vintage sounding piano. Organ choices: Jazz organ, pipe organ and rock organ. And finally, vibraphone, strings, wood bass which sounds like a finger-plucked bass, and E. Bass which is a reasonable electric bass.

Rhythms 

There are 14 rhythms to accompany your playing. Some of these include 8-beat, 16-beat, shuffle, disco, swing, jazz waltz and samba. Unlike the “Pianist Styles” this mode doesn’t fill in the chords with patterns. Play your own bass note patterns, or choose to play solid chords with the left hand. Both will sound good.  

Who Is It Suitable For?

Advanced players 

Most pianists would be quite happy with the sound and feel of this keyboard. Given the compact size and weight, it’s quite an achievement to make a keyboard this good. It will allow advanced players to execute fast passages with accuracy and evenness and the sound of the piano will be satisfying.  

Beginners 

This is a great piano for a beginner as the sound is quite true and the feel of the keys quite authentic. The better the quality of the keyboard for a beginner, the better. However, for a beginner – especially a child – the creative side is somewhat limited.  

Pros and Cons

Pros

• The piano grand piano sound and feel is excellent. The piano has a controller App facilitates better usage of the piano
• Excellent value for the price point 
• The pianist Styles makes playing a song quick and rich-sounding

Cons 

• Recording is limited to one song, 2 tracks, and can easily be overwritten 
• The 14 voice selection is good quality, but limited. 

Quick View 

Conclusion

Overall the Yamaha P115 is a really good keyboard with a beautiful piano sound, good quality weighted, graded hammer action keys that most pianists would feel happy with.  It would be great for a beginner to start with an instrument this good as they will internalize the sound of the piano pretty close to the real thing, as well as the feel of piano keys.  

The Yamaha P115B is the same instrument, but in white. There is also a matching cabinet for the white model. 

Although some of the functions need double-button action to access, it’s the least used options and anyway, you can use the App to control everything from the sound to the split keyboard, recording and saving. So as long as you have a device to run it from, there’s always that option. 

It’s a shame they didn’t build more on-board recording right into this lovely instrument, but at the same time, you can record into a device or computer, so it’s the not that big a deal. 

The Yamaha P115 doesn’t come with a stand but there is a cabinet stand made for this instrument. The L85 fits perfectly to sit at the right height for playing. If you’re not planning to move the keyboard, this is a really good option to keep it safe and secure, especially if you have children playing it. If you plan to move the keyboard or take it to gigs, invest in a good X shape stand. This will fold down easily to go in a car. 

Finally, for the price-point, this is an excellent piano keyboard for both beginner and advanced players. It’s well built and can be used in several ways for flexibility, easy to move around within the home and take on gigs. 

9Expert Score

We gave the Yamaha P115 a 9/10. It serves a wide range of people well. The hammer action is really realistic, because of the level of resistance. The sounds are beautiful, and the speakers are quite powerful. It has plenty of features, including recording and great connectivity too. We wish it had a few more sounds, but overall, this keyboard is an excellent choice.

PROS

• The piano grand piano sound and feel is excellent. The piano has a controller App facilitates better usage of the piano
• Excellent value for the price point
• The pianist Styles makes playing a song quick and rich-sounding

CONS

• Recording is limited to one song, 2 tracks, and can easily be overwritten
• The 14 voice selection is good quality, but limited.