Yamaha P115 Digital Piano – Full Review

If you’re looking to buy a portable digital piano, you should check out the P line from the Japanese brand Yamaha. P line – is a line of portable digital pianos. This line of Yamaha digital pianos has been around for a long time, is regularly updated and each piano is usually a good representative of digital pianos in this class in its time.

Today I want to talk about the Yamaha P 115 portable digital piano. Yamaha P 115 was released in 2015 and immediately gained popularity among pianists. Despite its very affordable price, this music instrument was of excellent quality and could satisfy most of the needs of pianists at the time.

It was later replaced by the P125, and in 2018 the Yamaha P115 was discontinued.

Read Yamaha P125 review here.

However, even now it can sometimes still be found on sale and in use. Also, if you are looking for a used digital piano, take a look at this model.

Yamaha P115 Digital Piano

Yamaha P115 is a small, affordable digital piano, that replaced its predecessor, the best-selling P105, in 2015. How is P115 different from P105?

First, the P 115 has a higher amount of polyphony – polyphony is the number of keys that can be pressed simultaneously.

The higher the polyphony, the closer the sound of a digital piano to the authentic realistic piano sound of an acoustic instrument. If the P105 had 128-key polyphony, then the P115 already has a significant polyphony increase of 192 keys. And this piano sounds really good!

The number of options for the sound of the instrument has also increased.

The connectivity of the P115 to a computer or tablet is much higher than that of the P105. The P115 is the first piano that can be connected to the Digital Piano Controller app. The application has greatly simplified and expanded the possibilities of piano tuning and music recording.

Design

The P-115 is a small, compact digital piano. The P-115 is 52.2″ wide, 11.6″ deep, and 6.4″ high (without a stand).

This piano is perfect for small spaces. It can even be placed on a table, for example, to connect to a computer or to save space. But of course, it is better to purchase a special music stand.

The P115 does not come with any stand, so you need to purchase it separately. An X-type base can be used, it is very light and easy to transport. You can also purchase the L85 furniture stand from Yamaha.

The piano is quite light, weighing only 26 pounds. So one person can move it or remove it without assistance. This is true if you have pets or small children, or if the piano is in a very small room.

In addition, the P115 is an excellent choice for outdoor performances.

The Look

The piano has a laconic aesthetic design. The body is made of good quality durable plastic. The musical instrument is presented in two colors – black and white, P115B and P115W.

Control

Unfortunately, the P 115 does not have an LCD screen which makes it easy to set up and use all of the piano’s functions. But instead, Yamaha offers us the free Digital Piano Controller app. This makes it easier to use all the functions and settings, and greatly expands the possibilities of audio recording. At first, the application was only available on iPad and iPhones, but a little later it was added to Android.

But even without a screen and an app, you have access to all the features. It has 14 dedicated buttons for various functions – playback, recording, accompaniment, metronome, and sounds.

User Manual (Quick Operation Guide) contains detailed information about the various button + key combinations for accessing several functions.

Size and Weight

At the time of its release, P115 was one of the most portable models. It weighs 26 pounds (11.8 kg). In terms of weight, it is still a strong competitor for more modern options. It measures 52.2″ x 11.6″ x 6.4″ without the stand, and you can currently find smaller versions.

Since the piano was delivered without a stand, you can choose the most convenient option – a portable and lightweight X-type stand or an L85 furniture stand.

Keyboard and Key Action

Yamaha P115 has 88 fully weighted keys. Each key is the same size as on an acoustic piano.

The keyboard mechanism is called Graded Hammer Standard (GHS). This is the best key action on a digital piano and is the closest in feel to the traditional piano and sounds like a real acoustic piano. This is very important for developing proper finger strength and the proper technique needed to play a traditional instrument smoothly.

In addition, Yamaha has this mechanism very affordable. The GHS mechanism can be found on almost all Yamaha digital pianos under $1,000.

The P-115’s keys are the same weight as an acoustic piano. The touch sensitivity of the keys is decent, each uses two sensors. The lower keys are heavier and the high range keys are lighter.

You can customize the key sensitivity and choose from 4 preset sensitivity settings – Hard, Medium (default), Soft, and Fixed. With a “Hard” setting, you will have to hit the keys very hard to get a loud sound, with a “Soft” setting, the opposite is true. There is a “Fixed” setting, with which the sound level will not defend on the force of pressing the keys. The “Medium” setting, which is set by default, simulates a traditional acoustic piano. It is best suited for learning.

The P-115’s keys are made of plastic and unfortunately do not have the faux ivory or ebony finish found on some of Yamaha’s high-end and expensive keyboards (GH, GH3).

The white keys are glossy, while the black keys have a special matte finish that prevents fingers from slipping when playing.

Sound

This piano has a very good sound. The P115 is equipped with Yamaha’s Pure CF sound engine, which is used in the flagship of the P range, the Yamaha P-255.

The sound quality of the P-115 is at a very high level!

Yamaha p 115 reproduces the sound quality of Yamaha’s famous 9-foot CFIIIS Concert Grand Piano.

Its main Grand Piano tone delivers an incredibly realistic and clear best piano sound with beautiful resonance and decay.

In total, it contains the sounds of 14 different music instruments:

• 3 grand pianos,
• 3 electric pianos,
• 3 organs,
• vibraphone, harpsichord, strings,
• wood bass, bass guitar,
• and also 64 songs.

Another feature of the P115 compared to its predecessor, the P105, is Intelligent Acoustic Control (IAC), which maintains sound clarity no matter the volume level.

The P115 doesn’t have a lot of sound effects like other pianos. Reverb is the only sound effect on this musical instrument. It makes the sound more spacious and expressive, simulating various acoustic environments.

There are 4 reverb types in total: Recital Hall, Concert Hall, Chamber, and Club. Each type can be additionally configured according to your preferences – the reverb depth is adjustable from 0 to 20.

Speakers

Yamaha p 115 has two small speakers built into it. Despite their small size, they sound of very good quality. The acoustic system consists of 2 x 12 cm + 2 x 4 cm speakers (amplifiers 7 W + 7 W).

They transmit low frequencies well and provide a clean, beautiful rich sound.

Built-in speakers will be enough for homework and even for performances in small rooms. External speakers and amplifiers can be connected to the instrument if you need a more powerful and loud sound.

Polyphony

The P-115 uses 192-note polyphony.

Polyphony refers to the number of notes that can be played simultaneously on a music instrument.

Modern digital pianos use 64-, 128-, 192- or 256-note polyphony.

How can you play 64 or 128 notes at the same time? After all, there are only 88 keys on the pianos, and we cannot press them all at the same time.

First, this is necessary for stereo samples, when sometimes more than two notes are required for each key pressed.

We also use a pedal and sound effects such as reverb, chorus, and layering. Even the sound of the metronome brings additional notes to the polyphony.

Polyphony is used not only for the notes you play but also for auto-accompaniment or backing tracks. When the instrument reaches the limit of its polyphony, the first notes disappear. Thus, the musical sound loses its richness.

Does Yamaha P115 have MIDI?

The P 115 has the ability to record songs using a MIDI recorder. Thus, you can separately record multiple tracks for each song, edit them, play them, and merge them. An important feature – only 1 record can be stored in the piano’s memory! Be sure to connect an external recording device.

Features

The P-115 has some interesting great features. This makes it attractive to beginner musicians and just amateur enthusiasts.

Modes

It has 3 modes that offer you interesting features.

1. Split mode. It divides the keyboard into two parts and allows us, to play two different instruments at the same time. For example, you can combine piano and organ, electric pianos and strings, and more. You can also select the split point for the keyboard.
2. Dual mode. It gives us the ability to overlay two different instruments on the entire keyboard. By pressing any key you will hear the sound of two instruments at the same time. This makes it possible to achieve beautiful combinations.
3. Duo mode. This allows you to split the keyboard into two sections with the same frequency ranges. This is very handy for beginners. Thus, the student can play the same notes at the same time as the teacher.

Music Library (Preset Songs)

Yamaha P 115 has a built-in music library. It includes 50 preset songs. You can learn the part of one hand by listening to the recording of the second.

You can download any narrow composition in Midi format via USB. Unfortunately, only 1 song can be loaded or recorded into the piano’s internal memory. When writing a new one, the old data will be lost. Therefore, it is advisable to use an external device (computer or tablet) for downloading musical compositions.

Recording and Playback

Yamaha P115 has a 2-track MIDI recorder. This allows you to record your performance to internal memory in SMF (MIDI) format. Such records represent MIDI file data – sequence of notes, their length, and speed. They are not a recording of the actual sound of the music instrument.

This gives you a lot of room to improve your compositions. You can change the instrument’s sound, and tempo, and even add new notes or delete unwanted ones after you’ve finished recording.

You can record 2 tracks for one song. For example, record the parts of the right and left hands separately, then you can join the two tracks together and get the finished song. 

Other Functions

P 115 has some more interesting features.

1. Transposition. This feature allows you to change the pitch of the entire keyboard. For example, you have learned and are good at playing a song in C major, but you need to play it in E major. Instead of learning it in a new key, you can raise the tone of the keyboard. You will play the same notes, but the song will sound in a new key.
2. Fine Tuning. If you play in an ensemble with other instruments, you can tune the piano’s pitch in 0.2 Hz steps. P-115 does not allow you to change the default Equal Temperament to other tuning systems such as Pure Major, Pure Minor, Meantone, etc.
3. Auto-accompaniment (Pianist Styles). Yamaha p 115 has an auto-accompaniment function in 10 different styles, such as boogie, blues, swing, arpeggio, slow rock, and more. You just need to play the chords in your left hand and the melody in your right and based on the chords, the piano will automatically play rhythmic accompaniment in the selected style.
4. Metronome. The metronome is a very useful feature for all piano learners. You can adjust the time signature (measure), volume, and speed of the metronome.
5. Rhythms. You can use the 14 built-in rhythm styles instead of the metronome, including jazz waltz, samba, latin pop, disco, and more.
6. Intelligent Acoustic Control (IAC). Intelligent acoustic control is a function to automatically adjust the sound and balanced bass and treble at low volume.
7. Sound boost. Sound boost is a function that automatically increases the volume, making even softly played notes clearly audible. Useful when playing in an ensemble.
8. Auto power off function. Energy saving function. Automatically turns on your piano after 30 minutes of inactivity.

Connectivity

There are two headphone jacks on the front of the instrument. You can play the piano on your own or as a duet at any time of the day and even in the evening and you won’t disturb anyone.

On the back are the rest of the ports.

Among them you will find:

• USB port for the host, which is needed to connect external devices;
• Sustain pedal jack, which is needed to connect the sustain pedal that is included in the kit or any other with a 1/4″ plug;
• Pedal unite jack for optional Yamaha LP-5A/LP-5AWH 3-pedal unit. You need to buy a Yamaha L-85 furniture stand since the pedal set can only be installed on this stand;
• Aux Out [R + L/L+R] for connecting external speakers.

Accessories

You can also purchase additional digital pianos accessories. I remember that only a power supply, a sustain pedal, a music rest, and instructions were included with the piano.

Stand

Two types of stands are available for the Yamaha p 115, the x-form lightweight portable stand or the L85 furniture stand. It is much more stable and looks more beautiful in the interior. If the piano has its own permanent place in the room, I recommend purchasing it.

Pedals

The piano comes with a basic Yamaha footswitch (no half-pedal support). It is compact and light, but not very pretty and not strong enough for long-term use.

I advise you to look at more realistic pedals like the M-Audio SP-2.

If you purchased a furniture stand, then the LP1B 3-pedal set will suit you. This way you will have all the possibilities of acoustic pianos pedals.

Case

If you use your piano outside the home and carry it around a lot, it is recommended that you purchase a dedicated carrying case. If you always have a piano in your room, I recommend getting a keyboard cover to protect it from dust and dirt. This way you will have to clean the keys much less often.

Headphones

For playing late at night, I recommend getting good headphones. So you will have the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful sound and not disturb anyone.

Piano light

If you play a lot in the evening, pay attention to the lighting. A special clip-on lamp or floor lamp is ideal for this musical instrument.

Pros & Cons

Alternatives

Is the Yamaha P 115 discontinued?

The Yamaha P 115 used to be the gold standard and best-selling entry-level digital piano for beginners. However, in 2018, Yamaha discontinued the P 115 and replaced it with a new updated version – Yamaha P 125.

Is Yamaha P 125 good?

This is a budget great instrument, especially for beginner pianists or if you need a compact portable piano for outdoor performances. It also has graded hammer standard action. It greatly outperforms its predecessor P 115 and has more new features and good quality. And it sounds great, it has a really good and authentic sound!

If you want to know more about Yamaha pianos, read our article – Yamaha Digital Piano Comparison Chart.

Would you like to see pianos from other brands? Then read our review of the top 10 models under 1000$!

Conclusions

Here we have finished our review of the Yamaha P 115. At one time and for its cost, the P 115 was a very worthy choice! Very easy to operate, compact, with a good sound, and a graded hammer action keyboard, it was a great option for beginners. Even now, I can recommend it if you are looking for a used piano or if you happen to see it in a store. But of course, it is still better to choose more modern digital pianos options, such as P 125. If you are the owner of such an instrument, write your opinion about this musical instrument in the comments.

I hope this article was helpful to you!

Best regards, your Lucy.