Yamaha P65 & the new Yamaha P45B Digital Piano Review

Our Yamaha P65 purchase a number of years ago was an upgrade from a Casio Keyboard (Model CTK-515, current model is CTK-2400). The reason for the upgrade was to let our kids practice on an instrument that was close to a real piano. It is very easy to warm up to the Yamaha P65 Portable Digital Piano (current model is Yamaha P45B). The touch and feel of the keys is really great with its weighted hammer action. It does come with a few options for tones but we are content with the Grand Piano tone. It is portable compared to Yamaha’s flagship but expensive Clavinova Traditional series and Casio’s more economical alternative, the Celviano AP series.

We did some comparison-shopping for the Yamaha P65 before settling to buy from Costco. The very patient and helpful dealer at the Piedmont (Oakland, CA) Piano shop told us that for the next 3 years or so the Yamaha P65 from Costco was indeed our best bet.

The foot pedal (FC-5) that comes included has good sustain capability. The Yamaha P65 comes with several other features: built-in speakers, 2 headphone jacks that allow the student & the instructor to listen, and midi jacks.

The Yamaha P65 does not come with a built in metronome and so we ended up getting a battery operated standalone Korg metronome that works out well (use leak-proof batteries - the battery compartment is not sealed and so no protection for the circuitry) and has the advantage that it can be used with the keyboard as well. The bench could have been slightly wider to enable an adult to sit alongside a child. The only other thing that we miss so far is a pull out dust jacket.

Latest Yamaha P-series Update:

The latest version from Yamaha that is similar to the The Yamaha P65 is the Yamaha P45B that goes for around $450. The Yamaha P115B is the top-end product in the same series with additional bells and whistles. Sometimes, close-out deals on the P-series are available at very good pricing for the older models. They are a good option to consider, especially if the 3-year warranty applies.




Related Posts:

1. Portable Digital Pianos - A Comparative Review.
2. Non Portable (Home) Digital Pianos - A Comparative Review.
3. Digital Pianos (Yamaha, Casio, Roland, Kawai, Korg) - An introduction for Digital Piano Shoppers.
4. Portable Yamaha Digital Pianos - A Comparative Review.
5. Non Portable (Home) Yamaha Digital Pianos - A Comparative Review.
6. Yamaha Digital Pianos - An Introduction to Different Models.
7. Acoustic Piano (Yamaha M-460, Cable Nelson Yamaha CN-116, Kawai K-15, etc.) - Review, Best Values, Pricing, & Shopping Experience.
8. Yamaha P65 & the new Yamaha P45 Digital Piano Review (this post).
9. Teach your kids Piano with learn piano online for free – well, almost!!

Last Updated: 04/2017.