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The Yamaha P-45 is one of the best selling keyboard pianos on the market for good reason. It doesn’t do a million things, but what it does, it does very well indeed.
The P-45 is lightweight with one of the best feeling keybeds in or around its price range. While not all sounds are spectacular, the acoustic pianos are fantastic.
If there is any downside, it’s that the lack of voices/versatility might be an issue for certain players. But, that same simplicity will be the main selling-point for others. When it comes to the piano sound, the feel, and the price, it’s so hard to beat.
Yamaha P-45 in use
As a portable keyboard piano, the Yamaha P-45 is suitable for a wide range of situations.
At home – 8/10
Yamaha’s P-45 isn’t a stationary digital piano that will make a nice addition to the furniture (as good looking as it is). It’s a keyboard piano that weighs just 25 lbs, so you can easily move it around or put it away after use.
The point is if you are using the P-45 at home, it’s purely as a functional practice instrument and not a showpiece for the room. A good practice keyboard piano needs two things to make you a better player: a realistic touch and an expressive piano sound. The Yamaha P-45 has both of those things, so it’s an easy decision in this department.
It has USB connectivity, so it can be used as a controller with a DAW, too.
On stage – 9/10
We clearly think a lot of the P-45, and as such, we’ve scored it higher in this review than you might expect. First of all, despite the score, we aren’t saying that it’s better than high-end stage pianos at all; it’s not. It doesn’t have the flexibility of something like a Nord Stage 3, and you are limited to the type of sound you can create on stage. To be more accurate, it could limit you to a particular kind of gig.
Here’s the thing, if you primarily use a piano sound and don’t need crazy synths and effects, it’s impossible to fault the P-45. To have access to a grand piano sound of that quality with a keyboard that lets you be as expressive as you like for under $500 is a performers dream.
When you add in the fact that it weighs 25 lbs and won’t leave you feeling like you’ve just moved furniture before the show, we had to make it one of our top-rated.
The built-in 6 W speakers will be enough for a small piano recital. For anything bigger, you can send audio from a single TRS output.
Portability – 9/10
There isn’t too much we need to say here; the Yamaha P-45 is one of the best portable keyboard pianos you can buy. It has a neat slimline design with built-in speakers, and it weighs 25 lbs. You can play the P-45 anywhere without any heavy lifting. Other than our Casio PX-S3000 review, we won’t score many higher in this area.
For beginners – 8/10
There are two reasons that we think the P-45 is ideal for beginners. Firstly, the best way to learn to play the piano other than on a real piano is with a realistic feel and sound. The P-45 has a feel and sound that will help you develop your technique as a player, which leads to you being able to make creative decisions and be more expressive as an individual.
Secondly, it’s so easy to use. There are very few buttons on the P-45; everything is kept as simple as possible. For example, to change the sound, you hold the Grand Piano button and press down the key corresponding to the sound you want. The onboard voices are each listed above a specific key that is used to load it.
The downside is that it doesn’t come with a bunch of interactive learning features like a proper beginner keyboard. It does, though, have 10 demo songs and 10 piano songs onboard. It also has Duo Mode, which is a common feature that lets you create two equal split-zones for student/teacher practice. Being so portable and having a headphone out means that you can always find a way to practice.
Intermediate to advanced players – 8/10
There are two sides to our opinion here; let’s start with the negative. If anyone is going to find an issue with the lack of versatility, it will be the more advanced players. As you get more confident and expressive as a musician, you often want to go beyond sounding like everyone else. That’s why high-end stage pianos and workstations are so sought after because there are so many sound-shaping options to help you be unique.
Sound quality – 8/10
Yamaha’s Advanced Wave Memory sampling is the technology behind the sound of the P-45. This kind of stereo sampling creates a far more spacious soundstage and a more believable grand piano sound. The P-45 has a max polyphony of 64 notes.
Quite often, the thing that lets a keyboard pianos sound down is the bottom end. Sometimes you get a bottom end that becomes muddy, sometimes it’s clear, but it’s just not rich and deep enough. The P-45 grand piano tone has a low-end that is crystal-clear, deep, rich, and resonant. When you hit any of the bass notes, you should hear a nice natural decay, and this piano has that.
Between the two grand piano voices, one is fantastic for traditional jazz/stride playing; the other is more modern and great for anything from classical to pop.
There are 10 voices available, grand piano, electric piano, organ, harpsichord (two of each), strings, and vibraphone. Outside of the grand piano sounds, the electric pianos and strings are the best.
As well as split mode, the keyboard has a layer mode so you can layer two sound together. Onboard effects aren’t very in-depth, but there are four reverb types that do help finesse your sound.
How it feels – 9/10
You might think we have been incredibly generous with our score again here, but it’s not without merit. If the P-45 cost $2000, we would score it much lower. However, we are talking about graded hammer-action keys for under $500; we need to reflect that in our score. It feels fantastic.
You might think we have been incredibly generous with our score again here, but it’s not without merit. If the P-45 cost $2000, we would score it much lower. However, we are talking about graded hammer-action keys for under $500; we need to reflect that in our score. It feels fantastic.
Build quality and looks – 8/10
The Yamaha P-45 is about as plain as a keyboard piano can be. Its simple design makes it both easy to use and pleasing to the eye. Other than something like the Casio PX-S3000, it will be hard to find such a clean looking keyboard with weighted keys.
In terms of sheer build-quality and how robust it is, well, it’s stronger than it looks. The P-45 is still a slimline piano, and you won’t want to be too rough with it when gigging, but it’s not too delicate either. If you do gig with it, you’ll be surprised how sturdy it feels while being so light.
Yamaha P-45 vs. the competition
Before you buy any instrument, you should always look for possible alternatives. So, let’s take a look at some similarly priced keyboard pianos and see how the P-45 review stacks up.
Yamaha P-45 vs. Korg B2
Both keyboards are almost identical in weight and size, and both have very convincing hammer-action keys. The Korg B2 has a higher max polyphony at 120-notes. Build quality is very similar, but the P-45 looks much more modern and sleek.
From here on, the Korg B2 will start to seem like the far better option on paper. It has more sounds with 12 in total and seven pianos. It has more effects, a fantastic software bundle, and a good looking stand.
Overall, the sound quality of the Korg B2 is better, but there’s a catch. As a pure piano, I still choose the Yamaha P-45 every time. If you prefer versatility, then it’s the Korg B2.
Yamaha P-45 vs. Casio CDP-S150
These two keyboard pianos are very easy to compare but difficult to choose one over the other.
The CDP-S150 is very slightly cheaper, and it offers more functions. It has a built-in recorder, more rever and chorus types, and an onboard metronome. Both keyboards have scaled/graded hammer-action keys, 10 voices, and a max polyphony of 64-notes.
The hardest thing is deciding which has the better grand piano tone. Initially, I leaned towards the P-45, and still prefer the low-end of the Yamaha, but there are some styles where I prefer the Casio.
The Yamaha P-45 feels a bit more substantial, so it will feel more secure if you are gigging. If it’s purely for home use, listen to both and see what piano sound suits your style most.
Yamaha P-45 vs. Yamaha P-125
The P-125, as the name suggests, is an upgrade that comes in around $150 more expensive than the P-45. The easy part is that we can say the P-125 is the better instrument. What you need to decide is if it’s better to the tune of $150 more from your pocket.
It has increased polyphony (192-notes), over double the number of voices, demos, and an audio recorder. It also has key tops that absorb moisture, so they never become slippery.
The biggest difference is the upgrade to Yamaha’s Pure CF sound engine, which stunningly reproduces the famed CFIIIS concert grand. It then adds more realism with string resonance and key-off sounds. The P-45 is perhaps more beginner-friendly, although both suit all levels.
For the sake of separating them, I’d say if you are a beginner, stick with the P-45. If you are intermediate or above and have the extra $150, it will be money well spent on the P-125.
Yamaha P-45 vs. Casio PX-S1000
The Casio PX-S1000 is another more expensive option at around $649.
There are some significant differences between the P-45 and the PX-S1000, mostly in favor of the Casio. The PX-S1000 has 192-note max polyphony, it has many more sounds, and it has a built-in 2-track audio recorder. As far as sound quality goes, the PX-S1000 probably edges it.
Another difference is that the PX-S1000 has Bluetooth connectivity so that you can stream music through the built-in speakers.
Both of them have scaled hammer-action keys, with the one difference being that the Casio has a simulated ebony/ivory feel. Each keyboard weighs around 25 lbs, and the Casio is the slimmer, more streamlined of the two.
However, despite being slimmer, I don’t see that as a negative for gigging as I did with the Casio CDP-S150. The reason being that the PX-S3000 feels like a much more solid build. If the money weren’t an issue, I’d be tempted to lean towards Casio here.
Yamaha P-45 vs. Roland FP-30
We are taking quite a significant hike in price here to Roland’s FP-30 at around $700.
As you’d expect, the FP-30 does very similar things; it just does more of it. For example, the P-45 has 10 voices; the FP-30 has 35. The P-45 has 20 internal songs; the Roland has 30. Roland’s FP-30 also has a higher polyphony at 128-notes.
The P-45 doesn’t have a built-in recorder, although it has USB connectivity. Roland’s FP-30 has a built-in recorder, USB, and Bluetooth connectivity.
Overall, the FP-30 is a better keyboard piano for the home, studio, or the stage. They both have a fantastic feel with progressive hammer-action keys and suit players of all levels.
Often with a comparison like this, it comes down to who you think has a better piano tone. If everything else was equal, I could make arguments for both. But, in this instance, I think the SuperNATURAL piano engine from Roland beats the more entry-level Yamaha.
- Value for money.
- Realistic weighted keys.
- Great piano tone.
- Lightweight and slim design.
- Limited sounds.