Yamaha P525 Digital Piano with 88 Weighted Wooden Keys, Black (P525B)

I have been taking piano lessons as an adult for two years. I recently broke my right knee which prohibits me from sitting at our regular piano. I did not want to stop practicing for seven weeks in my recovery.This keyboard was recommended by my piano teacher. The weighted keys and grand piano feature are amazing. We have it on a low table so I can sit with my right leg extended. Of course, I cannot use the pedal feature, but everything else is fantastic. The sound is amazing and the keys feel like real keys.Once I have recovered, we will move it to a different situation and have it as a second option.Great quality. Easy to use right out of the box.

I needed to downsize my baby grand, and wanted an electronic keyboard, so I could play with headphones when needed. The P225 grand piano sound is excellent, and the key action feels like a standard piano. I like to use the organ and harpsichord voices, which are also very good samplings. It is convenient to practice Hanon exercises; the P225 comes with the full Hanon, Czerny and other exercise collections, which can be played back while viewing the scrolling score. I also use this to rehearse choral parts, playing back recordings of the choral piece through the piano speakers using the Bluetooth audio connection. This allows me to play my part on the piano simultaneously to learn tricky intervals and rhythms.

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.

I recently upgraded a 3-year-old P-125 that lost all sound 1 week before the 3 year warranty ended. After comparison shopping, I purchased P-225, the upgraded version of the P-125 basically for the same price I paid 3 years ago. Fingers crossed that the P-225 lasts longer than the P-125 did. I admit that I may have played the P-125 to death!Yamaha P-225 is lighter weight with a sleeker design than the previous model. Adapting to a new digital piano is similar to getting used to a new laptop. It's just a matter of getting used to the sound and feel of the new technology. CFX provides a crisp and clear sound. P-225 wins hands down for quick response and clarity. This model also features Bluetooth and the Smart Pianist app. I played this piano six hours yesterday. It is a joy to play. I recommend purchasing the Yamaha three pedal unit for optimal performance. Yamaha is a trusted brand that delivers a great product.