Yamaha P200

so easy an idiot could use it.

i mainly play the piano sounds and they are perfect

pretty good for christian music

takes a licking and keeps on ticking

i would buy another right now if i had to

I've never used all the editing stuff. For gigs I used mostly Piano 2, Organ 1, Vibes, and a split with Acoustic bass and Piano.

The manual helped me figure out how to control the split and transpose features. I've never really dug into much more than that.

The keyboard action is awesome. I've been out of the country for a year, so I had this stored in my parent's house. They had my Kimball piano tuned for me when I got back, so I played that for a while. When I got my P-200 out, I was so excited. I love the feel of the keys and rich deepness of sound. I really feel like I'm playing a grand piano.

I like the pitch and modulation controllers on the left. They were fun to use, especially for some songs when I used to play gigs.

I've never used the expansion capabilities. The pressure sensitive keys were pretty much the biggest selling point when bought this.

I've always been a bit picky, even critical when it comes to playing a keyboard-- I'm a piano player and controlling sound with pressure and even the peddles is important to me. So this board is awesome. I agree with other comments I read about how it is worthy to be called a piano.

It definitely reacts to my playing, and I feel like it even makes me sound better!
I've played jazz, folk, rock, classical, disco, country, and I've never been disappointed with the sound or the ease of use. It is very simple to change settings quickly while switching styles within a set at a gig.

Like I said, I love the richness of the sound-- especially in the Piano 2 and Vibes voices. I also really appreciate the slight adjustments you can make with the modulation and the reverb controllers.

I have never had another choice as far as a gig backup keyboard, but I'd say I would not worry about that. It never crossed my mind. I have never had any problems with this keyboard, except that I need someone to help me lift it out of my carrying-case onto my stand. It is heavy, but that's never been a major issue for me. I have a nice case, a small dolly, and good friends.

Question: I remember the salesman telling me this board could go out of tune if not played regularly. Is that true? If so, how quick could it happen? And what would it take to re-tune it again?

I have never dealt with the company, other than reading their website. The website was pretty useful for my concerns. From reading people's comments about it though, it seems the company has always come through for them.

I bought this from a local piano store. They were great help.

If it were lost or stolen I certainly hope I could afford to replace it. The only problem is that it's been discontinued, so I'd hope I'd like the newer version.

I've been playing for twenty years. I own a Roland KC-300 piano amp which I bought to use for gigs since my first gigs had no sound system to plug into. I love that amp too. It's very versatile.

I wish it could record and playback so I could play with myself-- perhaps that's possible with add-ins, but I haven't looked into it.

When I was shopping, I had a really hard time finding enough options to really feel like I got to compare. However, I spoke with some local musicians who all loved it.

It certainly helps and enhances my music-making.

Can anyone help me with my dilemma:
Since I don't play gigs much anymore, mostly since I've been living most of the time out of the country, but not yet somewhere I could take my piano, so I've started thinking about whether I should give my P-200 a new, more appreciative home.
I don't want to get rid of it. I'm just worried about whether it would lose it's tune or otherwise depreciate in it's usefulness.
I have a Kimball piano in my parents' house waiting for me to have a permanent home to take it. I don't foresee being able to take it soon and don't want my parents to have to move it again. So we talked about getting rid of the Kimball.
Our thought is that the P-200 really feels and sounds so great that I could handle keeping it instead of the upright acoustic piano (I can't believe I really believe that)!
I'm just worried about what will happen to the P-200 while it sits mostly unused for a year at a time. It has sat most of the past two years and is fine, but what about the future?

Does anyone have any insight-- I would really appreciate it (I've included my email address). I believe in loving instruments and taking care of them!

This piano is extremely easy to use. You just push the buttons and get the sounds. I think it is great having the speakers.... that is one of the things missing in some of Yamaha's recent keyboards. Therse speakers never distort no matter how hard you push them.

The greatest and often most overlooked feature of the P 200 is the drawbar organ function. Hammond organ patches on most other digital pianos ARE NOT programmable. With the P200 you can set and store patches and even add percussion, which sounds very realistic and Hammond like. The leslie simulator is also very musical sounding. This is one of THE FEW keyboards with acoustic and electric pianos that is capable of getting a decent organ sound!

I think the Pianos are great on this and have been recognised as such. I really like the vibes and the acoustic bass splits are also very nice. But as I said before if you program alittle bit this one is also capable of great organ sounds.

I haven't had any problems with reliability in over 10 years. I don't bang on the keys so there are no problems.

I never needed support....

This is one of the classic digital instruments of all time. Because of te combination of pianos, electric pianos , vibes and Hammond organ sounds it would be difficult to replace this.

They don't make them like this anymore. The speakers are there, the sounds are there and it seems bullet proof. You have to spend quite a bit of money to get anything remotely like it today. I would imagine being able to find a good used one would prove to be quite a bargain.

I bought this piano in 2000, because I move a lot and shipping a baby grant every 3 or four years becomes too expensive.

This piano has a great feel and excellent touch sensitive keys, which make it play like a real piano. This was the main reason I bought this instrument. It features are well described in the extensive manual. Also my young daughters start playing the piano on this instrument and they quickly found out how to change the sound and settings.

Wonderfull action

I like to play fast as well as slow loud and soft and this instruments caters for these different playing styles.
I am still impressed by the variability in softness and loudness this instrument can produce.

However, my main problem is that after a few years all keys start producing a very audible clunk when the key is released and returns to its position. The touch sensitivity remained though. I added some felt to the existing felt ribbon and this reduced the noise significantly but it does not last for very long.

I am now thinking replacing the old felt strip, but I am not sure if this will solve the problem. Unfortunatley there is no Yamaha dealer in the country I am presently living.

If anybody can give me any advise please contact me via my email below

First thing you should know, I use this piece for practice and live-gigging, 95% as a naked piano, and 5% as an organ. The P-200 is very easy to use. You have 12 voices w/12 corresponding buttons with the name of the voice above. Push one, it's red LED lights up above it, and that's the sound you get. You have a single button for reverb that cycles through 3 reverb depths (with the 4th being no reverb), and the reverb is applied to whatever voice is selected. Same thing for chorus. The P-200 also remembers the last reverb/chorus settings applied to each voice between power on and off. The default piano voice is just absolutely wonderfully huge and nuancey. It's sound rings familiar and true when playing copy-cat licks from the recorded acoustic piano music you know and love. I use the main piano voice naked with no effects. The organ is nice and wet and reedy and gets those "squeaks" when the keys are worked rapidly. You can adjust the tremolo speed on the organ sound from zero (none) to eight (several cycles per second). The organ sound is acceptable to me when providing atmosphere behind the loudish, country, rockish, psych band I'm playing out with. I regret that I have no idea what "editing patches" is...I'm a piano player, and an old-school lover of the New Orleans cats: Longhair, Booker, Toussaint, Rebennac; I have no use for anything but a grand piano sound. The manual was very helpful in figuring out how to set the tremolo speed for the organ, but I think that's the only time I've referred to it.

I give this category a 10, not because of the versatility or tons of features it boasts, but because it has just exactly what I need and not a bunch of mumbo jumbo that as a simple piano player, I never use. As stated before here many times, the polyphony is 64, but actually 32 when playing the piano sounds because the two default piano sounds are stereo samples. I do use a sustain pedal, which feels and sounds excellent, but have noticed the very rare "clipping" sound when really working the sustain and the keys hard (maybe a handful of times in the three years I've owned the thing, and only with headphones on). It has not been an issue, just something I've noticed a few times. However, it "could" be problematic if it was happening in a complex passage that you were recording in the studio, but hey, this is a stage piano and I assume you'd want an acoustic in the studio. I don't think this piece is expandable. It does have MIDI in and out although I've never dealt with this feature. It has nice 1/4 inch left and right outputs to go mono (Left only) to an amplifier, or to go stereo (Left and Right) to a PA or a pair of amplifiers/speakers. I regret that I don't know about the P-200's sequencing capabilities.

The action is wonderful. To me, all acoustic pianos feel different, and take a little getting used to, and the P-200's keyboard feels like just another piano keyboard to me. It really responds to sensitive, soft playing, and quick, forceful, staccato jabs as well. I have no complaints about the feel of the action. HOWEVER, see below for keyboard issue. I think the piano sound is just as wonderful when playing Chopin as when playing a James Booker boogie. Again, I don't use any of the effects, just the sustain pedal and the naked default piano sound, and it's wonderful to my ear. Of course when playing live, it depends greatly on the sound amplification system you're using...

The P-200 is a work horse. It has never let me down...however, several of the keys (I'm not looking at the thing right now), maybe five of the keys in the most hardest hit zones (I play a lot of hard-boogie left hand lines), have begun to "sag". I've read about the key "sticking" problem, but that's not how I'd describe what's happened to my keys. The affected keys sit just a bit lower than the rest, and instead of snapping firmly back to position after release, they return back into position just a bit more slowly and jiggle for just a moment. It does not affect the sound or sensitivity to my ears, but feels a little lamer, and I bet they'll get worse. It started with just one key about 2.5 years ago, and now it's about 5 keys. I bought this piece used from a single owner and it was mint when I got it. I have played this thing every day for 3 years, and carried it to many gigs, moved it to New York City in the back of a car from Atlanta over crappy roads, hand-carted it over Manhattan streets, and up and down a two-story walk-up practice-space many times. Oh, did I mention this thing is HEAVY? I can move it about fifty feet on level ground from a dead lift out of the case, but that's a real effort. I'm an average sized dude. To go up stairs definitely requires two, and it's still a real effort. I'm pleased with it's stability, and notwithstanding any speculative future keyboard worsenings, it's reliability.

I have not dealt with Yamaha at all, however, when looking into information about getting a second keyboard (I want to leave the P-200 at home for practice and get a lighter, maybe the CP-33, piano for gigging) I found their website and all the hundreds of models to be very confusing. A simple product history/generational chronology would be helpful. I haven't tried calling anyone from their customer service department.

This model is discontinued, but I would definitely buy it, or it's logical generational successor, again and again. This thing is absolutely perfect for what I do (simply play piano, and I need something more portable than an acoustic until I'm a huge star and have my own teamsters). I love it's simplicity, it's piano sound, it's feel, and even it's understated, sturdy look. I hate it's weight. It's heavy. But not as bad as a damned acoustic piano. Bottom line, this piano, and music in general, has saved my life. I've spent many lonely, frustrated, feverish, exhuberant nights at this thing writing music in the wee hours. I've also had many hours of commeraderie and joy playing and watching other wonderful musicians play, perched behind this piece of work.

This is by far the best Stage Piano on the planet. If you don't like this Stage Piano, you have no taste as far as playing the piano goes. All the buttons on board do the job with the mear push of a button. Want to change a voice, just push and play.

This Stage piano again is the best thing i've ever played. It has alot of fetures that do what you want done and then some.

The sounds are to die for. I only use the piano 1 and i will never use another keyboard sound again. Or any other keyboard for that matter.

I would never in a million years need a backup for this piano. Never gliched on me, and the speakers could fill a gym.

Never had to call because this keyboard is THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD!!!

If this was lost or stolen, i would buy another, and one more if that one was taken. I would not know what to do if i ever lost this thing. I live and sleep by it to make sure it stayhs ok.

You'd have to be from another planet if you can't use this w/o the manual.

64 poly. Action heavy but what a normal grand feels like.

can you give 11 for piano? not for synth players. it will eat them alive. good effects. all you need. other sounds on it acceptable to don't even think about parking here.

see other articles. if i used this on a gig without a backup i'd be fine. I would just bend my knees before lifting this thing or your back won't go 'back' into the 'up' position.

For the Piano 1 sound and action. better action than the 01w pro x and mkb-1000 by roland (heavy action but good) the only thing to compare the action to is the rd-1000. that is still the best for all even though it weighs as much as my 82 VW Rabbit. wish it had (here come the tomatoes) a 2 track sequencer for my kids to fool around on.that's right i said kids! some instruments should also be family friendly and some are. but you asked me what i feel it should have.

Pretty easy to use. The manual seems comprehensive although I havnt really checked it out. voices are straight forward. built like a rock...

64 note polyphony...etc all the good stuff

sound is amazing. velocity sensitivity good.

stick keys...thats all I can say. I only have one E key sticking but it's really really bothering me. I've contacted the Yamaha support. Hopefully they can be of help. Meanwhile if anyone has effective tips/advice on solving stick keys it would mean sOOOO much to me if you drop me an email (zaishi@gmail.com)

Hopefully good...

a better alternative would be P250 if you have the $$. other than that, its an amazing keyboard had they not F@#$^#d up with the sticking keys...

Anyone could play this keyboard....anyone with a strong back.

It's a beauty other than *gulp* sticking keys.

Awesome piano sounds for sure

Good but sticking keys started happening to me too.

Haven't used them yet but sounds like I will be when I order new keys for this beast.

I have written a couple reviews on this thing previously. I am still very happy with it and I use it at every gig. I must go on record in front of my fellow musicians: I must openly appologize to earlier comments about sticking keys and having drinks in close proximity. You know, it is funny until it happens to you. I definately don't have any drinks near mine but now keys are starting to stick (Murphy has visited).

I guess I am buying keys now. I heard one post talk about a complete keybed exchange...can anyone add to that? Maybe that is a better option if they fixed the problem. The last time I worked on keys and a keybed (on my Hammond XK-2) I "had to" go buy the XK-3 because I really messed the XK-2 up (anyone want to buy a used XK-2 needing slight keybed love?).

If anyone can comment about the keybed replacement versus just getting a key here and a key there please email me.

This stage piano is very usable in a live setting, even in very dim light, because there are just a few buttons which do very obvious things.

It has AWESOME acoustic piano, an organ that will do in a pinch, a usable electric piano, and one string patch that is useful layered underneath the piano or EP. Very easy to combine 2 sounds ... easy to split 2 sounds though sometimes it's a bit tricky getting the right one on top/bottom.

Keyboard action is very piano-like. You DO need to call Yamaha Service Department, talk to the Shop Manager, and ask for the keys/keybed replacement, which they sent me without any hassle at all. Otherwise, you'll eventually probably have some keys stick, with or without prior warning, so do this sooner rather than later. Those who reported here that they have never had any problems may have bought the keyboard with the retooled keybed unit already in it.

MIDI implementation is enough to use.

Since this meant to be a stage piano, it does the dozen things it does, simply and extremely well.

It weighs a whole lot. You will need either a bag with wheels or an ATA case with wheels, or something similar.

Wonderful piano. Excellent church instrument. Piano will cut through a rock band when you want it to. You can vary the sounds somewhat using the 3 band EQ; since it's meant to be a piano, that's what it does, maybe the best stage piano ever.

I have used just this keyboard every week for 2 years without any mishaps at all other than the sticking keys ... in a pinch, you can super-glue a key back together, and then trade it with a key near the top or bottom of the keyboard. Do call in for the keys replacement program. It's a complete replacement for the keys and the keybed. It's easy to install yourself ... remove some screws, remove a ribbon connector, trade out the keybed (it's one self-contained unit) and then put it back together ... maybe a half hour job with a Phillips screwdriver being the only required tool.

There's a problem that others have reported on already ... it can switch from one patch to another while in use. I keep thinking I must have struck a preset button, but I don't think so really.

Customer support involves finding the right person to talk to, and then it's terrific.

At this point if I were looking for another stage piano I'd find a P200 used, for sure. It's very expressive and you'll find yourself sounding better because of it.

I have had this instrument for close on four years now and it has stood the test of time. Yeah its heavy ! Especially in a full flightcase but this baby needs looking after and I want it to last and for it to work the next time I unpack it. During the last four years the relibilty is 10 out of 10 which is typical Yamaha build quality make no mistake. Sure some people here have issues with keybed problems who knows why, but for me its been rock solid. My Guitar player purchased a P200 at the same time I did and again he has experienced no problems other than coming to realise that us keyboard players are the real kings !

Anyone could sit down and start playing straight away and the manual is there if you fancy a read. Editing is straight forward and you would not require a patch editor.

Polyphony is 64 note and the keyboard action is brillant, I spent several weeks before deciding to buy the P200 looking at everything that was available at that time from Roland, Korg, Kurzweil, Gem, Oberhiem, Kawai, Technics. The sound won me over from the start and the keyboard action left the others in the staple. Writing this in 2005 Yamaha have produced a new breed of digital pianos P120, P140, P80, P90, P250. Out of ineterest I tried these all out and the P250 is the direct sucessor to the P200. In my opinion the P250 is a retrograde step for Yamaha as the triple strike samples sound very different to the P200 and do not sound anywhere near as good as the AWM samples of the P200. I have also tried the S80 and as a piano it was a let down, the new S90ES I will be trying soon.

Midi capabilites are just ok for simple jobs but I need far more control as far as midi is concerned. I have a oberheim M3000 midi control centre running of the P200 and that works real good and turns the P200s midi master capabilites into what Yamaha should have endowed the instrument with from the start.

No Sequencer and I am glad.

Sounds ! wow I play Jazz Piano and use the instrument in a variety of settings from solo gigs, studio sessions, concerts, The acoustic Piano sounds are still the best and I prefer them over the current Roland stuff, I also have a XV5080 fully expanded with the Concert Piano Board 08 installed. Using the Roland Piano sounds on the P200s keyboard is a nice change but they do not have the authority and musicality of the Yamaha sounds, thats no accident , Yamaha build world class acoustic pianos so they know a thing or two about building musical instruments. The electric pianos are very good especially mixed or used with the onboard tremolo or phaser, very Donald Fagan.

Yes I have depended on it.

Backup, whatever for ?

Yamaha UK have always provided me with great support.

Would I upgrade this instrument, as I say I cannot see or hear anything in the current market place that would want to make me change. Yamaha Engineers and their R&D done this right first time round.

If it was lost or stolen I would get another, yes it was worth every penny.

Hello everyone again..

I'm the guy that had problems before with my p-200. 5 times of repaired sticking keys in one year =)

But since the last reparaing I've never had ANY problems with it. And I have not handled it extremely easy or anything. There are simply two reason for my now "no-problem"-time:

1) Yamaha replaced the whole ground for the keys to lie on.

2) I've always used a Warwick gigbag for carrying it in (not ideal for packing it). The Yamaha guy told me that he thought the problems came from me packing it standing up (the side where the YAMAHA-logo is). A better choice is to let it lie down as usual (with the keys up). I've even made a "couch" that I put under the logo to prevent it from hits. The Yamaha-guy thought that the sticking keys did so because of being pushed from the front side.

Now, AGAIN, I love my P-200.
I even got a autograph on it! From Robert Wells (international famous pianist). Check it out on http://boyzen.tk

This is an update of a review I submitted in 1999, right after I got this piano. I still love everything about it, it has never let me down.

Still the best out there as a piano..it does what it does very well!

The best piano sound in the industry, hands down.

The point of this update...I read all the reviews talking about sticking keys. This is unfortunate. I have had no such problems out of my board in over 6 years of playing it extensively at home and gigging with it occasionally. I hit the keys very hard, as a result of learning to play as a kid on an old upright piano with very hard action. The P200 has never even hiccuped on me. No sticking keys, nothing wrong whatsoever, and I've basically abused this thing. So for anyone thinking of picking one up, don't worry about it...even if I had to replace every key on it, it would be worth it for the sound and action.

If it were lost or stolen I would either find another one used, or possibly check out the p250 which wasn't out when I bought this, only for the increased sounds and sequencer.

No problems here. And I'm non-technical where keyboards are concerned.

The action is excellent. I love it. Another keyboard player sat in with the band a while back though, and hey thought it sucked. To each his own I guess.

Pianos -- Great. EP's -- Very Good. Everything else -- OK, I guess. I don't use it for the organ, except when I'm in fumble and bumble mode.

I too have had sticking keys. I now order them (the last two were D's) from Yamaha and replace them myself. They will add a few pages from the repair manual that tell you what to do. It's not that tough after you've done it once or twice. The keys are $15 each though. I'm up to $60 plus shipping with this problem.

I only call them for the keys. It's a shame you can't order them over the web -- you have to call. (I think. At least, that's the best I've come up with.)

I don't regret the decision to buy this keyboard. The P250 wasn't out yet when I bought this. And when everything is eq'd well, the sound and feel is everything I could hope for. I use a different keyboard for organs, and so I'm set for what I do. I also use an Emu Vintage Keys module, and drive that from the P200. This set-up works well too.

This is a VERY simple stage piano. Accessing sounds is easy. Quick EQing, adding effects, splitting, and transposing are all very simple. I'm not sure I've ever looked at the manual.

There is a handy-dandy feature on the P200 that, in my opinion, Yamaha has screwed up for its younger and more advanced brother, the P250 - THEY'VE MOVED THE MIDI BUTTON!

On the P200 you can toggle MIDI transmit (to layer live) on and off with the touch of a single button just above your hands near the center of the board. I've hit that button so many times it's become second nature. It took a few gigis to get used to its placement, but I always know I'll hit the MIDI button and not TRANSPOSE or SPLIT because the MIDI button is at the end of a row with nothing above or below it. This is no longer the case and is the SINGLE reason I won't be buying a P250 as my next road piano (they've also opted to go with a knob for the main volume instead of a slider - not sure why.

On board effects are simple and intuitive, but really quite spare. I find that I leave the reverb set to STAGE and really never mess with it.

The action is absolutely the best in the field. I've been a stout Roland supporter for years and was shocked to find myself buying a Yamaha over a Roland - but the P200 feels perfect for me.

This is a stage piano so there's not much in the way of expansion, cards or MIDI (well, of course, it carries all the basic MIDI controller functions).

I spend most of any gig with PIANO 2. It's a very live sample with lots of clarity and depth. AND THE ACTION IS THE BEST!

STRINGS are pretty sucky, but I don't tend to use them live - if I really need them, I'll layer them from a rack synth with the help of the handy-dandy MIDI button.

There is no harpsichord or Clavichord - this is a definite drawback.

You have a choice of an upright or electric (fingered) bass. There is no FUNTION or othere such button so to switch between bass sounds you actually have to hold fdown the BASS button for a few seconds. I would imagine that this could be annoying in a live setting if you had need of both.

VERY RELIABLE. This thing is a workhorse for me. I bought one of those FAA cases with wheels on one end and it's kept its quality for over three years.

Which brings us to the caveat that evryone seems to have mentioned. The P200 is a heavy son of a gun. I've taken it up and down stairs, across fields and through hotel back hallways so many times that I'm sure I've done some minro injury to my back. I find myself cursing it while I'm en route and the calling it "my baby" when I'm playing it.

No experience.

I'd buy this board again and it's worth it's cost for its feel and sound - oh and the onboard speakers are actually quite good and adequate for dinner/lounge/rehearsal settings.

I bought this over a Roland RD over three years ago. I'm glad I did. However, my next gig piano will actually be a Roland RD so I can have access to some more (albeit simple) synth capabilities on the road from time to time.

Very easy to use.... You don't need the manual for use as a "normal" stage piano, and you'll handle the basic midi functions without it as well. The display could handle a bit more info, but in general you are never let alone....

The keyboard action is very good, in my opinion only second to the Kwai. But this is depending on personal preferences. The effects are very basic (Reverb, Modulation), but do the trick. Easily controllable via pitch weel. Don't expect any wonders here, though. The organ editor is a plus and covers a wide range of styles. But I prefer to use only the piano vocings and Voce Midi module for the organ sounds. The feature i value the most are the built in speakers, which are of excellent sound quality and sufficient power to rehearse (until the horns are really loud). Althogh the instrument is heavy, you save energy and time moving an amp around all the time....

The basic piano sounds are very well sampled, especially the piano 1/2, which are stereo. As they are taken from Yamaha grand pianos, they sound somewhat hard and clear, but are ideal for Funk / Rock sounds. For classical sounds, they work as well, but are in my opinion less suitable than the roland rd800 samples. The electric piano samples are well engineered as well, especially the preset for "Vintage epiano", which has a pretty rhodes-style sound. The other sound (strings, vibes....) are not too good, except for the electric bass. The organ editor has many features, but always generates a synthetic sound, especially when used with tremolo.
The effects are basic, but for digitial ones okay. The tremolo is slightly synthetic and I use an analog device on gigs. The touch responsibility is very good; you get the feeling of playing a real piano (although a Yamaha....). The responisibilty is also fine with other sounds (you can get a real distorted sound with the rhodes when you press the keys hard....).

Never had any problems, neither on gigs nor when practicing. Even when my buddy let it fall down there was no malfunction. Heavy but reliable, id say. I did not encounter any of malfunctioning keys or anything like that. When i got it new, there was an annoying clirring sound when using internal speakers at full volume, but this disappeared soon after.

I never had any problems, so I can't tell.

A very reliable, well sounding piano. Used it for more than three years, and still happy. I used a P150 and a P250 as well, and they are equally well made... For a allround every day piano at a fair price, I'd always buy a Yamaha. It has a better sound than a Kwai and a better action than a Roland. But this is merely a personal opinion. The only thing I am not too happy about are the effects, which are too synthetic. I use the voices clean, without effects, and use analog devices (a Dynacord Cls222 for tremolo, and an Echocord mini for echo). If you get the opportunity to get one used, it will work fine, but the newer types (p250) have the same key action but more sounds. If you use it as midi keyboard with external voices only, it will do the same.

sbc I guess I will have to eat my words I am Shan and I summited my opinion on yamaha key sticking problem it happend today. I am really concerned with problem I want to know how this can be fixed. I have had this p-200 for three years now. I constantly play blues and boogie woogie. This is serious when you play live. The d key is sticking I feel for the guy that had this 5 times. I hope I can find some answers on this. If anyone can e-mail me on this topic I would really be thankful. If It can be fixed without a tech I would do it myself. I read on one comment that its important not to have drinks around it. Well, I figured that was what the other guys problem was. I apologize for that. I never have drinks around mine. I am shocked to find out that everyone with this problem has the same keys sticking I have not yet called a yamaha dealer about this so if anyone out there would like to talk about this problem you can contact me. My e-mail address is sdfsas38@sbcglobal.net THANK YOU!

Just a note to update on the "sticking keys" problem. I contacted yamaha and was informed there is a service bulletin on the keybed used in the P-series keyboards because of this very problem. Starting with the D's, then the E's, a hairline crack developes at the back of the key, inside the keyboard where you cant see it (I looked inside mine...sure enough, cracks were there on the sticking notes). They have retooled the manufacturing process to alleviate this problem. Yamaha is going to cover the repairs for me, in particular because I play for a nationally known artist and use a "P" keyboard on the road. So I don't know how they will deal with others on this issue. Just contact them : ) (find the # at yamaha.com)

see above

Like I've said before, the P-series is my FAAAAVORITE gig piano, far above any other I've ever used (they are all very similar, basically identical sound and keyboard). Play one..they speak for themselves : )

Hello,
I want to get in contact with someone who knows how to repair broken keys by yourself, so that I won't have to send my piano on service for the 5th time this year.
Please email me if you have any knowledge in reparing a Yamaha P-200.

I love this piano for its sounds.
Don't EVER buy this piano, if youre not intrested in it messing with you all the time. My piano has got keys sticking 5 different times (!!!) only this last year. It's so extremely frustrating when youre out gigging.
I don't know the reason for it, cause I handle it like my own little precious baby. Yamaha --> go to hell.

n/a

n/a

n/a

I just wanted to agree with Troy on this aspect of this entire "line" of yamaha keyboards (the "P" series). I am a "pro" player for a major label country artist, and I use a Yamaha "P" keyboard for all my piano sounds (because I LOVE it!) : ) BUT...i have had the same exact "sticking notes" problem Troy mentioned. In fact, I even noticed the very same "slight-shifting-to-the-left" of the notes that stick. These note were even "D"s, just like he mentioned. HMMmmm i wonder whats going on there?? So, yea, that IS a concern, especially when youre out on the road and keys start sticking on you in a gig! VERY frustrating. Other than that, the P-series is still, far and beyond, my FAVORITE dig piano sound. PLEASE Yamaha, fix this!! WhatEVER causes it.

n/a

n/a

I have had my yamaha p-200 for two years now and I have had no problems with the keys sticking at all. When I am playing I really rock-n-roll the piano. I play strickly blues and heavy boogie woogie. What I mean is this piano (P-200) is really great for piano pounding action. If thats what your into. I really am impressed with this product. I hope that anyone who has this problem will remember to keep drinks away from it.

UPDATE - P200 Service Issues

As mentioned in my review a couple of posts down. I had many keys sticking. The keys actually shift to the left slightly and when that happens, there is no quick fix, the key has to be replaced.

After dealing with some service centers here in Texas, I finally contacted Jason Lee of Yamaha. I by then, was 2 months out of warranty. Jason Lee made sure that I found a service center that would accept my board, then went the extra mile and had my entire keybed replaced.

This is absolutley amazing. I cannot express how impressed I am with Yamaha and its people. They had a new keybed to my tech in less than a week. and the entire unit felt brand new.

The p-200 is a great board, sounds incredible, and I dont believe there is a better digital piano anywhere. And Yamaha is the best.

Most of the presets sound great. Im only interested in 'real' keyboard instruments like piano, Rhodes, and Hammond. The affordable competition all seemed to have only pipe organs! This meets all my requirements for playing in a big r&b band, and solo. It impresses everyone. I always use one of the program banks (the 12 preset voice buttons can be reprogrammed to any existing voice or combination of 2 voices in a pair of banks A or B) I make much use of piano with hammond as lower second voice. I must add I'm not impressed with the string sounds though, my old cheap casio job has better. I don't use them so it's no big deal to me.

Can't remember the polyphony but I have only 8 fingers and 2 thumbs. A good trick with the piano hammond combination is to play with the sustain pedal down. The Piano fades quickly (per real piano) but the organ sound sustains indefinately until the pedal is lifted. By lifting and depressing the pedal at the end of each chord change, they sound like they are being played by two different musicians!! The piano runs are supported by the organ chords, and the large polyphony prevents the organ chord expiring (if you see what I mean). This really makes for a big sound. I use the swell pedal to control either the single voice, or in combination, the level of the second voice.

The instrument plays beautifully as a piano, from a caress to a crash. Which suits me as I play from stax soul ballads to JL Lewis rock'n'roll. I cannot fault it.

Not perfect I'm afraid. I've had mine for 3 1/2 years and still love it BUT: 1. I have had a low F key consistantly jumping out of it's pivot after 2 years (they are held in by the return springs)for no obvious reason. I opened the keyboard and fixed it myself by adding a retainer I made. This would be a fairly catastrophic problem for some people. 2. I have also had ongoing problems with the voices jumping to one another. This is down to agression in rock playing, and the voice lock does alleviate it, but not eliminate it! (it happens about once each gig, instantly corrected, and lived with). I first had it fixed by the dealer after 6 months, but it reemerged a year later. As an aside, I had the same problem with a domestic Clavinola CLP650 (15 years old). Could this be PCBs bouncing?

I dealt with the dealer who sold me the keyboard on the voice jumping problem. He did his best to convince me my fingers were hitting the voice buttons while playing boogie. Even to the point of claiming another customer did the same thing! This sounded suspiciously like the problem is inherent in the keyboard and they had, had returns before. I have not found any reference to the problem elsewhere. Anyone?

I've been playing 40 years, I also play taylor acoustics, minor electric guitars, sing, and am learning tenor sax.
I love the basic instrument which could not be better my playing.
The weight is a pain (try carrying it past mics, monitors etc)
I chose it for the sounds and price (best in UK)
Nothing is perfect, I can be a bit heavy handed in my playing when carried away, but pianos are PERCUSSION instruments and should not break with finger pressure. Therfore the instrument is not fully robust. But moans aside, I would happily replace it with a used model the same but check for the highlighted faults.

Yeah, it is easy as long as you have big cahon-ees to lug it around.

I can't even spell polyphony let alone pronounce it. Features are piano, piano and piano if you know what I mean.

Piano, piano, piano...did I mention the great piano sounds? Absolutely tops

I am writing again because I still have mine after years of good service and it is still just fine. Troy sounds like he has some serious problems. I have owned about a dozen different boards but never had the keys stick on one. Troy, stop spilling your margaritas on your keyboards, dude!

You gotta go to the school of whining if you want to get satisfied, Troy. Call them up every day. Make their life miserable until they take care of you. Tell them you are unstable and own lots of high explosives, whatever it takes. Troy, have you tried opening it up and seeing if you can clean the mechanical aspects of your board? Sounds like you should do that and then find out why you own boards with sticky keys. My first guess is you need to get a drink stand and get your suds away from the top of your boards so when you "slosh" you don't douche your keys.

Of course I would get another one....otherwise I will have nothing else to put my back out. I mean, I could push my mini-van around with the engine off and the parking brake on but there is nothin' finer than to hear a disk pop when you lift this beast onto the keyboards stand. Troy, take the garden hose to your boards and rinse off the Kamakazees. Good luck! Buy this board people, it is the best piano action and sound out there.

I have been touring with Yamaha Pianos now for 9 years. I originally owned a P-100. A great board with great sounds. That board lasted 3-4 nights a week for 7 years. It has since been retired and now resides in my office here. The P-200 I have owned for a little over a year. I fell in love with my P200 and love it. It's a great board when piano, and only piano, is what is important. but, please see reliability for some issues.

Great sounds, I have used most of the patches on the board, but in the current genre I play in, The Piano is all I really use. Along with a Korg CX-3 for Organ stuff.

Great.

The P-100, like i mentioned above lasted a long time. It took a faulty 220 power hit and with a minor fix was up and running again. The Keys did not start sticking until about 6 years after I had the board. Thats pretty good.

The P-200 is a different animal all together. Not even a year after getting this board, keys started to stick. First the D's then E's and so on. Now approx 15 keys are known to stick, and the numbers climbing. I live in Texas, and for a Touring Musician, it nearly impossible to get service on this board. The have a minimum of 3 weeks before I can get the board looked at. Which means I have to use my p100 for live gigs, which in case you missed it, has keys that are sticking also. Yamaha is simply not interested in helping get my board fixed. I requested that (2) different service centers simply order me a new Key Bed, so I could have the entire keyboard replaced. But, Yamaha doesn't want to do it that way.

I really love my P-200. Its a great piano, but problems like these are bound to come up if you use your Piano often. Please consider this as a warning. It sounds good, but if in less than a year, you are going to have a major malfunction, maybe there are other boards out there that may last a little longer, and not cause problems for people who use them to make a living.

Pathetic. Your service center may be friendly, but take in a major repair and see how long it takes.

Great Piano with some major, major flaws. The Weighted Keys are a serious problem on this board. The P-100 had a much heartier action.
The P-200 is simply not worth the trouble you will have down the road.

This piano is extremely easy to use, very straightforward. I love the grand piano in this keyboard! I haven't tried to edit the presets because they sound really good to me.

I believe the polyphony is 64 and I love the keyboard action! One of the best I have ever felt! When you play this keyboard you can feel the vibrations from the speakers. The built-in effects I belive have a few reverbs to choose from and I believe chorus. For a digital piano I believe it has enough sounds, grand pianos, ep's, organs, basses, etc.

This area is very subjective but the piano sound is great but it sounds like one layer was only used so there is definitely no velocity switching-which is different from velocity sensitive which this keyboard is...so your stuck with a piano that no matter how hard you play it you hear different volumes of the piano being struck with the same force sound. The onboard effects are good, and it is a piano that is a joy to play.

I never bought just have spent over an hour playing it...Yamaha products seem to be reliable though.

This piano is great. It definitely has one of the best piano sounds I have heard. I wish there was a way to combine the quality of brightness and presence of this sound with the 4 way velocity switching on the Roland Concert Piano Expansion card that is realistic but very mellow and dark( for XV's, Roland RD-700 and the Fantom)-and you would hear one great, dynamic, "cut-through the mix" perfect piano!!! But for now the Yamaha Motif Power Piano grand will more than do.

The P200 was my first "serious" keyboard, and I had no trouble learning to use it, with only a little help from the well-organized manual.

It would be nice to have more than 64 voices... I find myself running out on occasion. The features are fairly limited.

The piano sounds (especially the two stereo pianos) are excellent, full, realistic. I am a pianist, and pretty much have a solid idea of what a piano is supposed to sound like... and this is very close. The mid-range is excellent, though sometimes the extreme high end sounds a little bit unrealistic. Yamaha did a fair job of replicating the effects of playing very high notes (where the surrounding strings give an ugly sound b/c they are not dampened), but the sustain is a little bit wrong (Mid-range sustain, however, is excellent).

The keyboard is the most piano-like I've played on, though I can still tell a slight difference. One commenter mentioned turning the volume up and feeling the sound through the keys - this is absolutely true. In performance situations, I like to play this with both an amp for monitoring purposes AND the on-board speakers, to give the physical reverberation in the keys.

One complaint is that it is simply not possible to use this thing on an X-style stand - it weighs too much, and "rocks" gently back and forth... must get a very solid Z stand or some other sort of thing.

As a piano, this is excellent.

Never had any problems.

I just bought a used p-200, upgraded myself from the P80 as I thought it really was a bad instrument.
You can use the P200 as a basic piano, but there are a lot of things to learn about this instrument for those who want! Definitely more complex than the P80

I must say that that the action on this unit is better than on the P80. The speakers make it really realistic cause when you turn the volume up a bit the keys are "shaking". It feels so good!

The best sound that is on the market.
I promise you.
I have played semi-professional for 8 years.
This is what I've been looking for!!!

It might be a bit heavy, but that is some kind of way what makes it so wonderful!
I love Yamaha!!

Never have any problem with Yamaha.

Buy this is you want the best digitalpiano ever built.
All the Pro's use it.
And now when Yamaha comes up with a new model, you can get it for a very nice used!!

Easy to use. The presets are all high quality but there's only 12 or 13 of them. The reason to get it is for the pianos. Getting around this thing is easy and you really don't need to refer to the manual at all unless you want to do some advanced stuff. The manual is well written I guess.

Polyphony is 64. The piano 1 and piano 2 presets can either be stereo 32 part, or mono 64 part. The rest are 64. The effects are easy to use and there are dedicated buttons for on/off. I basically just use the room reverb effect. It also has a couple of chorus type effects. This unit cannot be expanded with cards or anything. I guess I will give it a 5 for features because it doesn't have much, but like I said, the reason to get it is because of the piano sound and feel.

It's got dedicated buttons for bass, mid and treble and you can get inside the thing and adjust these for each patch. You can combine two voices and then adjust the volume of each internally as well.

You can split the keyboard anywhere you want, it's got two mod wheels, an internal pitch setting, blah blah, woof woof just buy it for the pianos.

The pianos here are the best I've ever played. Perhaps there is something better out there but I have not come across it. If you primarily want to play piano then check this board out. The other sounds are well done, such as the vibes and the accoustic bass. The strings are the sythetic type. The 0rgans seem really good and offer alot of editing but I haven't messed with them much. The Rhodes sounds are o.k. I guess, but they don't quite sound authentic.

None of it matters really, although I play the Rhodes alot and sometimes combine the vibes and accoustic bass, the reason to get this thing is the piano sounds.

This thing would survive just about anything you could throw on it. I got mine used with a flight case. This thing has been around a long time and I don't forsee much that could go wrong with it.

N/A

I would buy this thing again. It's one of the top purchases I have ever made in my life. Really, the only downside is the weight. I keep mine in the same place and have only moved once since I've owned it. It's a two man job even though my flight case has wheels.

I've read reviews of the P-150 and P-80 claiming that the piano sounds in those units rival this one, but I don't agree. I really wanted to buy the P-80 instead of this. It would have been cheaper but to my ears the pianos were not of the quality of this unit. I think the reason is that the AWM generator is in this unit, whereas the P-80 and alot of the newer Yamaha units have the AWM-2.

I really didn't need the built in speakers but I'm glad to have them as it's one less thing to turn on. I will probably get a sound module with some freaky sounds in it one day to augment the stock sounds here and it will be nice just to come out of that back into these speakers.

Anyway, if you are looking for a great playing and great sounding PIANO from Yamaha, then try this thing out. That's the reason to buy it. The other features are nice and some of the other sounds are nice to have, but it's the piano sounds and piano feel that makes this thing earn it's keep.

Playing it is the easy part...lugging it around to gigs makes you tough (or gives you a hernia). I bought this thing quite some time ago...maybe I opened the manual once...I haven't really needed it.

This review is acutally a follow up from a previous one I left quite some time ago. I still have the board and I haven't had one problem with it (well unless you count the time I was cursing about the speakers going out (while using it at home without the amps) only to find out that some bonehead (this would be me) hadn't noticed the speaker "on/off" switch on the back had inadvertantly gotten switched off while carrying the bohemeth. I gig a couple-few times a week plus practices provides this board with plenty of loading, unloading and bouncing around. Ladies and Gentlemen: I am here to tell you that this thing is still the sh*t. Hasn't missed a beat, ever....period. I have a hardshell case for it but at the end of the night and I want to get the h*ll out of the nightclub, I am borderline abusive with my gear while loading (for starters I have too much crap so it is a race to get it all in the van before the bartender charges me rent). This thing has been TOP SHELF. Use it for a piano (#1 & #2), I don't recommend relying on it for the other voices, they are only mediocre.

Blah blah blah....I said it all already: This thing is the sh*t

Read my ramblings above about reliability. It is more reliable than I am...in fact I think it has driven me home from a few gigs...or maybe that was Elvis...I can't really remember clearly.

I still (knock on wood) haven't had a need to call them. Maybe they are like the Maytag repairmen....maybe I should call them just to let them know the phone still rings and someone out there loves them. If I need to use these guys I am sure I wont have a problem.

BUY THIS BOARD IF YOU NEED THE BEST PIANO VOICE AND ACTION AVAILABLE! If you want it for other sounds (other than piano) or if you are a pencil-neck with a weak back that plans on gigging with this "hernia in a box", buy something else. I am a big guy so I don't have a problem with it but with the hardshell case and the board you are looking at 100 pounds. I still can't wait for the end of the night after a long show and after the 150 free beers the bar forced me to guzzle, when it is time to lift this monster off the stand and somehow get it into the case without dropping a male part down to my socks. Buy the board, you wont be disappointed and your chiropractor needs a new pair of shoes anyway.

Very easy to get around. I used the presets right out of the box for
backing country females in a singing contest a couple years ago when I
first got the machine. It took me all of 20 minutes or so to program
all the sounds and transpositions needed for some of the songs. The
manual is pretty clear, yet like everything, not perfect!!

Polyphony is great...never had any huge runs cut out of me either live
or in the studio. The effects were set a bit hot, in my opinion, so I
tamed them down a bit from their factory settings. Using the midi
frustrates me, as I keep forgetting to turn the midi button ON sometimes
when I'm recording!!

This is where she shines, boys!! When all is said and done, the amount
of control and expressiveness to my hands was a winner the very first
time I touched a P200!! When I play in my Country band or Rock band,
I usually lighten up the velocity response, so the sound cuts thru with-
out juicing up the treble or mid EQ. When I perform solo or in a small
situation, I use the stock #1 Piano with a bit of verb turned down, and
I feel it is part of me!! The electric pianos are nice, but I wish it
had the Wurly sound thats in the P120!!

Her's a good on-stage story to pass down to the kids!! I set up one
nite at our usuall watering hole Country Saloon, when to my dismay, one
of my keys seemed a bit sticky!! Being a tech, I popped the hood, which,
by the way, wins many kudos from me surpassing any instrument I have
seen to date...two front screws and that's all she wrote!! To make
a long story even longer, when I lifted the front panel, something
small caught my eye rolling towards the back of said key...it was a
dime!!! Due to the incredible design of the P200, there is no way that
it could have even rolled further into the machine causing any damage.
Also impressive is the fact that it was soooo darn easy to fix on-stage,
where it counts!! So please excuse me if I cannot give this category
more than a 10!!

Being a technician myself and working in a music store, I can honestly
and without any prejudice claim that Yamaha Canada has perhaps the best
customer support I have ever witnessed, with Korg in solid second place!!
This actually stems from my being a customer years ago when I was but
15, and had a broken out-of-warranty CS-01 that Yamaha attempted to fix.
When I returned it the second time with a letter explaining exactly
what the problem was, they sent me the new CS-01 11, in cool black
instead of grey!!!

If my baby was lost or stolen, I've already insured it for full
replacement value!!! If it were not availiable, then I would probably
move to getting a P120, which is a bit lighter, but lacks the controller
functions that I sometimes use!!

don't know the software version.

the presets are really good except the organs are really muddy in my opinon. The piano 1 and 2 are amazingly great.

Editing the patchs well are ok. I ddin't have too much trouble.

the manual was not bad in explaning things.

Polyphony is 64 notes

the built in effects are pretty good. Hall, Stage, Room. MODULATIONS: Chorus, Symphonic, Tremelo. All these can be change in depth with the CS key and saved too.

no expansion that i see.

midi, transmit and recieve.midi in out thru. NO AFTER TOUCH.

no onboard sequencer.

the sounds are amazing. The pianos are by far the best grand piano and uprights i have ever heard. it blew away the Clavinova seris. it has overtone that sound as realistic as ever! why i bought it! the low end and upper end are amazingly perfect! a grand in a digital form. you hardly can tell the diff.

it reacts awsome to my playing. but for controlling ext midi, it is ok but if you want AFTERTOUCH best use another keyboard. it has features to how the keys react to your playing (hard soft fixed) for both midi and internal sounds.

100% realiable!!

of course i would use this as a gig machine! it is awsomely built and heavy!~ *L*

N/A never used.

This Keyboard is my writting unit. The Piano is perfect. in all my systems this is my piano and a amazing one. very nice. it has a small low mid high eq and it works pretty well with that. you don't need much for piano *S*.

I was looking for a piano that was REAL without being NON digital. and well Yamaha's clavinovs is nice. . but not as nice as this sound! mmmmmm GOOD!

it is the best piano ever. enough said? at least my opinon.

I own other synths: Roland JV2080, D-70, TD10 VDRUMS, Korg Triton, O1R/W, Alesis D4 & D5, Oberhiem Matrix 1000, EMU 6400 sampler.

For what I bought it for, an authentic piano sound, this thing is simple
to use. In fact, all 12 preset sampled sounds (13 if you count stand-up bass
and electric bass as 2 sounds) have dedicated buttons so you know what
you are doing the first time you sit down and play. If you want to create
your own parameters or combine 2 sounds or split the keyboard, etc. it's
still not difficult once you read the manual.

64-note polyphony (32 in stereo), but I've never run out of notes on
this thing. The effects are surprisingly good. I suppose they are DSP
effects. There are dedicated levels for Room, Hall or Stage reverberation
as well as Chorus, Tremelo, and Symphonic (sort of a wider chorus effect).

It has a large pitch wheel and modulation wheel. These come in handy and
you can get deeper into the thing to adjust the ranges of pitch and modulation
if you want. You can also "transpose" the tuning from 440.0 to something
else. I haven't done it yet but it looks like you can transpose over
a fairly wide range. For example, if your buddies wanted to rock out
in E and you wanted to play all the flat keys in E flat you could tune
it oup one step.

Midi in/out/thru is included and the manual goes into what sorts of
things you can do. I probably won't mess with this feature much, but
it could be used as a controller.

The sensitivity of the keys can be adjusted if need be but I will most
likely leave it alone as 90% of my usage will be the grand pianos.

I'm only giving it a 9 because it's so damn bulky and I didn't need the
onboard speakers, which only add to the cost and the weight. However, the
sounds and action are a 10. Perhaps the speakers would come in handy
in recording this thing. Record out via the outputs on the back and
set up a microphone somewhere in the room to get a room sound from the
speakers. It would probably only add to the authenticity of this thing
on a recording.

The pianos are the reason I bought this unit. I tried it out vs. some
Korg stuff, Roland (RD-600, RD-100) and I really couldn't find anything
as authentic as far as pianos. I had high hopes for the Yamaha P-80
because it is lightweight and has the exact same keyboard. But the tone
generator inside the P-80 is the AWM-2 while the one inside the P-200
is the AWM. I don't know exactly what the difference is, but you can
trust me that the AWM-2 doesn't cut it. Beleive me, I wanted the P-80
to work for me and didn't want to have to lug around the P-200, but it
simply sounds much better than the P-80.

Like I said, I bought it for piano sounds and the feel of a real piano.
This is the best digital
piano I have ever played. Other than that, the Rhodes sounds are good
once you get the modulation, F/X and e.q. the way you want them.

The organs may be great, I don't know. They require some extra tweaking.
I've only had this thing about a week and haven't messed with the organs too much.
The presets appear to be sort of a church organ and a B3 type organ. In
fact, the manual says that the organ offers the most as far as editable
parameters.

The vibes are super. The stand-up bass is also good. I don't like the
strings or the electric bass too much. The strings are more of a synth-
type sound, but they can sound good combined with something else. It's
just that with the electric bass and the strings, you don't hear any of
the attack that comes from picks or bows scraping on strings.

To sum it up. Play the piano, if you like it, it's the reason to buy this
thing. The Rhodes, etc are just some added stuff, some great, others
o.k. I'm giving it a 10 based on the piano sounds alone.

This thing is tough. I think it weighs between 60 and 70 pounds. I got
mine used and got a road case and stand for free. I'm glad I have the
case now. If you don't plan on gigging with it, you probably don't need
it, but if you do it's almost crucial to have one.

It's basically a 2 man job to move it, although 1 person could do it if
need be. I don't know what could possibly go wrong with it. It's constructed
very well and I don't forsee having any problems.

I've never dealt with them.

If it were stolen I would buy another one. Until someone comes out with
a lighter weight digital piano that sounds as authentic as this; this is
it, bar none.

I've been playing piano 20+ years. This is my only current keyboard.

This is, hands-down, the best digital piano I have ever come across. I've had it since December 1999 and I love it. All I wanted was a killer piano sound/action, and I certainly got it. I have never opened the manual.

The keyboard action is amazing. Like someone else wrote, once you play the P-200 you'll find yourself viewing other actions as "cheap." I have a Korg Trinity V3 and a Korg Triton and I feel that way about those synths, but it's not a fair comparison because those keys aren't weighted.

The EQ sliders are very convenient to use, and the reverb button comes in handy as well.

I bought the P-200 for one reason and one reason only... the PIANO. Anyone who has gripes about the other sounds should have bought something else. Don't kid yourself... if you want more than just a great piano, look at something else. But if you want a great piano sound, check out the P-200. I tried out a few different units and found myself constantly returning to the P-200 (I personally couldn't stand any of the Roland RD- pianos).

If you must try the other sounds... the vibes are decent and the strings are ok. I don't really care for the EP's and I hate the organ sounds, but that's just me.

I do have, however, a major gripe about the P-200. I have contacted Yamaha and they confirmed this "glitch." If you press a key and sustain it using the pedal, then gently push the key down again, it sometimes cuts the note off. Now, I assume that this has something to do with the graded-hammer action (maybe the hammer needs to "bounce" off something). This can get real annoying if you're trying to play something really loud and suddenly going to pianissimo. But oh well... it's a sacrifice that I am willing to make because nothing else compares to the P-200.

This area gets an "8" because someone should've known better. Otherwise I would've given it a "10."

The particle board doesn't look like it can take a great beating, but all in all I think that it's pretty solid. I wouldn't gig with it though... at 66lbs my back couldn't handle it. The P-200 stays at home so I don't anticipate any problems with it.

It took Yamaha Support 2 weeks to call me back to tell me what I already knew (i.e. "it happens on all the units"). My inquiry was regarding whether or not there is some sort of update for it. There is none =(. Oh well.

Otherwise, I am actually a bit shocked that someone did call me back. I can't imagine someone from Korg doing the same thing. Thankfully I've never had to call them.

If something happens to it, I'll still get another one, even with that glitch (that is, if nothing else comes out that's better... nothing has so far). My only desire is that it could be lighter, but hey, it's still the best digital piano on the market, even in 2001.

Peace.

Very easy to use, only read the manual to find out how to turn down the strings when using a piano/strings combination.
Switch on, and off you go!. It is quite heavy, and you could have a struggle getting it in the boot of your car - if it will fit in your car. I've found that with the rear seats down, the P200 JUST fits in a Golf GTi, but it wouldn't if my legs were a little longer. Why not put the Bender and pitch wheels on the top? - I don't know. It has a bit of an 'Ensoniq' feel to it in this way.

I think it is either 64 or 32 note polyphonics depending on the config. Haven't noticed note stealing on any piano sounds, and piano/strings combinations wouldn't demand large polyphony anyway - well, not to me. The effects are nice for rehearsal purposes - ie in a dry bedroom etc. I thought that the onboard speakers were quite loud - until I got to a gig and tried to use them as monitors when it became clear that they weren't loud enough at all. They probably do match or even overmatch a real piano however.

I've not had the call to use anything other than pianos at the moment. The strings sounds very slightly out of tune in the lower registers. The unit itself is also quite bass heavy when put through a PA, and needs some EQing at the desk end. The onboard speakers sound superb however, and the built in 3 band EQ though apparently basic is extremely usefull when you need to quickly set up. NOt used the other sounds as said, but overall they sound extremely realistic.

It's built like an armoured tank. I had a scare with it recently when the onboard speakers wouldn't work at all when I arrived at a venue, but I'd knocked the tiny on/off switch on the back of the cabinet geting it out of the car. Didn't know it was there - should have read the manual!.

It's quite simply the best digital piano I've played, if not the best piano. I've been playing for 29 years. I've owned numerous keyboards over the years, including a Roland EP7E and an Ensoniq TS-12, both of which try to be Pianos. The only other kit I have now is a Yamaha O1V digital desk and NEXO PS8 pa system - this you MUST hear if you haven't before. Love the 'Piano2' sound. Great for Rachmaninov, the weight is a little bit of a hindrence. Tried a Clavinova - pappy, and a Roland stange piano - Sounded impressive and was more practical but tired of playing it after about 2 hours, and hated it after a couple of days. Wish it had a simple sequencer like the Roland EP9E, just to listen back to rehearsal pieces.

Extremely easy to use, I did go throught the manual a bit
just to figure out sensitivity settings and it was very simple.
The presets are very good but you may wish to make a few adjustments
which should be no problem.

64 note polyphony. Keyboard action is very realistic. The on-board
effects are fine, although this unit is primarily and almost exclusively
concerned with providing a great grand piano action and sound. Midi in,
out and through. It is on the heavy side, (I think it's around 90 lbs.)
But that didn't hinder my decision.

The grand piano is the best I've heard and felt on any digital I've
played or heard of. I have played for 5 years now, mostly on studio
accoustics (baldwin, steinway) and after trying out over 15 different
models, this one was the most convincing of all. The action is very
realistic. The other pianos are also very good, however I am not as
demanding with regard to organ/bass and other voices. The P200 seems
to respond similarly (velocity/sensitivity) to the accoustic grands
I've played. (I've played many)

I feel the quality and reliability of the P200
more than makes up for the fact that it's a bit
on the heavy side. The question I'd have is NOT
could you gig with it? But could you gig WITHOUT it?
I couldn't.

Never had to call Yamaha. Feel confident I'd have
no problem getting service if needed.

This is simply the best digital piano I could find for under $3000.
Better than most uprights all in all (portability). My playing has
improved dramatically do to it's versatility. Play with a set of high
quality open-air headphones and you will love what you hear. If it
were lost or stolen, I'd track it down. I would fall into depression if
I didn't replace it soon.

I bought it second hand, 1 year old, including a flight case without (!) wheels. the previous owner got rid of it because of its weight and bought a s30. strange. the left on-board speaker doesn't work, but i was not to use them at all. anyway, the P200 is a very easy to use piano (once you get it on a stand). the sounds are a OK, though not very good. editing is basic and simple. the weight indeed is a bit of pain, but perfectly easy to be carried by two people.

the action is heaven. simple as that. and the sounds are OK. i tried Kawai's MP9000 (nice keys, not so nice sounds, and the body feels like it could break quite easily when used on the road), Roland RD600 (don't like its sound and too fake heavy keys) and Kurzweil PC2X (where have the old kurzweil days gone ? it sounds bad, very 'overdone' and the action feels cheap, not to mention the design). i only haven't come to check Korg SGPROX, but i know i don't like korg's piano (though i am a big good-old wavestation fan).
the efx are basic but usable. no expansion or sequencer, but i don't need them. i use it for live in a pop/rock band. the midi port will have to talk to a sampler for the rest of his life. but as far as i'm concerned i believe that it is capable for that use. (sorry for my bad english)

pianos and ep's are pretty good. i use it for pop/rock and therefore the sounds will do. i am used to the real piano so i know that the electric thing is still not even close. but for on stage it is perfect. the organ editing is nice, but for not like a XB1. the strings are ugly (luckily i own a korg wavestation). the rhodes/wurli sounds are OK, but not at all the real thing.
but that's OK. i mean, the keyboard action is so good !!!! i'm gonna buy me a sampler with a big internal HD and totally freak out !!

it feels VERY reliable. and HEAVY. on stage it carries another good-old synth on top (the roland d-70), and it feels like i can sit on it and jump and it won't break. though i won't try. i could fall and break my fingers...
but: in the netherlands (europe) the powercord is 'built-in'. i hate it and i am sure it is gonna break some day. my roland d-70 had it too and i brought it back to get it fixed with an unpluggable euro-plug so the cable is not in the flight case, and easy to be replaced when it breaks.

-never came to use it-

i needed perfect heavy keys for on stage. just that. and that's what i found in the P200. as i wrote above, the sounds will soon come out of a sampler with REAL good piano sounds. the device is big enough to put another synth on top. and a couple of beers ...

Aside from the otherwise glowing comments from almost everybody, I found a glitch which to me was so unweildy I eventually returned the instrument and took a P-80 home instead.

In split mode, the second voice (in my case, left hand bass) is not affected by the sustain pedal! And working with the Yamaha people, there was absolutely no way this could be modified. It's even in the manual, as a sidebar in 6pt type, as if an afterthought.

I think this is ridiculous. Obviously an oversight. At the very least, you should be able to turn this function on, or off.

The engineers at Yamaha thought so too no doubt, because after the P-200 was released (1998), they came out with the P-80 (1999) and later versions of the Clavinova. Even these lesser priced keyboards have sustain on both sides of a split.

In every other category, the P-200 is as good as they say. But if it's critical to your style, and it should be if you use your left hand at all, you'd be better off with a P-80 and a couple of flat response powered monitors. I bought Yamaha MSP5's. The keybed's identical, has a way better Grand Piano and the outboard speakers are better-sounding. You'll walk away with a few hundred bucks difference too.

I dealt with Yamaha support people. They thought this was a MIDI glitch and got me to try a few things. I still believe it's in the assignment of memory to the split mode.

It's my hunch that the P-200 was already well into production before somebody realized this was going to be a problem. Then they sidebarred it in the manual. Then they fixed it too late.

just got it today - d/k version of software. As someone raised on baby grands this thing is just phenomenal! and it seems very intuitive to use as well

Can this thing record me playing and the play back??? IT HAS TO! I'M GOING NUTS TRYING TO LOOPS and Pieces of music into memory so I can play 4-hand piano pieces. Anyone with THOROUGH advice I plead with you. again - the response and sound is surreal

very! great for the french piano composers if you lift the 'verb a bit high. high end is immaculately realistic

only hasd it one day.
definitely plan on making it the center of my instrumental life

have not called yet

I'd be heartbroken if it was broken or stolen.
Playing pro for about 12 years
it's better than the roland for the money - yes

This board is layed out in typical Yamaha fashion. Bottom line, it is straight forward and anyone that can not figure out how to make it fly probably doesn't deserve to own an instrument. The sounds are by far the best for the price (piano sounds anyway). Organ sounds are limited but I have a Hammond XK-2 so I didn't buy this board for organ sounds anyway. This board, to me, is used exclusively for piano sounds and the stereo sampling is fantastic. Plug it in and you are good to go, period.

Features have already been discussed in this review so no sense in wasting time retyping what others have said. Plenty of notes available with 64 note polyphony. Limited patches on this board but I didn't buy this for lots of sounds, just a good piano sound. I have other boards to accomplish a variety of patches.

As previously stated this board has great piano samples. The Rhodes is also pretty sweet. Organ sounds are nothing to write home about. The action on this board is to die for. The closest thing to an acoustic piano out there, even when stacked against Kurzweil (which incidentally I was going to buy until I saw what lousy reviews they were getting on their new boards).

It is new so I can not comment on it yet. I will say, however, that this thing weighs a ton...built like a tank. I am sure this thing would destroy a wrecking ball if the two came in contact with each other. It could also be used as a paper-weight during a class-5 hurricane. As long as you have a good chiropractor I believe this board can take what ever abuse you can give it (short of sending it to the bottom of the ocean, of course).

Have not had to use it yet. This was one of the factors used to "sell" me on this board. Yamaha has been good to me in the past so I have no concerns that they wont be there for me in the future. Sorry Kurzweil owners but I know you can't boast about customer service and this is a critical element if you have a problem with your rig.

If it were lost or stolen I would first hunt down the SOB that took it, then beat him over the head with the board. The board surely wouldn't suffer a thing from the trauma and it would certainly drive home a point about stealing someones axe. I would buy it again if necessary. I stacked this board up against the Roland 600, the Kurzweil PC-2, PC-88, 2500/2600, Alesis QS-8, and more. No other board could compare with the combination of great piano sampling and unparalelled keyboard action. For the price, this is the one!

Plug in, turn on. It doesn't get easier than that. The presets are quite good. Editing them is not that difficult, although you're limited to the degree of tweaking you can do (but hey, it ain't a synthesizer!). The manual is not bad at all (unlike the horror of Roland manuals!).

The keyboard action is nothing short of fantastic, and I can say along with the others, that this is THE best action I've played on a digital piano or weighted key MIDI controller to date, and I've played many! I traded in my old KX-88 (which has long been regarded to have the best weighted action), and this kicks its butt! It was the main feature that sold me on this instrument, along with the excellent sounds. Polyphony vaires depedning upon the voice (instrument selected). The polyphony for two of the the acoustic pianos can either be 64 notes in mono or 32 notes in stereo. The other 2 acoustic pianos, the polyphony is set at 64 notes in mono only. All the electric pianos, the strings, the basses,and one of the organs are 64 note polyphony in mono only. The vibes are 32 notes in mono (2 voices layered on top of each other), and one organ is only 16 notes in mono only. It has built in reverb (3 modes - stage, room, and hall)and modulation (3 modes - tremolo, chorus, and symphonic) whose depth can be adjusted for each sound. It has no expansion capabilities listed, MIDI in, out, and thru (with velocity, but no aftertouch sent or received). There is no onboard sequencer.

Although this subject is quite a matter of personal taste, I feel that the acoustic piano presets sound very good, and are quite useable for many situations (rock, jazz, etc.). The electic pianos are pretty good as well. The other preset voices are not bad, but certainly not the instrument's strong point, although I do kinda like the acoustic bass. Editing the sounds (i.e. changing reverb amount, keyboard response, etc.) is quite easy, and surprisingly there are quite a parameters that can be changed to tailor the sounds to your needs and taste.

It's a Yamaha, built like a tank, so it can stand a missle hit.

For such a big company, I have always found Yamaha to be very responsive and helpful, and I've owned their stuff for over 25 years.

This is the best digital piano I've played. I love playing this as much as my Hammond B-3 (especially after all my computer based stuff has crashed, or I can't figure out why the program isn't responding). Of course, we could use more polyphony, but this is not any limitation whatsoever. I would definitely buy this over and over again (until they make a real acoustic piano that weighs 25 pounds).Without questions, this is the one to purchase.

Easy to use. I did not opened very often the manual.
Note however that I use it mainly as a piano.

64 voices polyphony, 32 in stereo, some midi features,
splitable keyboard, wheels. Enough to do what I want to do.

Key action is far better from other products of this category.
Piano 1 sound is :
- excellent in bass and middle,
- a little bit weak in trebbles (however, I suppose it is to
do like on a true piano).
Piano 2 and 3 sounds are medium.
Electric piano are very good.
Organs and vibes are very good.
Strings are correct.
Double bass is excellent.
Electric bass is medium.

Without the trebble weakness on piano 1,
I would have rated this point at 10.

Note that gradded hammer action (keys lighter in trebbles)
is good for playing piano, but is a little bit less good for playing
electric pianos, strings and connect the keyboard to a sound
module. But it one will quickly get used to this feature
and I think this keyboard have to been seen essentially
as an elctronic piano, rather than a MIDI controller,
even if MIDI features (split, performances, ...) are included.

As I read, I confirm it seem to be built like a truck.
You can hit keys strongly whithout hesitation.

N/A.

I take great pleasure playing this keyboard.
I think I have done a good purchase.
I will perhaps plan to sell it only if a better product
is released on the market. For the moment, I think the better
product thinking of a portable electronic piano is this one.

This is a great keyboard right out of the box. I have not opened the manual yet and have had the keyboard for two months! The features are not abundant, but why would you buy this board for anything but the sound and feel of the piano?

With 64 note polyphony, I haven't run out of notes yet. The action on the keyboard is the best I've played. I have owned or currently own a Roland RD500, Kurzweil PC88MX, Alesis QS8, and a Roland A90EX; and the action on the P200 blows them all off the stage. The graded action is wonderful!

Once you play the first piano patch, you may not get to the rest of the sounds. It is the best piano sample out there! The way it feels through the speakers makes it really emulate a real piano. The electric pianos are very nice as well. The strings are decent and work well in combinations. If you want the closest to the real thing - buy this board.

I have not had any problems with it so far.

Have not called for support yet.

I would definately replace it if it were stolen. I have been playing professionaly for 8 years, and this is my favorite keyboard by far. However, I am primarily a piano player - so that probably influences my decision.

This piano is AWESOME! You pretty much plug it into the wall and begin
playing away! The plugs in the back are clearly labelled. The keys are
intuitive to understand (switch between instruments with the press of a button)

But why use the other instruments?! The *piano* sounds are amazing!

Keyboard action is to die for. It puts my upright to shame.

A correction: The P200 has *88 keys* not 76 as mentioned above.
(count them on the picture at bottom!). It is a full instrument.

I've not owned a real grand, but I've played on some, and this keyboard
definitely holds it's own. Much better than the other keyboards (Roland, Kurtzweil, etc.)
where I tried it...The keys are very solid and have lots of depth and bounce back
at the right speed. None of that side-to-side plasticky feel you get
with some competitor's brands. Playing it has improved my playing a thousand-fold
compared to my acoustic upright that just didn't respond to fast trills
like I wanted it to. Key feel and piano samples are top-of-the-line!

Excellent! The sounds are clear and well defined.

Headphone sounds: I hook up a pair of Grado SR125's and it sounds
like true piano (I highly recommend this as it will do the beautiful samples
justice over the built-in speakers.) If I were to play this aloud (I have
an apartment so I can't :-(..I would buy an amp and some speakers to place
by my feet to better render the sounds.

Buy a set of open-air headphones (see Grado's) and you'll never play this
thing aloud again it sounds so perfect!

Very solid construction. I've moved twice and it's held up perfectly!
Good idea to keep it's box though for protection.

There is a good hard carrying case available for frequent moves. The stand is designed
for a gig setting or something since it is very easy to take the piano
off it's stand or vice versa (hand tightened screws).

I've never had to use it so I wouldn't know...

This piano is one of the things that keeps me going on afternoons
when I'm going out of my mind studying for exams! Definitely worth it's
price!

I love it!

Pretty easy to use. I haven't performed with it,
so I'm not really as demanding as some people might be.
No complaints here!

Virtually unlimited polyphony (haven't run into a limit in a reasonable test).
The built in effects are fine and predictable.
It's not meant to be an expandable synthesizer, mainly a solid piano action.
Fully MIDI capable.

The builtin sounds are *very* nice and realistic.
Definitely emulates various acoustic and electric keyboards very well.
The action on this keyboard is beyond belief. It's 90 pounds, but the action is worth it.
This keyboard is the groundbreaking feature of this instrument.
Don't waste your time with anything else if what you are looking for is good piano-style action.

Haven't had any problems with it. It appears to be made of cement,
and I don't anticipate having anything else survive a collision with it.

Haven't had an opportunity to find out.
I'm tempted to give this a positive rating because the best customer
support is a really good QA group, but I won't.

Expensive, but I don't think there's a keyboard with action like it on the market.
Nobody within $1000 at least.

The performance settings that come default with the P200 are great for most situations, however a little fine tuning and tweaking of the sounds could not be any easier. It uses the typical Yamaha interface, so if you're used to a Yamaha keyboard, then this should be no problem. For complete newbies, a little time spent with the manual will get you going-- there are little illustrations throughout the manual so that if you want to skip the text, you can just find the task you're looking for and follow the "button guides."

As stated by everybody else-- this keyboard offers 64-note polyphony in mono and 32 for stereo. (Only the first two samples are in stereo, yes they are both pianos) The keyboard action is excellent, featuring the newer type of keyboards Yamaha is now using for its Clavinova line. I have specifically compared this aspect of the P200 when I was still looking around, and it offers the most realistic piano action. When you get used to playing with the P200, and switch to another keyboard you feel as though you're playing something cheaper.

As far as DSP effects go, the keyboard has a few preset reverb and modulation buttons which you can "depth-alter." These are both easy to use, and manipulate, but if you need serious effects-- you'll have to run it through an effects processor as this keyboard *IS MEANT* to be a piano first.

If you're trying to decide between the P80 and the P200- a major deciding factor is MIDI support and implementation. If you plan on doing a lot of MIDI work, the P80 has very minimal support and you should definitely go with the P200.

The Yamaha P200 has 16 megs of RAM. (compare that to most keyboards in this price range) This is twice the amount of its predecessor the P150. All this space is allocated, very discreetly to only 13 instruments. (yes there are only 12 instrument buttons-- but the last one switches between acoustic and elec. bass) This severely limits people who are looking for a multitude of sounds within just the keyboard itself. HOWEVER, since the number of instruments is relatively low, Yamaha was able to make these instruments sound very convincing. This goes especially for the first two acoustic pianos which are stereo sampled. Yamaha did a good job in masking where the samples change are. You can play every note starting from the bottom, and there are no discrepancies between the low, middle, and high sections-- like a real piano.

Yamaha has a reputation for quality, and I have not heard any reliability complaints or recurring defects for the P200. I have had no problems.

Never contacted Yamaha.

This keyboard is definitely worth the pricetag. When I was looking around for a keyboard, my main concern was that it had to sound & feel like a real piano. Of course no electronic keyboard will ever replace a piano. However, the P200 is a great alternative. It offers a solid action that is also quick (sudden and fast repetition of notes is a breeze). Combined with the two acoustic piano stereo samples, this keyboard is a pleasure to play.

Presets are incredible. I thought the pianosounds of my Kurzweil (with Piano Rom-board) were great, but Yamaha is the best.

No features, just the best piano you can get for the money.

I don't like the organs. Hammond B3-like but it's just crap, like all synthesized Hammonds. No, don't even try, it's just a waste of resources and money. Vibes are nice, but again, it's just the pianos (acoustic as well as electronic, Fender Rhodes !!) GREAT....

Don't know. Twenty years ago I bought a Yamaha CP30, very heavy, very strong. And it is still going strong, so I guess Yamaha is Ok.

Never needed any support ......

As long as I intended to buy a new El.Piano I knew it would we the Yamaha (P150-P200). I tried a lot of EPianos and, believe me, this is the best. I own a Hammond B3 (bought in Cincinatti, Ohio), Kurzweil K2500 (with piano-board), WS-AD and several other Korg and Roland synths. You can not use the P200 for anything but only the piano sounds and it is just the best I've ever heard. (relative to its price of course).

The presets are great. To edit, you must read the manual, not hard, but not intuitive. I haven't to edit anything yet.

64-note polyphony (32-note in stereo). Built in reverb, chorus, tremolo. Great MIDI, and great MIDI control. can easily edit all MIDI feature from the front panel. Again, not intuitive, but not dificult.

If you're looking for a piano sound, this is it. The strings are nice, the organ is great and very editable. Electric pianos (and Rhodes) sound like the real thing. If you're really going to pound ou the bass, get a set of expansion speakers or P.A.

This is the gig machine. ALways come s through.

There are several pianos on the market that sound like an acoustic piano. This one also feels like a real piano. The feel blows away the Alesis, the Korg, anything. People who say they can hear the difference are actually referring to (whether they know it or not) is what they feel in the sound. Through the keyboard, through the air, through the floor. The speakers on this board take care of a lot of it, but if it's not enough, get a set of extensions, the sounds are there.

The P200 is very easy to use - just plug it in and start to play. The user's manual leaves something to be desired, but the basic functions are fairly easy to navigate.

One thing which is irritating is when I reach across the piano to turn the sheet music, I sometimes accidently change the voice, and next thing I know I'm playing strings instead of piano.

The keyboard action is great - I tried many digital pianos, and this one is as close to an acoustic piano as I could find, including some pianos at a much higher price.

The P200 has 64 note polyphony - more than most users will ever need.

There are 12 sounds, including organ, strings, bass, and several piano voices.

The primary piano is quite good - sounds very similar to an acoustic piano, which is what I was looking for. The other voices are less intresting to me, although the bass is kind of fun.

I've only had for a short time, so its unclear, but Yamahas are generally pretty reliable.

Not great to bring to a gig, because it weighs 66 pounds and is quite awkward to drag around.

N/A

Overall, I am very pleased with the piano. It is definitely worth the price. I compared with all the digital pianos on the market, with most of my focus on Roland and Korg, and this was the best one by far.