Yamaha P80

Ease of use for this portable digital piano is exceptional. It's pretty much "plug and play" ready, and since with a limited number of patches and settings, there isn't too much to confuse the user.

As a scaled-down version from Yamaha's flagship P-200 digital piano, this one is not exceptionally feature rich. However it gets high marks for having the same excellent action as the P-200 (best in the business, I believe) and for weighing only 37 pounds.

This is the weakness of this unit. None of the piano samples are stereo patches, and compared to the P-150 or P-200, they simply cannot compete. While some reviewers rated these patches highly, I found all four piano patches to be mediocre. The other patches are fine, but again, especially for the organ and electric piano patches, not nearly as good as the P-200.

All my Yamaha gear has been exceptionally reliable to date.

Never needed customer support for the P-80. Yamaha customer support for other products (sound cards, software) has been generally good.

This piano is a good option as an alternative to the pricier and much heavier P-200. The action is great, the size is just right. However, for the serious gigging musician I think the piano patches are somewhat deficient. This may be remediable through a high-quality tone generator, as the piano makes an excellent midi keyboard on par with the Fatar keyboards.

I have played the piano since I was six. I am now 60. I studied classical piano at Music School. In my late 20's I sustained serious RSI injuries to my right hand. I did not know at the time but I was slowly going deaf from
Otosclerosis and the resultant RSI was exacerbated by playing strenuous music with a hearing impairment. I loved the music but was overextending myself due to lack of feedback. I had a forced layoff during my early 30's when I concentrated on an academic career in another field.

In my late 30's I had a double Stapedectomy (Stapes replaced by prosthesis). The operation on the right ear was a failure but there was considerable success with the left. I went back to the piano
and during my 40's and 50's I gave several piano recitals until my hearing deteriorated and the feedback from the instrument faded again. In 2000 gave my last recital.

Then there was 9/11. My best friend died in the WTC and I was asked to give a recital in NY in his memory on what would have been his birthday. I now live on the other side of the world.

I went back to work on the piano but with the increased hearing loss it was most unsatisfactory. Then, through searching the Internet and this page I discovered the Yamaha 80. As a student I had my own silent practice keyboard. When I returned to playing after my operations I used a electronic keyboard with headphones to rework my technique. I discovered a near new P80 for sale and bought it. I also bought a good set of headphones.

I loved the instrument from the beginning. For the first time in many years I had a brand new keyboard to work on. It may not be Steinway but I was getting more from an instrument than I had in years and of better quality. I have all the feedback I can handle. I don't disturb anyone, even if I work in the middle of the night. I can play
entirely for myself and am liberated to practice when and how I want. It is like having my own sound isolated practice studio at the center of my everyday living.

I found the pedal very unsatisfactory. I am not sure if that is due to my hearing impairment or if it is a technical inadequacy. So I decided to remove the pedal and return to the cradle of Clavier music - Bach. That is where I want to be anyway.

For my recital in NY, the P80 (setting Grand Piano/Variation) will be plugged into a PC sound card with the signal converted into MP3 format and streamed live at a prearranged time to a select audience through the Internet. I will be playing Bach Partitas and I'll be at home.

Plenty easy to use. You hit the key, the note plays, ha ha. I don't
edit patches, so can't tell you about that. The only fancy thing I
do is use a Voce V5 module for Hammond organ; there's no real quick &
easy way to switch between that & an onboard sound (like, say, a
footswitch).

Keyboard action is ok, but a very hard stop at the bottom -- I'm
probably going to get rid of it because of that, my wrists & forearms
hurt after an hour or so. If you play hard like me, it'll get you
too. My primary keyboard is a Kawai MP9000, so maybe I'm spoiled.

Sounds decent, but not great. Again, spoiled by MP9000. Almost all
sounds better in the middle of the register than on the ends.
The piano sounds go well with some songs, and not so well in some
others. The electric pianos are unusable; EP2 isn't too far off,
but the difference between the "regular" & "hard" Rhodes (depending
on how hard you play it) is WAY too jarring. The jazz organ is
better than nothing, but as I said before, I have a Voce V5. :-)
I wanted a keyboard with a clav sound, but nothing in this price range
does. I play rock, blues, jazz, & classical, and it seems like in
general that the keyboard sounds better at home than with the band.

Have only owned it for a couple of months, but it seems solid.

I have some vague recollection of once asking Yamaha a question, and
getting a prompt response, but I might be imagining things.

When I bought this keyboard, I was looking for a very portable
keyboard that I could keep at home to play with & serve as a backup
for my primary piece (MP9000). The P80 isn't an awful keyboard, and
you could do a lot worse in this price range, but I'm probably still
going to get rid of it, because of the wrist fatigue thing. If
that's not a problem for you, then I'd say it's a decent little
keyboard -- nothing that'll blow you away, but you won't have wasted
your money.

This keyboard is very easy to use. All of the sounds and a lot of the other options (effects, sensitivity, etc.) are all a front-panel button push away. However, the display is small which makes the more advanced functions impossible without the manual. The manual is well written and informative and guides you through any more advanced function easily.

The P80 is not a feature laden keyboard, but then again its not meant to be. This keyboard has the best action of any synth that I have ever played. I actually prefer the action on my P80 over a lot of acoustic pianos! Effects are easy to use and sufficient, but are somewhat limited. The reverbs are nice. It also has a 2 track practice recorder, a metronome, and a lot of demos (which are good to play along with if you want to learn them). I took off a point in this category because it is pretty bad as a midi controller.

The grand piano preset is amazing. It sounds almost exactly like a real piano (nothing can ever sound EXACTLY like a piano of course). The classical piano sound is very dark, the jazz piano kind of thin, and the rock piano is very bright and sounds like a tack piano. All in all, the other three piano presets are good and have their own applications, but they are not as good as the outstanding grand piano sound. The electric pianos arent too good, but I think it's because they don't suit my tastes (I've never been a fan of the DX7 piano sound). I really wish it had a good Rhodes and a Wurly sound instead of a lame DX7 and weak Rhodes sound. The Rhodes preset, while not too good, has a nice mellow sound and if you play hard has a cool "smacked" sound. The harpsichord presets are thin sounding. The strings are kind of blah but they are useable, especially when layered with the grand piano patch. The acoustic bass sound is alright. I like it because you can have it play with a ride cymbal sound at the same time which is cool for jazzy walking basslines. The pipe organ sounds pretty authentic, but the church organ sound is kind of weak (very mellow tho). The jazz organ is good for clean, articulate solos, but I wish it had a B3 sound instead. Overall, the sounds are excellent and react very well to your playing.

This thing is "built like a tank" as the cliche goes. Once when I was getting off the stage after a gig the shoulder strap on my case broke (never jump with a heavy keyboard on your shoulder!) The right side of the keyboard fell about 6 or 7 feet in its thinly padded case and smashed into the ground. The plastic side piece dented and got seperated a bit, but to my suprise it still worked perfectly! Also, a guitar pick somehow fell in between one of the keys and is stuck in the keybed. This also had no effect on the functionality of this keyboard. Very solid.

I've never dealt with Yamaha.

This is an excellent keyboard. IMHO, this is the best digital piano currently on the market for musicians who need a high quality portable piano. I've been playing for 15 years and I play everything from classical to jazz to rock, and this keyboard suits my needs perfectly. The P80 has amazing piano sounds and unbeatable action, however you may have to look elsewhere if you want really good electric pianos and organs. At the time when I purchased my P80, I compared it to a Roland RD-150, and while the electric piano sound on the Roland was far superior, all of the other sounds were lacking and the action was just horrible. Since Yamaha has released the P120, the price on the P80 is dropping. At around $800 now, its an excellent value. Highly recommended.

It's a piano not a synth so pretty straightforward! Button layout is nice and clear with each main function having it's own button (e.g. touch). Piano presets are superb - no real need for tinkering and there is a mellow/bright slider to change tone. Limited editing but then this is only really a piano so you shouldn't really need or expect more.

64 note polyphony - more than adequate. The action is truly amazing for the money. I have spent the last two weeks trying out all sorts of digital pianos right up to #2000 (including Technics PX662/664, Roland HP3, and the new Clavinova range - very disappointing due to poor samples) and this is far and away the best i have come across. The Korg SP200 has an ok action but the samples are terrible. Hard to believe but the P80 samples are superior to the Clavinova CLP110/120/130. Not sure about expansion/midi/sequencer stuff yet as I have not had it long enough to suss the limitations but i did not really buy it for that. For the price this has all i need - a superb action and very realistic samples.

The four piano sounds are excellent - esp the Grand and Classic. The samples are very realistic and there is no perceptible switch to the sustain loop - the attack, sustain and decay are all exceptional for the money and as good as anything i have tried up to #2000. The notes really sing and the sustain sounds natural. Can't praise the action or sounds enough - allows for very expressive performance. I am classically trained and have played numerous top quality acoustic pianos (including Steinway grands) and the action on this compares very favourably. Very, very impressive.

Other sounds are ok for the money but not particularly faithful reproductions - the harpsichord sucks!

Giving a 10 as this is a piano and the piano sounds are top notch.

It's a Yamaha so I am hoping (fingers crossed) that there'll be no problems with it.

Don't know yet.

Would definitely buy another - it's the best digital piano i have tried and believe me i have tried shedloads! This is the best sounding digital piano for the money and i got it at a bargain price too! Love the stereo samples and the action is truly wonderful - all subjective i know but from a classical point of view i think it is outstanding. Action is slightly heavy but then most quality piano actions are. Wish the other voices were better but chances are i won't bother using them anyway. This is an instrument that most definitely inspires you to play and i could have spent hours in the shop playing it - can't say fairer than that!

1. Turn it on.
2. Plug in headphones.
3. Play.

If you want to split the keyboard or change the temperament, it's a bit harder and will require a reading of the manual.

Polyphony -- no problem. It has minimal MIDI and doodads, but that is not its purpose. It's a piano substitute, so I rate it as such.

The 4 pianos all sound great (Grand, Classical, Jazz, Rock). The Grand is the biggest and brightest. The Classical sounds like a grand, but voiced softer (voicing in the technical way -- meaning how it would sound if a technician softened the hammers). The other sounds are really just "gimme's." I bought it as a piano substitute, so I give a 10.

The action is great! It feels like a proper piano -- amazing for something under $1,000. I'm very happy with it.

It's a Yamaha, what can I say? Metal casing with plastic side caps. Very solid-feeling.

No experience with this yet.

I'd definitely buy another. I love the piano sound and feel. I'm a professional musician, and I am able to practice diligently for a couple hours without stopping, so this was for my neighbors benefit -- I can practice late at night without worrying. It is exactly what I wanted it to be -- a piano substitute. I find my practice on it translates easily to an acoustic piano, which is exactly why I bought it.

Plug in and play,very instructive manual if you need it

More than enough features for a piano.I play mainly synths but wanted a good piano stand alone.Going from synth action to piano weighted keys was a concern but after owning my p80 after 1 month there is nothing on earth to make me want a good piano feel on a synthy like action like the rs-9 roland.

It was the main piano sound that sold it to me .I,m comparing the roland rd 700 which was twice the price and I nearly bought it.As far as the piano sound is concerned I think the p80 is better and way much better than the rs-9.the rest of the presets are good.

Yamaha is reliable

n/a

If it was lost or stolen it would probably be a roland owner.I would have to replace it.Love everything about it and never look back

Turn it on. Plug it in. Push a button. Hit a note. Hear the sound.

It is a digital piano. No on-board speakers. Very few patches.
I did not like the key action. The key action was stiff
and heavy for my fingers. I returned the unit after 1 day.

I played it for 1/2 hour and my tendons, fingers and forearms
were aching the rest of the day. It was not a pleasure to play
this instrument. So I returned it.

Piano sounds fantastic. The other sounds are good.

I'm sure it is reliable. But I'll never find out.
I wouldn't gig with it. It is too ****ed heavy to
carry around.

Yamaha is a great company.

I kept it one day and then traded it in on a new Roland RS-9.
I'm very happy I did. I love the action on the RS-9. It's also
a lot lighter to carry around than the P80.

I won't buy another P80. But Yamaha is a great company.
I'd like to own a Motif 8.

Don't listen to those who say this is just like a piano. It's piano-like, good enough for most classical, better than most other company's, but not a piano. For one, keys don't bounce back enough for really fast repetition on single key. Board is identical to P120 without sound, but with sound requires more push to get note, so feels heavier.

If you use this for gigging, there is no need for inbuilt speakers. But for sound alone, I respectfully disagree with those who say the P80 piano sample is superior to P120 for classical music. To my ears the P80 sounds dull, lifeless, distant, muddled compared to the P120. I agree with the commenter below who described the P80 sounding like it's "in the next room." In comparison, the P120 sounds alive, present, distinct, open. More like a real Yamaha acoustic, which is also relatively bright. Yes, the P120 is a bit tinny (less so in your living room since speakers reflect of walls), but not unusable for classical like those awful "rock" piano sounds. I found the low end on the P80 particularly muddled. The 120 also has a sustain sample, which you can mix in to the degree you want. It's not a miracle, but it does add to the realism by fleshing out the resonance a tad. The 80 sounds better in certain passages to me, but overall I prefer the 120 sound. Both lose some realism with larger chords. In short, the P120 isn't a better version of the same piano as P80. It's a better sample of a different sounding piano, so you need to reorient your mind if comparing them. I have a much longer comparison of the two on this site under the P120 category.

very easy to use (as there is almost nothing to use). I wish only that local on/off would have an assigned button, as I switch often between stage and studio use.

poyphony: more than enough
effects: ok for on stage use
expansion: none
MIDI: it might sound odd, but as I use this thing as a master keyboard i my studio, a pitch and mod controller would haven been nice
sequencer: I never use it

Ofcourse I bought the P-80 for it's piano sound. The main piano sound is a delight to use and gets a 10. However, the other sounds are not usable for me at all:
rhodes: very noticable velocity switching and too harsh
organ: ok in midrange but terrible above C4

rocksolid, 22 kg. Spilled soda on it but still works. Only the mains connection is terrible. It's too short!

never dealt with them

I also tried the RD-150, but the piano sounded too bright for my taste. Also, I found the key action on the P80 more pleasant. But this is all a matter of taste.