Yamaha's ($649.00) semi-pro gigging keyboard? P125B (Full Review) P125 

I've not had a piano for 22+ years, and haven't played regularly for 30+ years. Now I'm old, I want to go back to playing a piano on a regular basis, again. I've decided a digital piano is best for me vs an acoustic one because I can play with headphones and not totally embarrass myself (to my neighbors) as I refresh my playing skills. Also, with headphones I can play any time of day or night. I have watched many of your videos on many models of digital pianos, and you have been a great help in my choice of a digital piano that is right for me and my checkbook. And for that I sincerely thank you. My choice? The Yamaha P125.....you just can't beat that sound, at that price point.

This channel helped me decide to get my first digital piano. Very informative indeed. I'm extremely happy with my P125 for a week now and still learning as beginner. Hoping someday I can play classical piece soon. I will just keep practicing everyday to get there. You inspired a lot of people! 👏👏👏

A lot of people don't have a lot of money. That could be fine for somebody who can only afford $600, not just a beginner.

Thanks for the in-depth, very articulate review! Recently I've bought one as a first piano and I've been enjoying it so far.

Your ability to just play any style with all the various voices on this makes me very, very jealous! And yes, this P125 was perfect for me, an adult returning to playing piano. Even after getting my new acoustic, I still use it A LOT!

Honesty in review is supreme and makes the viewing meaningful. Thanks for the good review.

I've been looking to move from my MicroKORG to a full 88-key digital piano and after going through multiple videos from different channels covering digital pianos in this price range I just want to thank you for making probably the most genuine and detailed review I've seen so far. This is true not only with the P-125 but your reviews of other digital piano's on your channel as well. I decided on going with the P-125 because your closing statements fit my intentions with a digital piano perfectly.

I got mine last week. I absolutely love it! I have been away from the piano for many years and have an old Baldwin piano that needs a lot of work. This is perfect for my needs currently.

So I bought one of these today as my first instrument ever. Just so everyone know when u connect to your iPhone it plays any midi files and RU-vid, Spotify or any other music U play on your phone. So u can play along with anything. Just FYI this is a great feature not really advertised.

Outstanding evaluation. Exactly the critical OCD type evaluation I was looking for...Thanks!

Hey James! Coming back to this video to say thanks for all of the great reviews you've made. They've helped a lot with my decision of which digital piano I should get and I decided to go with the P125, can't wait for it to arrive and to continue my piano progress on a much better quality instrument than the one I had before! :D

Love what you are doing here... I don't know how I made it 15 minutes into this review and only realized once you started playing moonlight sonata that I had youtube at 1.5x speed.

Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays. Your one of my favorite musicians on RU-vid because you use a education specetive towards your music.

Just bought this today...to use for our short road trips..we have a large Jeep..so no prob with space..but I just started learning 2 weeks ago and didn’t want to stop when we want to leave for a week or so. I wanted a full size to take when we go on these road trip jaunts..hopefully this will work out... but thanks so much for the detailed information. I went with this specific model..sounded good and one of the lowest weight wise..(26 lbs) and hopefully after a year or two will be upgrading to one of your more highly recommended keyboards..I really enjoy your reviews..Thank you!

Thank you so much for that demonstration and great advice. You shown some incredible skills and also very informative that helped indeed!

I wish every instrument review was like this

Thanks for the review. I have a close relative to this keyboard, the Yamaha DGX660, and as an adult beginner (less than 2 years right now), it is a good instrument. Of course, you always dream on the real thing (a Grand Piano), but for my level, it is more than enough for years to come

I have this piano and I love it personally!! It sounds better in person (this was before I heard the direct signal, which is basically spot on). it also has great reverb settings and lots of other settings hidden on the keys

I got this piano for my 14th birthday, i was learning piano before this but it was small and didn’t feel or sound great, i’m so glad i moved up, i have improved a lot from it

Great summing up, yr voice is so clear, thanks !

Very well priced keyboard excellently reviewed. Good Job.

Thanks for this video! My daughter has the Roland FP-30 and my oldest son is taking his first piano lessons this weekend. I’ve been having a lot of fun with the Roland but I think I want to buy one of these Yamaha P125’s. You make great review videos and you play fantastic! New subscriber here. Thanks again!

Thanks for your reviews. Competitors of the Yamaha P125 are: Roland FP30, Kawai ES110, Casio PXS1000, and Casio PXS3000.

always great reviews.. thank you

Thanks for this extensive review!

I simply love the Yamaha piano sounds. This one is certainly no exception.

I like how in depth you went into the functions that were mentioned in this vid, but there are others that you missed! Using just the voicing buttons (no hidden key diagram needed) you can layer any two instruments together! I.E. a synth and a E piano can simultaneously play through a single key press. Also, you can control many, if not all settings through an app which syncs to your P125. Very handy and definitely makes some changes less of a hassle. Other options would include splitting keys not just for bass but for any two sounds that you would like, again, no need for hidden key diagram. Hope this helps someone make a decision. It’s a great instrument. Enjoy :)

Oh man the joy of opening up new equipment :)

Thumbs up for having learned 3rd movement of Moonlight Sonata. Respect.

I donated my Baldwin to a music college when I moved across country, I have been without a piano for a while and miss it...I live in a smallish townhouse and this might be a way to get back into it.

I am just getting started in piano after a 45 year absence and am looking far a "piano" keyboard as my retirement gift to myself. After looking at various cheaper units, I came across the P125 at the local music store, a great chain by the way. I didn't have too much time to ask about it and try it out but looked it up online when I got home. I was almost convinced by the various reviews that this would be ideal for me but your detailed and positive review has me sold on it. Thank you for the great explanations and demonstration. It is a pleasure listening to you play that Beethoven.

I use the "little brother" to this keyboard, the Yamaha P-121 (73 key). I use it professionally. Have done OVER 65 paying gigs with it in 2019/2020 so really it is being used FULLY professionally. Let me tell you, It is an awesome keyboard. So versatile. Great sounding, solidly built and so, so light-weight --- only a little over 20 lbs. This is an Important feature for us "over-50" regular gigging musicians. We're an 80's band and the P-121 has some great 80's keyboard sounds (of course the DX-7 patches are great). Great acoustic piano feel and touch for such a small instrument. Excellent "old school" classic Rhodes & Wurly200 patches too. The electronics and technology in the P-121 is exactly the same as the big brother P-125, only difference is the keyboard length. Keys are the same size too. I would recommend it to anyone who wants top-notch keyboard/piano sounds and who requires lighter weight for gigging purposes. Both the Nord Stage and Kurzweil PCX3 probably have slightly better sounding piano patches and I would likely select either of the 2 over the Yamaha if I were doing a serious jazz gig. But for your standard rock/pop/soul/R&B type gig with people partying, dancing all over the place, and just having a good ol' time or for private practice or band rehearsals -- the P-121 is my go-to keyboard. I love this little thing.

Thanks for the review!

The review is amazingly detailed. Many people buy pianos like this!

Nice review James--I love your playing style and presentation! I have been looking at keyboards for a while and trying some out. The P125 keyboard and app combination has the features I would like have and I ordered the Yamaha P125 today from Sam Ash. From the Cleveland, Ohio area--Cheers to James from James Biro!

I’m a college student, with not much in the way of space or money yet, and my piano is back home. So I recently bought one of these during a Black Friday sale. I’m satisfied with it for what I need it for. It’s been great to get back into the swing of playing. I’ve been watching your videos for a couple months now, you’re an inspiration man for real. Cool to see you review this keyboard, the quality of this video and format is excellent! Love watching your videos. Gonna go play my P125!

i have one of these instruments and i think it is perfect for my needs i am an older man who used to own a steinway model S and now all i want to do is practice some to keep my technique up to par an this keyboard is perfect for that i live in an apartment, so this piano is perfect for me it wasn't mentioned in the video that a pedal clavier is available with the standard three pedals that are on all real concert pianos the damper pedal on the right, the sostenuto pedal in the middle, and the soft pedal on the left all three work just like on a real piano this piano has put back within my reach in my old age and living in an apartment enough of a real piano sound and touch that i am extremely happy with it

Outstanding! Well done! You answered all the questions that I had from watching both performances and comparisons of instruments. I may not remember this instrument but I will not forget you.

Hello ! 😃 Based on that review, and you comparaison with the Roland FP-30X, and the Kawai ES110, I bought this as my first piano. Thank you very much… 😃 Keep on doing those great reviews !

Bought this on Black Friday for 499 and it is the best keyboard for the price no doubt. I am in love with it.

Excellent presentation. Thanks !

Top notch review!

You are really talented... Cheers James!

Very helpful review!

My friend got one of these to use for his solo shows. It sounds great through his small Yamaha mixer into a pair of 12" powered speakers. Very useful instrument for paying small to medium venues without walking in with a $3k instrument. It has all the sounds he needs for his show, and he has setup presets on his i-phone and uses it to quickly change the configuration of the keyboard on the fly. Very helpful when you want to use a piano sound with a strings pad but you don't want to spend the time during your live show adjusting the individual volumes. Set this up as a preset on your phone then one touch during your show gets you the sound you want. I think this is a very good buy for the money. Go back just 4 or 5 years ago and you would not find instrument like this one for double this price. To me, this keyboard can take you a long way into becoming a player before you "outgrow" it. My friend is a classically trained musician who owns a VERY costly piano, but that is for the studio only. He loves taking this keyboard out on the road with him because it plays great, sounds great, and is only a modest investment to have. One thing to mention though, it does not come with a case. If you are going to do any real gigging with this you will NEED to have a good case for it. The road is not kind to any instrument no matter how well it is built.

Love this piano! Gotta have it!

I own one of these. It's done me great on for my first year! No complaints here

Very good board. I bought it and return it after about a couple of weeks. I decided on getting the Yamaha MOXF8. I needed more sounds :)

My vote is for the line out. The presence was much more pronounced. By the way, it was good to see you on a fairly decent instrument. The Williams demo was apparently torturous

Buying one of these for my sister, as she wants me to teach her to play. I had a P105 for a while and loved it. This has greater polyphony and some other interesting upgrades, but the excellent keyboard feel is the same. As I recall the sampled piano sound engine is the same as well, but the speakers are better (headphones sound better anyway). I'm definitely going to have some good playing time on it too. She'll love it.

Merci ! 😃 Another great review ! 😃

very nice. Good review. thank you.

Had a P115 for 3 years but on trying this one I felt it was superior in several ways, especially the quality of the sounds when played through a good PA system. I use it on accompanying and jazz quintet gigs, and am grateful for its 12 Kilogram weight. [ Important for those over 70 ] Supplied pedal is a piece of crap so it's worth buying a decent one which does not run away. Usually available for around $20.

Great video 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 Thank u from Brazil! 🇧🇷

It's my 16 year old daughter's first electronic piano, but she has been playing since Kindergarten. It runs circles around the electronic piano made available to her for playing Mass. In some ways, the pipe organ on this is better than the real one - because of the weighted keys. This thing is pretty great, especially when you start recording the line out.

Great review.

I also got p-125. The sound is so realistic which I like most about it. I uploaded some songs using p-125. Great for the beginners and pros who need alternative.

great review!

best in direct line bro so smooth

Hi James, here are a few beginner keyboards that I tried out last year at winter NAMM: 1. Casio Privia PX-S3000 Digital Piano $799. (This piano was my favorite and it got a lot of attention at NAMM). 2. Casio Privia PX-S1000 Digital Piano $599. (The little brother of the S3000). 3. Roland FP-30 Digital Piano $699. I really liked the PX-S3000. I was really surprised at how well it felt and played.

Ive played the p-105 (very similar to the one featured above) for years and I'm VERY happy w it. Ive never owned a $3000 keyboard to really compare like him but I did learn on and play baby grands at churchs regularly when I was starting (became the choir accompanist for 4 years so I've got experience in nice acoustic insturments). For ppl on a budget I think this is a GREAT choice. And once u get alittle past this price point u get diminishing returns when it comes to the piano functions imo. Anyways...Ive dragged it around town and its never broke. Action is very nice for a keyboard, I'm tall so I like the extra height he spoke ab. And the Yamaha samples (sound of it)are NICE they were way ahead a few years back in that department imo. Others have caught up and maybe surpassed by now, but it's still very good. The on board speakers are tuned good I like the treblesound they have he said theyre tinny I say sparkly lol. If ur outputting u may want to eq abit in my experience. The only Bad thing ab this piano IMO is the stock sus pedal. But that's an issue w most... but u can get a good one for 29.99. And I would STRONGLY suggest this...

Great, in-depth review as always 👍 I've had this piano since it first came out as I wanted light and portable for gigging - and it is. The voices are great as you'd expect and easy to select on the fly. And with line-outs it's good for live work. Sadly I have never got used to the action. Just too light for me and it still trips me up when improvising, and generally feels odd. I've played the piano since I was 8 and have always preferred a heavier "meaty" action. Best touch so far was my old Korg SP250 - quite chunky to play. Once live gigs start happening again post-Covid, I'll trade down to the older P60 or similar with the better GH action. I'll have to suck up the weight increase and lower polyphony.

Simply perfect job. Thanks a lot.

Thanks for the fine review. I have this keyboard on order right now. Also as a side note -- you can connect an iPad - or iPhone to this keyboard and gain access to a ton of 'stuff' -- don't know if other devices work or not - heard that they do, but need cables/adapters to do the job. don

Your reviews including this one are awesome and very helpful for me to make decisions with not only various sounds but also a lot of other information which other reviews don't include. If you could review Korg D1, that would be great. It may not be in the same category but it seems to be a good candidate as an entry level digital piano too with a high-quality key action and sounds within the same price range.

I bought one of these last year to learn on and have been quite happy with it. I agree with James though, the internal speakers are tinny. I run mine through a USB interface to a small pair of monitors. One thing James didn't mention is that you can put the piano in dual mode to use two voices at the same time. Not a huge thing, but it can be nice.

I love how the unboxing is sped up just enough so that you can imagine James is just moving really fast

I just got this one for Christmas and I love it

Glad I subscribed - been trying to find a good beginner keyboard ^_^

I have the earlier P-105 model. Very similar to this, same height, same on-board speakers, sounds similar, action looks similar, and yes the keys are weighted but not as heavily as other boards. The USB function on a board like this is awesome: You can plug in to the internet and play along with RU-vid selections. And yes, in a pinch, you can use these Yamahas to gig.

Great job Man!

Very nice playing! I have this digital piano, think it is a good value, and personally prefer it over the P515 in regards to action and sound.

Just got mine and I love it. Thank you for helping me make this decision.

Nice video. Thanks!

Nice review. Great job. I am a new subscriber

great review as always - I am considering it over better keyboards because of weight issues I gig in a rock band and this would work and work for jazz type gigs I do - Weight is so important to me and I also dont want too nice of a keyboard as it will get knocked about es110 is also nice but I like yamaha gear - cheers and thanks for all your videos

25:07 It's a rendition of Roland D-50's "Staccato Heaven"

Hi James, I think you would be quite surprised at the quality of the sound specifically for pianos, if you used a pair of Adam Audio A7X's or A78's to play through. I guarantee you won't be disappointed!

When I was looking around for an entry-level model for a friend, there was one thing I noticed immediately when playing models made by Roland and Yamaha: the way piano sounds die out when compared to an acoustic piano, specifically when the sustain pedal is NOT used. It's way too fast and sounds very unnatural. Even to my ancient Roland 3000S does that right. With every decent synth you can program this behavior yourself (ADSR), but apparently not with most affordable electric pianos. According to some the Korg SP-280 does not suffer from this flaw, but I still haven't been able to find a shop where I can check this out for myself. Just try it: keep your foot off the sustain pedal, play a chord on a real piano, hold it, and listen to the way the sound dies out: it's slowly and gradually. Then try the same on an entry-level electric piano. Personally I found it very annoying, but hey, maybe I'm just nitpicking.

Thanks for this extensive review! I have two requests, some options I'm considering for a portable solution. First the Roland FP-30 (or FP-10), and 2nd the "Studiologic numa compact 2x". The latter is smaller and can be powered by a USB powerbank, but I'm not sure that the keys are really piano-ish. I'll have to find a battery power solution for the FP's if the Studiologic doesn't qualify. I use an "LD Systems MAUI 5 GO" amplifier so the built-in speakers are not a big issue. Maybe a small background on why.. every year we have a few funerals (also weddings) at our church, and often I'm asked to do the audio, which includes taking along my keyboards where I usually play the organ while a pianist does a great job on my cheap "waterfall" keyboard (hiding allot of frustration I guess). A better piano-ish keyboard would be a great upgrade, and I'd also like to get used to a real piano feel myself. It has to be 100% portable though, sometimes I only get 15 minutes to set it up (especially funerals, no one turns up to open the doors until there's a crowd waiting in the rain)... By the way, I don't need a full review like this one, if you just play them in some store and share your thoughts on what you think, it would help.

Amazing sound...so realistic and acoustic piano-like.

Firstly congratulations to you for the channel .. really liked the simple and yet so useful review of the product .. actually I am thinking of buying this piano for myself so I have a few things to ask .. 1. Would it be better to wait for some time expecting Yamaha to launch the successor of this model (2018)in the near future looking at their trend in timeline ( every 3 years ) and also because ‘summer NAMM 2020’ is just around the corner ? 2. Although I am not much experienced in this but from all what I could research I understood that ‘Action of the keys’ and ‘sound quality’ are the two most important things .. so I would be so thankful if you share your experience a little more elaborately .. is the ‘GHS action’ and those ‘7 watt amplifiers’ and 4 speakers sufficient enough to give that ‘FEEL’ ? .. are there some other options in the same price range which I should consider ?

I gutted my baby grand and completely refinished it and placed the p-125b into the key slot. I had to shave off a small amount of the keyboard to make it fit. This is a beautiful piece of furniture and it sounds good enough for me. Thanks for a great video.

I’m laughing as I listen to your comments re: Yamaha’s note numbering system. I play professionally, and over the years have owned several Yamaha K/B’s & pianos. In speaking to others, I’ve learned it’s actually a fairly well-known Yamaha quirk. (Not unlike the reversed polarity thing btwn Casio & Yamaha pedals). When I teach and help a student setup a new Yamaha K/B, I always have to re-label Middle C in their instruction manuals from C3 to C4. 🤷🏼‍♀️ It’s just a Yamaha Thing! Great review, BTW...Thanks! I own a P125 and fully agree w/your assessment.

Hi, thank you for your great work. You asked if we have suggestions for pianos from other brands to test. Well I have one: Kurzweil SP6

You add a bunch of things to consider, like 14:20 with volume issues, for any keyboard.

I miss not using my Yamaha P-150 (Same as the P-200 version), because it has great digital sampled sounds and also the buttons are much closer to the keyboard, so I can layer another keyboard directly on top, like an organ with the two keyboards together. I got a new Yamaha MODX8, but it is more than I needed and the 80's piano still does not come close to the popular original FM piano on my old Yamaha P-150. My only complaint is that the MODX8 is very bulky and big, but light weight than my old Yamaha P-150.

Hi James ... great review; I’m impressed with this instrument ... once upon a time I played a Steinway D70 but that’s another time another story You mentioned the Roland KC-350 amp but it doesn’t seem to be available anymore ... can you recommend a substitute in the $2-300 range? ... I’m just looking for a little bump up to avoid the tinny sound ... thx

Yamaha keyboard numbering is based on organ keyboards. The lowest note on an organ keyboard is C1. That's the second C on an 88 note keyboard. I hope that makes sense. 😸

For the price, it's really a pretty decent sounding piano.

Excelente presentación.

Terrific video James. I didn't think you would be interested in reviewing the lower end keyboards, so this is a nice surprise. Like other commenters, I would love it if you could review the Roland FP10. I looked at the Yamaha P125 when I was looking for an entry level keyboard, but went for the Roland FP10 because I liked the action better, it had a superior sound (to my untrained ear), and it had - I'm not sure how to describe it - ivory-feel keys. As noted by others, the FP30 has more sounds to choose from and a dedicated line out (with FP10 you plug an external speaker into the earphone jack), but its components, and the action, are the same as the FP10 which is about $300 CDN cheaper ($999 CDN, which is $699 US). Like the Yamaha, the pedal is unsatisfactory, and I bought another one to replace it. I paid $699 CDN, which is about $525 US, so it is within your stipulated range. Thanks again for this. Really helpful.

Great review -- very helpful. Since you asked, how 'bout a review of the Korg D1? It comes in slightly higher than the P125, but not by much ($669).

You amaze me with the number of songs you have memorized!!! 😊

Hi, I’ve been enjoying your channel for a while now. I think that third electric piano sound is an approximation of the dx7 elec piano which I always assumed was an approximation of the earlier CP-30 electric piano sound. It’s all Yamaha so why not, right? One other nerdy thing, did you mean to say “key-top” when you said “key-bed”? The key-bed is under the keys.

Hello James, Thank you very much for your review. Your remark about the keys being stiff at the top is decisive for me, and so I would not tend to buy this keyboard. Have you tested DGX 660 and CLP 535? Are the keys any better than P125? Many thanks.

Yoo, very informative and helpful videos. I'am wondering whether you could do a review on the Kawai KDP110, because i'm thinking of buying a digital piano and after watching a whole bunch of your videos i stopped on P125 or Kawai ES110, but i've been wondering if kdp110 is worth the investment because its been having a lot of good opinions. So for a guy who looks to buy something like P125 or ES110 is it worth the price increase to go for kdp110 and stick with it for the longest of time without worrying about reliability, sound, action, complex songs etc. *** And if someone scrolling around has an advice for me it would be very much appreciated!

I've got a Williams Allegro 2 that I've had for 3 years. It's excellent, and I bought it in order to practice with a low volume level to avoid disturbing the neighbors. My main piano is a Mason and Hamlin 50-inch upright that I bought new in 1981. The piano I bought 3 years ago cost me about $230.00. It's been replaced by the Allegro III that you can get from Musician's Friend for 279,99.. It has 2 noticeable features that I didn't get on my Allegro 2 namely the better music rack and bluetooth. But I'm satisfied with the grand piano sound of mine. Both models have organ with a simulated leslie vibrato sound that is controlled by the sustain pedal. Maybe if you had time you could check out the Williams line. It's affordable. My keys are weighted and the keyboard is a full 88 keys.

On a different yamaha I also have C3 in the middle of the keyboard... and it was even taught like this by piano lessons that I've seen on skillshare. So hearing from you that this is C4 in US is a strange and new thing to me :D

In regards to how the middle C is named. In Brazil we have followed the French cultural models for the most of the 20th century. Unless things have changed more recently (yes, we have gotten more Americanized in the last 40 years), we have always called the middle C as C3.