Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Comparison of Roland F-120, Yamaha P155, P105, Privia PX350

Hello all. I am a new member ot this community. I was in the market for a digital piano in the price range of $800-$1200 - basically for home use - maybe occassional stage use.

I visited a SamAsh store and tried out some of the DPs they had there. This is my review of the DPs I tested. Hope that this helps some fellow member in their purchase.

First - my background. Beginner level piano player. I have played synths in the past (Yamaha PSR series) - but nothing on the piano side. Yes I have tried my hands on some acoustic pianos - but not for too long.

Yamaha P155: $999: Went in the store already liking this piano based on what I had read on the internet. Liked the action. Did not like the plastiky smooth keys. Sound was prety good - but a little on the dull side. Speakers were not too loud put seemed plenty loud for a home use. Overall solid build quality. A little observation - If i played more than 1 keys - the piano added the resonance effect to the sound - but if I just played 1 key - it did not add any such effect nad sounded rather bland. not sure how to explain this - but there is a youtube video out there of someone comparing a Yamaha to a Casio.

Yamaha P105: $649 with stand: Seemed of lower build quality than P155. Ligher plastic etc. Sound was good. A bit brighter than P155. However the keys were significantly lighter than P155. Did not like the action. Features were good - pianist styles seemed pretty decent for a beginner - but nothing great. Stand seemed pretty cheaply made.

Casio PX350: $799: I had read so many good reviews on the new Privias- that I had a very high expectation. But was severely disappointed. The key action was pretty bad. Also the textured keys feel very cheap. Everything about the Privia felt cheap - speakers, keys, action etc.Also - tried the PX150 and PX-5S just for the heck of it. But they were equally bad.

Roland F-120: $1299: Now this was a DP I did not have in mind. But fell in love with it. I wanted a portable piano for occassional stage use - and the F-120 is a cabinet DP. So was concerned about that. However the action of the Ivory Feel G and the sound was just awesome. Everything about the F-120 speaks of quality. The cabinet is very simple but yet elegant and well made. The pedals were good as well.

In the end I came down to Yamaha P155 and the Roland F-120. I was leaning towards P155 due to the portability - but decided to sacrifice the portability for sound quality and key action. I bought the F-120.

Just for the heck of it - I asked a teenage girl who was also playing around with the pianos for her opinion. She sounded like and intermediate level player. She said - I will take the Roland over eveything else in the store - in fact she said she always came to the store and played on that piano for the past several weeks.That helped me reach the decision.

I got a floor model for $1200 out of the door with 2 yr extended warranty.

Another point. I read so many negative reviews on the Roland F-120 on the internet - especially from the website - azpianos or something. That site seems very biased towards Casio. Maybe it is affiliated with Casio or something. It said the F-120 key action was very un-relistic. That is very far from truth. In fact from what limited exposure I have to acoustic pianos - I felt the F-120 action was the closest to acoustic. Moreover the sound was the closest as well.

Again - these are all my personal views and opinions - so please take these with a grain of salt. My intention of putting this review is to help any other fellow member in his purchase/selection.

Take Care!

Sounds like you got what suits you. I wanted the DP90, but couldn`t find one to try out. The cabinets are good. You do realize it`s obligatory to post pictures and recordings of your new acquisition to keep the rest of us suitably entertained . . .
Have fun! It`s great when you find something you really like!

Well you went about it the right way: you actually went out there and tried several models, and ended up picking the one YOU preferred. Reviews and opinions are nice, but cannot replace your own feel about them. Even better is to try them more then once, on different days. A second test tends to be more objective and critical, once your initial "wow" or "ugh" has worn off.

In my mind, the best overall way to pick a new piano would be to try them first as you did and narrow it down to 2 or 3 models, and then come to a site like this one and ask if there are any constraints, caveats, etc that you may have missed from just trying them, such as a poor reliability record, missing feature (eg: no MIDI jacks, just USB MIDI, etc).

Enjoy your new digital piano!

To be honest, I agreed with quite a bit of the website reviews of the F120 which is why I went for a Kawai CN24 instead (although I admit I actually went in at the ES100/KDP90 price range before I tried that!)

The F20 and F120 are pretty good but both have a very noisy, crashy keybed that one may not notice... until you do, and then you can't help NOT noticing it! (asked the salesmen his opinion on it and his reaction was "God, you're right. Yeah, never noticed it before but that's loud innit?!") The Yamaha's just didn't feel right, but the action on the Kawai's was easily the most likeable and to me the most realistic overall.

Roland's sounds ARE good though, but not particularly any better than the Kawai's, just slightly different. Both were better than the Yamaha models I tried.

Each to their own.

Yup, not bad advice. I went down the route of deciding my price, reading up on most of the models in that range, reading reviews to whittle it down to about half a dozen models and then trying them out. Unfortunately, Casio's are really hard to find near me but I was able to try Yamaha, Roland, Kawai AND Korg all in one shop! As it turns out, went for a model I never had on my original list as it was more expensive! lol

Nice intake. I was thinking of writing a review like yours based on my experience as well.

I agree with most of everything you said. I feel that the casio is a little overrated and it does feel kind of cheap. Has anyone tried wiggling the black keys on thePX series pianos? They look like they are going to fall out. But I guess the price justifies this dp.

On the Roland, are you aware of the f20 which is basically a portable version of the f-120? Anyway, I liked it initially as well. But further testing made me realize the clanking sound and feel it makes when you use a little more force on the keys. Sound is also kind of dark for me. But I'm glad you found something you like!

Thanks!!

I tried out the F20 at the store as well - however it did not feel the same. The keys definitely felt a bit lighter. Also - it has a single pedal input and no MIDI (just USB). Speakers are on the quiter side as well I think. Not sure if they are the same internally

You forgot to try out the "glorious" Casio PX-850. Supposedly, greater than many $2K digital pianos.

Might that be either a personal or psychological thing then cos the F20 and F120 have absolutely identical keyboard actions. I couldn't tell any difference. Maybe you had a friday afternoon model or summat.

If the OP hated every aspect of the PX350, PX150, and PX5S, I hardly think he will be interested in the PX850.

Hmm...may be - now I am doubting my own judgement. Just wondering how Roland justifies asking for $500 more for the F120 over the F20 - for the wood cabinet and some feature changes.

I think you made a good choice. I nearly got one o` those myself. Now then. We need to hear the recordings you`ll surely make! And maybe a few pictures . .

Not sure how to upload a pic on this forum.
I will definitely post a recording as well - as soon as I learn to play one song decent enough - thats a promise