Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Yamaha p-255 unboxing and review

StevenB - Where did you play it? I'm having a hard time finding it on demo in my area (Silicon Valley).

You mean the interface we've all been living with already? If you want to complain about current interfaces that's one thing, but no reason to ding a different control option. At least this way you've got a software out to other devices, which means that additional OSes can be supported over time.

And if a piano manufacturer doesn't want to supports old pianos ten years from now with updated remote control apps (a) they'd annoy owners who are potential future sales, and (b) it becomes an opportunity for 3rd-parties to offer the same kind of control, just as there are now several iPad apps to control discontinued NPRN synths like the Alesis Micron.

But you can just turn on the P255 and play it. There's nothing that says you MUST use the iOS ap that works with the keyboard. It's an accessory, not a requirement. I think even if yamaha hadn't developed this feature we would still be discussing and debating the merits of this board which is a pretty nice, if incremental, upgrade of its predecessor. The iOS ap is just a value-add. It will play just fine without one. So why not make it available to those who buy the board? If it's useful to you, and you have an iOS device then it can be a great feature. If not, I'm confident that there will be many who buy this keyboard and who will be quite happy with it even if they never use the iOS ap.

I'm enjoying my new P255. Did any of you played with audio recording yet? I think recorded volume level is a bit too low so when you playback you really have to turn the volume up.

Do you know if this can be adjusted during audio recording?

Thanks

I can do that.



What the heck is a 3 digit LED display doing on a modern, mid-level DP? Definitely not TMI! Even Casio will give you an LCD here.

YES/NO buttons - why no $1 rotary encoder?

Look at the "Voice" buttons, a huge step backward from the P120.

It's this kind of minimalist nonsense that makes you run screaming for your pad, cable, and app - which to me is a slippery slope. Pretty soon Yamaha will make a plastic box that has keys, one button, and one LED and call it a DP, just add external everything (yes, I know, it's called the VPC1).

Using an iPad to control the P255 is like using a PC to control your toaster. The toaster should be able to handle things on its own, and you should be able to control what it does with the controls available on it, not by sweeping your finger across pretty pictures of toast, with buttons for each telling you the history of bread.

Honestly, I'm surprised they are actively putting people in a position to compare the relatively brain dead P255 to their iThing, the contrast in levels of technology is just too stark for people not to experience instant revulsion.

And I'm not saying every DP needs a color LCD touch screen - a two line alpha-numeric LCD and a value spinner or two can go a very long way.

I also just picked up a P-255 last weekend. The white version that I got has a nice pearl effect on it and looks good. I personally find the iOS controller app useful; it makes adjusting settings quick and easy. I think this is a good move by Yamaha since many people (in North America anyways) have smart phones and using smartphone apps to control electronics is only going to become more prevalent. Yes, using a phone to control your toaster sounds silly, but doing so with a complex piece of electronic equipment makes a lot of sense.

While making an app available is not an excuse for the confusing buttons and outdated LCD, I do believe that the iOS app will continue to work even in 10 years. Yamaha may stop updating it at one point, but newer iOS versions will likely be compatible with it. I still have software written for Windows XP 10 years ago running well today on Windows 7.

Spot on Dewster! Even worse are those with no display at all, where you have to use a chart from the manual to select options by pressing a piano key... I refuse to ever buy one that does that. It's just intentional inconvenience built in to make you spend a few hundred more on a more expensive model.

Even on some expensive models you get that senseless meanness rearing its ugly head - like the pathetic 8+4 digit screen on the Roland HP504/506, which makes them give the patches incomprehensible names like "Mrng Lit" - while they've already done the hard work of developing the bigger-format interface for the HP508. I'd be surprised if the slightly bigger screen component on that is even any more expensive at all for Roland to source.

"It's this kind of minimalist nonsense that makes you run screaming for your pad, cable, and app - which to me is a slippery slope. Pretty soon Yamaha will make a plastic box that has keys, one button, and one LED and call it a DP, just add external everything (yes, I know, it's called the VPC1)."

Some of us really like buttons . .

A leap of faith.


It's more complex than just running software (though I have some software that isn't making the XP => Win7 transition).

There is the physical interface that may disappear (SCSI anyone? Serial port? Parallel port? VGA port? Mouse port? Keyboard port?). Then there is the hardware the software is running on. Then there is the operating system. Then there is the device driver that often doesn't get maintained for very long. Then there is the software itself. The weakest link breaks the chain.

I know it seems like I'm belaboring this, but to me it is a bad omen. In the past I've bought hardware that relied on an external computing device for its operation, and almost invariably evolutionary changes to the computing device rendered the hardware unusable before it had a chance to break. Also, our DP has enough wires and such dangling from it. I pay through the nose for a microscopic and semi-horrid sounding 16MB sample set in order to get a simplified turnkey solution.

certainly agree with you. considering what a loaded desktop costs these days, you are paying a LOT for the action, software, custom IC's and in some the built-in speakers. fascinates me how i can buy software pianos for $150-200 that are infinitely more detailed than the on-board samples most DP's offer us.

But I do understand that a DP is also not a mass market device, but more of a niche specialty item. hence the richer pricing and slower evolution.

I am torn between the 155 and the 255.

I feel like the piano sampling in the 155 is slightly more complex (4 layers of dynamic sampling of the same Yamaha concert series pianos). There is not much detail about the "Pure CF" sampling in the 255, but playing in the stores it seems like the 155 is more responsive to touch. When playing softly it sounds like the strings are hit more softly on the 155, and just played a little quieter on the 255. It is very subtle and of course objective.

I like the keys of the 155. The shiny white keys make it feel a little more, special I guess, and I'm a little more inspired to play them. I sent an email to Yamaha asking if they can be swapped with the keys of the 155.

I don't like the look of the wood on the 155 either. It is real wood, and being so I figure I can make my own replacement top and paint it if I really needed to. So it's not a deal breaker. It is also important to note that wood has a much more musical resonance than plastic. I believe the wood is functional - both for resonant speaker vibrations as well as damping hammer noise.

I know the most important things are touch and tone, so that would steer me to the 155. But every new feature on the 255 is just what is needed on a modern day DP. Rhythm tracks are not a 'must' but are high on the 'want' list, and the connectivity and music file support make it very much a highly usable, modern day instrument.

Everything about that 3-digit LED plus a free app you can download screams "value engineering" and not "enhancement." This looks like a nice board otherwise, but I hope Yamaha didn't also save a buck by farming the app out to some development house that isn't going to be in business in ten years, never mind two or three.

So ... somebody will update this thread in ten years, right?

Just wanted to let you all know that after a few days of having it and constantly playing it I still love it. Some of you may not like the simplistic look to it, but that is the exact look I was going for. I just wanted a great piano sound and playability from a DP and thats exactly what I found. I could honestly care less about the bells and whistles and all that stuff, for my price range I am without a doubt that I found the right item.

BTW if you turn the bass way up it really hits you hard.

Great news! I am glad you are loving it. I have enjoyed playing the 255 in the store, they are certainly nice pianos. I don't think you could go wrong with this one, it has just about everything a modern day DP should have. It took me a bit of time to decide between the 155 and the 255. I personally like playing the 155 better but it's just personal taste. They are both nice instruments.

Don't be such a buzz-kill.

Excitement!

Cats would dig this thread.

Are all of your 3500 posts as witty, or am I just a lucky new forum member to witness such immaturity.

I don't know how savvy you are to other things around the 'net, but it is typical of "new owner" type threads to post pictures of your new toys (electronics, instruments, etc..) from delivery to un-boxing, setup, and eventual use.

Don't confuse experience with immaturity. I have my opinions, as does everyone else.

And ... I'm happy to see new equipment. We all are. Especially newly released items not seen here previously. And most especially pictures like these, posted here over the past several years. When there's something worth showing, show it.

These folks did ...