Yamaha P85 Review
Overall Rating: ![]()
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This new Yamaha P85 piano keyboard gives you all the dynamic, high-quality sound and natural piano response you expect from Yamaha, along with a high-quality built-in speaker system – packed into a slim, exceptionally affordable digital piano you can play virtually anywhere, anytime. No compromises, full quality.
Exceptionally High-quality Sound
The gorgeous piano sounds of the P-85 feature meticulous digital sampling of a full concert grand piano-at various playing strengths-thanks to Yamaha’s sophisticated AWM Stereo Sampling.
Realistic, Acoustic-like Touch Response
Enjoy authentic, naturally expressive key touch-virtually the same as an actual acoustic piano, from the low notes to the high-with the Graded Hammer Standard (GHS) keyboard. Ultra-compact, Stylish Design The attractive, slim, lightweight design of the instrument-less than 12 kg- suits virtually any room décor, while the built-in speaker system fills your room with luscious sound.
Includes Yamaha P85 88 Key GHS Black Contemporary Digital Piano, Owners Manual, Quick Operation Guide, AC Power Adapter, Pedal, FC5 Music Rest.
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I checked out some of the lower end piano models, Rolands P250, Korgs P250, Roland RD700s, and Yamaha not only sounded much better, but was jaw-droppingly cheap. I find Roland’s sound sweet but a bit muddy or saturated, the action was not bad. Korg’s P250 sounds nice but I find their samples are compressed too much and the decay sounds unnaturally fast. Yamaha hit the sweet spot with their piano samples
Here are some great features of the Yamaha P85:
* Extensive Voice Selection and Dual Voice Function – The versatile P-85 also gives you a variety of other high-quality instrument Voices.
* Record Your Performance – You can capture your own playing with the song recording feature, then play it back for studying or accompaniment.
* Expressive Half-pedal Control – Features a half-pedal effect that gives you greater acoustic-like expressive control over the sound
* Matching Stand (optional) – The optional L-85 & L-85S stands provide stability and optimum sound projection for the instrument.
* Three-pedal Pedal Unit (optional) – The optional LP-5 Pedal Unit gives you three pedals for the same kind of comprehensive sustain
* There’s even a built-in metronome for practicing and recording in perfect time.
All in all, this keyboard is an absolute steal at this price, once again the bar is raised in terms of quality and portability. You get bang-for-the-buck with this! It fits in the trunk of my car, just barely. Don’t even have to put the back seats down!
Here’s what another owner had to say about the Yamaha P85:
The Yamaha P-85 is a well-designed digital piano with the full 88 keys at a price point that is hard to beat. 10 different voices are included, which can also be layered in many different ways (e.g., octave-shifted). The grand piano voices and the first electric organ are in stereo (and there are two stereo headphone jacks at the front of the device) and sound absolutely amazing. Multisampling is used, and the samples are blended expertly, so there isn’t that jarring effect where suddenly a completely different sample is played when you hit a key a little harder, as I noticed on the Casio PX-320. Polyphony on the P-85 is sufficient that dropped notes should not be noticeable. Reverb can be added to the voices to simulate small rooms (or concert halls), and there is a built-in very basic MIDI recorder.
The P-85 looks very stylish and has a solid, well-made overall feel to it. Although the keys are weighted, the instrument is remarkably slim and lightweight. In fact, the instrument looks serious enough (in the black version) that many of the higher-priced Yamahas and Casios seem pretty toy-like next to it, with their little LCD screens and all.
All in all, the Yamaha P-85 looks and sounds great, is a joy to play, and has all the basics for piano playing covered, as well as some advanced features like voice layering. The quality, convenience (headphone jacks, easy recordings), and price of the P-85 make it pretty hard to fathom why anyone would bother with the hassle of a real grand or upright piano anymore. — Martin D.
View this Yamaha P85 review here



