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Yamaha P255 digital piano vs P115

Started by pianotuner steveo, October 11, 2017, 02:48:54 PM

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pianotuner steveo

Hey does anyone here own or use a Yamaha P255 digital piano? They cost twice as much as my P 115 which I was perfectly happy with until one day I tried to connect my vintage keys rack module to it and discovered that it has no midi jacks! I wish that I realized this before I bought it. Now I am thinking of upgrading to the P255 but want to know if other features will help justify the double price tag! :-[

Any thoughts?
1960 Wurlitzer model 700 EP
1968 Gibson G101 Combo organ
1975 Rhodes Piano Bass
1979 Wurlitzer 206A EP
1980 Wurlitzer 270 Butterfly Grand
2009 73A Rhodes Mark 7
2009 Korg SV-1 73
2017 Yamaha P255
2020 Kawai CA99
....and a few guitars...

bourniplus

Hi Steve, I own a P255. I bought it to "upgrade" from my P80. When I A/B'ed it with the P115 (or was it P105?), I remember prefering its action and speaker system, which can be a nice addition in certain very low volume gigs. As for the samples themselves, I guess in theory the P255 should be the winner, but IMO there wasn't a huge difference. Actually, while it might be more realistic than the P80, when I compared them I found that the old P80 had a certain "in your face" / "cuts in a mix" aspect that I don't find in the P255.
When I compared it with the equivalent but cheaper Casios with onboard speakers, I much prefered the P255.

pianotuner steveo

#2
Thanks. I don't play out anymore. I just need it to play instead of my acoustic because my daughter works from home and I can't use the acoustic while she's working. The 115 is great, but really wished it had midi. My real question is, is the P255 twice as good as the P115? I know the 255 has more sounds which is a plus, and built in drums (which I won't use)
1960 Wurlitzer model 700 EP
1968 Gibson G101 Combo organ
1975 Rhodes Piano Bass
1979 Wurlitzer 206A EP
1980 Wurlitzer 270 Butterfly Grand
2009 73A Rhodes Mark 7
2009 Korg SV-1 73
2017 Yamaha P255
2020 Kawai CA99
....and a few guitars...

bourniplus

Would you play mainly with headphones? If so, then do you really want onboard speakers?

If you're looking for more sounds and MIDI capability, I'd say there are better options for much cheaper than the P255. The Casio PX5S comes to mind.

pianotuner steveo

No, sorry, I am a yamaha piano guy. I want the sound of a Yamaha concert grand but don't have the $200,000 or the space to put one! I've owned enough casios. They're ok, but they don't have the touch or the Yamaha grand samples. I don't want to mainly play with headphones, but need to when my daughter is working.
1960 Wurlitzer model 700 EP
1968 Gibson G101 Combo organ
1975 Rhodes Piano Bass
1979 Wurlitzer 206A EP
1980 Wurlitzer 270 Butterfly Grand
2009 73A Rhodes Mark 7
2009 Korg SV-1 73
2017 Yamaha P255
2020 Kawai CA99
....and a few guitars...

bourniplus

Ok I see. I also always prefered the Yamaha digitals over Roland or Korg. I don't use the MIDI on mine so can't comment on that, and I wasn't even aware that there were drum sounds. It literally lives in a closet except when I take it on gigs. Maybe someone else will chime in.

pianotuner steveo

Do you want to sell it or trade it for a P115? lol

I am going to see if my local Guitar Center has a P255 on display to try. My go to local music store only has a 115 on display.  I was playing my 115 yesterday and it really is great, but I just need a midi jack!
1960 Wurlitzer model 700 EP
1968 Gibson G101 Combo organ
1975 Rhodes Piano Bass
1979 Wurlitzer 206A EP
1980 Wurlitzer 270 Butterfly Grand
2009 73A Rhodes Mark 7
2009 Korg SV-1 73
2017 Yamaha P255
2020 Kawai CA99
....and a few guitars...

bourniplus

I just saw the P115 has USB, so there's got to be a way to convert to MIDI. There may be a USB-to-MIDI interface available on the market, but worst-case scenario you could connect to a computer and use a MIDI interface to connect to your module.

pianotuner steveo

I don't own a computer....

Went to Guitar center. They didn't have a P255 to try.
I give up.

1960 Wurlitzer model 700 EP
1968 Gibson G101 Combo organ
1975 Rhodes Piano Bass
1979 Wurlitzer 206A EP
1980 Wurlitzer 270 Butterfly Grand
2009 73A Rhodes Mark 7
2009 Korg SV-1 73
2017 Yamaha P255
2020 Kawai CA99
....and a few guitars...

pianotuner steveo

#9
I looked on eBay and found midi to USB adapters and got all excited.... until I looked at the back of my P115 . There is a jack that says USB host, but it is not shaped like a USB jack. It's almost square but the top corners are chopped off. What is that? (not micro USB- it looks almost like a landline phone jack) How do I adapt a regular rectangular USB to that?
1960 Wurlitzer model 700 EP
1968 Gibson G101 Combo organ
1975 Rhodes Piano Bass
1979 Wurlitzer 206A EP
1980 Wurlitzer 270 Butterfly Grand
2009 73A Rhodes Mark 7
2009 Korg SV-1 73
2017 Yamaha P255
2020 Kawai CA99
....and a few guitars...

pianotuner steveo

Ok, I think I figured it out....

I ordered a Midi to USB adapter on eBay, then found another adapter that adapts the male USB end to that weird squarish USB connector that should then plug into the P115. If this works, it cost me less than $10 rather than buying a $1300 keyboard then trying to get $$ for the P115...

Fingers crossed!

1960 Wurlitzer model 700 EP
1968 Gibson G101 Combo organ
1975 Rhodes Piano Bass
1979 Wurlitzer 206A EP
1980 Wurlitzer 270 Butterfly Grand
2009 73A Rhodes Mark 7
2009 Korg SV-1 73
2017 Yamaha P255
2020 Kawai CA99
....and a few guitars...

MrShadyJoe

I have a DGX-660.  I believe this is the same keyboard manual as the P115 but with more sounds and better speakers.  I'm don't play well but this is the best piano keyboard I've ever owned due to not really owning anything very good.  I mainly stick to the piano sound but enjoy messing around with the much larger variety of sounds than the P115 provides.  When I was shopping I had an idea that this was what I'd buy.  I played a few different pianos at guitar center and this was by far my favorite in the price range.  I deliberately stayed away from the P255.  My skills and budget couldn't justify going much higher in price than I did.  I've owned this for about a year and am happy with the choice I made.

It's too bad that Guitar Center didn't have the P255.  You really need to sit down and spend some time with it to figure it out for yourself.  My understanding is the P255 has a better keyboard manual.

My friend has played a P120 for years at a much higher level than me.  He didn't like the feel of my DGX-660.

One disappointment with the DGX-660 is the midi.  It is not a normal midi implementation.  If midi is important to you then do some research on how Yamaha implemented midi on these pianos.  I'm not much help here other than knowing that I can't do some basic midi stuff that I fooled around with before on a different Yamaha keyboard.

pianotuner steveo

#12
I really like the touch and sound of the P115. I have been playing for nearly 55 years. I just want to be able to use my vintage keys unit with it... if I can't, then I will have to get a P255.
1960 Wurlitzer model 700 EP
1968 Gibson G101 Combo organ
1975 Rhodes Piano Bass
1979 Wurlitzer 206A EP
1980 Wurlitzer 270 Butterfly Grand
2009 73A Rhodes Mark 7
2009 Korg SV-1 73
2017 Yamaha P255
2020 Kawai CA99
....and a few guitars...

pianotuner steveo

I have my P115 listed on EBay if anyone is interested. I found a slightly used P255 with a warranty and couldn't pass it up. Low opening bid and only 1 bidder so far. Current price is $375 plus shipping.
1960 Wurlitzer model 700 EP
1968 Gibson G101 Combo organ
1975 Rhodes Piano Bass
1979 Wurlitzer 206A EP
1980 Wurlitzer 270 Butterfly Grand
2009 73A Rhodes Mark 7
2009 Korg SV-1 73
2017 Yamaha P255
2020 Kawai CA99
....and a few guitars...

pianotuner steveo

I successfully sold my P-115 and got the slightly used P-255. I have to really get into testing it, but so far, so good, and yes, there are enough differences to make the price double. I got very lucky by buying a used one and getting top dollar for my P-115. I loved the 115, but just needed a couple of more features.  Unfortunately, the Wurlitzer sample is still sucky, but I do have 4 real ones...
1960 Wurlitzer model 700 EP
1968 Gibson G101 Combo organ
1975 Rhodes Piano Bass
1979 Wurlitzer 206A EP
1980 Wurlitzer 270 Butterfly Grand
2009 73A Rhodes Mark 7
2009 Korg SV-1 73
2017 Yamaha P255
2020 Kawai CA99
....and a few guitars...

Andrew Baker

Upgrading electric pianos is a pain in the ass. You loose too much money each time. I stopped doing that two years ago when I got my first Kawai VPC1 controler with fully weighted real keys (https://www.allpianos.com/digital). You can use it for piano samplings, Rhodes, organ sounds etc.