To many musicians, a digital piano is only seen as a cheaper, inferior alternative to
a real acoustic piano.
So, to put that ideology to the test, we're going to be comparing an expensive upright
piano to a more affordable digital piano.
Let's take a look.
Welcome to showdown!
The series where we pit two different products against each other and pick a winner.
If we haven't met, I'm Aaron, and this is top spec--your one stop shop for tech content
(and apparently music now too?).
Anyways, I’ve been playing piano for several years now and something I’ve noticed is
how much sh*t people give digital pianos --people seem to generally associate bad quality and
unreliability with them and hold acoustic pianos to this extremely high standard.
So, to see how valid that mentality is, I’m going to be comparing the Yamaha P45 piano
that I first reviewed earlier this year to a Yamaha P22 upright piano.
In terms of my experience with them, I’ve used the P45 for the better end of two years
and the P22 for many more--that being said, I’d say I have a pretty good idea of what
it's like to play on them.
So, before I share my opinions, let’s talk strictly the technical details.
Alright, so first I’m going to cover the technical similarities and differences without
my personal judgement clouding anything.
First and foremost, they’re both 88-key pianos and feature full-sized keys.
Both have sustain pedals, but the P45 lacks the soft and sostenuto pedals included on
the P22.
Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that the P45’s sustain pedal is more like a pad
than an actual pedal, but I'll elaborate on that more later.
In terms of physical size, the P45 is a digital piano so its footprint is a lot smaller because
it doesn't need to fit a huge mechanism inside like the P22 does.
I am actually able to fit the P45 in this room under the stairs, and I really doubt
that the P22 could fit in here.
As for the materials used for each of these, the P45 features a pretty premium matte black
plastic, and the P22 has a beautiful spruce wood topped off with a glossy black paint
finish.
I would also really like to highlight that the P45 does not feel cheap even though its
made out of plastic--but maybe I’m just a sucker for matte black.
Either way, something that makes the P45 feel more premium than other digital pianos is
the fact that it weighs a whole 40 pounds.
This is because it features weighted-action keys that add resistance while you play which
makes it feel pretty satisfying.
Many budget digital and midi pianos do not feature weighted keys, so that might be why
digital pianos as a whole get a lot of flack.
As for the actual feeling of the keys, I’ll give my personal opinions on those a little
bit later, but something worth mentioning is that the weighted-action of the keys is
heavier towards the lower end of the piano and lighter towards the high end of the piano
just like a real acoustic piano.
I just said piano a million times, but the point is that the attention to detail is really
nicely done here.
The P45 features 64 note polyphony which in my experience has been more than enough.
If you don’t know what polyphony is, check out this quick video by clicking the card
in the upper right-hand corner of the video.
In summary, it’s basically just how many notes you can play simultaneously, and 64
notes is plenty.
The P22 is obviously an acoustic piano and doesn’t have a limit, so I guess you could
say it has 88 key polyphony haha.
Unless I’m forgetting something that’s pretty much it for the major technical contrasts,
but if you have any questions make sure to leave them down below.
Now comes the fun part, I am going to critique the hell out of these pianos.
Let’s start with the P45.
Going back to its sustain pedal/pad thingy, this has no travel distance, and it really
is SO mushy.
Also, trying to add any level of depth while using this on a carpet is near impossible,
and don’t even get me started on how much it slides around unless it's being used on
anything other than a hardwood floor.
The great thing though is that you can buy literally any other sustain pedal on the market
to replace it.
I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.
Let’s move onto the keys.
The weighted keys feel amazing on the P45, but if we’re being honest, it really is
just trying to replicate the feeling of what it's like to play on a real acoustic piano.
So that being said, you really can’t beat the P22 when it comes to the raw feeling while
playing.
Also, it’s worth mentioning that the weighted keys actually create quite a bit of noise
that’s really audible unless you have the volume turned all the way up.
Next, let’s talk about the built in “voices”.
But, it’s pretty cramped in here so, let’s move somewhere else.
Okay, this is much better.
Anyway, out of the built in ten options for the voices, I really love about five or six
of them and greatly dislike the rest--so let's briefly go through each!
Let's start with the first grand piano sound.
This is pretty much your average piano synth that you get in basically any program or digital
piano, but it's certainly better than something like FL keys.
So, let's do a little example.
So hopefully that gives you an idea of that.
Then we have the second grand piano sound, which is basically just a copy of the original,
but it seems to be a little bit brighter and have a bit more reverb.
I do think it's a little bit stupid because it's basically just a clone of the original
with some effects thrown on--but you can tell me what you think.
Now we have the first electronic piano sound.
This is perhaps my favorite sound out of all of them; it's incredibly smooth, and you just
have to hear it for yourself.
Moving on to the second electronic piano, this one has a really old-school vibe.
It has that really dreamy feel, and it kind of reminds me of some of that 80s cloud pop
music.
So, let's give you a sample.
Then we have the first out of the two organ sounds.
I mean it's a fine organ but... yeah fk that.
Then we have the second organ sound.
I really don't think they needed to have two out of the ten included sounds be organs,
but I guess it's really not the worst thing in the world?
Jesus Is King vibes.
Then we have the strings.
I wasn't expecting these to be anything special, but upon playing with them recently it's really
reminiscent to the super mario 64 opening music.
I mean listen to this.
Pretty cool.
Then we have a... harpsichord?
Disgusting.
And apparently, another one which doesn't sound any different!
And finally number ten, we have the vibraphone.
I will let this one speak for itself, it's absolutely beautiful.
That's it for the built-in voices though, so let's transition right back!
Alright, so now that that's out of the way, let’s move onto the P22.
This is a pretty standard upright piano, it’s built really well, and I don’t have any
complaints--and that should be expected for its really hefty price tag.
The only thing I’d say that does bother me is that the pedals have began to squeak
a little bit after years of use.
That’s certainly something that can be fixed, but it's out of my skill zone, so I wouldn’t
dare touch it.
Speaking of which, that’s an inherent advantage that the P45 and digital pianos as a whole
have.
An acoustic piano has to be tuned, at minimum, once a year--so that can get really costly
really fast.
Being a digital piano, the P45's maintenance costs are next to nothing unless you somehow
manage to break it.
Alright, so after all that, it's time to pick what I think is a better option for you guys...
drum roll please.
I’m going to have to go with the P45.
Don’t get me wrong, the P22 is an amazing acoustic piano, but it is PRICY.
It goes upwards of several thousand dollars, and the P45 (including the stand and seat)
are only a couple hundred.
So, while the P45 may only attempt to recreate the feeling of a normal acoustic piano, and
it's only composed of plastic, it actually manages to feel quite premium and does a pretty
good job at replicating that feeling thanks to the added resistance.
I played on the P22 for a long time before I got the P45, and I can happily say that
it’s a better bang for your buck.
It definitely isn’t perfect but it doesn’t deserve the same sh*t that other digital pianos
receive.
In terms of how I use the P45, I’ve been really getting into music production and for
that, it really is the full package.
I can either use it like a huge midi controller or use some of the really solid built in voices
by capturing the piano thanks to the 6.3mm port on the back.
I actually used the piano in a song I released last week--check this out.
So yeah, the P45 is really nice to play on, and it's even easier to incorporate into your
songs.
By the way, if you want to hear that full track and make me happy, click the link in
the description.
And, if you plan on picking up the P45 yourself, make sure to click the link in the description
and use our amazon affiliate link.
Anyways, that’s pretty much it for this video guys, so if you enjoyed it make sure
to leave a like and dropping a comment down below.This is a new format so I'd like to
hear what you guys think about it.
But until next time, cya!