All Posts by Jaime Echagüe

Es Thomann la mejor tienda online?

Our opinion about Thomann Europe: Lights and shadows of the lider

Our opinion about Thomann and how to search for Offers or “Blowouts”.

In BuscarInstrumentos.com I am dedicated to monitor prices and reviews of many musical instruments and when you dedicate yourself to this, it is inevitable to find you with Thomann.Thomann is today the leading store selling musical instruments in Spain and throughout Europe. In addition, with the boom of electronic growth, its popularity has increased even more.

Jaime Echagüe

Author

Do you live in America?

If you live in Latin America or the United States, I recommend you to visit my section to buy safely and reliably in countries such as Mexico, Argentina, etc.:

Buy at Thomann from America

A few years ago, I remember that Thomann in 2006 used to send its catalogue by ordinary mail and by then it already had a very large stock.One of the reasons why Thomann gained a lot of popularity is because it has a very urgent but above all stock shipping system. Everyone knows that anything is available and probably at the best price (this is not like that nowadays).

Thomann in Europe

Thomann operates from Germany and makes all shipments from there. Their stock and logistics systems are very advanced. Like Amazon, which is emerging as one of its strongest future rivals (not yet).

Another Advice!

If you’re looking for an instrument, do not miss Thomann’s last-minute offers, the famous Blowouts:

View Blowouts

This means that Thomann has no center or physical store but has departments that speak all the languages of Europe. The truth is that they have no facilities in any country other than Germany. They have all the other language departments in that country as well.

If you want to contact or call Thomann from anywhere. Here are their details. In addition, they now have a chat on their website. Just enter and in the top bar select your country and language.

On the other hand, here I share with you the page with all the mails and telephones of all the departments of Thomann.

Return a Thomann product

This is the most interesting aspect of Thomann. They have what they call their 30 day Money Back Guarantee, in which you can return the instrument without any problems.

In the first 14 days they return the money of the item and the money of the transport to you, to return it whenever you choose the ordinary way of sending that they have used. You can find more of this information here

Then, they also add 16 extra days, but I think you already pay for the transport. I have made returns within 14 days and I have not had any problems.

What if the product is damaged?

Do you live in America? I have made out of about 50 orders so far, I bought a slightly cheap saxophone, which came with a wrong soldered part. I wrote them an email and they sent a messenger by urgent SEUR to pick up the product and as there was no other model left, they let me choose another 40 € more expensive without hesitation. I have no complaint in this case.

Packing and shipping in Thomann

It usually takes 4 to 7 days in Europe. If I order it during a Friday, it usually arrives on Wednesday or Thursday of the next week.

The packaging is very good. It arrives with its original box tucked within one another, with very good air cushioning. I have never received anything damaged by transport.

Prices and shipping costs

As for Thomann prices it has always been very competitive and the truth is that many products are the cheapest. So in this particular it has a good resume.

About shipping costs for Spain, for example, here it have a not so comfortable detail. For years, in order to have free shipping your order has to exceed 199 euros and if you cannot fulfill that order, you have to pay 20 euros in shipping costs. This means that buying small accessories is a problem.

If you ask any musician friend to buy small stuff, people usually do joint to exceed the famous 199 euros. This is a classic but a bit cumbersome. I would drop it to a lower price, being honest.

How to find what’s new and what’s on Thomann

Thomann has a good point with quite a few sections and it is well structured, but I am going to put some useful links for you to save time in your search.

If you want to see offers and balances sorted by instruments visit the “blowouts” section.

On the other hand it is interesting to sign up to receive your Hot Deals newsletter. In order to do this, you go into their product section with special offers and fill in the form.

A super useful tool: The comparator

Something that I use a lot because I am always monitoring the market, to do the reviews, is the comparator that Thomann has. Many times when you get into a product, below it brings you the possibility to compare it with its most common rivals. The good thing is that once you go to the comparator, you can add more models with the article ID.

This is very powerful to have at a glance all the features of the models you are looking at. Is really a very good utility and only a few people use it. You can see it in the image, as long as they are in an article, scroll down and you will see something like this:

Useful links in Thomann’s Top Sellers

In BuscarInstrumentos I do the reviews and rankings of musical instruments to save you time, but if there is a moment when you are looking for the instrument and you need you want to see other options, a good technique is to look at Thomann’s top seller. But filtering by the kind of instrument you are looking for.

One of the things to point out about Thomann and that beats many stores, is that it is all very well described and ranked. So at a quick glance you can see what features an instrument has and compare it with one another. I leave you some very useful links if you are looking for an instrument:

About B-Stock

If you have ever been to IKEA you will have seen that there is a section in which there is specific furniture with small defects. Many times, small flaws occur, like a scratch or similar, usually in the warehouses or in the logistics process and in consequence, Thomann has put a section for them.

If you want to see the B-Stock in general, click on the link “Blowouts” or balances, but another good way to look for them is by going to the instrument in general that interests you and see if there is a copy of it in B-Stock. It is seen in a small view, to the right side as shown in the image (image in Spanish, but it is the same in all languajes) in yellow:

buscar-b-stock-thomann

Is the Thomann brand worth it?

Thomann also manufactures all kinds of musical instruments, but this does not prevent it from being competitive in the sale of other brands. It has the largest stock that exists.

I would not buy them for very expensive instruments. For example, in the case of saxophones, a Yamaha studio saxophone costs you 600 euros. But, of course, if you only have 200 or 300 euros the brand Thomann can be a good option, for cheap instruments.

In pianos and keyboards they are doing well and the truth is that I do not get bad impressions of their studio models from people who have bought them. But well, it is not my first recommendation in many cases as a brand.

Shop at Thomann from America

Thomann ships worldwide and it is much better to buy at Thomann from countries like Mexico, Argentina, etc, than to buy their instruments in the USA.

Thomann also maintains its Money Back and 3-year instrument warranties.

It works with first class companies, such as DHL and UPS and the prices can be very advantageous because they do not have VAT. Then, it depends on what they charge you in customs, if they make you pay for it. Even so, the price is better than buying it in the countries themselves.

The return, if you do not like the product, it is paid by them.

Customs is not a problem because they take care of DHL and UPS with what is a very simple process (once they inspect if it is needed or not). Here is the link to my post, with all the information on the subject:

Shop at Thomann from America

 

Dis you like this post?

Digital Piano Yamaha P45 Full Review. Is it a good choice?

Digital Piano Yamaha P45. Full Review

Today we’re going to talk about the Yamaha P-45 piano keyboard. One of the most popular and sought after models on the Internet. And this factor tends to denote a strong reputation nurtured by the pianist.

Below you will see the video, and on it, you’ll see how it sounds, what accessories it brings, it will explain to you what Hammer Action is, etc. But to get ahead, we leave you a comparison with the best places to buy it and then you have the video:

Where to buy Yamaha P45?

Amazon

  • Free Shipping and possibility of shipping in one day with Amazon Prime
  • Full Guarantee but they are no experts in music equipment
  • A leader in fast shipments
  • The price that change a lot daily
  • The best option in USA and Asia

Thomann

  • Free Shipping
  • Full warranty; if you have any problems, they take care of everything
  • 100% reliable payment
  • A leader in trouble-free shipping
  • Usually Best price
  • Best Reputation: They are the leading online store in Europe and have the best catalog and information

The Yamaha P45 is a high-quality piano keyboard designed for a limited budget. The quality/price ratio is designed to keep an affordable price for the regular musician. The Yamaha P45 is a piano keyboard or digital piano ideal as a supporting piano to practice anywhere or for the first 5 or 6 years of musical training.

For beginners, if you can afford it, it’s a highly recommended option. Because its price is not in any way excessive and will be worth to the student for many years of classic music school (conservatory), even several years of the middle-grade student. So you save the expense of having to switch to a digital piano in a year or two years.

It is true that a teacher will always recommend the most study time on an acoustic piano, but this model and its sound is highly respected among professional pianists. If you tell a teacher that you have this model, you should be okay, at least until a certain level. The Yamaha P45 is a digital piano or portable digital piano, just for that. Because it imitates the behavior of an acoustic piano.

It has touch-sensitive keys so that the volume of the note is conditioned by the force with which it is pressed. It also has 88 keys like acoustic pianos. On piano keyboards, the sound is recorded from a real piano.

The Yamaha P45 uses the Yamaha AWM system. A sampling system devised by Yamaha that means that the sound has lost almost no harmonics during recording.

Hammer Action uses Yamaha’s GHS (Graded Hammer Standard) system. It has 4 levels of Pulsed or Touches Sensitivity which are Hard/Medium/Soft/Fixed or Hard/Medium/Soft/Fixed.

Hammer Action comes and velocity sensitivity are similar terms. Although Hammer action refers to the weight sensation of the sensitive keyboard.

I’m sure you’ll be interested in…

Yamaha has better Hammer Action systems and key sensitivity such as the GH3 system but already for much larger budgets. In its price range is a system that usually likes more than the equivalent Roland and Casio. At the end of the article, remember that we will tell you where you can buy it with the greatest possible savings.

Is the Yamaha P45 a keyboard for professionals?

As we have seen in the video, the Yamaha P45 can be connected to an amplifier using the headphone output but will need an electric gadget (injection box) to give more power to the sound signal unless it is a small amplifier.

It’s perfect for a warm-up keyboard and if you don’t have another keyboard, you can buy an injection box to boost the signal and connect it to a smaller computer. To play in a small restaurant you will fall short with the piano speakers, but you can connect without an injection box to small amplifiers such as Roland Cube.

At this point, it is important to note that the Yamaha P45 keyboard has a fairly good weight of 11.5 kg. So it’s portable even with a keyboard backpack with handles.

Computer connectivity

Perfect, as you have seen in the video has a USB MIDI (USB to Host) that ensures a perfect connection with any music composition software or recording. This will allow you to record MIDI tracks on your computer where the information for each note and each chord is stored. So you can then generate a score from the recording.

Also in real-time with programs like Sibelius. In a lot of countries with the purchase of the keyboard come a three-month subscription to a powerful piano learning app called FlowKey, which you put on a laptop or tablet and when you pick up what you play with the microphone on the tablet corrects you in real-time and fully interactive. A real revolution in piano self-learning. (check if this promotion is active in your country)

Accessories included in the Yamaha P45

The Yamaha P45 comes with a sustain pedal included and with a mains connector. But you don’t have a chance to put batteries in it. So if you want to play on the street with batteries you’re better off with another digital piano.

Important Yamaha P45 Extras

It brings metronome and 4 types of very beautiful reverb effects. Of course, it comes with an input for headphones so you can study without disturbing the neighbors. It has a very powerful polyphony of 64 voices and 10 different piano sounds.

Is there a difference between the Yamaha P45 and the Yamaha P45B?

It is curious that they have not explained it before, but the B simply refers to the color black. There are real threads in forums figuring out what B is, it’s just that.

Is there a difference between Yamaha P45 vs. Yamaha P35?

Yes, there is, the Yamaha P45 is an evolution of the Yamaha P35 and gives better performance for the same price. You can read about it in our Yamaha P45 vs Yamaha P35 article.

Yamaha P45 Sound

For this, look no further than listening to the video at the beginning of the post, where you’ll find demonstrations of the most important sounds. The sound of the Yamaha P45 has been sampled with high-quality technologies. It also has a 64-voice polyphony that is perfect for playing most songs.

Yamaha P45 vs Yamaha P115 vs Yamaha P125

The Yamaha P45 is the perfect piano keyboard for someone who has started with a very bad piano keyboard and a year later the teacher tells him that he needs another piano for the next 5 or 6 years.

But, if you like to play the piano and want another digital piano that can be worth many more years, you should look at the Yamaha P125 portable digital piano. The Yamaha P125 has a jack output for connection to a mixer, so you can take it with you to play live. And with its speakers, you can play in a small restaurant without extra amplification.

The Yamaha P45 and the P125 have the same GHS weighted keys system but the sampling technology with which the piano sound was recorded is better on the P125.

The Yamaha P125 supports an optional triple footswitch and brings a sustain pedal. Just like the Yamaha P45, although the triple bottom bracket will do you good when you’ve been playing for several years.

If you are thinking of playing live we recommend you look at the Yamaha P125 for a little more money. Because with the Yamaha P45 you will find yourself limited to that purpose.

Check out our review on the Yamaha P115. Updating this post if you get into the review you will see that the Yamaha P125 is the continuation of the Yamaha 115 so the analysis we have done between the Yamaha P45 and the Yamaha P115 is also valid for this model. What brings back at the same price the Yamaha P125 is more piano sounds. So for the same price they’ve improved it.

Where to buy the Yamaha P-45 at the best price?

As we mentioned before, this type of digital piano can be bought online at a much lower price than in a physical store. In America and Asia check Amazon, but if you live in Europe check Thomann:

We hope you liked this review and if you found it useful, don’t hesitate to share it. Of course, we invite you to visit our choice of the best portable digital pianos, among which is this same model.

For a similar price you have the following pianos and keyboards:

 

Vote if you liked this article 🙂

[no_toc]

Digital Piano Yamaha P115 Full Review. Is it a good choice?

Digital Piano Yamaha P115 Full Review. A good choice?

Today in this article we are going to analyze a very popular piano keyboard of the Yamaha brand. The Yamaha P115 or P115b keyboard (no difference in performance, the b refers to the color black)

The Yamaha P115 is a portable digital piano. Its main objective is to emulate the touch and feel of playing a normal acoustic piano. Whether glue or wall and it must be said that the result is very good. Especially considering its price.

Next, we advance the best stores to buy it. After it, keep scrolling down and reading because we have all the information about this digital piano, and a video review really useful.

Where to Buy Yamaha P115?

Note: We update the links to Yamaha P125

Amazon

  • Free Shipping and the possibility of shipping in one day with Amazon Premium.
  • Full Guarantee but they are no experts in music equipment
  • A leader in fast shipments.
  • The price change a lot daily.
  • The best option in USA and Asia

Thomann

  • Free Shipping
  • Full warranty. If you have any problems, they take care of everything.
  • 100% reliable payment.
  • A leader in trouble-free shipping.
  • Usually the best price.
  • Best Reputation: They are the leading online store in Europe and have the best catalog and information.

Hammer Action and velocity sensitivity

What differentiates a piano keyboard from other keyboards is the sensitivity of the keyboard to the force with which the key is pressed. So the note will sound louder or weaker depending on how you press the key. Yamaha has several technologies to imitate the Hammer Action of acoustic pianos.

In this case, the system used is the GHS or Graded Hammer Standard and is one of the most prestigious standards. Many consider it superior to Roland’s and Casio’s systems. The GHS is usually on all Yamaha keyboards with a price of under 1000 €. There are other superior technologies.

The GHS system supports 4 keystroke levels that are Hard / Medium / Soft / Fixed and the keys have a texture that mimics a real piano. The Hammer Action of the keys is vital for the correct study of the piano. And of course, it has 88 keys like a real piano. It measures 132.6 cm wide, 16.3 cm is high and 29.5 cm deep.

Sound quality

I’m sure you’ll be interested in…

In this respect, the Yamaha P115 has a lot of strength. On piano keyboards, the sound of the keys is pre-recorded from a real piano. And it is very important that the sound is recorded in such a way that the nuances of the sound are not lost. The sound of the Yamaha P115 has been recorded with the CF3S sampling technology, which is better than the AWM technology.

The results are amazing. Listening tests have been made between a piece played on a Yamaha P115 and another one recorded with an acoustic piano and only very advanced conservatory students were able to notice the difference and after several listeners.

It has a polyphony of 192 notes and 14 voices and powerful 7W x 2 speakers, so you can play in many places without the need for extra amplification, types of restaurants and similar.

Here is a good review of the Yamaha P115 for you to know everything about this popular digital piano. Below are comparisons with other keyboards and online stores to buy it at the best price.

Computer connectivity

Today’s computer connectivity is vital and it’s just the best advantage you have of piano keyboards over acoustic pianos. We can do such wonderful things as play a piece and simultaneously write the music sheet on our computer with programs like Sibelius.

Jaime Echagüe

Author

Advice:

From this post you can control the price of this piano quickly as you have direct links to various stores. If you save this post in bookmarks or favorites of your browser you will have it available easily and accessible.

For them, the Yamaha P115 keyboard has a USB to HOST MIDI connector. This allows you to record MIDI tracks in any music editing or recording program and then export this track to music sheet. For this, we can use any program such as Ableton or Cubase.

The possibilities offered by the MIDI interface are vital in recording and composing. But it is also today that tremendous learning pathways are opening up with applications such as Flowkey and Piano Marvel.

To connect the iPad many people wonder what connector is needed. At the end of the Yamaha P115 you connect a fat USB cable, you can see it in the image, and connect it to the iPad you need the USB adapter.

With the purchase of the keyboard come 3 months of free subscription to the Flowkey app. Although this does not need a MIDI connection because it picks up what you play with the computer or tablet microphone so that it corrects you interactively at the moment while you play with their video tutorials.

conector USB Yamaha P115usb-b-yamaha-p115

Can it be used in any situation?

The Yamaha P115 keyboard is one of the most versatile on the market. Well, it is as good for the studio as it is to live. It has enough power in its sound output thanks to the “sound boost” so that you can connect it to high-powered sound equipment without the need for a preamp. It is got a lot on it.

It is a piano keyboard at a very affordable price, making it a perfect choice for conservatory study at all levels if you do not have a wall-mounted piano.

Of course, he wears headphones so that he can study at home without disturbing the neighbors. It has a double headphones output and the possibility of dividing the keyboard into two so that teachers and students can study on the same keyboard. The Yamaha P-115 is undoubtedly the most popular choice among professionals and students who want a piano keyboard battle.

In addition to its weight of 11.8 Kg is a fully portable keyboard with a backpack keyboard with handles.

Extra features

Comes with a sustain pedal. Vital for the interpretation of the piano and keeping the sound of the note in time even if you stop pressing the key. It is not of extreme quality that comes with the Yamaha P115, but it fits the bill.

It also comes with the mains adapter for plugging it into the mains.

You can not run on batteries. So it is portable, but it is not good for playing on the street. Unless you take a battery or a small generator, but that is already a little difficult sometimes.

It has memory to record 2 tracks and then play over them in a very usable way.

The recording is in SMF format.

Yamaha P45 vs Yamaha P115

The P-45 cannot record parts, and this can be an interesting option for beginners. The polyphony of the Yamaha P 45 is 64 versus 192 of the P115. But the fundamental difference is that the piano sound of the Yamaha P115 has been recorded with the CF3S system.

More sophisticated than the sample with which the P45 has been recorded, which is the AWM standard.

The P-115 also has the Sound Boost button which is like a kind of “turbo” to get more presence in live performances.In addition, the Yamaha P115 has a line outlet to connect to any PA or mixing console without the need for an injection box. So it’s good for live. And the P115 has many applications that improve its usability.

Yamaha P105 vs Yamaha P115

The Yamaha P 115 is an evolution of the Yamaha P105 model.

It has integrated speakers that sound better and a maximum polyphony of 192 against the 128 of the Yamaha P105. Here there is no doubt, better the Yamaha 115 because in addition, you will buy them almost at the same price. Unless you find the Yamaha P105 very well priced in the second-hand market.

Yamaha P115 vs Yamaha P125

In this case, not much has been done with the Yamaha P125 but 10 new piano sounds have been added. Which by keeping the same price is always a plus. It is best if you take a look at our review of the Yamaha P125.

Yamaha P115 vs Roland FP 30

Here the competition is very close. Although Yamaha wins in polyphonic memory, Roland FP 30 wins in other aspects. The differences are detailed below:

  • The Yamaha P115 gains in polyphonic memory as it has 192 voices compared to the 128 of the Roland FP 30. This makes the sound of the Yamaha more quality. Another thing is that you get to like more the Roland nuances as the tone.
  • Roland’s Hammer Action system has 5 sensitivities and Yamaha’s 4. We like Roland’s Hammer Action a little more.
  • The Yamaha P115 is less heavy. A couple of Kg that sometimes you notice a lot if you transport it weekly to tests and similar without a car.

Don’t hesitate to read our full review of the Roland FP 30 if you want to know more about this piano keyboard.

Where to buy Yamaha P115?

You can get the best price by shopping online. For this, it is important that the store does not fail in shipping. That accepts returns without questions and gives you a full warranty. At America and Asia check Amazon but at Europe check Thomann:

We hope you found this article useful. If you want to see more brands our ranking with the best digital pianos of the moment is the ideal post. What is a little cheaper and may be a very option to consider.

For a similar price you have the following pianos and keyboards:

 

Vote if you liked this article 🙂

[no_toc]
1 … 159 160 161 162 163 … 180