Yamaha Digital Piano P-121 Review Complete. Good choice?

Yamaha Corporation is a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, mainly musical instruments and electronic devices. Today we will be looking at the Yamaha P 121 which is a very interesting variant of the Yamaha P125 for those who have space problems at home and whose price is around 500 euros.

Like the Yamaha P125 the Yamaha P121 has GHS weighted keys, comes with a sustain pedal, some quality sounds and also has USB MIDI output and line output in case you want to take it to big concerts. When you see that it says BK or WH it refers to the color. Black or white, nothing else, it’s not that they are different models.

There are many people who share a flat and sometimes the piano takes up little space is something very useful. The problem is that there are not many pianos with less than 88 weighted keys to make the experience of playing the piano as close as possible to that of a real piano. And that’s where the Yamaha P121 comes in. It can also be a good option if you want to take it on public transport because it weighs less than other portable digital pianos.

Let’s list and comment on their characteristics:

• 73 weighted keys (Weight that the keys of an acoustic piano have and that digital pianos try to imitate to equal the touch of the piano. The keys in the high register are heavier and in the high register less. This is different from the sensitivity on the keyboard which serves to regulate the volume of the note. But a weighted keyboard always has sensitivity in the keys) GHS
• 24 sounds (different piano and other instrument sounds) with Pure CF Sound Engine. Piano sounds with very good quality.
• 192 notes of polyphony (Number of notes that can be played at once. This includes accompaniments that also consume notes. So if you play over an accompaniment more notes will be accumulated)
• Dual, Split function and duo function
• Duo function
• Recording function)
• 20 rhythms (Accompanying rhythms that adapt to what you are playing. There are bossa nova rhythms, etc. Sometimes they are also known as accompaniment styles)
• Dampening effect
• IAC to improve the bass and treble balance
• 21 demo songs
• Reverb effect (Reverb effect)
• Chorus effect
• Metronome (Basic study element to study and practice the tempo of a piece of music)
• String Resonance Effect
• USB midi (MIDI allows you to do such wonderful things as connect your keyboard to your computer, record a sound track and with certain programs click through what you’ve played to musical notes on a score. MIDI tracks store the information of the musical notes)
• Transposition (Transposition allows you to move the note spectrum of a keyboard. This is to be able to play with transposing instruments. It is not an easy concept but it is made to facilitate the writing of an orchestration for instruments with very different bass and treble registers)
• Speakers (various piano sounds and other instruments) 7 W
• Line output Stereo jack
• 2 headphone jack outputs
• Sustain pedal input (The sustain pedal of a piano or keyboard is used to keep the note playing even if you stop pressing the key), the pedal is included
• Weight 10 kg and dimensions 1114 x 295 x 166 mm
• Includes power supply

Also with this piano comes some very interesting Yamaha apps such as Smart Pianist that are very useful for handling the piano functions.

 

Related post you can be interested in

• Ranking with the best digital pianos
• My selection of cheap musical keyboards.
• Basic concepts you need to know about digital pianos.
• The best resources to learn to play the piano by yourself.
• The best Yamaha Digital Pianos.

Now let’s compare the Yamaha P121 with its more common alternatives. Also at the end of the post, you will find a section with the best shopping possibilities for this digital piano. But you can go directly to that part of the post by pressing the following button.

Yamaha P-121 vs Yamaha P-125

The Yamaha P-121 Keyboard is usually 72 Euros cheaper than the Yamaha P-125 and this is another difference to be taken into account. The differences with the following:

• The price as we said
• The Yamaha P121 weighs almost 2 kg less than the Yamaha P125
• The dimensions of the Yamaha P12 are (W x H x D): 1326 x 166 x 295 mm compared to 1114 x 295 x 166 mm for the Yamaha P121

The Yamaha P125 is a true best seller in its class and both have the same technical features but if you have space problems at home and want to spend less the Yamaha P121 can be a great option. I personally like to have 88 keys available because with the duo mode you can play teacher and student.

Both support triple pedalboard that you buy separately although you need it for very advanced levels.

Let’s put the characteristics of these pianos on a chart so you can compare

And now a video of the Yamaha P-125 in which all its features are explained very well:

 

Yamaha P-121 BK vs Yamaha P-45

The Yamaha P-121 Keyboard is usually £68 more expensive than the Yamaha P-45 .

The Yamaha P45 is in a slightly lower category than the Yamaha P121 and the Yamaha P125 although it is the best value 88-key digital piano you can find today. That is why it is the best-selling digital piano today.

If you have a budget of around 400 euros the Yamaha P45 can be a great option. The differences with the Yamaha P121 are:

• The sound of the Yamaha P45 is a little bit lower in quality than the Yamaha P121 because it doesn’t have Pure CF quality
• The Yamaha P45 has less piano sounds
• The P45 has less polyphony than the Yamaha P121
• Weighs and occupies more
• The Yamaha P121 has more technology that helps to improve the feeling of playing a real piano with different key off effects
• Yamaha P121 has more powerful speakers
• The P121 has a line output to connect you to very powerful amplification equipment without the need for an injection box to give more power to the signal. This is important if you are a professional and give concerts.
• The P121 supports a triple pedalboard and the Yamaha P45 does not. But as we said before, it’s for advanced levels.

On the other hand it is true that for less money the Yamaha P45 has the same quality counterbalance, good effects, not bad sound quality and USB MIDI at a great price. So it also depends on your needs and budget as we said before.

Let’s put the features of these pianos on a table so you can compare

And here’s a video of the Yamaha P-45 digital piano:

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Yamaha P-45 review

Yamaha P-121 vs Thomann DP-33

The Yamaha Keyboard P-121 is usually 98 euros more expensive than the Thomann DP-33.

If you are on a tight budget and want a lot of features with “little” less quality than the Yamaha P45, Thomann is definitely what you need as they are offering weighted keys pianos with a reasonable level of quality at a very good price.

• The Thomann has more sounds
• The Thomann DP 33 comes with a triple pedalboard and has a cabinet that gives it more stability
• The Yamaha P212’s weighted keyboard is higher quality.
• I like the sounds of the Yamaha P121 a little better

In this case, if you want stability when playing, you won’t have to transport the piano and you have room at home for 88 keys, the Thomann DP 33 is an interesting option you should know about. If you want to transport it the Yamaha P121 is a great option at a good price.

Let’s put the features of these pianos on a table so you can compare

And then a video of the Thomann DP-33 digital piano where you can hear how it sounds:

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Thomann DP-33 digital piano’s file

Where to buy Yamaha P121

Amazon

• Free Shipping and possibility of shipping in one day with Amazon Premium.
• Full Guarantee but they are no experts in music equipment.
• Sometimes better price.

Thomann

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

Check below related models with similar price and features:

• Thomann SP 5600
• Yamaha YDP 143
• Roland FP 30
• Yamaha YDP 163
• Yamaha YDP S52
• Hemingway DP 201 MKII
• Casio PX S1000
• Thomann DP 33
• Casio PX S3000
• Casio PX 870
• Yamaha YDP S54
• Yamaha YDP 144
• Korg B1
• Casio PX 360
• Casio PX 770
• Korg LP 380
• Korg C1 Air
• Casio CDP S350
• Thomann DP 32
• Yamaha YDP S34
• Casio CDP S100
• Korg LP 180
• Korg PA 600
• Yamaha PSR EW410
• Casio CT X5000
• Yamaha DGX 660
• Korg EK 50
• Yamaha PSR S670
• Yamaha PSR S775
• Roland 5
• Casio CT X3000
• Yamaha PSR A350
• Casio WK 7600
• Casio WK 6600
• Yamaha P45
• Yamaha P125
• Kawai ES 110
• Alesis Recital Pro
• Kurzweil SPS4 8
• Roland FP 10
• Korg D1
• Studiologic Numa Compact 2
• Korg SP 280
• Yamaha P121
• Studiologic Numa Compact 2x
• Roland GO PIANO 88
• Studiologic Numa Stage