Note: The P-80 has been discontinued by the manufacturer. The new model of this digital piano is the P-125 

But we will still give you a full review of the p80 in this article

Yamaha P80 Introduction

Ask any keyboard teacher out there for advice on the best keyboard for a student and they will all give you the same answer; the keyboard should have a simple layout but should also be equipped with all the necessary features for a rock-solid foundation. What does this mean? In as much as having a flashy keyboard with dozens of knobs and buttons is great, giving such a keyboard to a beginner can easily distract them from what really matters. Additionally, any beginner starting out on a keyboard with so many controls can feel intimidated which could lower their confidence and morale of learning and this is the last thing that any student should ever go through.

Yamaha is one of the most experienced instrument manufacturers in the industry. Their expertise is seen in all the instruments they make be it acoustic or digital ones. The Yamaha P80 is one of their entry-level digital keyboards that are perfectly designed to fit the criteria for easy learning. This keyboards, as we are going to see, has everything to make sure that a beginner gets all the relevant skills making him/her capable of playing on other advanced keyboards or even acoustic pianos.

The Features

The Yamaha P80 is an entry level 88-key-keyboard that comes with graded and weighted keys. For anyone who doesn’t know what this means; graded and weighted keys are designed for an authentic and accurate touch response which makes playing easy. This technology also helps in giving digital keyboards the experience of how acoustic pianos feel like. Learners will, therefore, get a hands-on experience of acoustic instruments in a much cheaper keyboard. Yamaha has even gone to the extent of claiming that the keyboard is virtually indistinguishable from acoustic keyboards due to its touch response. Yes, that’s a huge claim and probably used for marketing purposes but using the keyboard for a while gives you the feeling that it does indeed feel and respond like an acoustic instrument. The keys have some weight and resistance which increases as you go towards the lower notes (exactly how upright acoustic pianos play like).

Everyone familiar with the music instruments industry understands one of the reasons that Yamaha has been so successful is due to their ability to provide excellent equipment regardless of the price tag. Most entry-level keyboards are usually affordable and hence it’s easy to find most of them with poor quality gadgets and with even poorer sounds. This is not the case here. Yamaha uses their best-selling acoustic instruments in making sounds for their digital keyboards such as the Yamaha P80. This means that you don’t just end up with a simple keyboard that you can quickly learn with but also one that sounds amazing allowing you to make and enjoy good notes and music. The P80 produces rich sounds with limited nuances that only experts can point out. It sounds just like an expensive keyboard but surprisingly, you’ll be able to acquire it for a very reasonable price.

or check the New Model Yamaha P125 price here:
Price & Reviews on Amazon p125

The Sound

Speaking of sounds, the P80 comes with 64-notes polyphony which we have to admit that it isn’t much considering some other entry-level keyboards have around 120-notes polyphony. It is, nonetheless, enough for all beginners to learn on how to do complex performances without losing notes in between. It also comes with an inbuilt metronome for even better performance.

Another incredible thing about the Yamaha P80 is the wide scope of features that comes with. One of the most embarrassing things as a keyboard student is thinking you have finally mastered the art of playing the piano only for you to come across an advanced one and realize that there are some features that you have never heard of leaving alone playing with! Yamaha has done their best to ensure that no one ever uses this keyboard and goes through such an experience. Of course, they can’t fit all the features here and still keep the keyboard within a user-friendly price tag but they have taken huge strides towards delivering both the basic and advanced features. This makes the keyboard ideal for both beginners and intermediate players. Needless to say that all this has been achieved without making the keyboard too complex to be used by newbies. The panel is still simple and easy to navigate. The features will be easily accessible through the few knobs and buttons on it. After a few days of using this keyboard, you should be able to navigate through all these features with ease.

Design and Weight

The weight and the overall design quality of the P80 is the other amazing thing that most beginners will find very useful. As a learner, we understand that you probably need to be carrying your keyboard for learning sessions or to practice with your friends. This is essential as it helps you to polish your skills even further but unfortunately, without a portable unit, all of this remains wishful thinking. The Yamaha P80 is a lightweight and highly portable keyboard that can be transported and used anywhere without complications. With it, you can go wherever your instructor or music squad is with more ease. Additionally, its compact design and lightweight nature also make it ideal for everyone with limited space. The P80 can be squeezed almost anywhere leaving you with vast room to play the keyboard and for other uses.

Functionality

We’d also like to point out that the keyboard comes with a music stand and pedal to complete its functionality. The music stand blends in with the overall design of the keyboard and when fully assembled the keyboard will have quite an elegant look. The pedal, on the other hand, isn’t exactly like the ones found in acoustic pianos. People who have never used an acoustic piano won’t notice this. Unfortunately, when you switch to an acoustic instrument it’ll take you some time getting used to the new pedal mechanism.

Connectivity

The Yamaha P80 comes with various connectivity ports that make using the keyboard more convenient. One of the most useful ports is the dual headphone jacks. These allow you to connect the keyboard to a pair of headphones for silent training sessions. The fact that you can connect two headphones also means that you can train on the keyboard with your instructor in silent mode protecting the people around you from inconveniences.

The Yamaha P80 also comes with a computer interface jack that you can use to connect the keyboard to your computer or laptop. This way you can play alongside your gadget and practice with other songs from your pc. It can also function as a MIDI controller.

Cons and Limitations 

Sadly, not everything about this keyboard is fantastic. The most prominent issue that we have with this keyboard is the plastic keys. The only good thing about plastic keys is how easy they are to clean but everything else about them is a disaster. This is why recent keyboards have moved away from plastic keys to better materials. Now, the most common limitation with plastic keys is how they are so easy to break. Funny enough, that is not the main problem we had with the keys on this particular keyboard. In the P80 the plastic keys produce a very annoying click sound that can be irritating to both you and the people around. Using this keyboard always sounds like someone is typing aggressively on some old computer keyboard or something. This can be a nuisance, especially in a silent room.

The clicking sound can easily take the fun away from silent training sessions because even though you will be using headphones, you’ll still be hearing the clicks. Well, unless you blast the volume to the max. The only way to really solve this problem is by playing the piano on loud external speakers. That way, the voices can suppress the clicks allowing you and your audience to focus on the music.

Another limitation of the P80 is it isn’t fitted with internal speakers. This is perhaps, what happens when a company is focused on delivering a compact lightweight keyboard at a user-friendly price. A lot of entry-level keyboards usually don’t feature built-in speakers and hence users are normally forced either to use the headphones alone or to purchase external speakers separately. You can also just use the keyboard with your home sound system and save yourself from having to purchase a new one.

Yamaha P80 Specifications

• Dimensions: Width 134.7cm (53”); Depth 28.5cm (11 ¼”); Height 12.8cm (5”)
• Weight: 16.8kg (37lbs)
• 88-keys-keyboard (Graded Hammer Effect)
• 64-notes polyphony
• Four touch sensitivity options (fixed, soft, medium and hard)
• Three play modes: split, dual and normal
• Tempo range 32 – 280
• Connectors: DC IN, Sustain, MIDI IN/OUT, Dual headphone jacks, To Host

Final Words on the Yamaha P80

From an advanced pianist’s perspective, the Yamaha P80 does fall below the standards but as we had already pointed out. it is clearly made for beginner and maybe intermediate players. It will help all learners to feel comfortable during their training with a user-friendly top panel. The P80 offers rich and resonating sounds and an excellent touch response that all users will find really useful during their musical journey. The keyboard’s overall performance has been great and this is evident from user reviews. It’s also quite a solid and reliable unit capable of withstanding harsh surroundings and that’s why it also comes with a 2-year warranty. In summary, Yamaha P80 has everything a student would ever need and a few extra features for a solid music foundation.