Yamaha P71 Digital Piano with Sustain Pedal and Power Supply (88 Keys)

I’ve owned a dozen electronic keyboards and played for pay for over 50 years. Mainly classical but also parties and accomp gigs. Yeah, a 9-foot Steinway is still my go-to but not very portable. My current digital board is the Privia PX-S3000; 25 lbs, good piano sample, lots of features and decent touch. Favorite digital: Yamaha Clavinova. That’s my vitae. I bought the P71 to use for practice at a vacation home. All weighted-key digital pianos have a spongy touch, but this one is quite good - heavy enough and responsive. The piano samples are very good but not the equal of the Privia (or Roland or Korg). For those who think the top 3-4 notes don’t work, listen over earbuds or headphones. The tiny down-firing speakers can’t reproduce those frequencies. It feels heavier than 25 pounds to me. Maybe because the case is quite bulky compared to the Privia. Voices are limited to the basics: two pianos, EPs, harpsichords, strings, etc; ten in all. USB allows connection to iOS GarageBand or Audacity. I’ve also used it to drive the Synthogy Ivory app for better sound when recording. Considering the P71 costs about half of my PX-S3000, I think it’s a pretty solid buy. Update: Since the original review, I’ve prepared more recordings for church services using GarageBand and substituting Korg’s Synthogy Ivory app. Ivory is comparatively expensive, but the sound is excellent. The Yamaha’s touch response is much more detailed/sensitive through this app! Update 2: I noticed an old review about how “out of tune” this DP is. If you’re checking the upper octave with your iPhone tuner app you will indeed see (and hear) sharp tuning. That’s “stretch” tuning and is commonly used on smaller pianos and DPs to make upper note sound brighter and bring perceived harmonics into congruency with the lowest octave.

I have played piano for 18 years now and recently moved into my own place. I desperately missed having a piano to play on a daily basis, but I do not have the space for a real piano. I did a SIGNIFICANT amount of research before settling on this Yamaha digital piano, because I wanted a high quality instrument that also did not hugely break the bank. As a professional musician, here is why I decided on the P71: -The weighted keys on this instrument truly feel like the real thing. I’ve played on “plasticy” keyboards before and nothing is more unsatisfying if you’ve played on a real instrument throughout your life. The P71 feels just as genuine as playing a real piano. In fact, depending on piano brand, it feels smoother. The touch sensitivity is wonderful as well, and also adjustable to your liking! -The sound is beautiful with a large volume range. I especially love the way the bass rings out with a gorgeous fullness. The higher octaves seem to be a little thinner, but that’s to be expected since it’s up the keyboard. -There is so much variety on this instrument to play with! There are many customizable options on this piano and I haven’t even dived into everything it can do yet. Sound changes, sound combinations, sensitivity adjustments, tempo adjustments, etc etc etc. I love having the ability to experiment and find what I like for any given piece of music! However, I also liked the simplicity of the customizations; Sometimes, less is more with the amount of buttons and gadgets. -Weight and travel. This piano isn’t “light” per say, but it’s not insanely heavy or difficult to travel with either. It’s a full 88-key size, but I can easily pick it up on my own (unlike some other digital piano brands). I was able to load this piano up into the back seat of my Honda Civic for a gig along with the stand and bench I bought separate. I was able to load all my gear onto one hotel cart and make it up to the rooftop bar in a single trip. Super convenient for me and the staff, since I didn’t have to bother them with setup assistance. -Price. If I truly wanted to, I could’ve shelled out the cash to get a fancier digital piano. However, I felt confident that I would get almost the same experience with this one as well as the convenience factor of being able to travel and gig with it. You can pay more, but you’re most likely sacrificing the ability to leave your home with it without extra arrangements (because at that point you’re paying for something like a Clavinova, for example). I also appreciated the fact that I could set up a short-term payment plan with Amazon to afford this instrument. I am paying 80 bucks a month for 5 months and it’s mine to love on forever. If I did that with a more expensive digital piano, I’d be locked down for a solid year or more. -Brand. Yamaha is a reputable brand in the music world and I trust their products. My professional model flute is a Yamaha (approx. $4000), and it plays better than some of the $8000 flutes I played on while selecting which instrument I would purchase in college. Yamaha=quality and I trust their pianos just as much as their other instruments. Overall, this is among one of the best musical purchases I’ve made for myself. My piano is my self-care as well as a part of my profession, and I enjoy this instrument on a daily basis. You won’t regret it! UPDATE, 8/3/2021: I’ve had this digital piano for almost two years now and I still love it SO much. I continue to play regularly and the quality is exactly the same as the day I bought it. This Yamaha is a winner! UPDATE TWO, 11/22/2023: My beautiful Yamaha P71 is still going strong as ever. I lug this keyboard around for every big band gig I play, and it’s a staple in my music room at home. It continues to perform perfectly for me and has been consistent and reliable over the past four years. UPDATE THREE, 7/16/2025: Approaching six years with this instrument. My P71 is lovingly dinged up in some places from dragging it along to gigs, but it continues to play as beautifully and reliably as ever. It has survived bangs on my car door while loading it, hot temperatures during long outdoor jazz concerts, and MANY hundreds of hours of play time. I have continued to point people to this specific keyboard when asked for an instrument recommendation, and many folks have bought the P71 at my referral and loved it equally. Looking forward to more years with mine!

I’m so glad I chose the Yamaha P71. The fully weighted 88 keys feel incredibly close to a real acoustic piano, with the heavier feel on the low notes and lighter touch on the highs. The sound quality is rich, clear, and realistic—especially for this price range. I also love the Dual Mode feature, which lets me layer two voices (like piano and strings) for a beautiful, full sound. It’s lightweight and slim enough to move around easily, but still feels sturdy and well built. The USB connection makes it simple to hook up to learning apps or recording software, which has been great for practice. The only minor downside is the included sustain pedal—it works fine but is pretty basic and tends to slide around. I ended up upgrading to a sturdier one. Overall, the Yamaha P71 is a fantastic choice if you want realistic feel, great sound, and a clean design without spending a fortune. Highly recommend for beginners and casual players alike.

What makes this piano so nice is its wide versatility. 1) you can plug in headphones and practice at any time of the day or night without anyone being able to hear you so it's perfect for practicing. 2)Unlike the traditional version, these pianos are easy to move and store if needed. If you want to take it to a gig, it's not hard to hook up to an amp to get it loud like the other instruments and start jamming out with the group. If you need to replace a damaged cable it's not hard to look up which one you need and order it, unlike keyboards from companies that only have one or two generations of manufacturing keyboards before moving on to other products. 3)Despite the years I have had my Yamaha it has never given me an issue and has always been reliable. 4)You can plug the piano into the computer, go online to the Bandlab studio(which is free,) and record your playing very easily. Just make sure you select the piano as the Source of the recording and you are already on your way to creating your own music. 5) By using an electronic recording option you can use effects to make it sound like you are playing an electric guitar, or an organ in a cathedral. The range and versatility available to you is only limited by your ability to play and your imagination. Features: There are a few preprogrammed sounds like Grand piano or harpsichord on the instrument. The keys are weighted like a traditional piano letting you create expression with the instrument instead of a flat one-volume sound. It comes with a foot pedal for sustaining sound, and a stand for the instrument. AN: I would recommend getting a USB A to USB B 'printer' cable so you can connect the instrument to your computer. I would also recommend getting high-quality recording headphones when you get the chance so you aren't blasting your ears out trying to hear with a poor pair of headphones. Technical issues: My computer automatically recognized the piano when I plugged it in, but if yours doesn't, you might need to do the following: 1) go online to Google 2) look up the make and model of your instrument or use the following search -connect Yamaha piano to PC 3)you will see a website called Yamaha Downloads. 4) follow the instructions listed to download the file they have for your specific make and model. It will let your device recognize and use the piano. The only Con: This isn't like a preprogrammed piano with light-up keys that kids can tap to entertain themselves. This a professional instrument. For the price, I would say that it's an exceptional piano from beginner to professional players. It's affordable, versatile, portable, and fairly intuitive to use. The only limiting factor will be your imagination, your playing ability, and your time. How much you get out of it will depend on how much effort you put into it.

I am an advanced intermediate player who owned a piano for the last 30 years. My old piano was so large and unattractive and constantly needed expensive tuning. I finally gave it away to buy a digital piano. I am so glad I did. After doing some on line research and looking at reviews I took a chance on this Yamaha. First, and most importantly, the action of the keys feels like a real piano, or extremely close. The tone of the piano is very authentic and you can control the volume. The only thing that I don’t like is the sustain pedal is small and since it is on a cord, it can slide around. There were a few times I was playing when I lost touch with the pedal and had to stop and look for it. The digital piano has setting which are fun, such as different types of instrument tones or playing a few beautiful songs automatically. Not something I use much but fun to play with. The piano is light - I am 60 and could pick it up and move it by myself. I use my office desk as a platform but otherwise you will probably need to buy a stand and an adjustable chair. Overall a strong recommendation if you are on a budget and don’t have space for the real thing.