Yamaha P71 Review – Don’t Buy Before Reading This!

Yamaha is a leading name in this sector and their Portable or "P" series keyboards are known for it's elegant design and performance. It is nice and easy to use digital Piano that beginner will find ideal.

Yamaha P71 is an Amazon-exclusive model and it is also the most affordable variants in the company’s "P" lineup. There are two other popular variants in the same lineup-namely the P45 and P115.

The latter is quite expensive though and comes with many features. In fact, it would not be wrong to say the wallet-friendly model offers some of the useful features you get in its costlier siblings.

Let's jump into the review!

Features

Best Choice

Yamaha P71
Yamaha P115
Yamaha P45
Product Image
Product Price
Keys
88
88
88
Fully Weighted Keys
Graded hammer standard
Graded hammer standard
Graded hammer standard
Touch Sensitivity
Hard/Medium/Soft/Fixed
Hard/Medium/Soft/Fixed
Hard/Medium/Soft/Fixed
Tone Generator
AMW Stereo Sampling
Pure CF Sound Engine
AMW Stereo Sampling
Polyphony
64 Notes
192 Notes
64 Notes
Modes
Dual, Duo
Dual, Duo, Split
Dual, Duo
MIDI Recorder
Preset
10
14
10
Transpose Tuning
Metronome
Speakers
12 cm x 2
12 cm (4-1/2”) x 2 + 4 cm (1-1/2”) x 2
12 cm (4-1/2”) x 2
Weight
11.5kg (25lbs., 4oz)
11.8kg (26lbs)
11.5kg (25lbs., 4oz)

What Do You Get in the Yamaha P71 Bundle

There are a couple of package options. For a small amount, you can buy add-ons like the keyboard stand, effects pedal and headphones.

Inside the package, you will find these content:

  • Sheet Holder
  • Keyboard
  • Manuals

Included Accessories in Bundle

  • Music Rest
  • Pedal
  • AC Adapter

Specifications

  • Weight: 25lbs or 11.5 Kgs
  • Shipping weight: 36.1 pounds
  • Dimensions: 58.2 x 16.1 x 11.7 inches
  • Keys: Fully weighted 88-keys
  • Keyboard Type: Graded Hammer Standard
  • Touch Sensitivity: Soft/Medium/Hard/Fixed
  • Piano Tone: AMW Stereo Sampling
  • Preset Voice: 10
  • Ports: DC IN, Headphone Jack, Sustain Pedal, USB to Host
  • Polyphony: 64
  • Modes: Duo and Dual
  • Tempo Range: 32 - 280
  • Transpose: -6 to 0,0 to +6
  • Tuning: 414.8 - 440.0 - 446.8 Hz
  • Reverb: 4 types: Room, Hall1, Hall2, Stage

Features & Performance

Yamaha P71 is a full-sized digital electric piano that comes with 88 fully weighted realistic keys. When you play the piano, you can be absolutely sure of getting a real piano feel.  

Build & Design

Despite its entry level price tag, it does not look flimsy. The build quality is pretty good and the compact form factor adds to ease of usage.

The design is minimalistic and oozes a kind of understated elegance too. It weighs just 25 pounds


Dual Mode

Dual mode of this piano deserves a special mention. This enables you to play two types of musical instrument at the same time.

This is ideal for creative minded users who want to blend 2 separate devices simultaneously. For instance, you can combine piano with strings. 


Portability

Yamaha P71 is a very portable digital piano. It has a very light-weight which makes it pretty easy to move around. This makes it the best option for using at home. 

When it comes to portability, the P71 has the advantage unlike acoustic pianos which are too heavy to move around. 


Fully Weighted Keys

Yamaha P71 has an ergonomically made keyboard with fully-weighted 88 keys. The weighted keys will suit usage needs of both beginners and experienced piano players.

The keys are actually GHS weighted. They feel quiet smooth to touch. The response is amazingly realistic and here it outshines most segment rivals by a far margin.

Being fully-weighted, these keys tend to be heavier and have a proper resistance when you play the piano with the GHS action, the piano actually uses little hammers inside the keyboard. 

Apart from that, there are 4 different settings for the key sensitivity. The fixed setting allows the player to produce sounds of same quality without paying attention to the strike, whether it is a hard one or a soft one.

The medium setting, on the other hand, is the only default setting which provides the players with the acoustic piano feel. 

The hard settings and the soft settings are meant for the harder sensitivity and the softer sensitivity of the keys. 


Sound Quality

You do not buy a digital piano just because of its compact size and lower price tag- for sure! There is no way the actual performance can be overlooked- even if you do not intend using it regularly. In this context, the Yamaha P71 hits all the right notes!

The keyboard has 10 different piano voices. The piano produces sound with crisp treble and rich bass. This is owing to Yamaha’s AWM sound engine which produces the same tune as acoustic pianos which is really impressive..

The tones of the piano have their inspiration from the grand acoustic piano so it is marvelous. You will get the sounds of vibraphones, 1 bright and 1 concert piano, 2 electric pianos, 2 pipe organs, and 2 harpsichords. 

Listen to the tune below. 


Connectivity

The piano has simple controls that even a beginner will understand without any fuss. A digital piano should have required connectivity options so that users can connect it with other accessories and instrument. 

It comes along with a proper USB port, a sustain jack, and a headphone jack as well. You can definitely connect it with an amplifier as well.

Integrating the keyboard sounds with other music software will be pretty easy too.  It doesn't have MIDI, but USB support will get the job done. 

Pros And Cons

Pros

  • Compact design.
  • Ideal for beginners.
  • Good Connectivity options.
  • Fully weighted keys.
  • Affordable price.

Cons

  • No Recording features
  • There is no LED display.

Should You Buy the P71 Digital Piano?

Here're the reasons why you should consider getting the piano.

  • The variant is pretty affordable but does not skimp on performance and durable build. You can feel the quintessential Yamaha stamp in it. It's is super easy to play and comes with fully-weighted keys, which will give you good playing experience.
  • You get manage pedal, power connector, and sheet holder with the device. So, you can get started without buying any additional accessory. This is ideal for people who want their instruments truly plug n play.
  • Yamaha P71 is actually the pretty simular as Yamaha’s P-45 digital piano which has similar build and features. You won’t be able to tell the difference if both variants are placed side by side, as it is. However, the P71 is Amazon exclusive comes with a reduced price tag than P45. 

Competition

If you're confused whether P71 has a lead over other pianos, we got you! Let's compare it with it's rivals.

Yamaha P71 vs P45

P45 is another beginner digital pianos from Yamaha. It's safe to say P45 is the bigger brother of P71.  Both variants has similar features. It comes with the same 88 Key Keyboard and the same sound samplings, same settings and sound tone.

The only difference we could see between these two is the pricing difference. P45 is slightly expensive. You could find P45 in your local musical instrument store, but P71 is Amazon exclusive only! 

In conclusion, both variants are same and suitable for beginners!

Yamaha P71 vs P115

P115 is for beginners and intermediate users. It has Intelligent Acoustic Control whereas the P71 has Dual Mode. While P71 sounds amazing, P115 produces much better sound. 

Polyphony is 192 on P115 while the other has only 64. The keys are much smoother than P71. However, P71 is alot more affordable. 

Conclusion

Overall, the Yamaha P71 comes across as an ideal digital piano for beginners and those who want to use such a device casually or for learning at his/her own pace. It has many things to recommend it for beginners.

You will find its compact yet durable build enticing and same can be said about its weighted keyboard that offers amazingly good experience.

P71 advantages outshines the few drawbacks in final analysis.

Our Score

About the Author Wendell A Wiese

I'm the lead researcher and content manager at PianoNadu. I test various different digital pianos and share our unbiased reviews here. We test them on various different aspects and make sure it passes our quality criteria. During my college years, I was a part of my college band known as DMT. I was the Pianist in our band. My love for playing the piano grew during middle school. Read more about me here

2 comments
Kenny says October 21, 2019

Hi. How do I get this other than from Amazon? Because Amazon doesn’t deliver in my town. Thanks a ton mate.

    Wendell A Wiese says October 31, 2019

    Hey Kenny, You can ship it to your friend’s address in another state/city and ask them to re-ship it to your address. You can also use services like Borderlinx or myUS. Thanks!

Comments are closed