Geoff from geoffmobile.com does a detailed review of the Yamaha P-35 digital piano, after a brief mention of his Pilates class. (The Yamaha P-35 review starts at 0:51 in this video.)
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Links mentioned:
Parisian Thoroughfare jazz piano performance on Yamaha P-35:
geoffmobile.com/blog/parisian-thoroughfare-bud-powell-geoff-peters-solo-jazz-piano-performance-yamaha-p-35
Voyage jazz piano performance on Yamaha P-35:
geoffmobile.com/blog/yamaha-p-35-piano-demo-by-geoff-peters-yamaha-p-35b
Summary of review:
I bought this digital piano, Yamaha P-35 (which as of October 2014 is currently on sale for $499.99 CAD at both Tom Lee Music and Long and Mcquade music in Vancouver) because I was looking for a full length, full size 88 (weighted) key portable keyboard that would be light enough to carry around town, but also have a realistic and warm piano tone that would be suitable for jazz piano trio performances.
In combination with the Roland KC-350 amp, this keyboard produces a beautiful acoustic-like “Grand Piano” tone that is very refined and dynamic. The keyboard also has built-in speakers which are great for home use.
The only drawback of this keyboard is that it only has 32-voice Polyphony, which may make it less suitable for classical music if you are playing Debussy or other music with a lot of sustain pedal. However for Chopin or Bach it works just great.
The highlight of this keyboard besides the portability and light weight (~25 pounds light), is definitely the realistic acoustic piano keyboard feel + hammer action.
It plays with a very realistic piano touch which is suitable (in my opinion) for students learning to play piano of all ages, as well as advanced players who need a convenient and affordable keyboard to practice on at home or on the road.
I highly recommend this instrument – it is very similar in tone and touch to my former 70-pound Yamaha P90 keyboard (which incidentally cost almost 3 times as much 10 years ago!), but the P-35 with the similar quality and playing feel is so much easier to carry around weighing only ~25 pounds.
The built-in metronome in the P-35 also works very well and is convenient to use once you read the manual.
I also like the Electric Piano 2 sound which is similar to a classic Rhodes keyboard, also useful for jazz. The vibes (vibraphone) is also a classic and useful sound which I can use for solos with my band.
Many thanks to Yamaha for making an affordable and awesome all around piano keyboard. Now there is no excuse for anyone not to learn to play the piano ;) For about one month’s rent you can own your very own piano keyboard that is worthy of spending hours of practice and enjoyment.
For a short jazz piano demo video I recorded with the P-35 please visit: geoffmobile.com/blog/yamaha-p-35-piano-demo-by-geoff-peters-yamaha-p-35b
Important note: You can even increase the dynamic range of this piano further by using the “Hard” touch setting which allows you to create much more dynamic loud sounds when hitting the keyboard with more force (such as in a real acoustic instrument). For greater dynamic range and expressiveness in this recording, the P-35 piano’s “Touch Sensitivity” feature should be set to C3 – “Touch Sensitivity Hard” – please see page 10 of the P-35 Owner’s Manual to change this setting. I find this setting allows me to express myself with the piano better, similar to my old Yamaha P90 Stage Piano that I used for many years.
Cheers, and hope you enjoy this amazing and beautiful instrument.
Yours in music,
Geoff
p.s. When I do jazz piano trio gigs, I use the Yamaha P-35 in combination with my Roland Gaia SH-01 synthesizer to add additional variety in the solos and lead lines.
