Yesterday I played the new Yamaha P515 (Page 1 of 2)

And?

I prefer yamaha CLP685

you are right

I have tested the 685 and, while it does have 3 sensors, is neither as fast a repeater nor is it as consistent through the whole register chromatically. Yamaha have evidently worked very hard on the latter aspects in the design and quality of materials and manufacture of this new board. Compare the CLP685 and P515 side by side and you'll see what I mean.

Yes, the speakers are helpful in the CLP, and it looks nice - agreed, but on a purely mechanical and action setup basis, the 515 wins hands down!

Warmest Regards,

Chris

Yes, the Roland FP90's PHA50 keybed IS very good, and at one point I tried it in the Japanese furniture piano they make which, to me at that time, was the best for repetition. But, I find the P515 to be easier in this regard. At least try a side by side if in the market for a new slab.

Warmest Regards,

Chris

The model is quite interesting

I have one question :

Is this kind of piano "steady" ? I mean, is it heavy enough to not "shake" while playing ? Or you still have to "wedge" it ?

Seemed steady to me.   I do not "pound" on it.

I want to try the P515 out.  I have a nice Clavinova that I bought new 12 years ago, but I wonder if the action has gotten better since then.

Sound doesn't really matter to me, because I just plug into Pianoteq all the time!

Hi Guys,
I own a Roland RD2000 which for me is great (so easy when using Pianoteq and Ravenscroft 275).

I tried the P515 recently and was so impressed with the quality of piano generally.
I don't feel qualified to comment on the keyboard side of it (more of an organ player) but it felt good to me.
What really impressed me was the casing with the smooth edges and quality construction.
It feels like a really well made quality product.
From a non players perspective, it's a lovely piece of furniture.

Which leads me onto the issue of sound quality. I never find the lower registers of any digital piano to sound
that great. e.g. play two c's an octave apart on the lower section of the keyboard and most digital piano's
rarely have that depth I hope to hear. I even read on one Forum about a guy who owned a Yamaha CSP170
(£2,500+) and had to purchase a seperate active subwoofer to get that depth I referred to.

With my RD2000, I use a pair of Q.Acoustic Concept 20's on stands pointing directly at the playing position
and a wharfedale SW150 active subwoofer (soon to be upgraded) with a Cambridge audio CXA60 stereo amp.
I cannot stress enough about using good amplification and speakers (particularly for 'home only' players).
The sounds/samples in all digital pianos (and VST's/Pianoteq) are of such a high standard that they are crying out
for decent equipment to play them on. Should funds be limited, something similar to this might be an option.

https://www.richersounds.com/acoustic-e...ystem.html

Chris

Hi Chris,
I also have a pair of KEF LS50's and had a pair of stands made for them that hold the LS50's at head hight when playing. I have yet to try them out as my Concept 20's are doing such a good job.
You've just got to give them a try, especially with the Arcam amp. That's serious hi-fi you got there. I use a pair of jack to phono leads to connect my RD2000 to the Cambridge CXA60 amp, not sure what you'll need in the way of cables though.
Good luck and please let us know how it sounds.
Chris

Ok,

So, today my Yamaha P515WH arrived.

Have set it all up and intend to put it through it's paces soon. I'll let you know my thoughts,

Warmest regards,

Chris

Hi all (especially P515 w/ Pianoteq owners / players)

I am now able to play "off the jack" with my current velocity curve settings. If anyone is interested in the settings, let me know and I'll post them along with a demo and .fxp.

Am loving the P515. It is really smooth to play. One thing I must say that really stands out in my opinion is the ease with which I can play right to the back off the keys. It's wonderful. And again, it is beautifully constructed and the keys beautifully balanced. This is definitely the best board I have ever owned. I would highly recommend to anyone who wants a superior quality action and skillfully crafted slab.

Warmest regards,

Chris

Dear rjawad1

I am sorry to hear you weren't happy with the P515. Personally I'm delighted with it. It's a shame you didn't try it with Pianoteq as I've been working hard on optimizing a velocity curve. I've been getting great results. Admittedly I don't use the onboard sounds. Instead I use the P515 as a Pianoteq controller so the internal sounds are not all that important to me. I'm not over keen on Yamaha sounds either to be frank. When the velocity curve is correctly adjusted, it makes such a difference. I know the dynamic range of the P515's internal curve(s) isn't(aren't) that piano-like.

I think you might like the Casio Hybrid series. If you haven't already done so, maybe give them a whirl?

As for any owners of a P515, I'll post more on my current velocity curve settings soon if anyone is interested.

Warmest regards,

Chris

What is wrong with the default velocity-mapping of a Yamaha P515 in conjunction with Pianoteq?

Hello sigasa,

I meant playing the factory-default velocity of the P515 with the default ("1:1") mapping of Pianoteq: What is the character of the response then?

If something is wrong in one's opinion then, it can be worked-around by remapping the velocity in Pianoteq itself or some third party mapper, like Cantabile or other.

Interesting, your description matches qualitatively my old Kawai. Since Pianoteq v5 I try to correct that velocity-response with a correspondent remapping:

Some problems seem to persist over years in digital piano technology

I wonder if 2 -3 key-sensors always produce this unbalanced velocity, when sensor-speed is  just 1:1 converted to velocity.

Do we have another parallel? Is the output-velocity limited to about 100 - 105 in the Yamaha P515 factory-default? (not hitting the keys insanely)

Yes, it is difficult with the default curve in the P515 to hit 127

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0C2wa...p=drivesdk

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0C2wa...p=drivesdk

Curve a.   0.44 enhance and min. out 2
Curve b.   0.11 expand
Lid            0.96
P515        Soft 1 touch curve

These are my current velocity curve settings. Feel free to try them and comment

Warmest regards

Chris

Hmm, you stacked 3 curves/remappings (Yamaha's unknown "Soft 1" curve, Cantabile's S-shaped curve and a homeopathic "expander curve").

You could stack dozens of curves, but the same result can always be achieved with one single Pianoteq remapping and the instruments factory default touch response. I guess you are aware of this and have other reasons to make it that complicated ...

It would be more helpful for P515-owners in my opinion, if you would share a single Pianoteq remapping based on the keyboards  factory defaults.

Arbitrary syntax example: Velocity = [18, 98, 127; 0, 112, 127]

Some other questions:
Does a touch response setting like "Soft 1" survive a powercycle of the P515?
Is the shape of internal curves (like Soft1) published by Yamaha?

Thanks for your informations, sigasa!

When Cantabile can't export the velocity-map itself, you could print the diagram with a size of 128 mm x 128 mm on paper. With a ruler each point on the curve can be determined.

Not all 128 pairs are required, 10 - 15 points should be enough.

I too have recently purchased the P-515, and like the action very much. I agree though - the initial movement from rest is not always as buttery smooth as my old Kawai MP9000 (similar action design as many current Kawai models), but it's not bad enough to bother me.  A long time ago I had a DP with an action that exhibited that problem to a much greater degree, and yes - that DID bother me. 
Not sure whether anyone answered re: the internal audio interface - it definitely can be used with VSTs - there is a low latency Steinberg ASIO driver for it - I forget where I found it - presumably on the Yamaha site somewhere but I'm not 100% sure. Not sure how well it works with ASIO4ALL - I just use the proper driver.

The internal speakers sound very good to me, but much brighter than with headphones. I like bright piano sounds, so that might be why I like the speakers.

Greg.

I'm so glad you guys like your P515's!

I love mine too, though still working hard on a suitable velocity curve. Have just upgraded from Cantabile Solo2 to Solo3 (much cheaper to upgrade than buy outright ; )

I really like the ebony and ivory simulation (and of course, the wooden embedded white keys) on this board. Perhaps the escapement could have been more definite, but overall am very pleased with my choice of keys, and I must say, beautifully constructed.

Warmest regards,

Chris

Greg,

For me, the sound is best with earphones but still quite good with the new studio monitors.  I play mostly with headphones (nobody should have to listen to practising) but I like to play 'out loud' at least a bit each day.  I play classical music almost exclusively. 

Can you explain what you mean by 'bright' ?

Are you using primarily the internal sound of the p515 or Pianoteq?

I'm an absolute newb at this and still trying to figure out what EQ even does.  I have no idea what I'm doing but it's a lot of fun.

Chris,  for somebody who's just interested in playing, is there any reason to add Cantabile to the mix?

And, final question, which Pianoteq pianos do you like?

Shosh

Greg,  yes, we are clearly looking for different sounds.  Which piano voice do you use?

Shosh