The Yamaha P-45 is an 88-key digital piano with built-in speakers and ten quality sounds. It has two pianos, two electric pianos, two organs and two harpsichords along with strings and vibraphone. The P-45 digital piano is the least expensive Yamaha P-Series keyboard. It is an excellent starter piano for students, and can also be satisfying for more experienced players.

Yamaha P-45 Keyboard Sounds

The two most important aspects of any electronic keyboard are sound and action. First, the sound. The P-45 features a technology called Advanced Wave Memory. AWM sampling uses waveforms that are recorded using two separate microphones. The result is detailed sound across all of its timbres. Grand pianos ring, jazz organs chirp, and strings caress.

A good source is important to good sound, but so is quality amplification. The Yamaha P-45 has a pair of 4 1/2” full-range speakers and a stereo power amplifier with a six-watt output per side. It fills a bedroom, dorm room or living room with rich, satisfying keyboard sound. For an even more intense playing experience, it also has a 1/4” headphone output. The headphone output can also connect your Yamaha P-45 keyboard to an amplifier or a mixer.

88-Key Weighted Keyboard

The P-45 features Yamaha’s Graded Hammer Standard piano action. The term “graded” refers to the keyboard feeling heavier in its low register and lighter in the upper register.

This technology comes close to the feel of a real acoustic piano, so a student can easily move to an acoustic instrument. GHS technology appears on many of Yamaha’s more expensive electronic keyboards. The keyboard response can be customized to a player’s preference—it can be set to a fixed output level, or any of three other settings: soft, medium and hard. The P-45 even has a matte finish on its black keys that don’t get slippery during long practice sessions. Yamaha has packed a lot of design ideas into this attractively priced keyboard.

The Portable Yamaha P-45 Piano

Weighing only 25 lbs., the Yamaha P-45 is great for musicians on the move. It is less than 12 inches deep and barely 52 inches wide. It is about as portable as an instrument with a full-size piano keyboard could possibly be. The P-45 packs up and sets up in minutes.

MIDI and Other Features

The Yamaha P-45 music keyboard is designed for practice, personal enjoyment and performance, but it is equipped with a USB-to-Host output, which allows you use it with a computer. It can transmit on all 16 MIDI channels using the Function Button along with a keystroke.

Built-in reverb and chorus effects enhance the AWM samples. The reverb is perfect for the grand piano sounds, and the chorus gives just the right shimmer to the electric piano. Any of the sounds on the P-45 electric piano can be split into two equal regions of the keyboard, each set to the same pitch range. This is ideal for lessons. You can also layer any two sounds together to produce lush and complex textures. Its 64-note polyphony ensures against dropouts when playing arpeggios.

Practice Makes Perfect With the P-45 Metronome

The time signature, tempo and volume of the metronome are all adjustable. You can transpose the Yamaha P-45 keyboard to any pitch, and you can fine-tune its overall pitch if, for instance, you need to play with a recording that is outside of A=440 tuning. Its Auto Power Off function saves energy by turning the instrument off if it isn’t played for 30 minutes.

What’s in the Box

The Yamaha P-45 digital piano comes with an AC power supply, sustain pedal, music rest and an owner’s manual.