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Yamaha P105 Unboxing (& On-Stage KS7150 Stand)

As promised, an unboxing of our P105. Got the white one from Kraft Music with bag, free shipping, no tax, ~$530 USD. Got the KS7150 stand from B&H Photo Video, free shipping, no tax, ~$50 USD.


Figure 01. Here is the box on our den floor. Don't put your foot on it! I think that's on there as a warning to UPS, as the box our NX arrived in a couple of years ago looked like someone had kicked it in (perhaps in a jealous rage?).


Figure 02. Box opened. Very nicely packed, I can't really complain (about the packing anyway). Wall wart and pedal are there off to the right.


Figure 03. DP removed, the flat box in the bottom holds the manual and music rest.


Figure 04. Stuff in the box: pedal, wall wart, music rest. Not shown is the manual. Pedal is cheap 100% plastic, but at least it is hinged and has a rubber bottom (I've seen worse).


Figure 05. An underside view with the bag behind. This is a very interesting view IMO because you get to see the speakers, and you also see the quite deep ruts in the plastic that make the bottom rigid in order to support the key mechanism. This unfortunately also raises the key height (more on that later) and prevents you somewhat from using a stand that might obscure the speakers. On the plus side, the ruts are natural hand-holds that make it easy to pick up.


Figure 06. The "bundle" bag. It's really not bad. I haven't stuck the P105 in there yet but it looks like it will easily fit without swimming around too much. The outer pockets have two compartments, too bad they aren't a little wider as the music rest doesn't quite fit in there.


Figure 07. Here they are, together at last. The width of the stand is adjustable, and this is as wide as I can make it without obscuring the speakers underneath. Seems pretty stable, though a bit too high (see below).


Figure 08. The KS7150 feet can extend quite far out, and if you undo the thumbscrews most of the way they can go quite far in. Unfortunately the legs themselves will only shorten things so far - I think they are a bit too long as the stand is at 25" with the legs all the way in (upper left).

Since I didn't think we would ever need the stand any higher than the lowest it could go, I went out to the local hardware store and bought 4 1" rubber feet, along with some 1" fender washers (middle). Placing a fender washer in the bottom of the foot before installing it (right) should keep the leg tube from eventually piercing through.


Figure 09. The leg inserts and thumbscrews. 2+ lbs of stuff I won't need to schlepp anywhere. Stuck them back in the cardboard stand box for safekeeping in the attic.


Figure 10. Relative key heights for our RD-700NX on the Quick-Lok W550 stand (left), our Young Chang grand piano (middle), and P105 on the KS7150 stand (right). The P105 keys are really high due to the plastic rut stiffeners on the bottom. Too bad the KS7150 doesn't go lower.

Epilog
Speakers really don't sound too bad, especially for the price. A subwoofer would help fill out the low end.

Has anyone experienced the damper pedal suddenly reversing sense while playing? I think this happened today. Uh oh.

Thanks for the write-up and pics dewster!

What are your/your wife's plans for this new board, may I ask?

Cheers,
James
x

This is the piano studio of the 21st century. I am commencing Project 'Gyro', a mission to see how well Beethoven's most difficult piano sonatas can be played on the glorious P-105. I am starting with Sonata No. 13 and will post a video.



Note the ultra modern stand which is much too short in length and the piano hangs about 13 inches off each end.



Unfortunately, the Williams Overture was a tragic failure and is residing in a landfill as we speak. Gyro's vision could not be realized but I think the P-105 will succeed. In fact, I am predicting that Roland will be in such a panic over the spectacular capabilities of the P-105 that they will ship me a V-Grand free of charge to stop the embarrassment.

I look forward to it. To dewster, congrats on your wife´s piano. I've read the P105 is a step up from P95, which was in turn a step up from the P85, which was my former piano.

Knock around board, vacations and such, and I suppose to show her students who don't have a DP something on the low end.

Hopefully she'll be able to talk the tiny church she plays keyboard at on Sundays into buying one, then she'll be able to practice at home on the same thing she plays out.

I believe a larger sample set and better sympathetic resonance would have made this a must-have board for a lot of people. As it is it is simply a bit better than other offerings at this price, which isn't saying a whole lot. And it's pretty light, which IS saying a whole lot.

Very good post. Very complete in details. Typical from you, dewster

I only hear about changing polarity on pedals while turning on the DP. But never while playing.

I am sure there is something you can do to reduce the height of the stand. Nothing that a chainsaw can't fix

Dewster,
I've never had a pedal polarity reversal during play. As Daniel mentions, you do have to be careful not to press the pedal at turn on.

I have 3 stands (2 "X", and an Onstage table stand similiar to the one that you received with your kb) and gave up on trying to get them low enough and purchased the L85 stand. It's just right for the P105, but it's not very good looking and probably won't be handy for gigs (the stand attaches to the kb with 4 screws).

BTW, I didn't realize the 105 had speakers on the bottom and marveled at the nice sound it produced from what I thought were only the 2 small speakers on top. Didn't notice the bottom speakers until I got underneath the kb to attach the stand screws.

I'm ok with my 105, the action could be better and the tone could be brighter but for the weight and the price I'm well satified.

I understand the polarity recognition at power-up (to be able to use any pedal regardless of polarity). We turned it on and my wife was playing for a few minutes, then the polarity suddenly reversed. This has happened in the past with the (pretty much a toy, though it wasn't marketed as such) Yamaha my wife plays at church, and requires a power cycle to clear. The P105 takes longer to power up before it makes sounds, so it is potentially more problematic. I'll certainly post again if it happens again.

Best of luck with your prediction!

Hi Dewster!

White is expetacular!

....At least I've understood what mean the letter b after P105 ^^

good playing dewster!

Waldsein and Pathetique. wanna hear them . . . .I attempted both on my ole CLP820. The difficulty was unfortunately, not with the piano. But I wouldn`t admit to it then . . .

I think the white look is pretty nice too, probably better than the black, though it's harder to keep clean. For -$70 USD white looks great!

StarvingLion, could you please start your own thread for your Project 'Gyro'?

I know I'm as guilty as anyone for semi-OT posting but, other than employing a P105, your project has nothing to do with this unboxing thread.

Gyro had his own unique opinions, but I don't recall him/her ever making another poster the butt of a joke.

I think the white is elegant. If you do not plan on using a dust cover when this sits, just keep some moist wipes around and stay on top of the dust. A combination of moisture and dust, (and oil if the kitchen is close by), can create a layer of grime that is almost ink-like once you try to wipe it off if left to accumulate too long. It will still come off but it may need a stronger chemical and over time this could wear off lettering or accents.

It is unfortunate that Yamaha doesn't include the FC5 pedal with the P-105. They have a relatively decent build quality and weight. If I am not mistaken there seems to be a metal housing in its construction. You might as well buy the FC4 ($19 @ Amazon) or something comparable and skip the FC5 ($13 @ Amazon) if replacing this stock pedal, IMO.

Yeah, you should consider getting a better pedal. I bet your wife will appreciate a more realistic pedal. Unless she really is happy with that pedal?

Hi Dewster, I dont want to rain on your parade but I hope you have a chance to play the ES100 before your return period is up on the P105. I recently bought a P105 and now regret after a month with it. I had a chance to play ES100 it it is such a cut above for short money for a portable, action and sound. [Action is soooo much better that alone is worth it.] I can't wait to purchase one soon. Im only telling you this because you seem to be a very advanced player. Hope Im helping and Im not jerking you around. Im almost embarrassed to say it but seriously, return it while you can.



....and that too!

My wife is the real piano player in the house (I made it through an adult method book years back, acoustic guitar is what I do best musically). The ES100 is 33 lbs, a bit more than I'd like to carry around. But I'll keep an eye out for one locally to try out if I can. Thanks!

We do have a better pedal, and intend to use that instead. Bought an FC5 a long time ago and never really used it. Bought a switchable polarity higher quality generic (M-Audio?) pedal that has gotten tons of use (and some repair). Thanks!

You got what Im saying... just try it out if you can. I wish I had the chance to try the ES100 before I messed around with the P105 and PX350. Thats all. Now I see what I was missing

We have an RD-700NX in our studio, so I'm acutely aware of what is missing in the P105!

Looking at the manual, the voices are too fiddly to pick on the ES100 (it needs more dedicated voice buttons and/or some kind of display). I'm holding off on Kawai until (if/when) they offer something unlooped. HI just doesn't cut it for me.

The P105 is on knock-around duty, nothing too serious or demanding. For a primary DP I'd look elsewhere (and in the current market hold off for as long as I possibly could). The price and the weight are the primary selling features of the P105, though if the pedal polarity bug hits too often we'll dump it.