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If you’re choosing your first digital piano, there’s a good chance the Yamaha P-145BT and P-225 are going to end up on your shortlist.
They’re both portable, both have a full 88-note weighted keyboard and both are designed to give you a proper piano-playing experience without needing a huge amount of space.
So which one should you actually buy?
For me, the answer comes down to what you need now, but also what you might want a year from now.
If you are a complete beginner and you simply want to learn piano, the P-145 gives you the most important foundation you need.
You get a full 88-note keyboard with Yamaha’s weighted GHC key action.
That means you’re learning on properly weighted keys rather than a lightweight keyboard, which is really important for developing your technique, finger strength and muscle memory.
For someone whose main goal is simply:
“I want to learn how to play the piano.”
The P-145BT makes loads of sense.
You might genuinely not
need anything more.
This is something that’s worth knowing because I think a lot of beginners would automatically assume the more expensive model must have better keys.
It doesn’t.
Both the P-145BT and P-225 use Yamaha’s GHC, or Graded Hammer Compact, keyboard action.
So if your main concern is having 88 weighted keys to learn on, you are getting that same basic foundation with either piano.
That makes the P-145BT a really strong option for a beginner who doesn’t feel they need loads of additional features.
This is where I think you need to start thinking slightly further ahead.
The P-225 gives you more sounds to experiment with, a more detailed and realistic piano sound and more connectivity.
It uses Yamaha’s CFX concert grand piano sound, whereas the P-145BT uses Yamaha’s CFIIIS piano sample.
You also get 24 voices on the P-225 compared with 10 on the P-145BT.
As a complete beginner, you might look at that and think:
“I only want to play piano. Why would I care?”
And honestly, you might not.
But once you’ve been learning for a while, you may start wanting to experiment a bit more.
You might want different sounds.
You might start playing along with other people.
You might want to perform.
You might even decide you want to take your piano out and gig with it.
That’s where the P-225 starts to make more sense.
This is probably the biggest reason I personally lean slightly towards the P-225.
It isn’t because the P-145BT isn’t good enough.
It absolutely is.
It’s more about asking yourself whether, in a year’s time, you’re going to start looking at the P-225 and wishing you’d gone for it in the first place.
Maybe you won’t.
But I do think it’s worth considering.
The P-225 gives you more opportunities to get creative as your playing develops, and its extra connectivity makes it a more flexible choice if you eventually want to perform.
For example, the P-225 has dedicated AUX outputs, which can become useful if you start connecting your piano to external speakers or other equipment.
That probably means absolutely nothing to you on day one.
A year or two down the line, it might.
Personally, I think yes, if your budget comfortably allows it.
Not because we want to push you towards the more expensive piano for the sake of it.
You genuinely do get more piano for your money.
The better piano sound, additional voices, extra connectivity and greater potential for performance all give you more room to grow into the instrument.
The difference might not feel hugely important while you’re learning your first few notes.
It could feel much more important once you become more confident and start getting creative with your playing.
For a complete beginner who wants to learn piano and doesn’t need anything beyond that, I would happily recommend the Yamaha P-145BT.
It gives you the full 88 weighted keys that I think are the perfect foundation for a beginner piano.
But if you can comfortably stretch to the P-225, that would be my choice.
Not because the P-145BT is lacking, but because the P-225 gives you more room to develop without immediately feeling like you want to upgrade.
Your future self might thank you for it.
And if you’re already playing something older and wondering whether either of these would make a good upgrade, it may be worth seeing what your current instrument is worth first. We take digital pianos and keyboards in part exchange, which can make moving up to something newer a lot easier.
If you’re still stuck between the two, come and try them side by side in our Banbury showroom or speak to the ePianos team. Sometimes five minutes actually sitting at both pianos makes the decision much easier.
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These items are sold on behalf of Yamaha, and are sent to us on a per-order basis, typically within 5-7 working days, unless an ETA is otherwise stated.
We'll contact you the moment your purchase arrives with us to organise delivery, based on your selected option.
Example products: Yamaha DGX670, Yamaha P-525, Yamaha YDP-S55, Yamaha Clavinova.
These items must be sent with a heavy-goods courier (typically APC or FedEx). On occasion, depending on which is fastest, we will drop-ship directly from Yamaha to your address via Dachser.
Tracking will be provided by the haulier, with a typical arrival time of 1-2 working days.
*If you have included the optional £180 "Yamaha Premium Service" home delivery & setup option offered on selected products, we will contact you regarding arrangements after purchase.
**The Yamaha CSP Series, Yamaha CVP905 & CVP909, Yamaha CLP875, 885 & 895GP, and Yamaha NU1Xa are all sold on behalf of Yamaha and arrive with us on a per-order basis. As soon as your piano has arrived, we will contact you to organise the appropriate dispatch method. ETA for stock is shown on the product page for those items.
***If you have included the optional £99 home delivery & setup option offered on selected products, we will send your details direct to the installation team, who will contact you within 48 hours to make arrangements.
Depending on which option is most appropriate, we will either contact you to discuss a bespoke ePianos delivery surcharge for goods we can’t package for a 3rd party courier, or otherwise dispatch goods via FedEx or APC.
If a courier is used, tracking will be provided by them directly, with a typical arrival time of 1-2 working days.
Example products: Yamaha PSR-SX920, Yamaha P-225, Yamaha NP-15.
These items will be sent via courier (typically APC or FedEx). On occasion, depending on which is fastest, we will drop-ship directly from Yamaha to your address via UPS or Parcelforce.
Tracking will be provided by the courier, with a typical arrival time of 1-2 working days.
Smaller items, such as books, discs, etc, will be dispatched via Royal Mail second class.
After purchase, you can download the file either from the order confirmation page or the "Downloads" tab in "My Account".
If you have selected the option to receive a pre-loaded USB stick, then this will be dispatched via Royal Mail.
We will contact you regarding any pre-ordered items, and let you know when they arrive so as to arrange delivery with you at a convenient time.
Used items can also be purchased using either of the following options (minimum loan amount of £250 after deposit):
Total amount payable: £893.32
Available finance options are displayed at checkout. Alternatively, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to discuss the options, or email a finance application to you. Find out more by clicking here
Our seasonal opening hours are as follows:
We are closed on all bank holidays, therefore the processing of sales and deliveries will be delayed.
For orders of any stock displaying a 7-10 day lead time, we will contact you as soon as the item arrives with us to schedule a delivery with you.
Occasionally, there may be availability issues with our suppliers, in which case we'll get in touch with you to see if you're happy to wait, or if you'd like to cancel the order and receive a full refund.
This is a special order "agency" item, and comes to us directly from Yamaha on a per-order basis.
It typically takes 7-10 days for this item to arrive with us, whereupon we'll contact you to discuss the arrangement of delivery.
For any pre-orders, we will contact you as soon as the item arrives with us to schedule a delivery with you, and update you with an ETA.
Occasionally, there may be availability issues with our suppliers, in which case we'll get in touch with you to see if you're happy to wait, or if you'd like to cancel the order and receive a full refund.
*Cashback amount varies product to product, as indicated.
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