As the flagship of Yamaha’s portable digital pianos, the P-515 is awaited with high expectations—and rightly so, as it incorporates a great deal of Clavinova technology. The successor to the P-225, the Yamaha P-515 boasts an elegant design and a wealth of convenient features.
Weighing in at 22 kilograms, the Yamaha P-515 is one of the heavier portable pianos. Yet, its modern design allows for a sleek and elegant appearance, even when paired with the optional stand and triple-pedal lyre. The largest model in the P Series, it features a unique aesthetic with a mix of matte and gloss plastic elements, a wood-look accent bar behind the keyboard, and distinctively shaped side panels. It is available in both black and white.
Accessories include a simple sustain pedal and music stand. A key highlight of the P-515 is its Natural Wood X (NWX) keyboard, also featured in the Clavinova CLP-645 home piano—a first for the P series. For live performance, the stereo jack output, MIDI in/out ports, and auxiliary input are valuable additions. However, pianists will have to get used to the external power supply.
Among the 40 sounds available on the P-515, eleven belong to the piano category. At its core are high-quality stereo samples from the Yamaha C7 and CFX concert grand pianos, as well as from a Bösendorfer Imperial. A generous 256-note polyphony matches the full depth and detail of the high-resolution piano sounds.
The C7, in all its variations, is a versatile choice for pop and rock. The CFX, on the other hand, offers a highly dynamic concert grand with a full-bodied, powerful sound—perfect for solo performances. The Bösendorfer has a distinct character: It excels in delicate pianissimo passages and truly shines in intimate moments, yet remains equally expressive and dynamic when played with fortissimo intensity.
This is where the keyboard’s perfectly tailored dynamic response and overall quality truly stand out. The NWX keyboard, with wooden cores for the white keys, is finely balanced and includes a let-off simulation. However, the slight let-off point in the key travel and the triggering of the sound are not always perfectly synchronized. That said, this minor drawback is outweighed by the realistic key feel: The Ebony/Ivory Feel keytops also provide a comfortable grip.
The built-in 2-way speaker system (2 × 15 W and 2 × 5 W) with four speakers is impressive: In terms of sonic depth, the P-515 can hold its own against smaller CLP models. It delivers a well-balanced, clear, and distortion-free sound.
A special feature for headphone users is binaural sampling, which has been applied specifically to a version of the CFX grand piano sound. Recorded with specialized microphones on the original instrument, this technique creates an immersive sense of space when listening through headphones.
The Yamaha P-515 offers 30 additional main sounds, including electric pianos—such as Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and DX7—along with various organ sounds (electric and church), harpsichord, clavinet, vibraphone, strings, choirs, synth pads, acoustic and electric bass, and nylon and steel-string guitars. The overall sound quality ranges from good to excellent, with some, like the strings, even sampled in stereo.
Additionally, the P-515 includes a General MIDI 2-compatible sound module with Yamaha’s signature 480 XG voices and 18 drum kits. While primarily intended for playing onboard GM2 songs, these sounds do not match the richness of the 40 main voices.
For a flexible playing experience, you can freely combine the split and layer functions. This allows you, for example, to assign a bass to the left hand and a piano-strings combination to the right. The split point is fully adjustable to suit your needs. Of course, the “Duo” mode for four-handed playing is also available.
Next to a master reverb with eight adjustable types and a chorus with three variations, a separate effects block provides twelve additional effects. These include delays, rotary speaker simulations, phasers, and distortion, two of which can be applied simultaneously to a maximum of three layered keyboard sounds. For overall sound shaping, the P-515 also includes a 3-band EQ with three presets, one user-defined setting, and a sound boost function.
The Yamaha P-515 offers an extensive range of features for practicing and learning: a metronome, a 16-track MIDI recorder, and 50 classic practice pieces, with the option to practice the left and right-hand parts separately. A valuable addition for playing along or jamming is the ability to play MIDI files and audio songs in WAV format from a USB stick or iPad through the piano’s sound system. You can also record your performances as either audio or MIDI files.
A standout feature of the P-515 is its 40 preset drum rhythms, spanning genres like pop, rock, jazz, and world music. You can also add a bass accompaniment to the drum beats, which adapts to the chords played. Both the rhythm function as well as external audio sources can be used to record and create new WAV files.
Back to the piano: Yamaha has grouped all the settings related to grand piano sounds in the Piano Room menu, which has its own dedicated control button. In addition to tuning settings, brilliance control, velocity (with five dynamic curves plus a ‘Fixed’ option), and reverb effects, the ‘Lid’ parameter simulates the effect of an open, half-open, or closed grand piano lid on the sound.
Yamaha’s Virtual Resonance Modeling (VRM) technology handles the string resonance simulation. This allows you to adjust the intensity of string, damper, and cabinet resonances, including the effects of aliquot resonance from the higher strings that vibrate by resonance. You can also fine-tune the key-off effect and the half-pedal function for the sustain pedal. While the included FC4A sustain pedal doesn’t support half-pedaling, the triple-pedal lyre or the optional Yamaha FC3A sustain pedal does.
The control panel of the P-515 is very similar to that of the CLP-600 series. You can adjust all settings through this interface without having to rely on the piano keys. However, many parameters are somewhat difficult to access. For example, pressing the “Dual/Split” button once lets you select the sounds for a layer; pressing it twice brings you to the split menu; press it three times, and both layer and split are activated simultaneously.
It is also somewhat inconvenient to search for the brilliance setting via the Piano Room display. However, there is an alternative: In addition to the USB-to-host connection for the computer or network integration via the optional wireless LAN adapter DU-WL01, the P-515 also supports Bluetooth.
For even more intuitive operation, you can use the free Smart Pianist app to control the Yamaha P-515 from an Apple tablet. Adjusting the Piano Room settings, as well as splitting and layering sounds, becomes much more convenient this way.
The practice pieces definitely benefit from a notation display on the tablet. Moreover, you can play audio songs from an iPad or other mobile device through the piano’s speakers via Bluetooth. A remarkable feature of the Smart Pianist app is its ability to analyze audio songs and generate an automated lead sheet with chord symbols. You can even adjust the playback tempo and pitch as needed. The Smart Pianist app takes playing, practicing, and learning with a digital piano to a new level.
Unfortunately, the Android version of the Smart Pianist app does not yet support instrument control. However, Yamaha has already implemented this feature for the CSP series pianos, which rely entirely on tablet operation since they have no built-in controls. So, Android users with a P-515 can still hold out hope.
As a digital piano under $2,000, the Yamaha P-515 brings a new level of quality to the P-Series. Its acoustic grand piano sounds offer top-tier sound quality, dynamic range, and detailed nuances. The keyboard also meets the highest standards. Additional features make the P-515 a great option for players who occasionally want to use it on the go. However, you will need to accept its relatively heavy weight, due in part to the high-quality keyboard and, not least, the powerful speaker system. In a home environment, the modern design of this portable piano truly stands out. Despite its plastic casing, the Yamaha P-515 catches the eye with its well-thought-out visual accents.
Release date: September 2018
Keyboard: 88 keys, Natural Wood X (NWX)
Polyphony: 256 voices
Tone generation: AWM2, sampled sounds
Included accessories: Power supply, music stand, sustain pedal
Special features: 2-way speaker system, 50 practice songs, 40 rhythms
Manufacturer/Distributor: Yamaha
Henrik Bruns
The acoustic grand piano sounds offer top-tier sound quality, dynamic range, and detailed nuances. Likewise, the keyboard meets the highest standards.
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