Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Yamaha P-515 avaliable stock

I'm always at least a year, often longer, behind the curve in purchasing the newest model.

I was all set to buy one for the few miscellaneous jazz gigs I'm doing. My seven year old CP4 is still fine, in good shape-- action, electronics. But just wanted to upgrade.

So I called Sweetwater, Kraft, Guitar Center and a few other of the typical vendors.

They all had the same story, availability maybe Dec., IF I put in my order now.

I guess I could buy one partially used through somewhere like Reverb but I'd prefer having new, unless it was an open box.

If anyone might have a line on one in stock, please let me know.

Crazy times.

Don't want to dismiss P515, but have you tried it by yourself? You haven't found action to be too heavy, especially compared to CP4?

I've played it on a few occasion, although it's been awhile but no, I felt it feeling closer to a grand then my CP4.

I highly preferred it to the CP88.

I have a P-515 on order. As near as I can tell, they are out of stock nationwide.

It will be interesting to see how long the piano manufacturers can hold the line on prices. I hear that the shipping fee for a 40 foot container (40 x 8 x 8.5 ft) from Shanghai to Los Angeles is around US $10,000 and headed higher, possibly much higher. $10,000 is about a 500% increase from pre-pandemic shipping costs.

The price of lumber is up around 300% as well. We just got a jaw dropping bid of 52K to replace the original hardwood floors in our 1928 1742 square foot house.

I found a white P-515 at a retailer in the 'burbs of Chicago advertised on Reverb. Really a nice and helpful guy on the phone at the store but I just can't do white though.

But yes, I've called literally everyone ! The same story--Nov. or Dec. a couple of them said maybe Oct.

I just saw a P515 new in a box. Not sure how if it is still available, in Bangor Maine. Don’t even know if they ship.

Knapps music center.

Good luck.

Thanks, I contacted him. He said it has been out the floor for awhile and he'd check into cost to ship and get back to me. I haven't heard back yet.

But after playing the YC88 at the Pasadena GC, I'm sort of leaning towards the CP88 for live stuff. There are a few in the GC chain in stock in LA.

I'm paying a premium price for it, actually the Nord Grand which I also was considering, with my good price is only just under a couple hundred more with tax and ship.

I haven't been able to track down a NG anywhere in LA to check it out again but the more I listen to demos and take everything I know about Nord into consideration, being a former owner, the more hesitant I am to take a leap of faith on the NG.

The CP88 is the conservative choice but also a pretty safe bet for live stuff.

I really like mine Dave. Just works, completely intuitive.

In addition to the CFX I also appreciate the presence of the old CF-IIIS sample (which I play quite a lot), the C7, the new C3 Nashville and the others. In my opinion they've messed the Bosendorfer up a bit compared to P-515; it's like a different piano sample actually but it still has certain elements that make it useable.

I have owned the P-515 and I prefer the CP88. I don't find the action lighter as a matter of fact. Some people have claimed it's lighter but I feel all the Yamaha NW types are very meaty when compared with some others. I'd actually like it to be a tad lighter than it is.

Good luck if you go ahead with the CP88 - let us know what you think when you've had a few hours to get to know it.

Steve thanks.

Hey, in stock at Guitar Center right now

I will have a P515 for sale shortly . . . North of England!

Where ? Not in LA, I was just in the Sherman Oaks store yesterday playing the CP88 (which I was this close to buying but restrained myself for the time being...lol) and the Pasadena store playing the YC88. I asked about the P515 at both locations. None in stock at any GC and none on the radar expected to arrive soon.

Hi Dave. First post here! I’ve been eyeing the CP88/YC88/P515 myself (online so far). Slowly getting back into playing after 20 or so years. Long story. Anyway I was very curious about your thoughts/comparisons of the YC vs the CP since you were able to try out both. I doubt I’ll be able to find any locally to try but we do have a local guitar center. The inventory last time I was there was pretty weak so not expecting much. Having those drawbars on the YC would be a nice extra but not sure if it’s really worth the extra $$$. Reading through yours and other’s posts here have been very helpful so thanks in advance!
-Grant

Hi Grant. Coming from acoustic piano, I find the P515 to be a closer playing experience that emulates a grand. However for live group playing, I feel the CP88 is better, weighing a bit less and the frequencies of the CFX sample would be more clear on stage when competing for sonic space with drums, bass and maybe a guitar and horns.

The CFX sample is brighter and more digital sounding through my Senn HD650 phones on the CP88. I hear the P515 as easier on the ears and less jarring. However through my higher end live stage monitor system, which consists of a pair of RCF TT-08As and a JMK Audio JM-110 di/pre amp, that brightness of the CP88 very well might be tempered a bit.

I refuse to play organ so that feature on YC88 is moot for me, plus it's an extra $500. And I do prefer the ergonomics of the control panel of the CP88 over the YC88. I've been told the YC has more "other sounds" which again is meaningless to me, since I only play jazz piano and no pop or rock.

It's a personal choice for home use, I don't think you could go wrong with either. If you're going to play classical music, I feel the overall player connection of the P515 lends itself better to it. For me having the speakers, even though they're not of high quality on the P515, would be a major selling point. I've always been a fan of having that tactile feed back from onboard speakers, no matter what the quality. But on the other hand, most people end up up buying studio monitors, or gigging type speakers for whatever keyboard they get anyway.

Yes it's slim pickings at the GCs here in LA too. But the good thing is, they have the 45 day return policy with a no restock fee. Even if you buy from say Sweetwater you have to pay ship back. I would say if you have no intention of using the organ, definitely get the CP88 and save $500.

Hope that helps and good luck with it.

I thought the CP88 dusted the CP4 when I tried it. The CP4 doesn't have enough tonal sustain for my classical repertoire. The CP88 CFX patch would be suitable for cutting through a mix, but the Bodendorfer Imperial patch would be what cuts the mustard for classical repertoire, and I'd think it would excel for jazz solos. (On the P-515 the CFX was superior all the way around).

It would be an extra device to haul, but you also could consider a Dexibell SX7 rack which you could load up with one or two of the platinum pianos (Yamaha for ensemble playing, Steinway D, Bechstein or Fazioli as a 2nd option for solos). Two platinum samples fills sample memory. Then you could just use the CP4 as a controller.

The CP4 was not even being discussed. ...except briefly mentioned in my OP.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply Dave. This is extremely helpful. Since slowly getting back to playing I want to focus mainly on jazz so only interested in the acoustic piano aspect and to a lesser degree rhodes sounds. The YC “other sounds” would probably never get played. Through different posts on here I’ve gotten the impression the EP’s were better on the CP than the 515. I suppose that’s due to the FX capabilities. But the 515 has more realistic acoustic so I guess it’s a trade off. The fact that there’s no real supply of the 515 may make the CP the easy choice. Was the lack of speakers what kept you from pulling the trigger on the CP? Reason I ask is I’d mostly be playing through headphones. By the way, since you mentioned playing jazz I checked out your SoundCloud. Impressive playing to say the least! And even more impressive is the composing. Thanks again.

You said that you were considering an upgrade of a CP4 to a CP88. I was mentioning that I would consider it to be a significant upgrade.

No, I'm having second thoughts because I'm not gigging as frequently right now and I'm already fortunate to have probably the best digital for home money can buy at this juncture.

My aforementioned CP4 is still very functional for my purposes and in some ways, I still prefer the less digital sound of it over the CP88, although I do agree the CP88 is an upgrade in other areas such as a tighter action (mine has seen seven years of consistent use), a more even sound in the higher registers, and probably would be more clear and present, even in a more quiet acoustic jazz trio context. Plus I'm also considering upgrading my RCF TT08-As to the second generation MKIIs, which would be more dough.

And the big pause -- I'm having a major filing of the hammers on my D, hopefully next month, if he can fit it in before his commitment as head tech to the Colburn School starts up again.

It's a highly labor intensive job and requires the action being taken out and transported to his shop in Downtown LA, where he estimated a full three days work and then a full day of regulation at my studio once it's back in. So it will be quite a large expenditure but it highly needs to be done as my piano is losing some of its luster and richness in the tone. Plus the action is getting noisy and sloppy. Actually the action on my 6 month old AG N3X feels tighter. After fifteen years and an average of 2-3 hours practice everyday, even though I have a relatively light touch, it's a lot of cumulative hours and a lotta notes. Basically, it's time.

Hey thanks for the nice words, greatly appreciated.