Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Got my Yamaha P121 today, a short story

Hello, just want to share with you my story and my concern.
Like many of you, I care a lot about my instruments, especially those new ones. Well, after months of chasing down this specific DP, always out of stock from any shop here in Europe, I finally got my brand new Yamaha P121 today.
I bought it because I am "temporarily" living in this single private in a hostel/hotel, trying to look for an accommodation in the meanwhile, which seems impossible to find, but that's an other story.
This year, I was fed up of not being able to play piano, it has been like 6 months in total in the past year, so I needed to get something portable, not very expensive, and the Yamaha P121 is lighter and smaller compared to other DPs, just 73 keys.

So, today I went to the hostel/hotel reception to get my beloved Yamaha P121 and I found the box laying on the floor vertically at 90 degrees, laying on the smaller side...
I told the unintelligent girl at the reception: "This should not stay vertically" and she replied, with a smile: "Who knows!"
Then I said: "It's written on the box, you should have checked."

But besides the series of relatively small signs on the box, that she deliberately ignored, she was aware that there was a piano inside, in fact she was quite thrilled about seeing this uncommon thing being shipped.
Who is the genius person who thinks it is a good idea to leave such a long a box in that way, which is so likely to fall on the floor, also because the area where it was left is like a narrow corridor where the people from the staff often walk through?

Sometimes I am amazed at people's unawareness and superficiality, but this one really caught me unprepared. I knew it was going to arrive these days and I told the staff about a large box they were about to receive, but I didn't think about taking any extra precautions for handling the box since, you know, shipping may be already a stressful trip for an instrument. But this one was so explicitely painful to watch, plus no apologies whatsoever received for the mistake and the lack of care, just arrogance.

Anyway, the P121 works, I double checked every single key. It's nothing fancy, does its job. The speakers feels a bit like toys.
Do you think that, in principle, this may have damaged some keys? These instruments, with all the mechanics and weights inside are made to stay horizontally, not to stay vertically for 8 hours.

It's probably been sitting on its end in a warehouse for 6 months. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Congratulations Alfred on your new DP ..... sorry (but not surprised) to read about your run in with the daft & dumb du jour ignorant youngin .... lotta that going around and getting worse all the time but to be expected with so many generations being raised by the television and other bad influenc ...er, babysitters, teachers and the like.

The best way to confirm your DP survived it’s travels is to give it a good inspection while playing “ breaking it in” ( odd expression for a new DP, eh ? 🙂) for a few days and see / hear / feel how it goes.

The past few months here have brought tell of new owners of DPs, some quite expensive, that were delivered upside down, sideways and every which way including loose .... some did not survive but many have, seemingly, mostly if not fully intact.

Best wishes.

If it was an instrument with wooden keys, as the Kawai VPC1, I would be worried. But if you look at the GHS mechanism, there is no big problem on sitting over its side for probably long time. So, enjoy your new piano!

Hi guys, thank you for the support and understanding, I really needed it today. Also, I feel a bit more relieved about the keys. I am aware this is not the finest DP, but still, I was a bit worried. And maybe Yamaha thought about building keybeds which are stupid-proof.

In any case, I am planning to speak to the hotel manager one of these days, probably tomorrow.
I have low expectations but, since I pay good money for renting this room long term for several months so far, definitely more than an average rent in a shared apartment, I would expect at least a much more decent treatment as a customer.

Yamaha built that "stupid-proof" keyboard, in part, because it _knew_ that people would store it, for short periods, "on end", instead of in its proper position. So your DP has had a "ruggedness test" . . .

Everything works? Don't bother to complain to a manager.

And -- in your place -- I might tell the desk person that everything was OK.

If you get tired of the internal sounds don't forget one of the great features of the P121 is its built-in combined USB midi/audio. So if you have an iPhone it takes just one cord to play lots of software instruments and I have a collection of these on my site available for free including a couple of sets desiged specifically for the P121/125.
Downloadable from here https://sites.google.com/site/soundfonts4u/

Hi Charles, thanks for your message.
Luckily I had a series of issues ONLY with this specific person, and that awful "I don't really care" attitude, besides the piano situation. The other 4 people from the hotel staff have always been very helpful and positive about their job, as I was while I was working as a customer assistant in a shop while finishing the Uni.

Thanks for the advice, the P121 internal sounds are a bit plain indeed.

Thinkin' of the standing on it's end business; seems like a fine way to store a slab - any slab - if and when you buy an acoustic to usurp the imposter. So little space! You could have several, and when you tire of each, stack them end to end and hardly know they're there. . .

I don't think that storing a keyboard on its side is so unusual.

Here are a couple of examples:

Hi Jane, this is the rule of thumb I learned during the years about how to properly store DPs. Maybe there is some truth in it, or maybe is just a myth. Maybe the rule is true only for some types of DPs.
In this specific case, Yamaha thought it was a good idea to write on the box how to store and how not to store the DP.

Don't know where did you order it from but I wouldn't worry. Usually instruments such as these are deliberately packaged thoroughly to be able to sustain major punishment. Even if the outer cartbord is seemingly breached, in most cases the inner layers make sure nothing happens. You can throw the package on the floor and nothing will happen trust me, not even a scratch. The foam and fillers are just too good..



Look at this guy packing his keyboard. At the very end couple of seconds, you can see the keyboard slightly falling and nothing is impacted (to understand why watch the whole vid lol or don't waste your time and trust me). In your case the outer cartboard wasn't even breached and everything works 100% no visible signs of damage whatsoever.

What I do when I get a package like that before I open it I take pics of it, just to have proof of the condition I received it. In case the thing inside is already broken/has a problem/ something's missing/whatever I have a digitally signed visuals of what I received and how I received it. And it helps when communicating with the retailer in case something's wrong - it DID come in handy for me before.

A nine foot grand piano action has nothing in common with an entry level digital piano.

And by nothing I mean not a single part is alike. Not even a single screw.

It is a cheap keyboard that once it leaves the factory will stored on it's end, upside down, thrown around by delivery people, banged around in the back of a truck. You really think Yamaha would design a product where if it was stood on end in a protective box for 8 hours that would break it. If that was the case I am sure the majority of the keyboards they sold would be flooding back to them for repairs.

Also keyboards in their box are cumbersome and heavy. You really think the girl behind the desk unloaded the delivery van and brought it in and placed it there herself. I imagine the guy with the trolley just put it where she asked him to so it was there for when you went by. It isn't her job to carefully read the labels of all the boxes to ensure they are set a pleasing orientation for people. I bet they even have a sign saying they have no liability for packages received and that they do so at the customer's own risk.

Her only crime seems to be that you have decided she is unintelligent and despite the fact you say she smiled and was thrilled you were receiving a piano, you have taken her lighthearted comment as a sign that you have not been given enough respect your own apparently high sense of self entitlement makes you think you are owed.

Good luck with your complaint to the manager, I am sure he will be suitably placatory to your face, but nothing else is going to happen and will probably be completely self defeating as it sounds like you intend to be staying there for awhile.

When we replaced a Casio keyboard with a proper upright piano, my daughter commandeered the Casio for a while.

Once she left for college the Casio went into storage. It stood on end in the closet for years.

No harm. No damage.

My VPC1 was on end on a dolly when I picked it up from the piano store. It was fine.

Hi Matthew, thanks for judging me and expressing your opinion on a situation you know almost nothing about. Speaking of sense of self entitlement...
I hope that you will never experience the same treatment and wish you the best.

Hi guys, I am reading every single message, though I cannot quote everyone. But thanks again to those of you who are supporting me, it helped.

I finally managed to play my P121, and I am very pleased about this DP. I had other possible candidates in mind but, so far, I am happy for the choice I made.

Hello,


We love it when a plan comes together (think a cigar and a huge grin).

Cheers and enjoy,

HZ

Digital pianos are not meant to be shipped by parcel service. They are too big and too heavy. Sellers still do it though, because they make more money this way.

Going through proper freight shipping will make sure, that the piano stays in the correct orientation through the entire process until it arrives.