Yamaha P35 Review

The Yamaha P35 is the most affordable and basic digital piano in the Yamaha P series. It sells for 449.99 online. If you've been thinking of buying a Yamaha digital piano but you're on a budget, this one is worth checking out. Like the more expensive, popular P105 digital piano (which sells for $150 more), the P35 features Yamaha's Graded Hammer Standard (GHS) action which emulates the touch of a real acoustic piano. (In fact both the P105 and P35 have the same keyboard.) Keys are heavier in the bass and lighter in the higher registers of the keyboard. This is quite suitable for the beginning or intermediate player.

Highly Recommended: Go here for the BEST piano/keyboard course I’ve seen on the Internet.

Bear in mind however that GHS is not as good as GH (Graded Hammer) which more expensive models like the P155 come with. Having said this, many piano players, myself included are quite satisfied with the GHS action. This action is clearly more realistic than that of portable keyboards and that's a good thing. Besides, you have to pay thousands for a GH keyboard. 

The Yamaha P35 has a fairly nice sounding piano voice. For the price, it's quite good. Very rich and warm. There are 9 other instrument sounds as well. 

However, one of my disappointments is the fact that it has only 32 notes of polyphony, unlike higher end digital pianos which have 128 notes of polyphony. (Polyphony is the number of notes that can sound at once). With only 32 notes of polyphony, notes will cut off, especially when one is playing lots of notes, using a dual voice and sustain pedal. Having said this, if you're a beginner, you should be fine with a polyphony of 32. If you're not someone who likes to play multiple tracks simultaneously you're fine. As you progress you will need more, and a digital piano like the Yamaha P105 will be better suited. 

Yamaha P-35 Overview:

The dual voice is a great feature, allowing you to combine two voices, such as piano and strings. Also, you can split the keyboard in two with let's say, bass in the left portion of keyboard and piano in the right. You can even split the keyboard into halves, each with its own middle C, a feature that is great for playing with two players, like teacher and student for example. 

The P35 weighs just under 27 pounds and for me that's a good thing. It means that this digital piano is easy to carry and great for going from gig to gig. 

The Yamaha P35 is a fairly good digital piano. I'd recommend it to someone who has a small budget. Otherwise, if possible, invest in a better model, like the Yamaha P105. The P105 has a lot more features. For example, while the P35 features only a sustain pedal, the P105 has three, like an acoustic piano. The P105 has the additional line level output while the P35 has only a headphone output. There's no USB output on the P35, unlike the other digital pianos in the P series. The P105 and the other more expensive models have more sounds, more drum patterns and drum accompaniments. 

Go here to learn more about the Yamaha P35 or to make a purchase.

Yamaha Digital Pianos - Comparisons and Reviews