Yamaha P45 vs Alesis Coda Pro
We are going to discuss with great detail the differences and comparisons between Yamaha P45 vs Alesis Coda Pro. Both of these two digital pianos are available in a similar price range, and they both offer weighted hammer-action keys to give the best realistic feel. So, which digital piano is better for you to choose?
Read on below to learn further about:
- The design and build quality of each of the two digital pianos
- The quality and feel of each keyboard
- Whether Yamaha P45 and Alesis Coda Pro are easy to play
- The built-in features of Yamaha P45 vs Alesis Coda Pro
- The available connection ports on each digital piano
- The sound quality of each digital piano
- Which model that is generally more recommended for the money
Design
First of all, let’s start by comparing the dimensions of these two digital pianos. In general, you can say that both Yamaha P45 vs Alesis Coda Pro are compact digital pianos. It is still possible for you to carry them to gigs or classes. Just make sure that you carry them carefully; while they are both well-built, musical instruments are never meant to be abused and thrown around.
Yamaha P45 makes a better score in terms of portability, because it is both smaller and lighter than Alesis Coda Pro. This digital piano measures only 52.25 inches wide and 11.5 inches deep. The weight is only about 25 lbs. So, for travelling musicians and students who take portability as a very important factor, Yamaha P45 is a very good choice to consider. (Read also : P45 vs Yamaha P71)
On the other hand, Alesis Coda Pro is bigger and heavier. This digital piano measures 59 inches wide and 19 inches deep, while the weight is about 27 lbs. As you can see, the difference is significant. Due to the bulky design, Alesis Coda Pro is not very portable and is less suitable for travelling musicians. However, it remains as a good choice if you just want to put the digital piano in your room without moving it often.
Now, if we compare the looks, both Yamaha P45 and Alesis Coda Pro are good-looking in their own ways. Yamaha P45 looks elegant and classy with the simple, minimalist design. Alesis Coda Pro looks more modern and contemporary. Note that different people may have different preferences. So, make sure that you choose the digital piano that suits your taste best.
Yamaha P45 does not have too many on-board buttons. In fact, the buttons aren’t really visible if you see the digital piano from a distance. This allows for a professional, streamlined look. If you want to appear professional, you probably don’t want to have too many fancy colorful buttons on your keyboard.
In addition to the volume control and the power button, that has the accidental pressing protection to prevent the digital piano from turning off in the middle of a performance, there is also the “Function” button. In order to access a particular setting or feature, you need to press this button and the corresponding keyboard key. You should read the manual to learn more about the settings and their corresponding keys.
Alesis Coda Pro, on the other hand, has a number of buttons that are quite visible. Some of the buttons have labels that are highlighted in red. In addition, this digital piano features a red digital display to show you the currently selected setting.
Thanks to the neat arrangement of the buttons as well as the matching colors, Alesis Coda Pro can look stylish and modern. It still looks quite professional, although it doesn’t appear as streamlined as Yamaha P45. Nevertheless, Alesis Coda Pro does feel easy to configure, as accessing the settings and features is more intuitive especially for beginners and new users.
Keyboard
One of the reasons why Yamaha P45 vs Alesis Coda Pro are comparable against each other is that they both come with fully weighted hammer-action keys. You should choose a digital piano with such keys if you want to train yourself with the right techniques. It will allow you to get familiar with the feel of a real acoustic piano. So, do these digital pianos really feel solid and realistic? Do they have good quality?
As expected, Yamaha P45 comes with the company’s Graded Hammer Standard (GHS) weighted action. This is a top-notch keyboard that is able to give an authentic feel of the hammers in a real acoustic piano. It is heavier in the low end, lighter in the high end. The gradient along the keys from end to end is very nice and accurate. You won’t be surprised by any abrupt change in the weight as you play.
The keys are really well-built. You can immediately recognize the quality because the keys don’t have any clicking or thudding sound when they are pressed, even at a rapid pace. As the effect, they feel really nice to play. You may also be relieved that, even if the keys are used improperly every once in a while, they are not going to fall apart.
Another interesting thing about Yamaha P45 is the textured ivory-like keys. Actually, the keys are plastic. However, they are textured in such a way that they feel similar to real ivory keys. Well, they aren’t completely identical to ivory, but they certainly feel much closer to the real thing compared to other plastic keyboards. This is an excellent feat done by the manufacturer that sets Yamaha P45 apart from the competition.
Alesis Coda Pro comes with a full-sized keyboard with 88 hammer-action velocity-sensitive keys. It can give you the complete piano range with an authentic experience. The feel is also quite realistic and accurate. It is heavier in the low end and lighter in the high end.
The action of Alesis Coda Pro is decent. It mimics the hammers of a real acoustic piano very well. The velocity sensitivity is great for playing with different sound effects. So, this is a good choice if you are looking for a versatile keyboard that can also help you improve your fingering techniques.
However, Alesis Coda Pro is only equipped with basic plastic keys. While the action is similar to acoustic pianos, the keys aren’t. They don’t have any texture to make them at least have an ivory-like feel. They are smooth and somewhat slippery. This is not a real issue for a beginner (or if you think that ivory-like keys aren’t very important), but for an experienced player who has tasted how ivory keys feel, this may be a minor disadvantage.
Connectivity
Yamaha P45 is equipped with good connectivity options, but there aren’t many. It only has one standard headphones jack, one sustain pedalport, and one USB port. In most cases, you can already do performances and even make recordings with these connection ports.
Although Yamaha P45 does not have dedicated MIDI I/O ports, the USB-to-Hostport does support MIDI. As the effect, it is possible for you to use the digital piano as a MIDI controller. You just need to use a USB cable to connect the keyboard to your computer. Note that the bundle does not include any USB cable, so you need to use your own cable if you have one or purchase the cable separately.
Meanwhile, the headphones jack is a ¼” jack. Obviously, you can wear headphones if you don’t want to disturb the other people around you when practicing. You can also use this to connect the digital piano to an external speaker system. This is useful when performing on a gig or stage. You can also plug the audio cable to an external amp or loop pedal to play the digital piano through your effects.
Alesis Coda Pro comes with more connectivity options. It comes with one USB-MIDI port, one MIDI DIN output port, two ¼” headphone outs, one ¼” auxiliary input, and one sustain pedal port. Hence, this digital piano may be a better choice if you have more complex requirements for your set-up.
The USB-MIDI port allows you to connect Alesis Coda Pro to your computer and use it as a MIDI controller. However, you can also use the MIDI DIN output port if you need to send the MIDI signal to your equipment. Note that the left headphones output will send the sound through your headphones as well as the built-in speakers, whereas the right headphones output will only send the sound through your headphones and not the speakers.
The stereo ¼” auxiliary input is beneficial for both beginners and experienced music makers. For beginners, this aux input allows you to play along a music track to train yourself. By playing along, you can get the right tempo of the song. Similarly, you can also benefit from this aux input if you are a music maker. You can connect an external source to the digital piano so that you can play the piano part of your music with harmony.
Features
Yamaha P45 vs Alesis Coda Pro take very different approaches in terms of features. Hence, you should consider carefully what features that you really need. Yamaha P45 may be attractive in the eyes of serious players because it is not loaded with unnecessary sounds and effects. Meanwhile, Alesis Coda Pro may be handy for music making due to the built-in accompaniment styles and DSP effects.
Both Yamaha P45 and Alesis Coda Pro come with all the basic features, such as tuning, metronome, transpose, split, and layer. Each of them comes with the sustain pedal.
Yamaha P45 is streamlined in terms of features. It only has 10 built-invoices, which include 2 grand piano voices, 2 electric piano voices, 2 harpsichord voices, 2 pipe organ voices, vibraphone, and strings. All of the voices sound great, and play with two simultaneous voices by using the layer function.
Yamaha P45 also has 4 built-in reverb effects. It does not have any built-in songs or accompaniment styles, which is why it may be appealing to experienced players who don’t like having too many unnecessary tracks. Unfortunately, it also does not have a built-in recorder, so you need to use an external recorder or a computer to record your performances.
Alesis Coda Pro is quite the contrary. It comes with 20 built-in voices, including grand piano, electric piano, and drawbar organ voices. You can layer two voices simultaneously across the keyboard. In addition, there are 50 accompaniment patterns for various genres, such as slow rock, jazz pub, and Vienna waltz.
Alesis Coda Pro has built-in DSP effects. You can adjust the EQ, reverb, and chorus. They are pretty nice for experimenting with your sounds. Additionally, the digital piano has a built-in recorder. Although the recorder can only keep a maximum of 2 user recordings, it is still handy and useful when you want to record a performance without a computer.
Performance
Finally, between Yamaha P45 vs Alesis Coda Pro, which one does have the best sound quality? Although they both have 64-note polyphony, which makes them powerful enough to play complex and fast pieces with full-sounding notes, the difference in sound quality is very noticeable.
Yamaha P45 is armed with Yamaha’s famous classic sound engine, which is the Advanced Wave Memory (AWM) sound engine. The sampling utilizes a digital technology and two microphones to record an acoustic piano in pairs of waveforms. As the effect, the sound can be very rich, deep, and spacious. Yamaha P45 has received a lot of compliments for the impressive and realistic piano sounds.
On the other hand, Alesis Coda Pro boasts exclusive sounds from two leading virtual instrument developers, SONiVOX and AIR MusicTechnology. The sounds are actually pretty good, but they are not as powerful and realistic as Yamaha P45. You can immediately tell from the sound alone, that this is not a real acoustic piano. The nuances in the sound make it appear like a recording of a piano, and not a piano.
Yamaha P45 vs Alesis Coda Pro
Conclusion
All in all, Yamaha P45 is more recommended for pianists, both beginners and experienced players. The main reason is that Yamaha P45 sounds and feels better. The sound is solid, powerful, and realistic. The keyboard has a very nice feel, thanks to the weighted hammer action and ivory-like texture. It has good features and connectivity options, albeit more streamlined.
