Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Unimpressed with the new Yamaha CPs...anyone else??

I went into Guitar Center today to see if they had the CP-1 and CP-5 and have to say, overall, I wasn't impressed. The action felt very light, and the sound was a bit bright for me. I own and have been playing and RD-700GX and recently upgraded with the SN card, and was looking to compare that with the CP series boards. I know sound and feel are very personal, but anyone else let down by the sound and action of the new CP series keyboards?? Any one of you all had the chance to play the CP series boards and the RD-700GX with the SN card?

I have an issue with the CP5 but that involves a velocity switching problem with four notes. The B, C, C#, and D two octaves above middle C sound noticeably louder than surrounding notes when played at a ff or fff level. (I'm talking about the default grand piano sound). I bought the CP5 but didn't notice that until I had the keyboard for a week.

No digital piano can be correctly evaluated unless you bring along your own set of high quality headphones. I wouldn't dream of spending more than €2000 on anything without hearing it first through headphones. You did use headphones, didn't you?

My local music store has a CP1 looked up through less than acceptable speakers, that's why you should always compare all digital keyboards with headphones.

I'm very happy with the action of my CP5.

You are correct, sound and feel are very personal. I owned the CP1, but ended up returning it and getting the RD/SN. I'm not going to be returning the Roland. (The SN board has transformed the RD in terms of AP sound and playability).

I don't find the latest CPs very inviting at all. Every time I see them sitting there all alone at the Guitar Center, fluorescent screen winking at me, plugged up and ready to go - I'm overcome by ennui and can't muster enough motivation to shuffle over a few feet and play with them.

Yamaha could breath new life into the CP33 (relatively lightweight, well made, simple interface, pitch & mod wheels located where god intended) by slapping a set of GH3 keys in there, include both the CFIII and S6 piano samples, and sell it for like $1200. People would go bonkers over something like that.

dewster, would adding a GH3 increase the weight of the instrument?

James
x

I don't really know. If it boils down to just a third contact then I'd reckon not.

I saw open GH3 model in shop. It's generaly the same mechanics as GH only rubber "button" under the key has 3 contacts instead of 2 in GH action. Rest was the same only upper damping for hammer up position was thicker. Difference in weight should be few decagrams, I guess.

I agree, GH and GH3 are supposedly the same thing except for sensors. I think either way it is a nice action, smooth and quiet. I had a little play of the 33 recently..wasn't wild about the sounds at all but action was good.

Yamaha's DP actions have a good reputation for durability and quality control. The problem has always been that they sample their own pianos;-)

I have to believe this is something of a gilded cage for both Yamaha and Kawai. It's great that they showcase their own APs in their DPs, but anyone wanting a darker piano sound is left out in the cold (perhaps clutching a Roland). Though I guess now that Yamaha owns Bosendorfer we might get a bit more variety in their DP voice offerings.

Is this some kind of weird copyright thing at work? Like if you're Yamaha you can't sample a Steinway without getting a lot of lawyers involved? Can anyone shed some light on this subject?

The Japanese culture is different than ours. They like bright sounding pianos; they like gaudy colors - it's a cultural thing.

I'm also guessing the top management of Yamaha is closed to outside ideas.

I was in Tokyo many years ago and could not get over the gaudy colors used in their outdoor advertising. It's a cultural thing.

All I know is this, I've bought Yamaha products for almost 40 years and they have never once asked me for my opinion. Of course, that doesn't stop me from giving it, but they're not interested in outside opinions.

lol! The old winking screen syndrome. Never a good thing.




I feel the same way. Seems like such a practical keyboard, which if you're shooting for pros using them should be high on the list. Along with the question of why they keep on sampling their own bright grands, who are they getting advice from concerning what goes into a stage piano?

Mychal

At least Kawai DP's offer a way to adjust hammer hardness parameters, yielding darker piano timbres at will.

I like bright pianos and gaudy colors as much as the next person.

But, regardless of who manufactures my expensive new DP, I want samples of several different world's greatest APs in there. (CFIII + S6 != variety.)

Possibly, but I want a sample of a genuine dark piano, not a bright piano with algorithmically softened hammers.

I want to see this sticker on the outside of my shiny new DP:

This artwork reminds me of an honest Chinese guy at a copy market in Shanghai

Me: "Is this a genuine product?"
Him: "Yes, it's a real copy!"

No problem:
http://www.makestickers.com/

I've seem both keyboards, GH3 adds only a small little rubber bump (switch) on the circuit board under each key and a slight re-shaping of one plastic part. GH and GH3 are otherwise identical. If you took them both apart you'd have to know what you were looking for to tell which was which.

Yamaha really should simply do away with GH and make GH3 the standard but they need a way differentiate their products

I think they sound great, and I'd probably go for a CP50 if I were buying new. I personally see no reason for the CP5 to exist. It's just a more expensive CP50 with the main diff being the NWSTAGE vs GHE action, and neither resembles that of an acoustic well enough to merit any sweat over it. Sucks that folks gotta cough up an extra g just for a lighter action.

The fact that they left the S6 sample out of the CP50 sucks more IMO.

If anyone has a CP50 and feels like running the DPBSD through it, I'd love to confirm whether or not the CFIII sample set is the same between it and the CP1.