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Kona, I think you're getting mixed up in semantics. While the CLP990 may in fact feel like a grand piano, it's action, the mechanics and physical construction are not the same as a real grand piano action.

Kona, I think you're getting mixed up in semantics. While the CLP990 may in fact feel like a grand piano, it's action, the mechanics and physical construction are not the same as a real grand piano action.

Here is a good sounding vid where you can see it being played.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68m7DztSh58
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo4ExG-fu6g

I think some folks need to get out and play acoustic pianos and also take a look inside.

This reminds me of the discussions where someone asks if their piano is incomplete since it lacks dampers for the top octave and a half.

People, go out and play acoustic pianos and stop reading the advertising.

In the difference of real piano action vs. compact action simulation...


Versus...

Versus...

Versus...whatever design is in your CLP990? I hope this is now clear. I'm not sure what action is in the CLP990, but I'm sure it is not the first type. I am curious like Kawai James.

I understand what you mean. If I ever need to take it apart, I will post the pictures.

@Kona:

Were you referring to your Yamaha, or, the Roland V-Piano?

Please do not take your V-Piano apart for any reason since that would void your warranty, and, only let a Roland technician take care of any issues, etc.

There has been talk of why the V-Piano has such a large outer case, and, both Steve & Zachary have been keen to note that it's probably due to a larger than usual action, giving the piano its nearly acoustic-like feel.

Perhaps "krzyzowski"* might eventually be willing to open his up, since I know he had acquired a used/damaged unit to begin with, as we all would be curious to know what's going on inside!

That could be a real eye opener to get a review... with photos?

*And, here is the quoted text of his post:

"V-Piano is a rugged machine; Bought mine damaged. Got a great deal. Big dent in it. UPS guy laughed as he carried the pieces out of the truck. He wondered why I didn't file a claim told him I bought it that way. Came in a plain box with no packing, just laid in there. Put it all back together and use it every day. Still has a dent in the keyslip."

No way I am opening up the V-piano. And yeah it is good to hear that is is a rugged machine too. I was talking about my CLP990 which probably has a similar action as the original Graded Hammer but with Spruce (heavier) keys and a couple of extra sensors than the GH3 has. Other than that it is probably not some groundbreaking design, it just happens to be really good for its time and the fact I have zero keys broken and I play hard means it withstood the test of time as well.

Ah, thanks for clearing that up!

Well, to set the record straight, Steve and I both wondered why the V-Piano's PHA III action feels different than the PHA III inside Roland's other boards, but honestly, if Roland had a special action for the V-Piano, they'd be proud to market and advertise that. The difference in feel is due to unique tone generation inside the V-Piano combined with the the physical construction of the V-Piano. I played a V-Piano the other day for the first time in a while, and I have to say, hats off to Roland, they nailed how a piano behaves. It's a very playable instrument.

Above, I spied actions, which are always fun to look at. Some might not remember this thread

https://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubb...20took%20my%20AvantGrand%20N2%20apa.html

where this picture of the interior of the Yamaha AvantGrand N2 was posted.



When I saw that, I thought, Cool, that might actually be worth $10k.

I found something interesting from Yamaha. Now I don't know if the natural wood keyboard in the CLP990 is the one they describe since GH3 did not exist yet when the CLP990 was released. To me it feels nothing like the GH3.

http://faq.yamaha.com/us/en/article...amp;offset_page_id=1&last_page_id=10

What is the difference between the natural wood (NW), graded hammer (GH3) 3, graded hammer (GH), and graded hammer standard (GHS) keyboards?

*

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Last Update: 10/14/2010
Each of the keyboards is explained below.

NW keyboard: This keyboard has the same structure as a GH3 keyboard, but the white keys are are all cut from the same plank of natural wood, just like in an acoustic piano. Using our wood-working skills gained from making pianos, we are able to keep keyboard vibration and warping to a minimum. We have achieved the solid feeling of a grand piano.

GH3 keyboard: This keyboard has Yamaha's proprietary third sensor, the Damper Sensor. It enables the pianist to play the same note in rapid succession without cutting off the sound, enabling performances only possible on a grand piano. As with the GH keyboard, the lower keys are heavier and the higher keys are lighter, faithfully reproducing the differences in feel.

GH keyboard: In pursuit of the feel of playing on a grand piano, the lower keys are heavier and the higher keys become lighter, the touch response changing gradually through the different registers, thus creating a natural touch response on the keyboard.

GHS keyboard: This keyboard is based on the concept of the GH keyboard, but uses lighter parts. This decrease in weight all reduces the overall weight of the instrument. The selection of a keyboard is greatly influenced by the preferences and sense of the indiviudal, so we invite you to come and play several products for yourself.

Now, that's a real grand piano action right there! Awesome pic! Thank you for posting this.

It almost makes me want to buy one... I'm still undecided... I'll probably come to a decision in another year or so, haha!

Regarding my original question: today I went to the Kawai dealer in my area to play the CN33 again, and while I was there I asked the store owner about the possiblity of Kawai coming out with a product like the AvantGrand. His answer was probably not, due to the fact that Kawai spent a lot of time and effort developing the RM3 action to be as close as possible to the real thing. I actually think that's a very plausible answer, even though he's not an "insider" at Kawai, just a dealer.

I'll go out on limb here and give a common sense comment or two regarding actions - not based on any real knowledge per se.

The actions that use wood in the keys don't affect the action per se but give the guys in the advertising department something to differentiate their product form the rest. It looks nice, and for some gives it an organic feel (whatever that means) - it always comes across as a plus.

Graded hammers - this just means that the upper keys in the action require less downward force to depress because the keys themselves are lighter.

In a real piano action there are weights in the keys. As you travel from the lower notes to the top notes in an acoustic piano you'll see (and possible feel ) three to seven or so graduations of weighting. The makers of digital keyboard actions do the same but to a much less degree. This also give the guys in advertising something to write about.

Graded hammers in a digital keyboard action is just hype as far as I'm concerned since the actions in the overwhelming number of digital keyboards are already pretty light to begin with. Making some of the keys even lighter to make the action more 'realistic' borders on unnecessary hype as far as I'm concerned, but it does allow the guys in advertising to write wondrous claims.

Schimmel also have Silent versions called Schimmel TwinTone

Even with this full acoustic piano action in models like N1/N2/N3, I think there is something missing in Dynamics part of the action especially regarding repeated notes.

I also impressed with the features of the CLP990, it is still superior to the most of Clavinova series. Man 88 keys samples, 80 MB sample memory, 5 dynamics levels. It is wonderful. New Clavinowas are definite down grades.

80MB samples was very large for the time but some of the samples in my Nord NP88 are just shy of 200MB and those are tiny compared to the software samples. I wonder what the size of the samples are inside the CP5, RD700NX, MP10, and even inside the AvantGrands...

The sample used for the GranTouch was 30 MB. I used that sample for 12 years and never felt that it lacked anything. (It also only had 32 note polyphony ... and I never felt or heard any notes dropping out as a result of hitting the limit.)