Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards New ( Old Stock ) Piano Day: Yamaha CP33

So, I finally sold the Roland RD-700SX, in order to get the CP33, and even had some extra cash leftover ( to put towards new tires for one of our cars ).

Some would consider it slumming, downgrading from the Roland, but I was honestly never thrilled with it. If anything, it had too many bells, whistles, features, etc., that I frankly never used ( and I typically embrace technology more openly and willingly than most ). All those extras I already had on my XP-30 synth if I need them. The Roland pianos, while nice, always seemed "processed," or dripping with effects. You could turn them off or down, but then they sounded too vanilla, if that makes sense.

I simply wanted a basic, good, stage slab, pretty much exclusively for piano. The primary default piano sounds great as is, and while tweak-able, I haven't futzed with it (yet). I may layer some of the sounds from the XP-30 in the future, but so far haven't felt the need to do so. For non-piano sounds, I use the XP-30.

Purchased "blind," untested, as being an older model, no one stocks it, and there's no local Yamaha brick-and-mortar shop within a two-hour drive, and those "could get it for me," but had none to test on-site. I'd tried the P200 / P250 in the past, so I knew about the basic Yamaha sound and keyboard feel. I even like the heavier action.

Used research primarily from here as background, as well as YouTube videos and other online sources. Rolled the dice, and very pleased / relieved with the purchase. No buyer's remorse of not going to the CP50 / 5 / 1 ( so far, at least ).

Now, I just need to woodshed, and get my chops back.

Flawless transaction with Sweetwater. More details on the "Prices Paid" sticky thread. Highly recommended. Thanks, Ryan Holquist ( Sweetwater sales rep ) !

Doug

Hey, good for you! You gotta get what makes ya happy. I had a Kurzweil that I owned for 8 years, and it was a love-hate relationship. I was never satisfied with the way it sat in a mix, the way it responded (not very piano-like), and it just didn't "speak" to me when I played it. So, I recently sold it and bought a Yamaha P95 and for a piano, I am extremely happy with the portability and the sound.

Glad you got you a CP33 and hope you enjoy it for a long time.

Enjoy your new CP33!

Would you mind translating this to plain English - thanks? Just curious.

A guess. Now I need to practise and regain my playing ability.

I think you're right. There's a future for you at the UN, translating American music-speak into English.

Sorry about that...bloody Yanks!

Yes, woodshedding = practicing. Sometimes used as a threat, with the possibility of a beating, though in my case, more like self-flagellation.

My kids ended up using the Roland more than I did, back when they were taking lessons...on a digital! The horror of it all!

Oh, and Ryan Holquist was the name of the guy I dealt with @ Sweetwater. I'm Doug.

Thanks

I had heard the term woodshed for a beating in a tennis context. "x is taking y to the woodshed" when x was leading something like 6-0, 5-1.

And 'chops'?

Chops in UK is either a meat dish or I think refers to a persons jaw and teeth.

Yup, that's the basic context of woodshed. "Back to the woodshed," either for a beating, or to practice so you don't get a beating.

And yes, chops = talent or ability, though I'm not sure how that term came to be.

I gave a look at the urban dictionary and came across this - To practice a musical instrument. The woodshed is where you go to sharpen your axe.

Saxophone players as well as other instrumentalists refer to their instrument as their axe, thus the woodshed remark has even more of a double meaning.

Thanks. My education grows as believe it or not I didn't know about the urban dictionary. I wonder what my tutor (not music) will think if I delve into it for homework when College resumes.

Forget woodshed, I'm still trying to figure out what N(OS)PD means.

"No Operating System Per Design" or *"New Old Stock Digital Piano" or "No Soap Digital Piano".... can anyone clarify what it means now I want to know too?

I also play bass, and on another site, www.talkbass.com, NBD means "New Bass Day" when someone gets a new bass and wants to crow about it.

So, this was an attempt to paraphrase it as New (Old Stock) Piano Day.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to be as cryptic as it turned out to be.

Oh, Ok now we understand the logic behind it!

Well, happy to help enlighten some folks, not just about my new CP33, but some odd-ish American lingo, urban dictionary, and some newish acronyms.

Funny about talkbass.com: of the dozen or so web forums I frequent daily, it's by far the most prolific. In just a couple of hours time, there can easily be three pages worth of new postings. They obviously have a ton of members / posters, with a lot to say...not that it's all useful, interesting and / or humorous ...

That thought crossed my mind as well.

Update: still very pleased with the CP33...no regrets or buyer's remorse.

If I have to pick nits? A useful LCD might have been nice, but that probably would have infringed on sales of models higher in the food chain.

And the only display is a 3-digit LED for parameter tweaks, but by default always shows "120" for the metronome's BPM. I find myself changing it to 131, as I'm naturally drawn to prime numbers.

131 is no good, since it repeats digit 1 it has bad karma. Use 127.

Update: Sorry to dredge up an old thread, but it's my thread, so I feel entitled to do so.

Haven't spent as much time practicing or playing as I'd like to as of late, as other matters (work, family, etc.) have had my attention more...in fact, it's spent the better part of the last two months with the cover on it. That said, I still check in here at least twice a day. Should probably consolidate some of that time into practice...but I digress.

Some of the recent threads about NAMM and "when will the perfect DP emerge?" got me thinking, especially while getting back on the CP33. One of which is:

Dang, I love this thing! Warts and all.

Sure, it's old tech from (at least) 2006. Who knows how much of it was recycled from previous iterations, like the P120? (I've got my suspicions) That's ancient by today's standards. I knew that going in, when I "downgraded" from an RD-700SX to the CP33.

And sure, it's not perfect. I can find flaws here and there. Doesn't matter.

I don't know of anything out there, new, or newer than the CP33, from any other MFR that's a true comparison, feature-by-feature. At least not at this price point. Which is perhaps one reason Yamaha hasn't felt the need to upgrade it, among tons of other reasons, such as global economy, existing inventory...

Love the keyboard feel. Not sure if I got "a light one," or if it's breaking in, or I've just gotten used to it. It's never felt like a boat anchor, like some folks seem to think about GH action.

Feature-wise, I haven't found anything sorely lacking. I would have liked a CP70/80 voice on there, but I figured out how to come close...and I can always MIDI one in from the XP-30 above it.

The one thing that I'd like to see, and probably can be done, if Yamaha wanted to, and take out Nord at the knees (and the other bigs): the ability to upgrade / download new sounds from the USB port. I'd be willing to pay a nominal fee for those sounds, as long as they keep it reasonable.

Sorry for the ramble. But seven months after purchase, no buyer's remorse, no regrets, nothing available now that makes me want to swap, switch, upgrade or downgrade. Which is nice. I hate that feeling of "coulda, shoulda, woulda...didn't."

Besides, the weak link in the equation isn't the CP33...it's me.
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(I should go practice now)

Glad to hear you are loving it. Yeah the CP33 is still a recommended piano despite the fact that it's so old. Just goes to show how slow innovation in digital pianos is sometimes.