Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Tried Yamaha NU1 for first time today.

I sat down at NU1 and was immediately impressed. I thought the high end samples were superior to my N2. I did enjoy the action and I did start to think about owning one.

After about ten minutes I noticed a few things that changed my mind about ever owning one in place of N2. First I noticed that there were some imperfections with the samples. Ab5 and Eb6 among some others using Piano 1 were noticeably sounded different and stood out when playing a chromatic line through those notes. The other thing was the action was definitely upright and had trouble playing a fast melody like Donna Lee.

The sound was nice but it didn't seem as deep and full as N2. Overall though, a very nice instrument and a much better buy. The place in NH was still selling N2 for $9995.00. I didn't see price on NU1 and it had the plexiglass like some of the early videos had; obviously a demo model.

The other thing was the action was definitely upright and had trouble playing a fast melody like Donna Lee.

That's what I like about it.

I had the same problems with 2 NU1 models: some keys sounded really different.
But at least the new one the shop ordered for me, after trying many many chromatic scales at different intensity, has not shown this issue... otherwise for sure I would not have bought it.

It was my first time today playing the NU1 as well. I tested it side by side with an AG (not sure about the model, I guess the N1) and a real Yamaha baby grand. This was in the Centre Chopin in Paris.

I played the 25-1 Etude and Em Prelude of Chopin. NU1 failed miserably on both! It's just not good for the fast arpeggios of the etude, furthermore I failed to make it sing for the prelude, the dynamics was not precise. Yeah, it could be me or the upright action but I didn't had this difficulty with AG or the real grand. To be honest I didn't like the AG either, there was some hardness in the keys, it's not exactly stiffness, it's more of a hardness, or hard bottoming. And the keys were a little bit heavier than the baby grand. All in all even the entry level baby grand beats them. However I was too picky about the AG and I can positively say it is the best feeling non-digital piano I have ever played and I would buy without a doubt if I had the space and the money.

So, what is the best action for classical, in your opinion?

I would get the AG N1 for classical music. And regarding the perceived hardness of the keys, I've been told by piano technicians that most brand new acoustic pianos need some period of break-in, so supposedly N1 will feel even smoother with the time.

In my humble opinion NU1 is not bad. I tried both the N3 and Kawai CA95: N3 has better action of course but price and size for me make no sense... I would go for an acoustic grand. CA95 has very good sound and nice size but the action seemed artificial to me.

I found NU1 a good compromise of almost all: realistic action, acceptable sound and price... at more than 5k€ I would go for a Silent upright.
But I still have to receive it at home and make extensive use, then I will be more detailed...

For practicing or performance?

I played a €100,000 nine foot Steinway at a local theater which was a pleasure to perform on since it was so easy to play - it responded extremely well. It was like driving a sports car that responded effortlessly to whatever I wanted it to do.

I just wouldn't want that piano to practice on however since it was so easy to play. Why? When I go to play pianos that are less friendly, so to speak, the piano will have the upper hand and not me.

I played jobs on upright pianos that were an absolute bear to play ... and I would have wanted those pianos at home for practice purposes.

I liked the NU1 since for me I found it more difficult to play than my N3. If I could nail a run on the NU1 I could nail it with less effort on my N3.

Just a thought.

That's a very good point. There are some pieces however where I do think you'd be at a disadvantage if you didn't have a grand action to practice on.

For me it's all about good grand action. I suffered with too many uprights in my life. I don't see any advantage practicing on an upright if you own a grand. If I was practicing for the tour de France, I wouldn't ride a bike cruiser, hoping it will make my skills better and a stronger rider. It might just frustrate me enough to throwing my horn off a bridge

I believe that there are a lot of us who will be very interested in keeping tabs on your longer term experience with the NU1 given that you are already an experienced Yamaha Silent Piano owner and player.

Looking forward to hearing your future reports!

Ok, tomorrow morning my new NU1 will be delivered at home in substitution to my CA95 (anyway a wonderful instrument from all the points of view, maybe the best DP... but still a DP, and the very very good and sensible action was not enough for me).

I am still concerned, I still do not know it I will ever get used to (or completely satisfied by) a hybrid. I can say that even possessing a Yamaha C6, for many years I prepared recitals/small competitions mainly on the Silent (just playing in the night, I work as engineer)... and I never had problems then playing on grands. I modified my Silent with some weights in the mechanics (done by a professional tuner) in order to increase the fingers strenght while playing just a couple of hours a day.
I am a strange pianist: I am used to slowly repeat all Chopin's etudes watching a small TV in front of me and without listening what I am doing (I concentrate just on the feeling of my mucles), then using headphones or acoustic for just half an hour... so for me the sound is not the most important thing, but feeling that my fingers are doing their daily work

Let's see with the NU1...

Titowsky:
I love my NU1. I like the sounds but mostly love the touch and feel of the keyboard. I was most concerned about the touch of my new DP and originally was looking at kawai ca65. Then the store had this and my wife gave me the green light to get the NU1.

A request: would you please describe the bench that comes with it (if you're in the US). My first bench was generic; I spoke to store owner who sold my piano and asked why the pictures of it have "yamaha" on the bench and it appears adjustable. Today, he sent me a new bench with yamaha but not adjustable (though the manual claims the bench is adjustable). I don't want to be pushy with him if I'm mistaken; he's been awesome through the purchase. But I don't want to get less than what I paid for, either.

It was like driving a sports car that responded effortlessly to whatever I wanted it to do.

Yes, I would have to agree with you there ...

But ... Hey !!! Whatever floats your boat !

So... I just received it and it looks wonderful
Tried also Chopin 25-1 etude and does not seem too bad (I am not pretending to get a "magic sound" out of that), but this evening I will play seriously.

Regarding the chair: it is a generic one (no Yamaha brand). Adjustable but generic as it was the previous one they provided with my ex-CA95. I am in Germany.
I explicitely asked for the "included chair" but... ok, I do not want to complain for that now.

I cannot wait for this evening to play it

I was most concerned about the touch of my new DP and originally was looking at kawai ca65.

bump. titowsky, did you get any sleep ? ha ha

unfortunately I had not much time yesterday evening, and I prefer to carefully read the manual "prepare the environment" before launching myself on the new toy!

Just two very first impressions after half an hour playing:
- the piano makes a loud noise when played silent... a bit too much (and even more than my Silent at home). I was concerned to play it at midnight even without having any neighbor at the floor below. This is definately an advantage of CA95 I have not considered.
- The keys really seem much heavier than they are just because you cannot get the range of volume you would expect (fff are nearly impossible)... so you are always tempted to push and "force the sound"
- I find also the trip of the keys slightly shorter than the pianos I am used; perhaps this is the reason that makes very fast repetitions not so accurate, I would say worse than CA95.

So I would say, CA95 more enjoyable, practical and even "more responsive" from electronics point of view, but my target was to get a better action, so... let's see in next hours...

You CAN play softly on the NU1 and also loudly too. It takes time to adjust to the action. So I will say the piano does not make a loud noise when played silent - that's you! This was one of the reasons I got he NU1, it responds just like my teachers piano, you have to learn to tame the beast. Just like most uprights at least. This may be different from a quality grand, I wouldn't know. I do agree it is not possible to get a thundering fff.