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Looks like a pretty nice board for recording and/or stage/band performance.

Sweet Water

Nice! Love the look!

yes, I do too! Good looking slab.

I guess these are not out in the wild yet, but I'm very curious as to the differences between this and the cp50. I've never gotten to try a cp50 here in Central Florida, though I did like the action on the p155 (same keybed). I wonder if the Motif non-piano sounds are the same. We'll see!

What is the difference between any of them? They all look the same, use GH keybed, are black, and sound like pianos . . . .I must be missing out on something! . . .

Which are the ones you're trying to determine the differences between?

I think half the problem is we use the term digital piano for a whole range of different (purposes of) instruments. You need to read the specs and maybe manuals and you have your answer.

In answer to the "what's the difference" question....I use a stage piano as a piano at home, but for live gigs it covers other sounds. That is probably the main reason I don't just run out and get a used cp33, by many accounts the non-piano sounds are much better in the newer Yamaha stage pianos. Ideally even though I use two keyboards I'd like to be able for either to do all my sounds in case of a failure (however unlikely, but I've had it happen) in one. Unfortunately for me I play a lot of organ and no stage piano that I've seen, other than maybe the Nord Stage 2, has a decent organ. My other keyboard is a Kurzweil pc361 which has a decent organ sim, so I could get the weighted version, but I happen to dislike the weighted actions used by Kurzweil. Plus how fun is it having two of the same thing

I am very excited to see this one when it comes out! I think one of the big and positive differences is that its a lot lighter.

It is interesting that, assuming you want to buy new, the difference in price between the cp40 and cp4 is less than the previous generation. Kind of like buying a drink at the movie theater, it may get me to move up to the cp4 if the differences are worth it (who knows at this point). The cp4 is certainly much lighter than the cp5, which for many people crossed a line of pain at 55 lbs....Unlike a movie drink though, it's not pocket change!

My only hope for the cp4 will be getting the spouse to see the need for a new practice piano for the kids when I'm not gigging it--I'm a weekend warrior-- considering the inclement death of our acoustic (separating soundboard, costs more to fix than the the thing is worth). Coupled with the fact that we may move in the near future I'm holding off on thinking about another real piano for now.

Does the CP40 have 3 sensors?

From reading the specs, it appears not. The CP40 has GH, same as the P155. The CP4 apparently has the NW-GH with the third sensor.

I have a CP40. All I can say for sure is it plays quite nicely and feels much more like an acoustic than my old YPG-535.

I find Yamaha's terminology confusing. I was given to understand that the CP40 has an identical action to the CP4, except without the wooden keys (and maybe nicer coating on the keys - I didn't get to compare them). That would mean if the CP4 has three sensors then the CP40 would have them, too. I see references online to NW, GH, and GH3 types of actions (along with GHS and GHE). It seems like either GH is now what GH3 used to be or NW is GH3, even though not all GH3 actions were natural wood or is NW-GH a different action than both NW and GH? The latter would then mean there were differences in the action that go beyond without the keys are wood or not. I suspect over the years Yamaha has changed the definitions of these actions without changing the names.

But I really don't know. Is there any sure-fire way to test the presence of a third sensor without taking my piano apart?

Strike and hold a key. Then lift it up, but not so high that the note stops sounding. (If the note stops sounding, then do it again, lifting it not quite that high.) Then from that point, press the key down again. If you hear the note re-strike, there's a third sensor. If it doesn't, there's no third sensor. The ability to do that is the entire point of there being a third sensor.

Thanks! Based on that test I would say no third sensor. This kind of annoys me a little, as I was led to believe the only difference in the CP4 and CP40 action was the build quality of the keys.

The Kraft Music intro video to the CP4 does just that, showcasing the action, which has made me, for more than any other single reason, want to somehow put the $$$ together to buy one.

The CP40, on the other hand, looks and sounds great in the demos, but for my purposes doesn't appear to be a significant enough upgrade over what I have to justify spending the cash.

Let me add that I'm not playing at a level that the third sensor would make any difference. On the other hand, I'd thought I'd sorted out all the action questions when I was looking at this and some other models, so now I'll have that to think about until I get good enough to consider buying another one.

I will say this, though. I was used to playing the YPG-535 for maybe an hour at the most, but the first time I had a chance to really sit down at the CP40 for a while, I ended up playing for three hours before I realized how much time had gone by.

Led to believe by who? Not Yamaha. Their website description, specs, brochures, always had the CP40 with GH action (quite an older established action) and the CP4 with the NW-GH action with lots of extra description about it (wood and 3 sensors).

Led to believe mostly by myself and not being able to decipher the esoterica of Yamaha's descriptions. The GH3 action is mentioned in the features tab on Yamaha's page and Yamaha defines NW as including GH3. The features tab for the CP40 says nothing at all about the action. The specs and brochure only list the actions as NW+GH for the CP4 and GH for the CP40. The brochure simply uses the same definitions and doesn't mention the sensors. I erroneously concluded that NW+GH and GH meant that the action was the same but the materials in the keys on the CP4 were of higher quality. When I chimed in on this conversation I didn't say the CP40 had three sensors. I said I didn't know for sure but I thought the internal action was the same on both models. The GH action is two or three steps up from what I was playing.

Yes, I should have done more research and watched some of those videos instead of mostly reading specs. I like the CP40 quite a bit, but I might have opted for the CP4 instead if I had understood things a bit better, so only Yamaha lost money on this.

Just out of curiosity, does Yamaha sell a non-NW piano with GH3 action?