I'm pretty set on the Yamaha CSP-170. There are a bunch of things that you can't get on CLP or need to pay premium for and the CVP is ugly and expensive.

Some of the things I like:

1. Over 700 voices. It lacks the latest samples of the CFX and Bosendorfer from the new CLP series, but the old samples are still good and then you get 600+ other high quality sounds included within the app. You can pay up and go for a CLP-785 and get 400+ voices but its way more expensive.
2. For what you get, it is really cheep. By outsourcing many of the advanced features to an app, and save on production cost of many expensive parts such as touch-screen controls and sound engines and what not, you only pay for the speakers, the keyboard and the cabinet.
3. Action is good enough for me. The action is lighter than that of the CLP-600 series. I believe its similar in lightness to the new CLP-700 series. Maybe someone can confirm this? I have never owned an acoustic and is not necessarily after an authentic acoustic feel. I need something that is good enough and not too heavy.
4. Follow the lights is a gimmick, but I have two kids age 3 and 5 that will soon be able to start learning and I imagine the fun factor of FTL and arranger-features might make them play longer and thus learn more.

Now to my concerns and questions:

1. How far off is a new CSP series? The current lineup came out in 2017 and I fear that they will release a new updated version soon. The old CLP also came out 2017 and a new lineup came out last year. Should I wait? What are the chances they cancel the series? Anyone heard any rumours of a new CSP series?
2. Do the wifi connector included allow me to steam music from Spotify to the Piano? Will the Yamaha be included in the list of available devices inside Spotify if the piano is connected to the home network? If so, do I have to have the piano on standby or will it turn on by itself like many other devices? As far as I'm aware, the 170 does not have bluetooth audio or midi, so this is quite important. Alternatively, can I plug in a google chromecast into the piano and stream music through that? Any owner experience? I've checked other threads but did not see any info on this.
3. If I save some settings in the app like brightness, reverb and touch response for one of the built in sounds like the CFX grand, will it be saved to the piano so that I don't have to connect to the app everytime I play? I like to have the ability just to sit down and play, and have a nice experience, without having to go look for a phone or tablet to get my desired settings for the default piano sounds. I know the piano supports registration memory, but I get the impression that it is only through the app.

I was in the same boat as you, but i was contrasting whether to go for a CSP150 or CLP745.

I too find the CVP line too expensive, not that attractive furniture wise, tons of buttons and dials, and 80% of the features i would not likely use (i dont write my own songs and backings, and do not sing).

So the CSP line was much more attractive.....pricewise and simplicity wise. But yet I have ordered the 745. I would rather have the features built into the piano, than an app, even if there are slightly less.

I do believe that the CSP170 has Bluettooth built in. in fact, i think that the bluetooth, wooden keys and better speakers comprise the improvements over the 150 model.

Thanks for letting me know the 170 had bluetooth. Then I have a solid backup if the Wifi doesn't work the way I hope it will.
I know the CSP have at least 10 sounds or so built in, so that I can just turn the piano on and play the two main piano sounds and some nice electric piano and what not without connecting the app. But If I have to reconfigure the tone and touch every time I turn it on I kind of have to go look for a device anyway to be able to have a nice experience. It may be good enough but I would like to know before I make up my mind.

My main concern of a new CSP-200 series is what bugs me the most though. Im pretty sure that Yamaha will release a new version as soon as I've ordered the 170 and I miss out on new features or a huge pricedrop. Its still a nice piano I'm sure, but I would be so disappointed. Do they usually announce a new series before hand, or how does it work. Is there a convention or something that I can look forward to for new releases?

The fact that the CSP line of pianos cannot stand alone ... they need a phone or a tablet to complete them ... is dead no for me.

I had the same idea with the ten built in sounds being suffice for me ( i reallly dont care about a bunch of organs, harpsichords, and funky synthsizer sounds....only core grand, ambiant, bright and upright piano simulations). Great minds think alike i guess

And as for announcing a soon to be upgraded line......I am in IT, and i can tell you that there is something called the Osbourne Effect. Maybe you have heard about it. But particularly in High Tech, and i consider Digital Pianos to be that......you can not announce too early the exact dates and specifics about pending upgrades to your product lines. They usually keep this confidential as long as they possible can. Otherwise, if they spell out the dates and features to come months in advance, no one will want to buy the current models, especially not at the current price levels.

Once they make the announcement, they will likely discount the current one but i doubt that would happen anything more than weeks before they start taking orders for the new ones.

But in the current state of demand and the supply chain, i doubt that any big price drops would occur....even if the current CSP line is about to get upgraded...

I just want to add that I made a mistake in earlier post. Apparently the CSp170 does NOT have built in bluetooth :-0

I was surprised too when I realized the CSP line doesn’t have Bluetooth built in. Seems kind of necessary for a tablet/app driven device, doesn’t it? However, you can control many of the important functions (like selecting different voices, accompaniment styles, reverb effects, etc) using key combos similar to the way older CVPs used to function. If there are some features that are important to you to be able to access without an iPad, you can download a copy of the owner’s manual and look it up to see if there is a key combo shortcut.

I've read the whole manual. Seems like you can set and save the touch response but not the brightness/lid position of the piano without connecting the app. I hope the touch is good enough for my needs. I have to try the piano out I guess to know for sure.

It's a bummer that there is no built in bluetooth. I don't mind at all honestly as long as the piano shows up as an availible device in spotify, or if I can connect a chromecast and have the music streaming through that. Is there anyone with a csp-170 and spotify that could try?

I have the same questions as yours. I'm in IT too
I'm planning to order CSP-170 in a couple of days.
I guess, even they release the CSP-200 series, it might be hard to get due to chip shortage.
Because the CLP-700 series have too long waiting time.

Did you got yours ? or you changed your mind?
Are you able to stream music to its speakers ?

Thanks in advance for your reply.

I am looking at the CSP 170 too.

Though its got 2 other contenders:

CLP 775 or Casio GP 510

(Only the 775 has bluetooth)

(The Casio isn't compatible with Chordana app!!!) I don't know why not.

All I have to do now is figure out which one above is best suited to Ipad piano learning Apps. YAMAHA Smart Pianist looks good. And free.

I am getting confusing advice from all quarters....

Maybe just the 775 for all round quality. Then figure out using with iPad after a few weeks. Though I spoke with a specialist yesterday who said they would buy the Casio 510 over the 775....

Help !!!!

Rav

I've probably decided to go for a clp-785 instead of a 170. I just think that the overall aesthetics are better with a more upright look and Im concerned about the resell value later on with the 170. I like the featureset of the 170 with the stream lights as a big selling point for my kids to learn, not so much for myself. The biggest thing I will miss with the 170 is the ability to plug in a microphone or an electric guitar and use the piano speakers as a guitar amplifier with built in effects. I do play guitar on the side and that feature alone got me a bit excited to buy an electric guitar later on.

See this video:

But overall, I think having a better sound system and a better look overall will trumph gimmicky things like singing in harmonies and guitar-amplification and stream lights.

Damn, watching that video again made me wanna have the 170 again. This is too hard. I think the biggest problem is that I have to travel quite far to be able to try the 170 out while the 785 is available quite close. I have already tried it and know I love it.

I have heard that the 170 have a slightly lighter action too so thats also a +. damn. Why is it so hard?

The CSP-170 is amazing. The styles capability is amazing. I have no idea why Yamaha doesn’t add this for the CLP range. Once you have used the app with the CLP, I don’t think there would be any reason to go back to controls on the piano. I wonder if they will activate additional features for the CLP at some point. If not, I will stick with CSP.

I wanted to buy a second CSP but have been holding out for the replacement of 170/150. It seems the models have been discontinued as of December 2021 but still no news about their successors.

Hopefully she will hear something soon.

I would advise buying the new CSP when it is released.

I was thinking about CSP 170.

I sought advice from more experienced players, who all said that given the choice between CSP 170 and my other choice (CLP 775) they would always get the 'better' piano, and go for the 775.

So I did. Got a stunning Polished Ebony a few days ago.....

Rav

A CLP with added styles is a CVP if we include controls on the piano and CSP if we delegate them to a tablet. Then a CLP with styles does exist but is not named CLP.

I keep hearing that the CSP is discontinued but I can't find any solid info on that. Where did you hear this?

So. I just got my csp170. Probably the last one available in Scandinavia. A demo ex in polished ebony.

I spoke with my dealer who used to work for Yamaha, composing for the arranger feature no less, and he told me that the CSP 100 series is not discontinued and will resume production later this spring. The cvp series have a dev circle of 5-8 years and the csp might be even longer, especially now during the pandemic.

Piano sounds incredible. On mid level volume I could not tell the difference between the clp785 and the csp170.

The unit does not stream music over wifi but my old chrome cast audio did the trick and works flawlessly as a replacement.

Another minus is that the andeoid tablet isn't charging when connected with the USB-b port by the note stand. Pretty annoying but I'm gonna hook up a dedicated tablet with wifi and have that connected with a charger instead for the same effect.

The app isn't perfect but honestly quite nice overall. The voices are amazing and overall featureset is pretty much on par with the cvp series. Only half the price.

Happy with the purchase so far and liking the piano more and more.

Fwiw, I use an Ipad with the CSP and it charges just fine with the USB.

What I really miss about the CSP is the option to use a VST together with the app. They seem to be mutually excluding each other.

to

Yes. The iPad connection is USB-a to USB-c and that charges my android. So I use that and connect via wifi and achieve the same effect. I will buy a cheap android tablet for a 100 dollars or so and just let it stay connected all the time to essentially act as a "built in" display.

I am new to this forum, I've been learning piano for only 6 months. Very interesting comments to read. Here are some of my thoughts. I originally had a Yamaha NP31, but soon outgrew this according to my piano teacher, so bought a CSP 170, because I liked what it could do (through a demo by the salesman).

Firstly mine has bluetooth and connects fine with my android tablet, but using the plug in cables it wont charge. I have tried using the right hand port (for ipad) and the left hand port (for android -but you need to get an adapter).

Secondly, I was told that I could transfer tracks/music from my devices to Smart Pianist app and it would bring up the score on screen...well this doesn't happen, or if it does it is so complicated and difficult to do. Supposedly it happens thru 'dropbox' but I only get chords and not the score...can anyone enlighten me here?

I have been in touch with the shop I purchased it from and Yamaha Pianos, but nobody seems to have an answer for me. What I would like to know is;

1) Can I actually transfer music (that I have purchased) from my device into smart pianist?

2) If so, where is the best place to purchase music from, that will work with SmartPianist (e.g.Amazon music, Yamaha music soft, an android version of itunes?)...something to note is Spotify wont work as you cant download.

3) Is it worth buying a dedicated ipad just for the piano?

So how are you liking the piano? I bought the CSP-170 in 2017, close to when it first came out, and I have been enjoying it a lot. Back then I didn't have any kids, now I have a three year old and another on the way. He loves the lights and the different voices. For a 3 year old, I guess that's a good start :-)

I have recorded songs on it with backings, and singing in a microphone. With some of the reverb and harmony, I have to admit it is pretty fun. It isn't studio quality, but there are many little nuances to this piano and its capabilities with the app. Often I just sit down and play without the app too. A few people have thought it was a real piano at first.

I have created my own midi songs and loaded them onto it through the app. One really fun feature is that I can play songs from my iPad in the "songs" part of the app, and it will create sheet music with the chords. Sometimes it picks a terrible key and makes the chords impossible for me to play, but it does a pretty good job. Then I can improvise over the chords a little. It's kind of gimmicky but for just having fun I have to admit I've spent a few hours "playing along" with my favorite songs.

Oh, I thought I'd add one more thing. I did go to the piano store recently, and brought my 3 year old with me, we were helping a relative pick out pianos. I went and played with the CVP series pianos with him and all he wanted to do was mess with all the buttons instead of playing the piano keys. Maybe it was because it was new, but for kids, I think the CSP series is nice because it is less likely to distract them with "digital piano" features and they focus on playing notes and playing on the keyboard itself.

If I was a professional musician, I probably would have a CVP - but I'm not. I'm not even a _good_ musician. Still can't sight read most stuff off the cuff...

I'm not a musician and I can not play on piano, I just bought the CSP-170 for my kids.
If you import an audio file (mp3/aac...) to SmartPianist app, then you won't get the full score, just the chords. Moreover, the "guide" mode does not work in this case (the "guide" button is inactive).

If you want full score, then you have to import a MIDI file. I usually download MIDI files from musescore.com (I have annual subscription), but the SmartPianist app can't load them properly by default. All staffs (and all instruments, if there are more than one in the MIDI file) are merged into the first staff and it is unusable (unreadable and can't switch the left and right hand on/off) in this way. I figured out how I can export a midi file with separated staffs. In this case piano score with two staffs, treble and bass clefs.

I will try to explain how, and I hope it will be understandable, but English is not my native language and I don't know the proper terminology...
1) Get the .mscz file form musescore.com. (This is a compressed XML text file.)
2) Open it with Musescore app on your computer and export (save as) to .mscx format (uncompressed XML text file).
3) Open this .mscx file with a plain text editor (e.g. notepad in windows).
4) Find the section opened with <part> tag and closed with </part> tag. Duplicate this section (select it, then copy+paste).
5) Find the <Staff id="2">...</Staff> in the FIRST <part>...</part> section, and delete it:
<Staff id="2">
<StaffType group="pitched">
<name>stdNormal</name>
</StaffType>
<defaultClef>F</defaultClef>
</Staff>
This part will be the first staff on the score (treble clef/right hand).
6) Find the <Staff id="1">...</Staff> in the SECOND <part>...</part> section, and delete it:
<Staff id="1">
<StaffType group="pitched">
<name>stdNormal</name>
</StaffType>
<defaultClef>F</defaultClef>
</Staff>
This will be the second staff on the score (bass clef/left hand).
7) Save the modified .mscx file, open it in Musescore software, export it to MIDI file and now you can import this MIDI file to the SmartPianist app.

If anybody knows an easier way inside the Musescore software, then don't keep it to yourself!

(Remark: CSP-170 has no bluetooth capabilities, so if you connect the tablet without USB cable, then the connection is established via wifi. And in this case you can charge the tablet with its own charger.)

Hello Sir,
Im Krzysztof I have also csp-170. So what that yamaha is called this machine smart piano but the midi which I created by conversion software from skore-not-sheet, the MIDI file looks like is so crappy.
When I upload this midi file via dropbox, and run from user folder, all note in treble clef are looking horrible, are located and jumped in various lines! The bass key disappear , there is no chords !!!
holy cow. I want to return this csp-170 back to the store. The Yamaha is playing deaf!!! I asked them if Yamaha is seling and called this machine smart piano, is also obligate customers to gave them for free right conversion software, when people can convert in right waY!!! BUT DO NOT DECOY people beginners to purchasing this piano without conversion software. This is a not big deal to provide any one who have home this piano, but do not look on forum and making long process of research edith file, combine, manipulate etc. Or maybe you are the genius programmers who can be able to help how to generate clean and right MIDI plick. in what in Cubase? Finale? Sibelius? I see you created some syntex trick as : </StaffType>
<defaultClef>F</defaultClef>
</Staff> but have no clue how to play with this. Before start I would like to know from where and how I can dump this yamaha. txt file? what is this and where this is located? Can You help please . Many Thanx! and Marry Christmas . Krzysztof D

Hello Sir,
Im Krzysztof I have also csp-170. So what that yamaha is called this machine smart piano but the midi which I created by conversion software from skore-not-sheet, the MIDI file looks like is so crappy.
When I upload this midi file via dropbox, and run from user folder, all note in treble clef are looking horrible, are located and jumped in various lines! The bass key disappear , there is no chords !!!
holy cow. I want to return this csp-170 back to the store. The Yamaha is playing deaf!!! I asked them if Yamaha is seling and called this machine smart piano, is also obligate customers to gave them for free right conversion software, when people can convert in right waY!!! BUT DO NOT DECOY people beginners to purchasing this piano without conversion software. This is a not big deal to provide any one who have home this piano, but do not look on forum and making long process of research edith file, combine, manipulate etc. Or maybe you are the genius programmers who can be able to help how to generate clean and right MIDI plick. in what in Cubase? Finale? Sibelius? I see you created some syntex trick as : </StaffType>
<defaultClef>F</defaultClef>
</Staff> but have no clue how to play with this. Before start I would like to know from where and how I can dump this yamaha. txt file? what is this and where this is located? Can You help please . Many Thanx! and Marry Christmas . Krzysztof D

What do you mean by "skore-not-sheet"?

Yamaha's Smart Pianist app has the 'Audio To Score' feature.

If you are using something else, then it's not a Yamaha CSP issue.