Yamaha continues to innovate the world of stage pianos as they release the Yamaha CP. These new instruments offer a fresh take on performance and style. Thankfully, we had Yamaha product specialist Blake Angelos in the Sam Ash Studio to give us a first hand deep-dive into the inner workings of this incredible piano. Let’s take a look.
The Models
“Authentic Sound, Realistic Touch, with an all new design featuring a 1-to-1 interface”. Blake boasts these features as a means to create sound and interact with the instrument in real time.
CP 73
The first option is the 73 note piano. This model is keyed E to E with a balanced hammer action. It’s keyed this way to accommodate a greater relationship with your band members where the guitarist and bass player have E as their lowest note. With that in mind, it’s also a great size for gigging players. If you’re focusing on electric pianos, clavs, organs, etc, then the balanced hammer action of the CP 73 would be a great choice for you.
CP 88
One of the big differences in this model is that it has an 88 key, natural wood, graded hammer action (heavier on the low end, lighter on the high end) to simulate the feel of a grand piano. It also has synthetic ebony and ivory keycaps to further simulate the acoustic feel, and goes even further with its triple-sensor action. With this, you can strike the keys multiple times in quick succession before the key returns to playing position (as you would be able to do on an acoustic piano). This model is great for a true to form pianist.
Knobs and Switches
Piano | Electric Piano | Sub
These stage pianos are laid out in a clean and idiomatic way that is indicative of that 1-to-1 interface we were talking about. One of the initial drawbacks of digital pianos, synths, and what have you, is the menu diving. With the CP, Yamaha hopes to take away that intimidation and make things much more tactile and accessible right on the piano itself. I personally love the color coded layout. It looks inviting to me without being intimidating. It just looks like an instrument that wants you to play it.
There are 3 sections that all offer the same controls and identical layout. So, everything makes sense within each section. You have Pianos, Electric Pianos, and Sub. What changes in each section are the effects, and again, they are effects that make sense to that section. These are effects that you would naturally assume are useful to that section, and therefore make sense when you select them.
Conclusion
Finally, the CP features flash memory on which Yamaha will regularly be updating the OS to add new content. With this, your CP will continue to have life and give you enjoyment long after purchase. This is an incredible machine, and definitely worth your time to check out. Whether your a gigging musician who wants the portability and balanced keys of the CP 73, or a purist piano player that wants the fun and versatility but with 88 graded hammer action keys in the CP 88, these fantastic series of instruments could be just the piano for you.
