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Yamaha CP88 and 73 - Deserve their own thread


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Say what you will about Nords but the semi-weighted boards are among the best for playing Clav.

Yes... while I liked the SV1 action for clav better than most other hammer actions, sure, I would still prefer the Nord SW action... which also has a low release on the clavs. (As does the Mojo 61, though I haven't played that.)

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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Say what you will about Nords but the semi-weighted boards are among the best for playing Clav.

Yes... while I liked the SV1 action for clav better than most other hammer actions, sure, I would still prefer the Nord SW action... which also has a low release on the clavs. (As does the Mojo 61, though I haven't played that.)

 

Correction: I meant to write NORD semi weighted boards.

Yes, the Mojo 61 is PHENOMENAL to play Clav on (as well aseverything else)

"I have constantly tried to deliver only products which withstand the closest scrutiny � products which prove themselves superior in every respect.�

Robert Bosch, 1919

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Gordon Reid (SOS) in his review on the Vox Continental: I particularly like the Clavinet Variations because they offer a damping control that makes them superior to almost all of the other emulations that Ive encountered.
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Thats always the question with Yamaha, others too. They put out an instrument like the CP-50 with a wide sound pallet, and at the same time a CP-1 with a very narrow sound pallet. On the up side, the Montage has been getting updates including patches and samples (some new some brought over from Motif XF). And they have said there will be firmware updates for the new CP-73/88. So we shall see.

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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Just played on an 88 today. Was more interested in the 73 for Wurli sounds. Preferred the second Wurli. AFAIK the board was already in a piano preset and the EP section was locked out until I pressed the 'exit' button on the preset panel. Couldn't find a way of switching off the the EP fx, other than turning down the fx level knob(s). The board was under another so very dark and hard to see the controls, working them by 'feel' a lot. Seemed easy enough to dial in fx and drive, although the full lighting of all the knob leds, then just the top led left, didn't help with 'at a glance' adjustments. Don't know if that's changeable in 'setup'.

 

I can now see the fx on/off buttons location on Yamaha's website, but for some reason they didn't 'register' in the dark.

CP7546_181127_4096x2732_c33005f71368945c31697caca971a328.jpg

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Please resize your image, thanks.

 

:o That's a big one.

Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000

Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R

Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT

Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments

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I like the layout of your arm hair. Very clean!

 

Pic's from Yamaha UK. Right click on it and select "View Image".

 

I thought the same thing at first.

Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000

Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R

Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT

Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments

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  • 3 weeks later...
Got a CP73 enroute from SW; arriving next week. Anxious to contrast the keybed with my Forte, and the Seven. More to come...

 

Cant wait to read your impressions, Brad!

 

I got to try a CP88 today at GC. I enjoyed the sound, feel and interface, but my experience was hampered by the placement of the CP on a rickety x-stand.....

I really held back from digging all the way in.

One important point is that the pitch and mod levers are very ergonomic and fluid. Well done, Yamaha!

Also, the 88 is super light and easy to move!

The raw sounds and fx are top class.... but I have to say Im glad I got a Kronos as my primary board!

I may get a CP73 down the road as a beater lightweight board

"I have constantly tried to deliver only products which withstand the closest scrutiny � products which prove themselves superior in every respect.�

Robert Bosch, 1919

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Tried the CP88 in the store and and wasn't very impressed. Toggle switches felt weird looked like they can be damaged easily in a case.

 

Also Rhodes sounds still have evident velocity layers switching. Not as bad as Motifs, but it's still there (but I'm spoiled by the Korg Grandstage and Nord e-pianos, so probably not an issue in a mix). Overall a bit overpriced for what it is.

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Played them both briefly in GC yesterday. Typical of this store, neither was plugged into amplification, so had to use the crappy headphones they lent me. The CP88 was at armpit level and the 73 was at eyebrow level, and both were at an extreme tilt with of course changes the feel of the weighted action. So not a very fair audition and yes, these people are idiots.

 

I was mainly eager to feel the action of the 73. It's serviceable, but it's not great. Interestingly, there was a Korg Grandstage right next to it and so went back and forth between them for a few minutes, and I preferred the CP73. The Grandstage action felt too shallow in comparison.

 

The CP88 action is definitely better.

 

If said it before in this thread, but the CPs seem overpriced for what they are, because the non-piano sound set is so limited, its hard for me to see this as a serious multi-timbral instrument. But at 28 lbs with useable weighted action, the 73 might be a good option for someone playing primarily pianos who values its portability.

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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I went back today with my own headphones and had them put the CP73 on a lower rack so I wouldn't have to reach above my head to play it. Have a better feel for it now. The action is very light, and the pivot point gives it a rathe unpiano-like feel. I'd say the action is optimized for wurli, rhodes, and clav, in that order. A little too light even for rhodes, a tad heavy for clav (as any weighted action would be), but spot on Goldilocks for wurli.

 

The CP88 action is much better for piano. Playing acoustic piano sounds on the CP73 felt a bit forced and unnatural, whereas same AP sounds on the CP88 feel completely natural and easy.

 

So I'm a little disappointed because I'd hoped that in the CP I would finally find the weighted 73 with a great piano action. It's not that, and yet it still might top my list in the category of highly portable weighted action keyboards.

 

If the Crumar Seven had the CP73 action, that would be an improvement over the TP100 for playing electromechanical sounds. On the other hand, given the choice between TP100 and CP73 action for playing acoustic piano sounds, I'd probably go for the more substantial-feeling TP100.

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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Light-weight hammer action sounds good to me for the CP73. I like that. I got used to semis and synths but most of the time I play Rhodes, so I feel that's what the CP73 is about. I don't like heavy-weight like TP100. Although GHS on the new P121 73keys is good, not so heavy.

 

I have to visit the local demo store soon!

 

Also, got to change page!

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My contribution to the change page movement:

 

I was surprised to see that, among the programmable controls that Yamaha removed in these two keyboards as compared to the CP4 were Velocity Sensitivity Depth (VelDepth) and Velocity Sensitivity Offset (VelOfst). I use those a lot on my CP4.

 

Or are they there and I missed them?

Mike
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My contribution to the change page movement:

 

I was noticing how similar the CP88 is to the Kawai MP11/MP11SE.

 

Like the CP, the Kawai similarly has three sections: Piano, EP, and Sub for everything else, with a relatively small number of sounds in each section with pretty direct selection, and with each section having its own volume control and key range selector. Each has banks of 8 buttons for calling up your custom combinations, and four zones of external MIDI control. The CP has an array of dedicated effects knobs, whereas Kawai has four programmable knobs. Kawai adds song recorder, audio recorder, rhythms, and includes their top of line piano sound and action.

 

Despite the similarities, the Kawai hasn't generated all the interest the CP has. I'm sure its 70+ lb schleppage is part of that. But I also wonder if Kawai might have raised a few more eyebrows simply by varying the size/shape/color of assorted controls, to give it more of the CP's eye candy appeal. I can kind of imagine a lightweight 73-key version of the MP11SE using an ES100 or ES110 action, and a spiffed up control surface (and maybe some tweaks to the sound set), as a nice answer to the CP73.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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My contribution to the change page movement:

 

I was surprised to see that, among the programmable controls that Yamaha removed in these two keyboards as compared to the CP4 were Velocity Sensitivity Depth (VelDepth) and Velocity Sensitivity Offset (VelOfst). I use those a lot on my CP4.

 

Or are they there and I missed them?

 

They removed the whole SCM modelling, which VelDepth and VelOfset were probably part of.

 

I can kind of imagine a lightweight 73-key version of the MP11SE using an ES100 or ES110 action, and a spiffed up control surface (and maybe some tweaks to the sound set), as a nice answer to the CP73.

 

That's not a bad idea. I'd love to have a Kawai stage piano based on ES110 action.

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Woops, I posted in the wrong thread at first. Fixing that now . . .

 

My feeling about it is, MP11 may be the best action, but the Yamaha wooden key hammer action (CP4, P515, CP88) is at least 90% as good at 50-60% of the overall weight. If you're gigging, that's kind of an easy choice. And of course there's a subjective element, so someone like Dave Ferris might actually prefer the Yamaha over the Kawai.

 

One thing I liked about the CP73 action was that the action itself is extremely quiet. I'm sitting in front of my Seven right now trying to play through headphones while the wife and kids are sleeping, and the clunking of keys is loud enough that I have to worry about waking them up. But this is the only time I can practice! That's my situation, but not everyone has that sort of problem.

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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