mikecorbett Posted December 7, 2011 Author Share Posted December 7, 2011 I feel like I should chime in here... Mike, first, I'm sorry that it's not what you expected it to be. I know how it is to buy a piece of gear, anticipate it's arrival, then be underwhelmed. I've never played a CP300 (well, I shouldn't say never, I may have messed around on one for a few minutes in a music store, but nothing that I remember specifically), so I don't know how the 33 should compare to it. I don't recall ever going in and altering any settings, so I don't know why a reset made a difference in sound. I never needed to turn it past about 1 o'clock, that was always plenty of volume for my gigs - not sure about the gain increase between that and full. I was always happy with the sound, I know it's not state-of-the-art, but it got the job done for me, and I always ran mono live. I sometimes record our live gigs, and I was always impressed with how it sounded out front - it cut nicely without sounding harsh - it sounded good for what I used it for - a good piano sound in a rock/pop cover band. (WAAAAAY better than the Alesis QS8.2 I used this past weekend - eeeewwww...) but that's a subject for my next thread... Maybe this should all be a PM, but I feel compelled to defend myself, I hope nobody thinks I sold Mike a lemon - My CP33 was extremely reliable (never had a single problem with it), I took good care of it, I was the only one who ever played it, and when it wasn't being played, it was in it's case. Mike, I wish you luck. I hope you get your situation figured out! You seem to be more particular about what you want in a DP (and that's absolutely fine!) than me, and maybe the CP33 isn't your board. For me, it was great. I miss it already... I'm trying to find a board to replace it with - something I've never said is WHY I sold the CP33 to begin with - I need a more versatile 'board with a good piano sound, within a certain budget, and I'm realizing how difficult it is to find what I want. Marc! Absolutely your a first rate guy and an honest dude, this is not meant to be an attack at you in any way, please understand that. I may be merely comparing the CP33 to a superior board, and it should be as they were twice the price. Im sure it will sound good out front, or recorded, its the connection to the instrument that im severly lacking especially when playing licks on the 300 to the 33 in comparison. I guess I thought I was going to get to enjoy that exact same sound in a light package, but it seems Yamaha didn't offer that. The board is in great shape and works as advertised. I am a little puzzled about the lack of output after 12 o clock, and Im wondering if its something that is shared by all CP33´s. Im not trying to suggest you sold me a lemon, but with electrical, mechanical things, electrical and mechanical stuff can stop working exactly as it should. Im just trying to determine whether that is a factor, though from outside appearances the board is perfect. If someone else with a CP33 could chime in on the volume issue it would be of great help in confirming whether or not this is typical of the model. once again Marc, I am so sorry if any of this offends you, it is not personal at all and Im not suggesting you did anything wrong. A factory reset did change the sound some, but hey, i had been messing with it prior to that so it could have been me who changed it in the first place. We are all slave's to our brain chemistry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Mike, what amplification are you running? Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Ferris Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 That's the thing. The CP33 can sound excellent through good speakers like Bobby mentioned. I'd hold on to that and if in your budget, upgrade your speakers. If Yamaha comes out with something new here in a few weeks, you can always sell the 33 since the new one won't be available till probably May or so. https://soundcloud.com/dave-ferris https://www.youtube.com/@daveferris2709 2005 NY Steinway D Yamaha AvantGrand N3X, CP88, P515 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikecorbett Posted December 7, 2011 Author Share Posted December 7, 2011 ...and it does sound good, its just the 300 sounds better. Im am running through some Yamaha Hifi gear, its gear I know well and can hear exactly what I hear. I also check with my Sony MDR 7506s which I know like the back of my hand. It isnt an amplification issue. I will do a recording to show you guys, one moment We are all slave's to our brain chemistry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockkeys Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Yeah, but this isnt just crazy, there is a huge difference in quality of piano playing experience, trust me! Its not that Im so used to the CP300, its a simple A/B. On one board I have satisfaction, immediatly. On the other I dont. trust me, I feel your pain. I own TWO cp-300's, and I tried going your route...ended up returning the CP-33. Yamaha claims that the actions are the same, but the chassis are so different that the playing experience between the two is vast. IMO, you're making the cp-300 out to be way heavier than it is. Face it, you don't get the same experience playing the cp-33, nor will you get it with a nord, or any other lighter board. I used to haul a cp-70, and a rhodes so for me, the cp-300 is really not that bad,,,, to someone younger, who has grown up with nords, sure, it's a beast. I don't think the cp-300 is as heavy as you're making it out to be, If you get someone to help, it's fine. I can't play anything other than a cp-300, and based on your posts, you sound the same. You won't be satisfied with anything else. You either have to make the decision to get used to a lighter board (and stick with it) or start lifting weights and get strong. ! I do lift weights regularly, so the days where I miss the gym, I get in my workout loading in for a gig. I think we forget that gigging is work, and work is not supposed to be easy. I have colleagues who do daywork in construction, drywalling, etc. They would LAUGH at me if I complained about my rig being too heavy, as would guys who gigged through the 70's. Not judging, but just throwing some perspective around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikecorbett Posted December 7, 2011 Author Share Posted December 7, 2011 OK;, well, I did another factory reset...and its fixedªª what the hell.... it now sounds like 95% of the CP300 which is good enough for live... it was sounding like shit before!!! I dont know how this is happening... weird, but Im very releived. Absolutely good enough for my purposes now!!!! pheww We are all slave's to our brain chemistry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikecorbett Posted December 7, 2011 Author Share Posted December 7, 2011 Yeah, but this isnt just crazy, there is a huge difference in quality of piano playing experience, trust me! Its not that Im so used to the CP300, its a simple A/B. On one board I have satisfaction, immediatly. On the other I dont. trust me, I feel your pain. I own TWO cp-300's, and I tried going your route...ended up returning the CP-33. Yamaha claims that the actions are the same, but the chassis are so different that the playing experience between the two is vast. IMO, you're making the cp-300 out to be way heavier than it is. Face it, you don't get the same experience playing the cp-33, nor will you get it with a nord, or any other lighter board. I used to haul a cp-70, and a rhodes so for me, the cp-300 is really not that bad,,,, to someone younger, who has grown up with nords, sure, it's a beast. I don't think the cp-300 is as heavy as you're making it out to be, If you get someone to help, it's fine. I can't play anything other than a cp-300, and based on your posts, you sound the same. You won't be satisfied with anything else. You either have to make the decision to get used to a lighter board (and stick with it) or start lifting weights and get strong. ! I do lift weights regularly, so the days where I miss the gym, I get in my workout loading in for a gig. I think we forget that gigging is work, and work is not supposed to be easy. I have colleagues who do daywork in construction, drywalling, etc. They would LAUGH at me if I complained about my rig being too heavy, as would guys who gigged through the 70's. Not judging, but just throwing some perspective around. Haha, yeah, Im much too much of a wimp for that! I like tennis and swimming. Well, your right there is a difference in sound quality in between the two models but its not the huge gulf that I was experiencing. Something was up with the internal settings like the resonance was all gone. It sounded like a poor recording of itself. Its much, MUCH better now. And while I can still hear a difference in the samples, by the time it gets through my monitoring system on stage it wont make much if any difference as someone pointed out earlier. You sound 1: more of a perfectionist than I 2: Stronger both are compliments! Mike We are all slave's to our brain chemistry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morizzle Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Hey Mike, give the piano some time. I have the CP 33 for about 3 years now. I've never been completely happy with the feel and sound live, but I really like it as a practice piano at home. I also have to say I prefer some of the AP and all of the EP sounds of the P 250. I've never had any technical problems with it. The volume knob works perfectly fine and is steady in loudness increase. Slowly I've grown tired of the sound, so I think next year I'll be shopping for a new stage piano, maybe the Nord Piano. It's not a clone, it's a Suzuki. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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