Come on, Yamaha...!

[LX88]

It might take Yamaha a while to come up with something that trumps the CP-33 as far as sound goes.

 

And as far as weight goes, doesn't the action that Yamaha uses have something to do with the weight? What else is there that is in the CP-33 that would cuase it to weigh so much?

 

Yamaha seems to have focused a lot of its efforts into the P - 105 and P-35 as far as coming up with lightweight boards is concerned.

 

I actually like the action on the P-35. And the sound isn't all that bad. It's not quite up to the standard of the CP-33 so perfectionists are going to bitch. But I have been tempted to try one as a gig board. I just haven't pulled the trigger.... probably because I have a Roland RD 300 GX for gigs.

 

I play a Yamaha Nocturne every day and I find that there is little to nothing that needs improvement about it ( it is a CP-33 with a speaker system including subwoofer). Reduce the weight, add a good Rhodes and I would be happy with that system.

 

Will Yamaha do it? Probably not......

[willf]

Am I the only piano player who longs for a 73 or 76 key instrument with pitch and mod wheels mounted above the keys so as not to make the board any larger or heavier than it really needs to be? I would certainly be interested in a CP5 or CP50 with this configuration. Are you listening Yamaha, Roland, and Korg?

 

LOL yamaha did that with mox8, after users screaming for it on 88s for years.... 5 seconds later Keyboard mag shit all over them for doing that

 

http://www.keyboardmag.com/article/yamaha-mox8/5809

 

I think they that they were complaining about the placement on the upper left corner, not that they were placed above the keybed.

 

"On the MOX8, I found the placement of the pitch and mod wheels at the left rear corner of the panel to be an awkward reacha small tradeoff for the compact size and portability."

 

 

[dazzjazz]

Anyone know if the MOX8 has any grand piano sounds from the CP1/5?

Might be a decent compromise...

[Stokely]

Debating about several (used) boards now....cp33, cp50, mox8 and s70xs. Obviously they break into two groups (piano and synth). Unfortunately I can't find a cp33 or cp50 so far to check out, though I did like the p155 action a lot. My only concern with the cp33 would be whether the other sounds would suffice in a pinch (EP, strings, horns). Flip side, I really would like a nice piano action and good piano sound--the mox8 has iffy action and sound IMO, the s70xs has iffy sound. Something about that piano didn't sound right though I need to check it with my own headphones/monitors. Always trade-offs! The big plus to the cp33 would be picking it up for around $600...

[dazzjazz]

The eps are very substandard.

[nickd]

Just to chime in, I had a CP33 last year for a while (bought with Darren and Aidan's advice, thanks guys) until the project I bought it for folded.

 

I'd agree a really good basic piano sound, great overall package of feel/sound/construction, but poor non-piano sounds. And it sounded good in mono which was a big deal for me.

 

It is a bit heavier than the Privias.

[Tonysounds]

LOL he has it as a CON at the bottom!

You guys did see who wrote that article, didn't you? Paging tonysounds...

 

Hey.I call em as I see em. The wheel placement IS a small trade-off. I understand why it was done, and I understand that for some people, that compromise is completely acceptable, but for other people, it is unacceptable, and therefore, that does make it a Con (certainly not a Pro).

 

I found it to be problematic not just in terms of ergonomics (using ONLY the MO X8), but also when stacking another keyboard on top of it.

 

Calling it a con is not shitting all over it (lol), and the wheels placement is not a deal breaker. But it is something to consider if you use the wheels a lot, or if you stack a 2nd keyboard on top.

 

Its a great board over all, which is why it got a KeyBuy award.

 

We scream all the time that product reviews are too pro. I try to play Devils Advocate as much as possible.

 

[Moonglow]

Anyone know if the MOX8 has any grand piano sounds from the CP1/5?

I don't think so, but there was a report from Summer NAMM that Yamaha will have CP-1 samples available for the Motif. I prompted for more info but there was no follow-up post.

[AnotherScott]

there was a report from Summer NAMM that Yamaha will have CP-1 samples available for the Motif. I prompted for more info but there was no follow-up post.

[video:youtube]

[Outkaster]

Why anyone would want 73 keys is kind of weird, at least to me. I might as well have 88. I have had all the S series keyboard except the S-90 ES and my XS is fine. Its a little long but has a great action and the piano sounds are fine. Yamaha has been pretty consistent and old wants a certain part of the market.

[Sam Mullins]

Anyone know if the MOX8 has any grand piano sounds from the CP1/5?

Might be a decent compromise...

 

I don't think it has the piano sounds from the CP1/CP5.

 

I think the MOX8 is a really good all-in-one package with a variety of quality sounds and light weight. But if your primary concern is pianos, you might find the action unacceptable. I realize this is personal preference, but when I've played one I found it vastly inferior to my old S90es (which is on the heavier side) and my Stage 2 (which is on the lighter side)....it just feels a bit klunky and loose to me. Having said that, I would have killed for that package at that price just ten years ago.

[Tonysounds]

+1 on all points.

[dazzjazz]

Damn the Physis Piano sounds GOOD!

[RandyFF]

Yeah, the Nord Stage 88 has top mounted "wheels" and I love it! I fit the 88 note in a 76 key bag, and their pitch bend lever (instead of a wheel) is very expressive/easy to use (though you are limited to 2 half tones, no adjustment possible)

 

I agree!!! I could get by without an 88 note if it was C-G, 77 notes, which would give almost all of the low notes- who needs all the high notes anyway?

[Joe Muscara]

They should put the wheels on the side and make them really durable and continuously rotating. Then they could double as transport wheels.

 

 

 

[smanzella]

Damn the Physis Piano sounds GOOD!

 

Yes indeed it does. I would love to audition this piano. It seems like it would solve a lot of problems for me. Unfortunately, they do not seem to be available in the United States.

 

 

[smanzella]

Why anyone would want 73 keys is kind of weird, at least to me. I might as well have 88. I have had all the S series keyboard except the S-90 ES and my XS is fine. Its a little long but has a great action and the piano sounds are fine. Yamaha has been pretty consistent and old wants a certain part of the market.

 

I guess it depends on what you do and what you need. At this point, I am purely a pianist. I rarely have the need to split my board. I exclusively play with big bands and jazz combos. Almost all the charts I play never go outside the 73/76 key range. And, when you are trying to fit on a stage with 19 other musicians, you need your board to be as compact as possible.

[stoken6]

C-G, 77 notes

 

Ahem!

 

Cheers, Mike

[ChiefDanG]

They should put the wheels on the side and make them really durable and continuously rotating. Then they could double as transport wheels.

 

 

 

C'mon, Joe! You would have to put a wheel on each side, have a pole-mount in the middle and push it around like a Swiiffer mop.

[Moonglow]

[video:youtube]

Hey thanks, Scott. I'm wondering how close this will come to the experience of playing a CP-1? If the Motif XF8 was not such a big, bulky, heavy beast, with this addition I might be tempted.

[dazzjazz]

Sorry to bump this, but someone must know if Yamaha are planning to release something in the pro stage piano line....c'mon don't be shy!

[Stokely]

I've shifted from the cp33 to the cp50--wish I could play one, but I did like the p155 action--and might even consider the cp5 if one comes up used. I know it's heavy but I need the exercise Having something with good action for my son to practice on is a secondary reason for getting a stage piano. The mox8 makes more sense for what I do sound-wise but I don't like that chassis or feel. They certainly can be had pretty cheaply used though I must say.

[Dana.]

Sorry to bump this, but someone must know if Yamaha are planning to release something in the pro stage piano line....c'mon don't be shy!

If and when Yamaha releases something new that's to your liking, you can always sell your Nord Stage to fund it.

[David Loving]

There must be applications for "Marketing Consultant" and "instrument Developer" at Yamaha and Casio laying around here somewhere...

[allan_evett]

I like the P105, a lot. A couple of students of mine have them. I think a new line of advanced P, and CP instruments that take that tone and playability to the next level would be very useful for a lot of folks. But I figured there'd be a CP33 replacement about a year ago, so... Who knows ? I suspect that Yamaha may have been spending their time on a new, different type of synth / hybrid instrument. But that's speculation.

 

That said I'm doing fine with the S90XS, for live work. The downloaded piano Voice edits that emulate the character of the S700 Voice have been a great starting point. Also some excellent S6 Voices I downloaded from a fellow in Oregon (the site escapes me, at the moment) have provided similar inspiration. Between those two resources I have an S90XS with eight or ten very diverse piano tones that cover different situations quite well. Definitely doesn't sound like the stock S90XS 'piano' that many have complained about. Glad I gave the instrument a second look..

[BRW]

Bit OT, but hey, some of us are still waiting for Yamaha to really update the Motif line. Adding more wave ROM and incremental features every few years is getting really old.

 

 

 

I have a silly theory about this, that the Keyboard story (from a while back) about the History of Motif kind of confirmed. In it, they talk about how the Motif waveROM is the product of years of careful cultivation and refinement, from various sound sources and by various reputable designers - and I've come to the conclusion that they honestly believe they have the "perfect soundset" that isn't worth re-doing. Which in essence is the same one from 2007! (XS)

 

Why else would they keep on diluting it to these various lite-Motifs, that apparently do make money for them.

 

I've had my hopes up for a multi-engine Kronos beater for a couple of these big trade shows over a few years already...still nothing. Or even if it has to be a sample machine, at least make it hard drive-based and include a VA.

[BRW]

Anyone know if the MOX8 has any grand piano sounds from the CP1/5?

Might be a decent compromise...

 

No. The CP1/CP5 have completely "new" grand piano and electric piano sounds that are modeled, not sampled (actually, in reality they're a bit of both). The MOX8 still has the sampled piano sounds from the Motif XS waveROM...from 2007.

 

I love my CP5. I wouldn't mind a stiffer keybed, but it just sounds so...full and warm, somehow.

[AnotherScott]

I've had my hopes up for a multi-engine Kronos beater for a couple of these big trade shows over a few years already...still nothing. Or even if it has to be a sample machine, at least make it hard drive-based and include a VA.

At least Korg had been making VA synths all along, they've never left that market, so they have that engineering expertise in house. I don't think Yamaha has made a VA style synth since the AN1X about fifteen years ago.

[AnotherScott]

I'm wondering how close this will come to the experience of playing a CP-1?

I think only a "taste" of it. Three big differences come to mind... the better (IMO) action of the CP-1; the fact that the CP-1 has a variety of piano sounds, and this is just one of them; and that the CP-1 has the SCM modeling, of which you'd be getting a sampled version of one particular set of characteristics. It seems similar to what Korg did with their EPs... on the Kronos, they use modeling to achieve all kinds of nuances which the user can also vary; for the Krome, they sampled some of those EPs. It seems like you would naturally lose some of the smoothness (i.e. replacing continuous velocity changes with some set of velocity based sample layers) as well as the adjustability of the modeled version, and the availability of all the variations.

 

None of which is to say that it might not be a great piano sound!

[piano39]

I've had my hopes up for a multi-engine Kronos beater for a couple of these big trade shows over a few years already...still nothing. Or even if it has to be a sample machine, at least make it hard drive-based and include a VA.

At least Korg had been making VA synths all along, they've never left that market, so they have that engineering expertise in house. I don't think Yamaha has made a VA style synth since the AN1X about fifteen years ago.

 

Don't forget that Yamaha owns Steinberg, so they already have their hands on VA technology. Plus, they could license this in a heartbeat from any number of sources. If Yamaha has the chops to do a VA on acoustic piano, synths or organs would be a walk in the park.