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Yamaha CP-5 $2599/$2599 Year Manufactured: 2010 Specs: Voices Maximum Polyphony 128 Tone Generator SCM (Spectral Component Modeling) + AWM2 Performances Preset 10 x 4 groups x 3 banks User 10 x 4 groups x 3 banks External 10 x 4 groups x 3 banks (USB Flash Memory) Parts 6 Voice Block 17 piano voices (SCM + AWM2) + 305 other voices (AWM2) Modulation Effect Block 49 types Power-Amplifier / Compressor Block 8 types Reverb 8 types Master Compressor 3-band Master Equalizer 5-band Rhythm Number of Kits 14 Number of Patterns 100 Control Interface Keyboard 88 keys, NW-STAGE keyboard (Wooden synthetic ivory weighted keyboard) Display 24 character x 2 lines, vacuum fluorescent display (VFD) Controllers Pitch bend wheel, Master volume, Knobs 1 to 3, Part volume x 6, Master equalizer x 5, Gain Connectivity Connectors Line Out L/MONO,R (Unbalanced), L, R (Balanced) Headphones Headphones jack (stereo-phone) Foot Switch SUSTAIN, ASSIGNABLE Foot Controller ×2 Mic Input ×1 MIDI IN, OUT, THRU USB TO HOST, TO DEVICE Sound: 5/5 I have been waiting for a digital piano that is aurally indistinguishable from the real thing. I think Yamaha has done it. The CP-5 has about 300 patches which sets it apart from its more expensive (CP-1) and lesser (CP50) counterparts. But just focusing on the Pianos, Organs, and E. Pianos, I'm blown away. There are two pianos included: The CF Grand and the S6 Grand. I find the CF to be richer and deeper while the S6 is much brighter. The big deal here is that the sound is modeled instead of sampled, which means that virtually every aspect of the sound can be tweaked. The piano nerd in me (and the nerd in general) really likes this. You can adjust how hard the hammers in your virtual piano are, how much the strings resonate with each other, how strong the damper and sustain are, etc. etc. This is the case for every voice. The E. Pianos allow you to fine tune the sound down to insane levels of detail. I can't really speak on all the other voices since I have no use for brass, strings, etc. The synth noises are nice but nothing special. Most of them sound too similar to each other. HOWEVER, I think it must be said that the CP-5's Rhodes patch is loving fantastic. Again, you can customize everything and there are 5 different Rhodes here. They range from gentle and soft to (my favorite) growling and intense. I'm particularly biased because I've never played an authentic Rhodes, but every virtual one I've tried (Yamaha S90x, Roland 700gx) was nice but felt like something was missing. Basically, the CP5 totally nails it in terms of sound and, especially, in terms of convincing the player that the keybed and the sounds they are hearing are actually one and not generated at all. Instrument Quality: 4/5 When I first got it out of the box, I was really upset to find that when I hit a key dead center there was a slight clicking noise as the key moved out of its resting position. It was very distracting. It took about an hour of playing to break in the keyboard and those sounds have now vanished. YMMV. Besides that, the only thing worth complaining about is the display. For a $2500 piano, I think having a display this small is an insult. Every piece of information it attempts to show the user must be truncated and abbreviated to the point where a new user cannot simply infer what the terms mean. CmpDst+? R-H1? Gimme a break, Yamaha. This is especially frustrating given how customizable the voice patches are. Playbility: 5/5 The keyboard feels phenomenal. Like I said above, it's the most expressive digital piano I've ever played. I feel completely connected to the sounds I'm making when I play. A lot of die-hard digital piano players are up in arms because the key action isn't graded. On a real piano the lower octave keys are stiffer than the upper ones. That's graded action. On the CP-5, the action is uniform throughout. Personally, this does not bother me. The CP-5 is both a piano simulator as well as an organ and electric piano simulator. Why make the action suit only one of those jobs? The CP5's lesser model, the CP50, has graded action and having played both of them side by side in the store, I found the difference minimal. This instrument simply must be played to believe, and in a quiet environment. Grab some nice headphones or something that will block out the noise in a store and try it out. As a piano player, the only reluctance I have is that I know this piano will spoil me to the point where I will not be able to achieve the same level of expression on most other pianos. But at the end of the day, I'd rather have one piano I can play the poo poo out of at the expense of all the others instead of vice versa. Overall Value: 4.5/5 Truthfully, I did not buy this myself but I consider it to be a very worthwhile acquisition. In terms of sound and playability, this instrument makes absolutely no compromises. In terms of interacting with the instrument, the screen and button layout could be a lot better, but after a few days using it that gripe fades. At the very least, check out the CP50. Same sound generator, less features, graded hammer action for piano players and it costs $1000 less.
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May 12, 2010 13:08
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| # ¿ May 4, 2024 08:12 |
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