Category Archives: Smart Pianist

Yamaha announce the Clavinova CLP-800 series

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Yamaha have announced the much-anticipated CLP-800 series Clavinova digital pianos.

Personally, I was hoping for a significant bump over the CLP-785, the main reference point for this post. The CLP-785 — and now the CLP-885 — are the flagship “spinet” models. Although I enjoy my CSP-170, my dealer offers an attractive trade-in, trade-up plan which I would exercise given the right motivation. After a quick glance through the Owner’s Manual and Data List, my ardor cooled, sad to say.

Yamaha CLP-845 digital piano

The user interface (i.e., front panel and key functions) and choice of keybed (e.g., GrandTouch and GrandTouch-S) remain largely the same. The piano engine features the same capabilities as the CLP-700 series:

Secondary voices and the XG (GS, GM2) sound set remain the same. Please see the CLP-800 series comparison table as lower-end models may elide specific features and voices.

The CFX Grand and Bösendorfer are the featured pianos, and include Binaural Sampling. The CLP-800 series adds two new acoustic piano voices: Chill Out Piano and Lo-Fi Piano. The same Fortepianos are offered: Scarlatti, Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin Pianos. All other secondary voices are the same in the CLP-800 series. No big upgrades.

The classical and lesson song lists and rhythm list are the same.

The CLP-800 series Owner’s Manual has many revisions for readability. The different organization makes it difficult to make an exact features by feature comparison between the series. I haven’t spotted any gotta-have new features.

Yamaha have made significant changes in the built-in sound system(s):

Component      CLP-885                  CLP-785
-------------  ------------------------  ------------------------
Amplifiers     (45 W + 30 W + 40 W) × 2  (50 W + 50 W + 50 W) × 2

Speakers       (16 cm with diffuser +    (16 cm + 
               8 cm with diffuser +      8 cm + 
               2.5 cm (dome) with        2.5 cm (dome) +
               Bidirectional Horn) × 2,  transducer) × 2,
               Spruce Cone Speaker       Spruce Cone Speaker

You will find similar changes in spec for other models, should you look at the CLP-800 series comparison chart.

Yamaha have given the DSP effect types a modest boost by adding “Effect types used for a specific Voice”. These effect types are:

    VCM EQ 501             Virtual Circuit Modeling (VCM) vintage EQ
    Comp Distortion        Compressor stage followed by distortion
    Vintage Phaser Stereo  VCM analog vintage phaser
    Stereo Overdrive       Stereo overdrive distortion
    Damper Resonance       Simulates grand piano damper resonance
    Hall 5                 REV-X hall reverb

Yamaha arranger and synth enthusiasts will recognize these effect types. They are DSP algorithms that are typically applied to electric piano and other keyboard voices.

Initial Reaction

My initial reaction is “Big-whoop”. [“Disappointment” for those of you who are not familiar with American sarcasm.]

The big functional change appears to be the use of “diffusers” in the built-in sound system. The CLP-800 Web page has a big chart comparing sound system components. The chart made me feel like I was buying a PA system, not a piano. Yamaha need to find a different way to promote this technology — something to make the technology approachable and cuddly to the average customer. Way too techie!

Frankly, I’m left cold. Since I’m happy with my CSP-170, I cannot find a compelling reason to upgrade to the CLP-800 product line (or the CLP-885, in particular). Guess that trade-up option is going to go unexercised…

Why the underwhelming Clavinova Series 800 update?

We know — from Yamaha’s quarterly call with analysts and investors — that the bottom has fallen out of the world-wide market for home digital pianos. China, in particular, is slow. Possibly, Yamaha did not feel the need or want to drive the home digital piano market too hard at this point in time. Perhaps they are saving bigger updates for the future when the market is more favorable?

This doesn’t mean that the CLP-800 series are bad pianos. I liked the Yamaha CLP-785 very much. As far as I’m concerned, personally, CLP-885 doesn’t give me a compelling reason to upgrade.

Technical footnote

The CLP-700 and CLP-800 series generate high resolution velocity and acceleration data with each MIDI note ON message. Two MIDI continuous controller (CC) messages are generated:

    CC#19    Key acceleration
    CC#88    High-resolution velocity prefix

By “prefix”, I suspect Yamaha mean the high order byte of an extended velocity data value. If you intend to use a “Grand Expression” digital piano with a personal computer-based software instrument (e.g., Modartt Pianoteq, Arturia Piano V, etc.), you will need to filter out or map these “extra” MIDI messages. Check the MIDI Implementation Chart for your model and software instrument (VST).

Copyright © 2024 Paul J. Drongowski

Yamaha CSP-170 in the house!

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At long last, my Yamaha CSP-170 Smart Piano arrived!

Classic Pianos Bellevue

Before saying anything else, I want to give a shout-out to Classic Pianos in Bellevue, Washington. I got a friendly and welcoming reception when I visited their showroom in August during my piano quest. I like to support local dealers when possible and Classic Pianos left me with a very positive first impression. [They had to endure my banging around, too.]

Yamaha CSP-170 Smart Piano (matte black)

So, when I heard about close-out pricing on CSP-100 series pianos, I gave them a call. They checked out the situation with Yamaha and offered the reduced price on the Yamaha CSP-170B (matte black) model. The only catch was availability because they needed to place an order with Yamaha. Classic Pianos staff were helpful and courteous during the wait — even checking on the status of their order with Yamaha.

Classic Piano rolled in “white glove” delivery which I did not expect at the close-out price. CSP pianos are quite heavy and assembly would have been a real chunk for two 70 year-olds. Thus, I’m really grateful for the extra service. Martinson Piano Moving handled delivery and in-home set-up.

At this point, all is well. Thank you, Classic Pianos (Bellevue).

Why CSP-170?

Yeah, why? The CSP-170 is the “old” CSP-100 series, right?

If you read my reviews of the Yamaha P-515 and CLP-785, you’ll know that I like the NWX keyboard action and the CFX/Bösendorfer piano sounds. I would have loved to buy the CLP-785, but its price is above my target budget.

My biggest beef with the P-515 (and the CLP series, for that matter) is the relative paucity of secondary sounds. Once you’ve tasted Yamaha MODX or Genos, you know what Yamaha is capable of. The P-515 XG sounds are sufficient for playing back XG MIDI files, but the voices aren’t up to the same quality level as mid- to upper-range Yamaha arranger keyboards or synths.

When the CSP-100 series was first announced, they struck me as innovative, but price-y. The CSP-170 (and 150) secondary sounds are roughly the same as the PSR-SX700 arranger. The extra sounds pushed the initial CSP-170 price ($5,400 USD) above the somewhat comparable CLP-745 (as far as base piano and sound system are concerned.)

Yamaha announced and began shipping the CSP-200 series last Summer. The second generation CSPs have a larger secondary sound set and GrandTouch keyboards. Pricing with respect to CLP remains high due to the CSP’s extra features.

For whatever reason, CSP-100 series were (are?) overstocked. [You can still find close-out CSP-150 and CSP-170 pianos today.] Yamaha reduced the price of the CSP-170B (matte black) model to $3,600 USD. A P-515 package for home costs about $2,000. So, the $1,600 delta above the P-515 buys a very nice cabinet, a superior amplification system, auto-accompaniment, learning features (stream lights) and a wealth of high-quality secondary sounds. Buying a CSP-170 for $3,600 is a bit of a “no brainer”, if you don’t want or need quasi-portability.

As I mentioned, the only catch is availability and waiting time. In a recent earnings call with financial analysts, Yamaha admitted that they have inventory issues and are over-stocked in certain specific product categories (e.g., entry-level digital pianos). Some of the glut is pandemic-related; some excess inventory is due to a slowed Chinese economy. Yamaha may be shifting stock from far away, for all we know. My CSP-170 was manufactured (Indonesia) in November 2022. I’d love to know its history!

Here I am today, a happy camper. I’ll be posting my initial impressions as a new owner/player and will have more to say about the Yamaha Smart Pianist app. Please, stay tuned and thanks for reading.

Copyright © 2023 Paul J. Drongowski