We are digital piano & keyboard specialists, based in Banbury, Oxfordshire. Stay up to date with the latest news, reviews, tips, and offers by joining our FREE newsletter (unsubscribe at any time).
I thought I’d take a blog post to try to break down some of the jargon that you might be introduced to when thinking about upgrading your digital piano to something like the Yamaha CLP785.
The main question that might be in your mind is ‘how can a digital piano recreate the sound of an acoustic piano‘ and what more do I get?
Perhaps mimicry is something that we actually take for granted in the digital age with things being easy to copy and replicate with technology.
However, what you get might be an inferior quality, suffice to say that the aural output for a piano needs to be as rounded to the ear as a 3D beautifully shaded shape is to the eye, and just recording the sound and playing it back will give a flat and poor imitation.
When you listen to a piano concert in a concert hall performed on, let’s say, a Bösendorfer grand piano, you are hearing many complex combinations that work together to give you the sound your ear hears, for example:
All these reactions happen organically, bringing truth to the adage that no two performances are EVER the same.
So, how does a digital piano recreate this as it will need to be programmed INTO the piano rather than it occurring naturally outside the piano?
Yamaha do this through a series of processes known as sampling and modeling.
On the Yamaha CLP785 specifications, which is the top-of-the-range upright digital Clavinova in the CLP series, there is mention of ‘Binaural sampling’, ‘Virtual Resonance Modeling’, and ‘Grand Expression Modeling’.
When digital pianos are produced, they are programmed with many series of samples. These are small snippets of recordings of different instruments in different situations and from different angles.
So for example, a sample might be a fortissimo staccato piece played in a large concert hall or a small practice room, and the next sample might be a pianissimo performance of the same piece in the same venue or another one.
Each of these samples give very different sounds that create the realistic piano sounds in the instrument and are layered. Added to that, each recording needs to be a stereo sound of that instrument otherwise you will end up with your flat sound I mentioned earlier, hence ‘binaural’.
26m
Watch Chris's demonstration of the sublime sounds available on the Yamaha CLP-785 Clavinova
The further up the specification, the more samples have gone into the reproduction of the sounds. One of the important facts about Yamaha worth mentioning, is their heritage with making acoustic instruments (since 1887 in case you were interested!) as well as technology.
Combine these together and there is naturally an exceedingly high level of hands-on experience that go into your piano.
The Yamaha CLP785 takes all these features to the top of its game with both CFX and Bösendorfer Imperial piano Binaural sampling. Furthermore, Virtual Resonance Modeling recreates the physical behaviours of the sounds and resonance in different environments and situations giving the player a true to life performance sound.
The Grand Expression Modeling gives you every possible tonal variation you might need when playing meaning that you can vary the intensity and speed of your touch when you play and the piano will respond.
Remember we offer competitive quotes for buying back your current instrument if you’re interested in upgrading to the Yamaha CLP-785. Simply use our form below.
If you are interested in upgrading to a Yamaha CLP785, you can always contact us or fill in the form below and our sales team will be in touch with you.
[register-interest]Enter your email address below to receive our free weekly newsletter containing the latest piano, keyboard and organ demonstration videos, breaking news, special offers, invitations to our live video events, technical support articles and much more.
These items are sold on behalf of Yamaha, and are sent to us on a per-order basis, typically within 5-7 working days, unless an ETA is otherwise stated.
We'll contact you the moment your purchase arrives with us to organise delivery, based on your selected option.
Example products: Yamaha DGX670, Yamaha P-525, Yamaha YDP-S55, Yamaha Clavinova.
These items must be sent with a heavy-goods courier (typically APC or FedEx). On occasion, depending on which is fastest, we will drop-ship directly from Yamaha to your address via Dachser.
Tracking will be provided by the haulier, with a typical arrival time of 1-2 working days.
*If you have included the optional £180 "Yamaha Premium Service" home delivery & setup option offered on selected products, we will contact you regarding arrangements after purchase.
**The Yamaha CSP Series, Yamaha CVP905 & CVP909, Yamaha CLP875, 885 & 895GP, and Yamaha NU1Xa are all sold on behalf of Yamaha and arrive with us on a per-order basis. As soon as your piano has arrived, we will contact you to organise the appropriate dispatch method. ETA for stock is shown on the product page for those items.
***If you have included the optional £99 home delivery & setup option offered on selected products, we will send your details direct to the installation team, who will contact you within 48 hours to make arrangements.
Depending on which option is most appropriate, we will either contact you to discuss a bespoke ePianos delivery surcharge for goods we can’t package for a 3rd party courier, or otherwise dispatch goods via FedEx or APC.
If a courier is used, tracking will be provided by them directly, with a typical arrival time of 1-2 working days.
Example products: Yamaha PSR-SX920, Yamaha P-225, Yamaha NP-15.
These items will be sent via courier (typically APC or FedEx). On occasion, depending on which is fastest, we will drop-ship directly from Yamaha to your address via UPS or Parcelforce.
Tracking will be provided by the courier, with a typical arrival time of 1-2 working days.
Smaller items, such as books, discs, etc, will be dispatched via Royal Mail second class.
After purchase, you can download the file either from the order confirmation page or the "Downloads" tab in "My Account".
If you have selected the option to receive a pre-loaded USB stick, then this will be dispatched via Royal Mail.
We will contact you regarding any pre-ordered items, and let you know when they arrive so as to arrange delivery with you at a convenient time.
Used items can also be purchased using either of the following options (minimum loan amount of £250 after deposit):
Total amount payable: £893.32
Available finance options are displayed at checkout. Alternatively, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to discuss the options, or email a finance application to you. Find out more by clicking here
Our seasonal opening hours are as follows:
We are closed on all bank holidays, therefore the processing of sales and deliveries will be delayed.
For orders of any stock displaying a 7-10 day lead time, we will contact you as soon as the item arrives with us to schedule a delivery with you.
Occasionally, there may be availability issues with our suppliers, in which case we'll get in touch with you to see if you're happy to wait, or if you'd like to cancel the order and receive a full refund.
This is a special order "agency" item, and comes to us directly from Yamaha on a per-order basis.
It typically takes 7-10 days for this item to arrive with us, whereupon we'll contact you to discuss the arrangement of delivery.
For any pre-orders, we will contact you as soon as the item arrives with us to schedule a delivery with you, and update you with an ETA.
Occasionally, there may be availability issues with our suppliers, in which case we'll get in touch with you to see if you're happy to wait, or if you'd like to cancel the order and receive a full refund.
*Cashback amount varies product to product, as indicated.
Comments: