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I’ve been asked to review the Yamaha Arius series and the Clavinova CLP series and to talk about just what makes the differences when you are thinking of buying.
I’m going to look at these today from the perspective of someone in the relatively early stages of learning who might want to purchase their first piano.
Obviously, there are a lot of superior features on the Clavinova range versus the Arius such as the speaker system which upgrades from two 12cm x 6cm oval speakers in the Arius to two 16 + 8 + 2.5 cm (dome) + transducer Spruce cone speakers in the CLP 785. This obviously makes a difference to the output.
However, from the angle of what a beginner player might need we need to go into how the instrument responds as a piano.
The Arius is a neat-looking piano, it comes in a slimline version too in case you are finding space a bit of an issue. The touch of the instrument is perfectly good.
The piano has a smooth release function which means that the keys respond to variety in articulation such as staccato and legato and the keys are graded.
The layout is simple, there are no fussy buttons to distract when perhaps you should be focusing on scales, however, on the flip side, this does mean there is less variety of voice and sounds, although the YDP 144 and 164 and the YDPS54 are compatible with the SmartPianist App which will give you some extra features, albeit not all the ones that work with the App on the CLP, CSP or CVP range.
As a first piano, this is a great price. It looks and functions like a piano and has all the features that a budding pianist needs.
However, when you sit to play at a CLP Clavinova, you may not look back. This series has all the components to take your playing further.
The series consists of the CLP725, 735, 745 and 785 and yes, each one does have more as you go up the scale (no pun intended).
The CLP735 was the first one I sat down to compare the Arius to and immediately, the responsiveness of the keys is the first notable difference.
The pieces I played to compare the instruments were Schuman’s Traumeri and Bella’s Lullaby from Twilight.
Bella’s Lullaby has lots of soft bass chords that need ‘stroking’ from the player. With the 735 this was much more autonomous than with the Arius that did feel a little clunkier.
Both pieces require sensitivity of touch. Traumeri has several arpeggio sequences that require slightly different pressure from each digit and some very purposeful and delicate chord placement.
When I sat down at the 745 and 785, the tone quality was noticeably different with a much richer depth from my touch.
This is probably due to the fact that the Grand Expression Modelling function on all the CLP series replicates the behaviour of the hammers and strings in an acoustic grand piano, therefore the player is able to be in control of the expressive nature of their playing.
Well, the Arius is a great, neat, simple and very decently priced instrument for the beginner who needs a real piano to practise on. It will give you everything you need in those early years, but you will eventually need to upgrade.
The CLP range, on the other hand, will enable progression beyond the early years of learning, enabling the pianist to connect with expression, touch and musicality beyond just note playing.
6m
David talks us through the Yamaha Clavinova CLP700 series
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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.
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