Yamaha CLP vs CSP – Which piano should I buy?

I know you’re a busy person! So to save time, here’s my summary of which piano you should buy right away:

If your objective is to learn piano in the traditional way or if you simply want the most authentic digital piano touch then buy a Yamaha CLP model.

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Yamaha CLP vs CSP | What are the differences?

ePianos

Watch Chris explain the major differences between the Yamaha CLP and CSP ranges of digital piano

If your objective is to learn piano but you feel doing so in the traditional way (lessons, sheet music, etc) isn’t for you – for example, you might like using modern technology like smartphones/tablets – then buy a Yamaha CSP model.

Now, if you’re still with me, let me compare the two ranges in more detail for you!

What are the fundamental differences?

Both the Yamaha CLP & Yamaha CSP are designed, primarily, to give you a very authentic piano playing experience. And they both do this very well!

When you sit and play them, you’ll hear a very impressive piano sound and the keys will feel just like the ‘real’ thing. But the fundamental difference between them is the way they can be used to help you learn to play the piano.

Let’s dig a little deeper into this, shall we?

Learning to play on the Yamaha CLP range.

This range is essentially designed to replicate, as closely as possible, the experience of playing a traditional piano.

Consequently, the main method of learning to play on a Yamaha CLP piano is quite traditional too.

You can simply place a music book on the music rest, open it up, and learn in the tried and trusted way that people have through the years.

You might even hire a teacher to sit next to you and occasionally rap you over the knuckles with a wooden ruler when you play the wrong notes. If you’re feeling particularly sadistic.

These methods will require you to learn how to read music which although a worthy pursuit does take serious dedication, will undoubtedly take a fair bit of your time, and can hardly be described as easy.

Which brings us to…

Learning to play on the Yamaha CSP range.

Before I start, you can learn to play the piano in the traditional way on the Yamaha CSP models too because you have all the same essential ingredients as the CLP range.

Where the CSP range differs is that it offers a system of learning that is far more modern and integrates perfectly with smartphones and tablets.

What I’m talking about is the Stream Light learning system.

When this system is activated, on a narrow panel just above the keys, you’ll see LED lights falling down instructing you which notes to play.

It’s very easy to understand. Far easier than reading sheet music!

Even an absolute beginner is able to sit down at these pianos and play (albeit slowly) a song pretty much immediately.

When you’re using the Stream Light system, it doesn’t actually require you to use a tablet or smartphone.

There are many songs pre-loaded into the piano and you can select these – by using various button/key combinations – to learn without the need for any music books.

However, using Yamaha’s companion app called SmartPianist is really where the fun starts to be had!

It’s a surprisingly deep app – by no means simply a controller – with a vast array of options but to summarise the main benefits for you, it allows you to:

• Access & control the piano’s voices (including layering them)
• Access & control the rhythms & backing music (which are way more impressive than the rudimentary ones on CLP pianos).
• Access & control the built-in songs for learning to play (including bringing up sheet music)

And here’s one of the most impressive features of this app which gives you an idea of how advanced Yamaha’s technology is.

The Yamaha SmartPianist app can integrate your own device’s music collection (iOs & Android) and not only play it through the speakers of the piano for you to play along with but will also digitally analyse it and actually show you chords or sheet music on the screen.

For total beginners, the option to select your favourite songs that you’ve already got on your phone, load them onto the app, and then learn how to play them using a system as simple as the StreamLights is brilliant, and perhaps more importantly, it’s fun!

What’s even better is that the Yamaha SmartPianist app is completely free.

As you can see, the Yamaha CSP models marry together very nicely the benefits of traditional pianos and modern technology.

Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? So, apart from being set on wanting to learn in a very traditional way…

Why else might you choose a Yamaha CLP instead of a CSP model?

Firstly, it helps to have an overview of the two ranges as there are only x2 Yamaha CSP models but there are x5 Yamaha CLP models. (There are x2 CLP baby grand models but we’ll ignore those for now).

The prices in the CLP range go from around £1400 to around £5000. The prices in the CSP range go from around £2100 to around £3500.

These prices do fluctuate a little (and there’s the whole inflation thing happening, of course) so forgive me for not being precise! For the latest prices, simply find the piano model you want here on our website.

From this, you can see that the Yamaha CSP models sit somewhere in the middle of the combined CLP/CSP price spread.

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Yamaha CSP150 vs CSP170 Clavinova piano comparison – What piano should I buy?

ePianos

Watch Chris explain the main differences between the Yamaha CSP-150 & CSP-170 models

So, if keeping a tight budget is your priority, obviously, a lower-spec Yamaha CLP model might be a better choice than a CSP. Don’t forget what I said about ALL of the models giving you a very good authentic piano playing experience!

But, as you’ll have no doubt noticed, the price range of the Yamaha CLP models comfortably exceeds the CSP by going all the way up to the £5000 mark.

There are x2 Yamaha CLP models that are priced higher than the CSP models.

This leads to the question…

Why would you spend more for one of those Yamaha CLP models?

First of all, let’s narrow down which models we’re talking about here. The two models that are priced above the top-priced CSP are the Yamaha CLP-775 and CLP-785.

It’s these models where the design and specifications really become refined giving you things that the CSP models simply cannot.

For example, the Yamaha CLP-775 & CLP-785 both use the very latest weighted key mechanism called GrandTouch. The CSP models use an older weighted key mechanism.

This action represents the cutting edge of digital piano key technology. If your aim is to reach the higher piano grades, you’ll not only benefit from practicing on this key but you’ll also be more satisfied to stay with it as your standard improves.

Speaking of the higher piano grades (and the demands they will make on your playing). The Yamaha CLP-775 & CLP-785 also include a technology called GP Response Damper Pedal.

It’s been a favourite analogy of mine when explaining the various spec of these pianos to compare them to learning to paint.

Imagine you’re learning to paint and that your pallet of colours only includes one shade of red, blue, and green.

You’d be able to paint a nice picture of a tree, sure, but it probably woudn’t have much fine detail or shading, and as your standard improves you simply won’t have the tools to be able to express yourself fully.

Using the damper pedal on a ‘real’ grand piano is an important way that a pianist can manipulate the sound of the piano. When used with skill, it effectively gives you many more shades of colour in your pallet meaning that you can express yourself with fewer limitations.

The importance of the GP Response Damper Pedal on CLP-775 & CLP-785 should not be underesitmated. It’s a rather unglamorous detail, isn’t it? But if your ambition is for you (or your child) to genuinly excel, it’s the kind of thing that you don’t want be without.

By now, you may be getting a flavour of Yamaha’s incredible attention to detail and their dedication to making great digital pianos. These are the reasons that they’ve led the digital piano market for decades.

One further piece of technology that you’ll find in the entire Yamaha CLP range is called Grand Expression Modelling and it too is designed to further close the gap between playing a traditional piano and a digital piano.

Again, it’s to do with the finer details of playing the piano. In this case, Grand Expression Modelling more accurately measures the velocity of your keystrikes.

Why is this important? Because on a traditional piano, different attacks on the notes produce different sounds. It’s subtle, yes, but again, if your ambition is to excel, you’re going to need this type of technology to be able to express yourself fully.

I should also give a mention to the superior speaker and amplifier combinations on the Yamaha CLP-775 and particularly the CLP-785 when compared to even the top-spec CSP model.

Again, this might not seem like an important detail, but when considering the importance of the technology I’ve described previously, a speaker & amplifier combination that gives a wider scope for tonal variation surely serves to accentuate and not diminish it.

The SmartPianist is for CLP too!

Just one final important thing for you to put into your calculations when deciding between these pianos, the Yamaha SmartPianist app can be used along with the entire Yamaha CLP range.

You’ll be able to control the pianos’ voices, mix, layer them, etc. And you’ll be able to play your own music collection via the app and the piano’s speakers while bringing up the sheet music on the tablet, however, the key difference is that you won’t have the benefit of the StreamLights system to help you learn.

Nor will you have the large selection of backing and rhythm accompaniments that you would if you were using the CSP models, as these have them already installed in the pianos themselves.

While using the SmartPianist app with Yamaha CLP models gives you some fun options, it seems to me that using it in conjunction with the Stream Light system on CSP models is how it will benefit you, as a learner, the most.

In summary. Which piano should you buy?

I’ll repeat what I said at the beginning.

If your objective is to learn piano in the traditional way or if you simply want the most authentic digital piano touch then buy a Yamaha CLP model.

If your objective is to learn piano but you feel doing so in the traditional way (lessons, sheet music, etc) isn’t for you – for example, you might like using modern technology like smartphones/tablets – then buy a Yamaha CSP model.

Hopefully, this blog has given you some important things to think about before you make your choice!

If you have any further questions, just contact us at the shop. We’re here to help!

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Chris Hammond

Manager at ePianos

Chris handles all of our ePianos marketing, and is responsible for the creation and production of the majority of our product videos. Chris is also one of our top blog writers, having extensive knowledge of keyboard instruments, years of experience in musical instrument retail, and a background in live performance and composition.

sales@epianos.co.uk chrisonpiano