Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Yamaha Clavinova CLP-240 ex demo or CLP330?

Hi,

I am hoping to get a piano very very soon and am looking for a good deal on Clavinova. I am a beginer, as in I have been learning to play as a child (20 years ago!!!), but as my parents never bought a piano nor could they put it anywhere in a house if they did, my learning consisted on playing piano at my teacher's and then banging my fingers on drawn up keyboard at home.

So, I think I came to a decision that I would like to get CLP-330, and the best price I can see online would be just under £1200. A lot, but I would like to get the best I can afford... Then yesterday, I noticed that one of the local shops has CLP-240 in Mahogany for sale at £999 - ex demo. So, I got in touch with them and it is still available, and comes with 6 months warranty. Apparently, it has been unboxed for display purposes at Yamaha showroom and now this shop is just selling it. As for the specification, they are pretty much very similar. Apart from CLP330 having 128 polyphony, and CLP-240 having better speakers. Or am I missing something?

I don't know much about pianos as I have never had one, and with it being nearly 20 years since I last played one, I am to scared to try one at the shop

What would you suggest - should I go for ex-demo CLP-240 or new CLP-330? I can't really stretch my budget any more, as at £1200 it is already stretched!!!! (would have liked to keep it below £1000, but 1.5 years later Clavinovas are much more expensive since I started looking)

What you're doing is perfectly
natural. As a child you were
forced to practice on a keyboard
you drew on a sheet of cardboard.
Now, given that experience, you
want to get the best piano
you can afford.

I grew up with classical lessons
and acoustic pianos only, an
old upright at home, and uprights
and grands in the teachers'
studios and at recitals. In
high school I quit because
I could make no progress, and
I put much of the blame on the
lousy upright I practiced on.

When I restarted as an adult
20 yrs. later, the very first
piano I bought was an
expensive acoustic upright
piano, the best I could afford.
The reasoning being that I thought
that that quality piano would help
me progress beyond where I was
in high school. I soon realized
that I had made a big mistake
and that that expensive piano did
nothing for my playing. Ever
since then I've been loathe
to spend a lot of money on a piano.

Since restarting as an
adult I've bought 5 pianos,
the first one acoustic and
the rest digital, as follows:
that expensive upright, purchased
in the early 1980's for around
$6000 US (a similar model today
would be in the ~$20,000 price
range); a Korg C-800 bought
in 1989 for $1700; a Casio AP-24
bought in 2005 for $700; a Korg
SP-250 bought in 2006 for $900;
and my current piano, a Williams
Overture bought in 2009 for $600.

You can see that I spent less
and less money on pianos each
time, even as I've gotten more
and more advanced in my playing:
~$20,000(~$6000) ---> $1700 --->
$700 ---> $900 ---> $600. Even
the $600 Williams is adequate
for playing anything on, including
advanced pieces like the Chopin
op. 14 Concert Rondo.

So even though those two pianos
you're looking at are fine
instruments, they are on the
expensive side for my tastes.
When shopping for my latest
piano, I had it narrowed down
to three: the Williams, a
Casio PX 800, and an M-Audio
DCP 200, both $900--all to
be bought sight-unseen
online. What finally decided
it was the price.

Please ignore Gyro when he tells you to buy a piece of junk. You won't be doing yourself any favors by getting a cheap digital that sounds and feels terrible.

To actually answer your question, except for polyphony, the 240 has a sightly better spec. It has stereo sustain and key-off samples and twice as many different sounds. It also has twice the amp wattage and tweeters for high-end sound (very important!). 64 polyphony should be fine, so that isn't important.

Assuming that it's in like new shape, I'd probably go for the 240 over the 330. The fact that it's cheaper (and closer to your budget) is a nice plus.

Excuse me, What is a CLP-240? I have the Clavinova catalog and the Yamaha web site up, (looking into 320, 330 & 340) and I don't see 240's anywhere. Geoffk has made me think I want one.

I am confused about the warranty. If it is six months old and never been sold, it should qualify for the manufacturer's/distributor's new instrument warranty. In the U.S. this is five years parts and five years labor, inhome service. Since you are quoting prices in pounds I assume you are in the UK. The UK new Clavinova warranty might be different.

If the CLP240 comes with a new piano warranty I might go in that direction. More power, more voices.

Geoffk - thank for your answer and opinion! I am seriously considering it and 'strongly' suggesting it to my husband, as it is supposed to be my birthday present.

CLP-240 is from its previous range, MarinMichelet. The CLP-3x0 replaced the CLP 2x0 last year, I think.

I would love to have CLP-240, but I don't want to get a bad deal. I am in Uk, you are right, Marty. The warranty is one thing that is confusing me. I was ecpecting to be longer than 6 months. I think I am going to send another email to the shop asking why is it so short and what is the warranty they are offering for 'brand new, boxed' Clavinovas. All they told me so far is that it has been unboxed for display purposes, which doesn't convince me!!!!

Good plan. Unboxing and displaying does not void the factory new warranty. Is the seller an authorized new Yamaha Clavinova dealer? This might be the issue.

Just simply go for a clp 320.....

Nice, sober, but with fantasic sound.........great polyphony....great touch....for less price.

Every day enjoying yamaha clp320PE.

Best regards,

JohanB

Good thinking!!!! But, I have checked on uk.yamaha website, and they are listed as dealers. But, I suppose they might be not authorised to sell digital pianos?

Just tried to find out how long is yamaha warranty in UK, but it seems that most sellers (at least online) only give 2 year or, if particularly generous - 3 year warranty. I thought it shouldn't make much difference in which country instrument is played, it is still the same instrument!

Yep, the 6 months warranty is also what surprised me.
At the same time, 999 pounds for the CLP240 compared to 1200 for the CLP330 does sound like an attractive deal.

I recently bought a Yamaha DP as well. And I´m so glad that I bought something with 40 watts speakers. First I played it at really low volume; then I noticed that the acoustic at my parent´s place produced about as much sound as my DP with the volume near max. I also noticed that playing at a lower volume on the DP had made me quite careless and caused me to strike the keys way too hard - it cost me quite a bit of effort to readjust when playing the acoustic again. What I mean to say is, I´d choose the CLP240 even just for the higher wattage. But the rest of the specs look very good too. I think the upgrade of many DPs from 64 to 128 keys polyphony is mainly marketing. I never heard anyone complain about tones dropping out with Yamaha DPs that have 64 keys polyphony.

Like Marty Flinn says, you should try to get the normal as-new-warranty. It may have been a showroom model, but many DPs that are sold as new have been standing in the showroom for a little while. I´d also really carefully look for traces of use. Six months warranty just does not sound right for a new Yammie, even if it´s from a showroom model and even if it´s a slightly older product. If you go back there, try it in the morning when the shop is quiet. Also play it without turning the power on to see if you hear any unusual mechanical sounds from the keyboard action. Try every key. Look at the cabinet from all sides as well. You could try to get 1 year warranty if the dealer doesn´t give in.

Thanks, pieper. I can't see any yamahas here in UK with 5 year warranty, so I don't think that will be possible. But, I would like to get at least 1 year. 6 months that are on offer now jsut makes me feel uneasy! Well, will have to wait for shop to come back and see what they say. Maybe should try to email yamaha and find out from them what is the 'real' UK warranty offered and what would they think is reasonable for ex-demo/showroom models. As you all say, it should not invalidate the factory-new warranty.

hi gintarec.
just edited my post while you replied. but the content has remained the same, essentially. I also initially bought a showroom model. They knocked off a few euros, but the warranty remained the same. I found too many traces of use so I swapped it for a one fresh from the factory. Yeah, this was a very nice and renowned dealer. And I paid transport-costs, that second time.
Good luck. If you´re still in doubt, you can always go for the 330 or wait for another, better deal.

Pieper, I just noticed you are in Netherlands - did you get Yamaha as well, or something different? I am just curious how long warranty do you get in Netherlands for Clavinovas...

Goeffk, no one's forcing you to be an
expatriate. If no one will talk to
you there or associate with you, and
you're miserable, then get yourself back into
the U S of A.

Hey Gyro, nobody's forcing you to cut and paste the same ridiculous advice to everyone who asks about buying a piano. I can tell the difference between a Casio PX and a Yamaha CLP, and I'm sure that most other people can too. What's more, I can tell the difference between a Yamaha CLP and a Bechstein acoustic grand. And, if I had the space ans the money, I'd certainly choose the Bechstein.

Why should *anybody* buy a piano, digital or acoustic, sight unseen. It's a guaranteed way to be disappointed. And why should the fact that you can play Chopin on a crummy DP matter? When you play it, how does it sound and how natural and effective is the touch and response? I promise that a better DP will be better in every respect, for Chopin and everything else.

And, as I noted, you didn't really answer the original poster's question at all. "Buy neither one, get a cheap piano that sounds and feels like junk instead for no obvious reason" is not really the answer that she was looking for.

Finally, I like Japan, and I'm quite happy here, thank you. Lots of people talk to me all the time. But, if someone is unnecessarily discourteous, I try not to keep talking to them.

Don't worry, Geoffk - I noticed, that Gyro's advice is almost the same for all the posters.

I have sent off the email to the another shop, that says on their website that they have demo models of CLP-330 available, will see what is their offer regarding price and warranty. I also sent an email to Yamaha UK via their website today asking about UK warranty length for Clavinovas (2, 3 or 5 years, an if not 5) and what should it be for ex-demo piano. Will see where I get too..

Geoffk, do me a favor and stop
reading my posts. It gives me
the creeps that someone like you
is reading my stuff.

gintarec,

I've got a CLP-240, and it's a fine piano. The GH3 (graded hammer) actions are very good. The 330 will be very similar with the exception that it's got 20WX2 amplification vs. 40 watts in the 240. I found that this made quite a difference in sound when I bought mine and compared the 240 to the lower priced model at that time.

I was a beginner when I bought mine, and the actions are absolutely fine for several years. Now that I'm getting into Grade 8 Royal Concervatory stuff in Canada (that's things like Bach Inventions and sonatas from the likes of Beethoven, Haydn, and Kuhlau) I'm finding that the actions are a tiny bit rubbery and it's hard to get the fast runs in the sonatas even and secure. Keep in mind that my "real" piano is a Kawai 5'5" grand, and Kawais are know for having stiff heavy actions compared to many other pianos. Unless you can afford double the money to get into the real wood actions in the higher end clavinovas, the 240 is just fine.

I believe that the 240 also has 28 voices (14 X 2) where as the 330 only has 14. I waited a long time to get a digital keyboard that had a decent Hammond Organ sound, which the 240 does. The honest truth is that after 3 years of ownership I find that I stick with "grand piano 1" without the variation button 99.9% of the time. The other voices are cool, but if you're learning to play the piano you won't use them.

Thanks shw123 - great to hear from someone who actually owns one! I am not really interested in other voices, as in the end, I am looking for a piano... But, once I get to the bottom of this 6-months warranty issue, I think I would love to get CLP-240, and for just under £1000!!!! I could have not dreamed of it last year, my goal was CLP-230 then... (Before CLP-3x0 came out)

Don't worry! I stopped reading your posts closely a long time ago. They're nearly always the same anyway...