CP5/CP50 manuals are online:

Data list:
http://www2.yamaha.co.jp/manual/pdf/emi/english/synth/cp5_en_dl_a0.pdf

Owners manual:
http://www2.yamaha.co.jp/manual/pdf/emi/english/synth/cp5_en_om_b0.pdf

Reference manual:
http://www2.yamaha.co.jp/manual/pdf/emi/english/synth/cp5_en_rm_b0.pdf

(thanks guys from musicplayer forum )

I was hoping someone would share their opinion on how the sound of the CP-1 stacked up against the higher end software pianos like VSL Imperial or Garritan Steinway? Thank you.

It stacks up pretty well to my ears .... the graph peekers will try and tell you otherwise though.

I'm extremely happy with mine to me it sounds better then any board I've had previously.

With no doubt CP1 sounds great, though with small sample memory used for production modern DP's (Kawai, Roland, Yamaha etc.)it's impossible to compete witch such multigigabyte sample banks as Garritan Steinway.
So it sounds great, because this smaller non-88 sample set is made pretty well, and I also like the timbre of sound. New Roland's supernatural have even better samples (all 88), but the timbre is different (though I still like it very much). Connection between the keyboard and instrument is also very important. So, regarding timbre and feel, it's up to you which one is better.

Anyone got any ideas about why Yamaha is unforthcoming about the due date for the CP5?

I don't know what your referring to the CP5 is a shipping product right now ...

Which retail store has it in stock? My credit card is sitting here on my desk ready to go.

Mychal

Guitar Center's website says CP5 will be in stock on 4/30.
Clyde

Hi, this is my first post here.I read this entire thread and the CP50 had almost any comments whatsoever, the only thing mentioned was about his GH action versus the nw-stage action and the CFIIIs quality vs the cp1. The first thing I look in a product is that it has the best price-quality relation. We try to compare a $5000 CP1 (thats seems to be a better sounding KB than a $6000 v-piano) to a $1700 CP50, and as far i know, its a really close comparison. They are in the same product line with the same technology overall. Now, the question is: why is the CP50 $3300 cheaper? first, EVERY flagship model of any product line (vga cards, cars, you name it) is overpriced. Second, as you all know, they changed the keyboard action to make it more compact and the SCM block from the CP50 missed the mic/preamp and power amp features (which i think that changes the overall sound ONLY a little).It also has less voices, but no so much.
Someone said here that the CP-5 is better than the 50 because it has more AP voices.
Would i pay $1000 more for just ONE more AP sound? HELL NO
I have to say that the CP-5 also has a mic input, balanced ouputs, more SCM blocks and more voices (and thats all the differences except for the NW action and a fancier display) but im talking about a $1700 KB that has the same tech that sounds better than a $6000 V-piano. Someone said this model (cp-50) was going to be a "flop", for me is A FRIKIN STEAL.
I know, everything is not only about the money but if someone says "the cp-1 is great, the cp-5 is ok and the cp-50 i dont know" and has 31 keyboards in his house, shows that money isnt a problem for him at all. For me it is.
The only thing that amaze me is that the cp-50 consumes only 7w, compared to 25w consumption of the cp-5. Thats the only thing that can show me less-hq voices.
Is there anyone interested in the cp50 besides dewster?

one more thing: the fact that the CP50 has the heavier GH action pushes me more to buy it because if i had $5000 dollars for the CP-1, it wouldnt have the AP action that i want (is the GH action the same as the cp-33 because in the cp-50 video part shows the same pic that the cp-33 shows in their GHE description)

cheers and sorry for my bad english.

Yes, I'm very interested in the CP50. I'm holding my funds in wait until it comes out.

GH and GHE action are the same thing, is what I understood, so same action as the CP33.

+1

Would it be possible to add SOSTENUTO & SOFT pedals to the CP-5 / CP-50?

No you can't, compare the cp1 rear with the cp50

http://cachepe.zzounds.com/media/quality,85/brand,zzounds/CP1_rear_clipped-38399e12e2fe96595cd1dedd25168e37.jpg

http://cachepe.zzounds.com/media/quality,85/brand,zzounds/CP50_rear_clipped-8bcca7127c9ceeeedc5053a5c03fcaa8.jpg

Good to know they are MIJ.

One more thing, this models have the split button but i can´t see the dual button.
Can i blend the CFIIIs with strings and adjust their balance or just use the alredy-mixed voices?

cheers

Wouldn't you be able to use the 2nd (spare and assignable) socket to a 2nd pedal for soft or sust?
- SC

No you can't do "SOSTENUTO & SOFT"

But you can do "SOSTENUTO or SOFT" The total number of pedals is limited by the number of jacks but any pedal function can be assigned to the jack. Even some non-piano functions like "expression" and start/stop recording.

One can connect three pedals to a two jack Yamaha but you have to go through MIDI and it is not simple. But there are examples of this being done. The DP will react to the MIDI pedal data.

But will you actually use ALL three pedals in one piece?

Hmm well it has 3 jacks. 1 x Sustain 1 x Assignable and 1 x Foot Controller?

I'm not sure why it wouldn't be possible to assign continuous controller #66 (sostenuto) to the 'foot controller' jack and have it serve as an on/off switch.

I thought the CP50 was like the other 2 jack Yamahas. Sorry. I was pretty sure of it. But it's good to be wrong, 3 is better.

If it has three jacks and it works like other Yamaha pianos then you can have one sustand pedal and two other functins selected from about 6 or 8 options. You can even have three sustain pedals or whatever.

It would not be to hard to rig a holder for three pedals. I saw one posted here on this forum a few days ago.

Can anyone answer AJG's core question? What makes the CP50 so much cheaper than a CP1 or a CP5? I understand no one has played a CP50 yet, but can someone explain what, if any, difference might exist in how they sound? Bells, whistles and doodads are not as much of a concern for me.

I guess that's not the point. I have the same concern. As the CP50 is on my short list (along with RD700GX+Supernatural and possibly a new RM3 Kawai if announced soon), I would like to be able to set it up once and not have to change it.

As someone said, why shouldn't somebody be able to assign the foot switch to MIDI event #66.? But that's not a set of MIDI pedals, just assignment of MIDI events to that foot switch in that zone.

I know you're saying it's tricky, but I would think that it's a simple matter if you're in the same MIDI zone and you attach a three-pedal MIDI unit. I'm wondering what exactly a MIDI pedal setup has entailed that makes it tricky.

I've kept asking this question periodically about the new Yamaha CPs but nobody seems to be able to confirm affirmatively that this is the case.

By the way, I did get to hear a CP1 in a live gig about a month back (unfortunately couldn't play it) and it sounded fantastic. The Rhodes is really nice and the pianos are great.

I don't think it's tricky - you just have to assign it, and that will likely involve delving into a couple of layers of menus.

Looking at the reference manual (pp 32-33), it seems like you can achieve full 3-pedal functionality by telling it to receive MIDI CC from the foot switch and foot controllers, and then setting it to transmit those messages to the internal sound module.

But someone's gotta try it to know for sure.

One more thing, this models have the split button but i can´t see the dual button.
Can i blend the CFIIIs with strings and adjust their balance or just use the alredy-mixed voices?

cheers

you can on a CP5 and I can't see why you couldn't on a CP50

Thanks doc

Got a call from a Sweetwater rep who said they were expecting the CP-5 to arrive in late May. That works out well for me as I can't really get the most use out of a DP until July sometime so that will ge me time to see impressions and let the stock build up in the stores. Maybe I'll even be able to find one within 120 miles of home to test out.

KPro81 over at the Roland Clan Forums claims the wooden keys on the CP1 are only some wood glued into the sides of otherwise plastic white keys:

http://forums.rolandclan.com/?action=show_thread&thread=34495&fid=34&page=1

Is this true?

I think you answered your own question. I'd chalk maybe 20% up to different keys & 80% to the flagship effect / insane marketing department.


With the Roland SuperNATURAL kit you get at least three different pianos for $300.

One of the things that bothers me about companies that make both real and digital pianos is that their real piano line seems to be something of a gilded cage for their DP line. They won't (can't?) branch out and sample a Steinway or Bosendorfer. I like a nice bright piano sound as much as the next person, but I also like darker sounds that you will apparently never get from Yamaha.


Oh, I'm not sure I'd go that far. The V-Piano is reportedly very organic to play. The CP1 is by-and-large just another looped, stretched, and layered sampler - admittedly a better example of such than many.


I don't know who you are talking about here.


I wouldn't put too much stock in technical figures like wattage. That could easily be a misprint, measured differently, etc. On the other hand, if Yamaha is putting genuinely inferior technology in the CP50 then I for one will lose a lot of respect for them. Identically named patches across a trio of simultaneously released DPs should sound nearly identical.

Well the CP-5 and CP-50 now appear to be in stock at the large sellers like Sweetwater, Guitar Center and Musicians Friend. I can't wait to see some impressions from the early buyers, I'm still hoping to hold out until I can test a CP-5 next to a GXF-700 and yes the Korg SV-1 is still on the radar for ease of transport compared to the other two. I guess I can put the SV-1 up against the CP-50 in the same price range.

I'll let you know after I get mine in a few days. It will be interesting, that's for sure, especially after all this marketing hype and buildup.

Mychal