Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards How does the Yamaha CP33 fare as a MIDI controller?

I would very much appreciate any opinions regarding the Yamaha CP33 solely as a MIDI controller for my DAW (Cubase).

I'm looking for a well built MIDI controller that has a realistic piano action and weighted keys.

It would be amazing to have Yamaha S6 and CFIII concert grand sounds, but that's not really a priority.

Oh, and how does the GH keyboard compare to the NW-Stage keyboards on the CP1 and CP5?

Thank you very, very much for any input!

I owned the predecessor to the CP33 and it was solid. Good key action. The same action is available in many mid-range Yamaha products so it should be easy for you to test out and form your own opinion--basically every store with any digital pianos will have a Yamaha with a GH action. Should be great for MIDI and it weighs less than 40 pounds.

The CP1 and CP5 actions are lighter and not graded. On the other hand, they are reputed to be good.

Sounds good. Thanks, gv! I'll see that I try out the CP33 as soon as possible.

CP33 works well as a MIDI controller for triggering sounds... you can program presets to call up external program changes, it has pitch/mod wheels, etc., so it is a good MIDI controller from a performance standpoint. OTOH, when you're talking about a DAW, people sometimes want their MIDI controllers to have a decent array of programmable knobs/sliders, transport functions, etc., and that the CP33 does not have... but you can add a separate box for that, like a Novation Zero SL, etc.

If you want a weighted 88 with DAW-style MIDI controller functions, you could look at an Akai MPK-88, though I've never played one and have no idea what the feel is like.


The CP1/CP5 actions are much lighter than the CP33. I prefer them and find them more like real piano keys, but some people actually prefer heavier actions, so to some extent it's a matter of taste.

I use the CP33 to drive my Ivory II software pianos and like it very much. I agree that its touch is heavier than the newer Yamahas (CP 1 and CP5), but I have grown used to the heavier action and now prefer it.

If you're looking for a MIDI controller for just $400 more than the CP33 the Yamaha MO8 (recently replaced by the $1700 MOX8) could be a good choice. 88 Balanced Hammer Effect keys, USB, MIDI, built-in sequencer, fantastic Motif-based synth engine with 175Mb of sounds, and more.

It has a DAW remote control mode to control a DAW and softsynths from the keyboard, and it comes with software that lets you control the synth from inside your DAW as if it were a softsynth when using Cubase or Nuendo.