Coming this Summer 2012

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150516992932825.368983.192510932824&type=1


Enjoy,

Jeff Tasch
Grand Piano Haus

Thanks Jeff!

This looks interesting - my colleagues tell me that the Kawai HA11 (circa 2000) was based on the same concept.

Cheers,
James
x

Thanks for these pics, Jeff! I am indeed interested to see these when they become available.

At first I thought Winter NAMM was boring just by reading the online news, but now after watching some videos on youtube, I'm really excited about the Roland LX15 and Yamaha NU1. The videos were shot with a hand-held camera, but the sound coming from those pianos is just amazing!

There's been a lot of negativity with the "DPs' internal sounds can't touch a $400 software piano" [which is true, unfortunately], but another area of interest in these forums is how to make that software piano sound just as good though speakers as they do through headphones. Apparently studio monitors improve the sound, but something is still missing or maybe there are just too many variables to make them sound good. I'm glad DP manufacturers are actively working on this area and more and more models are coming out with amazing sound systems!

Now I can only hope in time [5 years maybe?] these innovations will trickle down to lower-priced models too or that the cost of manufacturing will lower or that I win the lottery

Wow! Why hasn't it taken off then? I'm baffled how sometimes good ideas are accepted by consumers/the marketplace and great ideas are just left in the dust, only to come back a decade later with a vengeance! *grin*

Hopefully the NU1 will be a trickle down of some of the sound technology in the higher end AvantGrands.

By the way, there's a youtube video of a guy playing the NU1 (with a clear front so you can see the action) at NAMM. The guy holding the camera mentions that it's the only AvantGrand that features a sound sample from the CFX, contrary to what we have heard earlier. I'm inclined to think the guy with the camera is wrong, but we don't have anything authoritative to verify either claim, unfortunately.

.

i wonder what the price will be and how it compares the N1

Lets hope not. But I guess they don't dare release a lower end model with better sound. Internal competition is such an innovation killer.

They said that about the N1 but with this I'm not so sure as the CFX sampling has been finished for quite some time so its indeed possible however nothing in Yamaha's blurb says anything about that so I'd be inclined to say no it doesn't.
I can find out pretty quickly with one email and I will do so to clear the matter up.

Interesting piece of kit. I wonder what the price will be? Retail price of $7,999 or more?

"Piece of kit?" That's a new expression to me.

Reports suggest that it will be substantially cheaper than the N1 so I would be very surprised if it was as high as 7,999.

I would imagine the price will be less than the N1, that makes sense.

The guys who feel a grand piano action is too heavy now have the option of an upright action.

I'm going to guess msrp of 5999 and a street price of 4500

Sounds about right to me

This would never be on my radar cause of the action. My N2 might be considered a little heavy but I played a grand last week on gig enjoyed it much better after finally having something nice to practice on instead of the upright action I lived with for the past 8 years.

I agree 36251, it is definitely nice having something like the AvantGrand to practice on. I played on mine last night for a while before going to a jazz class where in that particular room, they use a P22 Yamaha upright, and though the upright is nice and sounds nice, I'd rather have my N1 for day to day usage.

I'm still going with $7,999 MSRP with a street price of around $5,999. That instrument seems much nicer than the Roland LX10F and more costly than even the CS9, being that the NU1 utilizes both an acoustic cabinet and action. I may be wrong though!

Here's that Youtube video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TDn2mTEb6A

From the comments section of that video:

"We have received several inquiries about our statement in the video narration that the NU1 is the only Yamaha product to contain the new CFX sample. That statement was verified by several people from Yamaha before we created this video. The Avant Grand line all contain the piano sample from Yamaha's CFIIIS, not the CFX. The CFX samples were not available when the Avant Grand line was released.
chicagopianos 9 hours ago"

Here's what I'd like to know: (i) Where are the speakers? (ii) An upright action with probably lower quality audio, reproducing a higher quality sample with little or no spatial mumbo-jumbo and maybe no TRS. Who will want this thing? All those people out there who would buy a CFX concert grand, if only it had an upright action in it?

Edit: Okay, I see a speaker grill at the knees and along the top of the piano.

Thanks for pointing that comment out.

I agree with the sentiment about the target audience. Though there does exist a price at which it would be the best piano in the range and a good deal. Say, 3K-4K. It would trounce whatever is there right now (mostly $2000 pianos but with improved speakers and cabinetry). It would satisfy people looking to step up from a normal DP without blowing 8K or more.

I am, however, surprized they are doing it. We'll have to wait and see how successful a product it is. I'm sure they did some focus groups or something.

I view an upright action as probably more on par quality-wise with Yamaha's current sample playback technology, so maybe it's a good fit from that angle.

Though, yes, who is the target demographic here? Who will shell out the dough to get a genuine (i.e. heavily modified) upright action coupled to decades old sampling methods in something fairly non-portable?

For a serious piano student who lacks both space and money, perhaps can't bother his neighbors with the sound, it makes sense. Also for churches, schools, conservatories etc, I see the appeal.

Churches, schools, sure. But Yamaha also seems to be marketing the AG line towards DP and AP enthusiasts, which is the part I don't get. AP enthusiasts won't likely be satisfied with any current DP (as a full replacement) and DP enthusiasts are largely consigned to rolling their own.

The NU1 comes across as the logical next step down from the N1. Price and feature wise. Yamaha has hybrids that cover all the market. I don't really know what else Yamaha can offer to complete their line of hybrids. If a school, church, conservatory, or just someone needing to practice on an acoustic, but can't swing it because of space, money, or location (neighbors) the NU1 becomes an attractive instrument. I will say in order for it to be worth it, it will need to be several thousand less than the N1, since you're not getting a grand piano action. That in itself is worth the price of admission for most AvantGrand owners I'd be willing to bet.

So I guess I was wrong...the NU1 looks to be around $6,000 MSRP

CFX samples eh - that's great. Now if they could just release an NM1 (MODULE) so I could connect it to my $1K Casio controller, I might get one. :P

Greg.

+1

I also don't understand what customers they are targeting here. The list price is going to be interesting to find out. Several thousand less than N1 and it will be a hit. If the price is close to that of the N1 this will be a difficult product to sell. My guess is that this action costs about the same to make as the one in N1 thus the margins are going to be much smaller on this piano.

Who knows, maybe the sales of acoustic uprights are down and Yamaha decided to market this new model as an afterthought to unload their action inventory.

Seriously though, the sales of uprights keep getting going lower.

http://www.bluebookofpianos.com/uspiano.htm

Good point Dave! That would make sense.

Just a technicality, but surely we shouldn't be calling this model an "AvantGrand" since it's not a grand at all, but an upright?