Stay tuned!



Jeff Tasch
Grand Piano Haus

Okay, we've just had a lengthy kurfuffle because a dealer posted a link to a review of a concert in which a 13 year old girl played a Steingreaber Concert Grand. That at least had some real information in it. This is pure teaser and as such is annoying. Either post something informative or don't bother.

FWIW, I played a brand new CFX yesterday and that was a very enjoyable experience, but this thread stole some of that pleasure back. Is that really what you're trying to accomplish for the good folks at Yamaha?

Stinking evil dealers. By the way, I like the word kurfuffle, never heard it before, but just the sound of it says what its definition must be. And, just to be clear, I for one, enjoy dealer posts, they are among the most informed and up to date posters on piano world. My first sentance was tongue in cheek.

So.. Whats the new Yamaha? All the c series getting the xa makeover??? Just a wild guess!

Yes, there needs to be some substance to this topic or it will go away. From where I sit it looks like nothing more than an excuse to put your tagline out there.

jeff's a good guy, tho in his excitement he might have jumped the gun a little on this one. am curious, tho...

It's the first ROUND grand piano. And it has HELLO KITTY options.

I've never seen something "new" on a piano that would make me get that excited. Yeah, technical improvements are nice, but is this piano really going to be that awesome to have to post this thread? Give the real info or wait for it.

Wind Powered, no doubt.

Should those of us about to make a piano purchase hold off for this new announcement?

I need to know about NOW!!

A couple of weeks ago I just returned from Yamaha’s Buena Park, California (U.S. head offices). I also was invited to visit Yamaha’s headquarters in Hamamatsu and Yamaha’s piano factory in Kakegawa, Japan where Yamaha builds the new CX grands, CFX, CF6, CF4 concert grands, U, YUS, SU uprights.

I have been to numerous piano factories around the world, even Azerbaijani’s Beltmann piano factory. I personally have never been to a factory like Yamaha’s piano factory in Kakegawa, Japan. It is an ultra high-precision, technology based factory that is super clean.

Here’s one little piece of information I did not know before: every plate that Yamaha uses in their pianos is manufactured in Iwata, Japan, Yamaha’s foundry. From the Cable-Nelson right up to the CFX, every plate is born there.

Anyway, I thought I would share with all PianoWorld users that after 45 years, Yamaha has revamped the “C” series pianos. Some of the major components and manufacturing processes that are used in the new highly acclaimed “CF” series concert grand pianos are now implemented in the new “CX” series.

New "C" Models: C1X, C2X, C3X, C5X, C6X, C7X.

Yes, the sizes are the same as the previous "C" series. Yamaha has also cosmetically modernized the look of the new “CX” pianos.

Some new components:
MusicWire: Middle to Treble (Germany’s Röslau)
HammerFelt: German
Soundboard: Bavarian Spruce (New crown manufacturing method like in “CF” and “XA” Yamaha grands)
Backposts: Increased Thickness. Greater support for ‘fff’ playing


Enjoy,

Jeff Tasch
Grand Piano Haus

Confused as to where the XA models fit into this scheme. Will there be C3, C3XA and C3X all available at the same time?

Probably...

You know what, I like the idea of the new CX pianos, but they should have kept the classic look, and kept the modern look for the CF pianos. That way, they are distinct and separate, and given the price of the CF pianos, it might be better for marketing and residual value.

Remember how the S series used to depreciate much faster than the C series, and they were discounted to death anyway? One of the complaints happened to be that the S series and the C series, up to 2000 anyway, were identical looking. It's amazing the difference perception makes. Perhaps they should have called the premier ones Torakusu Yamaha, like Shigeru Kawai?

So I was right! Do I get a prize?

In the Yamaha website the C3XA and C6XA are listed as limited edition models. So I think they are just using them as a test to hear the public reaction first before overhauling the rest of the C series.

Ho hum...

Hmmmmm.... looks to me like Yamaha is finally catching up to quite a few of their Chinese competitors.

Ho Hum for few, incredible excitement for many

Incredible hype for dealers. I doubt anyone could tell the difference between Röslau wire and say, Mapes, or German felt or wood and Austrian or Australian, or the support of FFF playing between one piano and the next, whatever that may mean. Yamaha has been making some nice pianos lately, but not one of those items would in itself make as much of a difference as a good technician could.

There is definitely a basic tonal difference between the C3 and C3XA, so you can hear at least some of the differences.

What will be the availability for the North American market, I wonder? (The Asia / Middle East / Africa / Oceania / Latin America website indicates October 2012).

Yeah, these are the kind of fairly small adjustments that often accompany the rolling out of a new "model." Yamaha is certainly not the only firm, or even the only piano firm, to engage in this kind of tinkering and rebadging. It makes good sense to market it, but really, it does seem like small potatoes (yes, to ME).

But you know, I like the C series, so I'm sure I won't like this any less.

I like the C series, too, some better than others. But I recently tuned a C3 and a G3, and the differences between them were less than the sample differences for each of those models, probably because I have been taking care of them for so long.

If the CX series has the same improvements as the C3XA and C6XA, there was a noticeable improvement in the sound. The treble had a bell-like clarity and the bass was more mellow but had wonderful power. Since the C3 I purchased was already over-the-top of my piano budget, I couldn't indulge, but wow, I was really impressed with the difference I heard in the XA's. It may look like small tweaks, but those changes made a very big difference in sound (at least to me).

I really look forward to the new CX's hitting the dealer's showrooms. Improvements to pianos that don't cost more than my house are always welcome news!

Well, at least these are improvements to, and a discussion regarding, a brand that is significant in the industry.

So much of the discussion on this forum seems to center on the insignificant - by that I mean discussions about brands that, while of great quality - have little or no real significance in the industry as a whole because they sell in such small quantities.

I won't mention any names, but I believe you are familiar with a brand that gets frequent mentions here - that I would guess sold fewer than a dozen pianos in the United States all last year.

Yamaha sells more in 1 week than all the "Tier 1" piano brands put together sell in a year. Perhaps in several years.

Don't get me wrong - I have never been accused of being a big fan of Yamahas, and quite the contrary - I am a huge fan of most all the "Tier 1" brands - some more than others (especially Steingraeber and Sauter). But to most people they are not relevant.

Out of curiosity, what brand of wire were they using up to now?

i agree; on paper the changes don't appear earth shaking but it may well be a case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. i look forward to 'seeing' what a CF6 sounds like.

It is entirely possible that the selling points mentioned are not the primary improvements to the newer models. I just do not like people touting pianos on the basis of selling points. The proof is in how well the piano sounds and plays.

I got to play the CFX several months ago. My impression was that it is a very nice piano; there was nothing about it that I found objectionable: it had a nice sound, the action was responsive, and it looked pretty with its edgy styling. However, it left me with a "so what?" feeling. It's not such an improvement over the CFIIIS that it deserves the hype it's getting... rather, it's just another really, really nice tier-1 concert grand.

This is nice! Maybe some of the Bosendorfer philosophy is making its way down to their Yamaha line

Trying to help avoiding speculations on the specs of the new Yamaha CX series, below are two links describing them:

Yamaha announcement

Yamaha Australia - CX series

schwammerl.