Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Is CLP-535 the best choice for me

Right now, I think my P95 is affecting my practicing as I always feel the difference in the keys' weight when I switch from my home P95 to my piano teacher's Yamaha U3. Hence, even if I can play a piece well in my P95, I might struggle when playing using the U3.

Upon searching around, I came across Yamaha CLP-535. Based on the description, it says "Real Grand Expression" Sound, touch, pedals–perfectly integrated to give you the sensation of playing a grand piano.

May I ask if I can really trust the above statement? The reason for me to go for a digital digital instead of an upright one (probably U1) is because I need to play using headset most of the time (I can only practice at night during weekdays). If I buy a silent U1, it will cost me a bomb anyway.

Sound quality isn't my first priority, the feel of the keys is. I would want the feel/weight/touch of the keys to be as close as possible to an upright piano so my practice won't be compromised anymore.

Anyway the link to CLP-535 is CLP-353

Thanks for giving feedback in advance people

If the feel,is priorioty by a Kawai ca65, should be few left discountes. A bit pricier than 535, but the action is a different leave. Or Roland hp506. Or kawai cn35, it's in your pricebracket.

And, throw the yamaha marketing to the trash.

The CLP535 has a GH3 action, which is two steps up from the GHS in the P95, so you ought to be able to feel a difference. Whether it will feel like your teacher's U3 is debatable. The only real way to find out is to try playing one. Have you tried playing the CLP-535?

Keep in mind all digital piano makers claim to be reproducing the feel of a grand piano action, rather than an upright. I'd guess you'll get a consensus here that some of the Kawai actions come closest to a grand piano feel.

And grands usually have a lighter action than most uprights, so there will possibly remain a gap. Would try and get used to it. In the end i guess it's part of a player's education.

This said, the p95 has really a light action even by digital standards. Too light, if you have to hop back and forth to a real piano.

When you consider that all acoustic pianos feel different, and have different key weights, it puts things in a different perspective. Many decades ago, my teachers` pianos were clumpy feeling, didn`t depress much, and were heavy. The pianos invariably sounded worse than the actions.

My acoustic was light and pleasant sounding by comparison. Last time I played it was around `87 and it hadn`t been tuned in years. There wan no difficulty changing to a short scale CLP Yamaha at that time when the piano was sold on; I never noticed the difference.

Just realise your teacher`s piano action is probably worse than that on your P95, not better. So don`t go changing` . . . .if you got a Steinway 9 footer, it`d have a really light action anyway.

Now you wouldn`t want to change that, would you?

I have a P95, but recently I tested out the P105 and P115 at the local Guitar Center. For whatever reason, the newer models seemed to play with a different feel. Maybe it is my adjustment on the P95, or possibly a change in the newer models' default touch. Before checking out a new piano, why not just play around with changing the touch on your P95?

Apart from the AG's and NU1, none of the DP's currently on the market feel anything like an acoustic, IMHO. That should be your starting point, and if you really want close as feel as possible, you have to get out there and test play them yourself to decide which is the closest compromise for you. Or get an acoustic. This is not to denigrate DP actions, they have a place and purpose.

I considered the CLP-535 when shopping for a DP. I really liked the Boesendorfer sound and it also has USB recording, which was a must for me.

However, I went with the Kawai CN-35. I liked the action better, the sound, the soundsystem (two additional speakers vs the 535 make a difference) and the price :-)

But if you are partial to the Yamaha sound then it is sure a nice DP.

However, if you want an other piano for being more like your teachers piano, I think that will be hard. Even an other acoustic might feel completely different, as they are even more diverse than DPs.

Now, what sort of an acoustic is the NU1 based on then? An old Danemann? Gawd `elp us all . . .

there are claims on the net that the NU1 is close to the B1
in terms of mechanics. So low end yamaha upright in terms
of feel. AG's (N1) are grand piano actions.

I tried the transacoustic last week. Based on U1, nice but
expensive.

I found the feel of the MP-11 very close to a good grand.

Most mid- to high-end DPs try to emulate the feel of a grand piano rather than the feel of an acoustic upright. The action for an upright is different than a grand. On top of that, every acoustic piano is going to feel different.

Having said that, if you can play well on a grand piano, that can be transferred to any other instrument - even one with inferior quality action. The problem most people encounter is not that the teacher's instrument is bad, it's just often not what your'e used to playing since you only get to work on it once a week at most.

Many adult students wish to try and find a piano to practice at home that closely resembles what their teacher's piano feels like, but I do think this would cause a couple of problems:

1) Assuming you can find one that matches, you will be cheating yourself of the experience of having to play on an unfamiliar instrument, so when you find yourself in a recital or asked to play on a friend's piano, etc. you will have a much harder time having not learned how to adjust for each piano you play.

2) Probably more importantly, you may not necessarily buy the right piano for YOU. Buying a piano is a very personal thing in both opinions on sound and touch. Just because your teacher likes something doesn't mean you will.

So try playing the CLP-535 and compare it with other DPs in the same price range, then go with the one you think feels best.

Very good advice, Morodiene.

>Sound quality isn't my first priority, the feel of the keys is. I would want the feel/weight/touch of the keys to be as close as possible to an upright piano so my practice won't be compromised anymore.

I did not enjoy the feel of any of the Yamaha CLP 525 - 585 series as much as the Kawai CA 95 or the Roland LX 15. The Roland is lighter and seem to land harder. The Kawai is a tad heavier and lands softer. I felt that the Roland was easier to express because of the light keys. The Kawai felt a bit closer to my old acoustic piano because of the weight.