Yamaha CLP-775WA Clavinova White Ash Digital Piano

Descrizione

The CLP-755 boasts the kind of unprecedented sound quality that wouldn't be amiss in a theatre, venue, or music school, as well as in your living room. For years now, the Clavinova range has maintained its position as the very best you can get from the world of digital pianos. By unleashing the CLP-700 Series, Yamaha have managed to make the world of digital pianos even brighter. Just sitting at the CLP-775 gives you the feeling that you're sitting at an acoustic upright, or even a grand. But, since this piano is definitely not acoustic, it comes packed with incredibly useful and ultra-modern twists.

The GrandTouch Keyboard

'Digital Never Felt So Grand' - You'll immediately understand why Yamaha have gone with this slogan after you start playing the CLP-775. Compared to previous models, this Clavinova Series digital piano features a new and improved GrandTouch keyboard with 88 keys that make it feel like you're becoming one with piano as soon as you begin playing. Here, Yamaha write dynamics with a capital D, as every note, nuance and sliver of expression in your play is accurately registered and reproduced. The keys have a synthetic ivory finish and the white keys are made of wood. Thanks to the escapement mechanism, the keys react almost at the speed of light and, while the key action of most pianos happens more towards the back to make the playing feel heavier the further up the keyboard you move, this is not how the GrandTouch keyboard works. Yamaha have brought the action forward to make sure you get the same feel along the entire length. In short: the keyboard has a lighter feel and there's more room for expressive playing. Due to the thickness of the strings, acoustic pianos don't have the same feel along the entire range, and even this feeling is faithfully emulated by the CLP-775. The lowest notes feel a bit heavier, and the higher you go, the lighter it gets.

Binaural Sampling of World Famous Grand Pianos

With the CLP-775 Clavinova, you aren't getting a piano that simply sounds 'great'. As a matter of fact, you're getting two of the most famous grand pianos in the world: the Yamaha CFX and the Bösendorfer Imperial. Both grands have been recorded and sampled using the latest technologies. Combined with Grand Acoustic Imaging, the cabinet design, the GrandTouch keyboard and, of course, the amplifier and speakers, you'll not only hear but feel the sound of these exorbitantly expensive grand pianos. Even the tiniest of details have been included, such as the sounds of the pedals and the resonance of the strings. You'll even hear the duplex scale! Both the CFX and the Bösendorfer have been binaurally sampled, meaning that they'll sound the same whether you're listening through a pair of headphones or playing them over the speakers. While playing with headphones on can be fatiguing for your ears because of the directness of the sound, the CLP-775 maintains a multi-dimensional sound that's not as 'in your face'. Like Yamaha say: "Digital Never Felt So Grand."

Fortepiano: Mozart Piano (Walter) and Chopin Piano (Weyel)

The predecessor of the modern piano as we know it today is the fortepiano. Mainly used during the 18th and 19th century and often confused with a harpsichord because of its sound, the fortepiano can be played softly or loudly as preferred, while a harpsichord doesn't offer this choice. The fortepiano has been aptly named as well, seeing as 'forte' means loud and 'piano' means soft. Prominent composers such as Haydn, Beethoven and Bach have all written pieces on a fortepiano, so it'd be great to have two world-famous models at your disposal to play your favourite late 18th century classical pieces. The CLP-775 makes this possible, as Yamaha have recorded a so-called Mozart Piano that was originally built by Walter; one of the most acclaimed Viennese piano makers of that part of history. In addition, there's also the Chopin Piano, which is based on a model originally built by French maker, Weyel. Needless to say and just like the CFX and the Bösendorfer, these two fortepianos offer unsurpassable sound.

Control and Other Functions

On the block next to the lowest notes on the left side of the piano, there's a menu that can be used to control the CLP-775. Rather than unsightly buttons that'd only spoil the classic design of the piano, the control section is flat and includes backlit touch sensors. When the menu is activated, the LEDs can be clearly seen, but turn off automatically after they haven't been used for a while to keep you from getting distracted and to maintain the look of a genuine acoustic piano. In terms of functionality, the CLP-775 offers everything expected of a state-of-the-art, 21st century instrument. There's Bluetooth for both audio and MIDI; extensive recording functions, built-in effects, a 3-band equalizer, and more. The piano can be connected to a computer via USB or Bluetooth and even offers not one, but two headphone jacks. An audio source can be plugged into the mini-jack AUX input, and since you can actually stream or playback your music via the CLP-775, it practically does away with the need for an audio system.

The SmartPianist App

To pull every last bit of potential out of the CLP-775, it's worth installing the SmartPianist app. Not only does it provide access to an enormous database filled with classic and modern play-along songs, the app lets you load in your iTunes playlists for example and analyses the chords and tempo before converting these into a clear chord progression for you to play. Any song can be played along to and what's more, the app is also a great writing tool and can notate exactly what you're playing on the piano. The possibilities of the app are basically endless, so in other words, if you already happen to own a CLP-775 Clavinova, make sure to download the SmartPianist app.