Yamaha CP30 - should i buy?

[jdsowa]

That's too high. $200 is more reasonable. It has basically two sounds--electric piano/clavinet kind of thing and a very thin "harpsichord". The richness of the Rhodes, Wurlitzer and Pianet come from the fact that you've got real hammers hitting real tines. This thing is basically just like a cheap divide down organ. The sound is generated by filtering a cheap buzzing waveform. If you have all of the major electric pianos and you've got money to burn on a novelty keyboard effect, then sure--otherwise no. It's massive, too. Would take up a lot of space for not such a great result.

[Ezionjd]

Thank you for the quick reply!
So i guess i might have to pass on it :(
But i really like the sounds of it...
Any (lighter) alternatives i should look out for?

[jdsowa]

Here ya go:

Electronic Pianos - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

[Ezionjd]

Thank you a million times, what a great link!

Found 2 of those listed, at a bargain price. (Lower than 30$..)

[Dayfydd]

I recognize that there are literally thousands of keyboards and each have their plus and minuses... But the Yamaha CP-30 was the one that Christine McVie kept when she cleared out her mass of keyboards she used with Fleetwood Mac and absolutely loved it for recording and live play.
Making allowances of course for your musical preferences, does it get a whole lot better than that?

[The Real MC]

My college had a CP-30 for the jazz ensemble. They sound too electronic and do not have any variable timbre with touch control. No MIDI retrofit possible either. About the only thing good about it was the lovely feeling keybed.

[espen askelad]

I've got one, and it's a fun instrument - great feeling keys, as noted, and with the independent controls for tremolo, tuning, and envelope on each of the voices, you can blend together some neat sounds. That said: if you're looking for something that'll be an inexpensive Rhodes, it isn't it. If you want it to sound like a nice electric piano, you're going to be unhappy. I view it as more of a synth than a piano. $400 is way high IMO.

[Ezionjd]

It's bought gentlemen. And i loooove it. Independent pitch/tremolo/sound selection on both voices is simple yet all i needed. Playing at the moment through an old Fender Guitar amp and it sounds lovely.. Cheers!

[beingmf]

Hell, yeah, that thing is splendid! Did you by chance once open the lid? Almost all discrete electronics madness in there

[FreshTrooperXBL]

Originally Posted by beingmf

Hell, yeah, that thing is splendid! Did you by chance once open the lid? Almost all discrete electronics madness in there

I've opened mine and it's quite interesting with all of those components. I will post up a video (with direct recorded sound) of a comparison between the Yamaha CP30 and a Hohner Pianet T, although I think everyone who references the "Hohner" sound means a Pianet N.

This is just the video camera picking up everything, you can see the Boss ME-50B bass effects pedal I used for a grit and minor compression. This is just a band jam we did and I decided to bring out the CP30.
Within the Soma Jamming with the Riff - YouTube

Here's the direct (and edited sound from that jam). You can hear the ME-50B adding a little grit to the top end, but really the keyboard has its own grind already.
https://soundcloud.com/travis-nielsen-1/jam-intro-song

EDIT: I bought mine for $100.