Yamaha CP33

n 1976, Yamaha released the first of the CP series stage pianos. These 'electric grands' became instant classics with their authentic sound and live performance convenience. Thirty years later, Yamaha celebrates those milestone keyboards by unveiling the latest and greatest in the CP series: the new CP300 and CP33. Drawing on our rich tradition and experience, these instruments give the live performer all the sound and expressiveness of a superbly mic'd grand piano with the portability and versatility of a modern digital instrument.

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Like all fine instruments, the CP series keyboards simply beg to be played. Sit down with one, and the instrument becomes an extension of your hands and your musical imagination. The authentic piano voices and rich expressiveness come alive at your touch, and the sound is big enough to blast through a full band onstage - yet nuanced enough to work magic in an intimate club.

Yamaha's extensive experience in crafting fine acoustic pianos helps us in creating the ultimate digital pianos. Our advanced Graded Hammer Effect (GHE) action gives all keys an authentic resistance that increases from the top register to the lower - just as on an actual acoustic piano. Which means that you can naturally pound out thunderous low notes with your left hand and let the fingers on your right dance and fly with the high notes.

In crafting the authentic sound of the CP series, we used meticulously recorded stereo samples of top-quality instruments, taken at various playing strengths, and included subtle elements such as String Resonance, Stereo Sustain, and even Key-Off Samples that capture the felt dampers muting the piano strings - providing the most authentic sounding and finely nuanced acoustic piano voices possible.

The CP stage pianos are also master keyboard controllers that give you full command of your gear. Play and control external tone generators (such as the MOTIF-RACK ES). Assign different voices to different keyboard sections and create multi-textured layers of sound. Two instrument Zones on the CP33 (four on the CP300), with panel sliders, let you easily tweak the level of each instrument as you play. You can also freely reassign the sliders and wheels to control other sonic characteristics of your gear, such as sound attack, decay, brightness and filter cutoff.

Step out front and make your presence known. The CP series has a special Mono Piano sound, complete with a compression effect, designed specifically for live performance. It has the punch and power to stand out, even in full band situations.

Onstage, you need to make sure everything goes smoothly. Sometimes an errant hand (yours or someone else's) can touch the panel controls and change your special settings, giving you a rude surprise in the middle of your performance. The Panel Lock button lets you prevent that, keeping all settings fixed and secure, until you're ready to change them yourself.

Despite its full 88-key keyboard, realistic grand piano sound and extensive features, the CP33 is exceptionally compact, light and portable. It goes wherever you go, sets up anywhere you need, and gives you complete piano performance everywhere you play.

The CP series keyboards give you the same pedal control as an actual grand piano. Sustain, Soft and Sostenuto jacks are available on the CP33 - along with a fourth pedal input for controlling other sound settings - while the CP33 has a Sustain and an AUX jack (for Soft, Sostenuto, or even Expression). On certain piano sounds, Sustain can be partially applied - reproducing the "half-damper" effect of slightly muting the resonating strings on a real piano.