Yamaha CP50 User Manual download pdf (Page 5)

so), the

305 additional

patches

on the

CP5 and216 on the

CP50 cover

just

about every

sound

you might need.

From

surprisingly

effective

Clavs

and tonewheel

organs to

guitars, basses, brass,

strings,

pads,

and

lead

synths, the variety

is more akin to

a workstation

than what I'm used to

from stage

pianos. Though these sounds

use samples

rather than SCM,

there's nary a dog

in the lot-strings

are big and

lush,

analog

synths donl

sound brittle, and so on.

youve

worked

much with the

Motif or Tyros

series,

you'll find

plenty of familiar

friends here. Of course,

you can split

layer

these

sounds with

the ScM-based

acoustic or electric

pianos

create

performance setups.

The

CP5

lets

you play

up to

four sounds

from

the keyboard

at once: two

layers in the

left hand and two

in the right. The

CP50 allows

for either a simple

dual layer or

two-way split.

Also, the CP5 and

CP50

feature 14 drum kits and

100 pre-programmed

patterns. These are

convincing

grooves that come

314

and

414

time

and cover

all the stylistic

bases. While

you wont fire your

drummer any-

time soon

(at

least not

for this reason), they

do make decent

backing

tracks

for solo acts.

Speaking ofbacking

tracks,

the CP5 and

CP50 also

let

you record your

playing as a MIDI

sequence, storing

the data

inter-

nally

on a USB

stick. The CP5

lets

you plug in a mic so

you can sing

along with

your keyboard

parts.

The CP5

and CP50 also

record and

play

backWAV

audio

files.

Panel

Design

The redesigned

front

panel

all three CP

pianos is

far cry

from past

Yamaha

digital

pianos like the

P250 or CP300,

where

you simply

pressed

preset,

added

an ef[ect,

and hit the

ground running. With

the inclusion

of so many

new sounds, effects,

and

modeling components,

it does take

player some time

to get used

to the layout.

Some

Yamaha naming

con-

ventions are

unchanged:

single sound

patches are called

Voices and

split/layer

setups

with associated

effects are

Performances.

There's

a new

kid on the

block, though,

and

it's

called

. . . the

Block.

A Block

is child to

the Performance's

parent, and

it's

either

a Voice

(or

multitimbral

stack

Voices)

along with

its associated

parameters, or

it's something

that affects

the Voice

along

with lfs associated

parameters.

other

words,

a Block

is a station

on the sonic

assembly

line. For

example, the

CPl

has four blocks.

In signal

chain order,

these are

Piano,

Modulation

Effects,

Power Amp/Compressor,

and

Reverb.

You engage

or bypass

each

Block using

the identically-ordered

row ofbuttons

on the

left side ofthe

panel,

and

since the

CP1 can do

ftvo layers,

there are

two

rows of buttons,

except

for reverb-it's

global

both layers,

so theret

one button.

Though

the

manual says

preamp simulation

settings

are

part

ofthe

Piano Block

(not

their own

Block),

each row also

has a

dedicated

button to engage

or bypass

preamP modeling,

sensibly

located

between

the Piano and

Modulation

Effect buttons.

I get what

Yamaha

is going

for with this

'tignal

chain'panel

design,

but

does

require

getting acquainted

than

many stage

piano

users

are used

to. The CP

line also

diverges when

it comes

to splitting

the

key-

board. On the

CPl,

you set your split

point in the Common

settings,

and

turn

parts

I and

2 on or offby

hitting

their

Piano buttons.

The CP5 and

CP50 take

the

more intuitive

route of

having a dedicated

Split

button'

not

mention volume

knobs

for each

part in the

split or

layer. At

first,

it seemed

weird that the

CPl was

different, but

then

it made sense:

Unlike

its siblings,

the CPl

doesnt do basses,

lead synths,

or other

sounds

you'd

want to

splif with

your

piano-but it does

do electric

pianos

you'd want

to layer

withthe acoustic

pianos. Hence, the

controls are

layer-centric,

KEYBOARDMAG,COM

O3,2O11

letting

you toggle

either

part,

plus

each ofits sound-altering

Blocks, with

one button-press.

Effects

The

family's effects capabilities are

mind-numbingly

powerful,

and

include convincing vintage and

modern chorus, delay, wah, amp simu-

lators, compressors, rotary speaker with

speed control

(CP5

and CP50

only),

and on and on. These use the same

Virtual Circuit Modeling

(VCM)

that trickled

from its birthplace in Yamaha's

higher-end digital mixers to

the Motif XS and XF-itt

just

that

given

the CP series'

comparatively

basic

displays, you dont

get

the

plug-in-like

graphics. In

nutshell,

VCM

models the components and circuit

paths of classic stompboxes

and rackmount effects

you may

have hunted for on eBay. Using the

knobs to adjust the chorus

and

phaser took me back to when

I lugged

a real Rhodes to

gigs,

and

mixing and

matching effects as

I played

imparted a thoroughly vintage

vibe to

my plapng, especially with elec-

tric

piano sounds.

Conclusions

From the

three-dimensional sound

of the

flagship CPl, which to

my ears

sounds

like an

acoustic

piano

than

anything

I've ever heard

from

a digital

keytoard, to the

highly

flexible CP5 and CP50,

these are devas-

tatingly

good

digital

pianos. I'd

prefer

the

NW-Stage actions

in the CPI

and CP5

to have more key travel

and convey

more of a sense

of hammer

throw,

but I was able to adjust

playing accordingly.

Add dynamite EP

simulations and

effects that

rival dedicated

plug-ins

and

hardware boxes,

then consider the extra

sounds ofthe

CP5 and

CP50, and

you have three

stage

pianos that cover

nearly every

conceivable

sonic circumstance.

It has

said: The CP5

hits the sweet

spot.

Above it is the CPl-

the

'toncept

car"

for those who

want absolute

detail and

realism in their

acoustic

and electric

piano sounds

and

have

their

Clavs, synths,

and

organs

covered by other equally

enviable

keyboards.

Below the CP5

the CP50,

which is the one to

get ifyou're

on a budget but

still want Spec-

tral Component

Modeling

pianos and

EPs that you wont

find in a P-series

Yamaha

piano,

S90XS, or

even the latest

Motif. But it's

the CP5 whose

acoustic

and electric

pianos sound

almost

as good as the CP1;

likewise,

it's the

CP5 that has the

largest

number of

Motif-league sounds

in other

categories,

not to mention

four-way splits

or layers as opposed

to two-

way on

the other two

models.

That makes the

CP5 our Key

Buy winner-

all three models, the

user

interface can be tricky

at times,

but

so can

regulating a concert

grand

piano, and both endeavors

ultimately

leave

you

with sounds

that

inspire and

invigorate.

The new control

panel design

marked departure

from

how a stage

piano

usually

works,

but so was

the CP70

when it was

first introduced.

Now, as then,

Yamaha

seems to

have thought

from the

desired resttlt

back to what

would

be necessary

to achieve

it, as opposed

to,

"How

can we

get

the

desired

result based on

'how

it's

done'?"

In so

doing, they

ve changed

"how

it's done"

in a way that

other brands

are likely to

study and

imi-

tate

for years to come.

1 2 3 4 5

Comments to this Manuals

No comments

Yamaha CP50 User Manual Page 5

Comments to this Manuals

Related products and manuals for Digital pianos Yamaha CP50