Yamaha Clavinova CVP 405 Review

by Michael B
(Sussex UK)

Yamaha Clavinova CVP 405 Review

I find the Clavinova is very good apart from two points. One,the middle C always sounds as though it was sampled from a piano with a drawing pin (thumb tack) stuck in the hammer felt. This is not just on mine, they are all the same so it is obviously in the software. The sound is very tinny, although it is better than the previous (303, 305 etc) series which was awful.

I don't understand why Yamaha have done this and I can't believe that no one else has noticed it except when I have pointed it out. I have noticed the same metallic middle C on recordings of concertos played on real grand pianos and I once had a horrible Daiwoo before this that was almost unplayable because of the metallic sounding middle C so perhaps this is a universal thing with pianos?

The other aspect which I find annoying is that a lot of the accompaniment styles are based on German 'oom pah' music, 'schlager' this and 'schlager' that, or 'scandi' one thing or another. I don't imagine that these would be much use outside of a Bavarian beer festival?

Apart from these moans, I have owned it for about five years and so far there have been no problems. Although I think that my next piano would be another brand.

(Yamaha Clavinova CVP 405 Review)