comments...

In the 70's and early 80's there simply was no other choice if you wanted a genuine acoustic piano sound, but didn't have the muscle, manpower, or moolah to heave an actual acoustic piano around with you. Nothing else at the time sounded or looked anywhere near as good.

They weren't cheap or feather-light, either. The sound is good, and in a band context you'd be hard pressed to tell it from an acoustic. Only the bottom octave has this tell-tale thunk to it due to the excessively short and fat strings Yamaha had to use in order to shoe-horn the instrument into a sensible sized casing.

You still sometimes see them on TV, in rehearsal halls, recording studios, and theaters.

However, it could be very expensive to get back to specs if it was used on the road a lot, and you will need a very decent speaker system to do it justice...some CP's (the later ones) had XLR outs on them. The action also has to be regulated like a real piano, and of course, there is the tuning. And, even broken down for transport, the two parts are still very heavy and bulky.

Most digital pianos and synth/workstations have the sound of the Electric Grand as one of their presets, some being more accurate than others, but because of this, the CP-80's popularity waned.

The CP-80 is the 88 note version, and there was also a CP-80M later on that had a MIDI out.

The ones I played were kept up to snuff, and were very nice to play...felt the same to me as a well set up grand.

Ian

As a kid I always wanted one , I never got it but I thought it was the coolest Journey , made that piano famous.

They are very heavy and realistically best suited for a studio. They were also very well made and designed to be used on the road...the tuning tended to be more stable than a regular acoustic...the bottom octave was difficult to tune. A friend of mine had a CP-70B (73 key) and moved it from gig to gig, and he said the tuning usually needed only a little touch-up depending on the weather and conditions at the venue...he carried a tuning hammer with him and a strobe-tuner.

The action is basically the same as a grand piano, being that the strings are struck from below.

I liked playing them, but I never owned one. Tony Banks, in Genesis, was also a user.

Ian

I have an alternative view of them, LOL

Unless you are actually hauling one around (we'll get to that), you are better off spending any money on a REAL piano. Sorry to differ, but having used one quite a bit in the 80's, they never made me feel like I was playing a real piano. Now, don't get me wrong... they had a quite unique sound, and slap a chorus on them, you had the pop piano sound for much of the 80's synth-pop sound (think Thompson Twins, Phil Collins etc.), but if you are after a great piano sound, even a decent upright will get you a much better sound.

If you are crazy enough to be thinking about gigging... you can spend a LOT less on a good sampled piano, even less on a really good VSTi, or even most modern MOTL arrangers' built-in piano sound is better (more realistic, TBH), and you'll also find the CP70 piano sound in most arrangers too, if going for that 2 string sound (instead of the three per note in normal pianos). Nowadays, they really have no place left.

Better alternatives exist for studio, home AND stage.

About the only reason to have one would be if you have a ton of room, too much money and nothing better to spend it on, or are a hardcore fan of the Tony Banks/Phil Collins sound, and MUST have the original keyboard...

Used one extensively in the studio and on a house job in the 80's.

Tuning was a problem.

That was the piano I used on a music track don posted for me a while back.

Pretty cool!

To big to haul around now, though. I still have one here in the warehouse, hooked up to practice on. Needs tuning!

Man, I love old instruments!

Russ

I have an old instrument myself, but I'm hoping you wouldn't love it.
DonM

Some people love retro gear, including the old Yamaha CP-70/80. For awhile they became a little unpopular and got stored away in back rooms and garages. It seemed they were only used in studios or by bigger named bands that could afford roadies and the maintenance, although it was less than a regular acoustic grand. Digital pianos and samplers improved greatly, and the poor old CP-70/80 was gradually replaced by these lighter, far more compact, and essentially maintenance-free instruments.

It seems to have renewed it's popularity lately, and the biggest reason is the piano's action, which fundamentally feels exactly like a fine Yamaha grand piano...because, basically it is.

Plus, some people want them in their music videos because they look cool, a sort of strange combination of retro and futuristic design.

One of the music teachers at our Yamaha School of Music owned a CP-80 that he used to teach on. I played it quite often, and it was pumped through two big Yamaha powered speaker cabinets (the ones with the white 15" speakers and horns). He wanted it because when we were off for the summer, he had it put in his summer home. It was quite a bit easier than lugging a full sized grand.

One thing for sure...they were quality instruments throughout...no cutting corners, and they tend to last a very long time if maintained properly.

Kawai also made their own version of the electric grand, and, it too was a very well made and bulky instrument...they even made a really unique see-through model of Plexiglas, but the CP-70/80 seemed to be the more common choice.

Ian

The local music store does a lot of back line setups for the Casinos. He has to keep a CP80 because occasionally a group will have it on their list. A lot of the acts that play these casinos are big names from years ago. They often want B3s and Leslies of course.
DonM