VRM physical modeling—the distinctive reverberation generated by the entire body of a concert grand piano

In a grand piano, sound resonates throughout the body of the instrument, producing a rich reverberation that envelops the listener in sound. This phenomena is reproduced perfectly in the Clavinova through enhanced Virtual Resonance Modeling (VRM). The original VRM calculates the various states of the strings for each of the 88 notes on the keyboard, from one instant to the next, and timing and depth of damper pedals pressed. The enhanced VRM now also calculates aliquot resonance in the upper octaves, and the full resonance of the soundboard, rim, and frame. This technology allows for vivid, bright, richly-varied expression that reflects the limitless number of factors inherent in piano performance.

From staccato to legato—superbly expressive sound that responds to the player’s touch

Featuring Yamaha Smooth Release technology, Clavinova offers the crisp tone heard when playing staccato as well as the lingering sound produced by releasing the keys more. This provides finely-nuanced response to the pianist’s playing.

Smooth tonal transformations perfectly matched to key pressure

Sound in an acoustic piano attenuates over a long time. Pianists can change the volume of the sound—as well as its dynamics—to achieve both mellow and bright tones by simply changing the pressure they apply to the keys.

The Clavinova features long, carefully-sampled recordings of notes on a piano, reproduces them in rich detail and utilizes unique Yamaha technologies to achieve smooth tonal transitions in response to the touch of the player.

Additionally, the Clavinova has been repeatedly tested and adjusted by numerous pianists in order to attain a performance feel similar to that of a grand piano.

Key-Off samples

The moment a pianist’s fingers are lifted from the keys of a grand piano, subtle changes occur in the instrument’s tone as the damper is lowered onto the strings to mute its sound. Key-Off samples features actual recordings of these changes, offering a faithful reproduction of the most subtle changes in the piano’s sound, allowing for a more realistic performance.

Superb Playability and Feel

The Graded Hammer 3X Keyboard (GH3X)

The touch of the Clavinova keyboard has been praised by pianists for a performance feel that makes you forget you’re playing a digital piano, offering authentic response to the force of your touch and a natural key return. Utilizing the same hammering system and spring-less mechanism as a grand piano, GH3X actions accurately reproduce the touch of an acoustic piano from the heavy feel in the lower register to the lighter touch in the upper octaves.

Escapement mechanism of Clavinova Keyboards

The escapement mechanism in a grand piano moves the hammers away from the strings quickly after they strike them, in order to prevent any interference with string vibration. This mechanism produces a slight clicking sensation when the keys are pressed gently. Since Real Grand Expression offers players superb sound, touch and pedaling, we decided to create an escapement that delivers outstanding playability, repetition, and response without impeding performance. The Clavinova keyboards feature an escapement mechanism that reproduces this sensation near the bottom of the key dip. They have been designed in such a way that the click is discernible only on the lightest keystrokes, similar to the keyboard of a grand piano. These keyboards have been adjusted to provide additional friction that balances key repetition and response without impeding performance.

Synthetic ivory and ebony keytops—a pleasure to play even after hours of performance

Our fingers are more sensitive than we think, and for pianists, the texture of the piano keys is extremely important. The GH3X keyboard features white keys made from the highest quality synthetic ivory, developed independently by Yamaha. The black keys are finished in synthetic ebony. Synthetic ivory keytops reproduce the tactile surface of the real ivory keyboards once used in older acoustic pianos. It features highly absorbent material that prevents fingers from slipping even after hours of practice, while retaining the ideal texture and feel. Resulting from well over a century of experience in making acoustic pianos, this exclusive Yamaha technology achieves a finish that feels natural and comfortable. In addition to the feel, the appearance and fine texture of these keys is unmatched by any other digital piano, and is sure to inspire pianists from the moment they experience it.

Keyboard Stabilizers—unique Yamaha mechanisms for improved keyboard stability and durability

Keyboards fulfill the vital role of transforming emotion from your fingertips into sound and therefore, must be smooth to play in order to maintain superb touch for prolonged performances. That is why Yamaha has fitted Keyboard Stabilizers to all 88 keys, offering players a natural touch and improving the stability and durability of the keyboard.

The mechanics of superior sound

Full-body resonance, just like an acoustic piano

Similar to an acoustic piano, the Clavinova is calibrated carefully, with speaker positioning and body materials checked to ensure that the entire instrument resonates optimally. For a sound image that is very close to the grand piano, these instruments feature Tone Escapement in several locations throughout the body that allow the sound from the speakers to be projected to the listener’s ears without being trapped inside the instrument. The higher-end models in the CLP-600 Series feature dedicated DSPs, amplifiers and speakers. This vastly improves sound production, ensuring that the volume and quality of sound heard by the performer is flawless, with the output from each speaker arriving at the performer’s ears in perfect synchrony.

Acoustic Optimizer

The speakers attached to the body exhibit a phenomenon in which, if nothing is done, the volume of the sound will increase due to the resonant frequency of the body. Conversely, installing pipes with the same resonant frequency within the body suppresses this resonance. Acoustic optimizers utilize this phenomenon.

This improvement of the sound is something that has only been possible thanks to Yamaha‘s thorough knowledge of the internal acoustic characteristics of musical instruments.

Concert hall performance in the comfort of your own home

A fully immersive concert grand experience—even with headphones

Yamaha’s advanced binaural sampling technology is now available on the Clavinova for the first time. The technology uses samples from the CFX, Yamaha’s acclaimed concert grand piano, recorded with specialized microphones that capture locational information and other nuances discerned by the human ear. The resulting sound is so natural, so enveloping, that you’ll soon forget you’re even wearing headphones at all.

Once you choose the Yamaha CFX Grand Voice and put headphones on, the binaural sampled sound is automatically ready and no additional settings are required. Now with or without headphones, you can fully enjoy the concert grand experience at home.

The Stereophonic Optimizer—a new kind of headphone experience

When using headphones, the Stereophonic Optimizer lets players enjoy the dispersed sound heard when sitting in front of an acoustic piano. With the Stereophonic Optimizer, Voices sampled from acoustic pianos* appear to come from the body of the instrument. This provides a comfortable, natural experience that removes the drawbacks of performing with headphones.

* The CFX Voice utilizes binaural sampling technology

General Features

Connect wirelessly for Bluetooth® audio

You can play music through the audio system on the Clavinova by using a Bluetooth-enabled smart device. You can stream audio data such as mp3 files. You can enjoy playing along with any songs on your smart device, and you can even share your Clavinova performances.

Multi-track Song Recorder

The recording function featured in Clavinova digital pianos allows you to record your performances* with a single touch, which is useful when you want to review your playing objectively. Additionally, you can record up to 16 tracks for simultaneous playback, so different hands can be recorded separately or overdub parts with different Voices.

* Recordings are made in MIDI format, and can also be recorded to USB flash memory. Compatible software is required for playback of recorded data on a computer

USB Audio Recorder

Record performances to USB flash memory and create audio files* you can save and play back on a computer, share with friends or create a CD.

* Data is saved in WAV format

USB Connectivity

Connect the Clavinova to a computer or a USB memory device to manage your library.

Other Feature of Firmware V2.0

Now compatible with USB Audio/MIDI. Just connect with a single USB cable for audio/MIDI playback with a PC or iOS device.

This allows you to record to, for example, Steinberg Cubase series products as audio or MIDI, without purchasing an Audio/MIDI interface separately.

*Cubase series software is not bundled with this firmware, and must be purchased separately.