Yamaha Clavinovas

[Eve]

Can anyone offer advice re these. I want a good quality sound as similar to a piano as possible, and keys that are touch sensitive. If anyone can warn of pitfalls or suggest better makes please do so. Any help gratefully received!

[ronpaul]

In retirement I decided to learn piano (after learning piano accordion as a teenager).

I paid &400 for a second hand Clavinova CLP 122S.
It has a good piano feel and sound. There are two piano sounds, plus harpsicord, organ etc. I only use the piano sound.

I have been more than satisfied

[Melodytune]

That sounds very reasonable. Did you acquire this privately?

[ronpaul]

Got this from advert in loot online phoned the same day the advert appeared

[Melodytune]

Great! Sounds good to me.

Regards

[Amanda]

I had one of these - can't remember model but it was 6 1/2 octaves with piano, electric piano and organ sounds. It was a bout &1000 13 years ago. It was ok - sounded great and the action was very close to the real thing. The problem I had was it was hard to play quietly. You know when you want to play quietly on a real piano you press the keys softly and press harder for volume - that didn 't seem to work so well on the clavinola. My advise would be to really try it out before you buy.

[Steve071261]

Can anyone offer advice re these. I want a good quality sound as similar to a piano as possible, and keys that are touch sensitive. If anyone can warn of pitfalls or suggest better makes please do so. Any help gratefully received!

I know a few semi-professional musicians who prefer Roland electric pianos. They cost about the same new, but I think they may hold their used value a little more as there is demand for them. Clavinovas seem to have been pitched at the domestic user, no bad thing in itself, but if you haven't already gone ahead, you might like to try an equivalently priced Roland before you do, see which you prefer yourself.

[J DoubleU]

If you are buying new, it's definitely worth considering the Roland HP range. They have a slightly better feel to the keyboard and a more mellow European sound than the Yamaha range. Although the list prices are very similar to Yamahas, they don't tend to be so heavily discounted, so they do cost more.

If you're buying second hand, I suspect the Yamaha will prove better value. There are a number of examples in the General Public sales listing on this site.

[Eve]

Thankyou. I am coming round to that way of thinking. I went to my local stockist and spent a good hour trying all the clavinovas, and then on my way out of the shop I tried something else (can't remember what, but it purported to be the closest thing to a baby grand) - and I have to say the feel/touch made me discount the clavinovas altogether. Unfortunately it was nearly three times the price!

I now need to find a local Roland stockist and a lot more money.