One Great Stage Piano

Touch: The CP1 action is fast and light and feels extremely close to a real piano. Simply put, "What you put in is what you get out," which is a huge accomplishment for electric pianos. If you're not satisfied with the tone, there's simple adjustments for highs, mids, lows, hammer hardness, etc. that can be easily dialed-in on stage.

Sound: As a sideways compliment to Yamaha, the CP1 makes the Motif's "Concert Grand Piano" sound thin by comparison. The CP1 has fantastic grand piano sounds, expressive EPs, and lush DX sounds and great on-board effects for about any piano sound you'd need. What I like best is that Yamaha remembered it's a "pianoforte" and it goes from whisper quiet to stage rattling at your command, without touching the volume knob.

Usability: It's built like a tank and looks classy with its black leather(ish) and steel look. The keyboard has splits and zones that are linked to the piano patches for a decent MIDI controller. After poking around awhile, the controls are simple to use. The three-pedal controller is a little overkill, but it doesn't wander away in the middle of a gig like other sustain pedals.

Possible Cons: For the purist, the CP1 doesn't have string resonance or escapement. For gigging musicians, it has only piano sounds, no organs, synths. As a MIDI controller, there's no modulation wheel, and the six front knobs can't be re-tasked for other MIDI devices. In its defense, it's a Stage Piano, and not intended to replace a real piano, synth, or a bank-of-knobs-and-sliders MIDI controller.

Basically, I've found it to be a joy to play and hear, and it lets me play without being distracted by digital and mechanical minutia. That alone is worth five stars.

Next level

I have never been a fan of Yamaha's digital (and even acoustic) pianos. Just not my bag of chips. But my first impression of the CP-1 is that it is really a step up and something I can finally work with. It is really a much more organic and involving instrument than previous Yamahas. To my knowledge, this the best new digital piano out there.