Yamaha CP4 Stage 88-note Wooden Key Stage Piano Reviews

2/10/18

This is my first stage piano. I searched and listened to other good bramd name piano's and I just kept

coming back to the Yamaha CP4. First I knew I didn't want anything cheap. I also knew I didn't want

anything in prodigy expensiveness but I wanted something good with a good sound and that is what got

listenting to the sounds of this Yamaha and Rolands and others and I just knew I was going to get it.

It had great reviews and I bought mine...


I also updated

to the better audio Mackie Cr5t and have all the accessories the piano chair and the stand and the

speaker stand. I now want to find a good Rolland monitor or any

good Monitor. I couldn't ask for a better deal than that and oh I got a nice pair of headsets. If I can have this for a good

5 years for the money I spent and accessories than I would say I got my money's worth. I'm starting out

but some of you are most likely much more Professional. I just can't start out with cheap items. I can't

do it. I just kept going back to the CP4 Yamaha stage piano. It's beautiful. Thank you.

This is for piano players who want the best in a small package

Roland rd 800 action broke and I am told this is an issue roland did not correct You are on your own

I advise cp4 for the best result

Thought I would would echo a few other positive CP4 reviews/
Ive been keyboardist and pianist gigging and recording for a long time and looking for a decent stage piano for about a year with a high focus on piano and less on other voices. I have other gear for a variety of other applications and sounds if needed. With my focus on piano I liked the Yamaha CP4 from the start but still tried just about every other stage piano in that class from the usual manufactures, Rolands, Kawai, Nord, Kurzweill over the past 12 months. I like a lot of those mentioned for various reasons such as past experience, especially Roland. Again, could not stop going back to CP4. Something special and genuine about the CP4's touch and sound that just seems unmatched by the others that kept bring me back in. I would say that the CFX piano and the realistic action on the keyboard is about as an authentic playing experience that is so close to an actual acoustic piano. I bought it about a few weeks ago and absolutely love this well built, well crafted, powerful stage piano. Im amazed what it can now that spent approximately 50 hours over past three weeks learning everything it has to offer. Time well spent on this wonderful instrument. I highly recommend, but try to play and compare if you have the resources to truly appreciate the CP4.

Outrageous Key Board. great feel and great sounds. Easy to layer sounds and easy adjusting the master EQ

Highly recommend this piano, good job yamaha.

I've been looking for a keyboard like this for a long time. It's perfect for what I'm doing musically. If you want a great weighted keyboard with outstanding piano sounds this is the one for you. It is the one for me !!!

So happy with this keyboard. Right sound, right price and lightweight. Key action great. They lured me from a local competitor with their superior customer service, knowledge and genuine interest in my needs. Personal touch goes a long way. Thanks to Technition Mason Moss. He had patience and suggestions and closed the deal. I will stick with Sweetwater.

I had to buy a rock solid stage piano with amazing acoustic and electric piano sounds for solo and trio gigs and studio. Action and sound was number one priority. After months of shopping and reading all the reviews and trying a bunch out I found the CP4 to have the real piano edge over the other big boys like Roland rd800, Kawai mp7, Kurzweil Artis, and yes even Nord Piano2. The touch and sound just seems to fit better than the rest. The others mentioned are great no doubt at all and might be better on paper but I felt like I was playing a computer with 88 keys rather than a piano. For me CP4 simply delivers pure 100% piano with no gimmicks or bull. It's a genuine powerful stage piano with an authentic nod to the old school electric pianos. I gigged it and recorded with it 3-4 months deep and I cant keep my hands off this thing! Best of all is the constant feedback I get from my band and audience on how great the CP4 sounds (not me haha).

I have so much more to say but you get the picture. I guess the only bad is that it might not blow you away on fancy features and not super user friendly at first. Aside of that I can confidently assure anyone that it earns a 5 star rating for the many fabulous piano sounds and astounding touch. Again "perfect where it matters most" for me. If you need more voices, synths, layers and features look at rd800 and mp7.

Although I've played just about every style in my 47 years of playing, I'm primarily a Jazz player , whose main focus is acoustic piano. I'm very fortunate in that I've owned some nice pianos- a Yamaha C7E, Yamaha S6, and my current piano- a 2005 NY Steinway D.

I've owned the CP4 for 1.5 years now after 4 years of playing the Nords- Piano 88 & Piano 2. Before that I used a CP5 for a few years I still own a CP5 and still really dig it, but it only sees use in my studio these days.

The newer CP4's CFX Grand can sound a tad harsh through headphones just auditioning it in a store , especially compared to the more mellow CF Grand of the CP5/1. But live, with a group (or solo) is where it shines best. I feel it can sound pretty realistic/convincing to even the the most discerning piano critic. Being a huge stickler for tone- I run stereo (whenever possible) and use a pair of higher end RCF TT08A speakers. Also a studio grade JMK Audio JM-110 di/preamp. Both are vital in the chain for taking the D out of digital.

I'm not a huge Rhodes or Wurli user, but I have found both of these to be thicker then EPs from my years with the Nord pianos.

So to summarize- for the type of music I play, and how my piano technique is set up - the CP4 has the best action, sound, and is light/portable with a good build quality. I can't recommend anything else over it at this present time.

Who doesn't love reviews??? Keep in mind all these reviews are just personal opinions and necessarily matter of fact. So here is my my opinion; Yamaha really did an amazing job with the CP4 stage piano. There ya have it!

The rest of the story is I was shopping for a new stage piano around $2000-2500 with an open mind and no brand loyalty whatsoever.. I was leaning towards the RD800 and MP7 in the begining, both very nice when I tried them multiply times for hours on end. My main focus on buying a new stage piano was highly based on acoustic and electric piano sounds. I just could not connect with the AP piano sounds of the MP7 yet EP sounds are really great. Unfortunately the body is heavy in weight. Also seemed a bit out of date with metal and wood casing which makes me ask why?? Plus mixed reviews on Kawai quality from what I was told, whatever, still great product. RD800 was very slick but tough to find or edit the proper sounds I wanted. Almost too many editing features but that is a great thing for some keyboardists. Surprisingly it was not as enjoyable to play as the action seemed to be too cushioned and somewhat slow for me. I had a hard time trying to dig into it and get that keyboard connection with the sound. I also noticed some polyphony note dropping with only two layers. That might be just some simple settings to fix but not sure. Regardless, the RD800 is pretty amazing full featured keyboard. Then I finally got my hands on a CP4 and it was an effortless choice for me with no compromise. Excellent pianos sounds via studio monitoring and large amplification that are full of life and vitality--->based on how you play it of course ;) Very easy to quickly edit sound to taste especially live. Absolutely love the EQ and particularly the reverb but wont get into why - Yamaha just does it right. The action felt the best to my fingers out of the three. Great fast weighted action to dig into. Not sure if the wooden keys make the difference but I really enjoyed the action significantly more than the RD800 and MP7. All three are very sturdy and robust in build, but I prefer the boxy classly look of the CP4. Also CP4 is more focused on piano than MP7 and RD800 in my opinion. Im not shooting down MP& or RD800 as in fact they are more advanced than the CP4 in many ways to the point that they are almost workstations. CP4 is just a stage piano with no rhythm section, sequencers, bells, whittles, etc. yet a very powerful engine for demanding professionals. Anyway, I highly recommend the CP4 now that I have heavily used it for over 6 weeks. If your focus is on piano(s) check out the CP4 at the top of your list. If your focus goes way beyond piano check out the MP7 and RD800 for sure. Spend lots of time with all to truly appreciate them and how they differ. CP4 sounds and action blow me away more than the rest. My only wish is that the red light would not blink in live performance sets. Not a deal breaker but you might notice it now that I mentioned it. Lastly, shout-out to Sweetwater's great staff with unrivaled product knowledge. Sweetwater University is obviously no marketing shtick. Thanks guys!

I needed something for church that talented, though non-technical people could use. This is the piano my Sales Engineer pointed me toward, and he nailed it (thanks, Brandon). Its intuitive to navigate and alter the sounds, and the key bed is amazing. What I really like though and noticed the very first time we started using it is that every single sound seemed to pop out in the mix in a highly musical way. The older model RD this replaced was like playing with a blanket over the speakers. This CP4 just sits in the mix so nicely. The sounds have so much dimension. Needs no EQ in our ear monitors or in the FOH. Fantastic option for contemporary worship where you need mostly pianos, pads, strings, layers and splits and don't have the team with the technical, gear-hound obsessions that others (like me and maybe you) might have! Oh, and this thing could absolutely replace that tired old baby grand that you have to tune and humidify all the time!

I been playing all kinds of piano for a long long time. All I want was true piano sounds with a fantastic feel on the keys so that i can gig with friends and play at home. Im no big sound edit guy and dont need no 1000 sounds. Just want to turn it on and feel the vibe and jam with real good acoustic and electric piano sounds. I found it for sure!. My CP4 is perfect for this old soul. I love this delicious beast. She looks beautiful in a true musicians eyes. No nothing fancy or elegant and I like that. Shes a natural pure -put me on the road- and lets just play great piano- and have fun kinda look and feel. She just looks and sounds so sweet. Yes- yes- yes I totally connect with this piano like nothing else! I guarantee you will channel your inside Ray Charles or Professor Longhair and bask in this beautiful throwback piano. Im trying to explain but you haft to to you try for yourself. Youll see what im talkin about.

Im a professional musician for most of my adult life (pro meaning it's made me a living.) Now that I am older, Im at the point where I play small clubs and venues either solo or with a trio. I have been using Nord Piano and Kurzweil in the past as I am mostly pleased with the sound and simplicity. I was in the market to replace my NP88 as it was getting old and a bit unreliable. This time around I wanted three things. Great action, great piano sound, and simplicity. Turn it on and start playing with simply onboard edit functions. Nothing fancy but high end professional grade. Not an easy task. Once you get to the high end the features are almost overkill for a guy that just wants a great simple stage piano.

My budget was around $2500-3k and was able to try many stage pianos in that price range. The best action and simplicity goes to the MP11 hands down but WAY too heavy for my situation. Next was MP7. Very nice but I could not warm up to it. Plus the screen was flickering which did not help when trying to navigate. As nice as Kawai pianos "look" I really don't trust their quality. Next was RD800, excellent action and piano sound, but way to complex for my needs. to much to work for a plug and play guy. But I can see why it's a very popular do- it- all gig board. Very compact and solid also very long. Next up was NP2, of course I like it but still not a huge fan of the action. Plus its at the top of my price range. Not worth it this time around. Last one was the Artis. Great price and excellent piano sound but action was worse than my Nord. Thats a shame. Last but not least ---theCP4! I felt like Goldilocks "this one's was just right". Maybe not the best of the bunch technically but very light, out-of-the-box simplicity , surprisingly great action and piano sound. The sound is much more "forgiving" than my Nord. Sounds excellent without effort when amped. and best of all it's an absolute steal for under $2,000. The CP4 has it all for my needs and piano sound exceeds my expectation. From a minimalist's point of view the CP4 is the ideal stage piano. If you are guy that wants all the bells and whistle just look under the hood of the CP4 it's anything but minimalistic. You just might find what you are looking for. But for me i dont need to know whats under the hood to enjoy cruising. Hat's off to Yamaha for finding a niche for for simplicity on the surface and highly advanced engine on the inside that would be acceptable even for most demanding keyboardists.

I posted a similar review at another site but I am also a Sweetwater customer and wanted to share my thoughts here regarding this underrated wonderful piano. I mainly play piano and don't need too many other sounds just some strings, organs, and EPs. I own a Roland RD-800 and love it for that, but I rather keep in my home studio and take advantage of is versatility and edit functionality. So, I was in the market for solid lightweight stage piano. I wanted something durable and light as possible without compromising too much from my RD-800. I shopped around with an open mind to all stage pianos. In the end bought a CP4 for gigs both solo and band. Using for over month now, I have no idea why some give it negative reviews. I’m a pro musician going on 30 years and played most stage pianos you can think of. I have to say that this is a remarkable piano for weight, action, and sound. Look, you can’t put a Steinway in a 38 lb box, so let’s be real. Oh yah, boohoo some complain about no “string” resonance. Really? If my audience can pick up on such a subtle sound and are turned off then bless their precious ears. I can tell you that even with good headphones there is plenty enough authentic overall resonance to sound amazing – trust me. The CP4 is so dynamic that it produces such a lively authentic piano sound that you want to sink your teeth into it. The action is bliss. Super responsive and approachable - so much fun to play. It’s a bit quicker than my RD-800 but I like that for live situations especially with a band. It’s not that’s better than the RD-800 just a different personality with the same intelligence.

Here are my quick takes on some others when I was shopping. I must say Nord is very nice sounding acoustic pianos but too expensive and only sub-par action. Casio PX-5S is very light and packed with great features but feels a bit too cheap and not crazy about acoustic piano sounds. Kawai MP7 was originally my first choice until I got my hands on one. The acoustic pianos to my surprise were just pretty good. I thought I was going to be blown away but RD-800 sounds “much” nicer. I also prefer the CFX & CFIIIS on the CP4 quite a bit more the Kawai’s Concert grands. The action is great almost as good as CP4 and RD800. The bad was that it had plastic kind of feel and “click” sound that was annoying when playing rapidly, but that could just be the demo I was playing. Nevertheless, it was that click that really spooked me enough from not buying it only because Kawai is “allegedly” known for questionable quality control issues based on some reviews I read. Plus it was needlessly heavy even though nice looking kit. The bottom line is that CP4 was the clear frontrunner [for me] after playing the MP7.

If you simply need great stage piano that sounds great, lightweight, durable, sounds wonderful, and fantastic action, easy to use, all under 39lbs --- the CP4 is a winner and this is coming from a happy Roland RD-800 owner!

very pleased with the sound quality and the weight is manageable for me to lift in and out of the case for set up.

This purchase is the result of me looking for 88 keys, excellent action, light weight, lots of controllers and that's it.
I was originally intending to (and may still do so) use this as a controller for Mainstage.
I went through the stores and played everything silent till I found what felt great. The CP4 was it.
Then I looked at all the controller input. Pitch, mod, 2 switch pedals, 2 continuous pedals...hmmm. Not bad.
Ok. On comes the volume on my AKG headphones. What the heck. Might as well see what it's got.
WOW. That's a piano. Brain to hand to sound connection is it for me. Thank you Yamaha.

The EP's are krazy good to. They weighted the response just like my Suitcase Rhodes. Not Sure how they did it but cool. And the bark is not an on or off thing. It really digs in to get it just like the real deal.
Smooth bloom on the tine sustain. Nice.
The bell is there like you expect.

I also occasionally play left hand bass. Lets go there and see.
Yep. Sounds like a bass guitar through an amp.

I'm stoked. Used it on the first couple of gigs and it really fills that spot of
having the exact right sound for my needs.
Strings are there without feeling like they are going to get out of control.
The Wurlie has that Ray Charles vibe that says "Uhuh. Old School"

And it doesn't weigh just that too much like you are going to break something when you spin around into it. I can pick it up and flip it straight up no problem

My only gripe at this point is a case. I deducted half a star.

It's not Yamaha's fault. And I have the same problem with my Kronos 73.
Somebody make a real case that fit's and doesn't weigh more than the keyboard or is the size of a couch. Please!!

And finally if I could add more like 5.5 stars and make it 10
it would be customer service.

I had a problem with the first one.
Left a message for my sales rep that night.
Got a call from my sales rep (Thank you Paul) the next morning
and emails from tech support and service managers telling me all
would be taken care. The new one shipped right away.
All costs taken care off.
Awesome.
Thank you Sweetwater!!

I am a semi-professional piano player for 20+ years and have owned many stages pianos in the past. Maybe too many. My RD700NX was getting a bit tired and I was seeking better piano sounds. Don’t get me wrong, the RD700nx is a remarkable piano but a bit limited for just piano sound and that’s what I’m really after. Additional voices aside of strings and electric piano are useless to me. I was ready for a change and the CP4 seemed to check off the boxes on my wish list at a great price. However, I approached this with some skepticism only because Yamaha's marketing seemed to be a little over the top by saying "The CP4 STAGE is simply the best stage piano Yamaha has ever made.” Well, knowing that the CP1 exists, that’s a bold statement. I figured for the price and features I wanted it was worth a shot so I ordered one blindly through Sweetwater (great service and knowledge BTW). When my CP4 arrived, the first thing I notice without even turning it was the feel of the keys. I have never felt anything quite like this on a slab. SO, I plugged it in starting playing with everything set at default. I must say it was living up to the claim just at that. Over the past month I have become so connected with this fantastic digital piano. The features, easy and intuitive user interface, the remarkable piano sounds and the extraordinary action all connect like a fine timepiece. I find myself addicted to this piano. I never had this connection with any stage piano before. Sure I liked my former RD700, my old cp300, several Kurzweils, but nothing fit like a glove until now. I’m so pleased with this purchase. I’m aware a few others have given the CP4 unfavorable review, whether it be plastic body, or lack of string resonance. Don’t let that discourage you. The sound is amazing and build is solid as a rock – absolutely perfect for gigs! All it is way off the mark, you really have to live with the CP4 for a least a month to really appreciate just how astonishing this piano is form the quality of the sound, the integrity of the solid build, and the extraordinary keyboard action. It's such a pure pleasure to play and own one. A++ Yamaha. I think you really did make your best stage piano yet.

I have only had the Yamaha CP4 for one week. I bought it to replace my Nord Stage 88 which I have been using for about 12 years. It is an older model I think they call a Classic now. I don"t think most people realize the difficulty in picking a piano you plan to gig with for the next 10 years. I was trying to wait till I"d been using the Yamaha for a few weeks before posting since my impressions may change. But I can"t wait. I love the Yamaha CP4.
I researched this decision a lot and so I knew what I might miss about my Nord. I considered Roland, Korg, Kawai and a new Nord as well. To be fair, I have not played a new Nord much. I played in once and it did feel better than my old one. But not fantastic. And let"s face it ...the same sounds I have access to right now, would not be worth it. Roland pianos feel great, but the sound of the acoustic pianos is not quite right to me. Plus it"s a heavy board. Korgs seem a little overly bright to me and the action not quite right. I considered the Kawai VPC1 as well but then I would have still needed a sound source. I"m sure it feels great though. Yamaha"s acoustic piano sounds have always been great to my ears. But after playing the Nord Stage for so long, I wanted a new board that felt great and sounded great. I wanted to have fun again. The Yamaha CP4 is the best feeling board I have ever played. But the feel of the action on its own would not be enough. The combination of the Yamaha sound and the action makes it a complete experience for me. I do miss the user-friendly nature of the Nord. I won"t be able to adjust the Yamaha parameters on-the-fly as easily as I did the Nord. So I have some homework to do. Also, the Yamaha has all the sounds it is ever going to have in it right now. With Nord, heck, they may have a new sample out for Christmas. That is okay. I have my Christmas present. It"s a Yamaha CP4. Hello great feeling/sounding keyboard! Time to have some fun.
The Nord was and still is in many ways a superior board. Hence the cost. But for everything that matters to me, the Yamaha delivers. If Nord would get someone besides Fatar to make their action this would have been an even more difficult decision. I will continue to use the Nord Stage for recording and local gigs. But for the road, it"ll be the Yamaha CP4. I will be using the Yamaha on the bottom and continue to use the Nord Electro 4D on top with a Neo Vent ll. The organ sounds might be fine on the Yamaha, (I have not spent much time with them) but I did not buy it for the organ sounds. I have that covered. For 5 stars this board needs a more intuitive user interface, and, in my opinion, the way it looks does not blow me away. I probably would have paid a little more for those 2 things.
Do you want a great sounding and feeling keyboard for piano/electric piano sounds? If so, check out the Yamaha CP4. Special thank you to Delvin Wolf for helping me. Sweetwater has always been my go-to place for music equipment. Thank you guys.

I am not a yamaha fan and have played mainly Roland over the last 30 years.I purchased the CP4 over the rd800 for one simple reason , it is shorter and fitted into my car. a bonus was that it's around 5 kg lighter. When your carting your own gear up and down stairs that's an issue.
I was really worried about using the yammie live as I had a very poor opinion of earlier models which had no cut in a band.
I have been amazed at its ability in a variety of band situations from large to small gigs. It is the first board I could use solo and enjoy. I have a Baldwin grand at home and it's not up to that BUT there are some sounds on the yamaha that make up for the digital compromises. The electro piano mixed with piano gives a cut edge that is tactile and gutsy.
Now my task is finding a stereo amp that is compact ,light and handles the dynamics of this keyboard.until then I use my old roland kc amps

I tried every piano controller I could get my hands on in search of the most realistic physical action. I perform regularly on a Steinway baby grand with medium-light action and I wanted something that felt similar to use at home and at off site gigs. This keyboard took the cake! I sold my Nord Piano 2 and replaced it with this one after trying it. I give the action a five out of five.
However, there is also a downside to this unit, especially considering the price: the on-board piano sounds are definitely NOT very good. You’d think Yamaha would have more natural-sounding piano sounds on a flagship keyboard but that’s definitely not the case. The Nord Piano 2 has superior sounds; this unit has what sounds like interpolated samples (meaning they just stretch the pitch of the sounds). Definitely not great but will do in a pinch. I use it in studio as just a midi controller with fancy piano vst instruments, so for me it works perfect, but don’t buy this thinking the on-board piano sounds are good.

The CP4 has very nice AP and EP sounds. That's where it shines.
However, it is limited as a master controller. (Kurzweil has this down.)
Also, don't expect much from the synth section of this keyboard - it is rather a let down - Yamaha really limited the selections and editing here. You'll need a second keyboard for this.
While some people love the feel of this keyboard, I am not one of them. I find the keyboards "hard stop" quite fatiguing & painful to play on for extended periods of time, and not really at all like my actual piano. YMMV.

I purchased this piano and it was very nice. much lighter than what I had been using and sounds great. It was pretty easy to use right out of the box and had all the features I needed as a traveling musician. I was not happy with the price and was told that I would not find it cheaper which I disagreed. Sure enough after it was shipped I found a much better price through my local dealer for considerably much less but I still got a great deal so I am happy. Do not settle for list price you can get a much better price if you ask around and get quotes.

I've been a working semi-pro musician for over 30 years. Played several workstations and stage pianos, but nothing compares to the CP4. Being so lightweight makes it a breeze to bring to every gig. The action is outstanding and is responsive to light and heavy touches. I've please with all the acoustic and electronic piano sounds. My band has said the keys sound the best ever.

The feel and sound are amazing. Finally a digital piano made for us piano players in mind. The feel is amazing and on my recordings I can't tell the difference between my baby grand and the CP4.
Its so light I can carry it in and out of the clubs under one arm. Now that's what I like. The electric piano sounds are the best I've ever heard and the drum sounds... I can go on and on. Check out this keyboard and you'll love it too.

I've owned almost every iteration of the Yamaha stage pianos over the years (P80, P90, P200, P-250, CP33, CP300, etc...) and this was the first to disappoint me.
Whatever Yamaha decided to do with the velocity algorithm on this unit has made it impossible to use in a mix in a stage environment. I spent a month tweaking, writing letters, and asking questions on internet forums and the consensus was that it can't be fixed without a major software update from Yamaha.
It sounds great for classical or jazz I suppose, but for rock n roll, it is a lesson in frustration.
Too bad, because the wooden action is fantastic.
Secondary guitar, bass, and organ sounds are brought from previous generations and are nothing to be impressed by.

Finally - plastic. All plastic. I am shocked that Yamaha hypes how this is the greatest stage piano of all time, but is made completely of plastic. I get that they want it to be lightweight, but what about durability? Things get beat up from gig to gig and I have never seen an all-plastic anything make it through more than a few gigs without some sort of damage, big or small. Yamaha should know better. I would've been satisfied with the heavier metal if it meant a stronger chassis.

All that said, this is a nice board for what it is, I suppose, but having a clear perspective on the past and what's currently on the market, Yamaha dropped the ball.

Thanks goodness Sweetwater has excellent customer service and understood me returning it.
I will be back to find another board.

Up front, I want to say I'm generally satisfied with the keyboard: action, sounds, weight.... Reason I'm commenting is one of the voices - A piano 03, was sampled in the lower second octave with, what sounds me, to be a whistling sound. Affected are: C; #2 F, E, Eb, Db; #3 Db, C, B; #8 Eb, D, Db, C; #9 Eb, D, Db #10 Eb, D, Db; #12 Db, C. I've called Yamaha (California) and confirmed this is not a keyboard (or speaker) defect and that others have made similar comments. One more comment. To me the corners of the keys were not finished as smoothly as they could have been. I bought the keyboard based on reviews I read, but none mentioned the above. Certainly not game breakers, but there it is.

I ordered the Yamaha CP4 after reading about it online and in Keyboard magazine. I was looking to replace my old Roland RD600 and the combination of the wooden keys, light weight , and supposedly great sound led me to purchase it sight unseen. I must say when it arrived and I out it through its paces, I was rather disappointed. Yes it's lightweight ( for 88 weighted) . But I wasn't overly impressed with the action. Not bad, but a little more sluggish than the Roland it seemed. But the real disappointment was the sound of the acoustic pianos. I only really liked one of them , but it too sounded very wonky in the midrange. The highs were nice and the lows not bad, but I thought the mids sounded terrible! I must say the EPs sounded gorgeous, but I play mostly APs and organ (on a Hammond SK1 with Vent) ,using EPs no more than about 10% of the time, so the APs are what matter to me and they didn't cut it. I ended up sending it back, and I'll probably check out the RD800 instead.

I bought this to replace my old Kurz. It's ok, gets the job done. No "wow" factor as described. But flat and mono is good when playing live which is very important. Looping is horrible if you try to do detailed recording. Nice action. The semi wood keys don't make any difference trust me. Hey, I got a good deal and it's light and easy to move around. Seems solid for next few years.
- R.D. peace

I bought the Yamaha Cp4 earlier this year (2015) and I can't stand it. The sound patches are very average and I find the piano sounds completely lacking in any life or vitality.

The piano sounds are fine for wine-bar-cocktail-jazz and that's about it. (Has a quite useful and reasonable double bass patch) You'll notice most of the Yamaha product demonstrators play jazz when show-casing the piano patches on this CP4 instrument, then they tend to quickly move on to the eps, which are ok. String sounds are totally diabolical as are most of the synth / pad sounds.
Try playing a Bruce Hornsby piece or something similar and it falls flat on it's arse. This keyboard is nice and light-weight and that at least makes it easy to cart about, but I would rather lug a keyboard twice as heavy to have an enjoyable playing experience when on a gig.

I thought this was Yamaha top end stage piano so I bought it. Well, it’s good but simply just not the "best" DP that Yamaha claims it to be whatsoever. I know a lot of people think you will love the CP4 but just scratch away at the surface for a little while and you see that it is poorly made and poorly sampled digital piano in every way. I am much underwhelmed now that I have had it for a while. Trust me, when the honeymoon is over you will realize that your CP4 is mistake for the money you spent. The good news is that is still a pretty good lightweight digital piano, but the mistake is that the Casio PX5S and Mp7 is a significantly better for hundreds less. Even the action of the CP4 is only on pair with PX5S. Please, wooden keys?? Slight difference only as it’s the same as mechanics as the CP33 but a lighter action. Let’s just be honest and put the CP4 in the proper price range at $1,500 or less. It's certainly not better than that.

Sweetwater service was great regardless of my disappointment with Yamaha CP4. Anyone one to buy a used CP4? Didn't think so.

I bought the CP4 blindly and have had it for a few months now. I always liked Yamaha but this time around Im finding myself disappointed now that I am off the road in the studio doing some recording. The good news is the CP4 is great for me on stage - thats it.. The problem I have is the sound with headphones and recording. The piano sounds are coming across a bit harsh and obvious looping. The samples sound too recorded if that makes sense. It's still a good board. The sound technology seems dated. I will use the CP4 just for gigs and studio. I looked at the Nord Stage 2 and Roland RD-800 for studio work and occasional gig. Roland excellent sound and price. Nord Same but very expensive. Both sound far superior to the CP4 and a good fit for studio projects. So if you need a great stage piano only , CP4 will be fine. Also, Yamaha should not brag that this is the best stage piano they made when the CP1 is still out there. Im confused.

Dont expect a huge improvement over CP5. If anything, it's a step back in quality and a few features. I completely regret selling my CP5 for CP4. Im not sure what Yamaha is doing exactly. Hopefully this is just bad attempt at try to stay current in the digital piano industry and great thing are soon to come. Yamaha is an outstanding company, Not sure what the C44 and C40 id meant to be, but it's alot of the same just repackaged. My mistake, keep your CP5 if you have one. See you soon Roland.

It was just not right for me. I was for looking for a piano for mostly recording. The Sweetwater video demo sounds so amazing that I bought it without trying it. The problem was that I just could not even come close to achieving that sound in the video via my Sens HD600 headphones or via my Tannoy Reveal 601a monitors. I spent many days and hours working with parameters and edits with no luck. The action feels ok, no need for wood inserted into plastic keys.
I decided to return it an spend a and extra $300 over my budget and go for the RD800. I had a little expectations because I know Roland was trying something new with sound as Yamaha did. Well, I am BLOWN AWAY at how good the Roland RD800 sounds and all the jam packed editing functions. It sounds better than the CP4 video! Well worth the extra $300 without a doubt. Even my wife noticed and commented on how good it sounds!