Yamaha Clavinova CLP-480R - Pian digital

The sound that resonates with a feeling of depth and the power to express delicate musical nuances is faithful to that of a grand piano. An unobtrusive feature set is there for you when you need it and out of the way when you don’t.

"Real Grand Expression" Sound, touch, pedals–perfectly integrated to give you the sensation of playing a grand piano.

Real Grand Expression. This phrase defines the expressive capability of Clavinova. It is not only the full realization of the sound, the touch and the pedals, but the application of technologies nurtured by crafting acoustic pianos to perfectly integrate these three elements into a single piano. This piano produces that exact sound you want through the touch of the keys and the feel of the pedals. As you play, you will truly feel as though you are playing a grand piano.

The sound is heard just as it was played. "RGE Sound Engine" provides playing response and expressive capability.

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The Benefits of Smooth Release

The RGE Sound Engine delivers the ultimate expressive capability for the CLP Series. The new CLP Series uses the RGE (Real Grand Expression) Sound Engine, the next-generation piano sound source. It improves upon the Pure CF Sound Engine, which earned high praise in the CVP Series, and lets you enjoy the playing response and expressive capability of a concert grand piano. It features a new Smooth Release function which can express sound with great clarity, and clearly enunciate staccato notes with the sound of lingering resonance heard when gently lifting your fingers from the keys. It succeeds in capturing the essence of a piano performance to create grand piano-like, richly expressive experiences.

Dynamic change of sound is dependent on touch.

Variations of sound according to touch

An acoustic piano is a musical instrument whose sounds linger for a long period. The strength of touch varies not only the volume, but also the sound from bright to dark, creating rich expressiveness. Clavinova produces deep resonances by using piano sounds that have been accurately sampling for their entire length. Proprietary technology creates smooth and dynamic changes according to the strength of the touch. Additionally, to achieve a performance feel rivaling that of a grand piano, the touch was carefully refined by many pianists who played it and gave their feedback for Yamaha’s research and development.

Piano Voices embody the careful attention only a piano manufacturer can give.

The grand piano Voices of a Clavinova were obtained by recording the sounds of a Yamaha concert grand piano that led to the creation of the CFX, the piano selected for a performance by the 2010 winner of the famed International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition. A single piano best suited for recording was selected and then tuned to the finest possible condition by a veteran piano tuner. All the sounds were recorded resulting in a sound that displays not only the beauty of each note, but the harmonized sound of a single piano.

256-note polyphony lets you play without notes dropping-out, especially in dense passages of music.

When you play fast phrases or superimpose chords while pressing the damper pedal, you want to be able to perform without notes dropping out. The Clavinova provides 256-note polyphony so you can enjoy complex works such as those by Liszt or Ravel, which feature numerous pedal presses, with no limitations. As your playing improves over the years, your Clavinova will continue to let you make the most of your abilities.

Diverse piano voices that you can choose to match the piece you want to play

Clavinovas are provided with distinctive piano voices in addition to the piano voices that offer playing response like that of a concert grand piano. These include a piano for ballads that gently resonates the start-up sound, a piano for jazz that adds depth to the sound, and a piano for popular music with bright, rich sound. To ensure that the sound conforms closely to the genre, adjustment of each piano voice focuses on the resonance, or the sound produced when you lift your finger, and other delicate nuances. Each time you play, you can immediately enjoy the perfect piano sound without having to make any adjustments.

Experience real piano touch with Yamaha's "Natural Wood keyboard".

The Clavinova NW (Natural Wood) keyboard could only be made by Yamaha, with woodworking techniques perfected from over a century of building fine acoustic pianos. Like a grand piano, the keys are made of solid wood that has undergone the long drying process required for use in a musical instrument. By selecting only the highest quality sections of each piece of wood, keys that are more resistant to warping and deforming than those of laminated wooden keyboards are created. The keys have three sensors, like the GH3 keyboard, that amplify sensitivity to the pianist playing them. Combined with the solid texture of wood, this provides an outstanding playing experience and performance.

"Synthetic ivory keytops" remain tactile during long performances.

Pianists enjoy a touch that clings firmly to their fingers, just like the ivory keyboards historically used in top-class pianos. Synthetic ivory keytops feature a soft, slightly porous surface that gives keys added grip and natural friction for improved ease in playing, especially during long performances or practice sessions. The keys' smooth, refined texture imparts a feeling of luxury and is easy to clean.

"88-key Linear Graded Hammers" reproduce a unique weight for each key, a first for digital pianos.

Grand piano hammers.

88-key Linear Graded Hammers

Each key in the Clavinova keyboard has a unique weight. On a traditional acoustic piano, the strings are short and narrow in the treble section and get progressively thicker and longer in the bass section. To produce an even sound, the hammers hitting the keys become larger from low to high. Thanks to the 88-key Linear Graded Hammers, this is the first digital piano to precisely recreate the keyboard touch of a grand piano where the weight, touch and return of every key is different. Since the experience is extremely close to that of a grand piano, you can achieve better playing technique.

"Keyboard Stabilizers" enhance the keyboard's durability.

Operation of the key stabilizer

The keyboard must respond perfectly to the touch of your fingers so the notes sound just as you intend. Because the keyboard plays such a critical role, it must allow you to play smoothly and maintain good touch for long periods of time. That's why all 88 keys are equipped with Keyboard Stabilizers. This not only lets you play with a natural touch, it greatly improves the stability and durability of the keys.

Keys have a long distance to the fulcrum offering easy-to-play touch, even to the base of each key.

Differences between ease of playing according to distance to the fulcrum

The keys provide a pleasing touch down to the base, because the distance from the tip of the key to the fulcrum is extremely long. When playing a piece that uses many black keys, even when you press a white key near its base, the key sinks softly, maintaining the delicate nuances of soft and hard key strokes.

"The Tri-Amp System" reproduces all sound ranges more beautifully and clearly.

Tri-Amp System

A good piano lets you hear every sound within the piece clearly and beautifully. Clavinova's Tri-Amp System makes this possible by using dedicated amplifiers to drive three separate speaker systems for the three independent frequency ranges. This method can be appreciated by audiophiles and piano purists alike as it ensures that you will hear all the subtle nuances of your performance.

"The GP Soundboard Speaker" produces broad resonance with the depth of a grand piano.

GP Soundboard Speaker.

When you play a grand piano, you are immersed in the sound because of the broad and deep resonances the soundboard creates. These effects are reproduced by the GP Soundboard Speaker. Because the sound emanates from the back of the piano, you can enjoy three-dimensional sound reminiscent of a grand piano.

The acoustic system produces acoustic piano sound as if the instrument itself is resonating.

Because Yamaha places so much importance on the joy of playing, the speakers, amps and other acoustic systems have been optimized so the player hears nothing but stunning sound during a performance. These musical instrument-like resonances give the impression that the Clavinova is more acoustic than it is digital.

"The GP Response Damper Pedal" provides an operating feel just like that of a grand piano.

Response of GP Response Damper Pedal

The damper pedal is an important piano-playing element because it continuously varies the sound as you press it down. The Clavinova behaves the same way as an acoustic piano by constantly detecting the amount of pedal press or return and finely adjusting the amount of note elongation and reverberation. Additionally, the GP Response Damper Pedal reproduces the typical grand piano feeling, for example less resistance when starting to press and a heavy feeling when the pedal begins to take effect. As a result, players achieve greater control when operating the damper pedal.

Using the pedals provides realistic resonances that accurately convey all sound changes.

Stereo Sustain samples provide the mellow reverberations created as you depress the damper pedal. Damper Resonance similarly produces broad and deep resonances when the pedal is used. The result is realistic sound, just as if you were playing an acoustic piano. You will even hear the subtle changes that occur according to whether the player begins to press the pedal before or after striking a key. You can enjoy playing impressionistic pieces, such as those by Debussy or Ravel, where half-pedal expression is important.

"Intelligent Acoustic Control" provides a full, balanced sound with rich lows and clear highs even at low volumes.

Benefits of the IAC function

Setting the volume control

Volume adjustment is convenient for playing at home, where sometimes others may prefer you play softly. You've probably experienced the fact that when the volume is low, it is difficult to hear treble and bass. On a Clavinova, however, the Intelligent Acoustic Control (IAC) function automatically adjusts the sound, so you enjoy proper sound balance even at low volumes. Additionally, the volume dial automatically makes fine adjustments to overall sound of the speaker system (EQ) at low volume. This ability to adjust volume without losing the rich and balanced sound is an exclusive Yamaha benefit, ensuring you always play with the utmost sound quality.

A full selection of basic functions unique to a digital piano such as sound volume adjustment and metronome are provided.

In addition to being compact and not requiring tuning, Clavinova models provide volume adjustment and two headphone jacks so you can listen to your children practice or enjoy playing duets in private. A metronome and other features help you improve your piano skills.

Two recording functions can be used selectively according to your purpose.

[Recording on a Clavinova is simple and speedy]. Recording is a useful way to evaluate your performances. You can record with the touch of a button and even do two-track recording, which lets you record the parts for your two hands separately, then play them simultaneously. You can also store performances on a USB memory device. * * Storage format is SMF. To play the files on a computer, compatible software (such as QuickTime or Windows Media Player) and sound source are required. [Record performances onto USB flash memory so that you can share] your music. By using the USB Audio Recorder, you can record your own performances on to USB flash memory as an audio file. * Because it can be played back without a Clavinova, you can store it on a PC to track and compare your progress or put the recordings on a CD so your family and friends can enjoy them. You can also listen to the files on-the-go by loading them on to portable media players. * Uses WAV storage format.

Wide selection of realistic musical instrument Voices adds variety to your performances.

Along with the piano voices, Clavinova also offers a wide selection of musical instrument voices, including electric piano as Yamaha's CP1, harpsichord, guitar and strings, which you will find many opportunities to use. Two interesting ways of using these voices are Dual and Split. Dual, which means playing two voices simultaneously, provides a rich sound by overlapping the piano sound with strings. Split lets you play different voices with your right hand and left hand, so you can play jazz style by adding a piano melody to a bass sound. By combining the voices in various ways, you can enjoy many different styles of play. The CLP-480 internally stores the XG sound source. If you use compatible music data, you can perform while backed by marvelous accompaniments such as an orchestra.

USB ports allow easy data storage and transfer.

Clavinovas have a USB TO DEVICE port for plugging-in USB memory devices and a USB TO HOST port for connecting to a computer via a single USB cable. They provide a way to conveniently store performance data, and transfer other data between your Clavinova and computer or other Clavinovas.

You can also use it for lessons. Includes 50 famous piano pieces.

The stored pieces are a selection of popular piano pieces. These emotion-filled performances are not only perfect for BGM, they can also be used for lessons. You can listen to them as models, reduce their tempo and play along, or play back only the right hand part so you can practice the left hand part. The inclusion of 50 stored pieces is a nice Clavinova benefit.

Panel Reveal Key Cover hides the operating panel for a more natural acoustic piano look.

The Panel Reveal Key Cover lets you perform with all signs of technology on the control panel discreetly hidden. This adds to the traditional piano-like cabinet design of the CLP-400 Series.

Design captures the essential beauty of a piano. Color variations are available.

Clavinovas are designed to offer the appearance and presence of an acoustic piano. The luxurious polished finish offers a piano-like texture while other color variations complement any room's decor. The CLP Series includes slimline models that fit neatly almost anywhere, and a grand piano-like model with its graceful silhouette.

The finish has a deep and brilliant piano-like luster, affording a feeling of luxury. The coating, which is resistant to scratches as well as to excessive humidity and temperature, is the same as that used to finish grand pianos. The coating process is also the same, and results in a beautiful luster thanks to repeated grinding and polishing by piano craftsmen.