Yamaha Clavinova CLP-700 Series

“As expressive as a concert grand piano”— that’s Yamaha’s promise as they present the Clavinova CLP-700 series. These instruments feature a new sound engine designed to capture the nuances of piano articulation with exceptional detail. Here’s an overview of everything else you need to know about the CLP-700 models and how they compare.

Six new digital pianos replace Yamaha’s popular CLP-600 series. For players looking for more than Yamaha’s top Arius model, the CLP-725 is an excellent entry point into the Clavinova line. It comes with a streamlined feature set, while the CLP-735 adds greater ease of use and, most importantly, a broader selection of voices.

The CLP-735, CLP-745, and CLP-775 adhere to the traditional digital piano design. In contrast, the CLP-785 impressively resembles an acoustic upright in both appearance and feel. At the top of the range, the CLP-795GP and CLP-765GP are digital grand pianos. In terms of features, they fall between the other Clavinovas and Yamaha’s AvantGrand instruments.

Grand Expression Modeling

This innovation goes right to the heart of piano sound: the sensitivity of tonal articulation. Grand Expression Modeling considers not only the velocity of each keystroke, but also its depth. Every model in Yamaha’s CLP-700 series benefits from this feature, which is designed to reproduce a wide spectrum of tonal nuances.

Beyond the range from pianissimo to fortissimo, it also differentiates tonal character. In the pianissimo register, the depth of touch allows variation between a warm, delicate tone and a more defined one. Similarly, in forte playing, the technique can produce either a light sound or one that is powerful and brilliant. Such nuanced expressive possibilities demand a high-quality key action—and Yamaha has raised the bar here as well.

GrandTouch and GrandTouch-S

The smaller CLP-725 and CLP-735 models feature the GrandTouch-S keyboard with plastic keys, while all other models are equipped with wooden keys. Key features increase with the model number, but every keyboard includes synthetic ebony and ivory keytops for an authentic feel.

According to Yamaha, only the white keys of these keyboards have wooden cores, indicating that their construction is similar to that of the larger models in the CLP-600 series. The white keys are not made of solid wood, but rather contain wooden cores.

Overall, the GrandTouch keyboards in the CLP-700 series represent an improvement over the previous generation. Yamaha highlights the different key suspensions for black and white keys, which help the key pivot and angle replicate the feel of a real concert grand piano.

Learn more about digital pianos with wooden keys.

Concert Hall Atmosphere at Home

As with many other Yamaha digital pianos, the sound library of the new CLP-700 series includes two renowned concert grands: the Yamaha CFX and the Bösendorfer Imperial. Both sounds have been reworked and are now available as binaurally recorded instruments. In the pre-series, this applied only to the CFX. The binaural recordings were made using an artificial head stereo technique. When listened to through headphones, this technique produces a spatial sound with remarkable depth and realism.

Thanks to Virtual Resonance Modeling, the pianos also reproduce string resonances and nuanced sonic details such as key-off effect, duplex scale, smooth release technology, and aliquot strings. These subtleties allow for expressive variations in the piano voices, which you can easily adjust via Yamaha’s Smart Pianist app for iOS and Android.

Historical Piano Included

Exclusive to the digital grand piano (GP) models, Yamaha has sampled early fortepianos from the formative period of the instrument’s development. This makes it possible to authentically perform historical piano repertoire, since the predecessors of the modern acoustic piano were not only tuned differently but also had a uniquely characteristic sound.

Recording with Song and Audio Recorder

All CLP-700 models include an audio recorder that captures CD-quality (WAV, 44.1 kHz/16-bit) recordings directly to a USB drive. Additionally, the built-in MIDI player and 16-track recorder allow you to play back recordings at variable speeds. This is ideal for practicing with the included lesson songs, even separately for each hand.

Bluetooth, USB & Mobile Devices

Whereas Bluetooth connectivity was previously limited to the higher models, wireless audio is now standard across all Clavinovas. USB-to-Host and USB-to-Device ports are also provided for connecting external devices or using storage media such as USB drives.

Yamaha CLP-700 Series at a Glance

A brief look at the new features suggests that Yamaha has something exciting in store for fall 2020: the new Clavinovas are set for release in October. Pricing has not yet been announced, but we will share this information, along with detailed reviews of the individual models, as soon as it becomes available.

Key Features of the CLP-700 Series

Polyphony: 256 notes
Sounds: CFX and Bösendorfer, both binaurally recorded for headphone use; total number of voices ranges from 38 to 53 depending on the model
Keyboards: GrandTouch / GrandTouch-S with graded hammer action and let-off simulation; synthetic ebony and ivory keytops
Manufacturer/Distributor: Yamaha

For further information, visit the manufacturer’s website.