Yamaha CVP-609 Digital Piano

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Yamaha CVP-609 Digital Piano

Postby Mike Bracchi » 06 Mar 2014 10:28

Yamaha CVP-609 Digital Piano
by FELIX THOMA

Originally written German, this article has been translated using 'google' ...

by FELIX THOMA

If you like playing the piano at home, but do not want to miss out on the possibilities of an entertainer keyboard, then look no further CVP series by Yamaha for several years. Earlier this year the 600 series of the Japanese has been completely redesigned. The Yamaha CVP-609 we had the series is the top model available for testing. What is really behind the all-rounder, is to show the following review.

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    Yamaha CVP-609


Somehow everything seems to be new on the CVP-609. Gone are the days stuffed user interfaces and small displays. The new Yamaha adorns namely immediately a 8.5-inch display and touch screen function thanks to many controls could easily be saved.

The display is now so pivotal point of the new ensemble piano. Such a display can of course not only the instrument and show style name, but is also suitable for the display of song texts, large graphics and chords. As already mentioned, the CVP-609 makes an otherwise very tidy impression. Quick one has surveyed the main elements and can start immediately.

All controls are incidentally housed in the CVP Series, the keyboard cover, which occupies a good forwardly inclined position in the unfolded state, so that everything can be easily reached and read. Color, the CVP-609 High Gloss Black or mahogany is available in black matt available.

Who wants to spend a little more, get with the CVP-609GP a device on the Baby Grand Design, also in glossy black. The housing is initially quite massive single system, according to a court. With dimensions of 142 x 87 x 61 cm is still not too large to place it in your living room.


Keyboard and speakers
In this price range a wooden keyboard is of course mandatory and accordingly The CVP-609 is a Natural Wood hammer action, which is equipped with three sensors and Ivory Feel coating. The keyboard is extremely good and clean play.

The weighting is well done and together with the 3 pedal, which is also leaning very close to an original wing pedal, the combination really works very well. The speaker system of the CVP-609 offers to a very pleasant and especially balanced sound. Easier Digital pianos have so often times problems with the bass, but the CVP-609 offers enough foundation to master this well.

Yamaha's own IAC (Intelligent Acoustic Control) ensures that even at low volume levels balanced sound is guaranteed. Background is that the human ear, depending on the volume of different frequencies perceives stronger or weaker, and this is compensated by the IAC function.


Connections
Almost all connections of the CVP-609 are mounted on the lower right side of the table. These include, in addition to a stereo input and output (2x 6.3 mm jack and 3.5 mm stereo jack), MIDI trio with In, Out and Thru a RGB/Video out, USB to host and to device (equal to two times) and a pedal port.

On the front, there are also two headphone outputs and an adjustable microphone port. The attentive reader will immediately ask for what you need because two USB-to-device connections? One is how else needed for a USB memory stick, while you can connect an optional wireless adapter on the second port.

About this among other things, can be used to connect to various Yamaha Apps for iPad & co. Although the CVP-609 already has three permanently mounted pedals, you can also connect yet another pedal, in order to control, for example, various functions of the digital piano. The 3-pedal unit is responsible at the factory for Sustain, Soft and Sostenuto, but can also be assigned to other functions such as start/stop, etc..

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    Ports 1 (rear) Connections 2 (front)

Operation
The large touch display to the operation of the CVP-609 designed to be extremely intuitive. Many large icons explained often by itself, so you can make the most important steps safely and above all, easy as absolute beginners.

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    Operation by touch screen

A multiplicity of functions of the digital piano a look at the manual remains, of course not spared, but that's to be expected in a device this size and its periphery. To their best advantage takes the easy manual Piano Room, with the help of which one first selects his desired piano or grand piano (grand piano, pop wings, Upright or honky tonk), to put it then in a suitable environment.

Cathedral, Concert Hall, Stage or Living Room to choose from and these are shown graphically as good as I've experienced it with any other digital piano.

Sound generation
The internal tone generator is in the name "Real Grand Expression" and offers a total of 1,620 sounds in all imaginable categories. A major issue is of course the wings and piano sounds that actually sound extremely well on the CVP-609.

In addition to the multiple velocity layers Yamaha has equipped the Sounds with Key-off samples and string resonance and damper. In addition, the Grand Piano sounds have the so-called Smooth Release function which can finish off the different sounds depending on the release rate of the keys. As is usual for Yamaha, the wings and piano sounds are very assertive and bear witness to a brighter sound character.

The remaining sounds of the CVP-609 need but certainly not to hide. The quality is very good across the board and a special highlight in any case, the Super Articulation 2 Voices that can please by different articulations and playing styles.

Since the wind instruments, for example, true legato playing transitions, install or glissandi tones play with vibrato. The course contributes immensely contribute to authenticity. A little weak, I personally find the organ and string sounds. Especially with the rockier organs sounds to me much just too nice and too static, with the Pipe organs are very successful. The string ensemble are partly something to synth-like.

Styles
As be-fits an entertainer digital piano of this size, the CVP-609 can also address the Style area with plenty of food and sound functions. Yamaha has long been a part of the Tyros anyway to the leaders of the entertainer's area.

Even if the competition never sleeps, there is currently no comparable equipped keyboard.

The CVP-609 has now exactly the same rhythm section as the Tyros 4 and offers a total of 566 styles. Four One Touch Settings per rhythm, ie, the keyboard offers after switching to a style directly four matching tone colors with matching settings for this and three intros/endings, four Main/Variation arrangements and another four fills and a break, the CVP-609 to offer. Among the 566 styles are also 55 Session Styles, 7 Free Play Styles and 36 Pianist Styles.

Actually there is nothing to criticize, but the latest PSR Yamaha models offer so-called audio styles that are really good and I would of course also like to see in the top-of-the-art digital piano from Yamaha. For the price that would surely have been possible. However, the quality of the styles is also so very good.

Together with the internal speaker system sound The CVP-609 is amazingly powerful. The arrangements can almost everywhere fully convince and through the entire bank of time can be found in many places really well considered and clever details.

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    The Style Section

Really successful is the Music Finder, which contains a total of 2,500 song entries on the CVP-609 and registrations for many well-known and often played track keeps ready. May it be a Udo Jürgens classic? Then simply enter the song title and already examined the digital piano from the appropriate menu out and touch of a button everything is loaded immediately.

Own rhythms can also be created and there is even the ability to easily self to play a rhythm on the keys of the CVP and the digital piano beats independently before a suitable style. This works in practice, not quite as good as it sounds, but the system was still able to make some good suggestions.

Effects
As it should be for a unit of this size, the CVP-609 offers a very comprehensive effects section. Reverb and Chorus I only mention because they are really well equipped with 44 or 106 presets. There are also 310 insert effects, 308 variation effects and 44 Vocal Harmony presets.

Would that not be enough, there is still a per Part own equalizer and shortly before the end of the signal path one must still insert a master equalizer and compressor. Especially the wide range of variation and insert effects have loved them, as well as the very good fancy Harmony effects.

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Recording and Playback
A 16 track MIDI sequencer can be found in the CVP-609 as well as the possibility of his own game as WAV and MP3 even recorded. After Kawai now come the Yamaha customers to enjoy, play not only MP3, but take directly. When processing steps Stretch, Pitch Shift and Vocal Cancel available and stored everything on a USB memory stick.

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Conclusion
Yamaha emphasizes the CVP-609 once again its leadership in digital piano with accompaniment. The CVP-609 is an absolutely first-class equipment, which can convince with good sound production and the detailed styles in addition to its excellent keyboard and good wood speaker system. The equipment is huge and yet the CVP-609 can be wonderfully easy by the large touch-screen use. All this has its price, so not everyone interested can meet the request of the CVP-609. But alas the smaller CVP models still offer plenty of power and are in any case well worth a closer look.

Plus

very good wood keyboard
good wind and piano sounds
many features and extras
intuitive operation using a large touch display


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http://www.amazona.de/ ... read the original German article and more like it here.
Mike Bracchi
Vintage Organ Group (Facebook)
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