Sounds on the CP73 and CP88 Stage Pianos are divided into three Voice Sections–Piano, E. Piano and Sub—with a Master Effect Section where you apply Delay, Reverb and Master EQ to the sound. Note that all the Sections have a similar configuration in the black outlined area. This is where you select Voice Categories, Voices, L/R Split, Octave +/-, Volume and Tone. Each section has a switch at the bottom to turn it on and off. Different Insertion Effect options lie to the right of each Voice Category select area.
The instrument just sounds amazing, feels great and it’s easy to interact and adjust the sound. The cool aviation-style Section switches, the knobs with LEDs that show position and the color-coded rocker switches feel really solid and give you confidence that you are playing a high-quality instrument designed to last.
The Piano Section sounds are divided into 4 Categories: Grand Piano, Upright Piano, CP (Electric Grand) and Layered Piano. Select a Category and use the Voice Select Switch to choose sounds under that Category. The effects in the Piano Section give you some nice options for live and recording situations and give you some cool options like distortion and drive. I love having the compressor in there to even out the dynamics a bit during recording or in a live situation, and the chorus effect is a must-have for a CP80 sound. Lastly, the ability to play with or without Damper Resonance is especially useful during recording sessions, where a purer, less resonant piano sound is sometimes easier to mix in with other instruments.
You can create cool looping textures by setting the Depth, Feedback and Time controls to maximum for one Section and to minimum for a second Section. You can then play over the delayed looping Section with the second Section. It is an easy-to-use and cool musical effect.
This new action is really designed for a pianist. It feels remarkably stable and solid, is nicely weighted, and the synthetic ivory and ebony keytops feel great under your fingertips. The additional GH3 sensor makes a big difference to a pianist because it simulates the physical behavior of a grand piano action, where a note can be re-struck before the key returns to the top of a keystroke. The bottom line: A pianist will be able to pull off difficult passages easier with the CP88.
The new Balanced Hammer Action is fast, solid, a bit lighter than the Natural Wood Action, expressive and really playable. It feels very close to the MONTAGE 8 action just with 73 keys. I love how this action feels with the Electric Pianos, but it is great across the board. The size of the 73 is what is striking: Compact, yet totally playable and perfect for gigs on small stages and if you have small car it will fit!
Computer Connectivity: A cool feature is the onboard USB MIDI and audio interface. A single cable allows you to connect to Mac/PC for both MIDI and 2×2 digital audio. It is a simple and straight-forward connection that speeds up the recording process in the studio. For musicians who use laptops and virtual instruments for live performance this feature allows you to leave that audio interface at home: The single cable connects to the computer and whatever virtual instrument host you use.