Yes, that's normal. It's normal in sampled pianos because it's normal in real pianos. If you think that's bad, you should hear my 1928 Steinway M!

It's even more noticeable because it appears in one sample that's used for 3 different notes, so you hear the change when going from one note to the next. If every note had been sampled, you'd still hear stuff like this, but it'd be on individual keys and more random, and thus a bit less noticeable. But it'd still be there.

That sounds like the S6, which is my least favorite piano on the CP4. The other two piano sample sets are from pianos that have less of this.

BTW, I also heard your other youtube, where you're playing through the Bose L1 . In that case, there's something in the room or the setup or the system or the recording device that's causing serious resonation, amplifying those partials, and sounding terrible. Try moving the speakers! Keep them away from walls or corners as much as possible. In any case, the piano sounds awful in that recording, and not just because of the partial. The CP4 *should* sound great through a Bose L1, so something is badly amiss there. Most likely the room.

Make sure your EQ is flat. I sometimes set up my CP4 for a gig and it sounds awful and then I notice that the EQ faders have moved in transit. But I don't think that quite accounts for what I hear in your video.

Thanks very much for the reply. I'm glad to hear that it's completely normal - just a bad sample by Yamaha.

Regarding the original recording, I wasn't worried about getting good quality. You'd be hard pressed to come up with a worse way to record that. 🙂 It was recorded using the built-in microphone on a point and shoot camera, with the automatic gain control playing havoc… inside a motorhome!

Thanks for the reply.

It is true: That particular S6 that was used in the sampling session is a very overtone-rich piano, and this is certainly not the first time I have heard people comment about it. And Jeff's comment about his Steinway is right on point: Some pianos have much more pronounced overtones than others. If fact, one of the main goals when the CFX was being developed was to build a piano with a very strong fundamental, which is another quality that some pianos have as well (like the C7x I was playing at a piano store the other day!). Some people prefer the CF piano on the CP4 as it has a solid fundamental yet also has a nice ring as well, and honestly there are some people who prefer the S6 because it is such an overtone--rich sound... They don't find it "bad" or "annoying" at all! Bottom like: It really does boil down to preference.

I do have a solution that has worked for those who like the S6 from about the C below middle C up and just want a less ringy low register. I plan on posting an article later this month on just this subject but I'll describe how to do it below:

1. Select the S6 piano as you normally would and press the [SPLIT] button. Press and hold the split button and select the C below middle C (C2) and this will set the split point there (it should say "Split Point: C2" for a moment in the screen. The split voice should be selected for editing automatically...you'll know this by seeing a blinking arrow/chevron pointing net to the 01:CF ST" in the screen, and you can always press and hold [PART SELECT] and touch the [SPLIT] button to insure that you are indeed going to do a quick edit to the split voice.
2. Press [EDIT] and select "02: Part" and press [ENTER].
3. Scroll down to "06:Receive Switch" to edit the receive switch parameter for the split voice and press [ENTER].
4. Use the arrow down button to scroll down to the third page and you will see that the "Sus" or sustain switch is turned off. This is by design as the most common use of a split voice is to do something like kick bass in the left hand and play a piano part in the right...you wouldn't want sustain on the bass sound. In this case, we want the "Sus" parameter to be on, so make sure the blinking arrow/chevron is pointing at the "Sus" parameter and turn it to "on" using the data wheel or [+1/YES] button.
5. You can use the faders to balance the volume of the voice...EQ and insertion effects are useful as well. Once you get it where you want it save the Performance (and it might be useful to check out the two videos I did regarding performance editing on the CP4 in the resource section here.

I think the balance between the CF on the left and the S6 on the right with the split point approximately where I have set it really works nicely and the overtone ring is gone. Let me know if this works for you or if you have any questions at all! I will post an audio example of this Performance example as well later!

Thanks very much for the detailed reply. I shall give your edit a try.

While I understand that the strong harmonic is a natural property of a real piano, and that it gives it character, stretching that sample is not. If you happen to play consecutive notes from within that range, the strong harmonic follows in a most unnatural way––thereby making a very false sound. It is a shame that sample stretching is used on a flagship Yamaha model.

However, in all other respects, I am extremely pleased with this piano, so it is not a deal-breaker for me.

I'm trying to do this split edit according to Blake's directions but when I do the split at C2 the cursor is blinking on 01:Nylon Gt 1. How can I change the voice group to get to the CF? All it will give me to use for the split voice is basses and guitars.

Thanks.

I figured it out....hit the voice category to change it.