Are the CP1 sounds that can be downloaded to the MOXF (via expansion board) - just as good sounding on the MOXF as they are coming from the CP1 itself?

”Good sounding” is a subjective value... it’s an impossible discussion to have. The fact is the method of reproducing the sound in the CP1 is a different technology than used in the MOXF... and for that reason alone, they are different.

If you’re asking has any CP1 user turned their instrument in for a MOXF? I doubt it. The CP1 is SCM (Spectral Component Modeling) and is the initial instrument from Yamaha introducing this tech (method of reproducing an acoustic and electric piano sounds). It is based on a complex analysis of acoustic data assembled using several different acoustic, electric and FM pianos - as assembled in the CP1 itself you will never hear a sample switching from one recording to another, because that is not how SCM reconstructs the sound.

The MOXF is strictly speaking, a sample playback engine - no extraordinary number crunching reconstruction of the waveform is happening here. So the data that’s used in recreating the Yamaha CFIIIS Concert Grand, has been formatted and used in the Library and made available for MOXF. So the way the MOXF does sound is vastly different from the CP1. But if you’ve ever played the CP1’s main piano sound, it’s one you want to have available for your MOXF.

Will you hear a difference? Again in the realm of the subjective. Should you hear a difference? The hardware in the CP1 audio path is definitely a step up from the synth. But any difference you hear will not be related to the basic sound of the piano they used. If we took your voice and made two recording... Both recordings are as good as can be done. We take the first and process it through a series of complex modeling engines before sending it to the Output, and then in a separate instance we take your voice and send it to the Output without any extraordinary modeling or processing, do you think it would sound the same? Do you think people would be able recognize that it is your voice from each?
Theoretically speaking it should sound better after the complex modeling process, but of course, everyone would be able to tell that it’s you.

Extra Credit: Playing a CP1 is a very different experience... it happens after about 15 or 20 minutes of playing it... you have the experience that it is giving you something you don’t usually get when playing just straight samples in a wave ROM. The CP1 also has the benefit that it records extremely well... it has been used in place of acoustic pianos in several recordings simply because it translates so well and is so consistent. On stage, it is a no-brainer for certain sound situations where miking a piano is deadly, the CP1 sits inside a shiny black prop that looks like an acoustic piano...

If you ever get a chance - play one. The details are impressive - you lose yourself in how well it ‘speaks’ when you want to really play.

Bottomline: you get the same data used in the creation of the CP1’s main piano, formatted for a strict sample playback engine, the MOXF.

According to the notes, the end-user downloaded piano sounds are not the same as the ones on the CP1...

This library contains the piano samples that are installed on the CP1, Yamaha's current flagship
stage piano. The samples were originally recorded from a high-class full concert grand piano: The
Yamaha CFIIIS. They are specially adjusted for the MOXF / MOTIF XF with deep sound in the mid
to lower registers and pure and gorgeous sound in the high registers. The 16 Voices give a good
example on how to use this great sample library. Find your piano sound for your musical style.

Voice No. Voice Name
USR2:A01 CF Grand
USR2:A02 CF Light
USR2:A03 CF Rock
USR2:A04 CF Dark
USR2:A05 CF&S6 Layer
USR2:A06 CF Lyrical
USR2:A07 CF Comp
USR2:A08 CF Ragtime
USR2:A09 CF Squashed
USR2:A10 CF Ballad Key
USR2:A11 CF 80s Layer
USR2:A12 CF Back
USR2:A13 CF & Strings
USR2:A14 CF & Choir
USR2:A15 CF Unison
USR2:A16 Old Century

The listed voices/sounds are also not the same as the ones listed for the CP1.

I'm confused 🙁

Perhaps we were posting at the same time... or are you still confused?

LOL, yes we were!

No, no longer confused - makes sense.

Thanks as always!

The main reason I am looking at the MOXF 8 (over other keyboards - Roland RD-800, etc.) is because you can add the CP1 "sound".

And the idea of getting the CP1 "sound" for $1,700 (MOXF 8) vs $5,000 (CP1) - makes it pretty much a no-brainier.

I realize, from your post, that the sound won't be 100% the same because of the internal working of the two different keyboards - but I am hoping that they will be extremely close.

I cannot say the CP1 sounds are identical to what you obtain from the real CP1.
But since I loaded them in my MOXF8 they are the only acoustic piano voices I use 😉

Piano sounds are always very subjective, but many folks find this data very compelling. Please feel free to edit the data, changing effects, or EQ and other minor tweaks can truly make this a “go-to” acoustic piano.