Blake's Take: CP OS v2.0

YamahaSynth

CP Series
OS v2.0

By: Blake Angelos

New pianos and updated features!

CP Series OS v2.0 for CP88/73 has arrived. You’ll find new pianos, new Live Sets and new features, several of which were requested from our YamahaSynth IdeaScale community. Get CP OS v2.0 here. Here’s what’s new!

Sound

New Pianos

CP OS v2.0 adds two Concert Grand Piano Voices: The all-new CFX2 and a nicely revoiced version of the Bösendorfer Imperial 290. Let’s start with the beautiful CFX2.

CFX2

Yamaha introduced the new CFX Concert Grand Piano in 2022. Over a decade of evaluation by world-class pianists resulted in a truly remarkable piano. The new CFX features many design improvements:

Acoustic Resonance Enhancement (A.R.E) rim and back posts.
A new soundboard design.
A reshaped bridge.
An innovative hammer design.
A lighter frame.

The new CFX2 Voice captures this deeper tone remarkably well yet still retains the projection and clarity of the original CFX.

Imperial+

The Bösendorfer Model 290 Imperial is a 9’6” (290 cm) concert grand with a full 8-octave range from C0 to C8. That extended range adds 9 more keys below the lowest note on a standard 88-key grand piano, for a total of 97 keys. The Imperial is the flagship concert grand of the Bösendorfer line and has been in the CP Series from the beginning, appearing as “Imperial”. It has a big, resonant sound and a powerful low end. CP OS v2.0 adds a revoiced version called “Imperial+”. Imperial+ features a tighter midrange frequency response, improving note clarity and presence. The original Imperial has a bigger low end and a more resonant character. They are very similar, but Imperial+ feels like a better choice for solo playing, while the original Imperial might sound better in a larger ensemble or orchestral score.

Eight New Live Sets

CP OS v2.0 features eight new Live Sets showcasing the CFX2 and Imperial+ voices by themselves with other instruments from the E.Piano and Sub Sections.

Design

Let’s look at the design updates to the CP Series. Many of these new features are a direct result of customer requests posted on the YamahaSynth IdeaScale forum.

Tempo Delay

Tempo Delay has been added in the Delay Section. Access it by pressing the [DELAY] button until the “Digital” lamp and [TIME] knob blink. To use the Tap Tempo feature, PRESS and HOLD the [EXIT] button located on the left side in the Live Set Section and tap the [DELAY] button. The LCD will show the tempo, and three consecutive taps will engage the tap tempo.

This was a requested feature and it’s VERY welcome. It’s a feature I use all the time on the YC Series and it’s great to have on CP. It makes adjusting the delay time to a drummer’s tempo easy!

Damper Resonance Effect Adjustment

The Damper Resonance Effect recreates the sympathetic open string resonance occurring when the damper pedal is down. CP OS v2.0 adds controls for Damper Resonance amount and Wet/Dry balance. This allows discerning pianists the ability to fine-tune the Damper Resonance Amount. When taken to extremes, produces a cool ethereal pad-like effect useful as an ambient texture. Damper Resonance is found under Live Set [SETTINGS]>Sound>Piano>Damper Resonance:

Output Gain Control

Here’s another new feature requested from the YamahaSynth IdeaScale community: Output Gain adjustment. This allows you to adjust the gain of the stereo outputs by +/- 24 dB in increments of 3 dB. This is a very useful feature when you need to increase the output gain to a low-level input or decrease it to prevent clipping. You’ll find Output Gain in [MENU]>General>I/O Volume:

Section Switch Mode

CP Series has always featured Seamless Sound Switching between Live Sets or between Voices within a Live Set Section. CP OS v2.0 adds a related feature for Sections called Section Switch Mode. When switching off a section you can choose to immediately cut the sound off or only after the next key is pressed. This is great for people who want to switch a Section off during live performance but need the sound to ring through. Section Switch Mode is found in [MENU]>Control Panel>Advanced Settings>Section SW Mode:

USB MIDI Controller

The CP Series gets more versatile with the USB MIDI Controller feature. This lets you play the CP from USB MIDI controller connected to the USB TO DEVICE port. For example, if you like the feeling of a specific USB controller with a lighter synth action when playing Synth Leads in the Sub Section, just connect it with a USB cable to the [TO DEVICE] port and that’s it. It’s literally plug and play.