Yamaha produce a series of digital pianos, under the title Clavinovas. I have played them all, and the 880 (top of the bunch) is not surprisingly the best.

Clavinovas are digitally sampled from 9 foot baby grand pianos, which gives you the best sound possible, while still allowing for the convenience of a digital piano. Many customers who come into the music store where I work are looking for acoustic pianos, and then fall in love with the Yamaha Clavinovas. Simply put, the main difference between the two is that acoustic pianos have to be professionally moved, and tuned often, while Clavinovas are pack and go. Because they are digital, they never need to be tuned and can be disassembled and reassembled in ten minutes flat. We took a Clavinova to our store's recital this spring and everyone loved it. We even dropped it while carrying it at one point, but it endured and suffered no ill effects.

Another convenience of the Clavinovas is the range of sounds. With an acoustic piano, you are stuck with that good ole piano sound, but with the Clavinovas, you get a variety of sounds, from harpsichord to strings. As you move up in models from the 810 to the 880, the number of onboard sounds that you get increases.

At this point, you're probably thinking that the Clavinovas are just an expensive keyboard. Not so at all! They feature weighted keys, which give the look and feel of a traditional acoustic piano. This is essential to tenchnique and feel. When first switching to weighted keys, your fingers definitely get a workout, but it is well worth it to be playing "the right way".

Also, the Clavinovas have the best sound I've ever heard. In reference to the 880 versus the 860 (the model right below), the sound isn't even comparable, and the 880 sounds twice as good as the 860. This continues on down the line.

The Clavinovas also offer a wonderful two-track digital recording feature, which allows you to record parts to play back. Maybe you have part of a song figured out, so you record that, then play something else on top of it. And the recorded sound is identical to the original sound. Not close, but exact, which astounded me. No one can tell whether you're playing live or playing something back, unless they are watching your hands.

Clavinovas also include an onboard metronome, and a full 80 keys, from the highest high to the lowest of the low.

While it seems I have just sung the praises of the entire line of Clavinovas, I can't begin to tell you the reasons you should consider investing in a CLP-880 over a CLP-810. The sound quality and speaker quality improves ten-fold for every model you move up. Also, the 860 and 880 come with the keyboard lid, which slides closed to help keep your keys clean. However, the 880 lid uses a hydraulic system, so the old instances of slamming your precious fingers under the lid is now outdated.

So for serious and aspiring pianists alike, the Yamaha CLP-880 Clavinova is unsurpassed for quality, looks, and supreme value. They provide a great learning tool. Simply put, learning gets a lot more fun and stylish when you play on the CLP-880.



Recommended: Yes