NEW YAMAHA CLAVINOVA CLP 765GP VS CLP 795GP DIGITAL GRAND PIANO BUYERS GUIDE

NEW Yamaha Clavinova CLP 765 Grand Piano VS CLP 795 Grand Piano

 DIGITAL GRAND PIANO BUYERS GUIDE

INTRO 

People have been waiting for years for Yamaha to release the new CLP 700 series and they are finally here! The new tech is amazing and these new models are the closest anyone has ever come to perfectly replicating the nuances of grand piano touch and tone in a single digital piano. Not sure if it’s because of the precarious times we live in but they kept the pricing identical to the prior 600 series … for now.  

In this article, I won’t be covering a lot of the new technology but I will show you the differences between these two grand piano models and hopefully help you make the right purchase for your family. For a comprehensive look at the upgrades from the previous CLP 600 series, read Craig Knudsen’s post “CLP 600 vs CLP 700 series buyers guide. Serious innovation”

VALUE

In their respective price points, it’s tough to find a digital grand piano which offers a truer playing experience than the CLP 765GP and CLP 795GP. From industry experts to professional endorsements to user reviews, most agree that Yamaha manufactures the highest ranking digital grand pianos on the market. On sale now at The Piano Guys Piano Store.

 

The new CLP 765GP starts at $5499 and comes in Ebony Polish and White Polish.  

 

The new CLP 795GP starts at $7499 and comes in Ebony Polish and White Polish 

 

The CLP 765 and 795 are equally popular among buyers so the question is, is it worth the extra $2,000 dollars to get the CLP 795 and is it the right choice for your family?  

CLP 795 BUYER PROFILE

• The 795GP buyer is someone accustomed to buying top of the line products. 
• They have the money to invest and are just looking for the best instrument out there.
• They are serious players who can immediately tell the difference between the 765GP and 795GP. 
• They may also be an enthusiastic beginner early learner who wants to achieve the highest possible skill level by having the best possible instrument. 
• Looks matter, and the spruce soundboard and exposed cone speakers in the CLP 795GP give it more of an acoustic grand piano look when the lid is open.

CLP 765 BUYER PROFILE

• The CLP 765GP buyer loves the idea of having a grand piano in their living room but doesn’t want to pay a premium for nuanced sound and touch upgrades.
• The CLP 765GP buyer has a household of beginners and thus a 4 cylinder car will do just fine at this point in time.  
• Has looked at used grands in the under $6K price point and realized that the CLP 765GP actually performs better than most used (and sometimes new) grand pianos and it doesn’t need tuning. Throw in the headphone feature for secluded practice and you can see why so many players are switching to digital.  

MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE CLP 765 & CLP 795

For those of you on the fence, here are the major differences between the CLP 765GP and 795GP to consider before making your purchase. 

 

1 ) ACTION (The touch and feel of the keys) 

The CLP 765GP has a newly designed GrandTouch-S action which is a big improvement over its predecessor the GH3X action. The GH3X was already a step up from what you would get in a comparable Roland, Kawai, or Casio keyboard. The primary change in the GrandTouch-S is that they engineered the fulcrum point to give you a better and smoother balance between the white keys and black keys. The key surfaces on both pianos are simulated ivory and ebony but the key itself is plastic on the 765 and the 795 uses a solid wood key. 

The CLP 795GP Acton is called “GrandTouch Keyboard with counterweights”. 

The new GrandTouch keyboard has the longest key length of any digital piano on the market. The long pivot length makes the repetition faster, the keys more balanced and enhances the touch for a broader range of tone and responsiveness. The key itself is solid wood and the counterweights enable greater expressiveness when playing in pianissimo or otherwise with a delicate touch, realistically simulating the feel of playing a grand piano. If you are a beginner or a serious player, the GrandTouch-S action in the CLP 765GP feels great but the GrandTouch Keyboard with counterweights is unmatched in its authenticity. It allows you to seamless transition between your CLP 795GP digital grand piano and any of the highest quality acoustic grand pianos on the market. 

2 ) SPEAKERS (Dynamic range of sound from low to mid to high end frequencies)

One of the advantages Yamaha digital pianos have over every other manufacturer is that Yamaha has a huge commercial audio division putting out some of the best sound systems in the world. Yamaha also builds some of the best acoustic pianos in the world including the 9’ CFX concert grand. The Clavinova is the merging of those two departments along with the innovators over in the digital piano division. The combined experience and innovation of all three divisions has made Yamaha not only the inventor of the digital piano but the perfector of it. 

The speakers and amplifiers in the CLP 795 along with the action, are the two biggest differences in the two grand piano models.   

CLP 765GP Speakers (16 cm + 5 cm) × 2 - Amplifiers (50 W + 42 W) x 2

CLP 795GP Speakers (16 cm + 8 cm + 2.5 cm (dome) + transducer) x 2, Spruce Cone Speaker - Amplifiers (50W+50W+50W) x2

The Grand acoustic imaging technology found in the 795 combined with new 3 way speakers with speaker box and transducer offer a level of clarity from bass to treble that will rival any high end speaker system under $10,000. They have optimally balanced and repositioned the bass, mid, and treble speakers to create more of a 360 degree sound effect. The 795 also adds transducers to deliver sound from the top of the cabinet, creating a natural sound field, much like the resonance from a grand piano soundboard.  The result is a 360 degree surround sound experience that you can get lost in. 

3 ) LOOKS

When you open the lid on a grand piano, you expect to see a soundboard. The CLP 795 has a beautiful spruce soundboard with powerful speakers embedded and exposed. It's a stunning look. The CLP 765 is the same dimension as the 795 but has cloth covering over the speakers.

The CLP 795 also features a new Touch Sensor Control Panel that only displays text when it is touched. Once you’ve finished selecting your voices, the control panel automatically turns off and disappears into the cabinet with the smooth finish of a piano keyblock.

In keeping with aesthetic and traditional appearance, even the little red glowing “pilot light” (indicating that the piano is “ON”) has been removed from the front cabinet so that the piano looks more like an acoustic instrument when placed in any room of your home.

CONCLUSION

WHERE CAN I FIND THE BEST DEAL ON A CLP 765 / 795?