Yamaha CLP330 Reviews

Second hand Yamaha CLP330 available here

 

“Playing felt nice, exact features I wanted, the sound I liked most”

I bought a Yamaha CLP330. My choice was a combination of several
reasons (playing felt nice, exact the features I wanted, the sound I liked
most) but I felt confident to buy since I had a lot of background about the
topic.

We have it installed for 3 weeks now, and it plays like a charm. Our oldest
son is 8 years old and I’m learning him to play, and luckily he also got the
piano virus… Our other 2 kids enjoy our piano-adventures so I hope they
also grow some interest in the next years.

My mission was to buy a piano, but also introduce (playing) music in our
family, and thusfar I’m a happy man!

Nevertheless you’ll need some -neutral- background and technical info, and
that’s where you came in.

Review by Jerry Hamal

 

“These are customer reviews from actual owners of this piano.
The most recent review is at the top of this page “, Graham Howard, Piano Advisor

Send me an email if you have any questions or need advice: grahamhoward@ukpianos.co.uk
Or call 020 8367 5107

 

2) “I love the warm sound of the grand piano and am very comfortable with the touch”

I have been very pleased so far with my new purchase. I love the warm sound
of the grand piano and am very comfortable with the touch. I like the fact
that the music supplied is also pre-recorded so you can play along with one
or other hand and practice by altering the speed.

The only thing I miss- a small point but a matter of inconvenience- is something
to keep the pages open properly on the music rest. I chose this model because I am
hoping to record song accompaniments for friends and will be able to give them their
background music to practice- but I haven’t yet tried this feature.

I bought the Clavinova from Chappell of Bond Street, from their internet site. Delivery
was very good and assembling between two people was not too difficult.

I was grateful to Graham Howard for all the useful information in his piano book. It meant I
was able to obtain all the features I really required but without going over the top for my needs.

Review by Elaine Peters ,Yeovil, Somerset, UK

 

3) “It offers a lot more than a ‘real’ piano at a comparable price. The touch is more consistent, there are of course no problems with tuning, and the sound is perfectly acceptable”

I began by thinking that I would buy a second-hand piano for about£1000-£1500 but, having
tried a variety in various shops and having read reviews (in particular Graham Howard’s comments),
I decided on a Yamaha CLP 330. I am a moderately good (ex-Grade 8) amateur pianist and do not
make use of many of the sound effects available but think that, just as a piano, it offers a lot more
than a ‘real’ piano at a comparable price. The touch is more consistent, there are of course no problems
with tuning, and the sound is perfectly acceptable.

In addition you have the benefit of being able to spare your family by playing through earphones, and
you have a ‘una corda’ pedal whose effect is much closer to that of a grand. Are there weaknesses?
One might complain about the tone quality of staccato notes in the bass or about the absence of the
physical feeling that there is always a bit more volume one could squeeze out of it if one used more
force, but with a ‘real’ piano too one would have to go quite a long way up the price scale before being
entirely satisfied.

In short, I am very pleased indeed with the CLP 330: it isn’t a good quality grand, but it is certainly comparable
with a good upright and has some useful features that the upright or even the grand wouldn’t have.

Review by David Hill, Taunton Somerset, UK

 

4) “The touch is very good, the heavy weight of the keys really makes the CLPs feel more like an acoustic than the YDPs. The whole construction also seems much weightier and robust”

My CLP330 was delivered Friday evening and the guy from the shop built and tested it.

My 10 year old daughter who has recently started having lessons has taken the opportunity and been practicing a lot.

My wife who was a little concerned about getting it has already commented that she feels that the instrument is ideal.

I have always wanted to play the piano, but never had an instrument and I hope that my daughter taking it up will be the catalyst I need.

With regard to the piano itself, the touch is very good, when comparing the instruments in the shop I could instantly see why you recommend the CLP over the YDP, the heavy weight of the keys really makes the CLPs feel more like an acoustic than the YDPs. The whole construction also seems much weightier and robust.

I had considered the Yamaha CLP340, for me the main difference is the sound output and whilst I would like the extra oomph, the 330 is much better value for money. In the room it is in (which is approx. 29′ x 15′) the output is easily sufficient.

The voice of the piano is very good, however if anyone is looking for an instrument that does more than the piano I would recommend that they hear the other voices to see whether they meet their needs. I wanted a digital piano and for me the other voices are secondary and I would still have bought it if it only had the piano voice.

I was considering the Classenti, however, I am reluctant to spend so much without having seen, heard or touched the instrument. I appreciate the intention of Classenti is to manage the costs of sales, but I feel that I needed a more tactile experience in deciding which instrument to go for.

We bought the instrument from Jack White, a Norwich/Ipswich retailer. I work in Ipswich and so initially sought some guidance there, having done that I happened on your website/guidance and found this to be excellent, you really gave me the confidence and knowledge to examine the instruments in more detail than I would have expected.

As I live in Norwich I went to the local Jack White store to compare the instruments more fully. I liked the feel of the CLP and decided on the 330 (the GH3 keyboard and ease of controls swung the decision to the 330 rather than the keener priced 320). For anyone buying a CLP320 over the web without seeing the instrument, please note that the functions are controlled in part through the piano keys, I would recommend visiting the Yamaha website and downloading the manual before buying to ensure you are comfortable with the controls before investing.

Jack White said that they would not simply provide a flat pack instrument, they would deliver, build and test the instrument on site. Despite this, they were very competitive and the piano cost me£10 more than the best price from the web (allowing for a B1 stool of matching colour and delivery). The whole buying experience was great, I would strongly recommend Jack White to anyone in the area.

The piano is fantastic, I have been practicing for over half an hour each day (after my daughters have gone to bed as I do not get a look in during the day) and am already getting the hang of it (with the assistance of the Rocket Piano course as supported by Graham).

Review by Mark Cushing, Norwich, UK

5) “I like the realistic piano tone and the touch”

I bought a Yamaha CLP330 from Millers music centre Cambridge and cannot speak too highly
of their service. They gave me a very fair part exchange deal for my 36 year old Bentley
Apollo Piano.

The CLP330 was delivered as promised and assembled satisfactorily and the old piano
taken away by the same team. The whole operation was efficient and courteous.

I am enjoying getting used to the instrument and its range and capabilities. I am a
pianist of very modest abilities and look forward to developing my skills. I like the
realistic piano tone and the touch. I find the headphone function valuable to permit
practice when other activities are going on in the room. I find the organ voices very
useful as I am involved in church organ playing at our local church. This enables me to
practice the non-sustained technique of fingering similar to the manuals of our church
organ permitting practice at home rather than at church.

I like the versatility of the instrument and listening to the 50 included solos with a
view to developing right and left hand accompaniment of the easier pieces and eventually
self play. The more complicated ones I just enjoy listening to while following the score.

I feel I have made the best possible choice within my budget and thank you for the
assistance your book provided. I should perhaps add that the purchase was made to
celebrate my 75th birthday.

Review by Mike Tassell, Cambridge, UK

6) “The only thing that is a bit disturbing is the sound the keys create when you play fast and loud”

The reason why I chose the Yamaha CLP330 is because I used to have an upright piano from Yamaha and I like the sound of it.
I would have gone for the CLP 340, but it was not in my budget.

As I haven’t played for a while and just start to practise again I am very satisfied with the CLP-330. It sounds very nice and I love to be able to play at any time during the day with the headphones.

The only thing that is a bit disturbing is the sound the keys create when you play fast and loud (when they keys jump back up) but I got used to it. And when you record you cannot hear anything. Is this normal to hear while you are playing? And how is it on the more expensive models?

My recommendation for buying a piano in Australia:

1. Make the research, read your piano book. That really helped me in choosing this piano. I did not know about all the features the digital pianos have and for what I should watch out.

2. It is worth to wait for the half year and sale in JUNE or the year and sale DECEMBER!!!
I got mine for a great deal!
I visited several shops. It is important to talk to the sales person.
In one shop they had sales on, RRP AUS $ 3,199 on sale $ 500 cheaper.
But I did not have that much money and I could only get it financed on the retail price.

I bought mine in Ellaways, Brisbane:

They had a 2 day sale and a great choice of pianos. The CLP-330 was there only $ 2,499. I did tell the sales person that I like it a lot, and want to get it if I can have it financed on the reduced price. Normally they don’t do that but he was really friendly and I can pay now interest free for a year.

Thank you, I hope this review helps.

Review by Reni, Brisbane, Australia

 

7) “The Yamaha sound was nicer than the Kawai”

I was doubting between yamaha and kawai, and finally for the same price I bought yamaha clavinova 330, ( the kawai model was CN23). When I tried the kawai I noticed a huge difference, the sound in the midle were nice but the low tones and the high ones were very bad, very ‘brilliant’. In the acoustic pianos I prefer the kawai, but in electric pianos I think yamaha is much better.

Then I’m living in India, so the choice of electric pianos is a little low, there is one shop of Kawai and one of Yamaha, then there are more shops selling casio and other different kind of keyboards.

Review by Elisa Romo, India

8) “The keyboard is truly brilliant”

We chose a Yamaha CLP330 because of what Graham Howard said in his piano
buying guide and because we played several models and this was best in the
£1,000 range.

We paid a bit more to buy the Polished Ebony version – it not only looked
better but also seemed to have a better soundboard (perhaps different
timber made the difference?)

We liked the next one down the range (CLP320?) but it had poor electronic
controls. The 330 function buttons were better (eg for the voices)

The keyboard is truly brilliant. We used to own a Broadwood grand when I was
a child and this Yamaha took me right back to how that felt, but without the
sticky keys ;-))

Review by Ed, Liverpool, UK

9) “The build quality and finish of the instrument are first class”

Hi Graham,

We bought a Yamaha Clavinova CLP330PE digital piano in polished ebony. We chose it based upon reviews (yours included – thankyou) and the recommendation of a local music teacher.

We bought it from Gear4Music who were competitively priced, displayed excellent customer service and delivered quickly/efficiently to France.

First impressions are excellent, whilst it is a little early for us to comment in depth on the quality of the instrument sound it does sound very lifelike when played with the piano voice, the keys have an excellent weight and feel and the build quality and finish of the instrument are first class. The assembly and operations instructions it came with are excellent and whilst it takes two pairs of hands to assemble the actual assembly could be performed by anyone who owns a screwdriver. The polished ebony finish obviously adds nothing to the sound but it does look very attractive and discreet which is important to us as the piano is situated in a large room rather than tucked away in a music room. It is very easy to master the basic operations of the piano (our 6 year old has grasped it without reading the manual), although a good read of the manual is essential to understand the more complex functions available – many of which I suspect we will never get around to using.

The enclosed software was easy to install and get up and running on a PC, although it is a little over-complex for our young boys who are learning piano – perhaps Yamaha would widen their appeal by also producing some child friendly software for younger players. The Yamaha web site is well developed and has a good range of support materials for players – although again perhaps caters for the more sophisticated player better than the amateur. The Yamaha stool which came as part of the package matches the piano perfectly as you would expect, it is well made with hardwood legs and a comfortable seat. The only negative point is that it is not height-adjustable so unlikely to satisfy all players.

Now we have had the piano for a little while we are very happy with our choice of instrument and vendor, and glad we did not spend more on a more sophisticated Yamaha model or other piano as it is hard to imagine we would improve the sound noticeably or make use of any wider features. I’d recommend this instrument unreservedly.

Review by Richard Poole, France

10) “The range in touch sensitivity is so great that you can play it from ultra-soft to really, really loud”

My 8-year old daughter started music lessons, and chose piano as instrument. I had already decided it could be a digital one, since I heard that touch & sound really matched the real thing nowadays – and the piano teacher concurred.

I initially had the Casio Clavinova PX-330 in mind, but the teacher said to “go with a Roland”. That advice I could have thought of myself (“buy a Rolls, it’ll be better than Daewo”- kind of advice), but I had no idea if paying 4 times as much was what I needed to do, what features were absolutely necessary / important / just nice to have.

That’s when I stumbled onto the book of Graham Howard, and it answered all the questions – even indirect ones, such as “will this thing keep its value if my daughter gives up?”. When the sales guy tried to sell me a Roland with “ivory touch” keys, I knew enough not to go for it, and settle for a €300 less Yamaha CLP-330. Which was still way more than I initially had in mind; but by that time I was convinced that only at that price you get something that is pretty much the real thing (so practicing on it does not lead to poor habits).

For instance, the range in touch sensitivity is so great that you can play it from ultra-soft to really, really loud in un-noticeable small increments; the harder you hit the keys, the harder it just sounds – very realistic.

I don’t know much about piano’s, I’m far from being an expert; but when my daughter now is practicing while I’m in the room next door, for all intents and purposes I could swear there is a regular upright piano next door.

Apart from the “real” piano aspect, it also has some gadgets which are helpful now (metronome with indication of first beat of every measure; practice through the headphones), will come in handy later (3 track recorder, each with separate left/right hand parts, midi in/out, USB port), or are just plain fun for an 8 year old when she gets bored for a second (beside different size piano’s, various voices up to human – neat).

Things to improve? As a beginner, haven’t found anything yet – except maybe storing the “last beats-per-second setting” when powering off would be nice – the default 120 bpm being a bit (way too!) fast for us yet

For anyone not needing to squeeze the budget too far, I would surely recommend it – you can even look at it as an investment.

Thanks for a great source of honest information, Graham.

Review by Bob Cuyt, Brussells, Belgium

11) “The feel of the keys is very much different from my old upright”

I have had this product for about 3 days now so not really put it through its paces. Firstly I am not a musician as such. I just dabble. The truth is an upright piano left my house and I needed something to fill the space! Don’t get me wrong I can get sounds out but don’t know what notes I am playing yet!

My reasons for buying this model were based on a few things but mainly budget. The old adage of you gets what you pays for was strongly in my mind. I also read Graham Howards free book “7 things you need to know before buying a digital piano”. This book seemed to show the CLP-330 as an above average performer based on the various list.

I did actually visit a shop and had a go myself before buying. Then did an internet search. The going rate being£1,232 every where but Rockingrooster.com were throwing in free delivery, a free stool, free headphones 30 free internet piano lessons. They also said if I ordered before 2pm I could get it next day. Mind you if the next day is a Saturday that costs£20! I did see if the shop I had gone to would price match. they said they would but would only knock off£10 for the headphones and lessons. They also wanted£30 for delivery and set up. I went with the internet option which meant self assembly! How difficult could that be?

The box and iot’s content were 100kgs. it was huge and although i did assemble it myself I would recommend getting another person or FLT! Assembled I think it looks great. Not so sure about where all the sockets are (underneath) being very accessible but at least you can’t see them.

Once it was up and running I forgot about the manual and the piano book that you get. In fact I didn’t realise that there are 50 songs stored in the CLP330 when I bought it and that the piano book showed you how to play them. (You do need top read musical notation – So that counts me out of the game.

I am attracted to buttons, switches, flashing lights and sliders. This product is quite discrete insofar as you don’t really notice them.

I am not sure what the 3 pedals are for! As I said I am no musician (I mean pianist) The manual does tell me btw. I also found it difficult to hear any notable differences to the piano sounds when you select some of the effects but that might be me not reading the manual again. I love the choir sound.

I am looking forward to recording some stuff on the CLP itself. I like to make stuff up as ideas so if I can record it quickly so much the better. I am an advocate of the Mac and Logic Studio and it’s multitrack ability so look forward to usb-ing it up and maybe getting better piano sounds via midi. Nice to see a driver download on the Yamaha site!

The feel of the keys is very much different from the old upright that was there before this purchase. I am sure I will get use to this though. I am obviously very happy I don’t have to tune it and that it is considerable lighter to move. Wheels might have been a useful addition.

Ok based on my 3 days or so I am very impressed and would give this product 8/10 so far. Not sure how much space the 50 songs and the demo song takes up. Could they have incorporated some other features instead? The danger I think is possibly giving you too much feature-wise and things you may never use but that’s personal choice.

I would also like to say the grahamhoward@ukpianos.co.uk email advice line was very useful and influential for me. Right just need the time to marry the left hand fingering to the right hand fingering or Eric Saties Gnossienne No.1 – YouTube here I come!

Review by Daniel, Birmingham, UK

12) “It’s really a wonderful digital piano to start”

The CLP-330 have a wonderful GH3 keyboard, this is the main reason I bought this model. I don’t care about
the sound… let me explain why. The CLP-330 piano sound in my opinion si good enough to study and have fun…
but I work with samplers and synths till 1990 and I know when I’m hearing something weird with a sample.

The CLP-330 piano 1 pre-set has a great sample in the first 2 seconds, great attack and body but after that 2
seconds the sound becomes really thin and static due to the short loop of the sustain. In the piano 2 pre-set
things get worst because you can clearly hear the loop of the sustain. So I use the CLP sound to study but
I play a 6 Gb piano library from NI kontakt when I need the “full” piano sound.

Anyway it’s really a wonderful digital piano to start… I don’t need anything else.

Review by Mauro Favaron, Italy

13) “I am very happy to own it”

I have had the Yamaha CLP330 piano now for a couple of month and am very happy to own it.

Like: The piano tone, the feeling of the keys, an excellent music book with 50 well known pieces which are recorded and played back on my instrument and a very good look.

Dislike: The tiny little switch under the keyboard for speakers on/off, a not very well working holder for notes.

Missing: Outlet to earphones on both left and right side, some sort of (lockable?) plastic cover for all the buttons (to avoid small fingers to constantly changing the settings).

Review by Bo Frossling, Sverige

14) “I am finding that the last three keys have no sound”

I bought this piano last year, with a three-year guarantee, and am now finding that the last three keys have no sound except for the sound of wood hitting on wood.

The Yamaha engineers seem reluctant to come and look at it, saying that the piano is so highly tuned that the last three notes are sometimes inaudible! They say
that this is normal and if they come out and find there is nothing wrong with the piano, they will charge me£90 p.h. +.

Has anyone else come across this problem?

Review by Hazel Rumbelow, Morden, UK

15) There is nothing we disliked

In my opinion, touch sensitivity and sound is very well in CLP 330.
But if we want to record and mix the song with some other instruments we have to but CVP series.
There is nothing which we disliked at CLP 330.

Review by Murat Pinar

 

Comparison between Yamaha CLP330 and Yamaha CLP340 (main differences)

With the CLP340 you get:

(1) Synthetic ivory keys – it feels just like tickling
the ivories on an old-fashioned Bechstein grand.

(2) Double the power (2 x 40 watts versus 2 x 20 watts
on the CLP330). This adds a richer tone, especially
in the bass.

(3) Higher quality speaker system.

(4) More extensive sound sampling. On a real piano a
note sounds different depending on how hard you strike
the key. It’s all to do with harmonics.

To replicate this on a digital piano a note needs to
be sampled several times so it produces the right
amount, or specific type of harmonics related to the
speed the key was pressed — it’s complicated stuff!

Anyway, Yamaha went a little bit further with the
CLP340 in developing these sound samples.  The
result, which is probably all you’re interested in :-),
is a more authentic sound.

Comparison by Graham Howard

 

>> For Yamaha CLP330 information, specifications and prices, click here