Yamaha CVP305 Reviews

“With the 305, I have all the keyboard functionality plus a very good piano too. There’s nothing I (or my pupils) dislike about it except for its size”

I’ve had the CVP305M for a while now. For teaching purposes, it was the best choice. If it had been for me alone, I would have chosen a Roland as I like the sound & touch of their instruments. But that’s just a personal thing. The model numbers have now changed & are now 501, 503, 505 & 509.

With the 305, I have all the keyboard functionality plus a very good piano too. Typical of Yamaha, the instrument is very user friendly. As part of my teaching, I like to record pupils’ performances during the lessons. Of course, the 305 does this but also provides the added benefit of scoring the music & also showing the chords that have been played. This provides valuable extra teaching data.

When saving the songs, I have the choice of a floppy disc drive, a multi media card or a USB stick. I tend to use the last one these days as the first two are a bit out of date as storage media now.

Quite honestly, there’s nothing I (or my pupils) dislike about it except for its size as its larger than an acoustic piano front to back but lower vertically. The hydraulically controlled lid houses all the easily accessible controls as well as two monitor speakers to supplement the excellent speaker system in the main cabinet. The solidly well made mahogany cabinet looks smart in my home & would do in anyone’s I imagine.

From a purely piano viewpoint the touch is pretty good – rather on the lines of a light touch acoustic grand – and the touch is graded heavier to lighter as the tone becomes higher. Touch can be altered by 5 different degrees although the difference isn’t really that noticeable. With a range of piano samples to choose from, there’s a sound to please just about any taste but for the very fussy, any of the samples can easily be edited. The sounds are better appreciated when the volume is beyond halfway.

There is no clacking of keys & a note can be sustained for around 15 seconds. Although there is a realistic sympathetic resonance, this does not appear to extend to the test of holding down a C chord say & then playing a lower single C note. However, the 305 is in the middle of the range & I think it’s likely that the two higher models may deliver slightly more realism although, in my view, that does not warrant the £1000 price hike. Any of the first three models, up to & including the 305 offer much better value for money over equivalent Roland models.

This not a piano to buy off the web. Apart from the fact you would have to build it when it arrives, after sales support is going to be difficult too. Therefore, I purchased the 305 from a local retailer who built it & delivered it in one piece. They were aware I was a music teacher & their pricing & service reflected that as they were aware I could introduce pupils to them for future purchases of instruments, music & accessories, which is what I have done. Because I knew what I was doing, I wasn’t exposed to pushy sales people, providing dubious facts & demonstrating the instruments best sounds via their party pieces – often the only thing they can play!

I always give good advice to pupils about what, where & how to buy. In addition, I teach them ‘keyboard salespeople destroyers’ – little routines that exploit various instrument sounds well, just like the sales person does. So, when they’re in the store, instead of the sales person sitting down & showing off, the pupil does!

So there you go Graham…my views of the Yamaha CVP305M (now 503) – easy to use, well featured, good sounding, nice touch & good to look at.  The 501 (formerly 205) is well worth considering too but I would not be so enthusiastic about the much more expensive models. Also, I don’t believe these later models represent such good value. Feature that are available in my 305 are no longer contained in the 503 but are included with the higher end models.

I wonder how Yamaha might respond to my contention that they are providing less for more these days!!

Review by Richard Hannam (Key Skills PR+Photography+Music)

 

“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