Yamaha Grand Piano

YAMAHA, Established in 1887, by Tarakusu Yamaha, was Nippon Gakki S.K.K. Co. In 1916 Tarakusu Yamaha passed away. The company changed its name to Yamaha Corporation of Japan in 1987. Located at 10-1 Nakazawa-Cho, Hamamatsu City, Japan. Yamaha was the first piano maker in Japan. Yamaha of Japan made some pianos for Story & Clark in the late 1970s. The American company name is Yamaha Corporation of America. Address 6600 Orangethorpe Ave., Buena Park, CA 90620. All Yamaha Grand pianos are built in Japan. In 1973 Yamaha of America purchased the Everett Piano Company, makers of Everett and Cable Nelson. In 1979 the factory at 100 Yamaha Park, Thomaston, GA. 30286, was built to produce Uprights & Consoles.

 

 

 

 

Verticals	Grands
43” console (M1E, M300/400)	4”11” (A1) (Disklavier only)
44” console (M1F, M500)	5”3” (C1)
45” studio (P22T, P2E)	5”8” (C2)
48” upright (U1, WX1)	6’1” (C3)
48” upright (MP100)	6’3” (C4)
52” upright (U3, WX7)	6’7” (C5)
Disklavier (most models)	6’11” (C6)
	6’11” (S6)
	7’6” (C7)
	9’ (CFIII) Disklavier (most models)

 

 

Grands: There are two basic types of Yamaha grands- the G series and the C series. The G series, also known as the Classic Collection, consists of the Gl (5'3"), G2 (5'7"), G3-6', and the GH-l, a cheaper promotional version of the Gl. The C series, also known as the Conservatory Collection, consists of the C1 (5’03”) C2 (5’ 08”) C3 (6'0"), C5 (6'6"), C7 (7'4"), CF (9'0" concert grand), and the CF III, a more expensive version of the concert grand. In addition there is the strange model S-400B (6'3"), rarely seen, which is a very mellow and beautiful sounding piano, unlike any other Yamaha grand (it is some- times nicknamed the Hamburg Yamaha, after the Hamburg Steinway, a German-made Steinway that is supposedly mellower and more beautiful than its American-made counter- part. Notice that the G series and C series overlap only at the 6' size.
According to Yamaha, the G series and C series grands differ in the following ways: The G series grands have a mahogany (lauan) rim, while the C series have a rim made of laminations of mahogany mixed with a hardwood (probably beech or maple). The G series pianos have a regular cast-iron plate; the C series have a plate made of cast iron with a little phosphorus mixed in. The C series pianos have a duplex scale; the G's don't. There are also some other differences in scale design and cabinetry , and the C series (and 5-400B) have key tops made of "Ivorite," a material Yamaha developed to imitate the properties of ivory, which is now difficult to obtain.
The differences in rim, plate, and scaling are especially interesting, as they are designed to give the C series a more powerful and sustained tone than the G series. One of the criticisms of Yamaha and most other Asian pianos is that they are substantially made of lauan, also known as Philippine mahogany, a relatively soft and cheap wood. The best thinking on the subject is that grand piano rims must be made of very dense woods, such as the maple and beech used on most of the best American and European grands, in order to reflect sound energy back to the soundboard for a more sustained tone. Unfortunately, the Japanese do not have access to the quantities of these woods that would be required for mass production, so they use the inferior and more energy-absorbent lauan. As a result, so the theory goes, the Yamaha grand tone tends to be "brittle" and lack sustaining qualities. Many jazz pianists, desiring a crisp, clear sound for runs up and down the keyboard, actually prefer this kind of tone. But players of other kinds of music requiring a singing melodic line above an accompaniment may be frustrated by the piano's inability to produce it. Because the Yamaha has a tone which is rather pleasing in its own way, the problem may not be entirely obvious until one places a Yamaha and a Steinway side by side and plays the same music on both. The refinements in the C series grands may be an attempt to overcome these tonal limitations by making a harder rim and a less energy-absorbent plate.
A related problem with tone concerns the dampers and sustain pedal which (leave it to the Japanese!) work too efficiently. It is possibly because the sound energy dissipates too quickly and perhaps because this tendency is exacerbated by the pedal leverage. On many other fine pianos, such as the Steinway, even when the dampers are working perfectly, a slight echo or reverberation of the instrument gives the impression that the tone is being slightly sustained, and the sustain pedal can be worked up and down in small gradations to produce the effect known as "half pedaling." To the extent that the Yamaha is unable to produce these effects, its versatility as a musical instrument is limited.

 

 

Piano Manufacture’s Regulating Dimensions

Piano Name	Key Height	Sharp Height	Hammer Blow	Hammer Let off	Key Dip	Back Check Distance	Drop
C series Grand	65.5mm	12mm	47.5mm	3-2mm	10mm	16-15mm	LO+2mm