Yamaha CLP340 Reviews

Hi Graham, I just got my Clavinova CLP340 delivered earlier this week.
Thanks to your guide and the reviews on your site, my decision was a
lot easier to make. In the beginning, I had no idea what sort of
digital piano would suit me best. But you definitely convinced me to
go with Yamaha, and I'd narrowed my choices down to the Clavinova
range (a large reason because they look so similar to upright pianos).
I was almost set on a CLP320, but after reading the reviews, there
just seemed to be too many compromises. It seemed more a beginners
piano, and I really wanted the best sound & touch quality I could
afford.

So after going to the UK Yamaha website, and comparing the specs on
the 320, 330 & 340, my decision had been made. It definitely seemed
worth the extra cost. I also watched a few videos demonstrating this
piano, and I fell in love with it instantly.

I searched for a range of online prices in Australia, the cheapest
being $2850 AUS (including shipping and insurance). Neither of the 2
music shops in my local area even stocked the Clavinova 300 series, so
I couldn't go in and test it out for myself. But I was so certain of
my choice, I took a risk. One of the local stores agreed to order a
CLP340 for me, assemble it & deliver it for $2900 AUS.

So now that I've had it for 4 days, I can safely say I have no
regrets. It almost feels like I'm playing a real piano. It looks
gorgeous (which you can't say about most digital pianos), and I love
the synthetic ivory coated keys - they feel more realistic & look less
like white, shiny, plastic. I'm very impressed with the touch. I
haven't played a real piano for about 10 years, but from what I
remember, it's pretty close. The build quality is very sturdy,
especially the key cover that slides down. It has a conveniently
located headphone hanger, and sturdy clips to hold your sheet music in
place. The pedals also have a solid feel, and it comes with it's own
piano stool.

It's extremely easy to use, you barely need the manual. The labelled
buttons make the adjustments intuitive. The 'grand piano 1' sound is
by far the best (particularly with the 'hall 2' reverb setting). The
other 'voices' (14 in total with 2 variations of each) are
surprisingly reasonable sounding, including: organ (jazz & church),
bass (acoustic & electric), electric piano, harpsichord, clavichord,
strings, guitar, choir, vibraphone. The 50 demo songs are great (they
come with the sheet music).

I was surprised at the quality of playing & choice of music. They are
certainly not meant for beginners to learn. You need to be quite an
advanced player to play most of them, but it certainly gives me
something to aspire to.

Overall, I can't think of many down sides to buying this piano. Apart
from the thud of the keys when you're playing with headphones, but you
can't really help that if you have a digital piano.

If you can afford it, and want a significantly better sound & touch, I'd definitely
recommend this piano.

Thanks for all the support. It made the process much more enjoyable.

Reviewed by: Elisa K, Australia (01/13/2011)

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Graham,

I'm a rabid researcher, especially when I'm purchasing a "big ticket" item. I played the Kawai CN-32, the Roland HP-203 and 207, and the Yamaha CLP-330, 340, and 380. I didn't want to spend more than about $3,000US, but was willing to stretch the budget a bit if I really liked a particular piano. Didn't much care for the Kawai; look, sound and feel wasn't on par with a decent acoustic.

Very much liked the sound and feel of the Roland HP-207, but thought the finish looked cheap (like one of those cheap MDF computer desks you buy at your local office supply store for $150) and the dealer wouldn't budge on the price ($4,500 or so). I played the Kawai twice and the Roland once before I ever saw the Yamaha.

I purchased the Yamaha from Piano Distributors of St. Louis, located in Chesterfield. Very large Yamaha dealer, carrying full lines of all acoustic up through 9 foot concert grands and every model of digital piano up through the MODUS line and CGP-1000, which I got to play. Your information helped me realize the CLP-340 was the "sweet spot" in the lineup, having the better keyboard and larger speakers without a large price increase.

The dealer had the 330 and 340 right next to each other in the store; it took less than 5 minutes to decide the 340 is significantly better than the 330 and worth the slight price increase. I paid $3,400US, delivered. That included a $150 delivery charge (I live 45 miles away from the store).

How it sounds:  I play it through a $100 pair of Sennheisers most of the time.  Without the headset it's still great, but to my ear, when the volume is up (3/4 of the way or more, to try to get it on par with an acoustic piano volume, it's still got a bit of a digital edge to the sound. 

A bit of a strident, metallic sound that an acoustic at the same volume would not have.  I like to think I have a critical ear--my music collection gets played through my most excellent Bowers & Wilkins speakers--one of the crown jewels of Britain.  The boys down in Worthing know what they're doing!

Touch and key weight:  Excellent.  Very pleased. Ease of use:  Excellent.
Dealer:  Very knowledgeable, had every possible piano to play, willing to negotiate a bit.  Delivered and assembled the piano for me.

I've played around minimally with the various voices/keyboard split feature/USB recording feature.  We mostly just play it in Grand Piano voice, as we are all beginner piano players in the house.

Reviewed by: Jim

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