Over the years the Clavinova has won its place as a “piano” loved by many families, and as a digital instrument, its sound and design can truly be said to have achieved a high degree of perfection. However the era when users made a distinction between digital and acoustic pianos is now at an end, and we believe that there is still room for digital pianos to evolve if they are seen in that light. This belief is at the heart of the CLP400 series’ design.
To date the silhouettes of digital pianos have tended to be somewhat different to the mental image many people have of the piano, with the biggest discrepancy in this regard being the sloping angle of the keyboard lid when closed. Although the structure of digital pianos makes this shape a logical choice, we elected to give the CLP series a flat lid and a vertical front board. Indeed, we saw the combination of the horizontal and vertical formed by the intersection of these to surfaces as the essence of the piano form. However, to make the keyboard lid horizontal, we needed to improve upon the lid mechanism for it to move smoothly and fit within the body of the instrument. Following a number of design attempts and repeated consultations with engineering staff, we were able to find a solution after creating an alternative plan for the mechanism and utilizing video imagery to illustrate its movement. In spite of the great deal of work this entailed, we were able to continue to approach the CLP series as if we were designing a real piano.
That is why, when viewing the keyboard revealed by opening the horizontal plane of the lid, together with the gold Yamaha logo on the front board above it; pianists realize that that they are, without question, sitting at a true piano.