Yamaha CP-10

No manual required. If you can find the power switch, the rest is straightforward. If you can't find the power switch, we have problems.

Features? It sounds like a CP10. End of story.

Polyphony = 8. Unless you're Rachmaninov and you play chords with 15 notes, this should be plenty.

Keyboard action = plastic. Great for fast synth solos. Requires precise playing. Sneeze and you hit the wrong note. So if your technique is sloppy, there's no hiding behind heavy weighted keys for you. I learned that in a hurry.

Expansion capabilities? As my grandfather would say, "Siddown and shuddup, pansy boy. You'll get nothing and like it." There's no MIDI. No sequencer. No fancy-shmancy hi-resolution full color display like the kids are getting today. With the CP10 you're lucky they gave you a volume knob.

There is an odd pedal feature. As far as I know, this is NOT a conventional sustain pedal. Instead, it controls on/off for the tremolo & sustain features (see below).

Tremolo. Standard cheezy tremolo with variable frequency, but it doesn't have a depth knob. This means it's all or nothing. Gotta love it. Don't make me quote my grandfather again.

Sustain. This is more like a reverb feature, or to put it technically in terms of a standard synth ADSR envelope, it extends the R (release) from 0 to about 1 second. About as useful as a spring reverb on a Peavy guitar amp.

Ok here's the deal. You get one sound. ONE. Sure, there are 4 "preset" voices, but these seem to be identical tone generators with different lowpass filters. "Piano1" runs through a filter with (I'm guessing) a 250Hz cutoff, "Piano2" has a 500Hz cutoff, "Harpsichord1" is 1k, and "Harpsichord2" is 2k. Just enable all 4 voices/filters and leave it that way forever. That's the best way to get the full analog goodness outta this thing.

This puppy is awesome in the studio. Recorded direct, it sounds a bit thin by today's production standards. So you'll need to fatten it up with a decent effects rig. Or if you really like to do it the old fashioned way, just record each part 5 or 6 times on top of itself. It will sound HUGE. I'm talkin Rush "Subdivisions" huge. Another cool trick is to double it with a low octave harmonizer for a thick bass sound. As with any vintage electronic instrument, you'll need to get creative to get the most of it.

Never tried it live, but I'm sure it would be a blast. I don't think I'd use it as my sole keyboard unless I was playing a 2-hour extended version of Funkytown.

Seems dependable. Its only flaw is that it's 75% wood which makes it unnecessarily heavy and subject to mold and critters if not stored properly. Also you killed a tree which sort of sucks. I'm thinking of welding a new chassis out of lightweight aluminum. How cool would that be! The electronics inside are simple enough that you can easily transplant them into anything else. Btw there's a lot of available airspace in there, in case you need to smuggle some endangered species across the border.

Overall rating = 10. This is what all electronic keyboards should be like. One sound. No bells, no whistles. Just a bunch of wires, resistors & capacitors.

If you see one for sale, GET IT. We need to save all these priceless relics from the dumpsters of the world. In 20 years when there are no more analog or acoustic instruments, we'll be prepared my friends!!

The sound is quite limited, and not great by today's standard.
But it works well for having a reliable piano-esque sound handy.

It's difficult to rate this sort of specialty device.
It is what it is and pretends nothing more and if you happen to be down with that, i think it deserves a high rating. If you want more from a piano, this ain't it, you'll be frustrated.

There are hardly any 'features' except tremolo. Also the five band eq really does have a useful effect, so that's sort of a feature. Both work well for what this rig is.

I'm not good enough to really make the most of a real accurate piano feel. From my perspective, it works well enough as an electronic piano, and i would say it's a pretty good feel. I suspect it wouldn't please a purist; such a person really ought have a higher-end rig, if can afford.

It seems to be very dependable.

One switch and one key were erring when i got it, along with 30 years of dust and dirt accummulated.
But it was a trivial fix for a dillettante hassler; a thorough clean-up got it back perfect.

Back in the day, my very similar and fairly new cp-20 never ever glitched, even after being kidnapped by hippy drug dealer lesbians for a matter of months, before i got it back, among other batterings it was subjected to.


A question here is, would i use it without back up, which i think means would i use it and no other keyboard on a gig:
It *is* a good basic sound if you can get by on it. Certainly better than if you only had a string synth or mini-moog and nothing else.

Still, you'd be pretty far out to do a gig with just this very simple keyboard and add to a band sound. either pretty good, or pretty creative.


Okay, okay -- I did this once. I confess. I admit it.
But it was actually on my old CP-20, I swear to god, ya gotta believe me.
It's all i had then, and i just wanted to pretend i was creative, i never meant to hurt anyone, and that's the gozzonnesstroof [sobs].

Joking aside, players and non-players told me i did add well to the sound. So you could do it.

I suspect if it's anything like their motorcycle division, it's not good. But that is total speculation. Also this keyboard is 30 years ancient. Best to look for comment on yamaha music gear support on other posts in case anyone has something to tell.

I used to own a cp-20 long ago, so there's some nostalgia for me in finding a CP-10 recently for $40. Same technology with a few less keys/notes and no legs.

My current situation has no bassist other than my left hand. I usually split my synth but would love to have an actual simple bass keyboard to avoid those embarrassing mal-edits which drop the bottom out of our sound. Although it doesn't really go low enough, the CP-10 does work some in such emergencies, plus it's nice to have a piano-esque sound always available.

What i wouldn't do to set it down one octave for a bass keyboard.
And then saw the box in half to be like a bass rhodes i once had only without tyne issues...[slap!] -- hey, a guy can dream, can't he?

very simple, 4 basic sounds, expandable from there,smooth keys, great response, keys aren;t awkwardly big or too small as the can be in more modern keyboards

4 sounds, 2 piano, 2 harpsichord, sustrain, tremelo, adjustable speed and pitch, 5 band eq, it's a simple board that does what it should and does it well

it doesn't have the soft hum that some may want for rock/indie music, it;s got nice attack, great for fast art rock

it's a tank, end of story

worth way more than i paid, great peice, simple, fun, reliable, all round good as a staple in the studio or as a thing to play around with

SIMPLE AND SWEET.THIS IS ONE STURDY AND RELIABLE KEYBOARD.BUILT LIKE A MUSICAL TANK,AND VERY EASY TO USE.GREAT BLACK ON WOOD LOOK,REAL WOOD AND METAL CASING.SMALL KEYS,BUT THEY STILL HAVE A GREAT FEEL.

ONLY FOUR SOUNDS(2 PIANO,@ HARPSICHORD)PITH BENDING FOOT PEDAL AND BASIC E.Q.SOUND GREAT THROUGH A FENDER BASSMAN!

SOUND ARE BASIC ENOUGH THAT THEY CAN BE AERY USEFUL WHEN ADDING EFFECTS.KEYS COULD FEEL BETTER,BUT IVE FELT WORSE

VERY RELIABLE!I HAVE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE CP 10!FLIPS OPEN FOR EASY ACESS.STURDY AND STRONG,YOU CANT KILL THESE BABIES.

ONE OF MY FAVORITES,I GOT MINE FOR CHEAP WITH AN ANVIL CASE INCLUDED!ANYONE WHO FINS ONE OF THESE SHOULD SNATCH IT UP.

Very easy to use. A few switches, a couple nobs, and an equalizer. A keyboard couldn't possibly be much easier to use.

Only four basic sounds that can be mixed and matched. Adjustable speed tremolo, sustain (with an inpute for a sustain peddle) and a five band eq. Not a whole lot to play with, but you can get an amazing variety of sounds out of this synth, especially if you run it through some post processing effects.

8 part polyphony, which is fine for what I use it for. The key weight and feel is really good, and one of the best aspects of this keyboard. It doesn't feel like a cheap casio at all.

The instruments aren't the most realistic, but they don't sound bad. You really can get some funky sounds out of this thing with the right combination of sounds and effects.

I found this keyboard run through an amp with a little distortion and reverb really helps the sound.

Of course no velocity or aftertouch. I believe this was first made in '79, folks.

It's built tough. Heavy gauge (and lengthy) power cord. Metal casing (hinged for easy repair) with wooden ends. This is a solid keyboard.

This is the first keyboard I've owned, but I've played a few before. The ease of use is really a great feature. Instead of wading through a thousand options on a little LCD screen, just turn it on, flip a switch and take off.

For $100, I think it was a steal. The CP yamaha synths are underated and aren't toys like some of their later syntheziers.

Some more modern features like velocity would be nice, maybe a few more sounds would be good. But I believe their is an elegance in the simplicity of a keyboard like this.

Extremely basic controls. Three knobs, six switches, five sliders (for the eq).

Great features for what it is. Five band EQ, built in tremolo, sustain switch.

Only four sounds: Piano 1, Piano 2, Harpsichord 1, and Harpsichord 2. The individual sounds are quite weak, but they can all be played simulataneously, which makes it sound absolutely beautiful. Very full analog sound. So really there's one useable sound (when all patches are on), but that one sound is great.

I got it used. It's seems like it's built to last though. Real wood case, the top is hinged so it can be flipped open for repair with just removing a few screws. Tune knob on the top for quick adjustments.

I really love this old synth. One sound, but it's a great sound. It doesn't make it into to many of my recordings, but it's one of my favorites to sit down and play.