Yamaha AvantGrand N1 unveiled [NAMM11]

Yamaha has announced the latest addition to its AvantGrand range of hybrid pianos.

The AvantGrand N1 is a more affordable version of the N2 upright and N3 flagship hybrids, yet still delivers the tone and touch of a nine-foot Yamaha CFIIIS concert grand piano in a much more compact space.

With the introduction of the AvantGrand, Yamaha ignited a revolution in the approach to sampling – the recording and playback of the notes of the actual acoustic piano.

Treating the soundboard not simply as a point source of sound but as a plane, Yamaha took samples at four positions, adding optimum center and rear locations to the traditional left and right. As a sound source, Yamaha carefully selected the best single instrument from among its CFIIIS full concert grand pianos for sampling. The end result of these efforts is that AvantGrand series instruments recreate the original sound of a superb grand piano almost to perfection.

Meanwhile, the instrument’s speaker system has been designed to ensure that this sound is heard best at the playing position. A three-way system, featuring woofer, mid-range and tweeter speakers reproduce the rich, natural resonance of the soundboard accurately. What’s more, each of the low-, mid-, and high frequency bands has been given its own amplifier to prevent interference between bands. This innovative configuration allows the instrument’s outstanding sound system to reproduce the nuances of each individual note.

The AvantGrand N1 also offers remarkable piano action. The nuanced touch and response of the grand piano are essential measurements of piano quality. The N1 offers the player a specially developed grand piano action that mirrors that of the grand piano, providing an impressive sensitivity for the entire range from pianissimo through to fortissimo, and the ability to translate even the swiftest trills of the pianist with transparency.

“Yamaha brings its hybrid technology to an expanded market with the release of the AvantGrand N1,” said Mark Anderson, Yamaha Keyboard Division marketing director. “It features the same exquisite sampling found in the other AvantGrand models. Encased within a compact, upright piano footprint, the N1 offers grand piano action and sound, making it a viable alternative to an acoustic upright or a smaller grand piano.”

Beyond the AvantGrand’s compact size, striking design, sound, touch and functionality, teachers, students, performers, hobbyists, apartment dwellers, schools and institutions with small practice rooms will appreciate the competitive price point compared to concert acoustic pianos, and the fact that the instrument requires no tuning. In addition to the remarkable grand piano sound sample, the N1 also features electronic piano and harpsichord voices.

The AvantGrand N1 (MSRP: $9,999) is scheduled to ship in April 2011.

Jazz legend Chick Corea endorses the Yamaha AvantGrand hybrid piano

Legendary jazz pianist Chick Corea recently took Yamaha’s newly launched AvantGrand N3 hybrid piano for a “test drive.” Initially skeptical about the world’s first stringless piano to feature the sound, touch and action of a concert grand, the 67-year-old jazz superstar was quickly won over.

“My standard of comparison is the Yamaha CFIIIS concert grand piano with a gorgeous, beautiful sound, so I was a little apprehensive when I first saw the AvantGrand,” says the Yamaha Artist, who was recently named JazzTimes’ 2008 Artist of the Year.

“I thought, ‘look at this little thing, what’s it going to do?’ It blew me away,” recalls Corea. “I sat down and adjusted the volume to make it sound like a big piano and immediately went into reverence at the R&D department and how they pulled it off, because it’s quite an accomplishment.”

Priced at a fraction of the cost of a concert grand, the N3 features the exquisite sound of the acclaimed Yamaha CFIIIS concert grand piano in a stunning grand piano style cabinet.

Currently on tour as a member of the Five Peace Band, also featuring John McLaughlin, Corea will be making select solo appearances, including the Nice Jazz Festival in Nice, France and the Detroit Jazz Festival in Detroit, Michigan. He will also perform with Stanley Clarke and Lenny White for several dates in September.

“Once I started playing the AvantGrand and getting into the musical flow of it, I could lose myself in the music just like I like to do. I could certainly envision using this instrument in my louder bands, my electric bands.”

Fusing 21st century music technology with Yamaha’s century-long heritage of piano craftsmanship, the N3 features highly advanced sound reproduction and sampling technology, without the tuning, cost or footprint of a comparable stringed instrument.

One of the greatest challenges in creating a true acoustic piano experience electronically is to accurately re-create the vibrations integral to the playing experience. The AvantGrand Series are the first pianos to actualise the physical connection with their instrument that pianists could only experience – until now – with an acoustic grand.

Its innovative Tactile Response System transmits “string” vibrations through the keys to player’s hands. Even the foot pedal action became subject to Yamaha’s demanding criteria. In traditional pianos, resistance is created in proportion to how deep the pedal is depressed. To replicate this, Yamaha created a new, specialized grand piano pedal for AvantGrand that reproduces the finesse of acoustic pedals, duplicating the spring, friction and inertia of traditional pedals.

The placement of the four-channel, three-way Spatial Acoustic Speaker System mimics the points where the original grand piano samples were taken, while the Soundboard Resonator create a non-directional sound dispersion directly in front of the player, duplicating the subtle reproduction of the buildup of sound felt by concert pianists. These technologies combine to authentically re-create the depth of tone of the Yamaha nine-foot CFIIIS grand piano, the choice instrument of many of the world’s top musicians and performance venues.

In addition to the remarkable grand piano sound sample, the N3 also features electronic piano and harpsichord voices.

The AvantGrand N3 is slated to ship in July 2009. The AvantGrand N2 upright model will be available in September 2009. Both include a matching padded bench.

Yamaha shows off its “AvantGrand” hybrid digital/acoustic grand piano

The gap between acoustic and digital pianos just closed up a little with Yamaha’s latest innovation, the AvantGrand hybrid instrument that combines the best of both worlds.

Physically, it replicates a much larger acoustic grand piano in a much smaller (but not insignificant) space. It features highly realistic key and pedal action, and comes with 12 inbuilt speakers placed where the samples were originally recorded. It also boasts a whopping 256 note polyphony, so there should be no note cutoffs even during the most complex, sustain-rich passages.

The cabinet is polished ebony and the keyboard is made from Ivorite. It’s dimensions are 1.48m (W) x 1.2m (D) x 1.0m (H) and it weighs 199kg.

More than the pure specifications, though, this instrument is supposed to have more of a feel to it, including the subtle vibrational feedback that real acoustic pianos give to the player.

Pricing is expected to be just shy of US$20,000 with the first instruments available from the summer. A pretty big investment, but still much cheaper than investing in a real acoustic piano.

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