GOOD DESIGN AWARD
Red Dot Award
German Design Award
The Clavinova CLP Series: An uncompromising dedication to genuine piano.
Reconstruction
With electronic pianos being the norm today, we decided to reconsider what a modern standard piano should be, from the ground up. While we gave it a full set of features, we focused especially on the fundamentals, and pursued that ideal of a piano in order to give the player the most natural instrument possible for performance.
Inspiring
The controls that had been arrayed along the inner edge of the keyboard have been relocated to a discreet control panel in the left-hand key block. On the CLP-585, which uses a hinged keyboard cover, the distance between the keyboard and music stand is the same as on an upright piano, allowing the performer to focus on playing the piano.
Well-Made
Models with a sliding keyboard cover now have a shallower keyboard and body, so they take up significantly less space. With the wood grain oriented near to horizontal on the side rails, and vertically on the sides of the body, the instrument has the appearance of a traditional piano, right down to the details.
Harmony
Light and dark color palettes have been chosen to suit different interior trends, with color schemes carrying through to stools and control panels. Like a mirror to its environment, the CLP series naturally resonates with the people who make it a part of their lives.
Sunao Okamura
Designer
Yamaha Design Laboratory
Mami Sato
Designer
Yamaha Design Laboratory
Takenori Omachi
Designer
Yamaha Design Laboratory
Attention to detail brings out the genuine piano within.
The Clavinova CLP Series is an electronic piano that has the genuine expressiveness that people expect from a piano. This is our standard model, which balances the design and feel of a traditional piano with the functionality of an electronic piano.
One of our design criteria from the start was to make this a compact piano that fits into the home environment. But our goal wasn’t simply to make it more compact: we reconsidered what the modern standard piano is, and what it should be, and made it our goal to create an electronic piano that looks like everyone’s idea of what a real piano should look like.
One of the major design points was the new control panel. In the past, the controls had been arrayed in a row along the inside edge of the keyboard; we relocated them into a discreet panel in the left-hand key block, using an LCD panel to reduce the number of buttons needed. This also shrank the keyboard’s depth by roughly 50 mm. The LED showing whether power is on or off has been moved from the switch to a more visible spot near the keyboard. Eliminating everything that isn’t needed during a performance from the player’s field of view gives the player the pure playing environment of a genuine piano. Particularly on the CLP-585, which uses a hinged keyboard cover, the distance between the keyboard and music stand is the same as on an upright piano, making it a familiar friend for anyone who has practiced on uprights in piano lessons or at school.
We also added the “white ash” color scheme to our lineup. White is a popular color, especially in Europe, and after extensive research in furniture stores, we chose a white that worked well with the CLP Series. This shade of white is extremely subtle, and takes on the color of the walls and the quality of the light in the room where it sits—in our own color testing, we took pains to measure samples at the same time of day, in the same room, to ensure that we were always using the same conditions.
We asked ourselves what the modern standard piano should be, and created this model as a basis to build on. Going forward, we will work from this base to from this to stay in step with the times.
