Yamaha C5X PWH Akustisk flygel

The legacy of CFX continues

For over half a century, the C Series has been renowned among players worldwide as an instrument that sets the standards for grand pianos. The expertise and technologies acquired through the development of the CFX, a full concert grand piano born in 2010, and the concept of a «singing” piano were all generously poured into the CX Series, contributing to its profound evolution. Experience the thunderous rise of sonic power, the sparkling tone, and the transparently rich harmonics. The CX Series also captures the more somber and reflective moods of the player’s heart, giving the music enormous depth and breadth.

In order to produce the most rich, resonant tone, we’ve augmented the thickness of the back frame, which in essence is the foundation of the instrument. When playing strong fortissimo passages, the force exerted on the instrument causes it to bend slightly, losing energy. The back beam is the skeletal part of the piano that accepts this force and transforms it into deep, reverberant sound. On the C3X and above, this back beam is approximately 20% thicker than before, adding significant strength to the sound.

The CX Series adopts the same crown construction technique as on the renowned CFX. The soundboard is the source of the piano’s sound and features a beautiful, curved crown. The manufacture of this crown is the most important factor in crafting a piano, because of its influence into how the sound radiates into the air. In the CX Series, we revamped the method of adhering the soundboard, ribs, and bridge for the C3X and the models above—models which require a great deal of projection—and have adopted the same crown making method as the CFX concert grand piano, resulting in a more luxurious sound and enhanced response.

The music wires of the CX Series have also been redesigned to create a remarkably sustained sound, rich with harmonics. It is, of course, the music wire that actually creates the sound of a piano. While affected by its matching with the hammers, soundboard and body of the piano, music wire has a profound effect on the timbre and sustain of the instrument. The CX Series utilizes music wire that produces a rich sound with a full complexity of overtones in its middle and upper registers. Coupled with the support from a solid foundation, this gives CX Series pianos a luxurious, harmonically resonant sound.

The frame in a piano must be able to withstand a total string tension in excess of twenty tons; not only does the frame work to support the string tension, but it has a profound effect on the instrument’s sound. Yamaha makes its own frames, relying on a method of casting referred to as “vacuum process,” the world’s first such technique developed over many years in creating some of the best piano frames. During this time we have built up a storehouse of knowledge on factors such as the manner in which controlling the temperature and composition of casting, and even the coating used on the frame itself, affects the acoustic characteristics of the piano. This is a major reason that Yamaha is able to ensure reliable quality when crafting our pianos.

The hammers on the CX Series are made from the same material as the CFX, enabling accurate response to the most subtle expressive changes in touch, thus delivering fine clarity of tone. Great hammers are essential to producing a beautifully expressive, malleable sound, and Yamaha—unlike most piano manufacturers—produces most of its own high-quality components, including the hammers. We are constantly looking for new ways to use our long manufacturing experience to give our piano hammers tonality, resilience, and power. The CX Series has also benefitted from the results of this research and development, utilizing the same felt as the CFX, which is adjusted to match the size of each instrument in the series. This ensures that all CX Series pianos possess a clear range of tonal colors and a nuanced, expressive sound.

The depth of the piano keyboard is such that there is only 10 mm of travel available to the player. Even so, the range of tonal changes produced by that small distance are so broad that they cannot be reproduced with modern digital technology. Yamaha devotes an incalculable amount of time crafting and enabling the sound that players strive for. In meticulously adjusting the action to efficiently transmit even the most delicate nuances in the player’s touch, and fine-tuning the sound by needle-piercing the hammer itself to create a beautiful and varied tone, the master craftsmen and their consummate skills ensure the highest quality of these instruments.

The CX Series feature a completely revamped design. Following in the footsteps of the CF Series concert grand, the CX Series design features simple, elegant lines, focusing on the characteristic legs of the piano in doing away with any excess ornamentation. This elegance is set off by a solid pedal box that allows performers to depress the pedals with as much power as they want, one aspect of a philosophy epitomizing «functional design» that allows players to become one with their instrument as they play.

The fallboard is fitted with a soft-landing mechanism, freeing you from the worry of it shutting on your fingers unexpectedly.

In order to provide the best playability possible, the CX Series offer white keys made of Ivorite™, which has a feel, color, and absorbency very similar to natural ivory.