Yamaha

88
Reviews | Yamaha Reface CP
A
lthough Clavia/Nord have
been at the forefront of
electro-mechanical piano
emulations recently with
their Electro/Stage series (alongside
Korg with their SV-1), Yamaha’s
full-sized CP range (which uses a
mixture of Spectral Component
Modelling and sample-based AWM2 to
create very authentic electric/acoustic
piano sounds) is still very highly
regarded too. The Reface CP houses the
same basic sound engine as the larger
and more expensive CP-series models
but in an infi nitely more compact/
portable package. However… Don’t
expect any acoustic pianos here, as
there’s not enough memory onboard
(APs are inherently more complex than
EPs and take up more memory).
The Reface CP is built into the same
high-quality plastic housing as the other
Reface models and features the same
battery/wall-wart power and mini-
speakers – these sound very good
considering their size and can be turned
off (if required). Unlike the smooth
plastic on the other Refaces, the CP
has a textured plastic fi nish to refl ect
the tolex covering and vinyl-look
plastics used on electro-mechanical
pianos of old!
There are six emulations onboard –
Rhodes Mark 1 and 2 models (Rd1 &
2) a Wurlitzer EP200 (Wr), Hohner
Clavinet (Clv), Toy Piano and CP
(Yamaha CP80 electric grand). This
covers most of the EPs you would
normally want to use, though the Toy
piano is an odd choice and it would
have been more useful to have a more
versatile model such as the Hohner
Pianet included, or perhaps a muted
Clavinet model.
Like the other Refaces, the
emphasis is on real-time, hands-on
performance, so there are no menus
(which is great) but also no memories to
capture your favourite settings. Once
again though, (if you own an iOS
device) Yamaha have a free patch
storing//setlist App called Capture,
which helps to navigate around this
hardware defi ciency.
Impressive sounds
Sonically, I’m happy to report the
Reface CP is pretty impressive. Sure,
you only have a three-octave velocity-
sensitive keyboard (though one that
feels very nice as it stands) but connect
a sustain pedal and a weighted
controller and use it as a sound module
and you’ll likely be very happy with the
all-round authenticity and response of
the onboard pianos. You could easily
use this on a pro-level gig for Rhodes,
Wurli, Clav and CP80 duties – throw it
in your backpack, hire a weighted board
at your gig and off you go!
The Rhodes Mk1 is warm, the MK2
is brighter with more attack when you
dig in (though the sample’s velocity-
switching is more noticeable between
layers via the onboard keyboard), the
Wurli sounds great, and the Clavinet is
one of the more authentic clav samples
around, with some nice sympathetic-
resonance and vibe for days! The CP80
(while generally sounding great) lacks a
little punch in the attack for my liking
but the Toy sample (while also sounding
authentic) is the odd-ball! All things
considered though, I’d have no
hesitation using any of the sounds solo
or in a band context.
The effects are similarly authentic
and selected using the retro (but fi ddly!)
fl ick-switches. Firstly, the Tremolo can
function as a standard basic tremolo, or
simply increase the depth for full-on,
Rhodes Suitcase-style stereo-panning.
The auto-wah is great for more funky
sounds (especially good on Clavs) and
you can also use the rate control as a
pseudo-EQ control for all the sounds
(which gets you a lot more mileage out
of the basic sounds). What’s more, the
chorus and phaser sound superb,
(adding depth and thickness in all the
right places), while the analogue delay
is one of the nicest emulations I’ve
heard – very dubby and tapey! To top
things off, there’s also a very decent
digital delay and a lush reverb, both of
which really bring the dry sounds to life.
To sum up – an impressive little
keyboard that contains sounds that can
compete with more expensive, full-size
EPs. If you want an extremely portable,
yet high-quality EP emulator, then look
no further!
Yamaha Reface CP | £347
The Reface CP focuses on Electric Piano sounds and analogue-style
effects. Dan ‘JD73’ Goldman checks out the vintage vibe!
WHAT IS IT?
Reface-series EP
emulator, focusing on
modelled/sampled electro-
mechanical pianos, with
vintage-style effects
CONTACT
Who: Yamaha
Tel: [phone]
Web: www.uk.yamaha.com
HIGHLIGHTS
1 Some great sounding
emulations of electro-
mechanical pianos onboard
2 Nicely authentic
emulations of
vintage-style effects
3 No menus and simple
real-time control over
the effects
SPECS
37 mini-keys
128-note polyphony
Engine: SCM+AWM2
2 x 2 Watt speakers
Battery life approx 5 hours
(6 x AAs)
MIDI in/out via USB and
breakout cable
Sounds: RdI, RdII, Wr, Clv,
Toy, CP
Effects: Drive, Tremolo/
Auto-pan/Wah, Chorus,
Phaser, Digital/
Analogue-style Delay,
Reverb, Sustain Pedal Input
Dimensions:
530 x 175 x 60mm
Weight:
1.9kg
INCLUDES AUDIO
l
vault.futuremusic.co.uk
VERDICT
BUILD
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VALUE
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EASE OF USE
❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚
VERSATILITY
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RESULTS
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For authentic sounding EPs in a
high-quality, portable package, the
CP really delivers the goods.
FMU298.rev_reface_cp.indd 88 07/10/2015 09:29