Yamaha has been a premier piano manufacturer for many years, providing grand pianos for major artists, concert halls, institutions, and homes.  But, did you know that there are actually five levels of baby grand pianos and grand pianos they produce?  It’s true!

The CF-Series Yamaha Pianos

From professional players like Elton John, John Legend and Sarah McLachlan to institutions like the Moscow Conservatory, Juilliard and Stanford University, the Yamaha CFX dominates the World stage.

The CF-Series pianos are the Yamaha’s highest level grands (including the CFX – Yamaha’s concert grand piano.  Built in the Concert Piano Workshop, (a separate workshop within the Kakegawa facility), CF-Series grand pianos can take up to three years to build and represent the highest level of hand-crafted instruments that Yamaha has to offer.  In fact, only the top 1% of fine woods are used and brought to the Concert Piano Workshop.  This wood is used to custom build soundboards, rims and frames by Yamaha’s most experienced and skilled craftsmen.  These pianos are entirely hand-crafted with thicker rims and a more substantial structure for greater strength and tonal projection. The models CF4 and CF6 have an open pinblock design similar to some European pianos, which gives the tuner slightly greater control over the tuning pins. Yamaha says that the CF-Series represents 19 years of research and development by its craftsmen, designers, and engineers. The Yamaha concert grand is endorsed and used by a number of notable musicians, including Michael Tilson Thomas, Chick Corea, Elton John, and Frederic Chiu.

The SX-Series Yamaha Pianos

Yamaha’s SX-Series and flagship CF-Series pianos are both made in their Kakegawa workshop – the most advanced piano manufacturing facility of its kind.

The SX-Series of Yamaha grand pianos have a different tonal voice and are often owned by professionals and professors looking for a more intimate sound.  The SX-Series has been designed with Yamaha’s exclusive A.R.E. (Acoustic Resonance Enhancement) technology – a type of wood enhancement process that includes torrefaction.  This re-structuring of wood molecules artificially ages the wood, giving the piano a warmer, more romantic sound with a wider range of expression.  The Kakegawa factory handles this wood curing process.  Like the CF-Series,  SX-Series Yamaha pianos also receive special hammer voicing and action regulation by master technicians in Yamaha’s Concert Piano.  SX-Series Yamaha pianos also use the same soundboard and scale-design philosophy as the flagship Yamaha CFX with a thicker rim construction for strength, stability and longevity.  Unique to the SX-Series is a completely new Yamaha hammer design derived from testing more than 100 prototypes.  The Yamaha SX-Series includes the S7X, S6X, S5X and S3X Models.

The CX-Series Yamaha Pianos

Yamaha spends more than $200 Million per year on piano research and development. This is how they have been able to develop over 2000 piano patents and one of the top five most recognized brand names in the World.

Yamaha’s CX or Conservatory Series pianos, feature a European spruce soundboard crowned using CF-Series technology.  Like the SX-Series, Yamaha’s CX-Series pianos receive the “GPX” soundboard design.  It’s as if Yamaha devised a way to scientifically scan, treat, shape and cut the soundboards for each piano to optimize maximum resonance and consistency.  These soundboards are handled in a more streamlined production process at Kitami (located in Hokkaido, Japan).  Yamaha CX-Series pianos also feature a thicker rim for added stability and bracing, German music wire for that unique “Yamaha Concert Series” sound, a true sostenuto pedal, and a soft-close fallboard.  CX-Series Yamaha pianos also receive enhanced voicing, regulating, and tuning by very skilled Yamaha craftsmen as well as some changes in cabinet design from earlier the Conservatory models.  The bridges used in Yamaha CX-Series pianos are vertically laminated and have a maple or boxwood cap. This gives the bridges greater strength and resistance to cracking, as well as better tonal transmission.  All CX-Series grands have keytops made of Ivorite™, which simulate the texture and properties of ivory.  CX-Series grands include the C1X, C2X, C3X, C5X, C6X and C7X models.

GC-Series Yamaha Pianos

Yamaha’s GC-Series grand pianos are built with the duplex scaling and rich tonal character that made the C-Series so famous. …but, thanks to advances in design and manufacturing, these pianos can be more affordably produced.

Next we have the GC-Series Yamaha grand pianos.  These pianos do not use the “GPX” soundboard design, but are more like the earlier “C-Series”  Yamaha Conservatory grands.  GC-Series Yamaha pianos have regular case construction, duplex scales, soft-close fallboards, and sostenuto pedals.  The outside cases are more traditional (unlike the sleeker, more contemporary looking CX-Series pianos) making these pianos a more cost effective alternative. They incorporate Yamaha’s legendary keyboard action as customized Yamaha tone.  There are two models in this series, a GC1M, 5’3”, as well as the GC2, at 5’8”.

GB-Series Yamaha Pianos

The GB1K Yamaha baby grand piano is the perfect embodiment of Yamaha’s philosophy to “build the best piano possible and then make it available to as many people as possible.”

The smallest and most popular series of Yamaha grand pianos is the GB-Series, which includes a single model:  the Yamaha GB1k.  The GB1k is Yamaha’s entry-level baby grand piano at only 5′ in length.  It also happens to be one of the best-selling pianos in the world.  Despite its small size, the Yamaha GB1k is purpose-built to impress players of every skill level.  Featuring a custom Yamaha sound profile, an exceptionally responsive action and the attention to detail that Yamaha is known for, this Yamaha baby grand piano is a terrific (and affordable) starter piano. The GB1K has a simplified case construction and cabinetry, no duplex scale, and a bass-sustaining middle pedal. GB1k soundboards, just like the GC-Series grand pianos, are precision cut from high quality spruce wood in Japan.

Yamaha’s quality control, warranty, and technical service are legendary in the piano business. They are the standard against which every other piano company is measured.  …and – unlike every other piano manufacturer in the world – every Yamaha piano model is designed with a specific sound profile and touch in mind. Each model is unique, but their precision, reliability, and performance make Yamaha pianos a very good value for players of all experience and skill levels.  All Yamaha pianos come with a matching bench and 10-year parts and labor warranty.

Be sure to try one of these fine pianos when you are ready for the grand piano of your dreams!