NAMM Report: Yamaha Avant Grand Piano
Yesterday Yamaha launched the Avant Grand, an amazing feat of technology that digitally simulates not only the sound, but the physical experience of playing a fine grand piano. The Avant Grand combines meticulous multisampling, an ingenious speaker system, and an array of actuators that reproduce a piano’s acoustic vibrations in a design called the Tactile Response System. The idea is that if you close your eyes as you play, it feels and sounds as if you’re playing a top-of-the-line Yamaha CFIIIS concert grand. Four speaker systems are located in the same positions as the four microphones used to sample the source instrument, and two resonators reproduce the buildup of sound that a pianist hears and feels. What’s more, the Avant Grand is a really beautiful instrument that squeezes a 9-foot grand into a 4-foot space. If you’re at NAMM, don’t take my word for it; visit Yamaha and play it for yourself.
February 7th, 2009 at 11:05 am
How much will the Avant piano cost?
February 9th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Retail will be just under $20,000, and it’s expected to street for about $14,000. Wonderful technology, but too rich for my blood!
February 17th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Well, in most cases you get what you pay for, but this doesn’t mean you can’t sound decent, just means you won’t sound rich and acoustic unless you go homeless for about 6 mos (depending on your salary)….
August 29th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
I like it very much!!!
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