I can't understand the negativity in some of the comments. I have dreamed of a machine like this- the rhodes, cp and supertramp wurly sound, all wrapped up in a small portable package that can be played via midi through a full 88 keys if needs be.Sometimes I play around with the sounds and do some composition in the kitchen while cooking dinner, or even watching tv- , just to have a creative machine that is so convenient to use yet sounds amazing even on the little speakers, I have to say I am a proud owner. For those of you who don't like minikeys it's worth going to a local music shop and trying it out. The key action is soooo sweet
here's what they haven't discovered. Secret piano sound. Turn off the CP. Place the instrument selector button midway between any two instruments. Turn on the CP. You now have an acoustic piano sound.
Hope you read this comment and can respond. Im a guitar player myself but came across these and they look brilliant. My question is, if you didnt have any keyboard experience but you wanted to get into it which one would you get? I really like the sound of the CP but Im thinking you might say the DX. Id love to hear your opinion?
@@DevRSVR I’m in the same boat as you… and I already own a Reface DX and a Reface CS as well, I have recently ordered my Reface CP and will learn the basics on that. I have no experience with any instrument, I believe the Reface CP is the answer to your question. That doesn’t mean you can’t start with the DX or the CS but I think the CP is less of a synthesiser and more of a piano… which I think is great for the sake of learning the basics of “keyboard playing”. At least that is how I see it - everything is very straightforward, you choose a sound out of a total of seven sounds and then you start learning/playing. The DX and CS are pandora boxes and are capable of generating virtually limitless sounds and are all about sound design. Of course you could treat them in a similar way but “sound design” is what I’d learn on them (as opposed to the basics of keyboard playing/music theory). Just my two cents.
Let's see... I'm at a summer jazzfest sitting on the grass listening to GREAT musicians. WOW, what is that song? Hey, I'll just pull out my AntMan Reface CP and learn the song while they're playing it. Battery power and headphones. I see this as more of an 'on the spot, outdoor' keyboard, which is something I've always wanted. I have keyboards for recording and gigging, but nothing to chill with outdoors and practice or create. I'm in.
+RC-Jazzpel Williams Yep - this is why I LOVE it and got me one. I am playing different instruments at gigs and sessions and also love to play outdoor at the lake, parks, streets with other people. Also bought a Road Jack LP PA running on LI accus for about 20 hours! and realtively good sound ! Also has additional channels for Guitar, Mic, Audio + great Blootooth connect. Great to be creative and independent.
There is a standard piano patch available if you power down the CP, turn the sound select knob so it's halfway between any two sounds, power it up and there's an acoustic piano patch.
I bought a Reface CP recently and I have to say it sounds amazing. I've got several synths analogue, digital and VA but I didn't have a good piano sound. The CP really captures that 70's sound, my favourite sound is the RdII it has that lovely bell like sound when played gently but when hit harder it really barks especially with the drive turned up. The effects are really good quality, they sound really warm and and analogue and really transform the sound, the reverb and analogue delay are very warm and dubby and the wah is so funky. I'd recommend the CP to anyone who wants a compact portable electric piano. The only slight downside is the mini keys but of course it can be played from a larger keyboard.
François Ouellette The two that I want! Getting the CP first. YC is great, but sounds a bit digital to me. CP should be great for my jazz and prog likes.
Sometimes I just need a keyboard that's in concert pitch and instantly gives me a middle C. And I love the touch sensitive Rhodes voice. I make electronic music and need to chill away from the beats and dynamics, with a ready instrument. Reface cp will also bring a great voice to my electronica. So ordered one.
Bought one of the 1rst about 6 weeks ago. LOVE it - especially for the outstanding CP, Wurly and Rhodes sounds and the very mobile and flexible form factor. Using a Marshall AS50D Amp along with it which gives it a nice and warm in-built stereo sound and is quite portable as well.
The Studiologic Numa Compact 2 and 2X have both the electric piano sounds, and mellotron flute and string sounds when you update to the latest firmware. Currently trying to decide between a reface cp and the Numa control 2.
I just bought one. I was skeptic watching videos but I tried it in person and it truly a delight!! The keybed is amazingly responsive. I imagine using this ultraportable small keyboard for very small/improvised rehearsals/jams. You could just get this one and it does get somewhat loud (but cannot compete with a drumset). I would give it a solid 5 out of 5 stars, price and limitations considered.
how versatile is the sound? Can it be used to make unique sounds? To what extent can you manipulate the sounds? I'm very interested in this. The sounds that I have heard are absolutely amazong. But I'm scared there may not be much else it can do.
Well, you cannot maniupalte de sound source, per say. But you can alter it radically through effects. You can turn an electric piano into something other worldly. IMO, the quality of sounds is excellent, but it is indeed a small bag of tricks, it does not do very different stuff.
s1nglespeeder no you would have to mess with the attack and sustain to do that. No matter how many effects you use you can still here the original piano sound for the most part.
I was fully prepared to dodge these but seriously I have 12 keyboard synths already and this thing just nails the Rhodes Wurlitzer cp sound I've been wanting without having to get a Nord stage or a Rhodes. So my first purchases in 5 years are the prophet 6, mfb dominion 1 and the Yamaha cp reface which I am very pleasantly surprised about.
There is a traditional piano sound! Turn the selection knob half way between voices and turn the on/off switch to OFF and then back ON and voila! You’ll be able to get the hidden standard piano sound.
When you plug something into the "aux in" can you apply the effects to it? Or does the sound source just go clean to the speakers/output? It would be cool to use those effects on other synths.
This is the only Reface I personally find interesting, but where this fails is having such a small keyboard for a piano. That being said, having Piano, Electric Piano and Clavinet in a small box with instantly accessible effects does seems very attractive to me. It seems like it's small enough where you could hook up a larger midi keyboard to it and not really be taking up too much space. Because of the simplistic nature of the instruments it's emulating, you don't really need to worry about the lack of knob per function parameters.
Not everyone has space for a full size keyboard. This is a typical niche Japanese product. A keyboard for those in small appartment, as so many of us are these days. That said, i've now got all four of these devices.
That intro was out of this world. It used the weakest of the sounds, 'the toy piano', and just flipped it. The rest of the sounds are amazing without too much tinkering. That outdo wasn't too shabby either.
@@wuh-huw9950 If i had to guess, i'd say that low-fi 'toy piano' was added as some kind of in joke. I'd say the development team originally planned to use the 'hidden' piano sound, and it was that which was being refered to as a toy piano by their higher ups. So they chose instead to include a literal 'toy piano'. Had they included the 'hidden piano' sound as one of the six, im sure it would have been panned by the critics - instead as a bonus, its accepted as extra unexpected feature. A quality piano sound would have had these keyboards walking out of the stores.
I like the sounds , and the busking , campfire, portability factor . I would like to know though, , Can I also connect it to bigger keyboard, ( just to access more octaves scales ) to give it more flexibility , and for piano practise , scales etc somehow.? For instance to a medium to 88 key electric keyboard or midee😊
Racks went out at the turn of the century for everyone except mega studios. Most people would prefer a desktop module or two, a laptop and a midi controller.
I've owned one for a while now. One thing that really bothers me is it missing notes when I try to play softly. It turns out all seven sounds (including acoustic piano) respond to a velocity of at least two, but the keybed can send a velocity as low as one, quite easily. I guess that's one reason why people prefer to use it with another keyboard. It's not what I intended when I bought it though. The mini DIN adapter cable to do that bothers me too. It's not that they couldn't have found room for proper MIDI sockets, they just decided they knew best, and we didn't need them. I don't expect Yamaha will ever issue a firmware update to fix the minimum velocity problem. They probably don't expect to sell many more.
Yep. It spoils it, for me. I tried one in a shop and noticed I was missing notes, pretty much immediately, so definitely do that. I thought I was probably just doing something wrong, or needed to tweak something. Nope. It just does that. I've checked it by sending notes from my PC, with Virtual MIDI Keyboard (good free tool). I can use that to send a set velocity, which I used to confirm that it has to be at least 2 (two) to make a noise. The keyboard sends a velocity of 1 (one), very easily - press a key down slowly, and that's what you get every time. Play softly, not like the guy in this demo, and that's what you get every few notes. This is just so ^%*&$*ing stupid. They could patch it so easily - just add one to the velocity of all incoming notes, or bump up notes with a velocity of one to a velocity of two. A teenager, working from his bedroom, could fix it in less time than it took me to write this, if he had the source code, and the tools to build the software from it. The hidden acoustic piano sound fiasco gives us an insight into the mind of Yamaha execs - they can never be wrong, it seems. Presumably, they'd have to fall on their ornamental samurai swords, if they were ever found to have made a mistake, so they can never admit to making one.
You're welcome, jeharu. There are workarounds, certainly, but like you, I just wanted to play it as it comes, not connect it to other gear to make it work properly. If I hammer away on it, all is more or less well, but if I try for some expression or subtlety, it all goes tits up.
I had a similar problem with my CP. I returned it for a replacement unit and it had the same problem when holding down certain keys. Long story short, I sent it back to Yamaha for repairs - needed resoldering on the board, I think - manufacturing issue.
i have a cp4 which is amazing. While the sounds here are excellent, i'm not sure the benefit of mini keys on an instrument made to be played and not toyed with.
OMG I been seeing this thing never knew it was this amazing till I saw a video of Floyd Steinberg and so I came to find out more and boy am extremely surprised and impressed..
Not really, no. The adapter gets shipped with the unit itself, all you need is a midi source and a midi cable (provided you're not routing the midi through your computer which then would actually require an audio interface with midi capabilities). If you're just using a keyboard/controller with a midi out connector all you need is a midi cable.
Nick, what happened to your full review of this? I just got a cheap yc and now I'm thinking about a cp. I remember you saying you could get a Lalo Schifrin vibe out of it quite easily and you made some very beautiful sounds with it. I just wanted to hear you playing it again but it seems like that video's no longer on youtube or sonicstate.com?
Is there a looper, too? If not. Why does not Yamaha licence a proper looper technology from Phil Tipping? Sequetron by Phil Tipping is a phenomenal looper, so contact Phil and check if you can license this original technology? All reface users who do not want to wait for Yamaha licensing or adding a powerful looper into reface, simply check Sequetron by Phil Tipping. It can force to scale, chords, held notes and much more, there is nothing like it I know. Vangelis and Tangerine Dreamers will love it.
***** the way he answered sounded like maybe he didnt understand the question? i noticed this part as well earlier...i think theyre dsp generated and not sampled. similar to how roland aira works. but thats just my guess
Grant Tes Roland AIRA is actually a pretty complex idea. They took the time to model the behavior of circuitry (IRs maybe?). I didn't like his answer and agree with ***** about this... there is an uneasiness about the whole thing. "You can do PADS, and BELLS, and all kinds of wonderful tones!!" I heard very little about the internal mechanics (and people care about that today, given so many options) I appreciate Roland's approach. Yeah, it's a DSP, but they gave us detail on the technology behind it.
***** New synths are always interesting to me. We're in a very unique time, very reminiscent to the synth boom in the 80s. Good stuff. :) I'm just playing btw. Your name said troll.
***** He's telling the truth. But when he says "CP" series, he means the modern CP digital stage pianos like the CP4, which are powered by Motif engines. :D
***** ...which have Motif sample-based sound engines in them. Perhaps a different sample set than the stock Motifs, but still Motif innards. A Micro-Motif, if you will.
elsongs I believe the CP-series uses new sample sets. CP1, CP5, CP4 and CP40 as well as Motif samples. I imagine anything but the main piano and electric piano sounds are from Motif.
This is the first of these I've seen that does actually sound good... But what piano player is going to buy this? Are they going to plug a MIDI controller into it? I've known very few stage piano players who would do that. They just want their Nord Stage or whatever and not fuck around with 5-pin din. I would be interested if it was $200 and I didn't have a million other things to buy first. I just don't understand what the market is for this.
inthefade yeah the keys are definitely too small.. why didnt they make a rack with all reface sounds... or something like that idk. It does sound really nice, especially the rhodes and wurlitzer but its too xpensive 800 $ per unit no way.
+inthefade I personally love the smaller form factor. I don't have room for more full size keyboards, and if someone wanted a little side keyboard for some electric piano sounds on stage, this could be perfect. Having to carry a heap of gear to a gig is a pain in the ass. Small probably works great for a lot of people. Obviously it's not a big enough to use as a main keyboard on stage, but I can still see a where this could be useful. Plus I'd love it just for jamming on at home on the couch. I am with you in that there are many other things already on my list though. In terms of the actual keys being too small, I haven't had a chance to try them personally, but Katsunori Ujiie sure makes it look like it's not really an issue, and he doesn't exactly have thin fingers. /watch?v=IoZr28pVivI
Ooh that does sound lovely. I think I'm just going to make a bunch of screenshots and try to learn it that way. I must know too. If I ever find out I'll let you know, but I suck at musical notation and theory, so it might be tricky to communicate it :P
Oh god, I want all four! My only complaint is the price, I can see why they're way above portasound quality now, but I struggle with the idea of paying more than a micro brute . I think I got my micro korg second hand when they were relatively new for $450 U.S..I know money has changed in those 10 or 15 years, but yeah sub $500 seems more realistic and I shudder to think Eastbourne going to sell them for in Australia.
:) giving the Clavia samples a run for their money, particularly the jangly and organic Rhodes sounds! Impressive - just expensive (although maybe proportionally cheaper than acquiring these sounds via a Nord keyboard
6:50 Nick then asks Bert if there is a traditional piano. Bert replies that there isn't. BUT we now know that there is a secret Grand Piano sound in there. Interesting.
doctor mix made a good video about using the reface CS (or any other model) with cubase. you can connect it, right-click a knob in a VST-synth, click learn CC, then wiggle one of the Reface sliders and it links the control to the knob in the VST and you can use it. So in short: yes
Thanks. I didn't see your reply before. I bought one, and yes, the knobs do send CCs (though you can turn that off). The CC numbers are fixed, for each knob, but that's not a problem if you wanted to use them with a DAW, I agree... More so, if you want to use them with a hardware device that responds to its own fixed CCs.
played one of these at guitar center today. they also had the dx. it didn't sound bad at all, even through the built in mini speakers. but the price is hilarious. I bought a mint CP80 13 years ago for $500, and sold it 2 years later for $1,800. $100, maybe. $500? um, no.
Facepalm! I am really disappointed. Yamaha have missed a trick here with the refaces. They've got the pricing totally wrong. If they lost the toy keyboards and made them modules to put on a desk plugged into a PC/ laptop / controller keyboard with full-size keys they could price it between 100-150. Korg have re-invented the bottom end of the market and Yamaha have faild to comprehend so what do we get but something approaching re-faeces (possibly a bit harsh). Arturia, Novation, Waldorf, Korg all offer more bangs for a cheaper buck. Still, the Sonicstate demos are excellent as always.
im looking at korg and novation options don't see anything with this sort of interface; lots of synthesizer action, but nothing portable with good classic keyboard emulations and reverb/delay/trem/chorous type of thing. what would you recommend that has similar functionality? im just about to buy one of these, after looking at a bunch of keyboards (im a guitarist), so im wondering if I missed something..thanks.
There isn't really anything comparable. You can't get many synths for around 380, maybe a Microbrute. Or a Monologue, but both are synthesizers that don't sound like vintage piano's and the last one is monophonic. I will say originally they were more expensive, more towards the 600, so then you could compare it to a few more synths, but again nothing really that sounds this much like a wurly or a rhodes. It's a bit of a niche product, it being a module as OP stated might make it more appealing to more serious performers, but for the casual player who wants something to take everywhere this thing is pretty amazing. You have a 'van full of electric piano's' and a bunch of effects to take with you where you go.
They play a lot better then they look. And with built in speakers and dc I’d say I love these. I wish they were 100 less though. Regardless I own three now... just the CS to go.
I love the sounds, love the size and prefer hardware over software. I own and Love Komplete 10 but theres something about this machine and my microKorg that make me feel more intuitive.. It should have been $350-$399 instead of $500 but whatever. Either you're going to get it or not.
don't they last long? and these synths are gonna last 30 years? these are all common new bs people are filling in our head to buy crap stuff now days...