The Yamaha CFX is a beautiful hand-crafted, full size 275 cm (9') concert grand that represents the pinnacle of the manufacturer's tradition of piano crafting. The instrument's beautiful sounds were captured in the marvellous enviroment of Stage A of our Vienna Synchron Stage. Our very own instrument is equipped with Yamaha's award-winning performance reproducing system "Disklavier ENSPIRE PRO" that guaranteed utmost precision, resolution and consistency during the entire recording process.
The Yamaha CFX grand offers a wide palette of expressive tonal colors, eliciting dramatic intensity and the most subtle nuances. Its distinctive sound can be characterized as precise, bright, clear, powerful and assertive, lending itself to any genre of classical, romantic or contemporary piano music and from solo pieces to chamber and concert works. What's more, Yamaha CFX grand pianos are particularly at home with pop and jazz genres.
Yamaha CFX Essentials presents a focused, accessible version of our acclaimed Synchron Yamaha CFX. Capturing the distinctive clarity, power, and precision that define this world-class instrument, the streamlined edition distills the full expressive range of the CFX into an inspiring, ready-to-play virtual piano. The instrument is perfectly suited for any musical style, from classical and jazz to pop and film scoring.
The instrument features a room mix of the multi-microphone recording set-up, as well as the close microphone samples. The piano is thus not only ready for integration into compositions with other Synchron Libraries, but also offers the intimate sound often desired for solo or chamber pieces.
Our Yamaha CFX grand is permanently stored at our refurbished recording facility Vienna Synchron Stage which is characterized by its particularly warm, intense, and natural ambience. Since its reopening in 2016, this 540 m2 hall has already left its acoustic signature on numerous international productions, from classical chamber music to large-scale orchestral film scores. Today it is considered one of the best recording stages in the world and is frequently booked by world renowned artists, producers and film studios.
In order to capture this marvellous instrument in one of the best acoustic environments on the planet, we've used multiple high-end microphone arrays. For Yamaha CFX Essentials, these were boiled down to two separate close microphone and room-mix channels.
Yamaha’s flagship concert grand (275 cm / 9 ft)
Bright, clear, and powerful tone with remarkable dynamic range
Hollywood-proven ambience of Stage A at Vienna Synchron Stage
Mix-ready sound with Room Mix and close mic options
Adjustable sympathetic and body resonance
Upgrade path to Synchron Yamaha CFX
Capturing the notes with all the velocities and especially at various tone lengths with their subtle nuances is a major challenge in the art of piano sampling – and it's particularly tricky when recording the instrument with the ambience of a scoring stage. This is where our new Release Sample Technology comes in. We've developed a unique, proprietary technique that automatically matches up to 300 individual and finely grained release samples per key to your played notes. The result is a hyper-realistic playing feel and 100% timbral authenticity.
Sculpt your ideal piano tone with ease through the Synchron Piano Player. Choose from expertly crafted mixer presets or dive deeper with detailed parameters like key EQ, body resonance, and algorithmic reverb. Adjust sympathetic resonance, shape your response curve, or enhance presence with subtle ambience – all within an intuitive, performance-focused interface. Whether you’re recording film scores, crafting pop ballads, or performing virtuosic repertoire, Yamaha CFX Essentials puts the unmistakable sound of Yamaha’s flagship concert grand at your fingertips – sparkling, expressive, and ready to inspire.
As evidenced by the huge amount of sample data, the recording phase of this Yamaha CFX grand piano project extended over several months, which demanded absolute consistency within the room and for the instrument itself. To protect the piano's environment and ensure reliable recordings, Vienna Synchron Stage's integrated system for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) provided very consistent climatic conditions throughout the entire recording process. Further, all samples were recorded using the instrument's integrated, computer controlled performance reproducing system. Its non-contact optical sensors detected every movement of all 88 keys (position, velocity and release velocity) and the pedals (including half-pedaling) with utmost precision, reproducing the most delicate nuances of a human performance. Additional hammer sensor feedback allowed for accurate reproduction of special playing techniques such as rapid note repetition and softly-played notes. What's more, over the course of several months, Vienna Symphonic Library team members were trained in preparing and tuning a grand piano accurately by Vienna's leading piano technicians in order to achieve absolutely consistent tuning and sound characteristics during the entire recording process. The impeccable result must really be heard (and played) to be appreciated!
These Mixer Presets provide you with a choice of seven pre.configured Character Presets of the Room-Mix category employing the Close Microphone channel and the Room-Mix channel, a mixdown of all sampled microphones of the original CFX recordings.
Audio Demos
Concert:
Character: A grand spatial representation of the Yamaha CFX at Vienna Synchron Stage.
Perspective: Conductor, with the instrument at its original recording position on the right (as an alternative, you may select the "Concert Centered" preset).
Mix: Additional Reverb on the Close and MID microphones, with a 35 ms runtime delay on the Room Mix channel.
Recommendation: Piano concertsIntimate:
Character: Close, charming sound with attenuated treble register and added Body Resonances.
Perspective: Player, centered
Mix: Little reverb on the Close microphone, with a 33 ms runtime delay on the narrowed Room Mix channel.
Recommendation: For intimate ballads and low, mighty chords.Player:
Character: Natural, close sound without any additional EQing and a soft touch of the room. Immediate response with the full stereo width of the keyboard. The real Steinway & Sons playing feel.
Perspective: Player, centered
Mix: Very little additional reverb on the Close microphones, with dampened high frequencies and a 21 ms runtime delay on the narrowed Room Mix channel.
Recommendation: Ideal recording presetPop:
Character: Powerful and assertive, with reduced MIDI sensitivity, accentuated low and high frequencies, and a short reverb.
Perspective: Player, centered
Mix: Little additional reverb on the MID microphones, with bolstered deep and high frequencies and a 21 ms runtime delay on the narrowed Room Mix channel.
Recommendation: For the modern songwriter, for live solo performances and within a band context.Ambience:
Character: Spacious, roomy, washy, with soft attacks. Assertive sound even in the background of a mix.
Perspective: Conductor, with the instrument at its original recording position on the right.
Mix: Much reverb on all microphones and a 27 ms runtime delay on the Room Mix channel.
Recommendation: Soaring melodies, lush arrangements, film scores.Mighty:
Character: Bouncing, echoing sound with a distinctive slapback.
Mix: Much reverb on all microphones, with EQ adjustments. The slapback is created with the runtime delays for the Mid microphone and Room Mix channel. You may adjust it to fit the tempo of your music.
Perspective: Conductor, with the instrument at its original recording position in the center.
Recommendation: Scenes with cinematic landscapes, wide fields, industry halls or concrete walls.Concert centered:
Character: Very similar to the Concert Preset, but centered in the room. Comes with EQ and panning adaptations. Ideal for solo performances.