This classic Yamaha Electric Piano from the Clavinova series is a VERY HEAVY beast (30Kg), Australia Post will not ship it as it exceeds their weight limitations, however we can ship via couriers - shipping cost would be quoted manually, based on your location/postcode.
NOTE: This instrument needs attention!
Please read details in my description below
This YP40 is being offered for these purposes:
a) restoration of the instrument OR as spare parts for another YP40
b) customising such as an enterprising person has done here https://acidbourbon.wordpress.com/2014/05/18/yp40hack/
Yamaha Electric Piano
Model: YP40
Released to market around 1983 (the very first digital electric piano)
Used in our audio production facilities (infrequently) since early 1984 until business cessation in 2008 - since then it has been sitting in our storage units, well protected.
FM tone synthesis
FM synthesis was really a general purpose system of sound generation, but it was better at creating percussive attack and more elaborate harmonic structures than traditional analogue, which meant it was better equipped for simulating the upper harmonics of acoustic pianos.
76 weighted full size keys
Basic electric piano functions, no demo mode, no "play along" although you can input external audio, no memories etc - its just an electric piano
Nice replication of a real piano key "feel"
Multiple voices - see the photograph taken from the user manual
Synthesis of sounds is "acceptable" although it must be remembered that this was very early days in sound synthesis - this does raise the possibility of "tweeking" or customising some of the audio functionality such as the low and high pass filters - more on that below.
I have put up a video (not mine) of the YP40 being played, its not terrible but it isn't fantastic either - it IS great for that "old" vintage type sounds and for us was perfectly acceptable when laying down some background music tracks on voiceover work. See more comments below about the sound.
Two channel audio outputs
Headphone output
Built in two channel amplifier with small speakers
Aux audio input
Damper pedal socket BUT NO PEDAL IS SUPPLIED - nothing special about this, just a pedal switch with a jack connection.
NO SHEET MUSIC STAND IS SUPPLIED (Simple metal bracket which fits into two holes at the rear)
NO MIDI
COSMETIC CONDITION:
Everything is clean, no broken or missing controls
ONE KEY HAS LOST ITS ACTION! THIS WILL OBVIOUSLY NEED REPLACING OR REPAIR TO THE ACTION.
Two of the keys have chips at the front of the key, actually one has a hole at the front, not just a chip! That's what happens when the microphone stand collapses onto the keyboard!
I have clearly indicated the three keys which are not "perfect" - particularly the "drooper" (large red dots in the photographs)
Very light handling wear to the woodgrain veneer finish, nothing at all serious - the construction is particle board with a very nicely applied veneer. None of the veneer is "lifting" as it has been fitted very well.
The wooden finish is the primary reason this instrument is so heavy.
OPERATIONAL TESTING:
This has been safely tucked away in the storage units for quite some time, so today I fired it up and had a play around.
FULLY FUNCTIONAL
I checked all the voices, the various controls such as Master Volume, Transposition, Brightness, Stereo - no issues at all, they all operate properly and without "scratches or other noise"
Every key is functioning bar the obviously faulty action of one key (look for the droop!) Electronically it still works but physically this one note is unplayable in it's present condition - this in no way affects any of the other notes.
The sound level from the internal amplifier is not too loud, great for studio monitoring but useless for a larger area. We always ran it through a desk and I did this today - taking the outputs from the left & right line level outputs at the rear (RCA) and off to some monitor speakers, then I had a close listen.
No extraneous noises and a pretty good sound - I particularly the bass register. Thats not to say the trebles are no good, but my hearing is shot these days so bass is good for me! Some of the voices are a bit "howsyafather" like the e.guitar but good piano and electric piano sounds are created and the attack/decay sounds ok too. These vintage instruments are a somewhat acquired taste and often attractive for their unique sound, even if not perfect.
There isn't a lot of flexibility such as you would find with modern instruments but its a pretty cool thing to play if you don't mind being a bit restricted.
No memory, no percussion effects and no recall of played pieces. You just play it!
But if the new owner has sufficient techie background, projects such as this one could be of interest ... https://acidbourbon.wordpress.com/2014/05/18/yp40hack/
Actually I remember our sound engineer used to play around with the transposition etc to create interesting "unusual effects" so it is capable of being used for a more experimental sound if that was the intention.
One thing, I have seen some people describe these as stage instruments. To be truthful, you would NOT want to be lugging this thing around onto a stage and back to the truck later - it is damn heavy. It is much better suited to sitting in a fixed studio environment.
TECHNICAL BITS:
I have available both the User Manual (very simple) and the YP40 Schematics/parts lists.
The FM operator chips are a couple of Yamaha YM2003's and the DAC is a uPC610-D. The filtering is based around 4558 Op amps, all componentry is discrete.
I am only offering this complete YP40 to see if there is any interest in its present form, if not then I will be "parting it out" - the big advantage of this is that the shipping weight will be much less and restorers need only purchase the section they want.
If any section of the instrument is sold in the meantime then I will be removing this offer of the complete instrument.
