Yamaha CP-80

The Yamaha CP-80 was an acoustic/electric grand piano launched in the mid-1970s. It is the bigger version of the Yamaha CP-70, with 88 keys instead of 73 (an extra octave). Like the CP-70, the piano is an acoustic grand piano fitted with an electronic pickup resulting in the distinctive piano sound.

The Yamaha CP-80 was Peter Gabriel's choice for grand piano after the CP-70, which was his go-to instrument for live and studio work until the mid-1990s. As photos show, he noticeably transitioned to the CP-80 during recording of So at Ashcombe House in 1985: the keyboard is slightly longer than the Fairlight CMI keyboard on top (73 keys), hence the conclusion it's a CP-80.

Like with the CP-70, he typically plugged the CP-80 into a Boss Chorus effects pedal to produce a distinctive tone which none of the newer pedals could rival. It features on the Passion soundtrack (1989) and the Us (1992) album. Peter played the CP-80 on Robbie Robertson's "Fallen Angel" (1987), where the CP-80 was routed through the Boss Chorus and a Deltalab DL-2 delay. Occasionally, the CP-80 was used in conjunction with a Roland MKS-20 Digital Piano module to thicken the sound, most likely connected by MIDI.

Joni Mitchell played Peter's CP-80 at Ashcombe on "Beat Of Black Wings" from Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm in 1988. Peter's Fender Jaguar guitar was also used for that record.

While making Up, Peter obviously decided to shift away from the Yamaha grand and gravitated more towards Roland digital pianos and the acoustic Bosendorfer grand for a change. As of 2007, the CP-80 remains in storage.