Yamaha CP-70

The Yamaha CP-70 was a hybrid acoustic/electric grand piano released by Yamaha in the mid-1970s.

Although often referred to as an electric grand piano, it has hammer and strings and works like a normal grand piano, but also has a pickup which translates the analog string vibrations into a digital audio signal. The Yamaha CP-80 is the bigger version of the CP-70, but with an extra octave of keys (altogether having 88 keys - CP-70 only has 73 keys). The Yamaha CP-70B is the same as the normal CP-70 but with an improved pickup and a balanced output (hence the 'B' suffix).

The piano was used by Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins.

Tony Banks' Yamaha CP-70B
The Yamaha CP-70B was one of Tony Banks' main instruments, especially with Genesis. He first used it on Genesis' ...And Then There Were Three album, and continued to use the CP-70 extensively in subsequent projects (both Genesis and solo) until the mid-1990s. The CP-70 made it a lot easier for Tony to play a grand piano onstage, and opened up the possibility of playing more of the piano-based Genesis material.

Banks even ended up preferring the Yamaha CP-70 to using an acoustic piano, as he was quite used to the chorused sound he'd produce on the Yamaha CP-70. He did that by using (initially) a Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble pedal, later replaced by an MXR MX-134 Stereo Chorus.

In early 1986, towards the end of the making of Invisible Touch, Tony Banks got a newer CP-70 with MIDI interface. This allowed him to trigger other synthesizers with the CP-70 on subsequent works.

Quotes on the CP-70
"'I understand the piano touch, and the CP70 seems to be pretty good in terms of accuracy. With synth keyboards, I find myself constantly reaching for the button that switches touch sensitivity off. They just don't respond to the way I play because there's no actual weight on the keyboard. Also, with organ type sounds, if you get it a bit wrong, you're stuck with a sustained sound at the wrong volume.' (Sound On Sound, July 1991)"

Peter Gabriel's Yamaha CP-70
The Yamaha CP-70 was one Peter Gabriel's go-to instruments from 1978 to 1986. His first use of the CP-70 was on the Peter Gabriel 2 (a.k.a. Scratch) tour in 1978. It appears on Peter Gabriel 3 (a.k.a. Melt), Peter Gabriel 4 (a.k.a. Security) and So albums, and Peter had toured with the CP-70 for Melt and Security.

On Peter Gabriel 3, the CP-70 was fed through a Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus amplifier and close-miked according to Hugh Padgham.

By the time of the So album, he appears to have been transitioning from the CP-70 to the Yamaha CP-80 - both pianos are mentioned in a report published in the July 1986 issue of Musician magazine. But on the So tour he had switched over completely to using the CP-80, and continued to do so for subsequent works.

Phil Collins' Yamaha CP-70
Like Tony Banks, Collins himself had a Yamaha CP-70, which he used from the early 80s 1980s. The distinctive CP-70 sound can be heard in places on the No Jacket Required and But Seriously albums, plus on hits "A Groove Kind Of Love" and Two Hearts. He had one as early as the Hello, I Must Be Going tour.

In terms of effects, Phil Collins probably used a T.C. Electronic Stereo Chorus Flanger and a T.C. Electronic Booster+ Line Driver & Distortion on the CP-70 on the No Jacket Required tour.

It's seen in the video for "One More Night".