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, and an extra octave.

Peter Gabriel's Yamaha CP-80
The Yamaha CP-80 was Peter Gabriel's main piano, after the Yamaha CP-70.

Peter Gabriel at least started using the Yamaha CP-80 during recording of the So album in 1985, alongside the Yamaha CP-70. In the end, he stuck to the CP-80 as his main instrument on the So tour.

The CP-80 was also used for subsequent studio work during the late 1980s and early 90s. It appears on the Passion soundtrack (1989) and the Us album. He also played the CP-80 on Joni Mitchell's "Beat Of Black Wings", released on Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm in 1988. And also on Robbie Robertson's "Fallen Angel", where the CP-80 was fed through a Boss Chorus and a Deltalab DL-2.

After the Us record, however, Peter decided to move on to using other pianos like Roland digital ones so more sounds could be explored. As of 2015, the CP-80 remains in storage.