SYNCHRON YAMAHA CFX

The Keys to Your Musical Inspiration

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. We captured this beauty in the marvellous enviroment of Stage A of our newly refurbished scoring stage, Synchron Stage Vienna. 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.

The virtual representation of this instrument incorporates our team's unbridled passion for the most natural sound paired with the best player experience.

Key Features

• Up to 4,200 samples per key for maximal authenticity and liveliness
• 100% natural ambience of one of the best recording halls in the world, Synchron Stage Vienna
• Hyper-realistic playing feel
• Advanced Release Sample Technology
• Multiple Microphone Positions – for a multitude of timbral variations
• All-new, intuitive Synchron Pianos software with high-performance playback engine
• Six pre-configured Presets: "Concert", "Intimate", "Player", "Pop", "Ambience", "Mighty" 
• Soft (una corda), sostenuto, sustain pedals
• Half-pedalling and re-pedalling
• Sympathetic resonance
• Body resonance

All Natural, Ambient Sound

Our Yamaha CFX grand is permanently stored at our refurbished recording facility Synchron Stage Vienna 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.

10 Microphone Positions – Up to 4,200 Samples per Key

With up to 4,200 samples per key, our Yamaha CFX boasts breathtaking authenticity. 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, giving you an abundance of options for creating your individual sound

Microphone and instrument setup

Microphone Positions

Standard Library - Room Mic (Mix) | Close 1 (Schoeps MK 4) | MID 1 (Sennheiser MKH 800) | Main/Room Mic – Decca Tree Stereo (L/R) | Main/Room Mic – Decca Tree Mono (Center)

Full Library - Everyone above PLUS Close 2 (Royer SF-24) | MID 2 (Sennheiser MKH 8040) | Main Surround – Stereo (L/R) | High Stereo (3D) – Stereo (L/R) | High Surround (3D) – Stereo (L/R)

Details of Microphone Settings:

The two "Close" and "MID" microphone positions are ideal for a more player-oriented mix.

• Room Mic (Mix) - The Room Mix channel contains a stereo mix of all available room microphones from the Full Library

• Close 1 - “ORTF” setup with a pair of Schoeps MK 4, positioned as closely as possible over the hammer area. Ideal for producing the typical “pop piano” sound.

• Close 2 - “Blumlein” setup with two ribbon figure-eight capsules of a Royer SF-24 mic, for a fast, direct, and natural sound.

• MID 1 - “ORTF” setup with a pair of Sennheiser MKH 800 mics for a wide, warm yet bright and centered sound.

• MID 2 “ - ORTF” setup with a pair of Sennheiser MKH 8040 mics for a centered, but harder and more focused sound than the MID 1 Position.

• Main/Room Mic - Decca Tree array (L-C-R) with three DPA 4006 mics. These very neutral microphones captured even the smallest detail of Synchron Stage Vienna. Used in a stereo mix, you can easily hear where the piano is placed. In a surround setup, the Decca tree microphones will be the feed for your front L-R speakers.

• Main Surround - Wide A-B stereo setup with two DPA4011 cardioid microphones. You may use them as so-called “Wides” or “Outriggers” in a stereo mix in order to create an even more spacious impression. In a surround setup, these microphones would be used for your rear speakers.

• High Stereo (3D) - Stereo A-B-setup with two AKG C-414 condenser microphones, spotting the very nice reflections of Synchron Stage Vienna’s ceiling. In stereo mixes, you can use them as an alternative to your main mics, or you may down-mix these much more diffused signals. The sound is more “sparkling” and reverberant compared to the main mics. Used in an Auro 3D or Dolby Atmos mix, these microphones should feed your top or ceiling speakers.

• High Surround (3D) - Like the High Stereo (3D) setup, this A-B array features two AKG C-414 microphones.

Advanced Release Sample Technologie

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.

Customize Your Personal Sound

Apart from the multitude of options through mixing various microphone signals, our Yamaha CFX comes with an all-new, dedicated sample player that opens a whole new dimension for shaping your sound. Hosting a high-performance playback engine built from ground up, the software provides a musician-friendly user interface that allows for quick and easy timbral control. Create your sound intuitively by filtering particular key ranges or even single keys, adjust the body resonance of the instrument or add just a pinch of algorithmic reverb to refine the overall sound.

Utmost Precision and Consistency

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, Synchron Stage Vienna’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!

Library Content

• Standard Library: Samples 119.020 | Download Files Size 34,6 GB | Installed File Size 115,0 GB

• Full Library: Samples 238.040 | Download Files Size 71,2 GB | Installed File Size 239,9 GB

This product requires activation!

This can either be done on your computer (without additional hardware) or alternatively on an iLok USB dongle that can be purchased separately . The iLok USB dongle can be plugged into any computer in order to use the protected software on several computers. Your licenses can be managed as you like using the iLok License Manager and protected against loss or theft by additional insurance ( Zero Downtime with TLC ).

To activate the product you need an internet connection on any computer and a free user account on www.ilok.com . Use the Vienna Assistant to download and install your software products and sample libraries authorized via iLok  .

Please check with the software manufacturer which iLok version is required as a minimum if you want to use a hardware iLok!

AAX native, AU, Mac, VST, Win