Yamaha Clavinova CLP-745: Review & Diapason Rating

The Yamaha Clavinova CLP-745 is the safe bet in cabinet digitals: GrandTouch wooden action, dual CFX and Bösendorfer samples, refined cabinetry for the living room.

Who is it for?

For the household wanting a durable, beautiful instrument with an accomplished touch, designed to stay put. A long-term investment.

The touch: the GrandTouch wooden action

The CLP-745 moves up a class with its GrandTouch action, whose long wooden keys reproduce the leverage of a grand piano. The deep key travel and well-judged pivot point offer a control that portables struggle to match: the hand works as it would on an acoustic, with natural gradation from bass to treble. It is a mature touch, built for years of serious study.

The sound: dual samples and resonance

The tone generator combines two reference pianos — the Yamaha CFX and the Bösendorfer Imperial — offering complementary characters: bright and projecting on one hand, warm and rounded on the other. Virtual Resonance Modelling reconstructs the dialogue between strings and soundboard, while a multi-speaker system delivers an enveloping sound suited to the closed living-room cabinet.

Cabinet and craftsmanship

Unlike a portable, the CLP-745 is a piece of furniture: a stable cabinet, a full three-pedal set with progressive half-pedal, and an integrated music desk. It is designed to hold a fixed place in the home and become the family piano, with the convenience of adjustable volume and silent headphone practice at any hour.

Strengths and limits

In its favour: a high-level wooden touch, two prestigious samples, careful cabinetry and convincing sound diffusion. Against it: a more demanding price and no portability — it is a long-term purchase, not an instrument to move. Its value is best judged over many years of use.

Who it suits

The CLP-745 is the choice of the family or pianist who wants a durable, handsome instrument with an acoustic feel, made to stay put. Those needing portability or a small budget will look to portables; those after a genuine living-room piano without tuning will find one of the most balanced options here.

Frequently asked questions

Does the CLP-745 replace an acoustic? For home study it comes close, thanks to the wooden touch and dual samples, with the added benefit of silent headphone play.

Does it need maintenance? No: being digital, it requires no tuning or periodic regulation.

Durability and value over time

The CLP-745 is conceived as a multi-year investment, and the build reflects it: a sturdy cabinet, a wooden action engineered for thousands of practice hours, and electronics updatable via app. Unlike an acoustic it will not lose value to tuning or soundboard problems, and it needs no periodic technician’s visit. For a family accompanying one or more children through their entire course of study, it is an instrument that covers many years without revealing its limits, while remaining a handsome piece of living-room furniture.

Is it suitable for an advanced pianist too? Yes: the GrandTouch action and dual samples handle demanding repertoire, within the physical limits of any digital instrument.

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