Introduction
In 1902, Torakusu Yamaha, founder of the Yamaha Corporation, built the first Yamaha grand piano. Two years later, the Yamaha grand piano won the Honorary Grand Prize at the St. Louis World's Fair. Today, the Yamaha C series grand piano is easily the most recorded and recognizable piano in the world.
Overview
The Yamaha C5 piano is the next size up from the C3. At 6'7", and 770 lbs (66 lbs heavier then the C3) the C5 has much of the same features as the C3. Some of these features include Ivorite keytops, the tone collector system, duplex scaling, Humid-A-Seal pinblock and more. To understand more about these features check out our Nov '08 Yamaha C3 review here.
Sound
Where the C5 Yamaha piano shines is in the bass region. One can appreciate the C5's sound when it is positioned in the center of a large enough room and played. We loved the fact that when played, the C5 had more of a deeper, powerful bass compared to the C3. Overall, the tone is nice, crisp, and clean as expected by a Yamaha piano.
Touch & Construction
Except for using a Boxwood cap (Maple in the C3) in the vertically laminated treble bridge, there is nothing new in this area to discuss. Click here to read our full review on the C3's Touch and Construction.
Yamaha offers the C5 in Polished Ebony, Satin Ebony, and Polished Mahogany; however, arrangements with your local Yamaha dealer may be needed for the last two finish options.
Conclusion
Overall, the Yamaha C5 is a slight improvement over the C3—longer bass strings giving a more "big piano" feel to it. We liked the C5, however, we were disappointed with how much more value the C5 added to Yamaha's Conservatory piano line. Listing at around $28,000, however, the C5 is still an excellent value especially for being a medium sized grand piano.
Professional/serious musicians might find themselves more interested in the Yamaha C6 or C7. Watch for our C6 review that will be published later this month on YamahaMusician.com.