Starting from the wood components, the 5 levels of Yamaha pianos vary in selection of materials and resources designated to each level of manufacturing. All of our wood is naturally seasoned for at least 6 months. It is then graded and re-evaluated after kiln drying. Soundboards make up only about 10-15% of the wood at Kitami. And of that 10-15%, only 1% of that 10 to 15% goes to our CF line of concert instruments. This top 1% wood is delivered as kiln dried planks to the CF workshop where they build rims, frames and custom soundboards for each piano. From ‘farm to table’, the CF piano can take up to 3 years to build. It is our highest level of hand-crafted instruments, the pinnacle of manufacturing.

Each level thereafter, receives grading of wood according to its level. SX and CX have the grand piano “X” treatment (GPX) but their soundboards are handled in a more streamlined production line process at Kitami.

Next, the GC and GB1K soundboards are cut by laser, still rendering these precision instruments.

By 2012, the ever-so-popular C line of grands then received the GPX treatment of soundboards and re-design designating them CX.

The S series had been previously established, it took on a whole new level after the X series was implemented. As well, the 2 lines of SX and CX feature new cabinets, hammers and wire along with new scale designs.

Yamaha Hammer Felt: The SX line.  When asked about this piano, I’ve described it as a clear lake that you throw a few pebbles into the water and you can hear and feel every ripple with incredible sustain – amazing!  The SX series of grands has been developed in between the CX line and the CFX concert level. It has a different voice. We like to think of the CFX as a concert piano and as such, it’s voiced primarily for concert settings. It’s often placed in a large venue and so the SX (also with GPX soundboards and re-design) has been intentionally designed with our A.R.E. processing – a type of wood enhancement through torrefaction.

The A.R.E. In essence is the process of fast-tracking the aging of wood of the rim to bring about more resonance like aged guitars and violins. And Kakegawa handles this curing of wood, and when you change the rim, you change the tone. Everything about pianos is inter-related. It requires a different soundboard and subsequently different hammers. Because it is a slightly higher grade than the CX line, it also has a higher grade of wood as well. The curing of the wood on the SX line takes several weeks to complete. It’s quite a controlled process.

To recap, you have CFX at the top, built in the small Concert Piano Workshop – where just about everything is made by hand, receiving kiln-dried planks from Kitami. The wood for the rest of the lines is more production line process. The SX and CX lines have parts that are kiln-dried at Kitami but the SX has extra age-enhanced (for lack of a better term) rims and slightly higher-grade materials. And all the soundboards for SX and CX are precision cut by laser. Once wood parts are processed for SX and CX lines, as well as the GC series, they’re then sent over to Kakegawa where they receive additional evaluation and are seasoned for destination prior to assembly.

The GC and GB1K lines.

After the CX line of pianos is our very popular GC series. It’s a value priced C grand that doesn’t include the GPX soundboard and is reminiscent of the former C1 and C2. They hold their own and are a joy to play. There are only 2 sizes in this line. One thing that sets Yamaha apart even our most basic pianos is that we do our own wood procurement and processing. Often times wood is outsourced. Not so with Yamaha. We have our own wood scouts and wood graders at Kitami and so pianos from the CF, SX, CX and GC all go through our Kitami mill. That leaves our GB1K, which is a unique grand model. The majority of its parts and components come from Japan and are then shipped to our Yamaha factory in Indonesia for assembly.

Yamaha Iwata Forge
Iwata houses the cast iron foundry. The majority of Yamaha frames are what they call V-Pro.
V-Pro, an abbreviation for Vacuum Processed was first applied with Yamaha shortly after that process was patented. Rather than sand casting by gravity, the V-Pro frames in essence apply a vacuum to the mold and subsequent suction moves the molten iron into place. The end result is very consistent and very precise. We do the CF pianos in sand cast but the majority of our instrument frames are made by V-Pro.
The CF line have sand casting not because it is a better process, and not a product of scale – you build far fewer concert grand pianos and so it is cost prohibitive to set up V-Pro for that line. Actually, Contrary to popular belief, Yamaha uses a combination of materials in the CF piano frames that are implemented at different times during the casting process. This is not possible using the V-Pro method, and so we do traditional sand casting for those pianos. Special care is taken when casting CF frames in order to optimize its attributes. Because of this, the preferred method is traditional sand casting by hand.

Yamaha Key Strike Machine: Once the wood and cast iron are made and seasoned for destination, they are then moved to Kakegawa for assembly, that’s where the pianos really come together. Rims, frames and cast iron are shipped there and parts are fitted. This includes all cabinet pieces, action parts, keys and stringing. The pianos then move through an automated key striking machine that depress the keys about 300,000 times to settle all of the new parts. The pianos are then regulated, tuned and polished.
The Concert Piano Workshop handles the top regulation of the concert instruments. Regulation refers to the small adjustments to the action parts and keys to make the pianos responsive to the performer. Voicing, altering the piano’s tone also happen on the CF pianos in the Concert Piano Workshop. For these pianos, there aren’t really limits to these processes. When it’s done, it’s done. The SX line receives similar treatment from the Concert Piano Workshop for regulation and voicing. The CX and GC pianos, however are worked on in the production line, the CX line receiving a minimum of 3 levels of regulation refinements. Substantial time is allotted for each piano bring out each piano’s maximum potential in touch and tone.