Yamaha pianos for shoots and studios: which model suits which scene

Walk into a recording studio in Lisbon, London or New York and there is a fair chance the grand piano is a Yamaha. That is not a lack of imagination: it is the instrument that survives travelling, that sounds the same in January and in August, and whose tone sits in a mix without anyone having to fight it.

For anyone dressing a scene, choosing a piano is three decisions at once: what fits the room, what the scene needs to sound like, and what the camera will see. They rarely point at the same instrument. This article separates them.

The names, quickly

Yamaha's naming changed twice since the 1970s, and it confuses everyone reading a hire list.

Grands:

• G series — the grands from the 1960s to the early 1980s: G1, G2, G3, G5, G7. Still common on the used market and in studios that never had a reason to replace them.
• C series — replaced the G in the 1980s and ran until 2012: C1, C2, C3, C5, C6, C7. The C7 is probably the most recorded grand piano of recent decades.
• CX series — the current generation, launched on 12 October 2012 to replace the C series. Same lengths, with a redesigned frame, bridge and soundboard, and materials inherited from the CFX.
• CF and CFX — the concert instruments, hand-built in Hamamatsu. The CFX, at 275 cm, arrived in 2010 after nearly two decades of development, and is the large-hall and international-competition piano.
• S series (S3X, S5X, S6X, S7X) — hand-built, sitting between CX and CF.
• GB1K, GC1, GC2 — the entry-level grands, shorter and cheaper.

Uprights, where almost nothing has changed in fifty years:

• U1 (121 cm), U2 (127 cm) and U3 (131 cm) — the uprights everyone knows. In schools, conservatories, homes and studios since the 1960s, and built in Japan.
• YUS1 (121 cm), YUS3 and YUS5 (131 cm) — the current premium line, also Japanese, using CX-series components.
• b1 (109 cm), b2 (113 cm) and b3 (121 cm) — the entry-level line, built in Indonesia.
• UX-1 and UX-3 (and variants such as the UX-30) — the series with the cross-bracing on the back, built in Japan and discontinued in 1997. Second-hand only.
• P116 (116 cm) and P121 (121 cm) — the institutional line, designed for schools and rehearsal rooms. Built in the United Kingdom until 2008 and in Indonesia since.

One note that saves arguments: the G-series numbers match the lengths of the C series that replaced them. A G3 and a C3 take up the same floor. Always measure rather than assume — a used piano may have been rebuilt, and old spec sheets circulate with errors in them.

Sizes: what fits where

The length of a grand decides two things: the sound (longer strings, better-defined bass) and whether the thing comes through the door.

A rough rule for choosing on the fly: up to 186 cm for a domestic room, 186 to 227 cm for a studio, 227 cm and up for a stage. A grand wants roughly twice its own length in clear space around it, so the technician can work and the camera has somewhere to go.

Two 121 cm pianos are not the same piano

Look at the table: the b3, the U1, the YUS1 and the P121 are all 121 cm tall. From across the room, in a wide shot, they are indistinguishable. Under a microphone they are nothing like each other.

• The b3 is built in Indonesia and is the brand's entry line.
• The U1 and YUS1 are built in Japan, with a different action, different materials, and a new price several times higher.
• The P121 is the institutional version, designed to survive heavy use in a school.

This matters for two practical reasons. First, sound: if the piano plays and the sound is recorded, you hear the difference. Second, the replacement value that goes to the production's insurer: one 121 cm upright can be worth three or four times another 121 cm upright, and it is the model — not the height — that sets that figure.

When you ask for a piano, ask for the model. "A 121 upright" is not enough. And at 131 cm exactly the same thing happens, as the next section shows.

The UX: the U3 that studios look for

Among used uprights there is one name that always comes up in studio conversations: the UX series, built in Japan and discontinued in 1997.

The outward sign is the cross on the back — an X-shaped bracing on the rear frame, which adds rigidity and helps the tuning hold. It is worth being honest about it: technicians who have tuned hundreds of these say the cross by itself does not change the sound.

What does change the sound on the UX-3 is something else. At the same height as a U3 — 131 cm — it has longer bass strings. You hear that: more definition at the bottom, which is exactly what you want from an upright that has to carry a recording rather than merely fill a room. The UX-3 was built between 1983 and 1988; the UX-1 is the shorter version of the same idea.

For a shoot this lands well for two reasons. They are pianos of the 1970s, 80s and 90s, so they are period-correct with no effort at all. And since none have been built since 1997, they only turn up second-hand — with the age, the wear and the cabinet of a piano that has had a life, rather than the factory shine that gives away a 1978 set at a glance.

Sound: why studios reach for the C7

The Yamaha character is well known: fast attack, strong fundamental, bright and clear top. Where a Hamburg Steinway tends to bloom and blend, a Yamaha separates. On a solo piano take that can sound hard; in a mix with drums, bass and guitars it is exactly what keeps the piano audible without the engineer carving frequencies around it.

That is why the C7 turns up on so many pop, rock, jazz and television recordings: close-miked, it gives you a sound you can use as it is. And it is why, for chamber music or a period drama with live music, it is worth hearing the alternatives first.

Two things that are usually told wrong:

• Old Yamahas are not all bright. A 1980s C7 with worn hammers can be considerably darker than a CX straight from the factory. The character of a used piano comes as much from the state of the hammers as from the model.
• Voicing fixes a lot. A technician can soften or open up a piano significantly with two hours of work on the hammers. If the sound is not quite what the scene needs, say so before delivery, not on the day.

On camera: what nobody thinks about until they are on set

The standard Yamaha finish is polished ebony. In a room it looks right; under lamps it is a mirror. It reflects the lights, the ceiling, the camera operator and sometimes the camera. Anyone who has lit a polished black piano knows that half the time goes on hiding things from the reflection.

What usually solves it:

• A satin or wood finish instead of polished ebony — satin walnut and mahogany exist on many uprights and some grands, and they are far easier to light. They are also more convincing in a 1970s set than a mirrored black.
• The lid on the half stick rather than fully open: it changes the silhouette, hides part of the reflection, and still reads as a grand piano.
• The brand on the fallboard. Not every production can show trademarks. The Yamaha logo can be masked or removed — but that is arranged beforehand, with whoever is hiring you the instrument, and it is not solved with tape on the shooting day.

And a continuity detail: a 1970s upright in a 1970s set has to be the right age on the outside. The U line changed little, which is good news; but the pedals, the hinges and the cabinet detailing give the decade away to anyone who knows.

Weight, stairs and tuning

A piano is not a prop you carry on a shoulder. These are the weights of the current models, as Yamaha publishes them:

Note the thing that catches most people out: the smallest grand in the range weighs more than the largest upright. The 151 cm GB1K is 261 kg against a U3's 235 kg. "Small grand" does not mean easy to move — it means three legs to take off, a proper piano board, and more people lifting.

That means proper piano movers, the right vehicle, protection for doors and floors, and a conversation about stairs before the date is accepted. A grand will go up stairs — dismantled, with a crew and time. A service lift changes everything.

Then there is tuning. A piano that has been moved goes out of tune, always. Lamp heat and studio air conditioning do the rest. The sensible procedure is to deliver the day before, let it settle, and tune on location on the day, with the technician available to touch it up between setups if there is live sound.

Silent, TransAcoustic and Disklavier: three systems that solve shooting problems

Yamaha sells three technologies fitted to ordinary acoustic pianos. All three solve real problems on a set, and they are worth telling apart.

• Silent (on uprights, the SC and SH models) — a bar stops the hammers reaching the strings and the sound goes out through headphones instead. It is still an acoustic piano, with the real action and the real keyboard, but it makes no noise in the room. It lets an actor rehearse in a hotel, and it lets you have a piano being played on camera while the sound department records dialogue.
• TransAcoustic (the TA and TC models) — instead of headphones, it uses the piano's own soundboard as the speaker. Digital sound comes out of the instrument itself, with no speakers and no PA in shot. On a setup where no equipment can be visible, that is the difference between being able to record and not.
• Disklavier — an acoustic piano with playback. You record the performance with a real pianist and the piano plays it back on its own, keys and pedals moving. The actor only has to match the movement of the hands. It saves days on productions where the lead does not play, and the image is true: those are the real keys going down.

The difference in one line: Silent takes sound out of the room, TransAcoustic puts sound into the room without speakers, and Disklavier plays by itself.

Which piano for which scene

• 1970s or 1980s living room — a U1, U3 or UX-3 upright in satin walnut. It is the piano that house would actually have had.
• Recording studio — a C7, or a C3 if the space will not take it. It is the cliché because it is true.
• Bar or jazz club — a 173 to 186 cm grand, or an upright against the wall if the room is small.
• Concert hall — a CFX or a C7, lid open, stage prepared.
• School or conservatory — a P- or b-series upright, sober finish, no gloss. It is what those rooms genuinely have.
• Music video or commercial — polished ebony, lid open, and a lighting plan that accounts for the reflection.
• Dialogue over the piano — Silent, or a piano that does not play at all.

What to tell us when you ask for a piano

A request carrying this much gets a firm figure back instead of a question:

• Dates for delivery, shooting and collection.
• Address, floor and access: stairs, service lift, door widths, somewhere to put the van.
• Whether it has to play or is only in shot. It changes the price and it changes the instrument.
• Whether it is on camera, and under what light — so we can pick the finish.
• Whether the brand can be shown.
• Whether sound is recording live during the takes.
• The period of the scene, so the instrument is not twenty years younger than the room.

With that, we can tell you the same day what we have, what it costs, and the replacement value for the production's insurance.