Hey guys, I play piano as a hobby, and as CP is my favorite band, I tend to closely analyze what piano Chris plays. It's well documented that Chris played a Yamaha GT-20 from AROBTTH all the way through MX. For those that don't know, (even though there are threads on it), this is a type of hybrid piano in which the acoustic "guts" of a piano, such as the action are included in the piano, but the soundboard, strings, and other bits are missing. The hammers hit sensors in the GT-20 and then the sound is produced electronically. The GT-20 is seen below.

 

 

This piano has been de-commissioned, if you will, by Yamaha, and it's actually a fairly old model. I tried hunting one down for my own playing purposes, and alas, they aren't made anymore. However, Yamaha has introduced a new model of the hybrid series called the NU1 (MSRPs in the US for $6,000, but street prices are in the mid $4,000 range), which is basically the cousin of the GT-20, it looks mostly the same and the hallmark features are all the same except newer piano tones, but I digress (just in case anybody is interested). The smallest console piano I believe is 44" high. The GT-20 is about 40" high, so it isn't possible to make it "acoustic." I know there has been some confusion in the past on whether or not his GT-20 was acoustic/digital, just wanted to clear any more confusion up about that.

 

The band stuck with the GT-20 for a REALLY long time, but now that Ghost Stories has come around, I noticed they aren't (so far) touring with the GT-20, but instead they've made the switch to what I assume to be a Yamaha Disklavier U1E3. I've looked through Yamaha's line-up, and I think this is what Chris is playing for GS, but I can't be 100% sure, if anybody has a better idea, feel free to chime in.

 

 

I think this is a disklavier piano because, as you can see, nobody is at the piano, yet it's playing on its own. When "Magic" begins, Johnny plays some chords on the piano, and then loops it, and then goes to guitar. I think it's a Yamaha U1 disklavier, but I am not entirely sure which model, as the current Yamaha DU1E3 doesn't quite make an "exact" match of what the band is using. Compare the two, particularly on the sides of the key-bed. The sides of the key-bed of the piano on tour are softer than the current DU1E3 Yamaha offers, which are more jagged and rise sharper. So I am not overly sure one way or the other, unless it's an older model they are using, considering they have used an old technology/piano in the GT-20 for a long, long time before now.

 

 

If anybody has any better idea of what exactly it might be, feel free to post. As an aside, I like the switch to the acoustic, especially on Clocks, it sounds great, but at some points you can hear the very bright MIDI piano tone they have been using for a long time with the GT-20 on the song "Another's Arms."

 

/nerd over.

Wow that was a really awesome post!

 

When comparing the two pianos that chirs was using and the white background picture, yes I see what you mean by the the one Chris is playing seems softer in the edges. But the picture a little bit further up seems to have the straight edges if you look closely. But that's my guess anyways. :)

and on this late Saturday evening, I've cracked the Ghost Stories piano mystery.

 

I was right in my assumption that it is a disklavier piano, and I hinted in my OP that it could be an older version of a Yamaha disklavier, indeed it has been discontinued.

 

He's playing a Yamaha DYUS1E3.

 

http://usa.yamaha.com/product_archive/keyboards/dyus1e3/?mode=model

 

 

To be honest, it was more luck than anything, to find that picture. I was able to barely read the model and search it. Woot! That was going to bug me if I couldn't figure this out, but for those who care, here you go. Lol. Basically, it is both a silent piano, and a disklavier all in one. Meaning it has all the midi capabilities his GT-20 had, it can play by itself (like in magic, and also in ASFOS, and it also is a traditional acoustic 48" upright. It's a very versatile piece. I think I might even prefer this over the GT-20 when it comes to live concerts.

To me it looks like a Yamaha U model with a disklavier system installed which means that they can still send midi signals to the backstage rack where they have their Kawai Mp9000 rack module that produces their trademark piano sound :-)

To me it looks like a Yamaha U model with a disklavier system installed which means that they can still send midi signals to the backstage rack where they have their Kawai Mp9000 rack module that produces their trademark piano sound :-)

Yep, that's exactly what it is I am pretty sure.