Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Revisiting Yamaha GHS action

Well, this may sound weird, but I have been enjoying the GHS action of my Yamaha MOX8 over the weekend and, surprisingly, after playing for some months my Kawai VPC1 and Yamaha U3H exclusively, I have found it better than I recalled

Let me explain a bit the circumstances: we have a house about 170km from home, on my wife's town on the Mediterranean coast. I go just some days every year. But didn't want to be keyboard-less . So I took my MOX8 there last year (that MOX8 was a very cheap non-working unit buying, which I fixed and sat unused at home)

This weekend we went along two more couples and one of them took his guitar to play along with the keyboard while the rest sang along. We enjoyed it quite a bit and I played in total for about 5 hours over the weekend. And, yes, my experience with the GHS action, playing mostly pop but also some repertoire (that last not along the guitar ) was very good

I don't know if it is me adapting fast to a lesser action or it is really not that bad in comparison to my most used keys. All in all, that MOX8 made my weekend!

Jose

Wow, a house by the Mediterranean coast, and Pete has to live in a van down by the river; a dirty river, might I add!

Now, about your recent reawakening regarding the ‘GHS’ action, this goes to show that we are subconsciously influenced by Kawai’s long-stick-on-a-pivot and tend to immediately dismiss Yamaha’s actions because “they’re folded”.

The implication is that somehow this -folded- perspective makes Yamaha’s actions inferior by default; which could not be further from the truth, and if I’m going to be honest, I, too, felt this way at some point………

…..but then I also had a reawakening when I bought the P-515 and preferred it over the Kawai long-stick-on-a-pivot. I’m still enamored with my P-515 and the action attached to it.



P.S.

We also tend to ignore the fact that it’s not just the physical action, but also how it ‘connects’ with the sound engine, and ultimately how the sound reaches your ears. Yamaha has done a great job -in recent years- at creating a seamless symbiosis between these elements (action/engine/speakers), and it shows when I sit in front of my P-515; the little engine that could.

Hello,

I like that little report, @Jose!

Cheers and more happy weekends like that,

HZ

Not unusual, i sold an old YDP-140 to a friend because she wanted to start learning piano and i'm giving beginner lessions to her. From my mind, the action was awful compared to my other instruments but everytime visit her and play some some things, the action feels better than i remember.

Thanks for your comments!

Some details:

-The house is not by the sea, but on a coastal city. So, no, it is not a paradise-like house hanging on a seaside elevation

-I had for about a couple years (2018-2019 roughly) a DGX-660 which also uses GHS. And I was pretty happy with it... Until I bought first my U3H and, months later, my VPC1. Comparing actions almost side-by-side, the GHS paled with both. So my recall of that action was that. Then, almost a couple years later, and having played the U3H and VPC1 daily, my surprise was to find the GHS so enjoyable (not better than the other two, of course)

So I am glad I decided to keep the MOX8, even if only for some days a year. It was saved from very rough handling so it deserves a rest, close to the sea (not being on first sea line is better for electronics)

Is today's GHS action the same as it was ten years ago? I found it dreadful back then.

If people feel somewhat good about GHS now, then I'm inclined to think that it has been revised and improved.

Despite 1) never having played a GHS, 2) having read here many unflattering posts old & new re: GHS, i tend to agree MacMacMac .... enough to be genuinely interested in trying a new DP that comes with this old action name ......is it really the same as ever 🤔

Other than the obvious answer, why does a manufacturer with such longstanding piano rep/chops like Yamaha continue to release new models with this old action name ? ..... for which i have simultaneously albeit virtually seen/heard - operative word “seen” seems telling to me compared to just “heard” - several dealer/reviewer pianists visibly demonstrate a range of touch in producing the resultant wide range of dynamic expression with this old action.....

Yes, professional youtubers can dress up DPs to sound better than they are BUT are there ways to dress up the view of how pianists play the action to make their playing skill look better than it is .... i doubt it but i reserve the right to be wrong 🙂

Good question ...Maybe it's because people pay little heed to the name?

We, here, are obsessive about such things ... but I suspect that many other people don't care a bit. So they would not notice that the same GHS name appears on today's Yamaha as on those from long ago.

Also ... the GHS action is found only on their low-end pianos. Obsessive people (us included) pay heed to the higher-priced pianos ... and that's exactly where Yamaha (and even more so, Kawai) keep revising the actions and their corresponding fancy, meaningless acronyms.

Curiously enough, the MOX8 model is from about 2011

I am currently playing a Yamaha P121, with GHS.
To me it is a bit stiffer compared to the Kawai ES920 keybed, which I am aware does not share the same mechanics as the Kawai VPC1. But still, the GHS is good for a DP, and I can do all my usual things. I believe it is a decent action, but not exceptionally pleasing to play.

Is it possible that you have experienced a substantial advance in your pianistic abilities over that time? Perhaps you are now much better than then, and are now not so bothered by action differences.

Perhaps substantial is too much... But it is true that I also played on a baby grand this Summer, only one and a half hour or so, and felt at home, action wise, just in a couple minutes. Interesting thought!

I also think the GHS is a capable action and people tend to exaggerate how bad it is. It's not. I think people on this forum (due to it being dedicated to digital pianos) live in a balloon where digital piano actions are assumed to include everything from extremely bad to absolutely mind blowing. But all digital piano actions (except for hybrid digital pianos that include real acoustic piano actions) are fundamentally the same and the differences between the "worst" and the "best" are much smaller than the difference between any digital piano action and an acoustic piano action. IMO the entry and mid-level digital pianos are the best value, compared to the higher end digital pianos that approach the price of hybrid and acoustic pianos while offering dubious advantages over cheaper digital pianos.

I agree. For me it makes no sense to pay for a digital the same amount I would pay for an acoustic, or close to it.

I’m obsessing ..... and its a rainy day here ..... so im really obsessing for something to do .... you’re it 🙂

Talk about bored .... You sure do have had lots of boards.... and since i’m in home care, i just want to commend you for showing some respect and giving due love to the elderly .... but this is the first time ive seen a dp that has a seaside retirement home somewhere in Europe.

Of course i had to look up - what is MOX8? Among the numerous performing, arranging, arp’ing, recording and sound-modifying features, it supports usb audio & midi for PCs/DAWs .... from way back in 2011; .... was it among the first? ..... and you also had a dgx660 .... i suspect the dp gods were trying to tell something about GHS .... put your seat backs in full upright position and seatbelts on for folks familiar with such turbulence, it may get a little bumpy 🌪 .....

“ Also, the Graded Hammer Action keys truly mimic acoustic piano keys......” 💣

https://pianohunter.com/yamaha-mox8-review/

.... maybe lets just pretend that never happened 🤫

I was considering buying a new (cheap) DP earlier this year/late last year and getting rid of my Yamaha PF85 from way back in the mid/late 80's so I could have a newer action. But then I realized that I'm just used to the action that I've played off and on for the past 30 years. I just re-felted some of the endstops to remove the clickity clack.

PF85 has the "Action Effect" the predates the GHS. It's lighter than my grand.

Are you sure the pf85 is so old?

Late 1980's or so.

Pretty sure since I bought it around 1990

Great pianos / entry level action, especially if you pair them with a vst and good speakers.

Their only problem is height. You can't put it under a studio table, like other slimmer ones