I recently had a client request I replace the stock GH3 action in her Yamaha CVP-305 with a Yamaha Natural Wood action, and I had an opportunity to do some experimenting.
The Yamaha GH3 keyboard action can be replaced with the NW-GH3 action, the GH3X action, or the NWX action. All four of the actions below seem to be interchangeable, with the features as listed:
| Plastic | Wood | |
|---|---|---|
| No Escapement | GH3 | NW-GH3 |
| Escapement | GH3X | NWX |
Her favorite action was the NW-GH3. Although there’s some subjectivity, we mutually agreed that the natural wood actions were lighter than the plastic equivalents (which is a bit counter-intuitive initially), and that the escapement added perceived weight.
In other words, we found that the NW-GH3 action was the lightest action, perceptibly, and the GH3X was the heaviest.
Not sure if you will see this. Is there any chance I could put a nw-gh3 in a Yamaha cp300 which would have used a gh action?
The Yamaha CP-300 uses two contact sensors, rather than three contact sensors. Although the actions themselves are almost identical, the contact boards and contacts are different. In short, you won’t be able to plug the new action in. At least not without swapping the contact boards and contacts in the new action with the old ones or two sensor replacements. (If your goal is the obviously amazing touch of the NW-GH3, that might be worth it!)