The Yamaha Reface CP looks like a cute toy you’d keep on your desk… right up until you hit a chord and it suddenly turns into a vintage stage piano in your lap. It’s a 37‑key mini electric piano that’s made for couch jams, late‑night noodling, and throwing in a backpack on your way to a gig.
If you’ve ever wanted classic Rhodes, Wurli, and CP‑style tones without dragging a giant keyboard around, this little thing is dangerously addictive.
Design: Small Body, Big Attitude
The first thing you notice is just how tiny it is. It’s light enough to grab with one hand, but it feels solid, not like a plastic toy. The 37 “mini” keys actually have a nice, springy feel, so you can dig in and play with dynamics instead of just plinking away.
The front panel looks like a shrunken vintage combo piano: knobs, sliders, and switches everywhere, zero menu diving. Twist a knob, hear a change. It’s the kind of board you can understand in one coffee break and then happily get lost on for hours.
Built‑in speakers plus battery power mean you can literally play this on the couch, in bed, in the backyard, or in a hotel room without hunting for an outlet or an amp.
Sounds: Vintage Soul in a Lunchbox
This is where the Reface CP really shows off. You get a handful of classic flavors: Rhodes‑style electric pianos, Wurli‑type grit, a CP‑inspired electric grand, a funky clav, and a cheeky toy piano. There’s also a hidden acoustic piano if you know the right button combo, like an Easter egg for keyboard nerds.
The fun part is how alive the sounds feel. Play softly and you get gentle bells and chime; lean into the keys and they bark and growl back at you. It feels more like an instrument and less like “just another preset keyboard.”
Then you add the effects and it’s game over:
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Drive for extra dirt and crunch
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Tremolo or wah for that classic wobble
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Chorus or phaser for wide, gooey ‘70s textures
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Delay and reverb so you can swim in ambience
It’s basically a built‑in pedalboard for your vintage keys.
Ports, Power, and Real‑World Use
Round the back, the Reface CP gives you what you need to actually use it in the wild: stereo outs for your interface or PA, headphone out for quiet practice, aux in if you want to run another device through it, plus USB and MIDI so it can be part of a bigger rig.
You can:
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Use it as a grab‑and‑go gig keyboard
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Park it on top of your 88‑key board as a dedicated EP module
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Plug it into your DAW as both a sound source and a compact MIDI controller
And since it runs on batteries and fits in a backpack, it’s perfect for plane rides, hotel rooms, or any spot where inspiration hits and there’s no space for a full‑size piano.
What People Think
Owners talk about the Reface CP with a kind of “I didn’t expect to love this thing so much” energy. The common theme:
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The sounds are way better than they look for such a small keyboard.
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The effects are actually musical and inspiring, not just tacked on.
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It’s the keyboard you keep nearby because it’s fun, not because you have to.
The main downside people mention is obvious: mini keys and a limited range. If you’re used to a full‑size piano, you’ll occasionally wish for another octave or two. But most players end up forgiving that the moment they remember they can literally toss it in a backpack and go.
Should You Care About the Reface CP?
If you love vintage electric pianos, like to jam wherever you are, or want a tiny keyboard that somehow makes you play more, the Reface CP 37 mini is kind of a no‑brainer. It’s not trying to be a full workstation. It’s trying to be that one fun, great‑sounding instrument you actually use every day.
And on that front, it absolutely nails it.