MODX piano sounds

[Marillo]

This board does a lot of great things but oddly for Yamaha, piano isn't one of them. The CFX sample seems severely downgraded from the P515 which I also own (granted. this is a dedicated piano) and I despite endless twiddling I can't get anything that doesn't sound pretty boxy and lacking in sparkle. I've tried the various iterations of Rock Piano etc but these are also pretty thin, especially in a live mix.

 

Anyone else experienced this and got any tips on fixing it? I sold a Nord Electro 5D to get the MODX and while i have no regrets I do really miss those Bright and Silver Grands which seemed to have such a full, present sound.

[zephonic]

That"s not my experience. I mostly use the Imperial Grand, but I find the CFX perfectly serviceable. What amplification do you use?

[Marillo]

Generally house PA and Yammy DXR10 for monitoring (overkill I know). The Pop/Rock Imperial Grand does have more bite, but again not the clarity of the Nords for me.

[FJR]

Generally house PA and Yammy DXR10 for monitoring (overkill I know). The Pop/Rock Imperial Grand does have more bite, but again not the clarity of the Nords for me.

 

I agree with this. I liked the Nord better, for live. The Yamaha sounds good at home in the headphones, but generally falls short in live PA use (my opinion).

 

I also prefer the imperial, but I don't want to fill the memory up with too many large samples. Also, the better sounds keep me from using the smooth sound switching, due to their multi part use (when used with additional split/layered sounds).

 

 

[Justin Havu]

I like the CFX myself. I use the Concert Grand preset and tweak the EQ a bit, but even then, out of the box I find it quite playable myself.

[EscapeRocks]

I use mostly the Bosendorfer pianos in my gigs on the MODX.

 

They sound great to me at the venues we play. I do take the time to really dig into them and adjust things, especially eq, depending on the song.

 

for the ballads I use the Imperial Grand. For all others, the pop/rock imperial is my starting point, and I adjust as necessary.

I have the MODX6, so all the piano parts are played from my PX5S that I am using strictly as an 88 note controller. I get great nuance and playability out of the MODX pianos this way. Funny thing, I don't like the MODX8 keys. Not sure what it is, but I just don't connect. All subjective, of course.

 

I have found that going deep into the insertion effects with the MODX pianos can really make a difference as well.

[brenner13]

I'm still a newbie with the MODX, but have just found the pianos much more pleasing to play controlling them via MIDI from the Numa Compact2. It is weird though that Organ and Synth Leads feel much better (faster?) on the MODX7's keybed. I've heavily tweaked the tone and timbre of the CFX and have scenes saved layering several different pads, strings and hornz. Still constantly adjusting things...I've only had the thing for three weeks. Just recently downloaded the Bosendorfer; really like it, but haven't worked it into the Live Sets yet.

note: I played organ and synth keys for nearly 30 years before attempting weighted keys again on my Kawai ES100. Gave up after a year of trying to relearn weighted playing and experiencing some pain. I play very fast with lots of trills and often utilize a machine gun technique during solos. It's just easier for me to accept my limitation and enjoy what I can do with non-hammer keys.

[MotiDave]

I'm still a newbie with the MODX, but have just found the pianos much more pleasing to play controlling them via MIDI from the Numa Compact2. It is weird though that Organ and Synth Leads feel much better (faster?) on the MODX7's keybed.

note: I played organ and synth keys for nearly 30 years before attempting weighted keys again on my Kawai ES100. Gave up after a year of trying to relearn weighted playing and experiencing some pain. I play very fast with lots of trills and often utilize the machine gun technique during solos. It just easier for me to accept my limitation and enjoy what I can do with non-hammer keys.

 

I haven"t played weighted keys since I was a kid at the piano. I"m like you, weighted boards for me are like running in mud. More thought, work, effort to just try to get there. I accept I play with less nuance on semi/unweighted.

[JohnH]

Without restarting the whole mono stereo house debate.. For that piano to sound good, you need to monitor this in stereo for your monitors . So get another DXR and place one on the left and one on the right.

[Stokely]

I'm going over to the dark side (stereo!) if I can swing it, we just got a new mixer that will let me get a stereo monitor send back, I'm REALLY looking forward to that.

 

I mention this because I'm less than pleased with either my Nord electro and my new Modx pianos in mono, at least when monitoring at gigs in my ears. My older Kurzweil pc3 pianos sound better to me...and that should not be the case. Part of it I think is that I'm not used to the bigger/better samples having a bit more room ambience than the ol Kurzweil triple strike....but I think it might very well be a mono/stereo thing too.

 

What I don't understand is that both the Nord and the Modx pianos sound detuned during gigs. They sound just a bit that way to me at home, but at gigs it is worse. Doesn't make much sense but it throws me off. Hopefully with more clear (and maybe stereo) monitors this will clear up. Also strange is that I've heard recordings of the Nord from out front and that honkiness isn't there, it sounds fine...so it's something in my monitoring playing a part.