Lady Gaia

Kawai has definitely been on the forefront of alternative materials, having used an ABS composite in piano actions for 40 years or more. The ABS Carbon evolution is just one more step along that path. Predictably, traditionalists have pushed back – but wood really is problematic and inconsistent so it's almost certainly a losing battle. In the meantime, though, "wood" is probably still a selling point for many purchasers. Why haven't we seen more carbon fiber and similar high-tech materials? It's almost certainly more expensive than simple plastic parts which are the go-to for making something lightweight. Sadly, the market is much more driven by the needs of the low end and a drive to compete on cost above all else. Really good actions are few and far between. Thankfully Kawai and Yamaha still see it as a market worth serving.

You can indeed edit the trigger point at which velocity is determined and a note on is triggered, but I don't believe it sends anything at all for the "initial pressure" movement when in poly aftertouch mode. So you do get to choose how sensitive the keybed is (and the same depth appears to serve for note off triggers as well), but the remainder of the sprung range above the aftertouch portion of their travel doesn't affect anything. As a result the fatiguing feeling of the keys pressing back doesn't give the immediate sensation of having any value, quite unlike the experience of playing the native EaganMatrix patches. Mind you, there have been other keybeds with a similar feel that I didn't like for the same reason, but which others seemed okay with. The Fatar TP8/Piano action in the Prophet XL, for example, doesn't appeal to me at all. YMMV. So I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoy playing the Osmose natively.

I'm not normally a fan of the "sprung" approach to simulating weighted keys but it works so very well with the EaganMatrix engine. Without it you wouldn't be able to play swells or gently fade sounds the way you can on the Osmose. It's a revelation in that regard, and it's clear they spent a lot of time trying to find the right amount of resistance so that it's not overly fatiguing. I did finally spend some time playing a few software instruments as well using the poly aftertouch mode. It didn't take long to get used to and it's quite capable in this regard – but I did immediately feel a little less connection due to the fact that notes trigger so much lower in their travel and you lose all the expressive potential of the initial pressure range. I've also started digging into the EaganMatrix editor and it's evident there's an enormous amount of potential behind the frustratingly obtuse design decisions. I'm going to put a limiter on that channel because it's far too easy to get wildly unexpected results while exploring what's possible. They warn you, but don't provide the necessary tools to make the experience comfortable. I'm still torn on whether to devote the necessary time to rethinking the editing experience and trying to sell Haken Audio on the necessary collaboration.

I sold my E-mu EMAX for an EPS in a heartbeat back when they first came out. Sure, I gave up the analog filtering I'd eventually want back when I could afford more options, but with only a single keyboard the flexibility and usability of the Ensoniq was unparalleled.

Unfortunately it looks like I won't be able to catch them on this tour, but I'm delighted to hear they're still going strong live and that you had the pleasure of talking shop. Martin's writing and instrumentation choices (as evident even in demo tracks) have always been personally inspiring.

You can reassure your wallet that, as unique an instrument as it is, it's also quite aggressively priced. I got mine night before last and haven't had as much time with it as I'd like, but the action lives up to all the hopes I had for something familiar yet incredibly nuanced and expressive. I've found myself lost in a number of presets, just experimenting with new techniques to see what's possible. I do think a few too many of them are overly processed sounding, but there's so much variety that it's easy to find something to taste – or in many cases to simply tweak with the defined macros and EQ/compression/effects to achieve something utterly usable.

Mine shipped yesterday, but it's coming to my island residence so it will take a little longer. It's scheduled to be here next Tuesday! Better yet, we may be getting close to the point in our kitchen remodel where things can be restored to some semblance of normality. My music desk has been shrouded behind plastic for months.

Delighted to see your positive report, @Phil Aiken, even if I'll admit to being a little disappointed that my day one order is shipping after your day three order has already arrived. Still, it made evident progress today in advancing to the "processing" stage this evening so I hope to have a tracking number before much longer.

Several recipients of the earliest North American deliveries have commented that it does not come with current firmware, so count on the 15-minute update as part of getting to know the instrument. I'm still waiting for my shipping notification Real Soon Now while gazing longingly at the case that arrived week before last.

You're not alone! I completed my order the last day of February and am eagerly awaiting delivery. I'm sure you're right that we'll see a whole new round of videos from early adopters and I look forward to it. One of my favorite videos was only a week ago, eschewing all the usual technical discussion and exaggerated demonstrations for a much more musically appealing demonstration from someone who had only had theirs for a few hours at the time.

I like my CP88's action better than any other piano-style digital action I've played - but after being away from my SK-7 grand for 14 months thanks to COVID, I was in for a rude awakening when I returned. The Shigeru Kawai felt feather light by comparison to a degree that was actually quite off-putting. So I'd agree with the OP's assertion that digital actions tend to be heavier. So why do I like the CP88 so much better than the RD2000, Korg Grandstage, Kurzweil Forte, and others? That's a more complicated question. I haven't done an exhaustive study, but there seem to be a lot of subtle interacting factors: In general, the more I feel like I'm overcoming inertia and the less it feels like I'm pushing against constant resistance, the better. An action like the TP-8/Piano used in Sequential's Prophet XL ranks right at the bottom for me because you're fighting a spring the whole way down (which is why I stuck with the synth action Prophet X instead.) The premium actions I've tried generally do at least an okay job here. Ideally, once a key is in motion it should tend to stay in motion until it bottoms out with a woody thunk. So materials and cushioning make a difference for me as well. This is where the Korg actions tended to disappoint the most for my taste as they seem to have a relatively soft landing. The wooden keys of the CP88 probably play a role here but it could be psychological. It shouldn't take much effort to hold keys down, which is again where the sprung actions feel so wrong as it takes a non-trivial amount of pressure to keep those keys down which gets fatiguing, fast. Once released keys should accelerate back into their upright position quickly where their motion is again arrested. The ability to retrigger a key that hasn't fully returned doubtless helps here on actions that support it like the CP88, but a slow return also interacts with the inertial feeling of a subsequent strike. I don't claim to have any real conclusions other than knowing what I like, and being surprised at how different two actions I like can be. Switching between the two is definitely disconcerting so that's a whole different consideration.

Spot on. Many music vendors were really short-sighted in not simply specifying "Apple Silicon" but tried to simplify things for their customers by referring to the M1 - and ended up making the conversation more complicated in short order for reasons that were 100% predictable. At least that's better than the ones that tried to pull the wool over our eyes by using the phrase "M1 compatible" for Intel software that ran with Rosetta translation. M2 is designed to be 100% backward compatible with M1. It's not impossible to write software that won't run on the newer chip but you'd have to make some really boneheaded decisions to get there. Likewise, it's possible to write software for M1 that would fail on M1 Pro or M1 Max but I can't think of a real-world example where it was a problem.

I find even among acoustic pianos there's little agreement about what constitutes an ideal action. I can guess at some of the factors involved (what you're used to, what type of material you play, what kind of practice regimen you use to build skills, etc.) but there's definitely room for individuality as well. I never encountered a Steinway I loved, but then I fell for a Bösendorfer Imperial Grand immediately. That instrument became my reference point for tone and action, which is unfortunate given the impracticality of owning one! The Shigeru Kawai was the closest thing I could find that was vaguely affordable - at least at the time. When evaluating piano-style controllers I kept expecting to want a similar action. Much to my surprise, the ones I've gravitated to most are quite a bit firmer. I suspect it has something to do with the action being decoupled from the tone of the instrument? In any case, it's the Yamaha actions that spoke to me most. The Fatar TP40L in my Forte is acceptable, if not exciting. I tried the Roland RD series and was dissatisfied. Every Korg I tried felt wrong. It was the Montage that first appealed, and then the CP88 that I wound up purchasing for a secondary residence. Something of a meandering story there, but I main point was that there isn't a right or a wrong. There's just you and what speaks to you personally. Take the time to try out a variety of options and you'll find the one that suits you best, at least for the time being. You might even be surprised at where the quest leads you.

Nice. It's great to hear Tim's unvarnished impressions. I'll be very curious whether others chime in with similar crashing issues or if it's something that went uniquely wrong with his firmware update. The expressiveness and sound of the instrument continue to impress. The one thing he did seem to misrepresent is the idea that "pressure glide" always gives you a note halfway between the two that are being held. This isn't the case, as was made clearer when the feature was originally introduced as "pressure weighted portamento." You'll get a note halfway between keys within the specified range only so long as the pressure applied to both keys is the same, otherwise it's a weighted average that can be used to glide back and forth over the entire range between the two. The thing he never tried in the demo was holding a note then pressing a nearby note within the specified range, where the speed at which you depress it allows you to slowly control the glide, and then releasing the original key which is what completes the glide to the target note, again at a rate determined by how fast you let off the original key.

I was very happy to see that you have control over more than just macro values from the Osmose front panel. Being able to adjust effects, sensitivity curves, and the compressor makes it possible to do a lot of fine-tuning. You just can't create anything from scratch or try your hand at fundamental alteration of existing sounds without the full editor. I do intend to roll up my sleeves and dive into the editor at some point, and I've also reached out to both Expressive E and Edmund Eagan to see if there's any interest in supporting alternative editors. I enjoy having programming projects on the side and the challenge of making Eagan Matrix more approachable would be an interesting one (if rather ambitious!)