zephonic

https://www.steinberg.net/vst-instruments/halion/new-features/ Best news: no more dongle!

https://www.nordstage4.com/ https://www.nordkeyboards.com/products/nord-stage-4 Probably just me, but drawbars look weird on an 88... Teaser music very "Anomalie"...

I get your point, but when I look at all the amazing youngsters on youtube, my impression is that music is better than ever, and talent has more avenues available to find its audience. I understand people lament about the million dollar record budgets of yore, but maybe that was an anomaly, not the norm? Miles Davis says as much in his autobiography. Jazz records were cut in one or maybe a few days and sold 50-60K copies. Then the rock thing happened and a whole industry evolved around it. Maybe now we are just back to the way things used to be.

Not entirely OT, as they have quite a few VI’s and have made them available as a bundle for $349. Anybody here tried their instruments? Are they any good? https://www.uaudio.com/uad-plugins/native-bundles.html

What a drag, sorry, Dave.

And in LA there’s way more single family homes that actually have yards and garages. NYC is a lot more apartment buildings etc.

How do you like it so far? Anybody else got one or played one? @vonnor?

I think she was being facetious. Supposedly she is in a relationship with conductor Klaus Mäkelä.

We had a thread about her many years ago when the "Flight of the Bumblebee" vid dropped. I tried to find it but apparently older posts didn't survive the migration to the new system. But that video is still on Youtube: Aw snap, that was 14 years ago!

There's one for sale in the GC Lawndale, CA

I played GrandStage for a year plus at this church. It's good, but I wouldn't buy one.

You know, I concur when it comes to grands, but for uprights I tend to like the Yamahas a little better. But the differences between individual pianos are often greater than any brand family resemblance, especially used.

Yes, you get used to the spread and traffic, but it still sucks. Checking out two private sales on Sunday, now that I've started looking at craigslist, FB marketplace etc. I'm learning that dealer prices are seriously inflated. The only guy who has been upfront and reasonable with his prices so far is Pierre. What would a reasonable price for a recent Kawai RX1 be? 2010's I think. I saw one but it's out of state and I wonder if it's worth the drive/flight to go check it out.

On a serious note, the last really good piano I practiced on regularly was a Yamaha C5 at Coast Music around seven or eight years ago. Didn't love the sound, but the action was unforgiving, it would really let you know when you were trying to fib or cut corners. Not the most fun to play, but practicing on that thing really helped me focus on proper technique and execution. A lot of the stuff I've played over the last two weeks is easy, but lazy. Guess I need to decide if I just wanna have an instrument to enjoy or one that makes me work harder. Or find the one that does both for a price I can afford lol

Oh wow, a FREE Steinway Baby Grand: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1051000932345749/?referralSurface=messenger_lightspeed_banner&referralCode=messenger_banner All I have to is call his uncle and he'll tell me how to get it. The same instrument was listed at the same time in Irving, TX as well, so I really lucked out here!

That’s what I mean, Boston is an unfamiliar brand to me, need to learn more about it.

Another thing that has me confounded is the lack of transparency regarding new piano prices. And many dealers seem reluctant to give you a straight answer. Electronic instruments market seems to be much more regulated, in that regard.

Thanks, Jim. But is that notion of a new piano brightening up after a few months of regular use due to compressing hammer felts a correct one? Or merely a sales pitch? I remember from my few months at the Piano Tech school, the instructor told us that sometimes they'd actually use hair spray to harden the hammers!

Another thing to consider with a new upright would be burn in. I find Kawai uprights a bit too dark, but the rep asserted that after a few months of playing the hammers compress and the sound will brighten up. I wonder how much though? I don't like overly bright pianos, but I do want enough of a change in tone when hitting fortissimo.

In the old country I had a Petrof upright for many years, hated that thing. I see a lot of Mason Hamlins at the stores, the other brands not so much.

I have both Logic and Cubase, and use them 20/80. I’m making an effort to get more into Logic because it just feels beefier, but I’m a longtime Cubase user and it’s like second nature to me. That messes me up in Logic regularly, as muscle memory will use a certain Cubase key command and something disappears in the project. I was also gonna cop StudioOne, but put that on the back burner waiting to see what Fender is gonna do with it.

So after overpaying for a dud of a rental for six+ years, I finally returned it and am now on the hunt for a good upright or baby grand (<5'5). I realize how little I know about the US piano market, a bunch of brands I have never even heard of. To further confuse matters, there's dozens of brands with German names, but actually made in Asia. When I grew up in Holland there were the big three (Steinway, Bösendorfer, Bechstein), assorted mid-tier German, East-European and French manufacturers, two Japanese brands and a Korean upstart. I've been visiting piano stores in the area, but so far nothing stood out to me in my price range (<$10K out the door). Played a very nicely reconditioned Kawai KG-1E from 1989/1990 but that one was more expensive at 13K. I did like a new K-500 upright I played, but another K-500 in a different store was a bit meh. Funny how things can differ like that, I always thought Japanese brands were known for their consistency. I'd be happy to hear any advice (or possible deals in the LA area) anyone would care to offer. Thanks.

That’d be fun, yes!

I don't take much stock in the 1000+W claims of several powered speaker manufacturers. I have a "1000W" QSC CP8 that is nowhere near as loud as a 25W Mesa Boogie guitar amp or my late 200W Behringer 208D. Power figures do not equal loudness, creative math for marketing is what it is. I like this design, good fit for my monitoring needs. Loud enough? Will need to test drive. edit: No XLR line out, bummer.

I have known of Blüthner as a venerable acoustic piano manufacturer, they are fairly well-known in the old country. But I had no idea they make a digital piano, very curious if this is any good or simply repackaging technology from other vendors. https://www.eklavier.com/en/models/pro88-ex