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Aidan

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    An interesting artist

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I came across this guy while looking at Eurorack videos on YouTube. Colin Benders is Dutch and that's apparently his real name. Very appropriate for a synth freak, although he is also an accomplished trumpet and flugelhorn player and has also released material under the monicker Kyteman. Anyway, thought some of you might dig at least one of these...

     

     

     

    Casio piano action

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

     

    And Aidan, are you referring to yourself as a grumpy old man, or applying that comment to the preceding post?

     

    Also, if the guy you think is up his own arse, James Pavel, or someone else that maybe the "he" refers to earlier?

    .

     

    Sorry Mark, yes me the grumpy git and our young YT pianist friend the victim of head in rectal insertion syndrome.

     

    Casio piano action

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I note that in his second video, he admits he is deleting critical comments because they are 'spreading misinformation', i.e. disagreeing with him. That seems a very unhealthy state of affairs to me. I posted the comment below on that, but I'm not sure whether that will see daylight. A fellow KCer informed me he couldn't see the comment even though I could, so maybe it was in pre-moderation and will eventually bite the dust like the others. However, this is the gist of my observations...

     

    I am a classically trained, professional pianist (though no longer of conservatoire standard, for sure). My degree is in music. I am also a PX-S1000 owner. Before I am accused of being a fanboy, let me say I'm not going to pretend it's perfect (the mid range of the sample bothers me more than the action ever has, to be honest). However, for a £450 piano, you're getting a lot for your money.

     

    For pianists of a certain standard and above, ALL digital pianos (and upright acoustics, truthfully) are a compromise. Beside possibly the Kawai MP11SE (which weighs 34kg), I can't think of a DP I'd want to play high end classical repertoire on.

     

    Secondly, black keys tend to be lighter than white ones because there is less material in a black key â they are physically smaller, as they are narrower and don't extend to the full depth of the keybed. This can be equalised in grand piano mechanisms with various adjustments (and denser material, i.e. ebony). But you're realistically not going to achieve this in a cheap to mid-range digital instrument, where basically the entire mechanism is plastic.

     

    Furthermore, adding more weight to the black keys, much of whose area is closer to the common pivot point, can actually make it more difficult to depress the key towards the back of its length. I'm sure this is a problem many of you have come across yourselves in keybeds â I know I have! This was a common complaint I believe Casio were aware of during the design process and the weighting of the black keys was probably chosen with that in mind, particularly given that the depth of the instrument itself means the pivot point is closer to the key ends than in some other DPs. As I say, there are compromises at work here. But c'mon, it's a £450 electronic piano! Would I play Chopin Etudes on this? Not really. Is it a modestly-priced, nice feeling instrument that is a joy to haul to gigs due to its very low weight? Definitely, in my opinion.

     

    As I say, I don't count myself as the best pianist in the world but I am able to play with accuracy and nuance on this keyboard, despite its compromises.

     

    I ended by suggesting to James that he reach out personally to Casio on this. I have never found their levels of service and responsiveness to customer feedback to be anything other than exceptional, and what I really do dislike about some of the comments James chose to leave visible here is the inference that Casio is trying to be deceptive or dishonest about one of their instruments, an inference I believe is wholly unfair. In short, it was the typical music snob Casio-bashing. In my opinion, the company deserves far more respect than it generally gets from the musical community.

    Casio Privia PX-S1000 ($600) and S3000 ($800)

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    You don't need to plug a cable into the headphone jack. Function + F7 will turn the internal speakers on and off, at least on the 1000.

     

    As for the Kawai ES110, I really like Kawai's piano samples (I'm actively considering an MP11SE) but that one is an absolute miss for me, it's far too bright and thin on every YouTube video I can find of it.

    Casio Privia PX-S1000 ($600) and S3000 ($800)

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    To those of you who have gigged a 1000/3000, what stand do you use?

     

    I asked Mike Martin what stand he would recommend (I have several K&M 18950s but they seem like overkill in terms of depth) and he specifically mentioned this one:

     

    Ultimate Support JamStands JS-MPS1

     

    I'm having difficulty sourcing one here in the UK, though there are a couple of others which look similar and appear to have roughly the same dimensions, branded as Stagg and Neewer respectively. This side of the pond, Andertons carry the JS-MPS1C, which looks pretty much the same but with a more 'closed in' top.

    Casio Privia PX-S1000 ($600) and S3000 ($800)

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Did you find, like I have, that the MODX8 is the best feeling GHS action Yamaha currently has? I found it felt very different from a P series or even the CP-40 (which I dont like very much at all for acoustic piano).

     

    Yes, definitely. I was worried it would be quite spinet-ish like the MOX8F, which I tried and didn't like at all. The much improved sample set probably helps a great deal too, though.

    Casio Privia PX-S1000 ($600) and S3000 ($800)

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Disclaimer, I haven't tried it - but I believe the "assignable / expression" pedal input can be assigned to SUSTAIN. This means that a continuous pedal from another manufacturer could potentially be used for half pedaling.

    I've tried it with an expression pedal and it works! But its quite odd to use an expression pedal rather than a more standard style sustain pedal - takes some getting used to.

     

    But sustain pedals like Yamaha's FC3 (which comes with the CP series) are essentially a continuous controller, so I'm guessing this is what Mike was getting at? That said, I'm using the Casio triple pedal unit and haven't noticed anything too horrible going on.

    Casio Privia PX-S1000 ($600) and S3000 ($800)

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Would you have considered the S3000 instead to see if there are more serviceable sounds beyond the main acoustic piano sample set? Or was weight, price and the piano sound what the doctor ordered?

     

    I don't think there's any difference in weight between the two models, or if there is it's trivial. No, I just needed an instrument for solo piano jobs, whether cocktail stuff, accompanying a choir etc. Anything which takes me beyond that, and I already have the MODX8, which is more flexible anyway. Also I liked the slightly cleaner stylings of the 1000, and I saved a couple of hundred pounds in the process.

    Casio Privia PX-S1000 ($600) and S3000 ($800)

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    My S1000 arrived today. I also have the three pedal unit (top tip: I find the cheapo sustain pedal that Casio ships with the piano makes an excellent rotor speed switch for your organ). Overall, I'm very impressed. Here are some bullet points:

     

    * The build quality and finish is really nice, even though it's basically shiny black plastic.

     

    * The music stand, for those of us who occasionally use one, is a big improvement.

     

    * The keybed is outstanding almost at any price, and certainly at this one. It feels wonderful under the hands and the keys have a crisp, assured bounce-back. If you had any doubts about the pivot point regarding the length of the keys, forget them. I specifically improvised for a while in flat keys to test this and even in Gb, no issues for me even towards the fallboard end. I would add, however, that I'm classically trained and play with hands well raised and curved fingers. If you're perhaps self-taught and use a flatter finger technique, I could _perhaps_ imagine this might be a _slight_ issue.

     

    * Though the piano sample is substantially improved on the PX-5S, you do still have that slight 'plinkiness' in the mid-range. However, I found this could be somewhat improved by turning on the 'surround sound' feature. This could well be just a positioning/monitoring issue, to be honest.

     

    * Perhaps of slightly more concern is that the decay of notes, particularly in the lower half, seems rather artificially long and too slow to drop off in volume.

     

    * I can't see myself using any of the other tones on the S1000 other than in a pinch, but the piano is what I bought it for.

     

    * The built-in speakers are fine for background cocktail piano in a small to medium-size room, though adding an external speaker naturally makes for a more enjoyable experience. If you're doing this, I would recommend a speaker which has some built-in EQ controls. My K10 is a bit bassy and I could really do with rolling some of that stuff off. Fortunately, Casio seem to have learned their lesson from the PX-150 I had back in the day, in that you can add and blend in an extra speaker without any shenanigans.

     

    * The SP-34 triple pedal unit is a must have. The pedals are shorter than you might expect and a little close together (if you have clodhopper feet like mine), but all work as you'd expect and this is a must-buy, in my opinion. The good news is that it's not too heavy to not take along all the time, and the generous amount of rubber on the bottom does a good job of stopping it from moving around.

     

    * I'm still waiting for the Casio carry case to be delivered, so will add my thoughts on that later.

     

    * As a gigging proposition for a travelling solo pianist, this is immense. 11kg, great action and a good tone that will more than pass muster I wouldn't hesitate. If you need anything else, I'd check out the S3000.

     

    Nord Grand with Kawai Action

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    First thought: Too heavy for me to gig with. Anything north of 18kg these days, I just won't deal with. My MODX8 does 80% of what I need these days at 13kg and for anything more serious pianistically, I still have the CP4.

     

    Second thought: This could be an attractive choice for permanent installation into a home studio if you couldn't afford or have room for a decent piano.

     

    Third thought: But if it wasn't going anywhere, you could get a better action and save a whole bunch of money by just buying an MP11SE.

    Yamaha CP88 and 73 - Deserve their own thread

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    So far, I'm not really seeing anything that would make me abandon my CP4. There doesn't appear to be a huge step up with the sounds, there is no real progress on organ sounds, it's a kilo heavier and early pricing in the UK suggests it's around 400UKP more expensive than its predecessor. For more complex sound set-ups, I already have the MODX8.

    Yamaha MODX

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Maybe someone can help me? - MODX 7-- Im trying to save a live set and can't save the octive setting at the same time? octive stays on all live sets. any ideas?

    THANKS!

     

    If you're talking about the buttons on the far left transposing up and down octaves, I don't believe they can be saved within a performance it's a global, live setting. You can still save the note transpose (up to two octaves up or down) within an individual part of a performance.

    Yamaha MODX

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    First gig with it tonight, mostly trio with LH bass and new monitoring system (via Rolls PM351). Very happy so far. My brass layer choices are a bit bright and artificial at PA volumes but otherwise pretty happy with my initial programming. I'm thinking I'm still gonna have to go with the Electro or Hammond on top to take care of organ sounds. Fortunately, either can be mixed in through the A/D inputs of the MODX.
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