tnelson

The artist's putty tip is brilliant! I've used strips of spongy grippy shelf paper for the same purpose, but the putty sounds like the winner....

What they demonstrated is just a proof-of-concept module, not a product.

This isn't a Wurli reproduction keyboard, but Wurlitzer aficionados might be interested to follow the development of the electro-acoustic reed module by the Korg Berlin group, introduced at Superbooth 2023. Lots of interviews and demos on YT (search Korg Berlin). Instead of exciting by keyboard hammer strikes, reeds are "struck" by electromagnet, and output picked up by charged plate, as in original Wurli. It's intended as an electro-acoustical source for further synthesis. Reed vibration can be modified, sustained, etc., by electromagnetic field. At its heart, though, it seems pretty much the Wurli concept for sound generation.

They say the action will be user-adjustable, from upright piano (lighter) to grand piano (heavier) feel. Not just through adjusting the MIDI keyboard velocity map (which also can be done), but by physically changing the action through adjustment to the weights and magnets.

Spruce full-length keys by same source as Steinway, pivot on piano pin rail, felt bushings, steel weights and magnets(!) against spring to adjust static and dynamic resistance through keystroke....This is a completely new action concept, designed with a classical pianist and grand piano rebuilder on team, aiming for real piano feel. Check out their IG page @playvidal to see more details. They are still working with prototypes, so some stuff may change. To put cost in perspective, these are crafted one-at-a-time, real piano materials, wood not plastic....yet still portable. It's a niche, but jazz pianists (classical pianists?)...watch the development of this project....

This is awesome! Midiflow plus AUM (and its fx and routing) hosting Pianoteq and VTines will give me my favorite AP and Rhodes sounds for jazz gigs, just on the phone in my pocket! Well, plus my keyboard controller and audio interface....

Thanks! Midiflow looks like what I'm seeking, and it runs on both iPhone and iPad. Yes, its last update was 2 years ago, but the same is true of the VTines-Live app. I'll give it a try! Does it add any latency that you notice playing live?

I've optimized the iOS version as much as I can, too, but it's so frustrating that I can't dial it in the way I can the full version of VTines on my laptop. I'd be happy if they (Acoustic Samples) just implemented a more capable velocity map function and provided an indication as to which preset is selected in the iOS version!

Back to VTines-Live for iOS, one of the features it lacks, compared to the full VTines for Mac and Windows, is a keyboard velocity map that can be adjusted in a detailed way. Yes, it has a Velocity Remapper under MIDI Channels, but this only allows roughly pulling a convex or concave shape, not the S-shape that works for me with full VTines. Does anyone know of an iOS keyboard MIDI velocity-mapping insert that can be used in AUM in front of AUv3 instruments like VTines-Live? I'm seeking a channel-specific remapping insert, because I am also playing channels that do not require me to remap MIDI velocity coming from my controller. Thanks for any suggestions!

Beta-testers report that iOS 16.6 fixes this bug. Not sure about date of official release, though

A feature of Pianoteq is that you can select "Monophonic" for any of their piano models and presets, and it recalculates them from a single microphone position. It does not just sum stereo or multi microphone into mono. With the Standard version of Pianoteq, you can place the single virtual microphone wherever you wish, select the type of microphone, etc. In my experience, these can sound great in the live context you describe, projecting a piano image from a single location like a real one.

My Baldwin SF10, built late 60's during a high point for Baldwin. Got mine for a song in 1992 from an estate sale, restored to sonic and visual beauty by Shawn's Piano in CT. Maintained and regulated by Chris Towne, superb piano tech in CT, rebuilt in 2013 by Shawn's team with new Abel hammers, new dampers. Moved with me to CA in 2014, and now maintained by superb Bay Area tech (and composer) Christopher Johnson. The SF10 is usually considered a poor cousin to the Steinway B. Maybe, but this Baldwin is so perfect and sweet...It's been my partner for study, exploration, home sessions and rehearsals for decades now. My best investment ever....

I'm in a jazz quartet with guys scattered around the Bay Area, about 20 or 30 minutes travel to an in-person session. However, we've been alternating those with from-home sessions on JackTrip, which is now supported by a non-profit (jacktrip.org). We each have decent home studios or practice rooms with mics, internet, etc., The recent introduction of the JackTrip Virtual Studio managed servers and their JackTrip Bridge devices (they jack your audio by Ethernet cable directly into your router) has been a game-changer for us....Uncompressed audio, minimal latency (we each get 5-10 msec roundtrip) with a fast ISP, ability to mix and pan the players across your stereo field....It's like playing together in a studio with headphones on. Also, the server time is free, at least until sometime next year. It doesn't replace in-person sessions, of course, but if you want to work out tunes or do similar nuts and bolts group work, the sound is stellar and in sync, and you have zero travel time. I play often with our sax player as a duo. He's about 30 minutes away, but we can play together on the spur of the moment in a JackTrip Virtual Studio, even if it's just for a few minutes to try out an idea. If there's a JT server in your area, check it out! Much better than the first generation of on-line live audio systems that had annoying latency and sometimes poor sound.

The monitor output is plenty for (efficient) headphones or IEMs. I have a Radial KL, and use a cable adapter to take the R & L monitor outputs to stereo mini for IEMs or headphones. I'd test the KL with a $5 adapter before you go to the expense of an additional headphone monitor. If you use IEMs, there's loads of gain to spare, and if it's headphones, it will depend on which ones. However, if it's for practice situations, I'm guessing you'll have no need for a headphone amp.

Your tech probably checked this, but small tuning shifts can occur if a reed moves forward (flat) or backwards (sharp) beneath the screw that secures it in position. Is it possible that the screw is not tight enough on that reed that is a repeat offender?

I just use scarves. Most are the right size to cover an 88-key keyboard with overlap at each end. If there's another area with knobs, wheels, etc., I use a second scarf. Easy to shake them out, roll them up, use them to dust a little....

Not sure when you downloaded Spitfire LABS, but it includes VST2, VST3, AAX and AU versions, and is designed to work in any DAW in Mac or PC. I've used it within Logic Pro and MainStage without going through anything other than loading it as AU instrument. Sorry if I misunderstand the problem you are describing, though!

For jazz quartet in small rehearsal room without an acoustic piano, I bring keyboard & stand plus ZT Lunchbox Acoustic amp (flat output, less than 10 lb). Because volume is an issue in confined space (horn and drums!), I run keyboard and ambience mic into an audio interface and mix with AUM app on my iPhone, send to IEMs, so I can hear nice clean sound at comfortable volume. I like this because it's easier to control than just wearing musician's earplugs, and I can emphasize my piano in my ears. However, these plague days, we've had success rehearsing online with JamKazam. Sometimes the internet doesn't cooperate with us, maybe because of too many competing Netflix and Zoom streams, but when it does, it can sound crystal-clear like playing in a studio with headphones on. We're all 4 within 20 miles of each other, so latency usually doesn't add up to a problem.

No in-person rehearsals for our jazz quartet. However, JamKazam is working for us for live playing together on-line. It was recently updated, and seems to be actively supported again, with user forums, etc. The developers say they are now increasing capacity, given the renewed interest. I'd given up on it previously, as too unstable and difficult to adjust all the settings. However, with the April update, it just plain worked for me and my pals, without any fuss. It's more like playing together in a recording studio, with chat mics and video view of each player, but when all is set up, it can sound as good as a recording studio, too! We are all four in the Bay Area, so our internet latencies from distance don't add up to a real problem. There's still some trouble-shooting going on with the system, so when you first log on, it currently gives you some hopeless-sounding warnings about the unsuitability of your gear. However, just ignore them and forge ahead. Basic requirement is just an Ethernet cable from your computer to your router (instead of WiFi) and an audio interface for your keyboard(s) or other gear.

My piano teacher/coach recovered from potentially career-ending stress injuries in the 1980's, thanks to instruction in the Taubman Approach. She now integrates this approach into her jazz piano teaching (and performing), so I've relearned much of my keyboard technique over the 5 years that I've studied with her. There are quite a few jazz players who have benefitted from this keyboard approach, not only classical players...Ethan Iverson in an endorser, I think. From my personal experience, it changed several things, compared to my playing of the previous 50 years or so (I'm in my 60's). First, no experience of hand/wrist/arm stress, regardless of whether a piano or keyboard has heavy, light, sluggish or uneven action. At least to me, the weight and condition (within reason) of the action become pretty much irrelevant. I can play for hours on any keyboard, without feeling stressed or tired. Second, I have more control over the tone I produce on an acoustic piano, and more control over the dynamics on any keyboard. Third, the Taubman Approach gives me a logic for deciding on efficient fingering, even on the fly during improvisation, so I can play passages more rapidly, smoothly and with better tone. Your mileage may vary, of course, but it's been a game-changer for me.

I gigged with the Lachnit in various jazz groups for a couple years, and found the Velocity Curve Edit and Dynamics knobs to be very useful in a live context. They enable you to adjust to the band and the room as you are playing, without changing your playing attack. For example, I often found it useful to shift the center of my normal playing actions into brighter timbres of the particular Pianoteq model I was playing, if there were a couple horns in the band, or to shift the center to a more mellow area if I was playing in a piano trio. Easy also to dial up the timbres during a solo in a larger group. To me at least, it sounds very different from just tweaking a brightness control, because it accesses the more natural bright timbres that you reach by playing "harder," without playing harder. It's a really nice keyboard, now part of my home studio. I have an acoustic grand with Renner action that I play most of the time, and I have no problem shifting to the Lachnit for late night silent playing on headphones.

The Lachnit is a commercial product with specs you can find on their website http://www.flkeys.at/home.html. I didn't have it modified. The knobs enable you to continuously modify the slope and curvature of the velocity map as you listen to the result. You can produce theoretically infinite number of curves that still span the full MIDI range of velocities from minimum to maximum value. Yes, it has escapement. I described it only to emphasize how completely you can change the feel of the same sound module (Pianoteq in my case) connected to the same mechanical keyboard by altering the velocity curve. For electronic keyboards that trigger virtual instruments, I suspect that this effect is far greater that differences of grams and geometry in the keyboard action. Playing our digital pianos and keyboard controllers without any sound as feedback usually feels pretty bad, doesn't it? The sound feedback is essential for us to "feel" how a keyboard plays, IMO. I think one reason that the new Casio PX-S1000 and s3000 digital pianos feel so "right" to many pianists (me included) is that they got the keyboard velocity-to-sound output (timbre and volume) just right.

I'd like to agree strongly with the point that OP stoo schultz makes about the importance of our "subjective" reactions to the feel of a keyboard action. I think a better adjective might be "psychoacoustic," because it's how our brain and muscles adjust to the sound we are producing. We pianists usually adapt pretty easily to the physical action of different pianos, but it's the sound that comes out (dull/bright, in tune/ out of tune, overall timbre, etc) that makes us adjust unconsciously to the action by playing with more or less force, or feel that the action is sluggish or fast. I play Pianoteq virtual pianos with a Lachnit keyboard controller, made by a small company in Vienna that was established by a former Bosendorfer employee. It incorporates a Fatar T40/Wood action that has been enhanced in several ways, including the replacement of the sensors with an optical system. A remarkable feature is that the keyboard includes 3 continuous knob controls that enable you to shape the velocity curve on the fly...while you are playing. By adjusting these, you can easily shift the same virtual piano into feeling sluggish or responsive, and can optimize the keyboard action to any particular acoustic or electric piano model. You can shift the entire curve into brighter timbres of a piano model if you're playing in a pop context, or reshape it to feel like an acoustic grand that requires greater force (velocity) to reach the brightest timbres. It's possible to adjust keyboard velocity curves for most other keyboards, but this usually requires going into a menu on the board or computer. Adjusting this relation of the keyboard action to the sound produced has at least as great an impact on how it feels to you as the differences in up and down static weight.

I have both an Omega stand and a folding platform stand that have plenty of room for knees, but neither are light nor proportioned for the S3000. I was imagining that the clever Casio engineers that created the S1000 and S3000 could create a light and compact stand, designed for stability and proportioned for these keyboards.

Casio has an opportunity to design a well-engineered light folding stand to match the light and slim form factor of these new keyboards. They've already designed the 3-pedal unit to be independent of the matching home furniture stand, and they've designed a nice gig bag to fit. How about a light but stable folding stand? My experience has been that X-stands are not so good for seated piano players...knees constantly bumping the stand.