tnelson

Yes, thanks, I came to the same conclusion. I just was hoping to use the pedal I already have.

Sorry if I got that wrong and half-pedaling and continuous pedaling are meant to describe the same thing in digital keyboards. Do all digital pianos with half-pedaling implement a continuous change in sound, and not a discrete intermediate step? I understand that the pedal controller outputs a continuous range of values, but does the sound output also respond continuously from damped to undamped? About the Casio triple pedal, yes it does engage half-pedaling, but it seems to be the only practical way to do it. Other 1- pedal and 3-pedal continuous/half-damper units seem not to work, unless you include rocking-style expression pedals. I don't really need a 3-pedal unit, just a single damper pedal that works continuously. Perhaps one of our forum colleagues will discover one that works.

The Fatar VP3-D pedal, which has a continuous potentiometer damper pedal, and a plug called Exp type 2 in the Casio manual, does not seem to work for half-pedaling in the S3000 Expression Jack. I assigned Sustain to the jack and went through the calibration routine according to the manual.

Thanks, Mike and PianoManChuck....I'll try this. When I looked at programming the expression pedal jack, it looked like I could only program on/off sustain and not half-pedaling, but I'll be happy if I was wrong.

I'm a jazz pianist. I got the S3000 to lighten my load for rehearsals, and it's turned out to be good enough that it's coming to my next gig. For the last 3-4 years I have been using Pianoteq, usually into the Spacestation v3 amp for gigs. I needed to make an EQ preset to calibrate the speakers (flatten the output of the SSV3 with pink noise) to enable it to project AP in an accurate-sounding way, at least to my ears. By happy coincidence (?) the S3000 seems to pair unusually well with my SSV3, and its AP sounds great. I'll add just a few comments and tips to the above, related to AP only: Pianos: The first 3 pianos (001-003 Grand Piano Concert) seem to be samples from a distant mic perspective, similar to that used for recording classical piano. I found them nice through headphones, but murky through speakers into a room, even with reverb off. The 004 Stage Piano is a close-mic version that works best for me through speakers. Clear and close-miced, like most piano in a jazz group. Knobs: I set the Knob Set to Brilliance/Reverb, so I can control Brilliance with Knob 1 and Reverb Send with Knob 2. I set Reverb to Room 2 (I think another poster suggested this too), but I roll off the reverb entirely when playing through SSV3. I also found, in 2 different rehearsal rooms, that rolling off Brilliance is the only EQ I need to make the SSV3 to sound "right" for the room. In fact, it really surprised me how well the S3000 paired with the SSV3, without my EQ calibration preset. So far, the Brilliance control is all I've needed to fit the sound to a particular room. Pedals: This was a disappointment. I'm used to Pianoteq, along with one of the Fatar triple pedals, which enables the continuous damper pedaling you get with a real piano. It seems like it would have been possible to enable continuous or half-pedaling in the Casio with already available hardware, but Casio chose to go with their proprietary unit that only enables half-pedaling. The use of a typical on/off switch sustain pedal on this Casio cause a pretty abrupt cut-off in sound, as the damper pedal is lifted, IMO. It will be pretty apparent if you play solo. I know it's a relatively inexpensive keyboard, but given all the bells and whistles included, you'd think this basic pianist's tool would be implemented. As others have commented, the keyboard action is really good, quite an engineering feat in this form factor. It feels reassuringly solid and even. Note repetition is natural and as fast as you can play. It just feels good to play this keyboard as a piano. If you're a pianist looking for a lightweight keyboard that lets you play and sound like a pianist, definitely check it out.

The user manual for the S3000 specifies using alkaline AA's for battery power, but does not mention rechargeables. Perhaps our friend Mike Martin can clarify: Would the different voltage or discharge curve of rechargeable AA's cause problems? For example, would the rechargeables trigger an earlier shut down of the S3000, compared to alkalines, as their power is depleted somewhat differently?

Check out Hank Jones' album Rockin' in Rhythm (1977). Straight ahead jazz trio studio session, in which he alternates tunes with Rhodes and piano. To me, it doesn't get better than this for showing off the beauty of a clean suitcase Rhodes sound for jazz. This Rhodes is set up so well that Hank seems to be able to translate his piano style to the Rhodes without thinning it out too much. For more jazz piano concept on Rhodes, Clare Fischer albums often feature him on Rhodes, including his 1982 album Starbright, a duo with Gary Foster on alto and flute.

There may be advantages to swapping speakers in your SSv3. However, if your goal is purely to eliminate the coloration you hear with AP, and your rig already includes a laptop, you should be able to calibrate your SSv3 with EQ to do this, as I described a few pages back. A replacement speaker with different characteristics may just introduce a new spectrum of coloration.

To enhance the accuracy of AP through my SSv3, I've been attempting to neutralize its output with EQ, using pink noise and FFT analysis, similar to calibrating stereo speakers or a house PA system. My MOTU interface and associated CueMix FX software allows me to generate pink noise through the SSv3, capture the output through a microphone, display it in an FFT plot and adjust EQ in real time to flatten any peaks and valleys. So far, I've removed peaks centered at 395 Hz and 1.25 kHz, and raised dips at 2.55 kHz and 2.9 kHz, to produce audio output that is more representative of the input. When I apply this EQ, my Pianoteq AP has sounded better in two rooms so far, without further adjustment. The particular frequencies I found probably apply only to my SSv3 and system. I don't know how much compensation is for the SSv3 vs for the room, but the result has been better AP sound. I mostly want to share this calibration approach, as an alternative to upgrading speakers or adding a separate high-end powered monitor. Perhaps others of you have found particular EQ adjustments that neutralize the SSv3 audio output? Perhaps we can pool our findings and come up with a baseline EQ plan that will make more of us happy playing AP through the SSv3. I'm sure Aspen has already done the bulk of the calibration in his design, but if we can remove the last bits of coloration, AP will sound so much more authentic.

Not an instrument or widget, but the perfect gig bag for my stuff: http://phitz.com/products/stage-duffle-original-fabric-ph12988sdf-black Very well-made, well organized features for cables, pedals, wall warts, tools, laptop, interface, lamp, etc., and way less expensive than I've seen for anything comparable. Just enough padding. Heavy-duty zippers, good stitching....Exterior loops so you can attach a folded music stand or other gear to the outside of the bag. Phitz says they have keyboard bags in design phase...probably worth keeping aware.

I don't hear self-noise from my SSv3 unit, but perhaps I'm not listening in as silent an environment. There is probably some low-level hiss, but not significant in my environments. If you have issues with Pianoteq (laptop) but not with Nord (hardware) pianos, you need to adjust your Pianoteq signal path. How are you sending the Pianoteq signal to the SSv3?

I also use the SSv3 for Pianoteq in small acoustic jazz settings. I can offer a couple of suggestions for optimizing the acoustic piano sound: 1. Lower the input to the SSv3. I found that the tonal balance was odd and AP sounded "wrong" if the volume/gain was set too low on my SSv3 unit. Just changing my input from +4 dBU (pro level) to -10 dBV (consumer level) at my audio interface and upping the SSv3 setting enhanced the piano sound, including the elimination of some resonances. Aspen has described that they designed the SSv3 to handle a range of inputs and impedances and that some experimentation would be needed to find the best settings for your particular gear. This made the difference for my gear. 2. In Pianoteq, I turn off any reverb and delay effects and rely on natural room reverb. There is enough stereo content in the Pianoteq piano models to generate a realistic spatial effect from the SSv3. 3. In each new room, experiment at least with the EQ presets inside Pianoteq. I've found I can often quickly optimize my AP sound without any further tweaks than this. These suggestions probably aren't useful if you intend to use the SSv3 as PA for all of your instruments, but if the SSv3 is dedicated to the piano only, I've found them to really help.

Hi hardware, Do you mean that you run your piano sound to the house through the QSC speakers and use the SSv3 as a stage monitor? I'm one of the many here seeking to optimize acoustic piano sounds (Pianoteq) both on stage and out there. Agree that nothing beats Pianoteq pianos through headphones and IEMs. It's virtual reality on a great piano once your keyboard velocity is accurately mapped inside Pianoteq.

I like Drumgenius running in the background when trying to compose tunes. It creates a rhythmic vibe that makes me want to join in and create something. This app seems to be popular among some of the jazz guys I know around NYC. I studied with Harold Danko for several years back in the 90's---he's a wonderful musician/composer and an inspiring teacher---and had to nod my head when I discovered he's first on the Drumgenius endorsement list.

Yes, it's easier to find both the IOS and the Android versions through the links at the home website www.projazzlab.com. The site also has some nice transcriptions and jazz theory info as free downloads.

Thanks Mike and Linda for the welcome! I have a tip to share: check out the Drumgenius app as a practice tool (http://www.projazzlab.com). The drum loops are awesome, like playing with Elvin Jones or Billy Higgins. Not your usual sterile band-in-a-box play-along, but very hip and swinging. The Latin and pop drum loops are great also. Get the entire set...it's a bargain. Tim ------- No left turn unstoned.

Hi fellow musicians, I have been silently enjoying many informative threads here, and would like to speak up and introduce myself. I've been playing piano since age 6...that's 57 years :~). I stayed with classical piano training and recitals through college, but starting in high school (the late 1960's in the San Francisco area) I was also playing guitar in rock bands and creating my own music. During graduate school and postdoctoral studies, I discovered the world of jazz and improvisation, and that's been my musical passion ever since. I recently semi-retired and returned to Northern CA, after 30 years as a biology researcher and faculty member at a big university in CT (yes, that one). I am really happy I can devote more time to music now. I'm rehearsing now with a quintet made up mostly of geezers like me, but man, these guys can play, so we're having a blast! The Northeast of the US has a high density of good musicians, playing opportunities, and used keyboard instruments. On my humble gigs in CT, when a piano was unavailable or unplayable, I initially hauled around a Rhodes plus an amp or small PA, and later downsized to a Wurli plus a powered monitor. I went with these EPs because digital stage pianos never felt or sounded right to me...and because those EPs are fun to play! Unfortunately, hauling heavy gear like a Rhodes or Wurli plus amps is not the best thing for your hands just before playing, as I'm sure all of you know. As you get older, it's easier to damage your hands or your back. That gear stayed in CT and only my acoustic piano (Baldwin SF-10) made the trip to The Promised Land, I mean California, with us. For playing out, I am now happy with a light Casio keyboard, Pianoteq, and that cool little SSv3 amp that I discovered through this forum. Man, I wish I'd had this portable set-up 20 years ago! This forum also got me interested in other virtual instruments. I'm having fun exploring and tweaking the APs and EPs in Pianoteq and MainStage. Pianoteq in particular makes my inexpensive Casio keyboard feel and sound like a "real" piano, at least to my hands and ears, and plenty satisfying as a portable substitute. You guys are probably used to the advances in this playable technology, but it blows my mind. I love being able to have not just one Rhodes or Wurli, but as many different ones as I care to tweak into existence, and trivial to click from one to another. Anyway, thanks to everyone here for sharing your experiences, suggestions, encouragements and ideas. You are helpful, inspiring and fun! Tim