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RandyFF

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Everything posted by RandyFF

  1. I've had my X73 for 6 months or so. No problems with the keybed. I have noticed when I went from the high desert with low humidity to a beach community in Southern CA, that for the first little while the thunking in the keybed was super noticeable and objectionable. Thankfully it cleared up by itself in a short time. I also consider the action to be noisier than I like, but given everything i do like, it doesn't hold me back from enjoying this keyboard, which I do thoroughly. I also had a situation when a key had become unseated, as in sticking up. Someone else on this thread had the same problem, and it turns out all I needed to do is push the key back down to its seated position. Perhaps lifting the key up from the portion closest to the player, out of its seat, and then back down again? Crazy, right, but if you're turning it in for repair anyway, I wouldn't be super surprised if that solved the clicking. Who knows- it didn't seem to hurt the keybed, I imagine that might be part of the assembly procedure. Broke out my Yamaha PSR EW425, a new iteration as of a few months earlier, and was reminded how much i dislike it- the quality of sounds are for the most part sub-standard, though i'm not sure how much is 'amplified' by the on-board speakers! And the action is objectionable as well. I seem to have finally developed standards around these things, the last 3 sub $500 keyboards i bought, the CASIO CT-S500 / CT-X5000 and the Yamaha PSR EW425, I found them all objectionable, the action, the sounds, the CT-S500 being the best of the bunch. The X73 isn't my favorite key action, but it's very serviceable for both EPs and Pianos, same goes for the sound quality of EPs/APs. Not sure why I launched into this, you were addressing problems with the action, so I suppose my words are a, "At least you're not dealing with cheapie keyboards that can't manage the basics!" Silly of me i know- Have to say how seriously impressed I was with Justin Lee Shultz NAMM performance! I don't get why so many people adulate Herbie and Chick, perhaps I don't know the songs they are riffing off of, but i've never felt the appeal. I really enjoyed Justin's performance (yes I too can play like that 'cause I have a Numa X Piano!), I knew the song, and could hear him coming back again and again to the melody and then doing cool stuff with it. That's closer to what I enjoy when listening to jazz, it's all about the melody/harmonies, and how inventive you can be with it!
  2. @ AnotherScott- terrific if the board is so lightweight and has a good action for piano! Sounds like they have a decent piano, wonder if it's at least 3 layers. Yes, at the price of $329, they could add even $200 more to the price and the extra features would be totally worth it with a good action. I'd say, beef up its use as a controller with some built-in sounds and I think they'd have a winner: MW/PB, Aux in, MIDI DIN, 40 b&b sounds, an ipad editor and some registration memories, etc. Ugh- 8 sounds and they use up one of the EPs on that awful DX7 EP?
  3. I've also had Yahoo mail for decades. I resisted the impulse to switch to gmail. For a short time i paid their $5/month no ads fee, mostly cause i was using YM for blogging. But after I stopped paying them I didn't notice the ads very much. A surprise-to-me benefit of paying is that they have some crazy good customer service, calls/text, that answers question re YM, but a lot of other computer questions. I suppose on different platforms the ads are more or less visible. I'm using a Win11 laptop and instead of sectioning a portion of the page off for ads, they put the ads at the top of my emails, so it's my choice to click the ad or not, which i never do of course. I don't really notice any screen real estate taken up by ads these days.
  4. I've had the Kawai ES110 and still have the ES920. I also much prefer lighter actions, and was amazed with the action on the ES110- it really is excellent. You can be so expressive so effortlessly, never felt more like flying than on the 110. That said, the ES120 and 520 have the same basic keybed. As good as the action on the 110 is I'd never buy it again. The UI is really bad, no screen, no nothin', barely any registration memories or room for recording. And the speakers are dogs compared to the ES520/920. Downward firing, nothing compared to the sweet fullness of the 520/920. So: if you want that fast flying action, be sure and get it in an ES520! I would gladly buy the 520 over my 920 because of the great action! [not that the 920 isn't good, it's actually probably preferred by most people, it more closely resembles a grand piano action]
  5. TLDR, only about half of the posts. What were they thinking? 55 pounds!!! For a stage piano that’s a non-starter for many of us. That clearly puts it in the studio board range. Is it true the first GS had only 3 engines? I love the unison slider, the key touch, tube, volume for rhythm, EQ sliders, volume for 3 parts, etc. You never know until you play a board how much it sings beneath your fingers, and it looks like Korg has stacked the deck to make that happen, esp since I’m sure the EPs they’re renowned for will be included. 25GB of sound, twice as much uncompressed! Wowzies! I’m sure the sounds on this board would knock me out. But I really don’t get why it’s not knobbier. Like the effects area, that’s a paltry showing for a stage keyboard, there needs to be at least 2 knobs for 2 parameters. And so on, it needs 1/3 again as many controls to make it mostly menu diving free. And the pictures of it! I thought it looked weird/boat-like/ungainly until I saw the pic on Korg’s website. They did an excellent job, and it looks smart in their pics- you’ve got to catch it at the right angle. And the price? At first I was kinda shocked, I was hoping for something that is not as fancy as a Kronos to come in at more like the SV-2 or RD-2000 prices, maxing out at $2,500. But I suppose my thinking hasn’t adjust to inflation, and the price is one way to distinguish a difference. Still- Am disappointed that Korg hasn’t figured out how to deliver a great keybed feel in a medium-weight package that still has a metal frame. Am all the more impressed by the Numa Piano X73, weighing in at 26 pounds, though for most people I imagine the TP110 action is not up there with the best. But how good is the RH3 action? For some damn reason many manufacturers are reluctant to change up the name of their actions, even when it’s gone thru considerable revisions. All I know is I’ve tried various Kronos and other so-called ‘RH3’ actions several years back and hardly considered them premium, they felt sluggish. And no AT??????!!!!!! What the chunk? Yeah, in conclusion, I don’t think Korg used good sense with this board. They know darn well that much above 40 pounds is a non-starter for a stage keyboard. They seem to have gotten clearly in the Yamaha territory of allowing their premium 88 note boards to go north of 50 pounds. Oh well, it was too pricey for me anyways, but it is the kind of board that is my favorite these days. As much as I like workstation capability, I get bogged down in too many possibilities, for musics sake I relate most readily to stage pianos!
  6. I’ve heard it costs upwards of $50,000 to train a service dog! I wonder if there could be some kind of certification for emotional support dogs? As many have noted, oftentimes a person can get away with claiming their dog is for emotional support. But if there was actual training/certification involved, it would be more tolerable. An emotional support dog wouldn’t need nearly the amount of training as service dogs do, but essentially would be ‘socialized’ to eliminate typical bad dog behaviors: pee/poo in appropriate places, not jumping up on people, mostly paying attention to their person, no barking, overall calm demeanor, not overly interested in other dogs, etc. I suppose, like in a restaurant for example, you could be required to show proof of this kind of training. Personally I’d be fine with dogs like that in restaurants. I love dogs, but I’m discouraged by how difficult it is to train them!!! Even breeds that are ‘smart’ and learn well. Your best bet is to get them once they’ve been weaned, and even then I believe it takes 2-3 years. There’s a documentary on Netflix, Muster Dogs, about training, mostly Kelpies, to herd cattle. I don’t think it’s a problem for the OP to simply reject applications of people with dogs. There’s all kinds of reasons why people get or don’t get a rental. It’s of course a whole can of worms if they don’t tell you and then the dogs damage your property!
  7. I'm with b3plyr here. I've read thru these forum pages twice and looked extensively online for other reviews and forums regarding this board. I also have owned the X 73 for about 6 months. If I was an ai summarizing all of what I've read, b3plyr said it well: some love it, some are unhappy, which is my general experience with most new boards that come out. The folks having problems are the first to get on a forum and air their complaints/problems. IME it's only when every 3d or 5th post talks about significant problems that you begin to wonder. I'd say for this board it's about every 10-15 posts. AND, they're extremely responsive and give quick replies to people having problems, moreso than I've ever heard of with other manufacturers. Of what I've read about the GT, the keybed problems you're talking about is 5% of what I've read, if that. Consistently I've heard over and again about what a great keyboard controller it is, well-designed interface for external sounds, and the keybed is a dream, the best out there regardless of price. As for the sounds, it depends on who you ask. Noone I've read says they're terrible, but some who have a good ear for pianos have noted that there are problems with some of the APs. The EPs get pretty consistently high marks. A few find the other sounds not quite as good as the Yamaha boards, but still very serviceable as a stage piano. Myself and quite a few others really enjoy the other sounds. The UI gets mixed reviews: it's not as knobby as the Yamahas, but I'd guesstimate that at least 80% of the reviews say how impressed they are, that the whole system is fast and very user friendly, surprised at how the important things are very easy to adjust. It's one of my favorite things about this board. And of course there's the contextualizing: at it's given price point, how does it stack up? Turns out Yamaha has provided some really solid competition. More often than not, the CP88 is the board many aspire to, and it has some compelling features like - a premium keybed that most are happy with - a quality of sound that many tout as ready to play, excellent, perhaps a step beyond the Numa - more of a Nord kind of physical 1-to-1 UI that many enjoy - 2 sets of outs - 41 pounds vs 48 for the numa GT Where it compares less favorably: - the CP73 has a keybed many don't get on with, so the real comparison point is to the CP88 at $2600 - the Numa GT has the highest reported feel I've ever seen for a stage keyboard, descriptions of 'like butter' and 'exquisite' are common. Read the user reviews on Sweetwater. - the Numa X73 keybed is highly rated as being very serviceable for both APs and EPs, and at 26 pounds with a metal casing, and a form factor that allows it to fit in a 61 note bag, that alone is enough to constitute a buying decision for many people given how many other things check out. It also helps that with the 4-in mixer it simplifies performance setup - the CP88 is $2600 Numa Gt $2000 Numa X 88/73 $1300 / $1500. For me, the CP88 and the GT are too pricey for my budget, and they both weigh more than I'm willing/able to deal with. - it plays only 3 sounds at once compared to 4 for the Numa. That's a big one in my book, esp since the external connections use up voices Another keyboard that's been mentioned is the Yamaha CK61. The CK88 has a keybed many find substandard/uninspiring, so only the CK61 is in the running here. But for those that want a super lightweight, inexpensive board, $1000, the CK checks a lot of boxes. Maybe as a top board given it's semi-weight action. And of course, all of this is are my conclusions, I speak for no one else. But your blanket conclusions seem far off the mark, and here's why I think so.
  8. Btw the Kurz pc4-7 and the Numa, they're different boards- ones a do all workstation with a semi-weighted action, the Numa is more targeted, more of a stage keyboard, with a very decent weighted action. The Yamaha CP73 is pricier, and from what I've heard, you get a better action with the Numa X 73. The Numa X 73 has many good qualities for a gigging instrument, including a steel shell that manages to weigh only 25 pounds, and so short the 73 fits in many 61 bags. The keybed is serviceable for APs and EPs, the OS is very user friendly, and having a 4 input mixer w/effects makes it very versatile for bringing in a mic, other keyboards and even a guitar. It was made to be a gigging keyboard. And it's audio USB interface, complete with a volume knob for incoming audio, makes it a slam dunk for ipad/laptop sounds. And the price point is hard to beat- I bought a used one for $900. The thing that kills me about this board is how simple it is, but you still get 4 sounds (internal or external) that you have immediate and direct control over including volume and fx, so putting together a multi is quick, easy and satisfying. Soundwise, I enjoy most of what's on offer, the EPs being their strongest, but I find the APs very satisfying as well. And the fx sound really good.
  9. Congrats, it's really an outstanding keyboard, and you got the GT, lucky you!
  10. Tom, I agree about the sound quality, overall I find it very good and at times inspiring, including the pianos. And I totally agree about the killer feature set that this board has. You missed the opening rush of people giving reviews, but there are still many of us that want to hear it. As you get to know the board more, an in-depth review would be much appreciated!
  11. Hmmmmm.... reading this thread gives me GAS for keyboards I'd never likely get! Hand me downs? The MODX were derivatives of the original Montage, so what would we likely see of the m's feature set handed down to a plastic chassis board? Going from 8 faders to 4 and a considerably lesser keybed are big hits- I wish they' give the 8 faders, plastic chassis with wheels on top, and decent keybeds, and jack the price up $500 from what the MODX was. And just how noticeable are the converters? People on this forum that have serious setups with great monitors remark often at how good the converters are, but for those of us without an optimal monitor setup, how likely are we to hear the quality difference? Of course we won't know until they come out with a MODXm
  12. Thanks for the considered reply! I didn't know the GT was quiet- what a contrast to the tp110, I've never had such a noisy action. For myself I need to be able to schleep my boards, so the GT was out of the question. But as I've read many reviews, it sounds like it could possibly be my dream keybed: quick, extremely expressive dynamics, much control even at PPP, an action you can fly on- that's the impression I get having never played one. If I could afford a stay-at-home board, this is one I'd probably get. Not sure how tuned into the action you are- some folks can get on with just about anything. My reaction when reading your review was, hold on, without a tp110 action to compare side by side you might possibly not realize how good you've got it. But when I read so many people saying it's as good or better than any other DP they've played, esp for pianos, I'm inclined to give it consideration. If you do decide to sell it and go for the non-GT Numa Pianos, I imagine that it'd sell at a good price given its stellar reputation. For myself, I barely notice the tp110. I feel inspired to play this board, have really been enjoying it, which includes of course the overall quality of sounds, but I don't notice it per se, which I suppose is a good thing, like having a pair of shoes that fit comfortably but that you stop noticing because they feel right. By contrast, my all time favorite keybed is on the Kawai ES110/120/520. Everything that describes the GT action is what I experienced with it, and I was super aware that I was flying because of the keybed, it did not go unnoticed! Thanks for your attempt to describe the problems you hear with the pianos. It's such a tricky thing, putting words to keybed actions and the sounds! 0
  13. You guys are so nice! I thought the OP was taking a piss, asking nonsense questions. This is why I like this forum so much!
  14. Hey, welcome to the forum! How do you like the USA Grand? So far that has been my go-to all rounder, sounds good to me up and down the keyboard. Please elaborate by what you mean about the attack characteristics of the pianos needing work. Apparently SL is working on including more editing parameters, so time will tell. The EPs are my favorite sounds on the board, would love to try out the Crumar EPs. Overall I'm enjoying the sounds- they're not the best I've heard, but in pretty much every category of sound I enjoy playing with the onboard sounds, haven't busted out my iPad yet. In general, I'm happier with this board than any of the handful I've had in the last 25 years. The combo of it being lightweight, fast and intuitive to create Programs, sounds I like, a keybed I enjoy, it all adds up to this being a board that feels like it was made for a player like myself. So much so that I get very 'pianistic', dramatic and expressive with it, to the point where I will probably sell this one and get the X88! I need those extra keys! Your review, esp since you've got the GT, would be much appreciated! From what I've read the keybed sounds lovely, would probably be one of those fast and easily expressive beds. I'd be very curious to know how much thunk there is from unamplified playing. I'm good/neutral on the keybed of the X 73, but the unamplified sound is noticeable, and at times, from going from one home to another, it became annoying, but within a day or so it went back to being noticeable but not objectionable.
  15. Sorry, am away from my board. iPad or laptop assist? With the USB interface built-in it's a slam dunk to use something like Neo Soul Keys on iPad to grab tasty EPs. Keep in mind that the software version of these sounds are not 100% the same as the sounds built into the board, the boards baked in sounds are more complex and use slightly different means to achieve the same sounds. AND, you can adjust the amount of fx on the software version.
  16. Can someone tell if I've encountered a bug or am just not doing it right? I'm attempting to use the Numa Manager to change the name of Programs on my Win10 laptop. Their directions on the page where you can download Numa Manager describes it as selecting LIBRARY-EDIT at the top of the page, hitting the pen symbol to the right of the name, changing the name and then OKing it. I've done all that but after hitting the Pen symbol it doesn't allow me change the name, it takes me straight to the dialog box asking me to OK or cancel the new name.
  17. Thanks. I spent some time formulating it so it was as clear as I could make it. Hard to believe how generous and quick he is with his replies! It sounds like they released the keyboard knowing they’d probably follow up with a lot of improvements they couldn’t manage right out of the gate. I can only imagine, at the price point and with all its great features, keybed and sounds, that its been a big hit for them, so I imagine this board has quite a few years of improvement life on it. I think with the Compact they were trying to see how much of a keyboard they could make for as cheap as possible, which they succeeded with and apparentlycontinue to develop? And this is more their ‘for real’ board with a metal body and upgraded everything. Many companies do a trickle down starting with their most expensive products, this seems to be the opposite, though this is pure speculation, I’m not familiar with their organs for example. I am surprised though that this board doesn’t make more accommodation for organ, it’s mostly samples with baked in vibrato etc. I’m guessing that as a company they know how many extra buttons and sliders it takes to have an organ interface, so instead they adopted what they learned from their controller boards and made it very possible to use an external sound source for organs, keeping their UI simple. I always wonder about that- how much of previous technology actually is used and makes it way into other boards? Like with Yamaha, the giant, they have separate divisions, I’ll bet a lot of good technology is never used because it came from another division. But with a small company like SL, I imagine there’s plenty of reuse. But being a lowly end user without a lot of computer background, I have little idea what it takes to make the kinds of changes that I suggested, even with re-use of previous technology.
  18. Good news from StudioLogic! I wrote: Hello- Does EP 70s use the Mark 1 sample? When I set the EP 70s Contrls to 64, it sounds exactly like the Mark 1. Same with EP Drive, that's the samples from the Mark 2 with the Zoom Controls modified a bit, right? Which led me to think about how this board is organized. Unlike many boards, there is no separate bank of Sounds that can be modified and saved. Instead any changes you make to an individual Sound becomes part of a Program, with no possibility of changing the name of the Sound to reflect the modifications you've made, and thus no easy way to find it again. Which takes us back to the bad-old-days of writing down modifications on paper. But what if... just like you did with EP 70s and EP Drive, we could, as individual users, create Sounds that we modified and then renamed and would be included in the list of Sounds we build a Program with? No idea if this would be easy or impossible on your end to implement, but it would definitely address a major shortcoming in having to start from the beginning each time with any given Sound, given that we're not able to modify, re-name and then save them. Even if the only thing you could modify were the 4 Zoom Controls, this would be very meaningful for Piano and EPs where you can create vastly different sounding instruments. Of course if being able to save modified Sound included FX settings as well, that would be awesome sauce! I'm absolutely in love with this instrument, you obviously made it for me and the way I like to play! But it's obvious that in the desire to make the UI very simple and fast that some things have had to fall by the wayside, like being able to modify a Sound and being able to re-use it and re-name it. I don't think this matters as much for the other sounds as the Zoom Controls for them make generic changes, but the Pianos and EPs have the Zoom Controls that really transform them. Thanks! A large audience at the Keyboard Corner Forum thanks you for your timely and considerate replies! Randy PS I'd read somewhere that down the road you'll be introducing more sound modifications? One thing I keep reaching for is the Release envelope, which is not available for the Pianos and EPs. Playing solo piano I'm always looking for ways to have a bit more sustain that's musical and pleasing: like using a sweep pedal for the damper and being able to dial it in, adjusting the release envelope, or adding just a bit of reverb and even delay to create a sound that is a bit larger and fuller. I look forward to having Sustain as one of the things added to sound modifications for Pianos/EPs! ———————————————— He responded: Hello Randy, As you correctly wrote, factory Sounds are not modifiable (at least so far) while customized settings can be currently stored in a Program (patch). What also makes our E-PIANO different from others is the use of Physical Modeling with the addition of extra non-harmonic parts of different kinds (Tine). Consequently, sounds sharing the same Tine with just a different settings of other parameters might sound similar, modifying the settings as you mentioned. We have many more internal settings in addition to the today's available four Zooms and we could add them to the instrument or even create a Computer Editor, much more detailed and complex. Similarities between some E-Piano sound is a natural consequence of the original Rhodes and Wurlitzer architecture partially duplicated on our modelling. Those instruments were theoretically all the same and the difference was mainly made by tuning of the various parameters, mic distance from tines, offset and all available electro-mechanical settings. The only real difference was probably between Mark1 and Mark2 where the hammers, exactly like in our models. The Suitcase (like mine) had also four 12' inches speakers and related case, that makes the playing experience unique and work as a perfect ''monitor'' for the lucky musician playing it (as I do every day :-). Considering that, we are working on ''ampli and speakers'' FX algorithms, another quite interesting evolution for future updates. Also some Wurly could have been different (like my old white one) as some were designed for keyboard classes and it seems to me that they were even more ''mellow'' than all others. That said, I believe that a customized sound should also be able to recall a certain FX (if preferred) and we have a similar function in our NUMA Compacts (FX Autoset). We will surely add more Zoom parameters in future updates, but I am not able and allowed to mention a date, at least here and now. The feasibility to create and add new ''Sounds'' in a list would need a deep UX redesign and other side-effects to be analyzed. As a possible solution I am thinking at something in between a Sound and a multi-zone Program, keeping the original Factory Sound list protected, but this is just a wish at the moment. Sorry to make it too long, but a clever question deserve a detailed reply :-) To have more sustain on Acoustic Piano sounds, I suggest to increase the Strings Resonance to values over 80 (I often use 96) of even add a FXA Compressor Thanks so far for sharing your thoughts and for your kind words about our X Piano. Best regards also to the Keyboard Corner friends. Ciao ! Gianni Giudici Studiologic Brand Manager www.giannigiudici-music.com <http://www.giannigiudici-music.com> www.studiologic-music.com/artists/gianni_giudici/ <http://www.studiologic-music.com/artists/gianni_giudici/>
  19. Thanks for the clarification, that’s an important distinction.
  20. Scott, Thank you for the well-explained response! Have to admit I've never heard anyone else talk about this, and from my own experience there's been no diminishment or addition to how the sound is expressed from the lowest to the highest octaves- adjusting velocity from soft/medium/hard has applied the changes equally across the board with no compromises I've noticed. Have you experienced this with boards other than the CP/YC? Having the Keyboard Sensitivity with the NXP setting in addition to the usual Velocity settings is brand new to me, glad to hear other boards have found ways to give you more control over the feel of the keybed. But I have to admit I'm not sure what the Keyboard Sensitivity setting on the Numa X Piano does, and haven't listened carefully for the things you've pointed out. I'm involved in other things at the moment, but will investigate that further at some point. While the NXP doesn't give you a separate bank of Sounds from which to build their 4-Part Programs, they do give you the ability to re-order the list of Sounds from which Programs are built, very handy indeed, I can relegate the stinkers to the bottom of the list! > In going thru all the Sounds in the EP bank, I discovered that 2 of the sounds, EP-70s and EP Drive, are actually using the same samples as Mark I and Mark II (at least as far as I can tell) but with the Zoom Controls modified. Every other Sound I've looked at have ALL had the Zoom Controls set at 64. > Which led me to write an email to SL asking if they'd give us end users that same capability. Not sure if you have a NXP, but it's only the Pianos and EPs that have Zoom Controls, 4, that powerfully change the sound, the other Sound banks only have 4 generic controls for filter and envelope. > While not a full-fledged separate bank of user-modified Sounds, if they implemented this that'd give us the ability to modify, re-name and then have these User Sounds as Sounds for building Programs. > A further wish is that the FX would be remembered in these modified User Sounds. I love the quality of them, and adjusting them is a dream come true, so user friendly!
  21. You said, "Like all my digital actions, the feeling of simplicity also relates to the fact that my acoustic action allows my fingers to feel the hammers and string vibrations, not just hear them like on a digital. Anyway...that's all been discussed ad nauseam already😑" Hmmmm.... sounds like you've been spending too much time at the PianoWorld forum! Overall, I find this forum to be much friendlier and have fewer of the folks who obsess on some topics! I'm glad you brought it up, that makes a lot of sense about the simplicity of DP actions. To even come close you'd probably need tuned haptics for each key! But there are DP actions, as you've found, that bring great playing satisfaction and expressivity! I've played enough lousy AP actions with sound quality that was lacking that I'm mostly content with DPs as a competent and often superior replacement, esp living in a small apartment where even an upright would definitely not work! I look forward to being able to test run a Numa GT!
  22. Finding the words for how an action feels to oneself is tricky, there's not a lot of objective measurements to refer to, though in this case, having an AP as well as other higher-end DPs gives you quite a bit to compare to. I thought you did an excellent job. I liked your personal conclusion that it's simply a pleasure to play and has the nimbleness to do well with the many diverse sounds on board. I'm surprised though that it's not anything like your acoustic grand. Thanks!
  23. @ DeltaJockey, I’m still hoping you’ll give a more in-depth review of your playing experience with the GT. I asked you for more input a few pages back, you seemed to be saying much the same as a post from PianoWorld I had shared, but you never confirmed or elaborated. And, apropos the discussion on this page, what would you say about the importance of setting the Velocity and Sensitivity on the GT- did you find that made a big difference in its playability? I’d love to play a GT! I love my X 73 so much I want to upgrade to the X 88- I keep on reaching for notes that aren’t there! A good problem to have, it means I’m really digging into the board. Unfortunately the weight of the GT makes it out of the question, no matter how good the keybed-
  24. Speaking of sustain pedals, I like the one they supplied with the Numa X 73/88. It’s only a switch, but it gets the job done and it’s much easier to press down than the similar Kawai pedal. I guess those were designed for people in hard shoes to be able to rest the soles of their feet on. Both the SL FP/50 and the Moog EP-3 are sweep pedals, and they both work really well. Both of them are capable of fading/controlling the volume/expression thru the full sweep of the pedal. I haven’t experienced any particular weirdness with them. And talk about a half-damper pedal! Try controlling half-damper with a sweep pedal, it’s a whole new ball game, makes it possible to dial in the amount of damper, in all it’s tiny increments, just like a real half-damper pedal, but with the big advantage of having a much wider sweep range to play with, allowing you to dial in just the amount of damper that suits your need for sustain. It’s wonderful- it becomes a kind of effect that helps those of us who love a good bit of sustain but not too much- and with practice, and particularly with slower solo piano playing, you can dial it in and out beautifully-
  25. Hmmmmm….. IME, and what I’ve read in every post I’ve ever seen about setting the Velocity, usually hard/medium/soft, it’s an important first step in order for them/me to feel comfortable with any given keybed. Talking for myself, I consistently set the Velocity to light, which suits my hands very well. If I have to endure even medium on most boards, and of course esp hard, it becomes very tiring and even hard on my hands, which are on the stiff side. However there is one board where I had to set it to medium, given the lack of velocity layers, causing it to jump to the Fortissimo sound of the piano way too quickly and uncontrollably. I would imagine that someone who sets the Velocity to medium/normal or to hard, would not have as big an issue with this as myself. In the shootout Mike Patrick remarked that the sound would jump out to quickly, like he didn’t have the kind of control he looks for. For him, I imagine he needs a medium or hard Velocity setting. This problem significantly altered his experience of the Numa Piano GT, which if I remember correctly, was the least favorite for him of the 4 boards. Another wrinkle here is the Keyboard Sensitivity setting. Do you have a Numa X piano? AFAIK this is unique to the Numa X pianos, I’ve never seen a second way of dialing in the responsiveness of the action, which is what the Keyboard Sensitivy setting gives you. As you can imagine, I’ve got mine dialed all the way up, +25%. From several reviews I’ve read/watched about the GT, the overall reaction was that it was up there with the best actions of any DP they’ve ever played. One reviewer in particular waxed poetic about how incredibly nimble the response was, esp at lower volumes. Their descriptions of the action of the Numa GT reminded me a lot of my own reactions to the Kawai ES110 that I had- never have I ever experienced an action that allowed me to fly on the keyboard with such fluidity and total dynamic expressiveness and control. I know however it was not for everyone, and I imagine the first thing they’d change on this overall light touch keybed was the velocity response. Sometimes that responsiveness can be a hindrance to a player with a firmer touch, hence the absolute need to set both of those settings. But people differ- some absolutely have a narrow criteria for keybed action that works for them, others get on with most boards. So it’s personal, but the likelihood of it changing your perception of the action and finger to ear connection is very high, and Mike Patrick said it clearly, he didn’t have the kind of control he wanted, which means he needed to dial in both of the Velocity settings, probably to hard and -25%. You said: “I have sometimes found that tweaking the velocity settings can create a significant improvement (like on the CP73/YC73), but to me, while it can take something unacceptable and make it quite acceptable, it never yields anything really great. Instead, I think that any necessary expressivity added somewhere through those kinds of fine adjustments comes at the expense of expressivity somewhere else” Would you elaborate? …. “At the expense of expressivity somewhere else?” Have to admit I know little about how these curves are created. I remember reading about how Dave Weiser spent considerable time mapping out the velocity curve on various Kurzweils, looking for that elusive finger-to-sound connection. What was he doing? Mapping velocities for individual notes or note ranges?
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