The Piano Man

April 8

Has anyone compared the Liano to the Yamaha NP range? If so, what were your thoughts on keyboard action and piano sound?

I have a Yamaha NP32 and it’s a handy tool but the narrow keys are a frustration and I do find myself struggling to control the touch response sometimes. That is, a note will sometimes sound too loudly etc.

April 7

There’s always a trade off in this game.

You can it all but with a sore back or you can save your back and either:

- need to bring a wallwart

- need to use a sub par action

- lose some keys

- suffer plastic construction

- plan for several trips in with various bits of gear

Or a combination/all of the above.

April 7

On 4/1/2024 at 7:48 PM, CEB said:

For playing solo, especially in the comfort of home … I love Ivory. The pianos are beautifully voiced.

For playing in a loud cluttered mix I have no luck with it. Maybe if I did not specialize in playing loud shit it would work. Live I rather take my chances with Triple Strike.

I have never done a gig with the Triple Strike where I have had any issues in terms of cut, playability and sitting nicely in the mix. Such a classic base sound with both body and bite.

I like the version in the PC3 best but I still use the older version in a SP76 which still works live! Nice keybed on that SP76 too. And a purple keyboard is a nice change from all the red ones kicking about!

I actually once played live with a Nord Stage 2 ex and circled round loads of their piano samples. All got lost. Bandmates felt it was all muffled. I eventually plugged in a Micropiano and it was sorted. Genuinely, a bandmate said “Ah, that’s a nice piano patch you have now, it’s cutting through nicely” or words to that effect. I then had to come clean and admit it was an ancient Kurzweil sample. (Disclaimer: I wasn’t using high end monitors and I did not have a talented sound guy with us. I know that the Nord is a far more sophisticated sample!!)

April 6

I have a PC3a8 with the same action as the K2700. It’s superb. You can feel the quality. It’s quick, light for faster passages but still solid and responds really well to the piano sounds.

I also have a Grandstage 73 which has a similarly solid action. It feels a touch more solid and piano like to me.

I own a Korg XE20 which has a passable action and, similar to what you are saying about the PC4, fine for slower passages but limited for faster quicker playing. It reminds me of the sluggish Roland actions.

As often stated, if you can stretch to a couple of keyboards, you can have different tools for different jobs.

April 5

As others have also said, for me, variety is the key.

I currently have

Kurzweil PC3a8

Korg Grandstage 73

Korg XE20

This gives me the options I need.

88 key behemoth that does it all

73 key with pro feel and sound

Lightweight 88 with built in speakers

The only thing missing is a smaller/lighter pro keyboard with good zoning/split/layering options… I might plump for the SK Pro or YC61 at some point. Either would be a very handy tool.

So, in short, if you can, build up a rig that gives you options to suit different scenarios.

April 4

Ideal tool for the job! Lightweight, decent piano sounds and perfectly serviceable keyboard action.

6.3” line outs would be good, but immaterial if you are connecting to an IOS piano.

Best wishes!

March 23

The models in the RD line should be pro level, ie:

Internal power supply

Solid construction

The FP line should offer the lighter weight, internal speaker, plastic construction options

If Roland want a lighter weight RD, they should follow Yamaha’s lead and aim for a CP73 competitor

Just my opinion

March 20

Next up the Roland RD008

A further £100 cheaper

Now including 8 top sounds from our popular vintage RD100 model.

But also including the D Beam!!!

(line outs not included)

March 20

15 hours ago, D. Gauss said:

Overheard in Roland boardroom product planning meeting:

"Hey, you know that RD-88 keyboard we have that's almost great, but has a totally terrible, clumsy, cumbersome and shitty interface? Let's release a new model."

"Cool, shall we upgrade it with a new, simpler, intuitive, non menu interface like those new Yamahas that folks seem to like?"

"Hell no! Let's dumb ours down and make people pay extra money just to get back some of the features we already have."

"Yes sir, I'll get on right on it!"

Exactly. Shambolic

March 19

I used to love Roland pianos. Back in the day, the RD series was the best in the business. I still own a XV3080 and enjoy the older sounds including some of the SRX boards.

I don’t like the modern Roland pianos. Sound is dull and lifeless and the keyboard actions are slow and ponderous.

This is such an underwhelming release.

I would have thought a better play would have been

Roland RD1 - featuring Roland pianos past and present. 88 keys. Pitch and mod above. Internal power supply. Individual outs. XLR outs. Narrowest ever design. 18kg

Roland RD73 - compact 73 key model. 15kg

March 17

The salesman doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

The EV is a nicely balanced speaker and good for piano. Ideally, you will want two to produce the lovely stereo piano sounds on your Nord.

The Nord also includes eq if you want extra “high end” to keep the salesman happy!

March 1

Calling Dave Weiser…

February 26

22 hours ago, Radagast said:

Have to disagree with the ranking. I think Dexibell does pipe organ sounds better then Hammond.

Which Viscount model has great pipe organ sounds?

Cantorum series.

February 26

I think the older VR models (760 and 700) use a Matsushita (Technics) action whilst the newer 730 uses a Fatar.

Does anyone remember the latter models in old Roland EP line (7e, 77 and 760) I still own an old EP760 and it has a nice semi weighted action. (And an handy tool for practices etc.) Also wondered if it was the same as those on the VR760. Certainly, they were all released around the same era.

February 25

12 hours ago, Polkahero said:

Finally figured out that David Rosenthal used an E-mu Emulator for the pipe organ sound on the intro to Rainbow's "Can't Let You Go". This sampler only had 2 KB of memory! Only pipe organ sample I've heard that comes close is the Sanctuary preset in my Alesis QSR module. How could they come up with such a realistic sample whereas most of today's ROMpler offerings fall short?

Totally agree. Pipe organs are a sadly overlooked instrument in almost all keyboards these days. There are a few notable exceptions which I have subjectively ordered with “best” first:

Viscount

Hammond

Nord

Dexibell

Technics had decent pipe organ samples when they were in the game

February 15

16 minutes ago, ProfD said:

They sound different. The SV sounds were done by Korg Italy. The Grandstage sounds were derived from the Kronos.😎

That is not what my GAS needed to hear. You mean I might be able to rationalise adding an SV2 73 to my Grandstage 88???

February 15

I’m perplexed as to why people would pick an SV over the original Grandstage, unless you simply prefer the look of the cabinet, or want built in speakers as with the 2s models

February 14

On 2/12/2024 at 2:09 AM, AnotherScott said:

It won't happen, but I'd wish for a "Liano Pro" for maybe another $100 that would have 1/4" outs, 5-pin MIDI Out, expression pedal jack, maybe 16 sounds in a row of direct access buttons, with the ability to hit two of them to layer (and the expression pedal could be set to vary the level of one of them). And... a mode where the 16 buttons act at selectors for MIDI channels 1-16... so if you have sounds on an attached iPad or whatever, without getting into any fancy zoning capabilities, you'd have a super easy way to pick from 16 external sounds (also leveraging the fact that the board has that built in USB audio+MIDI interface).

I love this idea. Liano Pro, L1 Pro or L2… whatever they decide to call it.

yes to 6.3mm audio outputs

yes to 5 pin midi

yes to dedicated sound buttons

yes to better midi functionality

Such a board would be such a handy tool in the gig stable of amateur and semi pro alike.

I would take it in 73/76 key format too.

I still own a Roland EP760 and a Kurzweil SP76 but would happily get rid of both if I could replace them with a Liano Pro.

February 14

Way they had just stuck with the name L1. Maybe Bose got in touch

February 14

I had the original Krome 88 and felt it was unplayable for piano. The XE20 feels much better. It may well be that the keyboard action is exactly the same but that the improved sounds coupled with some tweaking of the touch response has made all the difference.

I would say that the NH on the XE20 is soft, a little slow (a touch sluggish even, perhaps) but you can play pretty expressively on it. The sound is really good and quite incredible for the price point. You won’t get as percussive a feel as on a Grandstage with RH3, particularly when playing staccato stabs or quicker passages but you have a weighted 88 that only weighs 11.5kg so something has got to give!

The slab cabinet is also one of the slickest I have seen: not overly bulky like the Kurzweils, nor with an extra lower layer of bulk as on the Roland FP30x/Kawai ES110 etc

February 13

Well the Grandstage was collected today to be fixed and the XE20 arrived this afternoon. It will be a more than capable understudy.

The two main piano sounds are really good and the best I have heard for £599. The action is fine. The board weighs 11.5kg. Proper line outs. Unbelievable what you can get these days.

As you said Scott, the built in speakers are very good.

I dismissed the XE20 when it was released. It is thanks to folks like yourself on this forum that convinced me to give it a try. Really can’t fault it. Now to find a lightweight gig bag for it…

February 12

Sorry that I cannot help. However, your quandary is one I have faced many times. I wish more manufacturers would offer model specific gig bags.

Alternatively, a site offering custom gig bags would be great. Pop in model name or dimensions and be presented with a snug fit. Snug fits are key. Nothing worse than transporting a keyboard in a baggy bag!

You can get a decent gig bag at about 1-2kg of weight, whereas a custom flightcase is usually about 10kg minimum, making gigbags the travel friendly choice.

Would the Korg Krome 73 bag do it or would that be a touch too narrow?

Good luck with your search

February 12

12 hours ago, AnotherScott said:

My annual update... My choice in recent months has been the Korg XE20... 25 lbs, loud speakers, and a really nice piano sound. Like the Dexibell P3, it reduces the chance I'll have to supplement with a small external speaker. The Dexibell has numerous advantages mentioned earlier in the thread (so probably a better choice if it needs to do double duty as part of the main with-band rig, and not just solo cocktail stuff), but for piano alone, I prefer playing this one (sound and feel), it's got the full 88 keys, and it's lighter (and if you're in the market for buying something of this type, it's also cheaper). They also make the B2 which I haven't played, it might do the trick, it has the same action and the same piano sound, though it lacks 1/4" outs and the speakers have a bit less power.

Another possibility if you want to go super light... the Korg Liano is a semi-weighted that feels surprisingly nice for piano playing. About 13 1/4 lbs and cheap. But while it has speakers, there's a good chance you'll need to supplement them, and it does have the irritation of an 1/8" output. But I'm going to post more about the Liano shortly. (And by coincidence, that brings be right back to the very first post if this thread... which started as an off-shoot of a discussion of the L1, which is what became the Liano!)

I’ve just picked up an XE20. Bought a Grandstage 88 only a week ago but it needs to go back for an in warranty repair to one of the dials (the one that selects the piano sounds and does double duty for system settings) It was a floor display model so I suspect some over zealous customers were a bit too heavy handed on the dial.

In the meantime, I will make use of the XE20 and, I suspect, will find the internal speakers and lightweight body very handy indeed.

I realised today that I have played the NH action before in the SP280 and, whilst I far prefer the RH3, I remember it being useable and not totally unlike the Technics P30.

February 12

I wish Korg would add lineouts to the Liano. Likewise Yamaha to the NP range. Yes, you can use the headphone out but you then lose the speakers which can add a nice vibration effect. I know you can hook up iPads etc but sometimes simplicity is best. Or even if they would offer a workaround setting where you can default the speakers to on, even when a cable is plugged into the headphone output.

Maybe I should look at the Numa Compact but I do prefer the sleek all black look of the Korg and Yamaha models.

A Liano plus Bose S1 or Roland KC220 would make a great lightweight, battery powered rig for wedding ceremonies. The addition of proper lineouts would seal the deal!

February 9

A modern XP30 would sell well. Compact sleek design, internal power supply, solid keyboard action, a best of Roland soundset.

The XPS30 is NOT that board!

Come on Roland, give us an XP40!

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