tonybanksfan

Should mention Dave I’m unhappy the way my piano sounds are being colored and I’ve determined it’s my Allen and Heath mixer that is affecting the tonal quality, and really, the pursuit of a better piano sound is being targeted with the substitution of a Key Largo.

Hey interesting, I had no idea they had released new pianos, I will definitely download them and give them a whirl, thanks Dave.

Yes, kind of obvious I guess, but need to ask before spending dollars

I’m interested in using the Key Largo as a mixer/interface between powered speakers and a Kurzweil pc3k, my GSI Gemini desktop and an I-Pad software piano. The Radial website states- “The Key-Largo is not supported by iOS devices. The USB connection on the Key-Largo was designed to be connected to laptop or a computer with a USB port” So that doesn’t stop me from using the iPad headphone output to send the software piano audio to the mixer, right ? Does the incompatibility just refer to the Ipad and Key largo linked together not being able to use software like a DAW through the usb?

The adaptor works the way it’s supposed to so possibly the rca inputs are responsible, I will find out when I get my 1/4” splitter delivered. I’m not expecting it to be any different. More than likely I believe I will need a DI or a dock to resolve this or just route directly to my speaker but I’d rather have everything routed into a mixer and then out to the speakers.

Just to clarify, I don’t have one of the newer ZEDiFx mixers, mine is like 20 years old, it’s probably one of the originals. Not sure why Allen and Heath didn’t change the model number a little more for their newer offering which has the “i” after the ZED. Maybe the new ones are top notch?

Okay tried that and yes the sound of these pianos are much better when the mixer is out of the chain. Not as good as with the headphones only of course but direct into the speaker without even tweaking is definitely better. Maybe the Radial Key Largo or something similar to that is the way to go?

I have a few hundred bucks not a few thousand to play with, but thanks, nice to know what the good stuff is.

I used the headphone IPad output, so one of those 3.5mm adaptor into RCA splitters into the A&H rca input. I’ve ordered on Amazon a 3.5 adaptor to 1/4” to splitter, not sure if it will make a difference.

I had a Mackie mixer before the Allen Heath, can’t remember which one but it definitely didn’t help the pianos I was using at that time. I’m sure they have some good ones though.

I’m not complaining about my QSC’S, I realize all speakers affect the quality of the piano amplification, my issue is with the mixer and how it is clearly affecting the nice IOS piano sound. Am using the free Igrand and on a 7 day free trial with the Ivory sets and will definitely look into Ravenscroft, and Pure Piano. I wonder how long the Pianoteq will take?

Interesting, sounds like something to look into for sure, thank-you.

They sound better yes, but they definitely aren’t affected as much by the mixer. The IOS pianos on the other hand seem much more tainted.

Haven’t had time to try that yet, will do.

I’ve been trying a couple of IOS piano’s since getting my new IPad. They are the IGrand and the synthogy Korg Ivory l and American D. My first impressions were they sounded like crap, to the point where I thought to myself who’s buying these and why do so many people think they’re so good? I thought there must be something wrong and sure enough there was… My Kurzweil pc3k is midi’d to my IPad which in-turn is routed into my older Allen and Heath ZED10FX mixer, and I was using my half decent Sony mdr7506 headphones to hear everything. So instead, I then tried plugging in my headphones directly into the Ipad and… voila…, beautiful sounding pianos that I have never had the privilege of hearing or playing in my life. Now, I’ve always been happy with my sound system integrated into my QSC K8.2 speaker and basically assumed my Kurzweil pianos just sounded below average as that has been reinforced in my mind by reading about them over the years. I still am happy with all my sounds and how they sound through my setup and am not concerned about those, but these IOS pianos are different and deserve the proper handling and amplification. My A&H mixer is to blame and who knew? I thought it was a good little mixer but wow, does it ever color and change the sound of those software piano’s. Now I have to figure out what to do because I want to incorporate one of these IOS pianos into my mix. I still need to keep my Kurzweil and my desktop Gemini tethered into my system. Is it as easy as just buying a newer piano friendly mixer that doesn’t break the bank, or is there a different route to go? I want this higher quality piano sound and it’s only to be used in my house and not live. Any suggestions?

What I do quite often is create a split on my Kurzweil of the same program inside a setup and just turn down the left, this way I’m still fulfilling my brains need to play and hear the lower notes but I’m not competing or interfering with the low end of the bass and it works quite nicely. Some songs need that low drone a bass can’t produce as previously mentioned regarding Taurus pedals, I use that sparingly but can sound so nice.

Definitely an advantage having a newer keyboard with that USB interface capability, it makes for simpler streamlined connections. I’m not familiar with the Forte but I hear it’s extremely flexible so what you’re doing shouldn’t be a problem. I think multies are the way to go, albeit spending the time mapping things is a drawback, but removing individual fx is quick and easy. Maybe instead of assigning many parameters to a program you could duplicate them with permanent changes made and use them inside the multi with the edited version required for the song your playing? Maybe not feasible depending on the song or maybe even from a storage standpoint but only a suggestion.

I’m kind of in the market for a midi interface, out of curiosity, what are you using to connect your boards and IPad?

I don’t have a solution either but I thought I had read something about this a long time ago. To the best of my recollection you could only do this correctly using the “setup” mode in a pc3 or in your case the “multi” in a Forte. Turning off FX allocation on programs inside setups and multis not requiring fx to maintain the quality of their sound can sometimes preserve or improve timbre of the program you need it for.

I’m such an idiot, my IPad does have a port. It’s so new and I’ve spent such a small amount of time with it I just never noticed or looked for it. Below is a little blurb about it I copied and pasted. Sorry for leading everyone astray. “The 10.2-inch iPad 9 that was released last week continues to offer a headphone jack at the top left of the tablet, and it is the only ‌iPad‌ have to a headphone jack available. Given that this tablet is aimed at schools, it makes sense that it has a headphone jack to allow students to use school-provided headphones. ‌iPad‌ 9 components Though Apple has now phased out the headphone jack from almost all iOS devices, Apple's Macs continue to have a headphone jack available, including the newest M1 models. It is not clear if Apple plans to remove the headphone jack from Macs in the future, but that may not be in the cards because Macs have more available space for the headphone jack component.”

Brand new IPad, they have phased out the headphone port. I have the Apple camera kit adapter,it only comes with a usb and a lightening port, no headphone port.

The new IPad doesn’t have a headset port🙄, only a lightening port so that is a dilemma for me.

I have the Ipad 9th generation with only a lightening port on it. I've used the Apple usb 3 camera connector from my Ipad to a m-audio usb to 5 pin midi cable which is plugged into my Kurzweil pc3k. The keyboard now controls the I-grand app(free one) and I'm able to play, but the sound only comes from the tiny I-pad speaker. My Kurzweil is hooked up to my mixer and speakers but there is no sound at my speakers or at the headphones. I understand midi only moves data and not audio so what other device do i need to make this work and how would it connect to my Ipad? My Kurzweil does not have a usb port engineered to carry digital audio signals, I have to use the older 5 pin midi ports.

Okay thank-you my man.

Okay good to know, I’m okay with that.