CHarrell
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Posts posted by CHarrell
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1 hour ago, ElmerJFudd said:
Nice walk through by our friend Stu at Merriam. He makes ONE bizarre comment, however. Did Roland REALLY achieve a better price point by removing functionality of a USB interface that is already physically in the keyboard? How did they do this? Was it magical?
It’s not an empty slot where you buy the interface and install it if you want it. It’s already bought and paid for. They are withholding its use at its price point. Yes, this scheme may very well be an industry first. I’m confused on how it’s a selling point.
Getting past that now as we’re all aware of their plan. $999 is a pretty good price point for a PHA4 stage piano with speakers and the Zencore engine, 3 layers/splits each with their own fx and eq settings. Yes, if you’re gigging stand alone, no laptop or iPad, it’s decent bang for the buck.
I don't get Roland's product lines, they all overlap in features and price in weird ways, and I have a hard time seeing what would entice me to buy one over the other. For example, their dedicated MIDI controller, the A88mk2, sells just a little bit under the RD88. With the 88, you get pitch and mod, some readily assignable knobs, a whole bunch of sounds, built in speakers, and like 6 lbs less than the A88 with the same key action. Who in the world would buy the A88mk2 instead, just for a few unique control surfaces?
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1 minute ago, J.F.N. said:
I was not happy with the quality of the samples, spent a lot of time trying to program something useful, but apart from ending up doing imitations of "oscillator" based sounds, which I in reality have real synths to supply me with, there was nothing of interest in it for me.
That's fair. I used the Triton (non-"synth") for "stunt" sounds: sample libraries of course have become so sophisticated and feature all kinds of programming techniques that, in exchange for stronger realism, typically forbid certain kinds of performance. With the crummier and more simplistic samples of the Triton, I was able to do thing like pitch bends on tubular bells: something technically possible on the real thing, but most advanced libraries can't (yet) reasonably accommodate.
In software, it's much easier of course to take a piecemeal approach like this with sounds...can't imagine I'd want to boot up a hardware Triton for the sole purpose of getting stupid with the ROMpler sets.
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2 minutes ago, Delaware Dave said:
The PC3 series has this but the Forte does not.
That's weird, isn't Forte the flagship?
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2 hours ago, J.F.N. said:
Same thing with Triton, grabbed a Rack but it it went out the house again after some months too.
My first pro board 10 years ago! I'd been tempted over the years with a Rack, but as nostalgic as I am for that blue/white screen interface and grey color scheme, I think I'll stick with the (excellent) VST version. I still find use for some of those sounds, I even used one prominently in a film score I did last year.
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I'm not familiar with the Forte, but I've played some keyboards that have a discrete "Output Volume" setting that jumps in intervals of 6dB, does the Kurz have this?
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2 hours ago, ElmerJFudd said:
I find the PHA50 keys a tad slower on return than the PHA4. ymmv
The PHA50 feels very different to me depending on the instrument it's in...either that or it's that wear down talked about earlier. The 50 feels much better on the Fantom 8 than the RD2000, for example.
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1 hour ago, GovernorSilver said:
I did have a slight preference the RHIII of the ES-920 over the PHA-4 of the (probably worn in) PHA-4 of the FP-90X. I had to go back and forth between the two pianos a bunch of times before deciding which keybed I liked better. Both feel much better under my left hand than the keybed of my old Casio. My impression is that life will be better for my left hand with either keybed.
The PHA-4 of the FP-90X probably got a workout from hundreds of hands before I laid my own hands on it. This is the kind of store where musos who audition pianos, organs, etc. will play them for quite some time - possibly hours if they run into a fellow muso, get into a chat about chord progressions/subs/voicings, and end up jamming. During my own mini-shootout, there were a couple of players who were jamming with each other on piano and organ (later 2 pianos) the whole time. So that PHA-4 was well broken in compared to how the FP-90X would have been fresh out of the box.
I'm not ruling the ES-920 out - quite the opposite. But I'm not ready to make a final decision on a piano either. I need another round of piano auditioning in the store.
The FP90X uses the next tier, the PHA50, which is considered the same tier as the ES920.
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16 minutes ago, AnotherScott said:
They wanted a $999 model under their $1299 model. And if someone later decides, ooh, I underbought, they have an upgrade option. Not the worst thing.
My personal feelings about the usefulness of that upgrade path aside--aka I would consider it very marginal--there is of course the flipside of what the used prices for these will eventually be.
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2 hours ago, DeltaJockey said:
What's the significance of the H?
Sound it out. 😈
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9 minutes ago, David Emm said:
The company's pianos have had sluggish actions that put me off for years. Attempting trills on one felt like a job for the Hulk. I haven't played either of these new instruments, but for me, wedding that action to a hamstrung, cloud-dependent OS is a recipe for future pawn shop filler.
If I was shopping for a starter digi-piano to give a newbie, I'd breeze past Roland and go for the Yamahas. The CP line has great sound engines and more engaging actions. All they need is an outboard module with Roland's otherwise killer sounds onboard. 😜
I feel the same about Roland's actions, that's why I was shocked to find an RD300SX from like 2005 and thought it felt better to play than anything recent I've tried from Roland on their portables. (though funnily enough, that keyboard's action--as much as I can find discussion on it--was trashed at the time...what kinda standards did people have back then and why are they so much lower now!?!?!)
However, I don't think it's fair to compare Roland such as the RD88 to top-of-the-line stage pianos such as the Yamaha CP88. -
6 minutes ago, J.F.N. said:
I love my Prologue 16, takes me back to the realms of Prophet VS (one of my favorite synths) and I totally agree that it's an incredibly versatile machine, obviously depending on what you've got in the multi-oscillator slots can take things one step further, still, in its base configuration, an amazing synth. Will never get rid of mine!
Some of the programmers out there go absolutely nutty with the Logue SDK...and what's crazy, a lot of them put these things out there for free! I'm a huge nerd for S&H, for example, which of course none of the Logues have by default. But sure enough, someone created a free effect that essentially gives you great S&H. Oh, and a VA engine that is actually mapped to the physical controls of the board, multiple filters such as 24dB, aaaaand, you can blend it with the actual analog sound source of the Logue and control both simultaneously!
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They really should just call this thing the Roland-H8.
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The Korg Prologue is one of the most fun, one-stop shop instruments I ever played. It's more on the simple side (which can be sometimes addressed through open-source oscillators and effects), but timbrally it's such a verstaile beast, good onboard FX, bitimbrality on the 16 voice model...you can do just about anything with it.
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26 minutes ago, Stokely said:
Seems like I've seen CP4s on Guitar Center's used site at pretty low prices--filtering for "Great" and "Excellent" conditions--but last I checked they were up there (maybe at a fair price still though). The CP5 is low but that's a lot older.
There's the one I saw at my local GC, it's one of if not the most expensive CP4 listing they have, listed in "Great" condition. But as I explained in an earlier post, this "Great" CP4 has worn-down contacts up the wazoo, resulting in a lot of different keys with consistently random velocity spikes. I channeled my Karen powers and even called them to report the issue, and that it was inaccurate for them to list it as great when the issue makes it damn near unusable, regardless of how pretty it looks. They said they would change it and reduce the price accordingly...about a month later and they still have it at that ridiculous price, in "Great" condition. So my faith in their ability to accurately describe the product they're selling is pretty low.
The irony is that the busted-up one I got for half that price, after a repair job, would function better than the one they're selling, and still hundreds of dollars cheaper.
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1 hour ago, CEB said:
This was in my FB feed. I guess the algorithm thinks I need it.
Here you go. All you need.
Wow, is it too bold for me to hope this would teach me the hidden sound of the obscure gem "Green Onions" by Booker T.?
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Forgot to post updates! Had my first gig with the CP4 this past weekend! It fit perfectly into my CP88 soft case, which was a big relief.
Even with the flaws I mentioned, the CP4 acquitted itself pretty well! I had issues balancing a layer between a 75RD and CFIII patch, as the piano was waaaay hotter. The EPs sound a little weak to me unless they're tweaked in just the right way--and even then I was having issues with it dying in the upper register--but as a piano layer it gives excellent body to the sound. I had to pre-coordinate all of this more than I was used to, but when the music was going, I was just having fun and everyone loved the performance.
Still debating whether to bring this in for repair or sell it as-is to recoup and get a cheaper and lighter board--I want to re-evaluate an RD300SX I saw at a local store for an amazingly good deal that would cost a fraction of what I paid for the CP4. But I'm definitely seeing the appeal of the CP4 that has won over so many musicians on here.
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1 minute ago, zephonic said:
prefer the HalionSonic interface over Kontakt.
Honestly even if I had the Kontakt library, I'd double dip just to get away from Kontakt. 😂
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3 hours ago, zephonic said:
Steinberg announced a new Halion piano by Sampletekk, which got me curious about their other offerings and turns out they have a ton.
If memory serves, they also do the Nord libraries, right?
Anybody here use one or more of their pianos? How would you rate them?
I saw that, do we know if this is just a re-packaged offering from their Kontakt libraries, or is this a unique one?
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1 hour ago, Bobby Simons said:
Also I'm happy to now live within easy driving distance of Chuck Levin's, who (for the time being, anyway) is bucking the trend and filling every square inch with quality keyboards and other equipment.
Every once in a while I stumble on their website and break down weeping in uncontrolled envy.
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This is a small snippet of the lecture, but I always return to this.
The emerging view of genius has been shifting from not being struck by the divine rays of heaven in glorious epiphany of revelation, but the ability to constantly refine and hone potential.
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1 hour ago, Radagast said:
Did Oscar ever use his Synclavier on any of his recordings?
2nd half of this album!
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37 minutes ago, ProfD said:
The downside to online retailers and even interest-free payment plans is less room to negotiate price.
For me, in addition to keeping my brick and mortar store in business (not really), there is something about 1) getting a fair price and 2) walking out of the store with a box underneath my arm that makes the purchase more rewarding.😁
Besides, waiting on the UPS delivery person to put a box on my porch just doesn't have the same magic.🤣😎
Oh for sure, I get so impatient with waiting for new gear, I try to satisfy myself by reading and watching everything I can about it--manuals, tips, etc. But on a purely economical level, I'm at a place where saving $200 or whatever in the long run is less appealing than having a lower month-to-month balance to pay. That said, I went into a local music store yesterday because I was thinking of finding a board/controller to gig with while my CP4 will be out of commission for almost a month...and shortly before the store closed, after playing all the high-end stuff, I saw there was an inconspicuously placed Roland I had never heard of before, called the the RD300SX. Just out of curiosity, I laid my fingers down on the keys....and absolutely loved it!! It was fast, crisp, the piano sounded surprisingly good...and then I found out it was under 35 lbs! And the price was so low!
I talked to the employees and they said they'd be able to arrange free delivery, hold it for me, all of these accommodations I could never ask for in a big store like GC or online. I looked up the model online...I could see it for cheaper than what they were offering, but with all those benefits they offered me? I feel so happy being able to buy local.
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1 hour ago, Docbop said:
I read an article about this about a week ago and sadly it is how today world is going. Sam Ash is closing all the High Rent stores combined with people today are fine with buying on the interest and returning if they don't like something. Sam Ash and even Guitar Center are keeping less stock in stores so most the time you have to order what you want. So ditching the high rent locations makes business sense. Also customer have brought this on with the advent of the internet they would go to brick and mortar stores to check out gear, then go home get on the internet and buy it online to save a few bucks. Customer didn't appreciate brick and mortar stores paying rents, going on a limb to stock gear, and pay employees and security so they could try gear out and get some personal service. So the customer has driven stores to closing.
As a consumer, I'm definitely guilty of this. One major benefit that these online retailers such as Zzounds etc offer are very generous, interest-free payment plans that I've never seen a brick and mortar store be able to compete with.
Studiologic SL88 studio vs Yamaha KX88?
in The Keyboard Corner
Posted
I remember feeling some "looseness" in the keys, is that accurate?