Korg SV-1 Stage Vintage Piano - Official Product Intro Video

[jerrythek]

Jerry, I have a SV-1 73 and am loving it. What would be ideal is to have some kind of editor that would allow us to create our own split points and voice combos based on existing waveforms.

 

hi Keys:

 

Glad you're liking it! I hear you, but I can't promise that would be possible. For now give us input on what types of layers and splits you want.

 

Regards,

 

Jerry

Korg Guy

 

[Aidan]

I suppose this is as good a place as any to 'fess up to ordering a 73. The GX will still get taken out for classical or band gigs where I need more complex stuff (along with the Motif XS rack) but I'm hoping the new arrival will prove a handy, inspirational little board which will be somewhat easier to get in and out of solo piano gigs. It also provides back-up redundancy and means I won't be forever packing and unpacking the GX.

[Keys to the Hwy]

You won't be sorry. I have an RD700sx that I would just love to gig with, but between the weight and size in a band and limited stage space I end up enjoying it in the home studio.

The SV-1 73 is a joy, reasonable weight, small footprint and great weighted action it really fills the bill. I've got it sitting with a NE3 73 to cover the organs and it works out great.

[ProfD]

Does it do the Herbie Rhodes sound out of the box?

It is interesting that folks want a sound that Herbie hardly ever uses. Yet, if he sat down and played the SV-1 it would sound fantastic in his hands.

 

At some point, musos have to accept that a) the player has a lot to do with how any KB sounds and b) these KBs are sampled/modelled instruments. The KBs sound good but lack the physical characteristics of the originals.

 

So, even if a manufacturer samples/models that same Rhodes Herbie played, after playing the emulator for a while, it still won't sound quite the same.

 

The SV-1 sounds good from the demos. Of course, I'll have to lay hands on it myself to see if there is a connection.

[Pale]

Noone in here is in delusion that having the same tone as Herbie had will make him actually sound like Herbie. Herbie sounds like Herbie because he is Herbie. (if that made sense to anyone )

The whole point in all requests was that most of the people do not like the bell-like quality if it is anything more that subtle. Or at least to say, even if someone likes bell-tone one woule like to have the option to have the "herbie tone" as well.

 

[Nillerbabs]

... I.e. like the MkI versus the MkII or the Suitcase Nord samples.

[Gary75]

Off to try the 73 note in an hour, will report back my humble opinions.

[FunkKeysStuff]

For what it's worth, in the past I've never been a fan of "bell-heavy" Rhodes sounds either, and always preferred the meatier, darker variety. Also, I've never owned a real Rhodes, so I'm lacking that point of reference, and my tastes are based pretty much on what I've heard on records. All that said, I gotta say I've really been enjoying the SV-1 Rhodes as-is. It's just so damn expressive, I find myself enjoying the bell-like quality more than I would have imagined. I suppose it's because the bell tone comes in at the right time and in the right way, which I've never experienced before. All the previous "Dyno" patches I've experienced have been all shimmer and no ass. But this gets plenty meaty and gritty when you dig into it. Of course it's a subjective matter, and I'm sure it won't be to everyone's taste. All I'm saying is, don't write this thing off based solely on the preconception that "the Rhodes it too bright," because you might just be surprised.

[Gary75]

Ok, just bought the 73. Spent sometime in the shop, and got a £100 off the week old one on display, it's like new so I have a few extra pennies this Xmas which is nice.

 

Looks great, and am amazed at the compactness of it. The keybed is a joy to play and the biggest factor for me, a 73 weighted keyboard. People speak about connectivity from keybed to sound, and it's true. I have been playing Ivory at a buffer of 32, but I just feel more connected to the sounds.

 

Getting cataract out tuesday so it's staying in it's box until then, I'll comment further as I go through it.

 

Can I just say the build quality is really good, the knobs are very tight and solid, you don't feel like you have to tiptoe with them.

 

More comments next week!

 

 

[Calumet]

Thought I would add my voice to the chorus of people wanting the darker, Manchild-era Herbie Rhodes. If the SV-1 had a good representation of that sound, I would get the Discover card out immediately.

[kobalazs]

Well, here's the real competitor of SV-1 just released by Nord:

Nord Piano 88

 

http://www.purgatorycreek.com/img/NordPiano.jpg

 

General

88 keys, weighted hammer action.

 

Piano Section

6 selectable categories of pianos - Grand, Upright, EP Tines, EP Reeds, Clavinet & Harpsichord. Each category can contain several different types. Stereo pianos can be played back in mono.

512 MB is available for the pianos

Each and every piano in the Nord Piano is exchangeable by the user. New models can be uploaded to the Nord Piano using the Nord Sound Manager application

 

Effects Section

Effect 1 - pan, tremolo, auto-wah, three selectable depths for the pan and tremolo, rate controlled with the Effect 1 Rate knob

Effect 2 - phaser, flanger and chorus, three selectable depths, rate controlled with the Effect 2 Rate knob

Comp/Amp - three amp/speaker simulations and a compressor, drive/compression amount controlled with the Drive knob

Reverb with six algorithms - Room 1 & 2, Stage 1 & 2, Hall 1& 2, Dry/Wet control

Three band EQ, with sweepable mid. +/- 15 dB gain/attenuation

 

Connections

2 Audio outputs L & R - ¼", 6,35 mm jacks, unbalanced

1 Monitor input - 1/8", 3,5 mm stereo jack

1 Headphone output - ¼", 6,35 mm stereo jack

1 Piano pedal input - ¼", 6,35 mm jack

1 Aux Switch pedal input - ¼", 6,35 mm jack

MIDI In, MIDI Out - 5 pin DIN connectors

USB - type B connector

IEC320 C7 power connector

 

Dimensions

1284 mm (50.5"), 121 mm (4.8"), 340 mm (13.4")

 

Weight

18 kg (39.6 lbs)

 

Included accessories

Nord Piano pedal

User Manual

Power cord

Nord DVD-ROM

Accessories

Nord Retro Legs

Nord Soft Case

Nord Music Stand

[Aidan]

Having only had my SV-1 73 in my possession for barely a few hours, I can tell you that its APs wipe the floor with my the currently available Nord samples. The new batch may be better, but very happy with my choice so far. More when I quit playing around with the thing...

[masterjam]

Well, here's the real competitor of SV-1 just released by Nord:

 

I don't think that the new Nord samples will be significantly better than those of the SV-1. Clavia already had severals years to improve the acoustic pianos and did not manage to do it ;-)

 

I also do not regret the my choice to buy the SV-1. The sounds are just perfect to me. And by the way: the ugly red Clavia-design would never get my wife's "living room permission"

;-)

 

[burningbusch]

Nord should get rid of that picture. It looks like a damn toy.

 

Busch.

[burningbusch]

Kobalazs, here's a smaller version, please use. Thanks.

 

http://www.purgatorycreek.com/img/NordPiano.jpg

[David Loving]

My take on it is that Nord is primarily best at organ reproduction, and piano takes a back seat. Korg is best at piano and ep, and organs are good but not foremost like with Nord. I really do not have faith in Nord jump starting their pianos. The sv-1 is the frontrunner for me.

[Dave Ferris]

I really do not have faith in Nord jump starting their pianos. The sv-1 is the frontrunner for me.

 

Agreed. I think Nords are great for rock/funk/r&b keyboardists but not Jazz based pianists. I will certainly be curious to put my hands on the new Nord and hope they have a good product although I agree with Busch the thing does like tinker toyish.

 

I need to get down to Hollyweird to check out the SV-1. That is the frontrunner for me also. Haven't had a Korg DP since the SG-PROX which I loved and used for many years.

[Keys to the Hwy]

I let each do what they are best for, but got to say my SV-1 is my favorite right now.

 

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t98/stef823/stefpic.jpg

[Mogut]

what the fudge happened to this page?

[fjzingo]

Just made a perfect copy of Herbies Butterfly rhodes on my nord stage.....

 

Tried and compared the SV-1,Yamaha S70sx and the nord stage, I also got to try out the V-piano for the first time.

 

FIrst I must agree with what is stated about the action, I liked the SV-1 acction over the yamaha and nord stage action. And I think connected to the sound is a good description. Playing the SV-1 for the second time I must say it's a quite nice keyboard-did not like the acoustic pianos though. Must say I'm a bit disappointed of the S70sx, it did not appeal to me.

 

I think the SV-1 has a lot o give wit respect to the rhodes and wurlies and the overall build quality seems great. Still wouldn't replace my nord stage with it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Aidan]

OK, after a few hours, some first impressions:

 

General impressions

 

It's a really nice-looking, compact form. Not amazingly lightweight but probably all the better for that. I can easily carry it under arm, so it will be ideal for wedding gigs, where you're typically moving about a lot - ceremony, drinks, meal etc.

 

It feels a lot more solid on my V-stand than the GX, presumably simply because there's a whole lot less overhang.

 

As someone else has already commented on this thread, it feels very well built - no fears of knobs coming off in your hands etc.

 

Keybed

 

It's not the best in the world, but this is where I expected to be disappointed, as everything pales in comparison when you're used to playing a GX.

 

The key return is a bit sluggish but not disastrously so. The actual weight of the action is quite nice, however - this is definitely a keybed you can dig into.

 

I would love to be able to tweak the velocity curves in more detail in the editor, rather than just the presets provided by Korg.

 

Sounds: Acoustic pianos

 

The Steinway is quite rich and a little dark. Crucially, the tenor range sings quite nicely - I play a lot in this area of the piano so this matters to me - while the top is suitably sparkling, with a nicely judged amount of hammer noise.

 

The Yamaha is more strident and needed some judicious EQ-ing to take some of the slightly artificial sheen off it. But having adjusted it, I can imagine this being useful in pop/rock settings.

 

The mono is based on the Steinway, I believe, yet initially to these ears sounds closer to the Yamaha. Sounds a little compressed but maybe it's because I'm only hearing it through stereo studio monitors. Will reserve judgment until I hear it down into a single EON on a gig.

 

Electrics

 

Yep, these are a bit aggressive as set. In fact, on both the Rhodes and Wurli I've dispensed with the amp modelling on my Favourite buttons as I prefer a gentler sound. But you could spend a lot of time playing around with the fx etc getting loads of nice sounds - it's here that I can't help thinking that eight Favourites is a bit on the mean side, but I guess it keeps it simple for gigging.

 

Clavs are very useable - lack of a mute sound might be a problem if you're a hardcore clav player, but if you are you're probably playing the real thing or an Electro, which is no doubt a better playing surface for that activity. Having said that, the clavs on the SV-1 are very playable on this keybed.

 

Organs and others

 

Not of huge interest to me. For me, these sounds only have significance maybe in a scratch rehearsal situation, or perhaps there's just one or two songs you need them on in a gig. In which case, they get you there.

 

General stuff

 

So far, my big annoyance is that I can't seem to adjust the relative volumes of patches. So every time I go from the Steinway to the Wurli, for example, I need to turn the master volume down. I loaded up the editor in the hope that there'd be a way to adjust this there but it appears not.

 

Jerry, is there anything you guys can do about this? Normalisation of sound levels from patch to patch is very important in a gig situation.

 

The music stand is a welcome addition, though it knocks a few style points off. Oh, and the sexy curved shape does make it a bit tricky to see the inputs etc from the front. But that's the price one pays for sex appeal, I guess.

 

Overall, very happy with this thus far. Confident enough to peel off my "RH3" label, I think...

[Jazz+]

Aidan, how does the AP on the SV-1 compare to the Roland RD-700GX AP? Can you get a Herbie Rhodes sound (basicaly a "non agressive, non-dyno" straight factory Rhodes sound)? Still wondering.

[fjzingo]

By the way I think the layout of the knobs on the new nord piano could have been designed in a different way. I miss some knobs sort of .....let's see how it looks in real life.

 

 

[Dana.]

Just made a perfect copy of Herbies Butterfly rhodes on my nord stage.....

Would you mind sharing with us how?

[Aidan]

Jazz, as far as the AP is concerned, the Steinway's character strikes me as about a halfway house between the Expressive and Superior grands on the GX. It isn't as full-on in the midrange as the Superior yet it's not as aggressive as the Expressive can get when played towards fortissimo.

 

As a side note, I've personally not got any concerns about the sustaining quality of the Steinway voice, to the point that I'd forgotten it had even been mentioned here as a potential problem until I started this reply.

 

As far as the Rhodes is concerned, simply switching off the amp modelling will give you that more bell-like, less aggressive sound that people are talking about. Indeed, that's what I've done on both my default Rhodes and Wurli settings.

 

It still has quite prominent tines in the sound, though these can be toned down a little with EQ if you prefer. Bottom line: is it Everybody's Rhodes? Maybe not. Is it a selection of useful Rhodes sounds for most genres. Definitely.

 

Hmm - I see that Keys to the Hwy hasn't taken off his RH3 label. Will it affect my resale value if I take it off, I wonder?

 

[Aidan]

OK, here's a quick scratch recording I did with my Rhodes default sound. Might give a better idea than try to describe it in words.

 

Rhodes test

[ADino]

So Aidan, nice review, but to which gigs do you take this or the GX? This appears to be fairly similar in tone and action to the m50-88 line. Im not knocking it, I think Korgs have some of the best sounds out there.

[Aidan]

ADino, the idea is that the GX + Motif XS rack will come out when I need a much wider range of tonal palette, or maybe if someone wants a whole bunch of classical stuff.

 

Meanwhile, the Little Red Keyboard That Could will be used for everyday gigging, giving me lighter weight and smaller footprint, both of which are good things, yes?

 

Waiting on the case now, but they won't be available until January. So will have to pack out the 88 case with some foam inserts.

 

I will probably keep the V-stand for gigging. The Korg does have its own stand but it looks quite fiddly to assemble. And although it can also be stowed in the dedicated case, you're then adding more weight to the keyboard unit in and out.

 

The V-stand has its issues but the cable management keeps things looking neat (an important feature in the sort of stuff I'm typically doing), plus I've already invested in the music and mic stand add-ons, which again make for a neater, all in one solution.

[Keys to the Hwy]

Hmm - I see that Keys to the Hwy hasn't taken off his RH3 label. Will it affect my resale value if I take it off, I wonder?

 

I has literally just received my unit the day that pic was taken and had not taken the sticker off, but I do have to admit I would ask premium if I ever sold it with the sticker...LOL.

 

BTW, I'm using a Nord Stage 76 soft case for my SV-1 and it works perfectly if you tuck down the side and rear flaps and use the front one to cover the keybed.

[Jazz+]

Thanks Aidan for your nice demo. The Rhodes there sounds like a Dyno-My-Piano Rhodes modification. Chuck Monte ran the company called Dyno-My-Piano that customized Rhodes extensively, giving them a bell-like sound had practically taken over the Top 40 and R&B airwaves. Herbie Hancock on the other hand mostly used a straight factory Rhodes sound that didn't have that enhanced bell quality.

 

Aidan's Rhodes demo:

http://www.artofpiano.co.uk/mp3s/rhodestest.mp3

 

Hancock's factory Rhodes sound:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOa4FPxBSco