Aidan Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Just a quick shout out - as I head out of the door for my first of two gigs today and the third and fourth of six this week - to say that the SV-1 kicks ass in a band situation, on the evidence of last night's Feels Like Midnight gig. Fuller report follows at the weekend, hopefully! Studio: Yamaha P515 | Yamaha Tyros 5 | Yamaha HX1 | Moog Sub 37 Road: Yamaha YC88 | Nord Electro 5D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fusker Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Getting tempted here!! Steinway L, Yamaha Motif XS-8, NE3 73, Casio PX-5S, iPad, EV ZLX 12-P ZZ(x2), bunch of PA stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunkKeysStuff Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 After several weeks of gigging, I concur with Aidan. Latest discovery: E. Piano 2 Bank, Variation 1, + Amp 3, Drive at 2, + Tremolo, Speed at 8, Intensity at 4 = Donnie Hathaway's Wurlitzer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masterjam Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 After the first weeks of enthusiasm, there are unfortunately some things that at least bother me (maybe there's somebody out there who'S of the same opinion): 1.: The SV-1 Editor: is it really necessary to turn/ modify knobs using a computer mouse? The GUI looks nice but after all, faders could be used more intuitively on a computer. A functionality that allows to change the mod from "keyboard-nob-style" to "computer-fader-style" should be programmable in Java with low effort. Furthermore it would be nice to be able to directly input/type the desired values into the value-text-boxes (currently read only - just displaying the selected value). 2.: The Amp models: I have been using the AmpliTube Fender Edition extensively for my software instuments etc. - e.g. together with the Prominy CP-80 samples. The presets already created a warm, smooth and pleasant sound so that few modifications were necessary. The SV-1 amps are sometimes really disappointing. How come that every sound gets thin and sharp when turning an amp simulation on?! Would it be possible to create a handful of useful amp presets that is useful directly from the start without having to attach a notebook and spent a lot of time editing? This might be nitty-gritty things to some persons, but I do not have the time and patience to spent hours and hours with a software editor to get the sound right. Unfortunately I do have a very time-consuming and exhausting job and I bought the SV-1 for leisure/ recreation & some few and small concerts/ gigs. The idea was NOT to attach computers/ etc. anymore to keyboards before being able to play and enjoy... Korg SV-1, Ensoniq TS-12, E-mu e6400, Access Virus A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Loving Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 This is another drive-by report, but I spent a little time with an sv-1 at the GC in Dallas central, and am impressed with the range of the effects. I think you could make this instrument sound like just about anything you want just turning knobs. the straight, flat ep-1 sound, zero effects, I like. I think I am back on board, pending release of the cp-5. "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calumet Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Why can't someone just put the Scarbee samples in a box with no latency? I'd buy it! My band Thousand Houses: www.thousandhouses.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfD Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Well, I finally got a chance to play the SV-1. Korg has joined the bread and butter fray in a major way with this KB. The action is nice. It doesn't have the sound I usually associate with Korg. It still reminds me of a ROMpler but with a very good limited soundset. The 'other' sounds will work in a pinch. But, the SV-1 excels within it's selling point i.e. EP, AP and Clav. Also, I think the organs will suffice for those who do not pull drawbars and/or kick pedals. The SV-1 will certainly appeal to performance-oriented KB players. Especially those who have been relying on ROMplers and synths filled with more sounds and features than they really want or need. Nord has competition. The SV-1 has the right action and sounds at a reasonable price. If I were in the market for this type of KB, I'd seriously consider it. Otherwise, I'd definitely encourage KB players to take it for a spin. PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyguy Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Where did you play it? I'm in DC this weekend. Levin's? Jim Wells Tallahassee, FL www.pureplatinumband.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary75 Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Why can't someone just put the Scarbee samples in a box with no latency? I'd buy it! it's called a Muse Receptor, which quite happily runs them at a buffer of 32. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfD Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Where did you play it? I'm in DC this weekend. Levin's? That is correct. The SV-1 is in the back left corner of the Korg part of the store. The sound is coming through a pair of Tannoy Active monitors. Not the beloved KC350. PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADino Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Why can't someone just put the Scarbee samples in a box with no latency? I'd buy it! Yes, Muse Receptor...still a really good box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calumet Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Well, I did my own in-home test drive of the SV-1 yesterday and I already have it packed up in the box for return. Here is my overview and comparison to my Nord Stage. - The Rhodes sound, which was the main thing I was attracted to, is very good and detailed. However, around the A above middle C, the sample changes to become way more bellish, so much so that it really stands out compared to the notes around middle C. Kind of like having two different Rhodes pianos on one keyboard. I didn't like this and it is what prevents you from getting the "dark Herbie" sound. The Rhodes sound is more detailed than the Rhodes in the Nord Stage...but is somehow not as inviting to me. The velocity switching is more noticeable on the SV-1 also. - The amp simulations are immensely tweakable with the software. You can really get some different sounds with the various combinations. I wish the Nord had that. - I did not like the keyboard action. As others have said, it is just a little bit spongy and doesn't quite return fast enough. - The Wurly is awful. This was a big strike against the SV-1 since I play a lot of Wurly in my band. It sounds synthetic and fake and no amount of amp tweaking can change that. The Nord destroys the SV-1 in this category. - The RX effects seem more like a gimmick than anything else. I really don't think they add that level of realism that Korg would like to say they do. I tended to turn them way down. The pedal effect with the piano was especially useless. - The pianos are fine. Not great. Not crappy. Just fine. However, the sustain on held notes is ridiculously long and, as they pointed out in the Keyboard Magazine review, you can hear obvious loop points. I have never had a keyboard where the loop points were so obvious. Bad form. In conclusion, I was unable to convince myself that the SV-1 would really replace my Nord Stage. The Rhodes is a bit more detailed in the SV-1, but not so much so that I would be happy with all the other issues with the SV-1, especially the Wurly. I was like Kanker...I REALLY wanted this board to be awesome...so much so that I put it on the card sight unseen...and I got a great deal on it. However, I also have a 45 day return window which I will be using in the next couple days. I will be sticking with the Nord Stage and looking forward to the new Nord Rhodes samples coming sometime after NAMM. Mitch My band Thousand Houses: www.thousandhouses.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fusker Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Pretty interesting. My experience with player view points on the SV has to date been 100% as follows: Owners of a Nord Stage don't like it. Non-Nord Users love it. Is there no inbetween out there? My next board is going to be either the the Electro 3 73, or the 73 version of the SV-1. I haven't been able to try either one yet, but I'm guessing it will come down to which action works for me. Steinway L, Yamaha Motif XS-8, NE3 73, Casio PX-5S, iPad, EV ZLX 12-P ZZ(x2), bunch of PA stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calumet Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Fusker, as an owner of the Electro 3, I can tell you for sure that the E3 action is not suited to piano or electric piano sounds. It is very hard to control. For organ, it is awesome. My band Thousand Houses: www.thousandhouses.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronks Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Fusker, as an owner of the Electro 3, I can tell you for sure that the E3 action is not suited to piano or electric piano sounds. It is very hard to control. For organ, it is awesome. Yes, that's what I was wondering too. Those keyboards are for different needs. Don't take me serious, I'm just playing. ------------------------------------------------------------ Gear: Hammond XK5-system, Nord Stage3 Compact, Crumar Seven, Rhodes Mk2; Hammond M44 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fusker Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 I want a second board that's lighter than my XS8 for rehearsals and a solid/great addition to my XS8 for when I use both. So high utility is a good thing, but I don't need a lot of bells and whistles. I really don't see these two as serving that different of a purpose in my scenario. The Nord is half the weight of the SV-1, but I'm guessing has keys that may drive me nuts. The utility of the two is a wash in my opinion, so it will be a weight vs. action debate for me. Steinway L, Yamaha Motif XS-8, NE3 73, Casio PX-5S, iPad, EV ZLX 12-P ZZ(x2), bunch of PA stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanker. Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 Pretty interesting. My experience with player view points on the SV has to date been 100% as follows: Owners of a Nord Stage don't like it. I don't own a Stage, and I don't like the SV-1 A ROMpler is just a polyphonic turntable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted January 1, 2010 Author Share Posted January 1, 2010 I dunno. I kinda liked the way the lights for all the settings changed and "rotated" when you go from one sound to another. That was pretty cool. "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADino Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 I dont own a Stage...n I dont like the SV1..then again, I dont like the Stage either.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 Pretty interesting. My experience with player view points on the SV has to date been 100% as follows: Owners of a Nord Stage don't like it. I don't own a Stage, and I don't like the SV-1 If A then B does not imply if not A then not B. Therefore your lack of Stage ownership does not disqualify you from disliking the SV-1, according to this theory. I'm sure you are relieved. Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADino Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 Lol...thanks for confusing me even more...what year is this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADino Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 Oh n by the way, Im not really dissen any boards, they all have something good to offer.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richwhite9 Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 Pretty interesting. My experience with player view points on the SV has to date been 100% as follows: Owners of a Nord Stage don't like it. That suggests there are limits to bad taste but Starbucks is still in business to refute that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mebush Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 - The Rhodes sound, which was the main thing I was attracted to, is very good and detailed. However, around the A above middle C, the sample changes to become way more bellish, so much so that it really stands out compared to the notes around middle C. Kind of like having two different Rhodes pianos on one keyboard. I didn't like this I agree with this completely, but I think I've found a way to tweak the sound via the editor to compensate for the unevenness of the samples. Mitch - you might want to (get it out of the box again and) try these settings: For my Wurlitzer sound I've adopted FunkKeysStuff's suggestion earlier in this thread re Donny Hathaway's Wurlitzer - it sounds great to me - although I prefer a little more amp drive personally: E. Piano 2 Bank, Variation 1, + Amp 3, Drive at 2, + Tremolo, Speed at 8, Intensity at 4 = Donnie Hathaway's Wurlitzer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toad Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 I've got an sv-1 on route for delivery on the 5th. I also own a nord stage 73 which I'm gett'n tired of the action. Now listening to you guys it sounds like I'm in for trouble. The shipping already got screwed-up, and it didn't make it in for my long weekend off from work. My Fantom X-8 is just too big and heavy to gig with. Oh Well, if I have to ship it back I will. Too bad no one makes a two tier board with both hammond and piano action! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calumet Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Mebush, I appreciate the suggestion and the time you took to make the screen capture! However, I have already passed judgement on the SV-1 and, actually, trying it out really has made me appreciate my Nord Stage 76. My band Thousand Houses: www.thousandhouses.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fusker Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 well, now that we cleared that all up... Steinway L, Yamaha Motif XS-8, NE3 73, Casio PX-5S, iPad, EV ZLX 12-P ZZ(x2), bunch of PA stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Schmieder Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Yep, might have known it needs the "California" setting. :-) Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1, Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 OK, as promised, some more comments from a few gigs in with my SV-1. First of all, I should mention just how convenient a combination of weight and form factor this keyboard is in its 73-note version. Certainly, in venues here in the UK, allocated performance spaces seem to get smaller and smaller all the time, so the modest stage footprint of the Korg is a real asset. On Monday 28th, I was called to do a last-minute job up in Manchester, solo piano in a hotel restaurant. Because the get-in was so awkward (city centre, no nearby parking), I decided to run with just the one JBL monitor. Unfortunately, this brought home to me that the SV-1 is really not a good mono board. Without the balance of the other speaker, both the acoustic pianos were simply too aggressive. The mono piano, unfortunately, suffers even more in this respect. I got through the gig but it wasn't a happy experience. The following night was a quintet gig, and here the Korg came into its own, as the space allocated to five musicians was just ludicrous. As we began to play, I began to appreciate the SV-1's capabilities even more. Perhaps because the pianos are generally brighter than my RD700GX, it seemed to "sit" better in the band mix, yet I could still play expressively. The EPs were great, and adding a little edge with the amp modelling allowed me to get funky and compete on equal terms with the guitarist. Even the bell-laden tone of my "Rhodes 1" sample earlier in this thread suddenly made sense in a band setting, whereas I'd found it unusable solo a few days before. Overall, none of these are the most subtle sounds in the world, but in the reality of less-than-perfect sound found in most spaces, they worked well and I had a lot of compliments from the rest of the band about how I sounded and played. This was followed by four more solo gigs, one using a top-end Clavinova supplied at a venue for an afternoon wedding. Very nice instrument, and I was wary about how the SV-1 might compare at my next gig that evening, but to my surprise it still felt pretty good under my fingers. It's been stereo all the way since my gig in Manchester, btw. NYE I did some piano-vocal at a restaurant near my home - again, I mostly dug the sound, though I did find myself EQ-ing the EPs a bit. Last night, the final gig in this run, they wanted some stuff to dance to, so I took along my iPod and streamed in some backing tracks. Again, in this "virtual band", the piano sat really nicely and I enjoyed the chance to put in some extended soloing on some of the Abersold stuff. So, that's the report from the "frontline", as it were. Now I'm back home, with time to evaluate the Korg, and in the meantime it seems to have been taking a fair amount of stick. So what do I think now? Let's talk about the negatives first. Firstly, I can't say with hand on heart that any of the sounds on this board are class leaders. The acoustic pianos are decent but can't compete with my GX for complexity and depth. They can get a little forceful, no doubt about it, and there's a spot round about C5 where the sample has a rather unpleasant metallic feel to it. The bottom end could do with more presence and a more even response. The EPs are good but not as varied in their tonal possibilities as those on the Nord Electro and Stage, mainly because I suspect that you're really only getting one sample each of Rhodes and Wurlis. The amp modelling can be problematic. Using the "Drive" function on the Stage, it was possible to get clean-sounding EPs which just had a little dirt and bite when dug into hard. On the Korg, it appears to be either the famine or the feast. If you use the drive lightly, you get thin-sounding, trebly pianos. Bring up the drive to give yourself a more substantial-sounding source sound and it distorts heavily. C'mon Korg - it's always been possible to drive things like Fender Twins cleanly but with a full sound - why can't I achieve that in your amp modelling? It may be I need to spend more time with the more detailed amp-modelling options available through the editor - but that, of course, brings us back to one of this board's weaknesses. As before, I'm not going to mention the other sounds as I didn't buy the SV-1 for its organs, mellotrons and synths and I suspect, neither will most people. So yes, there is quite a bit on the negative side of the sheet. But then I come back to the weight, the footprint, and an action which again though not class-leading, is a lot better than some of its competitors. Casting around for alternatives, where would I look? The Nord Electro 73 is lighter and more compact still than the SV-1, but I can't play acoustic piano (my bread and butter) on that keybed. The Stage 76 is about the same size and weight and has more features and better EPs but I dislike Nord's APs and again, I found the action to be a real stumbling point, especially for solo piano. The Yamaha S70XS may still be its closest competitor for my own needs - I think the EPs on my Motif XS Rack are still way ahead of the SV-1's and one would get those in the "S" package. But it's relatively big and heavy for its size, I'm not sure about a non-graded action and that S6 piano has come in for a lot of criticism. On the plus side, there's that mic input and USB key feature which would mean I wouldn't have to haul around a separate mixer and iPod for piano-vocal/backing track work. If I only needed acoustic piano, I might also be tempted to return to the CP33, but I need better EPs than that board can offer. Then there's my own RD700GX. It has a matchless action, great piano sound and can work OK in mono. But it's heavy, takes lots of space and the EPs are not as good, IMO, as the SV-1s. So, to sum up, this is a board full of compromises. But compromises which might make sense for you, depending on your own requirements. It seems to make sense for me. However, there is one big, black cloud on this horizon. And much as I hate to end on a downer, I feel the caveat is necessary at this point. The problem of inadvertently being able to hit buttons as you play is a serious, serious, serious flaw. And it keeps happening to me, no matter how careful I try to be. Last night, in the middle of a solo piano number, I hit the "local off" button. Fortunately, I realised immediately what had happened and I quickly remedied the problem. But it still caused a two or three seconds silence which was just plain embarrassing. I'm disappointed that we've had no further comment so far from Korg on this - I guess Jerry may just be taking a no doubt well-earned holiday. But guys, this needs fixing now. And until it is, as much as I like a lot of its features, I'm unable to wholeheartedly recommend the SV-1. Studio: Yamaha P515 | Yamaha Tyros 5 | Yamaha HX1 | Moog Sub 37 Road: Yamaha YC88 | Nord Electro 5D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Got to spend an hour on an SV-1 73 in the local GC today. I took my Grado cans in so that I could avoid having to listen to it in mono thru the Behr$%^er kbd amp they had it plugged into. It was fun to play. It did have that connectedness that the Nord keyboards have, which makes it feel more like a real instrument than the generic romplers do. And the thing is physically tiny! The action was pretty good too, lighter than a real piano but fast. Of course it lacks the fast repeat and the correct inertia that all modern DP hammer actions do. Knobs felt a bit wobbly, which is probably due to having a push function which zeros the value to a preset level. From here on I will be comparing sounds to my Nord Stage: The main piano sound is pretty good, in that it has a fairly bright timbre that will cut in a band setting. It has nothing like the subtleties of some of the better DPs though. I found that it had a somewhat weak upper octave range similar to some of the earlier Nord pianos. The special effects noises I didn't really hear, and didn't really know how to play with making them louder. The other selections of acoustic pianos I did not find useful. Rhodes and wurli were good, fun to play, but not up to the variety and detail of the Nords IMO. The CP70 is not as vivid as the one on the Stage either. The clav is pretty good. It has the 4 basic pickup sets sampled, but I don't think that the actual instrument they sampled was in top shape - there were semi dead clunker notes here and there. The special clav EQ switches on the Stage are missing here, so again my nod for clavs goes to the Stage. When I heard the first organ sound, I gagged and quickly had to wash the sound out of my ears with some more rhodes. They really nailed the Jump patch and an RMI though! The effects were a mixed bag. The wah was really strong, much better than Nord's. There was a Univibe that had a nice basic sound but which I could not crank to make extreme enough. I could not get the chorus to work in mono at all - sounded like weird pitch shifting. In stereo though, it was just fine. I never could get the stereo Rhodes pan thing going. I didn't get along with the amp sims too well either. There is a terrible interaction between switching settings and gain going completely wacky. In fact, I view this as a bug. I think in general, they have some bugs in the OS that they need to deal with: 1. I should be able to switch amp sims and effect variations without the gain jumping to zero or killing notes. I often found I had to replay something after making a value switch. 2. The sustain pedal should not cut off when I switch either - nor should I have to release it and press again for the piano to realize that it was down. I'm not sure that I like the way the variations work. When switching amongst piano or epiano variations for instance, it also switches EQ and amp sims and FX in and out. I'd almost prefer that the variations just switch the basic sound, because it makes it harder to audition and compare the different pianos, for instance. If I didn't already have a Stage, I would love this thing a lot more. But I've invested time tweaking my instrument, loading my favorite libraries, setting up my presets, etc. I'd like to spend a session on the Korg with the software editor, to see how far I could take it too. Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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