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

[Ed Stanley]

Moe : I have not been able to listen to them through anything other than computer speakers which experience has taught me tells nothing about what the real sounds will be like. If you have heard them via a more revealing source or have ears that can discern more than I from your computer speakers, fair enough. And, yes, D-Bon it is unfair to compare when the basis for that comparison is price.

[kanker.]

Moe : I have not been able to listen to them through anything other than computer speakers which experience has taught me tells nothing about what the real sounds will be like. If you have heard them via a more revealing source or have ears that can discern more than I from your computer speakers, fair enough. And, yes, D-Bon it is unfair to compare when the basis for that comparison is price.

I would say that for the audio I've heard, it seems like a step up in quality from any previous Korg product in terms of the AP and EP sounds. I've always felt Korg AP's were the worst of the big 3 by far. This seems at first glance to have rectified that quite nicely. I already like the sound of it better than the Roland piano samples, which I have grown VERY tired of hearing.

[Dana.]

Moe : I have not been able to listen to them through anything other than computer speakers which experience has taught me tells nothing about what the real sounds will be like. If you have heard them via a more revealing source or have ears that can discern more than I from your computer speakers, fair enough.

Headphones?

 

And, yes, D-Bon it is unfair to compare when the basis for that comparison is price.

Why should price be a factor, especially when the SV-1 is cheaper than the Stage? When comparing the world's cheapest apple to the most expensive apple, as long as they're still apples, IMO, it's a fair comparison.

[jook]

Moe : I have not been able to listen to them through anything other than computer speakers which experience has taught me tells nothing about what the real sounds will be like.

It is not really anybody's problem but your own if you do not have a decent pair of speakers hooked up to your computer. And to assume that other people do not either, is ridiculous.

 

Given that you are aware you're in no position to comment on the sounds, how do you figure you're in a place to make the following comments?

I hate to rain on the parade but while it's weight and price point are big plusses I have a few nagging doubts. Are we supposed to be excited about it's sounds? Have any of you ever found a Korg acoustic, Wurlitzer or Rhodes emulation that was at all convincig? If so, please tell me the make and model, I'd love to hear it.

To add to that, it has already been discussed and announced by Jerry of Korg that the SV-1 features new sounds not found on any of their existing boards.

 

I always rather liked the CX-3 organ but the SV-1 won't have it. Disagree? Where are the drawbars?

It's on the CX-3, along with the waterfall, unweighted keys.

 

I for one am glad this board focuses on piano sounds rather than organ sounds. IF anything, I wish Korg left off the organ sounds completely so people don't feel the need to argue about this crap.

 

As for the tube:

 

And do they really believe that adding a visible glowing tube will make us believe that these digital approximations will come to life and sound like the real thing? It's embarrasing. Anyone who has tried similar contraptions knows what I'm talking about.

 

And BTW, the tube is a gimmick. Ask any tech-savy guitarist. In order to get the rich harmonic overtones from a tube, it must be fed a high voltage. Under-powered tubes, like the ones found in guitar pedals and low quality preamp sound shrill. Jerry is quoted as saying in this thread that very little power is sent to that tube. In fact it doesn't even light up.

 

A lightly driven 12ax7 tube does have very obvious audible effects (even if it isn't driven to glow). If you are contesting this, then you're wrong. No, it is not the same as having an all-tube pre/power stage. It is used mostly as a distortion stage, and works much better than a digital overdrive (as found on the Nord).

 

The whole "Valve Reactor" concept, wanky as it sounds, is also the idea of not just relying on the distortion stage, but coupling it with the Korg/Vox amp modelling. The tube just plays one part in the emulation of the amp stage, and if you look into the Vox Valvetronix/ToneLab products, you'll see that it's one of the most respected of all the amp modellers out there. Ask a guitarist who needs to gig with a light amp.

 

The bad rep that starved-plate tube designs have, come from using them in microphone preamps or other devices where, of course, it provides nothing but a distortion stage to something that doesn't need it.

[richwhite9]

It fills a niche. The new Electros have their organ sound feel, the Korg the pianos.

 

Both are a little pricey IMHO given that a combination of a used Electro 2 61 or CX3 AND either a FP-4 or Privia or Yamaha CP series can be bought for the same price. $2,000 is a competitive and crowded field right now.

[MikeT156]

I have to agree with Dana (D-Bon) that it is fair to compare products by price. I look for the best sounding KB for the money I can afford to spend, so how is price not a factor?

 

 

Mike T.

[Dana.]

Mike, I think you might have misinterpreted my point (or made a typo?), but no biggie. What I'm getting at is that I think it's totally fair to compare, say, the new Privia piano sound with the V-Piano. They're both piano sounds, right? Price shouldn't be a factor in deciding which sound one thinks is better. As well all know, a higher priced instrument doesn't mean that it sounds better than a cheaper one.

[MikeT156]

Yeah I did misunderstand Dana. I was referring to bang for the buck. I don't worry all that much about how the V-Piano sounds compared to a Privia because I could never afford a V-Piano. Oh well, I've misunderstood other things here before, why should that be any different?

 

 

Cheers,

 

 

Mike T.

[Dana.]

No worries, Mike. "Bang for the buck" depends on one's needs, of course, but I think the SV-1 will have a lot of it for a lot of people.

[MikeT156]

Yeah, I agree. Most of us use B&B sounds 95% of the time and the SV-1's focus is on vintages sounds, easy operation, lightweight. The quality of the sounds have been questioned, but according to what Jerry from Korg said, these sounds (or at least most of them) are "new". Its probably worth giving it a look, feel, and listen.

 

Cheers,

 

 

Mike T.

[zahush76]

Are there splits and layers on the SV-1?

[Aidan]

Nope.

[Pale]

Here's someone noodling:

 

 

 

Not really stellar playing, but still interesting to see.

[ADino]

Ive never seen anyone in my travels using either of those DBon..but then again I lead a pretty sheltered life...then again again, Ive never seen anyone using the korg module either...So let me rephrase...if the Korg module looked like a module..something I can put in a rack to keep it protected, Id have 1 in a minute..with one of the M3 modules, looks like Id need some sort of table..more stuff to carry, a secure way to place it so I could change sounds without it rocking to and fro and etc etc...too bad, as it does sound good...

I use a Nord Electro Rack, and I typically set it on top of whatever keyboard I'm using. That said, the M3 module looks too big to do that with most keyboards.

 

Im not familiar w/the Electro rack, but while at a shop yesterday, I checked the M3 to see and feel just how big the rack is....it is def large, for me, too large to justify carrying it..actually, it looks as thou its simply made for the M3 it was sitting on..

[Keyboardwizz]

Why is it that everybody forgets the Roland Vr-760 (or V-combo) in this discussion, it was the only competion for the electro imho, had a nice hammond (waterfall keys with lower key travel for the organ sound ), nice e-pianos & your B&B sounds.

I was very pleased with it, until my Nord Stage arrived

that's the best 3000,-- I've ever spend.......

The SV-1 concept & design is great but the sounds I heard so far doesn't sound that good to me, but a nice try Korg......

[Mark Schmieder]

The reason it's forgotten is that it is unavailable, and even when it was in production, none of the stores had heard of it.

 

It was actually a pretty good compromise design overall, but like most Roland gear (used and new), overpriced (a long-term mystery).

 

I think the SV-1 is a brilliant design and fills a market niche. Whether its bang-for-buck beats out a Nord is situational.

 

Many people would rather have their organ in a dedicated controller with real drawbars etc. and waterfall keys with lighter action, but want more of a piano feel for the trad keyboards.

 

It makes perfect sense to me, to separate these functions, as fewer compromises are made.

 

I have no idea whether I'm in the market for this keyboard or not, as my first priority is a PC3x, once I am past the hump of all of these out-of-pocket medical bills and know my budget.

 

Nevertheless, I greatly admire the product and Korg for releasing it. But I personally am more likely to prioritise the Wavedrum as it is unique in every way and so musical and inspiring.

 

I do look forward to trying out an SV-1 in a store though. I'm pretty happy with the electric keys in the PC3x and figure those will satisfy me long-term. But I might also like a dedicated board and a lighter option for certain gigs and/or a second board so the PC3x can concentrate on synth and orchestral stuff.

 

From what I've heard, the SV-1 may have the first usable (IMHO) acoustic pianos of any Korg product. :-) I'm DEFINITELY looking forward to hearing those outside the MP3 context in a store!

[FunkKeysStuff]

How the AP sounds work in real life will make or break it for me as well. If I dig 'em, it's pretty much a done deal.

 

And I don't see this as being a "Nord killer" at all, especially with the "90s ROMpler" organ sounds (which I liken to the acoustic piano on the original Electro -- it's there to get you through a rehearsal, or maybe a single tune way in the background on a gig, but was never meant to be taken seriously). Rather, I think it would be a great complement. If I get one, it plus my NE3 will become my standard rig. Dedicated piano on bottom, dedicated organ on top, and an assortment of EPs, Clavs, and synth sounds wherever they're most handy.

 

Looking forward to November...

[mate stubb]

Why is it that everybody forgets the Roland Vr-760 (or V-combo) in this discussion, it was the only competion for the electro imho

 

This board didn't do it for me at all. Typical shrill/thin Roland high end on the organs, EPs were meh, clavs were double meh, no way to send the organ out a separate output.

 

The action, OTOH, was like buttah for organ.

[jook]

Why is it that everybody forgets the Roland Vr-760 (or V-combo) in this discussion, it was the only competion for the electro imho, had a nice hammond (waterfall keys with lower key travel for the organ sound ), nice e-pianos & your B&B sounds.

I was very pleased with it, until my Nord Stage arrived

that's the best 3000,-- I've ever spend.......

The SV-1 concept & design is great but the sounds I heard so far doesn't sound that good to me, but a nice try Korg......

 

Clearly we have different tastes. The V-combo sounds were terrible to me. Not even in the same league as the new Korg. Try this clip which is the better demo I've seen so far:

[Nicky]

To me the HUGE flaw in the V combo was you couldn't split the Organ using 2 different drawbar settings (let's say for left hand bass)....you could only split the organ with a sampled bass sound, like a fretless bass or whatever came in the instrument. Deal breaker for me.

[Ed Stanley]

An open letter to Jook:

 

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post. Please allow me to elucidate.

 

First, I made no assumptions about anyone anywhere in my post.

 

Secondly, I am "in a place" to make the comments about EP and AP sounds I made by virtue of my having played and in some cases owned every keyboard Korg has released over the past 10 to 15 years. Jerry of Korg says that it has new sounds. I'm just expressing my belief that Korg has historically failed to deliver the sounds that they are now claiming to have perfected. My opinion. I made no claim about the sounds of the SV-1, only it's Korg predecesors. I, in fact, expressed hope that they will be good.

 

In the future please do me the courtesy of reading and understanding my posts before responding.

 

Yours truly, Ed

 

But, yeah, the tube is snake oil.

[Al Coda]

 

Clearly we have different tastes. The V-combo sounds were terrible to me. Not even in the same league as the new Korg. Try this clip which is the better demo I've seen so far:

 

O.k.,- I´ve seen these 6 demos of this excellent playing guy several times now and I also listened to the Korg demos of all the 36 patches actually available.

The truth is,- it doesn´t tell me anything how this instrument will work in a band context or a mix.

 

If this keyboard is designed for a gigging (or touring) musician, all these demos are speculative to me unless I´ve played this thing in a live situation, rehearsal or gig.

 

These demos just only show how it sounds in a solo performance (at home?).

 

I don´t want to buy a keyboard which is as close as possible to the original sound of whatever vintage electromagnetic or acoustic instrument because in every live- or studio-session I had in my life, these original instruments were processed w/ additional gear like hell to fit in all the mixes ever done.

 

Up to now, I understand, the KORG team creates more additional patches for this instrument, maybe on demand of customers. O.K... so far.

But is this the way to go?

Being addicted to the work of a team of programmers?

Do they really know in which context we´ll use or plan to use their sounds?

 

This instrument looks like a instrument, but it´s a machine,- like every electronic instrument.

 

Aidan say "there are no layers",- but there are. These are in the samplemaps of some patches.

I definitely don´t understand Korgs concept, layers of programs can´t be done and edited by the user now.

This was already possible w/ the old SG models (program/preformance mode) and the SV-1 reminds me to these models very much,- but w/ better multisamples now.

 

I hoped for the software editor in this case, but I recognized, it´s not more than the real instrument offers in regard of creating sounds (except the mid-sweep EQ).

 

Why do I have to use a software editor just only because of this very important EQ-band ?

If there is a EQ available, I want to have full access to all of the frequency-bands of this EQ from the frontpanel of the instrument.

 

A.C.

 

 

 

[Ed Stanley]

Why should price be a factor, especially when the SV-1 is cheaper than the Stage? When comparing the world's cheapest apple to the most expensive apple, as long as they're still apples, IMO, it's a fair comparison.

 

Not when the world's most expensive apple features an organ w/drawbars, a dedicated synth, splits, layers etc. It's because the price of the SV-1 is less that it is unfair. You get what you pay for. To simply say piano X sounds better than piano Y is absolutely fair but that was not what some posts were focusing on.

[Dana.]

To simply say piano X sounds better than piano Y is absolutely fair...

That was my point.

We now return to our regularly scheduled .

[jook]

An open letter to Jook:

 

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post. Please allow me to elucidate.

 

First, I made no assumptions about anyone anywhere in my post.

 

Secondly, I am "in a place" to make the comments about EP and AP sounds I made by virtue of my having played and in some cases owned every keyboard Korg has released over the past 10 to 15 years. Jerry of Korg says that it has new sounds. I'm just expressing my belief that Korg has historically failed to deliver the sounds that they are now claiming to have perfected. My opinion. I made no claim about the sounds of the SV-1, only it's Korg predecesors. I, in fact, expressed hope that they will be good.

 

In the future please do me the courtesy of reading and understanding my posts before responding.

 

You're right. You contributed a post which had nothing at all to do with the topic of the thread (i.e. the online demos and available sounds of the Korg SV-1) and merely broadcasted your own unfounded speculations (that it's going to sound like previous Korg boards) despite evidence of the contrary.

 

It was my mistake to assume that you were trying to contribute something relevant to the topic.

 

You said that you have not heard a single good Korg piano sound in the past. There were plenty of videos which indicated to most of us, that this board sounded significantly different to previous boards. If you had listened to this and your opinion differs, fine. Feel free to describe what you don't like about them. But you seem to insist you weren't able to judge these clips, and that your mind is made up regardless. What was that supposed to contribute to the discussion? Like mate_stubb said, it sounds like you're just here to get wet.

[Gary75]

Love the look and the sounds. I'm normally a Scarbee user live, but cramming stuff into 2GB RAM is tricky if everythings preloaded. Are the multi velocity level pianos sampled per key? Probably not. I know the 8 velocity layer Scarbee Rhodes is per key, but then again, it takes up about a gig of Ram. Just wondering how stretched over the adjoining keys the samples are?

 

I do really like it though, I was measuring up the other night, seeing if I could squeeze it on top of the KeyB, it won't!

 

This is the first product Korg has released that made me visit their site for a few years now.

[funkphingerz88]

Next week ill be demoing this board...im gonna be pushing it to its limits..

lookout for some footage

[Legatoboy]

The V-Combo and Roland sounds in general (Piano and organ, some of the synth sounds too) always worked better for me in smaller more intimate acoustic ambiances or in lower band volume settings.

 

[Aidan]

JD, looking forward to your demo - you got friends in high places?

 

The thing which remains unknown at the moment is how the thing plays - some of the EP demos on the original viral marketing things suggested quite a sharp velocity switch.

 

And although the acoustic piano sounds really quite nice (esp for Korg), there doesn't appear to be any half-damper capabilities, which might work against it in more subtle settings.

 

However, unless this turns out to be a complete klunker, against all the showing so far, I expect Korg to shift a lot of these.

[Calumet]

Love the look and the sounds. I'm normally a Scarbee user live, but cramming stuff into 2GB RAM is tricky if everythings preloaded.

 

I, too, was a Scarbee live user and the demos I have heard don't sound as close to the Scarbee samples as the Nord stuff does. My 2 cents.