Five players, Four brands of stage piano. A good time.

[Tusker]

This was clip was over at the other forum and I thought it needed some attention at KC.

 

[video:youtube]FqxUcc-v94M

 

What a cool way to audition stage pianos.

 

Jerry

[Phred]

That's cool. Some of them definitely 'cut through' better than others.

[Dana.]

Looks like Dave Ferris's living room.

 

No surprise that the Yamahas cut through the best.

[David Loving]

Nothin'like that ole PC88! that would be Mckendree?

[Joe Muscara]

At the start

 

McKendree on the Kurz

Marcia Ball on the Roland

(don't know on the Yamaha)

Lewis Stephens on the other Yamaha next to Marcia

(don't know on the Nord, Stefano Intellisano later)

 

Daviel - Lewis lives up in your neck of the woods, actually, though he plays with a lot of acts out of Austin. I can ask him or Stefano who everyone was if you are interested. It's probably who is listed on the YouTube page but I don't know which ones are which.

[Ken Beaumont]

Oh! the inhumanity 5 X-stands! Yes, I liked the kurtz and the nord best from what I could tell. Though none sounded awful. But the yahmaha's didn't seem to cut through as much to me.

[drawback]

 

Interesting! Compared to the "dreaded Triple-Strike Piano," Roland comes off as a toy.

 

 

 

 

 

[Dana.]

But the yahmaha's didn't seem to cut through as much to me.

[kanker.]

At the start

 

McKendree on the Kurz

Marcia Ball on the Roland

(don't know on the Yamaha)

Lewis Stephens on the other Yamaha next to Marcia

(don't know on the Nord, Stefano Intellisano later)

 

Daviel - Lewis lives up in your neck of the woods, actually, though he plays with a lot of acts out of Austin. I can ask him or Stefano who everyone was if you are interested. It's probably who is listed on the YouTube page but I don't know which ones are which.

Red Young takes it after McKendree

[Ken Beaumont]

Maybe its my computer speakers but the Yamaha's sounded thin to me.

 

Update: After another listen its not they don't cut they just sound a little too bright. I still like the balance of the nord though it seems to be a little lower in volume. I'm listening on my MacBook Pro's built in speakers it might be better through headphones.

[Sven Golly]

But the yahmaha's didn't seem to cut through as much to me.

 

Consider me confused as well... that first Yamaha on the far end just about cut my eardrum in half.

[Sven Golly]

Maybe its my computer speakers but the Yamaha's sounded thin to me.

 

Update: After another listen its not they don't cut they just sound a little too bright. I still like the balance of the nord though it seems to be a little lower in volume.

 

Obviously the term 'cut' means something different to you than it seems to for most of us here.

 

And, if I may be so bold, how the hell are you expecting to do any reasonable judgement of a piano sound through multimedia computer speakers?

[Ken Beaumont]

And, if I may be so bold, how the hell are you expecting to do any reasonable judgement of a piano sound through multimedia computer speakers? confused

 

Well if I maybe so bold what do you think 99% of the people listening to a youtube video will hear it through?

I'm not buying or appraising the piano just relating what I hear.

Sleep much?

[kanker.]

But the yahmaha's didn't seem to cut through as much to me.

 

Consider me confused as well... that first Yamaha on the far end just about cut my eardrum in half.

I gotta say, the only one of those that sounded good was the Kurz. The Yamahas decayed instantly - no sound at all after the attack. The Nord sounded kind of like my normal impression of a Kurz - like a recording of a piano, not like an instrument in its own right. The Roland sounded pretty good when Marcia was playing it, but the guy who came up behind her either changed patches or found a way to expose all the flaws in whatever sound she had been playing.

[Sven Golly]

Well if I maybe so bold what do you think 99% of the people listening to a youtube video will hear it through?

I'm not buying or appraising the piano just relating what I hear.

Sleep much?

 

Fine, if you want to be an ass about this... we're not 99% of the people listening to a YouTube video; we're keyboard players, presumably doing an informed comparison of different keyboards being played in a similar style.

 

Of course, some of us are more informed than others, but I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.

[Dave Ferris]

Consider me confused as well... that first Yamaha on the far end just about cut my eardrum in half.

 

Yeah when Red started playing the CP300 it was pretty darn bright. I really enjoyed his solo though.

 

Actually for this context I thought the Kurz sounded the best Is that a PC88?

 

Followed by the Roland, then the CP300s and I thought the Nord sounded the least convincing, especially when the second soloist sat down to play on it.

[Ken Beaumont]

The Yamahas decayed instantly - no sound at all after the attack.

 

That's it, much better worded than my attempt.

[Dana.]

Yeah when Red started playing the CP300 it was pretty darn bright. I really enjoyed his solo though.

I think it's a P200, not a CP300.

[burningbusch]

Through all that cacophony, the Yamaha did the best job of projecting the player's ideas. The Nord came across as dazed and confused while the Roland sounded synthetic. The Kurzweil sounded...familiar.

 

IMO.

 

Busch.

[Dave Ferris]

Yeah when Red started playing the CP300 it was pretty darn bright. I really enjoyed his solo though.

I think it's a P200, not a CP300.

 

Aw, maybe that explains the over brightness and short decay. From what I remembered, I'd thought my CP300 had at least part of the logo on the front .

 

A quick search and yes it did

http://www.divshare.com/download/11778195-f6f

 

 

[Dana.]

I gotta say, the only one of those that sounded good was the Kurz. The Yamahas decayed instantly - no sound at all after the attack. The Nord sounded kind of like my normal impression of a Kurz - like a recording of a piano, not like an instrument in its own right.

+1

 

They all sounded thin to me, with the Roland sounding the most digital. Nord's original Steinway sample has not aged well.

[burningbusch]

The Roland is an RD700SX. These are all pretty ancient DPs. I don't know what it tells you about how the different brands would stack up today. I had a P200 10+ years ago.

 

Busch.

[mate stubb]

Just think about the sound guy trying to mix 5 pianos. It's going to be a boomy wall of noise unless you start cutting lows.

 

If you are not careful, everything will end up sounding tinny like this clip does.

[Dana.]

I don't know what it tells you about how the different brands would stack up today.

Except for the Kurzweil.

[Outkaster]

Some good players. I did not like the one guys phrasing. The dude with the Kurzweil was real good. That is not an easy style to play clean.

[Joe Muscara]

I got a reply from Lewis. From left to right, "Red Young, Kevin, Marcia, Me, Nick Connolly start. Then Tony Stead (Tommy Castro) then Stefano."

 

He also said, "Jay Curlee has several clips up from this years Pianorama. It is a unique event. Hard to explain or duplicate on dry land."

[Tusker]

Thanks for the great comments. My tongue was in my cheek when I said this was a great way to audition pianos. That said, despite the limitations of the clip, don't you think it bears out how stage pianos often sound live?

 

- Mid range stuff often gets buried except for the attack

- High range stuff will take your head off, especially with bright pianos like the Yamahas (... AFAIK nobody was playing the "agressive grand" patch either)

- Smaller samples with a mid-range bias will perform quite well in busy music

- The quantity of attack inharmonicity and decay time of sample is very important

- Even with great players on stage .. quality of playing dwarfs quality of instrument

 

What do you think?

 

Jerry

[Dana.]

I did not like the one guys phrasing.

That really narrows it down. At least you ruled out Marcia.

[reidmc]

Fun! Too many variables to make this a useful comparison exercise though. To me, the Kurz was the only one that sounded close to an acoustic piano. . .and to me it sounded like an upright. And I know that particular Roland model can be tweaked to sound a lot better, even in a band context.

[SK]

All DP's were audible, all "cut through", but the first Yamaha wins for thinnest/most piercing, on my speakers anyway.

 

Thanks for the great comments. My tongue was in my cheek when I said this was a great way to audition pianos. That said, despite the limitations of the clip, don't you think it bears out how stage pianos often sound live?

 

- Mid range stuff often gets buried except for the attack

- High range stuff will take your head off, especially with bright pianos like the Yamahas (... AFAIK nobody was playing the "agressive grand" patch either)

- Smaller samples with a mid-range bias will perform quite well in busy music

- The quantity of attack inharmonicity and decay time of sample is very important

- Even with great players on stage .. quality of playing dwarfs quality of instrument

 

What do you think?

 

Jerry

Agree completely - the obvious generalities of DP's on display, but it makes a funny, absurd test. Between the older model DP's, the live mix, the YouTube sound and the speakers one listens to it on, I can't imagine a more impossible way to compare. Single dynamic Jerry Lee Lewis banging sounds fairly authentic even on the cheapest keyboard.