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Korg SV-1: from GAS to pass?


Dana.

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Apparently Jack White is cool with it.

That's all I need to know to reinforce my take on it.... :laugh:

 

So then you'd have the same "take" on Hammond A100's, Wurlitzer 200A's, Fender Rhodes, Rhodes Bass, Moog Phatty, and just your average Steinway.

 

http://www.b3guys.com/umages/R_TWS_Nash_rehearsals_JW_Hammond.jpg

 

http://a3.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/16/ae90066b71e79e4f9ed92f85e49f9af8/l.jpg

 

http://mixonline.com/mag/PIANOS-SETUP.jpg

 

I think it's a good indication of just how the SV-1 fits a particular place in the market and appeals to musicians who don't like the current types and trends of digital keyboards and workstations.

 

Note that despite his "red" obsession, I've never seen him with a Nord...

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  • 5 weeks later...

Just got the SV-1 today... anyone having trouble with it? When I do a run or play grace-notes and hold down certain notes, it will staccato and even mute those notes. Very annoying. I have it on the favorite #2, which is the "soft 1" setting. Any fixes or ideas?

Thanks!

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I was at my favourite retailer today and one of the staffers who I'll call the "head of the keyboard department" (a very friendly/knowledgeable/skilled sales rep with great chops--I'm pretty sure he is the head of that department) told me that Korg was definitely working on an SV-2, and that the plan was to use the technology that's in the Kronos. He said he knew this for sure. As for when this is will be announced, he said it could be at this NAMM, the next NAMM, or the one after that--bottom line, he doesn't know.

 

I don't know if this is news, stuff we already no, or stuff that's hypothetical. It's certainly plausible, and it will be 3 years this fall since the SV-1 was out (if not a bit longer). I still love the looks and functionality of the SV-1, but don't love the piano sound, and rather dislike the action. Unfortunately, a colour change/reverse keys didn't do much for me. There should definitely be an SV-2.

~ Sean

Juno-60, Juno-G, MicroBrute, MS-20 Mini, PX-5S, R3, etc.

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Has anyone bought any of the new black 73 or 88s ? I'm thinking of taking the plunge again (3rd X's a charm :laugh: ) as I've got a fairly good deal on the Blacks.

 

Seeing the older ones on CL here in the $1000-1100 range for the 73 and $1300 for the 88.

 

Wondering if it's worth the extra $300-400 to buy new and have that piece of mind through an in town dealer if there are any RH3 action or other issues that crop up...

 

The new Black ones don't have the *improved* RH3 that the Kronos is now shipping with, correct ?

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I was at my favourite retailer today and one of the staffers who I'll call the "head of the keyboard department" (a very friendly/knowledgeable/skilled sales rep with great chops--I'm pretty sure he is the head of that department) told me that Korg was definitely working on an SV-2, and that the plan was to use the technology that's in the Kronos. He said he knew this for sure. As for when this is will be announced, he said it could be at this NAMM, the next NAMM, or the one after that--bottom line, he doesn't know.

 

I don't know if this is news, stuff we already no, or stuff that's hypothetical. It's certainly plausible, and it will be 3 years this fall since the SV-1 was out (if not a bit longer). I still love the looks and functionality of the SV-1, but don't love the piano sound, and rather dislike the action. Unfortunately, a colour change/reverse keys didn't do much for me. There should definitely be an SV-2.

 

Korg will clean up with the SV-2 if they get it right. Kronos pianos/elec pianos/organs and even a smattering of the synth sounds would make me happy. They can probably hardly believe there's still a market for that sort of stage piano.

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Hi, Rich, as long as you're here...

 

When the inevitable "new, improved" (and likely more expensive) "SV-2" comes along, rather than abandon the SV-1, I'd like to see a re-worked SV-1 that would be lower cost and lighter weight, by using the lighter and cheaper SP170 keybed instead of the RH3, and with a non-rounded top design that would be friendlier to placement of other devices or resting the front of another board on (or maybe to hold a Microstation). I guess the tube could be expendable as well, for price or product differentiation considerations, if need be. Call it an SV-100, maybe...

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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Well I just spent a good hour at the Hollywood GC going between the 73 (was told it had been on the floor about 3 months) and a new (right out of the box) Black 88. I had 'em both on separate keyboard stands (in sitting position) right next to each other.

 

I realize they are supposed to be the same RH3 and I took into consideration that the 73 was a demo model, but they felt different to me. The 88 seemed lighter and smoother. Smooth I would understand if newer but lighter ?

 

Personally I like the looks of the Black over the copper that I had. Still do not feel comfortable on a 73 weighted board. If I'm playing Rhodes or wurli, it's cool. But for AP, there's just too much piano mentality ingrained here.. :laugh:

 

So I think I'm gonna go for the 3-peat with the Black 88. :crazy: I know.. :facepalm: But hey it's got a "thing" to the sound that neither the CP5 or NP have.

 

The Nord action continues to bug me in addition to both the XL Bosie & Yamaha Br. Grand thin out in the register 2 octaves up from middle C. No meat up there imo...

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Love my SV1.

 

Because, above all, it's a musical instrument. It has the most organic feel of any board that I've ever played. The Electric Pianos in particular sound and feel so alive. hard to put into words.

 

Most synths these days are just a computer with a keyboard attached, like my Kurzweil. Very good at what it does, but it's not a musical instrument, it's a tool.

 

Yamaha CP4 Stage

Kurzweil PC361

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  • 1 month later...

 

I actually tracked this guy down on facebook and asked him how he got this sound. I was interested in buying the Sv1 awhile back but never did. I got the Kurzweil sp4-8 instead but the Rhodes sounded really fake in the upper register and the pianos were terrible. I'm now thinking about getting the Korg again. Here is Daniels response from 2010..

 

 

DANIEL: Hi Tyler. I did a simple edition in the SV1 using his software for more edit option. I tryed to match/copy the sound of the original rhodes and wurlitzer using the eq and all settings available. You can do the same if you have any vintage rhodes or wurlitzer around....anyway I saved the modifications in a .sv1 file that will be available for download from korg brasil website very soon. Regards

 

TYLER: thanks so much for responding first of all. So Its not from the new sound pack 2? but rather the original sounds, just using the editor? you did an amazing job by the way. how did you taper back the bell? it seems to sound so much better. sorry for asking so many questions you must understand, I've been obsessed with your tweaks and no one else can figure out what you did. honestly you should work for korg cause this is the closest I've heard the sv1 come to the real thing. thanks again and any additional information is greatly appreciated.

 

DANIEL: Hi Tyler. Many thanks for your words. Yes I used the factory preset sounds as a start point. The Equalizer (using sofware) has an important feature to the final result. I played rhodes and wurlitzer for many years, so I am really demanding for a great sounding and the SV-1 is totally capable to get very very close. I wish I could have more access trough its edition parameters (the software is too simple for my demands). The factory Touch response options are not enough for me, I wish I could edit the curve. Some other responses from harmonics should be editable too. The curve parameter 6 is what I used for bouth Rhodes and Wurlitzer. The SV1's touch response curve are nothing to do with the Rhodes and Wurlitzer touch response. You have to change a bit your touch while playing to get a "close to real" response from the SV-1 keyboard. Regard

 

I am glad to help. I am sure your ideas to Korg will be appreciated. A constumer/musician oppinion is always very important. Althrough, it's clear that there are reasons to the simplest software editor. I really don't know their reason, but I can think about a non prepeared user tweak the edition so much that will ruin the "vintage piano" concept and turn it to maybe a weird synth... Really I don't know. But in the right hands may work some try.

The SV1 is the best Electric Piano Ever. I never heard something so "alive" and "honest". It's a milestone...it starts a new age of musical keyboard instruments. I was very impressed during the video, because I recorded the real Rhodes and Wurlitzer by micking their own amplification (that is awesome and gives a lot of caracter to the classical rhodes/wurly sound) and the SV1 was recorded DIRECTLY in the line!!! So I got a awesome result without an AMP!!! The Rhodes and wurlitzer plugged direct in line don't sound great. Wow!!! I did another test (not recorded yet) that I had edited the SV1 audio in the real Rhodes and Wurlitzer self amplification! It was so real that I couldn't beleave!

Ok. The eq's mid cut available in the software is the key to get the caracter of the vintage sound. Another thing is a very usable feature from the effects that are the compression. Very hard to work with, but it helps a lot with the expression from the tine/reed samples...

 

Don't worry about further upgrades. Enjoy what you have available NOW.

The SV1 is really cool and worth any cent of it. Software upgrades will make it more updated for many years. maybe An SV2 will based in other vintage equipment. There's no way to know... maybe korg don't know yet.... Music is what is all about!

Regards.

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That youtube really intrigued me when I first saw it, prior to getting my SV1. It had me really excited. I wound up getting an SV1, and did many hours of A/B comparison against my suitcase 88.

 

If you listen closely to that youtube, you can hear the flaws that frustrated me so much with the SV1. When he switches to the SV1, the softness of the Rhodes is lost. The SV1 nails the higher velocities, but the low velocities are just so hard to get at because of the action. Every note on the SV1 sounds like he's hitting it pretty hard, whereas when he switches to the Rhodes you hear many soft notes that you'd never hear from the SV1. On my Rhodes I can lay low and not bark out or step over the other instruments or vocals. With the SV1 I just didn't feel that dynamic control. I spent plenty of time tweaking the velocity sensitivy, trying to get that dynamic range from the action, but never got what I wanted.

 

I had much more success with Scarbee samples and my el cheapo Yamaha KX8 88 key controller. I managed to get them mapped out, release samples, and velocity curved so that I could really get into playing it. I could close my eyes and almost feel as good as if playing a Rhodes. Perhaps if I put a sub underneath the keyboard I would have gotten the vibration of the suitcase speaker cabinet in my fingers, that probably would have been the icing on the cake.

 

Nevertheless, my SV1 is gone, and I don't miss it one bit. I'd take a sampler with Scarbee samples any day over it. Not sure which keyboard sampler would be best for it. Perhaps a Fantom X7, though it takes forever to load up a few hundred MB of samples in Fantom. If anyone has any suggestions of a fairly inexpensive board that has >=512MB sample RAM, that loads quickly from attached device (SCSI/SD/CF/USB, etc...), let me know. My GAS will surely start bubbling up again soon.

Favorite Gear:Vintage Vibe 73 w/MIDI, Microkorg, ipad2 with lotsa apps, VB3, Rhodes 88, Roland VK8, Fantom XR, Brainspawn Forte
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how did you taper back the bell?

If you prefer darker EP sounds (as I do), a nice SV-1 alternative could be the Numa Piano. With default EQ, there's some odd high frequency aliasing or something going on, but if you just turn the front panel Treble knob down to about 9:00, I think both the Rhodes and Wurli sounds are very good... and it's 88 keys and under 25 lbs, so a lot more portable than an SV-1. I imagine that the same EPs will be in the forthcoming NumaCompact, though that won't have the full weighted action.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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Anotherscott - I see/hear what you're saying about the Numa Piano. I had never heard one, but after listening to a few youtubes just now, its EPs sound pretty good, and expressive.

 

Favorite Gear:Vintage Vibe 73 w/MIDI, Microkorg, ipad2 with lotsa apps, VB3, Rhodes 88, Roland VK8, Fantom XR, Brainspawn Forte
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Nevertheless, my SV1 is gone, and I don't miss it one bit. I'd take a sampler with Scarbee samples any day over it. Not sure which keyboard sampler would be best for it. Perhaps a Fantom X7, though it takes forever to load up a few hundred MB of samples in Fantom. If anyone has any suggestions of a fairly inexpensive board that has >=512MB sample RAM, that loads quickly from attached device (SCSI/SD/CF/USB, etc...), let me know. My GAS will surely start bubbling up again soon.

Yeah, one thing I like about the Fantom XR is that it's a compact way to add samples to a rig (while also providing some nice sounds of its own, native and in its SRX cards), but its sample loading time makes a Kronos seem instantaneous. For live performance, I think the only boards that give you fast access to large multi-layered samples are the Kronos and Motif XF.

 

But something I've been meaning to play with more is the BS-16i iPad app, which loads soundfonts. Instrument size is limited by available RAM, but If you get the newest iPad, that's upwards of 600 mB, so that might be your answer. Potentially a decent sample playback module for $499 + $70 for something like an iRig MIDI interface, and it happens to do a bunch of other cool stuff too...

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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I have used bs16i quite a bit, and I have loaded some pretty big sample sets into it. 220MB of Scarbee Rhodes + a 200MB clav soundfont at the same time, and it actually works. Loads very fast.

 

The headphone out on the iPad is awful though, in my experience. I've used the Alesis ioDock and it seems to make for a pretty good combination with iOS 5.x. Prior to iOS 5 though, the MIDI latency on with ipad2+ioDock+BS16i was pretty bad.

 

I've yet to find an organ on iPad that allowed for drawbar control via MIDI CC, and also sounds good. Too bad there's no VB3 for iPad. That, plus bs16i would cover a LOT of bases.

 

And, lastly, there's no ioDock for ipad3. I'm watching for someone to release a piece of hardware with:

- ipad charging

- ipad3 compatibility

- good audio outs (XLR + 1/4")

- low-latency MIDI in

 

ioDock does all that for ipad2, but the ipad3 has the increased RAM (I think), which would be really good for BS16i.

Favorite Gear:Vintage Vibe 73 w/MIDI, Microkorg, ipad2 with lotsa apps, VB3, Rhodes 88, Roland VK8, Fantom XR, Brainspawn Forte
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And, lastly, there's no ioDock for ipad3. I'm watching for someone to release a piece of hardware with:

- ipad charging

- ipad3 compatibility

- good audio outs (XLR + 1/4")

- low-latency MIDI in

 

Griffin StudioConnect?

 

http://store.griffintechnology.com/studioconnect-na17132

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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Griffin StudioConnect?

 

That's definitely close. Wish it had at least 1/4" outs, preferably 1/4"+XLR. The stand-up format of the thing would be kinda weird to gig with. I like the big volume knob, but I think I'd rather have something that can lay down on top of a keyboard, like the ioDock. I suppose one could get a 6' 30pin extension cable, and put the Griffin thing over to the side, out of the way somewhere. That might very well, now that I think about it.

 

Ok, so if the RCA outs don't sound bad, and somebody comes out with something like VB3 for the ipad, the iPad3+bs16i+griffin+organ+6'extension could really be a killer module, for well under $1k brand new.

Favorite Gear:Vintage Vibe 73 w/MIDI, Microkorg, ipad2 with lotsa apps, VB3, Rhodes 88, Roland VK8, Fantom XR, Brainspawn Forte
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One of our local retailers is selling black 88-key Korg SV-1 for $1679; I've been jumping around the table in terms of my search for digital pianos (I've tried a fair amount, from Roland to Yamaha to Kawai), but I think in the end, I'm going to settle with the keyboard that started my search: the SV-1. The action--somewhat flimsy, maybe. The sound quality? Well, I've heard better and brighter. But another retailer set me up on Friday with headphones and an SV-1, and I was totally blown away. The piano was responding to my movements exactly as it should, and though the key-bed is nothing like my baby grand (or a $5000 Roland/Yamaha offering), it wasn't too heavy or light either. I was playing a red 73-key, so if the old models are like this, I expect no less (well, no worse anyways) from the new ones. It's going to be a big purchase and I may end up selling another board, but it's perfect for what I need. The ease-of-use, and all of the on-board effects really seal the deal. Of course, I'll keep you all posted! I'll probably hold off on this purchase until after Summer NAMM. If an SV-2 is in the works and is announced in the winter, I don't mine buying an SV-1. But if I buy one now when an SV-2 is only a couple of months away, I'll be p-o'd. Besides, I'll save more money by waiting a few more weeks.

~ Sean

Juno-60, Juno-G, MicroBrute, MS-20 Mini, PX-5S, R3, etc.

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I think I'd rather have something that can lay down on top of a keyboard, like the ioDock. I suppose one could get a 6' 30pin extension cable, and put the Griffin thing over to the side, out of the way somewhere. That might very well, now that I think about it.

That could work, but also, there can be advantage to the prop-it-up approach... the actual surface footprint is smaller. So the griffin piece might allows you to fit the iPad on a keyboard that doesn't have quite enough space for a flat ipad. Also, in some cases, it might make the screen more readable from playing position, which could be especially useful if you were simultaneously using the iPad for reading lyrics or charts.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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I've been worrying about the same thing. In all the demos I watch it seems to be missing a few layers of that pure electric piano sounds. It's like it only has the oposite ends of the spectrum (Bark & bell). So nothing in sound pack 2 can rectify this?
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The reverse color key SV-1 in 76 note is $1699.99.

 

 

I still think the new black 73 at $1499 is going to do very well. The Nord weighted actions are a lot more money. There are plenty of mid level DPs in this price range with actions that are no better than the RH3 and typically have one decent acoustic piano and everything else sucks.

 

 

�Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here!�

J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

 

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Just found this online.. not too bad. At least until you watch the real Rhodes version just next to it. Still though, the sv1 sounds like a recently serviced Mk1 here. Its making me want one. Those of you who own one of these can probable tell which rhodes he's using and what his setting are. I've left him a message but any insight would be appreciated.

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I had my 'red' SV-1 for two years. That muting of the notes when playing softly eventually got to me. It annoys me that such a mechanical problem could get pass QC at Korg, and then allow it to transfer to other boards like the Kronos.

 

I personally found the RH3 action sluggish.

 

The sounds were not too shabby, but I thought dry, the Rhodes was fairly thin sounding in comparison to what I replaced the SV-1 with (2nd hand Nord Stage EX) I compared it to my Mk1, and at softer playing it was close, but the more you dug in the more the velocity layers would jump out at you (I can't remember if it's 3 or 4 layers on the Rhodes samples), and it just didn't bite for me at harder velocities.

 

I tried Soundpack 2, and felt it was darker across the board, but it's through EQ, whereas the Nord uses three different tine/pickup placements on there sample sets.

 

I would certainly be interested in an SV-2, as I believe the concept of the SV-1 was great, but fell short in areas.

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Was GAS'n this until I played it..... Organ was lifeless. Everything on this unit is just ok. Went from gas to ass

 

 

Looks cool though!

-Greg

Motif XS8, MOXF8, Hammond XK1c, Vent

Rhodes Mark II 88 suitcase, Yamaha P255

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