Keyboard for solo/duo ceremony/cocktail hour

[AnotherScott]

My annual update... My choice in recent months has been the Korg XE20... 25 lbs, loud speakers, and a really nice piano sound. Like the Dexibell P3, it reduces the chance I'll have to supplement with a small external speaker. The Dexibell has numerous advantages mentioned earlier in the thread (so probably a better choice if it needs to do double duty as part of the main with-band rig, and not just solo ceremony/cocktail stuff), but for piano alone, I prefer playing this one (sound and feel), it's got the full 88 keys, and it's lighter (and if you're in the market for buying something of this type, it's also cheaper). They also make the B2 which I haven't played, it might do the trick, it has the same action and the same piano sound, though it lacks 1/4" outs and the speakers have a bit less power.

 

Another possibility if you want to go super light... the Korg Liano is a semi-weighted that feels surprisingly nice for piano playing. About 13 1/4 lbs and cheap. But while it has speakers, there's a good chance you'll need to supplement them, and it does have the irritation of an 1/8" output. But I'm going to post more about the Liano shortly, in its own thread. (And by coincidence, that brings be right back to the very first post if this thread... which started as an off-shoot of a discussion of the L1, which is what became the Liano!)

[ElmerJFudd]

32 minutes ago, AnotherScott said:

My annual update... My choice in recent months has been the Korg XE20... 25 lbs, loud speakers, and a really nice piano sound. Like the Dexibell P3, it reduces the chance I'll have to supplement with a small external speaker. The Dexibell has numerous advantages mentioned earlier in the thread (so probably a better choice if it needs to do double duty as part of the main with-band rig, and not just solo cocktail stuff), but for piano alone, I prefer playing this one, it's got the full 88 keys, and it's lighter (and if you're in the market for buying something of this type, it's also cheaper). They also make the B2 which I haven't played, it might do the trick, it has the same action and the same piano sound, though it lacks 1/4" outs and the speakers have a bit less power.

 

Another possibility if you want to go super light... the Korg Liano is a semi-weighted that feels surprisingly nice for piano playing. About 13 1/4 lbs and cheap. But while it has speakers, there's a good chance you'll need to supplement them, and it does have the irritation of an 1/8" output. But I'm going to post more about the Liano shortly. (And by coincidence, that brings be right back to the very first post if this thread... which started as an off-shoot of a discussion of the L1, which is what became the Liano!)

 

[The Piano Man]

12 hours ago, AnotherScott said:

My annual update... My choice in recent months has been the Korg XE20... 25 lbs, loud speakers, and a really nice piano sound. Like the Dexibell P3, it reduces the chance I'll have to supplement with a small external speaker. The Dexibell has numerous advantages mentioned earlier in the thread (so probably a better choice if it needs to do double duty as part of the main with-band rig, and not just solo cocktail stuff), but for piano alone, I prefer playing this one (sound and feel), it's got the full 88 keys, and it's lighter (and if you're in the market for buying something of this type, it's also cheaper). They also make the B2 which I haven't played, it might do the trick, it has the same action and the same piano sound, though it lacks 1/4" outs and the speakers have a bit less power.

 

Another possibility if you want to go super light... the Korg Liano is a semi-weighted that feels surprisingly nice for piano playing. About 13 1/4 lbs and cheap. But while it has speakers, there's a good chance you'll need to supplement them, and it does have the irritation of an 1/8" output. But I'm going to post more about the Liano shortly. (And by coincidence, that brings be right back to the very first post if this thread... which started as an off-shoot of a discussion of the L1, which is what became the Liano!)

I’ve just picked up an XE20. Bought a Grandstage 88 only a week ago but it needs to go back for an in warranty repair to one of the dials (the one that selects the piano sounds and does double duty for system settings) It was a floor display model so I suspect some over zealous customers were a bit too heavy handed on the dial.

 

In the meantime, I will make use of the XE20 and, I suspect, will find the internal speakers and lightweight body very handy indeed. 
 

I realised today that I have played the NH action before in the SP280 and, whilst I far prefer the RH3, I remember it being useable and not totally unlike the Technics P30. 

[Dave Keys]

I do have a YC73 which I love for band gigs, but I like a full 88 for a solo piano gig and the Yamaha CP88 is perfect for this - that’s how I ended up buying both last year, having traded in the gorgeous but backbreaking RD700nx and the Electro 5.

[AnotherScott]

13 hours ago, The Piano Man said:

I’ve just picked up an XE20. Bought a Grandstage 88 only a week ago

 

Funny, we seem go be on a bit of parallel path here... I got my XE20 back in April, and I'm finally about to get my hands on a Grandstage. But I have a hard time envisioning gigging with something of its weight.

 

13 hours ago, The Piano Man said:

In the meantime, I will make use of the XE20 and, I suspect, will find the internal speakers and lightweight body very handy indeed. 

 

It definitely pleasantly surprised me. As I posted in another thread, it has a clumsy interface (from a gig performance perspective), and disappointing EPs... and I have a list of ways it could easily have been better, and more useful as an all-arounder. But I think it's a darn good portable piano. I don't know if I've ever heard a slab sound this good from its internal speakers.

 

13 hours ago, The Piano Man said:

I realised today that I have played the NH action before in the SP280 and, whilst I far prefer the RH3, I remember it being useable and not totally unlike the Technics P30. 

 

Interesting... I read somewhere where someone said that Korg's hammer actions were derived from the Technics actions, in reference to the RH3, but maybe it applies to the NH (or both).

[The Piano Man]

Well the Grandstage was collected today to be fixed and the XE20 arrived this afternoon. It will be a more than capable understudy.

 

The two main piano sounds are really good and the best I have heard for £599. The action is fine. The board weighs 11.5kg. Proper line outs. Unbelievable what you can get these days. 
 

As you said Scott, the built in speakers are very good. 

 

I dismissed the XE20 when it was released. It is thanks to folks like yourself on this forum that convinced me to give it a try. Really can’t fault it. Now to find a lightweight gig bag for it…

[stoken6]

3 hours ago, The Piano Man said:

£599. The action is fine. The board weighs 11.5kg. Proper line outs.

Attractive - shame there's no DIN MIDI.

 

Could you (or @AnotherScott)do something for me? Connect another board that supports USB MIDI to the XE20's "to device" and test if it can both send and receive MIDI to/from the other board? The XE20 could be a handy controller if it can do this.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[AnotherScott]

XE20 works fine as an iPad controller over USB. The main limitation is that each XE20 part (upper or lower) has an associated MIDI channel, and when enabled, you'd get the internal sound as well as any external sound set to respond to that channel; and when disabled, you get neither. IOW, in its normal usage, there's no way to trigger an external sound without having it layered with an internal sound. The way around this is probably to put it in Local Off mode, and then run your iPad apps through a host like Keystage or Camelot Pro, which should then let you combine internal and external sounds as you see fit.

[ElmerJFudd]

2 hours ago, AnotherScott said:

XE20 works fine as an iPad controller over USB. The main limitation is that each XE20 part (upper or lower) has an associated MIDI channel, and when enabled, you'd get the internal sound as well as any external sound set to respond to that channel; and when disabled, you get neither. IOW, in its normal usage, there's no way to trigger an external sound without having it layered with an internal sound. The way around this is probably to put it in Local Off mode, and then run your iPad apps through a host like Keystage or Camelot Pro, which should then let you combine internal and external sounds as you see fit.

some decent piano patches in there. what kind of action is this “Natural Weighted Hammer Action” at 25.13 lbs?  It’s the same one they use in the Kross 88, ya?   
 

It seems to support a triple pedal. Do the piano sounds actually  offer sustain, bass sustain and soft? 

[AnotherScott]

I think the piano sound is excellent. It's actually the first Korg I ever had where I really liked the piano sound.

 

I assume the action is the same as Kross/Krome 88, but as I've mentioned before, even those seem to vary from unit to unit. The two XE20 I've played both felt pretty good to me. Not among my favorite actions, but perfectly playable without irritation. It's a kind of quiet, soft action, which may have more appeal to some people.

 

I don't have the triple pedal.

[ElmerJFudd]

1 hour ago, AnotherScott said:

I think the piano sound is excellent. It's actually the first Korg I ever had where I really liked the piano sound.

 

I assume the action is the same as Kross/Krome 88, but as I've mentioned before, even those seem to vary from unit to unit. The two XE20 I've played both felt pretty good to me. Not among my favorite actions, but perfectly playable without irritation. It's a kind of quiet, soft action, which may have more appeal to some people.

 

I don't have the triple pedal.

Thanks if I can play one in the shop it’s worth a try.  I’m not normally interested in arranger features - so in the price range the Kawai ES-120, Casio PX-360, Roland FP-30x would be my first to try out.  If the action on the XE20 is comparable the variety and quality of sounds is pretty darn good!  Roland has an FP-E50 that seems to compete with it (has the PH4 action).  But the E50 is 37.75 lbs.

[The Piano Man]

I had the original Krome 88 and felt it was unplayable for piano. The XE20 feels much better. It may well be that the keyboard action is exactly the same but that the improved sounds coupled with some tweaking of the touch response has made all the difference.

 

I would say that the NH on the XE20 is soft, a little slow (a touch sluggish even, perhaps) but you can play pretty expressively on it. The sound is really good and quite incredible for the price point. You won’t get as percussive a feel as on a Grandstage with RH3, particularly when playing staccato stabs or quicker passages but you have a weighted 88 that only weighs 11.5kg so something has got to give!

 

The slab cabinet is also one of the slickest I have seen: not overly bulky like the Kurzweils, nor with an extra lower layer of bulk as on the Roland FP30x/Kawai ES110 etc