Alesis NanoPiano & NanoSynth

[dalpozlead]

Hey!, I’m studying possibilities to have a super compact travel rack and found those two units with good prices. Listened to some demos on YT and liked how it sounds but wanted to check with you on your thoughts…. Is it worth to have those 16 bit digital samples? Does it sound too “old”….?

Tks!

[Tusker]

The Nano Piano served me well. Kurzweil's micropiano was also a good little bread and butter unit. Both of them had warm natural sounding pianos. 

 

Your last question is difficult. I am all about shiny software pianos now, but that's my particular workflow and bias.  Your workflow and needs could be quite different. PA system's have improved a bit. Stage sonics not so much. Human ears (I think) also have not. If the samples worked then they should work today.

 

There could also be artistic reasons for certain sounds. For example, if I am doing an DX7 style bass at 24bits it could be lacking in character, but if I downsample to 12bits (like the DX7) man, I love that crunch!! Also, the Korg M1 piano still speaks to me and I think that's 16 bits. YMMV.

[timwat]

I never owned one, but back in the day I remember playing one and thinking it reminded me a lot of the Quadrasynth Plus Piano, which I gigged at the time and still have in the garage. As memory serves, the Alesis sound aesthetic leaned "bright" to me...which was serviceable and usable at the time, until the first time I A/B'd it with a Kurzweil K2000. As the old commercial asked, "Where's the beef?" In the Kurzweil, it seemed.

 

That was revelatory, and put me down the Kurzweil K2500, (then K2600 after the 2500 was stolen) path for the decade or so until the Kronos came out.

 

So it depends on your needs. I'm guessing the Nanopiano is much more playable than, say, the Korg M1 piano of a decade earlier, but discriminating ears would place it of another era than current AP solutions. Only you can decide if that scratches your itch or not. 

 

Also, for a "piano in a module", I've not played but heard good things about that odd looking V3 piano module. Might be worth your consideration.

 

 

[Delaware Dave]

geez, i used those in a studio recording 20 years ago and wasn't even impressed with them then.  i wouldn't build a rig around them; there are plenty of lightweight decent sounding keyboards.  The Gemini module (rack or tabletop) would absolutely blow them away.

 

https://www.genuinesoundware.com/?a=showproduct&b=43

 

Youtube has a ton of video to listen to .....

[JamPro]

For the life of me, I cannot understand why any musician would try to assess sound quality from a YouTube video.

 

You want to use the unit in a performance situation, where the response of the unit to your fingers will be paramount.  And the comparison between whatever you have used or are planning to use compared to the Alesis unit is also paramount.  It is not really possible to assess the Alesis in those ways from a YouTube video.

 

(And of course, the audio in YouTube videos is processed significantly; this is a poor environment to do discriminatory listening.) 

[Reezekeys]

If compactness is your goal, the piano I have in my 2016 original iPhone SE is probably leagues ahead of any of those old  modules.

[obxa]

Agreed just about any app (Korg Module) would sound light years better, and wouldn't build a rig around it.

 While ago, found a Nanosynth at Goodwill. Been in my emergency gigbag forever.  I played around with it a little;  reminded me of the typical General Midi soundcard stuff.   

 

 I guess if you're getting it for just something to knock around without a computer-tablet-phone it'd be useful.  Then again they still sell things like this on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/midiplus-miniEngine-USB-Sound-Module/dp/B00VHKM190/ref=sr_1_2?crid=UJN38C7V5R79&keywords=midi+sound+module&qid=1678728825&sprefix=midi+module%2Caps%2C565&sr=8-2

[pjd]

I had an Alesis Nanopiano a zillion years ago and liked the little fellow. However, it's gone and I can't compare it against anything contemporary.

 

I have and use a V3 Sound Yammex module. It has the same sound content as the V-shaped Grand Piano XXL, but the bank/program numbers are different. There must also be firmware differences, too, because the Yammex doesn't seem to respond to MIDI messages to change the DSP effects.

 

That said, the sound quality is quite good. I bought mine used and I'm glad that I didn't pay full freight given the MIDI issues. Wish there was an update...

 

-- pj

 

[dalpozlead]

thanks for the insights. 

My first option is an old JV-1010 but it seems almost impossible to find... I'll start thinking going to an iPad based or other portable solution....

[Reezekeys]

1 hour ago, dalpozlead said:

My first option is an old JV-1010

 

I have one (not ready to part with it though). Got in in 2006 when I started to get serious with a laptop rig and wanted a backup that was easy to carry. The Session piano is actually not that bad for a two-layer piano, and there are a few other cool sounds but honestly it doesn't compare to what's out there today. One potentially very important issue you might know about is that JV editing software that runs on today's computers may be hard to find and require emulation software. You'll probably want this software, as the front-panel editing is limited (though I have to say I'm impressed with Roland's implementation).

[mate stubb]

2 hours ago, dalpozlead said:

thanks for the insights. 

My first option is an old JV-1010 but it seems almost impossible to find... I'll start thinking going to an iPad based or other portable solution....

 

I have an XV2020 I'm not doing anything with if that scratches your itch.

[dalpozlead]

34 minutes ago, Reezekeys said:

 

I have one (not ready to part with it though). Got in in 2006 when I started to get serious with a laptop rig and wanted a backup that was easy to carry. The Session piano is actually not that bad for a two-layer piano, and there are a few other cool sounds but honestly it doesn't compare to what's out there today. One potentially very important issue you might know about is that JV editing software that runs on today's computers may be hard to find and require emulation software. You'll probably want this software, as the front-panel editing is limited (though I have to say I'm impressed with Roland's implementation).

sure, I'm searching for software to edit that works in my windows 10 laptop.... found some good prices in my local Brazilian "ebay" site... fingers crossed!

[Lou_NC]

On 3/13/2023 at 10:16 AM, dalpozlead said:

Hey!, I’m studying possibilities to have a super compact travel rack and found those two units with good prices. Listened to some demos on YT and liked how it sounds but wanted to check with you on your thoughts…. Is it worth to have those 16 bit digital samples? Does it sound too “old”….?

Tks!

I'm a big fan of these vintage Alesis boxes, and actually have BOTH of them in my own "compact travel rack" right now!  I've been playing keyboards since 1975, so using something that's "only" 20 years old is still "new tech" as far as I'm concerned!  Especially compared to the synthesizer-based piano sounds I started out with in the 70's and early 80's......

 

I do find the Alesis pianos to be well suited to my needs (rhythm section, not a solo keyboard act), and since my main "go-to" instrument is Hammond organ, piano is an "ancillary" instrument for me anyway.  That said, the sounds in the NanoPiano box are WAY better than the "built-in" sounds in my Casio CDP-100 piano.  The Casio has 5-pin MIDI out, so I play the Alesis box using my Casio piano as my keyboard, and I'm satisfied with the action.  I'm super happy with this setup for my piano needs, it's as simple as it gets, and there's no way on this planet that I would want to gig with a laptop.  YMMV, but I'd give it a shot if you can pick these units up for a reasonable price. If I recall correctly I picked mine up on Ebay for around $100-120 US each, about 10 years ago. 

 

Lou

[Franz Schiller]

I have both of those boxes plus the NanoBass, the NanoVerb, and even a PicoVerb (in storage currently). I sort of weirdly collected them. Of all of them, I think the NanoBass is the coolest and most useful and used it for many years.

 

These Alesis units have a certain "sound" to them; if you're into that aesthetic, then they're great. But-as you may know already- they're not readily programmable. So you really can't tweak them. You have to love them as they are.

 

If you end up going the iPad route, that will be far more flexible in terms of programming.

 

Fun fact about the Alesis Nano modules, the manuals were written by Freff. 

[Adam Burgess]

Used to borrow a friend's Kurzweil version of the NanoPiano. That was lovely and small, but the Fatar 900 controller was heavier than the moon. 

As @Reezekeys says above, if you want small, an iPhone/iPad would be the way these days. For me, at least.

And, every venue will have an iPhone charger - and an 'aux' cable (hate that totally non-descriptive name!), but maybe not a spare 9v adapter for a little rack module…

 

[Reezekeys]

1 hour ago, Adam Burgess said:

every venue will have an iPhone charger - and an 'aux' cable

 

True and thanks for the mention, but it may not be that simple, at least in my experience. Just presenting the other side of the coin! I love my iPhone & iPad rig, but know that 1) my i-devices have headphone jacks, making for (imo) a much simpler setup (I go direct to PPAs or DI boxes) and 2) you have to "deal with the dongle", the Apple CCK or some hub-type piece, in order to connect to a keyboard and maintain power to the phone or tablet. If you have a controller keyboard that can be powered over USB, the CCK connected to an iPhone charging cube is probably not gonna work - the cube may not put out enough current for both. If your keyboard is powered by mains or batteries though, you're probably fine. Otherwise, you'll likely need a heftier cube. I used an old iPad 11-watt charger, now I have the 20-watt USB-C one that came with my new iPad 9G. I still bring my 11-watter as a backup. One potential advantage of a USB powered keyboard with an i-device is that I've used a 10,000 mAh battery bank to power both - so, add a battery-powered PPA and you have a rig usable anywhere, no outlet required.

 

Anyway, a little heads-up that an i-device rig may involve a few more pieces, and some forethought to setup & backup strategies, vs a straight midi connection to an old sound module! I plan on getting a second CCK dongle as a backup, since having one of those go bad is pretty much a show-stopper. The "Apple tax" on that piece is a bummer since it's 3x to 4x as expensive as the knockoffs on Amazon, but I got burned once, so believe in going OEM for that.