Korg D1 on Sale; Sequel Possibly on the Way

[CHarrell]

The Korg D1 is currently on sale at all of the usual suspects. We know Korg likes to extended sales of products before announcing a new one; I brought this up with my Sweetwater rep and mentioned I wouldn't want to buy a D1 only for a sequel to come out right after, and his response: "No confirmation of the D2's existence yet, but it'll be safer to wait."

[Paul Woodward]

Or just release a bloody RH3 weighted controller Korg.... 

[CHarrell]

6 minutes ago, Paul Woodward said:

Or just release a bloody RH3 weighted controller Korg.... 

 

That's my hope. The D1 is in a weird betwixt-and-between category where it's a little underwhelming as a digital piano for people due to lack of features such as speakers, but is so barebones that the "MIDI controller" aspect is really just a good set of keys for software...not even a USB port!

[zephonic]

The Korg D1 is exactly that, an RH3 controller with some perfunctory onboard sounds just in case. But the absence of USB is a dumb one.

 

Of course, they are releasing an update. After all, I just bought mine only a few months ago... 

[Paul Woodward]

36 minutes ago, CHarrell said:

 

That's my hope. The D1 is in a weird betwixt-and-between category where it's a little underwhelming as a digital piano for people due to lack of features such as speakers, but is so barebones that the "MIDI controller" aspect is really just a good set of keys for software...not even a USB port!

Imagine a keystage 88...

Just checked Korg UK and it's the same price, but it's showing as unavailable. Are they doing a 'Grandstage' where it slowly disappears from sale?? 

[CEB]

Oh man …. I had not touched the RH-3 on my Kronos 2 since January 17th. The day I supposedly retired.  
 

I played a keys gig Monday at a Blues Club.   I got the Kronos out Saturday to set up the few sounds I needed.   The action sucked.  It was stiff and shallow.    I just played the hell out of it for 2 days and got reacclimatized to it.   I remember liking the RH-3 on the SV-1.  I wonder if the aftertouch on the Kronos throws my mojo off.   I took me a while to get used to it when I got the Kronos coming from the Yamaha Balanced action in the Motif and S90XS.  

[ProfD]

1 hour ago, zephonic said:

The Korg D1 is exactly that, an RH3 controller with some perfunctory onboard sounds just in case.

Bingo brotha Z. 

 

In fact, I've been thinking about grabbing a D1 to use as a set of RH3 keys underneath my Nautilus 73. 

 

This sale could be a sign to make that move.😁😎

[CHarrell]

2 hours ago, zephonic said:

The Korg D1 is exactly that, an RH3 controller with some perfunctory onboard sounds just in case. But the absence of USB is a dumb one.

 

Of course, they are releasing an update. After all, I just bought mine only a few months ago... 

 

True. Honestly, the only thing I'd want from a D2 is USB (super-mega-please a USB audio interface as they have on the new Keystage), pitch and mod, maybe a few controller knobs or something, boom, I'm set.

[CHarrell]

1 hour ago, CEB said:

It was stiff and shallow.

 

I can't tell you how many times I've heard this.

[stoken6]

16 hours ago, CHarrell said:

not even a USB port

 

16 hours ago, zephonic said:

the absence of USB

If a board has DIN MIDI but not USB (like the D1) a simple MIDI/USB interface cable like the Roland UM-ONE allows you connect it to a USB host (laptop, tablet, smartphone). And you can connect it to other MIDI gear equipped with DIN sockets.

 

If a board has USB MIDI but not DIN, then you get the laptop/tablet/smartphone connectivity, but you need to add a USB Host to get DIN connectivity. Personally, I always prefer DIN sockets on a board to USB sockets.

 

Now back to the D1 - release a 73-key version (you've been manufacturing the part for Kronos, SV1/2 and Grandstage) and you get my approval.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Stokely]

Wow, no usb...bad enough when they leave off midi.  I'd lean toward any keyboard I buy for gigging to have both...for home, only usb.

Kinda gotten to where I really love the 73/76 key form factor moving forward, as stoken6 just mentioned.   It's much better for shows and honestly for home too,  because I'm not playing "real" piano pieces I really dislike when companies offer one, but then put a lesser action in that one.    

[Paul Woodward]

14 minutes ago, Stokely said:

Kinda gotten to where I really love the 73/76 key form factor moving forward, as stoken6 just mentioned.   It's much better for shows and honestly for home too,  because I'm not playing "real" piano pieces I really dislike when companies offer one, but then put a lesser action in that one.    

Cough...Yamaha..YC/CP.....cough 😉

[stoken6]

55 minutes ago, Paul Woodward said:

Cough...Yamaha..YC/CP.....cough

Funnily enough, I don't hate the Yamaha action the YC73/CP73. It's not as stellar as the YC88/CP88 but I actually prefer it to RH3 (and to TP/100, obvs). These things are highly subjective, so don't take my word for it.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Paul Woodward]

23 minutes ago, stoken6 said:

Funnily enough, I don't hate the Yamaha action the YC73/CP73. It's not as stellar as the YC88/CP88 but I actually prefer it to RH3 (and to TP/100, obvs). These things are highly subjective, so don't take my word for it.

 

Cheers, Mike.

I wont, I love the RH3 and prefer it over the CP88 😉

[AnotherScott]

I noticed that the XE20 has also just come down on a couple of the big sites, but not (yet?) all of them. I really like that board... strong piano sounds, beefy speakers, 25 lbs, large selection of other usable sounds (though the EPs were disappointing), USB audio interface, and the action connects nicely to the sound. Quiet keybed, too, if that matters to you, and a music stand if you need a convenient place for your iPad or whatever. Downsides: the interface is geared toward its arranger functions, and is poor for live sound navigation. (Using a smartphone/tablet for patch selection might be a good idea, if you need quick access to more than a handful of sounds.) No 5-pin MIDI. If you want to use its drums, the "endings" are bizarre. Poor integration of external sounds, which is incongruous since they tout its free Korg Module edition; you'll have to put the board into Local Off, unless you only want to layer the external sound with an internal one. (And then you can no longer play the internal sounds at all, I assume unless you use something like Keystage or Camelot Pro to essentially address the board's internal sounds as external ones.)

 

On 11/1/2023 at 5:13 PM, CEB said:

Oh man …. I had not touched the RH-3 on my Kronos 2 since January 17th. The day I supposedly retired.  
 

I played a keys gig Monday at a Blues Club.   I got the Kronos out Saturday to set up the few sounds I needed.   The action sucked.  It was stiff and shallow.    I just played the hell out of it for 2 days and got reacclimatized to it.   I remember liking the RH-3 on the SV-1.  I wonder if the aftertouch on the Kronos throws my mojo off. 

 

I liked the action on the SV1 (especially the "inferior" earlier ones, oddly enough, but the later ones are still okay)... I hated the RH3 on the Kronos. It's like playing on a bed of quicksand or something. Heavy feeling with no connection whatsoever.

[drawback]

I got into an RH3 on a GrandStage, and then Kronos. Still the best weighted action on any brand I’ve played in years, maybe ever. I guess it just fits. The only other weighted action for me would be the Kawai on the Nord Grand. 

[Paul Woodward]

51 minutes ago, drawback said:

I got into an RH3 on a GrandStage, and then Kronos. Still the best weighted action on any brand I’ve played in years, maybe ever. I guess it just fits. The only other weighted action for me would be the Kawai on the Nord Grand. 

Ditto, always hated Korg pianos, and bought only Yamaha (tried Roland, found them very heavy/sluggish to play). Then I tried the Grandstage and nothing else has just 'clicked' with me since. It sounds great, but also has a great touch to sound response. Love it. 

[CHarrell]

1 hour ago, AnotherScott said:

liked the action on the SV1 (especially the "inferior" earlier ones, oddly enough, but the later ones are still okay)... I hated the RH3 on the Kronos. It's like playing on a bed of quicksand or something. Heavy feeling with no connection whatsoever.

 

Interesting, those are the same "generation" of RH3s, yeah? Do you think it was the aftertouch, like CEB wonders?

[zephonic]

4 hours ago, stoken6 said:

 

If a board has DIN MIDI but not USB (like the D1) a simple MIDI/USB interface cable like the Roland UM-ONE allows you connect it to a USB host (laptop, tablet, smartphone). And you can connect it to other MIDI gear equipped with DIN sockets.

 

If a board has USB MIDI but not DIN, then you get the laptop/tablet/smartphone connectivity, but you need to add a USB Host to get DIN connectivity. Personally, I always prefer DIN sockets on a board to USB sockets.

 

This is a very good point, and I hadn't thought of that.

 

What's more, my 2005 Fantom X7 has USB that works up to OSX Mountain Lion, so for the last ten years I've been using -you guessed it- the DIN out.

 

Class compliance has solved that problem, of course, but still, it's good to have DIN because it's the one thing that has proven to work consistently for 40 years.

[Stokely]

Why not both...can't be that expensive.   And please, make it so that you can use both for transmit and receive at once, unlike the Modx (grrr)

Class compliant interface would be great, though I'm not sure in my current "simple" phase if I'm eager to use an ipad or computer again.  Nice to have the option.

This RH3 discussion just shows how key feel is  1) very subjective and 2) can very from model to model even with the same supposed keybed.  I'm sure the programming of each board has a say there, or maybe there's some physical difference.  I know I've played some GHS keybeds I instantly hated while others were ok.

[Paul Woodward]

18 minutes ago, Stokely said:

Why not both...can't be that expensive.   And please, make it so that you can use both for transmit and receive at once, unlike the Modx (grrr)

Class compliant interface would be great, though I'm not sure in my current "simple" phase if I'm eager to use an ipad or computer again.  Nice to have the option.

This RH3 discussion just shows how key feel is  1) very subjective and 2) can very from model to model even with the same supposed keybed.  I'm sure the programming of each board has a say there, or maybe there's some physical difference.  I know I've played some GHS keybeds I instantly hated while others were ok.

The Grandstage RH3 might have been tweaked to suit piano work. I had the first gen Kronos weighted board and wasn’t that impressed with it.

As for Yamaha, why do they have that bloody midi or USB choice? If I connect an iPad and external board to my YC, I can control the iPad but not the YC from the external OR I can control the YC, but not the iPad unless it’s played directly from the YC. It’s not the end of the world, but why is it limited to this? (Runs off to post on Ideascale…)

[CHarrell]

11 minutes ago, Paul Woodward said:

The Grandstage RH3 might have been tweaked to suit piano work. I had the first gen Kronos weighted board and wasn’t that impressed with it.

 

Wasn't there a distinct cutoff between one type of RH3 and another? Whether it was the Made in Japan distinction, something about moving the contacts or something, etc.

 

13 minutes ago, Paul Woodward said:

As for Yamaha, why do they have that bloody midi or USB choice? If I connect an iPad and external board to my YC, I can control the iPad but not the YC from the external OR I can control the YC, but not the iPad unless it’s played directly from the YC. It’s not the end of the world, but why is it limited to this? (Runs off to post on Ideascale…)

 

I've seen other keyboards with this limitation, so I'd be inclined to believe it's more of a protocol thing than a shortcoming of one keyboard model.

[stoken6]

2 hours ago, Stokely said:

Class compliant interface would be great, though I'm not sure in my current "simple" phase if I'm eager to use an ipad or computer again.  Nice to have the option.

If you're not eager to use a computer, then you can't install a driver. So you need class-compliance - it's not just nice, it's essential to the use of MIDI. 

 

DIN "just works". 

 

2 hours ago, Paul Woodward said:

As for Yamaha, why do they have that bloody midi or USB choice? If I connect an iPad and external board to my YC, I can control the iPad but not the YC from the external OR I can control the YC, but not the iPad unless it’s played directly from the YC. It’s not the end of the world, but why is it limited to this? (Runs off to post on Ideascale…)

Surprisingly, Nord got this right. I can send DIN MIDI from a controller to my Stage 2, and simultaneously send program changes via USB midi from Bandhelper.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[CHarrell]

5 minutes ago, stoken6 said:

Surprisingly, Nord got this right. I can send DIN MIDI from a controller to my Stage 2, and simultaneously send program changes via USB midi from Bandhelper.

 

 

Oh snap! I wonder if there are some "parallel" systems they have to have in place.

 

5 hours ago, AnotherScott said:

I noticed that the XE20 has also just come down on a couple of the big sites, but not (yet?) all of them

 

Well, Korg will be at Synthfest UK next week.... 

 

 

[CHarrell]

Hmmmm....😭

 

[David Emm]

I had a moment of mild hysterical laughter while reading the thread. Its as if Satan rules over keyboard actions, because they're calculated to madden any serious player. Its like a drumbeat in the world of keyboards. "Stiff and shallow" reminded me of my Kawai K5, which behaved like a box full of planks. Its an inverse privilege to have played some excellent actions, because after that, its excruciating to encounter a craptastic one. "Get crapped on, rinse, repeat." ~ "Dead Like Me"

[LarsHarner2]

Korg has always had my favorite piano sounds, I had several years ago a Korg SP280 that had nice piano sounds, awesome speakers but didn't like the NH action it was mushy, eventually I put a trade in for it towards my P125.

It would be great if Korg could make something like a D1 with built in speakers- and of course piano sounds from the Nautilus/Kronos

[Paul Woodward]

5 hours ago, LarsHarner2 said:

It would be great if Korg could make something like a D1 with built in speakers- and of course piano sounds from the Nautilus/Kronos

Sounds like the Grandstage other than the speakers. No idea why they stopped selling that so soon. 

[ProfD]

4 hours ago, Paul Woodward said:

Sounds like the Grandstage other than the speakers. No idea why they stopped selling that so soon. 

IMO, the Grandstage stopped selling due to competition.

 

Yamaha and Roland are way ahead of Korg when it comes to DPs.😎

[Paul Woodward]

Way ahead as in?

I think the GS is a great board and reviews of it were very positive, they also haven’t really replaced it with anything.