Digital Piano Sound, HELP??

[Guest]

I am looking to get a GREAT Digital Piano Sound. Mainly for use at home. I want the absolute best sounding package available (as cheap as possible, under 3,000). Here are my ideas so far:

 

Idea #1: Yamaha P200, maybe some module also?

 

Idea #2: Kawai MP 9000 and some type of an amp to go with it, I have no idea what type of an amp.

 

Idea #3: A Control keyboard, maybe a fatar, maybe the kurzwil sp88x, and some type of modules (which module I have no idea).

 

I am sure that I want 88 weight keys, a stunning piano sound,and some type of amplification that will do it justice.

 

Any advice would be VERY MUCH appreciated.

[Dave Bryce]

First of all, sorry about the delay in answering this post - I'm usually much quicker...

 

Well, the best advice on any musical instrument is to set aside a bunch of time, go to a store and try as many of them out as you can - see if that magic happens where one particular instrument just reaches out and grabs you just where you want to be grabbed...that definitely does happen with many people and lots of axes, and it is a truly beautiful thing when it does. Then all of this becomes academic.

 

As far as pianos with built-in sound - the P200 is a really nice piano with a great sample and a really excellent keybed. Another unit to consider would be the Alesis DG8, which has three different stereo piano samples, and a sound system that puts anything else in it's category to shame. Its MSRP is about $100 more than the P200.

 

The Kawai keyboard is also a truly excellent axe. If you get it, you'll need to run stereo - definitely a good idea with almost all of these. Perhaps powered speakers would suit you...don't know the size of your room, but it could be anything from a pair of powered reference monitors to a set of JBL EONs.

 

Another option that I tend to favor would be the nice 88 key synth with a great set of speakers. As far as the board, I might tend to lean towards something like the Yamaha S80 (with it's optional piano expansion board) or the Kurzweil - tough to go wrong with either of those. Alesis' QS8 is also an option - it was the heavy hitter in this category for quite a few years as well, but the Yamaha outspecs it significantly.

 

An additional factor to consider is that the Yamaha or the Alesis will leave you with well over a grand left for accessories and a nice set of speakers.

 

Are you planning on doing some recording? Hooking it up to a computer for sequencing?

 

dB

[Guest]

You might check out my digital piano shootout, http://www.purgatorycreek.com. This will give you an idea of what some of these pianos sound like, or at least record like.

[creative90aol.com]

I very highly recommend Nemesys Giga Sampler, a PC based sampler. There are several high quality piano samples to pick from, along with some new very high quality pianos which will be out after the first of the year. There are no sample size limitations of Giga Sampled instruments, considering all samples are streamed from your PC's hard drive, not memory RAM. Each and every note of a piano in Giga Sampler format is sampled in many different velocity layers.....soft, medium, loud, with pedal up, pedal down, release notes which are triggered when the key on the keyboard controller is let up. All of these features make for true realism which cannot be captured on any other sampler, whether it be hardware or some other computer based sampler. It is also speculated that a future release of Nemesys Giga Sampler will support 24 bit samples as well. The cost of Giga Sampler software is very inexpensive compared to other synth/samplers. All you need is at least a Pentium II PC and you do not have to have a lot of memory, though memory is pretty cheap these days. Truly, there is no other sampler that can compare in quality. For more info, go to (www.nemesysmusic.com) BTW, I do not work for Nemesys Giga Sampler......just a very happy user.

[Guest]

Hello,

I actually went into Sam Ash the other day with this question in mind, and as a salesman this summer I spent a while thinking about it.

 

If you haven't checked out the purgatory creek site, it's a great shootout for getting to know how a patch sounds.

 

However, in terms of a Digital piano you also need to pay attention to how it _plays_. You need to have the ability to express something on it, not just play notes. I test this by improvising with it, as well as playing it with the sound off. This gives me the opportunity to get to know the action as well as how connected the sound is to the keys.

 

On the budget end of things, the situation has vastly improved since a few years ago, with the RD100 and the Kurzweil SP series. But with a budget of $3,000 the boards I recommend are: the Kawai MP9000, the Roland RD-600 and XV-88, and to some extent, the PC2X. These run from heavy to light in terms of action, but they all have strengths. I hadn't touched the Kawai until the other day, but man it is an excellent keyboard. It feels like a concert piano, really heavy but expressive, although that may make it hard to get the quieter sounds out of it. In comparison to the other two, it lets you spend a bit more on stereo speakers. The Roland RD also has an excellent sound and a great action, and the price has recently been reduced so check it out. If you can afford it, the XV-88 (MAP'd at $2500) is the best action I've played (it has aftertouch while the RD doesn't), and can be expanded with the probably the best sound on the non-sampler market - the Roland SRX 64Meg expander, taken from a Fazioli grand.

 

I am reluctant to recommend the Kurzweil because every time I play it, I know it's the Kurzweil. It has something that's rather sterile to its sound, and even though it's supposedly updated from the PC88 it still sounds the same to me. This keyboard highlights the specs vs. sound problem, sometimes the specs really can't help you, like in the Korg SGProX which sounds awful despite its 24 meg ROM. I am also undecided about the Kurzweil's action. With the Roland and the Kawai, it was a near-immediate "Yes" feeling. For the Alesis DG8 and the Yamaha P200 it was a pretty immediate "No" feeling. The Kurzweil stands between these.. as a PC88 owner maybe I'm handicapped, but I'm just unsure that the PC2X is really worth it in comparison to the Roland and the Kawai.

 

On the controller route, I no longer think it's the best idea. The sounds of the various piano expansion modules pales in comparison to the sounds in the Kawai or the Roland. I also don't like the Kurzweil SP's as much as I hoped to... their action is just less good in comparison to the straight fatar SL880 or 990. Plus their sounds are so rwashed in Reverb and the interface sucks. The only thing I would consider is to get an XV-3080 with the aforementioned SRX board, along with a Fatar/StudioLogic SL990-these have a great action and are priced around $600.

 

For amplification: I would go with the Roland KC500 or 300. You can buy them in pairs and link them together for stereo sound, but the reason why I recommend them is because they have the roundest, most complete sound for keyboards of the keyboard amps I know. I haven't compared them to a PA type system, but I really like their sound.

 

 

If you have any questions, feel free to email me, as you can tell I've put a lot of thought into this topic. Plus I have some insight into the prices you should be able to get since I've been a salesman.

 

Steve

 

P.s. sorry I always post such long messages...

[Marzzz]

Originally posted by steve44@visto.com:

expanded with the probably the best sound on the non-sampler market - the Roland SRX 64Meg expander, taken from a Fazioli grand.

 

Thank you, I was wondering where the SRX-02 was sampled from! I have a Roland XV-3080 with the SRX-02 installed, and while I like it a lot I am in the process of doing some serious tweaking to it. A bit less reverb, a touch more brightness, and I want the piano sound to go left to right, low to high, like I was sitting in front of a real piano. The "pianissimo" samples have a lot of hammer and key noise along with it, yet the overall sound is more like a miked piano as opposed to a "sitting in front" feel. Still, for an expander ROM sound, it passes the "A Day in the Life" test VERY well, and is quite expressive.

 

-Marshall

[ITGITC]

For amplification: I would go with the Roland KC500 or 300. You can buy them in pairs and link them together for stereo sound, but the reason why I recommend them is because they have the roundest, most complete sound for keyboards of the keyboard amps I know. I haven't compared them to a PA type system, but I really like their sound.

 

 

Steve

 

I dunno, Steve. For some reason I just don't think the Roland KC500 or 300 is going to suit my needs.

 

=================

 

Sorry guys.

 

I dug this thread up from a few years ago. Thought it was kinda enlightening.

 

I know... that's cheating.

 

Tom

 

[mate stubb]

Holy necro thread Batman!

 

http://media.80stees.com/images/products/Bat_Man_Robin_Woman-Costume.jpg

[ewall08530]

I've totally missed the point of bringing this thread back. Is it me? Must be me..........

[ITGITC]

I've totally missed the point of bringing this thread back. Is it me? Must be me..........

 

The point in bringing this thread back from over ten years ago is that it is interesting to see how things have changed with regards to digital piano and amp technology.

 

It's also interesting to see who was posting over ten years ago and what they had to say about their rig.

 

Other than that... yes, it's you, Mr. ewall.