"Empire State of Mind" :

Very Good

But for €99 you can add this to your keyboard http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/producer/powered-by-kontakt/alicias-keys/

Bill

Is it just me, or does anyone else have a problem with how abruptly the timbre changes going from f to ff? It seems to be very hard to avoid it sounding like you are going more from f to fff(f!) than f to ff, IMO.

It turns what is probably pretty good technique (from what I heard) into something that sounds like they have little dynamic control at the upper end of the range, and unpredictable notes just 'pop' out wildly, from time to time.

JMO, as usual...

I really want to give my opinion on this but I am afraid same will happen as yesterday.

Seems a little bright to me...but it might just be my setup.

Ha ha...but, you were naughty yesterday, Frans, and you misquoted another poster...

Nothing wrong with giving your opinion, as long as it is your opinion, based on what you heard.

Regarding the demo, I thought the piano, like most arranger pianos, to be a little thin from mid to top, and, I suspect it is the SA Concert Grand, a T4 piano I'm not fond of...I prefer the Live! Grand Piano which has much more body and works very well for Pop music....with a little brightness rolled off on the filter settings, it also sounds great for Jazz.

I thought the dynamics were fine...it's the overall sound that just doesn't do it for me.

Ian

Yeah, as long as you don't say that I said it sucks, you are good to go!

Maybe I'm spoiled with the G70's main piano, Ian, but I haven't found any need to change EQ for different musics at all. The darn thing seems to KNOW what I need..! Main thing is, staying warm and detailed and still up front at lower velocities, especially in the middle of the piano and upper middle (so hard to find a good warm mid-section) but bringing in the brightness and attack smoothly as you play harder.

Most digital pianos I play (and this isn't just Yamaha's, but most of them including many Roland sets), you play softly in the middle of the piano, and it sounds more like the piano is being played ALMOST the same strength as a hair louder, but the piano got pushed away from you ten feet or so. That GrandX on the G70 seems to stay right in your face, but just get buttery smooth...

This, and the action that makes it controllable (and big enough for most piano gigs) is one of the primary reasons I HAVE to stay with the G70. You always find that ONE piano in your life (real piano, that is) that is your soulmate, and no other pianos quite ever stack up as well. In digital piano terms, this one is mine..!

That's great Diki...I thought the G-70's piano sound was pretty good too.

I like changing the "filter setting" not the EQ....I also enjoy using the Live! Grand Piano for jazz unaltered (depending on the tune), but, sometimes I want it more rounded, yet still have the same dynamic response.

It's like having two favorite acoustic grand pianos, and being able to bring both to the gig.

Ian

Acoustic Piano sample preferences are so down to very personal taste, but we all
at least seem to agree for once on this one. Not my preferred piano voice either.
Then again, I've got a 7' Steinway Grand Piano, so a bit biased.

PS: I often like to 'layer' the Concert Grand with the Live! Grand.

You think were picky about pianos...did you ever see the 1 hour special on PBS called 'One key at a time' ??
That was super...takes a year to build a Steinway, and top level concert pianist come to the showroom in New York to play ALL of the ones they have..before picking one to play at a concert that week (1 night rental).

If you have a Steinway, Scott, first of all, congrats! I did a concert last year on a 'D', and it was total eargasm!

But, I have to ask... pretty much ALL the Yamaha arranger pianos sound thin and bright and quite irritating (even compared to their real pianos - I use a C3F in the studio all the time, and it cuts like a razor!) compared to that dark and dreamy Steinway... Have you found yourself a good Steinway set of samples to load into the FLASH RAM section of the T4 yet?

TBH, I quite liked that piano sound in the demo, apart from the f/fff layer. It didn't seem so distant and tinny as most I've heard. I definitely agree that it is puzzling that Yamaha seem to find it SO hard to get a good warm, full-ranged piano when they actually MAKE the darn things!

I have a 1986 model 'B'.

Currently 'in the works'.

Yep, the Live! Grand Piano is my "go to" piano...having played the other brand arrangers, with the exception of the Korg, it pretty much blows away anything else by a wide margin, in my opinion, of course.

I wonder if there is a Korg synth/workstation or digital piano that has the same piano sound(s) as the TOTL PA-series?

That way, I could at least get an idea of what their arranger piano sounds like.

Ian

PS...I find the Live! Grand Piano sounds great on it's own, without layering. The SA Concert Grand was disappointing, although it is supposed to be improved...not by much, to my ears at least.

If you have any 'swing' with Yamaha, asking for Akai import opens up your choices bigtime...

Ian to get an idea how the piano of the PA3X will sound go to http://www.korgpa.com/pa_root/en/products1/sv1_demo.html?en and listen to the grand piano demo.

Nice... Most of the piano demos were a bit dry for my taste (and harder to get a straight comparison with other pianos without some hall around it), but had a pleasing lack of 'perfection' that mars many otherwise fine sets. My taste is for a piano sound that doesn't sound like the tuner had JUST stepped away from it, but one that had had a day or so of 'playing in' and has a bit of 'character'.

Piano2 seemed to be definitely along those lines (it's also why I really like Nord pianos, too!).

Now we wait, to see if the same samples (if they include them all) sound different when played by a different voice engine...

this just fine. The piano is nic maybe a little bright for some peoples tastes but it is just preference at the end of the day. Nice performance all round although doesnt have the soulfulness that i like. But thats no critiscism. Just stating my preference.

Hi Spalding,

Are you referring to the posted video (Tyros4), or are you commenting on the Nord SV-1's piano which Frans has posted above?

Any sign of a PA3X in your neck of the woods?

Ian

Thanks Frans.

I just realized I played the SV-1 on one of my clinic tours last year...there were two (a 73 and an 88) at Music Stop (now Long&McQuade) in Moncton, New Brunswick, that I had a good chance to play.

I liked the Grand Piano 1 very much (it reminds a lot of my own favorite, the Live!Grand Piano on T4)...nice and bright and punchy and lots of body....works very well in a mix, as well as soloed. Who knows, it may even be a sample of an acoustic Yamaha Grand Piano, as Korg have no issues, like Roland, about using Yamaha instruments for their sampling purposes?

So, it might work just like the Tyros4's Live! Grand Piano where filtering out a touch of brightness would result in a Steinway-esque type sound, perfect for Jazz Ballads and/or Soft Rock.

The SV-1's tone-wheel organs are excellent as well, and I thought the electric pianos well above average too.

My only minor complaint was the keyboard action on both the 73 and 88 models (feels identical for both) which was obviously, to my fingers, a Fatar action, which isn't one of my favorites.

I'm partial to Yamaha's GH weighted actions, but, I'm sure I could get accustomed to the Korg after playing it for a while.

If the SV-1's Grand Piano 1 is indicative of the PA-3X's piano, then I'd say it's a winner for sure.

Ian

it was in relation to the T4 piano Ian . I liked it overall. No sign of the PA3X my neck of the woods nor the Tyros 4 for that matter . Most music shops my side have completely stopped carrying any top of the range arranger.

Sad really.

And the person that tried to hijack this thread so unpleasantly has been banned.

Nice one!

Thanks Nigel

Here's that Purgatory Creek Piano file. Give it a test...