Years ago I used to help my friend at his music store, usually during holiday season. I would demonstrate the early generation arrangers and organs to customers and make it a point to only use two fingers (one on each hand!).
I would first do a simple song on the keyboard, one that everybody knew. Then I would plug it into a home stereo system which we had set up, and play the same song. You could almost see the people thinking "That is so easy! I could do this! I could sound like this!" We sold a ton of PSR and PSS keyboards and Lowrey Genies that way.
Out of a perverse sense of irony I would often play "I Saw The Light" and wait for them to see the light and get their checkbooks out!
The polyphony on those first arrangers was so limited you really couldn't use that many notes at once anyway!

I had to watch this Genos demo again just brilliant....
I also liked the pic our SZ member Steve M
with Peter also great shot!!

Hi Steve,
now I am extremely jealous, for one you got to go to a workshop and meet Peter Baartman, secondly , did you get to play that gorgeous piano behind you?
Are they as big as an acoustic baby grand?

Donny, That was a great experience listening to Peter and him explaining the features of the CVP 709gp. I won’t forget it and to think there were only 5 of us for this afternoon workshop. I could not stay for the evening session which was billed as a concert by Peter.

Rikki,

I did not play the CVP 709. The 709GP is about 45 inches from front to back. The smallest baby grand I know of and this goes back to the mid 70s when I worked for the Steinway/Hammond dealer was the KImball La Petite and that was 52 inches from front to back.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/745059255/k...zxoCyx4QAvD_BwE

Hi Stephen,
so they are a fair bit smaller than , just say the Yamaha baby grand I had, which I think was 5 foot.

Only reason I’m asking , I’d rather not start looking them up on the net. I’d just start drooling over them. I certainly wouldn’t have space for what I had, but if the digital ones are smaller, maybe half a hope.

Still, bit of a way off. I want to prove to myself I am capable of spending the time practicing and playing, before I go off on a tangent.
My little p121, was a good place to start and see how I go.

Thank you Stephen.

Rikki,

The foot print really is quite a bit smaller than a 5 foot baby grand.

I have a CVP307 and I can’t imagine that the piano would be that much better on the CVP709. I don’t know that to be a fact just what my ears heard that day with the piano portion of the 709.

P.S. Baartman’s tells me his favorite music is classical and that’s what his car radio is tuned to.

Hi Stephen,
Thank you for those clips you sent. I’ll check them out later.
You’re probably right, just love that baby grand look, probably charge heaps extra for it. Haha.

Not doing too much research into it at the moment ie don’t want to get all hyped up about one, and then find I can’t be bothered putting the work into improving my piano skills. If all I want to do is play keyboard on it, I might as well just play my keyboard. At the moment I’m treating my piano and Sx as seperate instruments. Piano practice, keyboard practice. It’s more a case of , whether or not I have the discipline to try and improve my piano skills.
Time will tell. Haha

I'm very happy you were there and saw/heard Peter in person! If ever he comes to the Montreal area, I'd love to go see him.

This was certainly an experience you'll remember.

Rikki, you could always have hubby build you a 'shell' of a baby grand and put the AKB in it ...

Hi Tony,
Interesting thought, hubby no, but a cabinet maker probably could. Thank you Tony.