Best sounding faux-piano
Discussion
For Chrimbo the Missus got me the SRX-11 expansion card for my trusty Roland Fantom keyboard (link), have to say hand on heart the sound is absolutely gorgeous, easily the nicest I've ever heard (much better than Korg's & Yamaha's for sure).
Which got me thinking, given that there's a few keyboard players on here, what's your favourite substitute for the real thing?
Which got me thinking, given that there's a few keyboard players on here, what's your favourite substitute for the real thing?
Apologies for the hijack, but I have a young piano player in the house and our old upright is just not good enough anymore. C sounds like a B etc.. Anyhow, I would appreciate some advice on whether I should suggest the electronic route to him or get a better piano?
Any opinions welcome.
Many thanks
Graham
Any opinions welcome.
Many thanks
Graham
I tend to rate Rolands samples way infront of those from Yamaha/Korg. They always seem to just have that bit more depth and be rounder and less strident/cutting than their counterparts. Sound wise I think all sampled/electronic piano's suffer from a certain "boxyness" in the mid-range (from around G2 to around a 12th above).
I still own a now ageing Kurzweil MicroPiano which I gigged with for a good 10 years and which I still really think stands up alongside many newer electronic piano's and I simply won't part with. It still suffers from the same "boxy" midrange as many others, but in every other way, to me was head and shoulders above the competition for its time.
A couple of years ago I bought a Roland VR760. It was the instrument I'd waited for someone to produce for a long time. Actually its three seperate instruments in one with a Roland RD based Piano section a VK derived Hammond drawbar setup and an XP based synth all in one box. The piano's were all new samples especially for the VR760 and were without doubt the best piano samples Roland had ever produced. Since then its become the mainstay of my live setup. Of course its not a hammer action machine as this would make the Hammond section pretty useless, but it does have nice weight and to be honest is far more practical to case up and carry than an 88note hammer action keyboard.
If I could afford yet another machine just to sit at home, I'd probably buy a Roland RD series piano, but then if I could really afford what I wanted I'd probably stump up the £25k and have myself a real little Bosendorfer.
As for young players and pianos:
Depends really on the childs and your aspirations. If you/child hope to become even a "good amateur" then good technique requires a decent acoustic instrument. If its simply learning a few recognisable tunes for a bit of fun then acoustic/electronic isn't really an issue.
I still own a now ageing Kurzweil MicroPiano which I gigged with for a good 10 years and which I still really think stands up alongside many newer electronic piano's and I simply won't part with. It still suffers from the same "boxy" midrange as many others, but in every other way, to me was head and shoulders above the competition for its time.
A couple of years ago I bought a Roland VR760. It was the instrument I'd waited for someone to produce for a long time. Actually its three seperate instruments in one with a Roland RD based Piano section a VK derived Hammond drawbar setup and an XP based synth all in one box. The piano's were all new samples especially for the VR760 and were without doubt the best piano samples Roland had ever produced. Since then its become the mainstay of my live setup. Of course its not a hammer action machine as this would make the Hammond section pretty useless, but it does have nice weight and to be honest is far more practical to case up and carry than an 88note hammer action keyboard.
If I could afford yet another machine just to sit at home, I'd probably buy a Roland RD series piano, but then if I could really afford what I wanted I'd probably stump up the £25k and have myself a real little Bosendorfer.
As for young players and pianos:
Depends really on the childs and your aspirations. If you/child hope to become even a "good amateur" then good technique requires a decent acoustic instrument. If its simply learning a few recognisable tunes for a bit of fun then acoustic/electronic isn't really an issue.
Edited by TheMighty on Sunday 30th December 14:41
I use a Roland RD700SX, which has the same piano as the SRX11 board in it, and I agree - it was by far the best sounding sample around when I bought it (2-odd years ago). It may well still be - haven't tried anything recent except the new Yamahas (P300 and P33, I think), and wasn't that impressed.
The only thing that came close was the Kawai MP-8, which had a slightly better touch, but given it cost a lot more (I got a great deal on the RD) and the sound wasn't quite up to par, I went with the Roland.
Regarding restoring an old piano vs. buying an electronic one, it really depends on a number of factors, as someone else said. If it's been a long time since it was tuned properly, then a straight tune might not be enough to get it into shape - a lot of tuners will be reluctant to pull a very flat piano back to concert, as they risk snapping strings, which the customer then expects them to pay for). (That said, there's no reason a piano needs to be at concert pitch, unless you're using it with other instruments - it obviously needs to be in tune with itself though)
I've got a piano back at my folks' place (I currently rent, and don't want to have to pay to have a piano moved and tuned everytime I move house, so I'm waiting till I buy somewhere). When I do, I'm going to have the piano (actually a pianola) renovated - I've had a quote for £1500 for the works, which is obviously more than you can spend on a cheap new piano or a halfway decent 2nd hand one, but the piano's a large iron-framed upright, overstrung and underdamped, so it's worth doing. If the piano in question is a small, console job, it may not be worth it.
The only thing that came close was the Kawai MP-8, which had a slightly better touch, but given it cost a lot more (I got a great deal on the RD) and the sound wasn't quite up to par, I went with the Roland.
Regarding restoring an old piano vs. buying an electronic one, it really depends on a number of factors, as someone else said. If it's been a long time since it was tuned properly, then a straight tune might not be enough to get it into shape - a lot of tuners will be reluctant to pull a very flat piano back to concert, as they risk snapping strings, which the customer then expects them to pay for). (That said, there's no reason a piano needs to be at concert pitch, unless you're using it with other instruments - it obviously needs to be in tune with itself though)
I've got a piano back at my folks' place (I currently rent, and don't want to have to pay to have a piano moved and tuned everytime I move house, so I'm waiting till I buy somewhere). When I do, I'm going to have the piano (actually a pianola) renovated - I've had a quote for £1500 for the works, which is obviously more than you can spend on a cheap new piano or a halfway decent 2nd hand one, but the piano's a large iron-framed upright, overstrung and underdamped, so it's worth doing. If the piano in question is a small, console job, it may not be worth it.
qube_TA said:
Problem with real pianos is unless you spend a fortune and have a really nice big room for them they're rubbish. Upright pianos sound nasty. I'd much rather have my electric one as you'd have to drop at least £15K to get a real one that was as good.
I know what you're saying, but my mum's just bought a new Yamaha upright - I've no idea how much it cost, but it sounds gorgeous.If the musician's creativity stretches beyond performing Piano pieces consider getting a synthesizer workstation with Piano type keys. Most sample-based synths do excellent Piano sounds these days - that and the Piano style keys will cater for the Piano requirement - And having a wealth of other instrumental sounds and an onboard sequencer will enable the musician to record entire arrangements. A Roland Fantom X8 would be perfect - there's a good overview here. Some of the comments...
88 full-sized keys with Progressive Hammer Action = this is a crucial feature for piano players. It is the same size as a piano, and gives the same feel when you play the keyboard keys. Top-of-the-line
incredibly, its piano patch is made up of over 700 separate samples-multisamples for every key and every velocity
Don't know what budget you're into but it's worth a look.
88 full-sized keys with Progressive Hammer Action = this is a crucial feature for piano players. It is the same size as a piano, and gives the same feel when you play the keyboard keys. Top-of-the-line
incredibly, its piano patch is made up of over 700 separate samples-multisamples for every key and every velocity
Don't know what budget you're into but it's worth a look.
Edited by MitchT on Thursday 3rd January 16:34
MitchT said:
If the musician's creativity stretches beyond performing Piano pieces consider getting a synthesizer workstation with Piano type keys. Most sample-based synths do excellent Piano sounds these days - that and the Piano style keys will cater for the Piano requirement - And having a wealth of other instrumental sounds and an onboard sequencer will enable the musician to record entire arrangements. A Roland Fantom X8 would be perfect - there's a good overview here. Some of the comments...
88 full-sized keys with Progressive Hammer Action = this is a crucial feature for piano players. It is the same size as a piano, and gives the same feel when you play the keyboard keys. Top-of-the-line
incredibly, its piano patch is made up of over 700 separate samples-multisamples for every key and every velocity
Don't know what budget you're into but it's worth a look.
If you're just after a Piano an X8 is totally over the top as it's a full sampling workstation, gorgeous piece of kit but pointless if you're not into electronic music. You'd be better off with one of their stage pianos instead.88 full-sized keys with Progressive Hammer Action = this is a crucial feature for piano players. It is the same size as a piano, and gives the same feel when you play the keyboard keys. Top-of-the-line
incredibly, its piano patch is made up of over 700 separate samples-multisamples for every key and every velocity
Don't know what budget you're into but it's worth a look.
Edited by MitchT on Thursday 3rd January 16:34
qube_TA said:
If you're just after a Piano an X8 is totally over the top as it's a full sampling workstation, gorgeous piece of kit but pointless if you're not into electronic music. You'd be better off with one of their stage pianos instead.
Indeed, hence...MitchT said:
If the musician's creativity stretches beyond performing Piano pieces...
MitchT said:
qube_TA said:
If you're just after a Piano an X8 is totally over the top as it's a full sampling workstation, gorgeous piece of kit but pointless if you're not into electronic music. You'd be better off with one of their stage pianos instead.
Indeed, hence...MitchT said:
If the musician's creativity stretches beyond performing Piano pieces...
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