| LearnJazzPiano.com archives: Expensive keyboards | |
| littlerascal -- 08/31/2007, 23:30:00 -- #36701 | |
| I want to buy a keyboard between $2000-$3000. Do you think its worth it? I don't know which keyboard sounds the best for piano and sounds/samples. I'm going to choose between a Yamah Motif xs, Korg Triton, or roland fantom. Which do you think sounds the best. | |
| Mike -- 08/31/2007, 23:43:28 -- #36701 | |
| If money grows on trees where u live. Or if you are getting paid a lot of money to play in a show as a multi keyboardist. | |
| Jazz+ -- 09/01/2007, 00:14:37 -- #36701 | |
| Roland RD-700SX Roland FP7 Roland FP4 Those are Roland's latest technology and the only models that sample every single note of a Steinway. Yamaha, Korg, Kurzweil sample one note and then transpose it across several neighboring keys to save memory. That creates a sameness to the sound, which causes a monotonous less organic sound. | |
| Jazz+ -- 09/01/2007, 00:20:24 -- #36701 | |
| Yamaha and Korg also sample the piano attacks with louder hammer strikes and softer after-sustain tone than the Roland do. A louder hammer strike is effective for "cutting" through the sound of loud funk, rock and blues bands. Roland's darker piano tone is less piercing, more detailed and subtle, and more suited for classical and jazz piano. Its more like a Steinway B tone. Its fundamental tone is dark but with bright resonant overtones that have details and clarity. | |
| Paul -- 09/01/2007, 17:37:07 -- #36701 | |
| If you want good piano sounds I bet 80 percent of the professionals would recomend Yamaha. For piano sounds I wouldn't even consider Korg (although they have some nice synth sounds). But don't get presured by the sales guys- they tell brand x has the best piano sounds just because they want to get them off the floor. You really just need to go with what you like the best (even if it's Korg) | |
| jmkarns -- 09/02/2007, 19:06:12 -- #36701 | |
| Remember, the board is only part of a great stage system. The amp and a good set of stereo speakers is the final link between you and the listener. Jeez I should be selling this stuff! | |
| Scot -- 09/03/2007, 07:27:54 -- #36701 | |
| Jazz+, the Yamaha motif/S90 series at least do not sample one hammer strike and transpose it across keys. They sample each key multiple times from one of their concert grands. I personally like the piano sounds on the Yamaha S90es better than what Roland offers, and the Yamaha keyboard certainly feels better to me than the Roland keyboard except when it gets muggy- the roland keyboard seems to stay drier when I'm stuck playing outdoors on a sweltering hot day. | |
| Jazz+ -- 09/04/2007, 18:55:29 -- #36701 | |
| burningbush writes: "I don't know of any Yamaha DP that samples every note, but certainly not the Motif/S90/S90ES. The thing Yamaha did with the S90ES was to wait longer before looping the tone, which is a good thing. I have the S90 (but don't use the piano sound) and I thought the S90ES sounded very similar in tone so I think it's from the same set of samples. It's pretty easy to tell. You can spot it if you examine adjacent notes and you can hear the sound identical except for pitch. The other thing that's interesting to listen to is the wood sound or the hammer sound. On a Roland it's always the same pitch. With the Yamaha it's going to vary. You might have to listen to it with headphones." | |
| Jazz+ -- 09/04/2007, 18:56:03 -- #36701 | |
| I also know my Motif , P250 and P120 didn't sample every piano note. | |
| jmkarns -- 09/04/2007, 19:50:29 -- #36701 | |
| So for my money a good acoustic can't be beat. Just be sure that the venue that you play in has a nice Yamaha or Steinway sitting in the corner. Yeah right! Ahh the little compromises in life. | |
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