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Post by mobeach on Oct 24, 2015 16:11:48 GMT -6
I'll be in the market for one shortly, been thinking about the Casio Privia PX-350. Any other suggestions? I have enough synths and I'm getting tired of software so I want a real digital piano.
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Post by Guitar on Oct 24, 2015 18:14:08 GMT -6
I love my Yamaha CP33. They are in this price range, the piano action and the grand piano sound are to die for. They don't have much to offer past that, but as a piano, you couldn't ask for much more.
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Post by WKG on Oct 24, 2015 19:44:26 GMT -6
Second the CP33 here. I picked one up a few years back. I don't play piano seriously but needed one in the room.
Had a friend in last week playing Rachmaninoff and she liked it just fine.
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Post by NoFilterChuck on Oct 24, 2015 23:19:32 GMT -6
Ravenscroft 275 via UVI using some 88-key Fatar-based controller!!! best piano out there, VST or not.
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Post by phrazemaster on Oct 24, 2015 23:33:02 GMT -6
I really love my Kawaii MP9 Stage Piano. Real wood keys and hammer action. Pretty lovely piano sound too. I think mine was 1500 - 1800; can't remember it's been a few years...
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Post by chasmanian on Oct 25, 2015 6:18:03 GMT -6
Ravenscroft 275 via UVI using some 88-key Fatar-based controller!!! best piano out there, VST or not. also very much love Ravenscroft 275.
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Post by mobeach on Oct 25, 2015 7:33:11 GMT -6
I'm definitely staying away from software, too many issues. Plus I want this for live use as well as studio.
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Post by chasmanian on Oct 25, 2015 8:17:51 GMT -6
gotcha. and I think you're wise. been there, done that with software troubles. never ending. never perfect. always problems. I've just learned to live with them. am I happy when they freakin still glitch and there's clicks and drop outs? no. but, I appreciate the good, and just tell myself that someday, I'll build or buy a computer that will have enough power to work perfectly. you know, you might try checking out piano world forum. no idea what your needs are in terms of keyboard feel. I mean like piano action or synth action, weighted or semi-weighted, and on and on.
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Post by M57 on Oct 25, 2015 8:30:03 GMT -6
If you're the primary player, I highly recommend trying them out in person. Depending on your background as a player, you may not like an 'authentic' action. I'm a self-taught pianist and my first gigging piano was the Roland RD series, which I loved and would do it all again given my skills at the time because it helped me build strength, but now that I have a real piano and my technique has changed, I would find the RD's too spongy.
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Post by chasmanian on Oct 25, 2015 9:24:04 GMT -6
you're so right about "try it yourself". there's just no substitute. its highly personal. other people could love the feel of a certain DP. but you can't stand it. in my experience, I read so many reviews by so many people that loved such and such DP's, and when I finally got to a store to try them, I did not like them at all.
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Post by mobeach on Oct 25, 2015 10:56:17 GMT -6
gotcha. and I think you're wise. been there, done that with software troubles. never ending. never perfect. always problems. I've just learned to live with them. am I happy when they freakin still glitch and there's clicks and drop outs? no. but, I appreciate the good, and just tell myself that someday, I'll build or buy a computer that will have enough power to work perfectly. you know, you might try checking out piano world forum. no idea what your needs are in terms of keyboard feel. I mean like piano action or synth action, weighted or semi-weighted, and on and on. I love Native Instruments and Omnisphere for studio use but I just can't trust a PC for a live gig. I know some do but they more than likely have decked out Macbook Pro's. I use a desktop.
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Post by chasmanian on Oct 25, 2015 11:03:25 GMT -6
I just added something to my last post, as you were posting this. roger what you say here. no Mac stuff here. all PC. over at the Piano World forum, I know that people were very enthused about the Kawai MP11. this was a couple years ago. I'm thinking a used one will not be found under $1000. thinking way more. just sayin though, in case you want to check it out, or could save up more, if you wanted one.
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Post by mobeach on Oct 25, 2015 18:13:31 GMT -6
The Kurzweil SP4-8 seems to offer a lot for the money, that company usually uses good samples.
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Post by b1 on Oct 25, 2015 18:22:50 GMT -6
Kurzweil, though not the cheapest, started from the mind of a scientist. If I were a full time keys player, I think I would have a couple of the Kurzweil models.
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Post by b1 on Oct 25, 2015 18:26:53 GMT -6
But then you could get a decent weighted keyboard and a great Asus gamer lappy and run more than piano software. Plus do a whole lot more on the software side, glitch-free. That's around $3,000 all in though, with the only scrimping on the keyboard end...
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Post by popmann on Oct 25, 2015 19:57:23 GMT -6
Kurzweil, though not the cheapest, started from the mind of a scientist. If I were a full time keys player, I think I would have a couple of the Kurzweil models. In 1997 you would. Kurzweil has retained the same tech now for 25 years basically. I know--I used them for the first 20 of those. Though, honestly--the second one (Pc2x) I never used the acoustic pianos. Disk streaming is WAY too important to the sampling of an acoustic piano.
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Post by b1 on Oct 25, 2015 20:04:41 GMT -6
hmm, I checked on a keyboard for a client about 5 years ago. The Kurzweil floor models were heads and tails above what the others were. Though the guy went with a dandy Yamaha stage "something or other" which got the job done. I can still see them setting there with all of their creamy features.
A higher end Laptop will get the job done for an entire show. That's a couple thousand though, but still...
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Post by b1 on Oct 26, 2015 1:21:44 GMT -6
Lately I switched to other Piano samples. Everything to run them is freeware and pretty good to my ears, even for solos.
I'm using two instances of Plogues Free Aria Player (on two tracks).
On one track: "IvyAudio-PianoIn162-Ambient.sfz" from IvyAudio (has both close and ambient mic-ing - I'm mainly using Ambient).
On the other track: "SalamanderGrandPianoV3Retuned.sfz" from Alexander Holm & Markus Fiedler (Markus tweaked it).
Just blend between the two, to taste. A lower mid range laptop should run them fine. Requires very little overhead to operate glitch free... Check 'em out.
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Post by sopwith on Oct 26, 2015 4:25:47 GMT -6
The action on my Kawai ES100 is excellent and it's a joy to play. $800. I went out and demo'd everything under $1500 and it came up the clear winner in keybed feel. Very minimalist setup, no display but a small selection of excellent patches. Personally, I play it through software pianos running on a Surface Pro tablet PC (Ravenscroft or Garritan CFX are the flavour de jour for sampled, or Pianoteq 5 for modelling), but two of the onboard piano sounds (and the Wurlitzer patch) are pretty great.
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Post by yotonic on Oct 26, 2015 5:12:03 GMT -6
Look for a used Yamaha CP300 you can find them for $400-$500
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Post by Ward on Oct 26, 2015 8:36:06 GMT -6
A couple of years ago, I picked up a mint condition Yamaha Motif 8 (2009 model) for $600. It's a beautiful board for playing and has a ton of good piano sounds in it.
Look for one! Educational institutions tend to chuck everything out for cheap every few years and I think this one is a gem.
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Post by Guitar on Oct 26, 2015 8:45:33 GMT -6
Man, you guys are getting some good deals!
I got my CP33 for about $400 because I had to fix it a bit, had been dropped in shipping, scratch n dent deal. It's fine now, haha.
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Post by yotonic on Oct 26, 2015 15:57:36 GMT -6
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Post by jcoutu1 on Oct 26, 2015 16:12:44 GMT -6
Easy to beat if you need to gig with it.
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Post by M57 on Oct 26, 2015 17:36:20 GMT -6
I would take a digital piano any day over a RL one unless the RL one is of good quality and all but perfectly in tune. At the school where I teach we have a few decent uprights. I hate playing them unless they've JUST been tuned, which only happens three or four times a year, and then just after a few days it hurts to play them. At home in my studio, I have a decent baby grand, which I keep in tune 'constantly,' and when I say constantly, I mean the moment I hear something out of tune, I get the hammer and wedges out - not to mention I give it a complete head to toe tuning every two or three weeks. When dialed in, it's eustachian ambrosia. I'm not a piano tuner - Hell, I know very little about it, but I've got a killer app and a hammer; life is good! That said, even when the instrument is purring, recording it feels like a crap shoot every time. Bottom line: unless you're certifiable like me, don't get a real piano.
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