Comparison of Digital Pianos and Libraries

I forgot: can you recommend the best piano sound libraries, especially to get the Steinway Model D Grand Concert Piano?

Marcello

zyrrus wrote:

Good morning everyone. I am a professional pianist and I need to purchase an excellent digital piano with an excellent weighted keyboard (preferably with escapement) and sound possibilities.

I have oriented myself towards a model among the following: Yamaha CP5, Kawai MP10 and perhaps Roland 700 NX. However, I would also like to try the Kawai ES6, which weighs less...

In short, which one do you recommend?

Among the three, I prefer the MP10. It has the Ivory Touch keyboard, meaning it has a coating similar to ivory, non-slip, strange at first approach if you are used to playing on pianos with plastic key covers, but you won't be long before you appreciate its improvements. The action is the RM3 grand with let-off. Let-off specifically means the emulation of the "double" escapement of a concert grand piano. The Kawai Grand Piano RX samples are excellent. The memory dedicated to samples has been quadrupled compared to keyboards of the previous generation. In short, it is truly an excellent digital stage piano.

Can you tell me what features a digital piano must have to be able to be connected to a computer and therefore use sound libraries?

The MIDI port, all keyboards have had it for about 15 years now. I doubt you will find digital keyboards or pianos without a MIDI port.

What requirements must the computer have?

I own an Asus laptop with a Pentium Duo at 2.0 Gigahertz. 4 gigabytes of RAM. 500 GB hard disk at 5400 rpm and a dedicated graphics card. Windows 7 professional 64-bit. Is it okay or what do I need?

Your computer, if you only need to play with samples on an MPS and record a single track, is more than fine. If you were to produce music for multiple instruments, I would recommend increasing the RAM to at least 8 GB and perhaps switching to Mac.

Is special software required to make the libraries work in the digital piano?

Waiting for information

thanks

Marcello

A music production system is required. For PC: Sonar, Cubase, Ableton etc. For Mac: Logic

I forgot: can you recommend the best piano sound libraries, especially to have the Steinway Model D Grand Piano?

Marcello

There are several, the best in my opinion:

Garritan Steinway ---> The only Mod. D library officially recognized by Steinway. The pro version is around 400 dollars

East West Gold Pianos

Galaxy II Vintage Steinway (A 1920 Steinway) beautiful...

For Yamaha C7: Sampletekk's "The Big One" which works on 31 velocity levels, truly remarkable.

Thanks Simone for the clarifications.

So basically, could I give a Yamaha P95 worth 500 euros the sound of a Steinway D? That would be incredibly cool.

One thing, can libraries be found used at half price, or do they only have a key so they can only be used on one computer?

Which libraries do you have?

I've been told this one is fantastic too:

the Ivory II Grand Pianos by Syntogy

On my computer, the specifications of which I described to you (unfortunately it cannot be upgraded to 8 GB of RAM), can I install the libraries without worry, or should I install them on a self-powered external hard drive?

Because some advise against putting them on the system hard drive because they say it slows everything down and they don't run well.

Thanks

Marcello

So, on the MP10 can I also give it the sounds of a Steinway D if I have the Steinway library?

Because someone told me that on Kawai pianos (MP10 and ES6) it is not possible.

M.

Exactly. The sounds depend on the libraries, not the keyboard. Paradoxically, you can buy a silent keyboard for 40 euros with MIDI output and use the same Steinway samples. For samples, I recommend browsing the web and finding out via Google. Regarding the hard disk, it depends on which hard disk you have installed. For example, if you have a 7200 rpm hard disk it's fine; if you have a 5400 rpm one, no, it's too slow. On the other hand, in the case of an external hard disk, there is the problem of the USB hub which could be slow and limit data transmission. In this case, you should find a FireWire one or, on Mac, Thunderbolt would be ideal. Anyway, to play only one track, even 5400 rpm is fine. It all depends on how many samples you need to play simultaneously. For those composing for orchestras, they go with an SSD (solid state) hard disk. Regarding the MP10, they told you a massive lie. It has MIDI in, out, and through interfaces, therefore it can easily be interfaced with any music production system after purchasing an audio interface with MIDI inputs or a simple MIDI to USB interface.

Thanks a lot Simone for the information!

I wouldn't need great sounds or libraries. What I need is just to put the Steinway D sound across the entire keyboard of the digital piano I will buy. (I'm thinking Kawai ES6 or MP10)

Do you think I can manage with my notebook with a 5400 rpm hard disk? Otherwise, I would be in trouble because I would have to replace the notebook's hard disk with a 7200 rpm one and I don't even know if it is possible due to compatibility.

As an interface, I would buy the Yamaha UX16. I would then connect the notebook to the piano via this USB-MIDI cable and everything should be fine, do you say?

A piece of advice, since you are surely very well informed. Can you tell me which shop to buy the piano from at the best possible price?

You're welcome, don't mention it. But yes, if you only have to play one track, it's fine. It then depends on the size of the library; there is the Imperfect Samples collection with 127 levels that weighs 200 GB just by itself! But normally, with libraries in the order of 12-15 GB, you won't have any problems. Exactly, a USB MIDI interface—whichever you want; it's not necessary to spend a fortune on a cable that transmits data. One is worth the other. I can't tell you the shop; I would be providing free advertising and as an administrator I cannot do that; maybe you can ask others "where they felt most comfortable making purchases"... Best regards.

Simone, the Kawai MP10 is fantastic but perhaps truly too heavy; between the Piano and the Flightcase we are at about 45 kg....

Since I will be using good libraries anyway, at this point I need a piano where the main requirement is a keyboard that is weighted, nice, with double escapement. Can you recommend other models that maybe you have also tried, besides the MP10?

How is the Yamaha P95?

I await your tips

Thanks Marcello

If you want to continue with Kawai, with double escapement we are left only with the MP6; otherwise there is the CN33 and the CA93, but these are digital pianos with furniture (not stage models), so they are difficult to transport. On Roland, there is the VPiano, also with double escapement and ivory touch, but it costs an exorbitant amount, we are almost at 5000 euros. Unfortunately, if you are interested in the feeling of an acoustic piano on a digital one, you go up, both in price and weight. Resembling an acoustic piano implies a richer mechanism and therefore more weight...

The Yamaha P95 is a stage digital piano with classic (plastic) weighted keys. It's not junk, but it certainly isn't at the level of the MP10 or even the Roland FP7. I studied a lot on it for my diploma; for studying it's fine, for performing live it depends on the type of piece being played. It is certainly not a digital piano on which to play Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody in C# minor, just to say that it is inadequate for many virtuoso passages because it lacks escapement and therefore the keys have their own return time. My advice remains the same, though. Try them! Go into a nice shop and try out the digital pianos; try the Yamaha P95 as well—if your need isn't to play excessively virtuoso pieces, the P95 is fine. Obviously, a digital piano does not replace an acoustic piano! If you expect to find the same sensation of mechanism and weight that you have on an acoustic piano, I am sorry to inform you that it is not like that at all. Of course, some digital instruments come very close, but the mechanism of a grand piano is veeeery complex. A good mechanism costs several thousand euros; imagine how much a digital keyboard with the same mechanism as a concert grand piano should cost!! The logic seems obvious to me. In any case, give me an example of what you intend to play on it and let's see if we can narrow down the circle a little.

Best regards

I mean playing Tango, Piazzolla on it, but also Schubert like the Wanderer and Rachmaninoff. In short, I would need it for everything...

A real dilemma! I'm waiting for your tips to narrow down the circle.

Thank you

Marcello

2 ways: if you use it for recording, the p95 is also fine. If you use it for live playing, it is absolutely inadequate. Why will you ask? Because if you record in MIDI, the notes that don't sound can be corrected in post-production. If you play live, what do you correct? You need a keyboard that is ready and reliable. So if you play live, my definitive advice is MP10.

For my part, I can vouch for the "response" of the RM3 grand action with let-off ... which is the same one that is in my CA93.

The rule is always to "go and try it in person," but I don't know if in your area there is the same problem I had here in Puglia: nobody services Kawais!

I had to have mine shipped from Milan (Kappaeffe) and I had to trust the impressions of those who were lucky enough to be able to try it.

I don't know if this might affect your choice, keeping in mind that it would also be important to evaluate the issue of assistance (especially when talking about a stage piano, which is obviously more exposed to "risks" compared to one that stays quietly at home 🙂). For my part, I thought this was a minor problem, in the sense that anyway... no one will repair it on-site, and so (in the unfortunate case of breakdowns) anyone would resort to shipping it to who knows which workshop in who knows which European country (let's hope European!!! 😉 ).

Returning to technology, at the time of my purchase, the RM3 grand action with let-off was spoken of as the best available at (relatively) low costs. To have the same sensations with other brands, one had to spend more or less what Simone indicated (we are talking about double, then).

Honestly, though, I don't know how much the most unbridled refinement of touch can pay off on an instrument that then... ends up on a stand! 😆 During the most intense passages, the piano ends up rattling (more or less, depending on the quality of the support), breaking the "magic" that makes you feel like you are playing an acoustic instrument.

I don't know why, anyway, at concerts you always see the usual Roland or Yamaha! 😉

Regards.

Ehehe, you always see the usual Yamahas and Rolando because they are the 5000 euro models... Beyond this, there is the issue of assistance, as you rightly pointed out, and reliability. Let's remember that an acoustic piano plays and keeps playing during a concert; a digital one can always hide unpleasant surprises. The same applies to mixers. Live, analog ones are always used; if one channel fails, you use another. With digitals, if they break, the show stops.