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[drvenom]

I make an effort to admit when I'm wrong and correct my mistakes as soon as possible. There have been a few occasions when I expressed my disapproval of the Korg RH3 action, especially on the Kronos x88. Consequently, I tend to lean towards Yamaha and Roland for digital pianos and slabs. However, it's important to note that there are drawbacks to Yamaha and Roland actions as well. So far, at least in the piano slab market, I have believed that Roland offers the best action for replicating a grand piano's touch. You might wonder, "Which piano?" Some piano actions can differ significantly from each other, even more so than from a decent digital piano. I'm most familiar with the Millenium 3 action from Kawai, so I'll primarily refer to it when discussing a grand piano action.

I was on the verge of selling my Kronos x88 to finance something with the Pha50 keybed or something similar. I kept going back and forth between the LX708 or acquiring a used RD2000 or a Fantom 8. I mentioned to a friend who had owned a Kronos 88 for nearly a decade that I disliked the RH3 action. He was bewildered and asked why. I explained that I appreciated its substantial (heavy?) feel, reminiscent of my Kawai grand, but it lacked the same fluidity. The Kawai action feels heavy, but once you start playing, it becomes light and highly responsive and fluid, allowing precise control over a wide dynamic range. In contrast, the RH3 felt somewhat choppy and noisy. While some keys descended smoothly all the way, becoming easier to play, like my grand piano, others felt a bit heavy and progressed in stages when pressed; like a choppy feeling on the way down.

He came over to play my Kronos and assured me that there was something wrong with my keybed. I opened up the keybed and cleaned out some keys, although I didn't perform a full service (i.e., disassembling and cleaning each key and applying grease). However, I focused on the clunky keys. Surprisingly, the keyboard felt significantly improved afterward. My friend said the action felt as he remembered it in his keyboard.

In many ways, I prefer it over the Pha50 from Roland. The only advantage the Pha50 has over the RH3 is its increased fluidity, though not by much. There are certain instances when attempting to play pianissimo (PPP) on the RH3 when some keys seem to depress entirely in one go after a certain point, producing no sound. This also occurs on pianos, but it's more noticeable on the RH3, although it's infrequent. Other than that, I prefer the RH3 over the Pha50. I believe it resembles the Millenium 3 action more than other keyboards I've tried. Mind you, I haven't tried many keyboards from Kawai. Most stores around me don't carry them. While the Pha50 is renowned for its fluidity and adaptability, I dislike how it can feel flimsy and springy compared to my grand piano. If only the RH3 could be as fluid as the Pha50, it would be a fantastic action to play on.

I'm unsure if the RH3 is implemented the same way on the Korg D1 as it is on the Kronos, but if it is, that would be excellent value. The pianos on the Kronos may not be the best out of the box, but they can be customized for various playing styles. I haven't found the ideal settings for pop music, but I've managed to make the Austrian piano sound wonderful for classical music. The two velocity settings, bias, and velocity intensity, allow you to shape playability and response to one's liking. I can achieve dynamics close to my Kawai with these settings, especially when playing soft Alberti basses on the left hand while bringing out a louder melody on the right hand at a fast tempo. I'm really enjoying the RH3 and look forward to seeing if the action is just as good on their entry-level keyboards. My concern is that you probably can't customize the pianos the same way as on the Kronos, which is understandable.

Additionally, I've had issues with Korg's quality control in the past. My Korg M3M had a display problem after a few years, and this Kronos had some unusual keys. Lesson learned: never buy a keyboard sight unseen. Fortunately, I've been able to fix both of these products. I'm still hesitant to buy Korg products, but their RH3 action is genuinely impressive, and I'm enjoying it. It will likely be my go-to practice slab when I can't play the piano. I'll have my kids practice on the Roland HP605 with the Pha50 when they can't use the grand piano.

I apologize for the extended discussion, but I felt compelled to clarify matters and give credit where it's due.

Also, do any of the current digital pianos from korg offer the ability to adjust the pianos as much as it is possible on the Kronos. I'd love to have a digital piano where it has the ability to adjust the velocity bias, velocity sensitivity, and the mechanical noises.

[KK]

Hi there and thanks for your interesting report on the RH3 action.

One of the main reasons why seven years ago I bought a Kronos 88 instead of any of the top machines from other brands is because of the excellent feel of the keyboard - the response between touch and what I hear. I had no bias at all towards Korg or any other brand, but after spending some hours in the keyboard stores, the K2 88 rapidly became my favorite.

I also tried other ones extensively back then like the Montage 8, which I felt the touch/sound response was unrealistic, and as before I disliked the cheap feel of all the other machines using Fatar actions (Nord, Kurzweil, etc.).

The RH3 is certainly not perfect, but it feels solid (I can confirm this after 7 years of intense use !) and it offered the best compromise between grand piano playing, organ playing and synth stuff. I can play as fast as needed with it and it gives good control of a decent dynamic range from ppp to fff.

The RH3 88 main problem is the strength needed to initially trigger the aftertouch, but I ended up designing a rather simple hardware mod to improve this.

I am glad you enjoy your RH3 too, wish you many more years of great time with your Kronos.

[drvenom]

I have a policy that is basically having a keyboard or piano in every room. Both my 8 year old and I play the piano. The five year old will start soon, and the one year old at some point too. Hence, my policy. However, each keyboard has to feel as close as possible to a piano, or at least the action has to translate well to a grand piano. I'd say the Kronos fits that bill nicely.

I was considering selling the Kronos x88 before fixing the keys to get a Kronos 2 88 because I've seen some Kronos 2 near me at some killer prices. I just don't think it is worth the hasssle of selling the x88 now that I got the keys working. The Kronos x88 will probably be with me for awhile, probably until Korg's next workstation sells for half its new price, the way the Kronos sells for half its original price. I'd also be willing to let it go if they come out with a cool digital piano that has better piano sounds, better piano features than the Kronos, and better editing capabilities of its piano sounds.

In my quest to fullfil my policy, I purchased a fantom 8 today at a killer price. It is in mint condition. Now I have the sounds from Roland, Korg, and the older sounds from the Motif XS8. I'm a hobby musician so I usually get workstations once they sell significantly cheaper in the used. market. But yea, I'm super happy that the RH3 turned out to be as nice as it is after fixing it. I just wish I didn't have to fix all these Korg products. I've never had issues with any of the other big manufacturer products (ie Roland and Yamaha). Anyways, thank you for taking the time to read my posts.