Later this month, Irish Acts will be releasing several new MegaSampled Stereo Grand Pianos for the Pa2x. Sharp has been hard at work processing samples in his studio for many weeks, and I've been assisting him by doing the final sound assembly and sound layering on the Pa2x.
Testers Wanted
The first Irish Grand Piano is now ready for testing and we invite two forum members to become testers. In return you will receive the final versions of all the new pianos free of charge. You will receive a password enabled account on Sharp's FTP server for the downloads. You must have a Pa2x with the EXB-M256 expansion fitted, and you must be a good keyboard/piano player, capable of earning money from gigs. Also we are looking for you to provide a critique by private email of each piano with suggestions for improvement, within a few days of each piano being released to you.
Information on the "Irish Grand Piano" - megasampled in stereo
The "Irish Grand Piano" is so good to play that you will believe you have one of the finest Concert Grand pianos that have ever been built! Expect to pay 100,000 Euros, and then be pleasantly surprised when the download price is announced later this month.
Each sampled note in the lower octaves is approximately 2 Mbytes in size and has been recorded in an anechoic chamber. There are a total of 110 samples spread over the 88-note range, in 4 layers. Layer 1 is PP and P, layer 2 is MF, layer 3 if F and layer 4 is FF. By using different recordings at each attack level, you can hear that the tone gradually progresses from mellow and non-percussive at the PP level, right through to full-on percussive at the FF level with many overtones.
The sound has been constructed to allow use of Korg's DS-1H progressive damper pedal, and as the pedal is depressed you get progressive introduction of resonance throughout the virtual Concert Grand Piano body. We have of course used samples to pick out the damper pedal "on" and "off" RX noises.
These new sampled pianos will transform the Pa2x and will delight your audiences wherever they may be. Full documentation on customizing the sounds is included with each download.
The "Irish Grand Piano" is the grandfather of all sampled pianos, and requires 195 Mbytes sample RAM, so users will require the EXB-M256 expansion card. We will be releasing two "Baby Grand Piano" sample sets, each of which will be less than 128 Mbytes and will fit on a standard Pa2x.
Best regards,
Rob and Sharp
New MegaSampled Stereo Grand Pianos for Pa2x from Irish Acts
Moderators: Sharp, X-Trade, Pepperpotty, karmathanever
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Rob Sherratt
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thomasteele
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Rob Sherratt
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Hi Thomas,thomasteele wrote:Excellent news
could you use other manufactures damper pedals- not just the korg ds18..
Why didnt Korg a big manufacturer -do a piano like this in the beginning
For progressive damping you have to use the Korg DS-1H. For on/off damping you can use any switch-based pedal.
Best regards,
Rob
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Rob Sherratt
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Some further questions and answers ...
Q: What is the difference between the commercial "Irish Grand Piano" and the free "Steinway" piano Rob published earlier this year?
A1: The stereo samples used in the commercial piano were recorded in an anechoic chamber and the user can add variable amounts of reverb later. This piano has four sample layers P, MF, F and FF and the tone progression as you play louder is very smooth.
A2: The stereo samples used in my "free Steinway" were recorded in a concert hall and I've been unable to remove the high level of reverb. Because of this, it is of limited use for mastering or for use in a band where the final mix is via a mixer desk. The "Steinway" has two sample layers PP and FF, and the tone progression between them is not smooth.
Q: What about the Korg "Grand Piano RX" that comes with the Pa2x?
A3: The "GrandPiano RX" uses a nice piano multisample, it is a good single layer recording. Because it is a single layer, there is no progressive change in tone quality when you play PP, P, MF, F and FF - the same multisample is used everywhere. Although stereo multisamples are used, there is little stereo separation or distinction between the -L and -R samples.
Q: What about Polyphony issues and running out of OSCs?
A4: There is no change in the number of OSC's being used compared with Korg's "Grand Piano RX". Even though the layered multisamples are assigned to 8 OSC's, there will only be two multisamples (stereo) in use for each note that is played, the choice being made by how loudly the note is played.
Q: Can I customise the final sound?
A5: A user guide will be provided to give you some advice on creating custom user sounds. A lot can be done by changing the EFX. There are eight example User Sounds provided, all based on the same multisamples, but using different EFX to show you what can be achieved. There are also eight example User Programs provided corresponding to each User Sound. Each User Sound is fully documented with a step by step description of exactly how it is constructed, and what every parameter in the Sound editor is used for.
Q: Where are the sounds stored?
A6: You will need the EXB-M256 expansion card, because the PCM samples for both the Irish Grand (160 Mb) and the Irish Rhodes (8 Mb) piano occupy 168 Mbytes RAM. The Sounds based on these samples are loaded into USER2 locations 1 to 8 as default, although you can relocate them by using the selective load method instead of Loading the entire SET file. The Sounds are as follows:
A7: Yes, you use the selective load method as follows. From the MEDIA-Load menu, navigate to say USB-F where the file "Irish Pianos Pa2x.SET" is stored. Select the file and then OPEN (not LOAD). Navigate to the SOUND subfolder and then touch OPEN (not LOAD). Navigate to the USER02.PCG subfolder and then touch OPEN (not LOAD). For each of the sounds you can now touch LOAD, and the Pa2x will prompt you for the location where you want to merge it. The first sound you load will take 3 to 4 minutes while all the samples are added to your existing samples. Subsequent sounds will load instantly. You must have at least 168 Mbytes sample RAM available.
Q: Can I listen to some demos?
A8: The demos of the sounds are here:
http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=44820
Q: Will the user guide include instructions on sampling and constructing multisamples?
A9: No, it will not. Irish Acts use a lot of computer based software and some proprietary algorithms to prepare every sample and multisample so that it is perfect. They are all auditioned and perfected in Irish Acts studio using a Korg OASYS. There are also numerous "manual workarounds" we have to do when importing Triton/Trinity format multisamples into the Pa2x. The process is complex, specialist equipment and software is needed, and it is not economically viable for most users.
Q: What is the difference between the commercial "Irish Grand Piano" and the free "Steinway" piano Rob published earlier this year?
A1: The stereo samples used in the commercial piano were recorded in an anechoic chamber and the user can add variable amounts of reverb later. This piano has four sample layers P, MF, F and FF and the tone progression as you play louder is very smooth.
A2: The stereo samples used in my "free Steinway" were recorded in a concert hall and I've been unable to remove the high level of reverb. Because of this, it is of limited use for mastering or for use in a band where the final mix is via a mixer desk. The "Steinway" has two sample layers PP and FF, and the tone progression between them is not smooth.
Q: What about the Korg "Grand Piano RX" that comes with the Pa2x?
A3: The "GrandPiano RX" uses a nice piano multisample, it is a good single layer recording. Because it is a single layer, there is no progressive change in tone quality when you play PP, P, MF, F and FF - the same multisample is used everywhere. Although stereo multisamples are used, there is little stereo separation or distinction between the -L and -R samples.
Q: What about Polyphony issues and running out of OSCs?
A4: There is no change in the number of OSC's being used compared with Korg's "Grand Piano RX". Even though the layered multisamples are assigned to 8 OSC's, there will only be two multisamples (stereo) in use for each note that is played, the choice being made by how loudly the note is played.
Q: Can I customise the final sound?
A5: A user guide will be provided to give you some advice on creating custom user sounds. A lot can be done by changing the EFX. There are eight example User Sounds provided, all based on the same multisamples, but using different EFX to show you what can be achieved. There are also eight example User Programs provided corresponding to each User Sound. Each User Sound is fully documented with a step by step description of exactly how it is constructed, and what every parameter in the Sound editor is used for.
Q: Where are the sounds stored?
A6: You will need the EXB-M256 expansion card, because the PCM samples for both the Irish Grand (160 Mb) and the Irish Rhodes (8 Mb) piano occupy 168 Mbytes RAM. The Sounds based on these samples are loaded into USER2 locations 1 to 8 as default, although you can relocate them by using the selective load method instead of Loading the entire SET file. The Sounds are as follows:
- User 2-1: Irish Grand +R
... this uses the Piano Body Soundboard EFX to recreate the resonance that occurs when you pedal or part pedal. Pedal on and off RX noises are also used. The effect is best heard using the Korg DS-1H progressive damper pedal.
User 2-5: Irish Grand Dry
... this is a Dry version of the sound intended for mastering or group performances where you add the EFX later.
User 2-2: Irish Grand Honk
... the Honky Grand adds a Detune EFX to recreate a high quality honky-tonk piano.
User 2-6: Irish Grand Cho
... this adds a Stereo Chorus EFX in place of the Piano Body soundboard EFX (for the +R sound) and in place of the Hall Reverb EFX (for the no R sound).
User 2-3: Irish Rhodes +R
... this is an 8-layer Rhodes piano with reverb and stereo panning EFX.
User 2-7: Irish Rhodes Dry
... this is a Dry version of the Rhodes sound intended for mastering or group performances where you add the EFX later.
User 2-4: Irish Rhode Honk
... this adds a Detune EFX to recreate a high quality honky-tonk Rhodes piano.
User 2-8: Irish Rhode Cho
... this adds a Stereo Chorus EFX to the Rhodes sound.
A7: Yes, you use the selective load method as follows. From the MEDIA-Load menu, navigate to say USB-F where the file "Irish Pianos Pa2x.SET" is stored. Select the file and then OPEN (not LOAD). Navigate to the SOUND subfolder and then touch OPEN (not LOAD). Navigate to the USER02.PCG subfolder and then touch OPEN (not LOAD). For each of the sounds you can now touch LOAD, and the Pa2x will prompt you for the location where you want to merge it. The first sound you load will take 3 to 4 minutes while all the samples are added to your existing samples. Subsequent sounds will load instantly. You must have at least 168 Mbytes sample RAM available.
Q: Can I listen to some demos?
A8: The demos of the sounds are here:
http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=44820
Q: Will the user guide include instructions on sampling and constructing multisamples?
A9: No, it will not. Irish Acts use a lot of computer based software and some proprietary algorithms to prepare every sample and multisample so that it is perfect. They are all auditioned and perfected in Irish Acts studio using a Korg OASYS. There are also numerous "manual workarounds" we have to do when importing Triton/Trinity format multisamples into the Pa2x. The process is complex, specialist equipment and software is needed, and it is not economically viable for most users.
Last edited by Rob Sherratt on Mon Jul 13, 2009 2:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Rob,
I would like to be a tester...and I qualify on most of your requirements...but I am not a good enough musician to gig out ( I am working towards that goal).
I have a quality Mackie sound system and am very knowledgable on the sound system of the PA2.
If you need a tester, I would be glad to help, but would not meet all your requirements.
Your friend,
Lee
I would like to be a tester...and I qualify on most of your requirements...but I am not a good enough musician to gig out ( I am working towards that goal).
I have a quality Mackie sound system and am very knowledgable on the sound system of the PA2.
If you need a tester, I would be glad to help, but would not meet all your requirements.
Your friend,
Lee
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tommy1340millar
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Rob Sherratt
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tommy1340millar
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Hi Rob,Rob Sherratt wrote:Hi Lee and Tommy,
You are both on! Thank you very much. I'm curretly convalescing in hospital after a minor op, will upload the sounds for you this weekend. Tommy can I contact yo by email to tell you the download password?
Please email me rob.sherratt@gmail.com
Thanks,
Rob
Don't know if my email got to you?
my email address is thomas.millar1@sky.com
cheers,
Tommy
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Rob Sherratt
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The demos are now uploaded, please listen to them here:
http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=44820
The "for sale" package for the Pa2x includes both the Irish Rhodes piano and the Irish Grand piano that you will hear in these demos. You will need the EXB-M256 sample RAM expansion card since the total size for both pianos is 168 Mbytes.
These pianos have transformed my playing enjoyment on the Pa2x so much that I'm now selling my Bluthner Concert Grand piano - I prefer the Irish Grand sound on the Pa2x. You can buy the Bluthner off me at about 14,000 Euros, or you can download the new sound(s) for your Pa2x at about 50 Euros, plus about 120 Euros for the EXB-M256 card.
Best regards,
Rob
http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=44820
The "for sale" package for the Pa2x includes both the Irish Rhodes piano and the Irish Grand piano that you will hear in these demos. You will need the EXB-M256 sample RAM expansion card since the total size for both pianos is 168 Mbytes.
These pianos have transformed my playing enjoyment on the Pa2x so much that I'm now selling my Bluthner Concert Grand piano - I prefer the Irish Grand sound on the Pa2x. You can buy the Bluthner off me at about 14,000 Euros, or you can download the new sound(s) for your Pa2x at about 50 Euros, plus about 120 Euros for the EXB-M256 card.
Best regards,
Rob
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Rob Sherratt
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- Joined: Mon Apr 16, 2007 1:49 pm
For customers in the USA you can order an EXB-M256 card directly from Korg USA for $99 from the on-line shop here, select the "expansion options" caategory:
http://www.korgusa.com
For European customers, I may be able to organise a bulk purchase of a batch of EXB-M256 cards, and price including import duties and postage would be 120 Euros. It will require 10 people before I go ahead, it will take 3 weeks to organise delivery to you, payment will be up front via PAYPAL, and if you want to contact me about it, please send me an email by clicking on my email button below this message.
Best regards,
Rob
http://www.korgusa.com
For European customers, I may be able to organise a bulk purchase of a batch of EXB-M256 cards, and price including import duties and postage would be 120 Euros. It will require 10 people before I go ahead, it will take 3 weeks to organise delivery to you, payment will be up front via PAYPAL, and if you want to contact me about it, please send me an email by clicking on my email button below this message.
Best regards,
Rob
$99 vs. €120
$99 in USA, €120 in Europe
is it known what makes this tremendous price difference?
is it known what makes this tremendous price difference?
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Rob Sherratt
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Re: $99 vs. €120
Shipping cost, import duties (20%) and VAT (19%)kottan wrote:$99 in USA, €120 in Europe
is it known what makes this tremendous price difference?