question for Privia PX-5S users who own a Kronos

[shaneblyth]

Hi am specifically looking at asking a few questions or getting some comments and feedback from Privia PX-5S users who own a Kronos. I have a Kronos X73 and am thinking of complimenting it with a PX-5S. I am hopping to mainly use JUST the Privia for gigs the reason being I like the full 88 keys and the super light weight, sounds like it is a reliable machine that can boot in next to no time and frankly the sounds I use when gigging are very few. Mainly some nice Pianos with a nice string layer / or Pads layer for use in worship in a modern church. I sometimes throw up a slightly grungy organ to drone in the background only and the odd dyno or DX7 type rhodes usually have some sort of pad or soft strings going on in the background. Thats about it really. So what do you guys think of the PX-5S in that usage compared to the Kronos? What do you guys use or don't use the Privia for and how do you find the quality of those types of sounds? I hear the Pianos have sympathetic resonance that the Kronos doesn't like the Nord Stage 2. Any comments just go for it. Likes hates things you think are crap or whatever.
Thanks

[johnnydr]

Shane there is a lengthy thread here on the PX5S
http://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthread ... 2465083/46
i'm also about to pull the trigger on one of these.
Lots of praise by owners everywhere!

[JPROBERTLA]

I have been using a PX-5S with my Kronos 61 for about 4 months. I do not use any of the sounds from the PX-5S. I could not find one sound in it that is comparable to one I could get from the Kronos, so I use it as a weighted 88 note controller only. It does have some good sounds, but after listening to the Kronos for over two years, I hear too much difference. That said, it does have a very good piano action that can work well with the Kronos. It only has 3 velocity curve settings, so so it took some work on the Kronos programs (primarily acoustic piano programs) to get the response and dynamic range that I prefer. It's one major flaw is that you cannot use a continuous controller pedal with it. There are work arounds, but they requires more gear and set-up time. Clearly a oversight in development. Its light weight is remarkable considering what it can do. In its case (which is made identical to my K61 case) it is much lighter than the K61 in it's case! It is great for gigging and has a bunch of other controller functions are are easy to use. Its only other flaw (if you would call it that) is the weird power supply. It is so unusual and delicate looking that I bought another one for a back-up. I would get another one if something unusual happened to this one.

[danmusician]

I agree with a lot of JP's comments. I own 2 PX-5S. I go the first one in December to use as a controller for a damaged K73. I love the combination. I have the PX on the normal curve and the Kronos on 9. It is very close to playing the Kronos, perhaps a slightly lighter touch. This rig is semi-permantently set up at my church.

I liked it so much, that I bought a second one. This one I will use for gigs where I may show up and do two or three songs. I have an undamaged K73 that I gig with when I'm doing a full concert. The PX is so much lighter, that I would consider just using it, but as JP said, when you're accustomed to the sound of the Kronos, it's hard to settle for the PX only.

I mainly sing and play piano with backing tracks. On the Kronos, that's a combination of audio and/or MIDI tracks played in the sequencer and Karma patterns. The PX will play audio files from a USB memory stick. I am considering putting all my tracks on a stick letting the K73 at home. But as I said, I like the K so much that it would be a small step down.

For me, the Kronos German Grand is the best digital piano available. I've played the Yamaha CPs, the Roland V, the Nords, Kurweil and even some Kawais. The K just sounds the best to my ear. I like the PX-5S piano a lot, but it is not quite as good as the K. Some tweaking will improve it, I haven't has a chance to dig into it yet.

It is a great instrument. You can't beat the price, size, and weight. For this price point, you will be hard pressed to find a better piano sound with as many complimentary sounds. If you are into synth sounds, it is a pretty deep and powerful instrument. Winter NAMM named it keyboard of the year. It certainly deserves the honor.

[shaneblyth]

for a live gig in a band situation as opposed to quiet soloing I am surprised you guys dont use some of the onboard sounds. I have watched the 2 one hour long clinics which shows how you can get alot out of the gear and alot of sound examples on soundcloud and the pianos sound extremly good to my ear and some of the pads sound very thick and lush and beautiful I know it also has something the Kronos doesnt that is sympathetic string resonance like the Nord but I have not actually played one myself hence why I was asking so thanks for the feedback. I see there is a huge community and it won the keyboard of the year last year so it obviously must have some good sounds I hear the organs are pretty crappy.

[Low Class]

I own a PX-5S and a Kronos 61. Come on, do you really expect a $999 Casio to compete with a Kronos? That being said, the PX-5S is no slouch. The sounds in it are very good for the most part(yeah the organs suck) and will perform admirably on it's own. The PX-5S performs 2 great functions; 1) It's a lightweight 88 key great sounding keyboard that only weighs 23 lbs. and 2) It' s an awesome weighted controller for the Kronos.

I sold my Kronos 88 to go with this rig and have not regretted it for one second!!

[shaneblyth]

I own a PX-5S and a Kronos 61. Come on, do you really expect a $999 Casio to compete with a Kronos? That being said, the PX-5S is no slouch. The sounds in it are very good for the most part(yeah the organs suck) and will perform admirably on it's own. The PX-5S performs 2 great functions; 1) It's a lightweight 88 key great sounding keyboard that only weighs 23 lbs. and 2) It' s an awesome weighted controller for the Kronos.

I sold my Kronos 88 to go with this rig and have not regretted it for one second!!

no it doesnt have an ssd and doesnt have huge samples and doesnt have 9 engines and doesnt have a huge touch screen etc etc. But the pianos sure seem to sound good enough for a gig probably and pads are not usually hard to get sounding good. The pianos are suppose to be better than a Kross for instance. I might need a car to drive to the shops to buy the groceries but I wouldnt take it on a rally or round nascar.

[marcdeben]

I love the px-5s. It sounds excellent as a synth, piano and eps. No it it no Kronos but for live and your church work it would be more than adequate. As stated earlier, the organs need a lot to be desired. I too use it mainly as a controller for my k-61 (except for synth soloing and organs) but I have a Kronos. If I didn't I could definitely get buy with just the PX (though I wouldn't play organ to often . The action is fine for my style. The programming and interface takes a bit to get use to IMO with no touch screen and all but what do want for $900. I am very happy I bought it. Hope that helps.

[shaneblyth]

I love the px-5s. It sounds excellent as a synth, piano and eps. No it it no Kronos but for live and your church work it would be more than adequate. As stated earlier, the organs need a lot to be desired. I too use it mainly as a controller for my k-61 (except for synth soloing and organs) but I have a Kronos. If I didn't I could definitely get buy with just the PX (though I wouldn't play organ to often . The action is fine for my style. The programming and interface takes a bit to get use to IMO with no touch screen and all but what do want for $900. I am very happy I bought it. Hope that helps.

Yes all good it has its place, the average live gig sounds pretty good. If some one throws a beer or there is a brawl at the pub I'd rather than knock it than my. Kronos for sure. It strangely has no monophonic mode for that lead synth type of playing but it sure has some fat synth layers and looks very easy to manipulate on the fly. I like the look of what can be done with the arps too it's well worth watching the two clinic videos mike does an awesome job of answering questions and showing you there is a tone of depth in this cheap little box what with hex layers and the like and nice smooth fat filters I think if you guys are just using it for the Keybed alone you are missing some awesome complimentary sounds and arp functions I've never got the karma way of doing stuff.

[PianoManChuck]

I have a Kronos 88 and the PX-5s. My use for each are quite different. The Kronos is, for me, strictly a studio instrument and I would never take it on a gig (way too big and heavy)... besides, my gigs are 100% solo pianist gigs.

That being said, the PX-5s is just an awesome instrument for a solo pianist... weighted keys (love the action, although I prefer the Kronos action more), 24 lbs, can tailor the sound on the fly, not as lengthy as the Kronos (so it fits across the back seat of the car), and if anything accidentally happens to the power, the 8 penlight batteries kick in and act as a built-in UPS. The piano voice itself is awesome for the PX-5s, no... it doesn't compare to say, the German Grand on the Kronos, but for live playing where people are typically talking and having a good time, its still high enough quality to give a shining performance.

Likewise, I wouldn't use the PX-5s at the studio as the voices don't compare to what the Kronos has. On the other hand, the PX-5s has triple sensors on the keys (compared with most boards only having 2... actually the only other board [controller] that I know of with triple sensors is the Kawai VPC1), so its great for expression with say, classical pieces... and when using it as a controller, it puts out high definition MIDI (something the rest of the world is still trying to embrace at this point). But for the studio, I still prefer the Kronos 88 in every respect (action, voices, versatility). But I may try/use it (PX-5s) as a controller when the new "Ravenscroft by VI Labs" virtual piano software is released.

My two cents.

[JPROBERTLA]

I did not intend to convey that the PX-5S doesn't have good sounds, but you can't really expect it to be comparable to a keyboard that is almost 4 times the cost? Also, if I wanted to use PX-5S sounds I would have to reconfigure the midi setup and have additional audio cables to contend with. Again, I simply could not find one sound (that I use) in the PX-5S that I can not duplicate or exceed with the Kronos, so for that reason I have no need for the PX-5S sounds. It does serves as a great emergency back up in the event that something happened to the Kronos or if I needed a quick set-up for an performance with just a acoustic and electric pianos; for that it would be fine.

[PianoManChuck]

I did not intend to convey that the PX-5S doesn't have good sounds, but you can't really expect it to be comparable to a keyboard that is almost 4 times the cost? Also, if I wanted to use PX-5S sounds I would have to reconfigure the midi setup and have additional audio cables to contend with. Again, I simply could not find one sound (that I use) in the PX-5S that I can not duplicate or exceed with the Kronos, so for that reason I have no need for the PX-5S sounds. It does serves as a great emergency back up in the event that something happened to the Kronos or if I needed a quick set-up for an performance with just a acoustic and electric pianos; for that it would be fine.

I tend to agree, but it seems from your post that you were trying/comparing stock sounds without playing around with any of the highly modifiable parameters and controls to actually "shape" the sounds.

As for comparing a $999 board (PX-5s) to a $4k board (Kronos 88 ), they are two very different animals meant for two different things - they're apples and oranges. The Kronos is a Workstation, the PX-5s is a Stage Piano with Synth capability.

[danmusician]

I agree with all of PianoManChuck's comments.

Regarding the string resonance on the PX, I don't find it all that convincing of an imitation, to be honest. While the piano timbre itself is quite good, it sounds just a little plastic to my ear when compared to the Kronos. My point is that if I must choose, it would be a superior piano tone without string resonance over a lesser quality tone with resonance. (Of course, having both would be my first preference.)

Along that line, I'd rather play a superior quality digital that a mediocre acoustic.

[PianoManChuck]

I agree with all of PianoManChuck's comments.

Regarding the string resonance on the PX, I don't find it all that convincing of an imitation, to be honest. While the piano timbre itself is quite good, it sounds just a little plastic to my ear when compared to the Kronos. My point is that if I must choose, it would be a superior piano tone without string resonance over a lesser quality tone with resonance. (Of course, having both would be my first preference.)

Along that line, I'd rather play a superior quality digital that a mediocre acoustic.

+1

[shaneblyth]

Now Im headed in a different direction. something to compliment the kronos and also something super light and small to lug to practices. I looked the the Yamaha MX 61 which is dirt cheap and has 1000 Motif sounds and 128 note polyphony. Got some really nice pianos i think it sitting above the Kronos at a bit gig or being used by itself for practices and small gigs might be the way to go it does sound like the Motif series as the sounds are straight from it and it has some very good brass and guitars which i find lacking in the Kronos. I like the warm pianos too. The main demo they do of it is such crappy demo though nothing compared to what the thing can do. seems nice quality keyed and finish
Heres the various pianos http://youtu.be/NQ5z4RvkbB8
Here is a variety of sounds http://youtu.be/06t10p7Li_o
Tell me what you think for $699 in the US. I found out it even allows you to hold the sustain pedal and switch sounds and the old sounds plays on as long as the pedal is down.