EXs17 Berlin D Piano

Bertotti · Post by **Bertotti** » Sun Jan 18, 2015 2:24 am

Yea sorry starting to sound like a broken record. What I mean is like anything else from the korg kronos store it will be tied to one Kronos and if you move to a different Kronos board you will have to repay the fee for the new board.

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Tue Jan 20, 2015 1:05 am

GregC wrote:
mikeyd wrote:Is it late January yet?
yeah, I can't wait for the Berlin grand.

the 22nd is when NAMM starts. I would almost bet the Berlin will be ready for that. so in a few days, we should see the Berlin.

Just noting that a 16GB USb drive will be needed to transport the Berlin ( 9 gig) from your desktop to your Kronos

Unless you are 1 of the cool kids with a supported USB ethernet Adapter

ahutnick · Post by **ahutnick** » Tue Jan 20, 2015 2:34 am

Fast internet to download that piano would help as well

andrewt · Post by **andrewt** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 8:42 pm

SanderXpander wrote:Honestly, I realize they were going for different flavors, but I'm really disappointed by the sound of the Japanese grand. A C7 is one of my favorite grands in real life, but it has a really weird timbre on the Kronos. I don't really like the Boesendorfer either but I haven't played enough real ones to compare.

Oddly, I usually do like the poppier/brighter real grands.
I hope the Berlin D is good, I practically grew up on my middle school/high school (it's one thing in Holland) Bechstein grand!

Sorry to be a little off topic, but can you and the others who don't like the Japanese grand go into more detail as to what you don't like?

I use the Japanese grand (IA006) live and I think it sounds great. I've played plenty of Steinways and a few Boesendorfers in real life, but no Yamahas. If I start playing the German grand on the K and then switch to the Japanese it does sound thin/weird (which makes it better for live use IMO), but if I start fresh playing the Japanese it sounds fine to me.

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 10:42 pm

I haven't used it in ages so I'd have to be at my Kronos to be very specific (and I'm not), but from what I recall it has the "wrong" kind of brightness. Like a caricature of a bright grand. It's very thin. The Yamaha's I'm used to are a lot more like the German Grand actually, just a little more aggressive/poppy when pushed. Do you monitor in mono or stereo, live?

Bertotti · Post by **Bertotti** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 10:52 pm

I made a combi using the Bright Japanese and the Dark German Grand pianos and a little tweaking I think they play well together.

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 12:16 am

Bertotti wrote:I made a combi using the bright Japanes and the Darg german grand pianos and a little tweaking I think they play well together.

thats a good idea. My tweak is to detune 1 of the pianos by + 1 or -1.
It makes the notes ' ring '

And most acoustic pianos are slightly out of tune, anyway

pedro5 · Post by **pedro5** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 12:52 am

Although I still prefer the German piano and used to think the Japanese ones were too shrill sounding.
However,because the German ones won't play correctly regarding their velocity response,(I've already mentioned this problem several times on the forum,so won't write any further details,here).
I began tweaking the Japanese ones,which do play correctly and had some success with achieving a passable result.

Also have a mix of both,not in a combie though,but as a dual exi piano voice(programme).
It works better by having the Japanese piano more dominant than the German one,possibly with different eq for each,but all the other settings being similar.
The German piano volume needs to be just high enough to add some tone,without reaching a point of sounding as a "chorus effect" of two similar instruments playing together.
Also adding the new string resonance effect enhances the overall sound.

Although this method only provides a fixed volume balance between the two as opposed to a variable volume adjustment as per combie,I've found that applying different settings,the final result sounds within reason.(To me that is,of course….).

I've tried all the available library piano demos,but none sound good enough for purchase,but am looking forward to auditioning the new Berlin one that's pending.
(Hope it actually plays correctly on my instrument…..otherwise I will realise I still have unresolved problems with piano keyboard/samples, whatever the cause is).

Obviously it will also be subject to further tweaking to taste and it may just be fine.

Shall try the detune tweak.....thanks for the suggestion.

Best Wishes.

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 1:15 am

pedro5 wrote:Although I still prefer the German piano and used to think the Japanese ones were too shrill sounding.
However,because the German ones won't play correctly regarding their velocity response,(I've already mentioned this problem several times on the forum,so won't write any further details,here).
I began tweaking the Japanese ones,which do play correctly and had some success with achieving a passable result.

Also have a mix of both,not in a combie though,but as a dual exi piano voice(programme).
It works better by having the Japanese piano more dominant than the German one,possibly with different eq for each,but all the other settings being similar.
The German piano volume needs to be just high enough to add some tone,without reaching a point of sounding as a "chorus effect" of two similar instruments playing together.
Also adding the new string resonance effect enhances the overall sound.

Although this method only provides a fixed volume balance between the two as opposed to a variable volume adjustment as per combie,I've found that applying different settings,the final result sounds within reason.(To me that is,of course….).

I've tried all the available library piano demos,but none sound good enough for purchase,but am looking forward to auditioning the new Berlin one that's pending.
(Hope it actually plays correctly on my instrument…..otherwise I will realise I still have unresolved problems with piano keyboard/samples, whatever the cause is).

Obviously it will also be subject to further tweaking to taste and it may just be fine.

Shall try the detune tweak.....thanks for the suggestion.

Best Wishes.

are on an 88 ? or a 61 ? When I read about velocity problems I wonder what owners are playing

Am hoping the Berlin will be an excellent addition. The very early reports sound positive. Perhaps a week from now, we will be auditioning the Berlin

Should be fun

andrewt · Post by **andrewt** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 4:50 am

SanderXpander wrote:I haven't used it in ages so I'd have to be at my Kronos to be very specific (and I'm not), but from what I recall it has the "wrong" kind of brightness. Like a caricature of a bright grand. It's very thin. The Yamaha's I'm used to are a lot more like the German Grand actually, just a little more aggressive/poppy when pushed. Do you monitor in mono or stereo, live?

Hmmm... I always monitor in stereo and it sounds fine, but for rehearsal I just run mono through the singer's PA, which sounds pretty bad.

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 8:48 am

pedro5 wrote:
Although this method only provides a fixed volume balance between the two as opposed to a variable volume adjustment as per combie,I've found that applying different settings,the final result sounds within reason.(To me that is,of course….).

I'm really not a fan of layering pianos myself, but it's worth mentioning that you can adjust the volume of two EXi oscillators just as easily as the volume between timbres in a combi, by setting Tone Adjust to Timbre/Track. Slider 1 and 2 are oscillators 1 and 2 respectively, while slider 3 controls the volume of the drum track.

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 8:50 am

andrewt wrote:
SanderXpander wrote:I haven't used it in ages so I'd have to be at my Kronos to be very specific (and I'm not), but from what I recall it has the "wrong" kind of brightness. Like a caricature of a bright grand. It's very thin. The Yamaha's I'm used to are a lot more like the German Grand actually, just a little more aggressive/poppy when pushed. Do you monitor in mono or stereo, live?
Hmmm... I always monitor in stereo and it sounds fine, but for rehearsal I just run mono through the singer's PA, which sounds pretty bad.

Right, I monitor in stereo too, I was just wondering if perhaps the Japanese Grand sounded better in mono (than the German Grand).
To each his own, I suppose

pedro5 · Post by **pedro5** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 3:01 pm

GregC
My Kronos is a 73 key version and the problem only occurs with the German Grand….everything else plays ok.
Briefly,I've had the instrument "repaired" three times,but without a solution.
Eventually had to accept what a Korg demonstrator concluded following his assessment.
He agreed that there are velocity differences between some keys and his 88 key Kronos had similar responses….
Also saying that it's a characteristic of the German Piano anyway and probably most are the same.

Nothing more can be done to resolve this,as Korg Uk have exhausted their attempts to cure the problem.
In fairness,they really tried and I appreciate everything they did.

However,for me,it's unplayable (as a single voice) no matter how much I try to compensate for playing softer or harder on certain keys.

So,I turned to using the Japanese pianos and following several attempts with the settings,I eventually found something that I could use,not only playability,but also their tone.
(Perhaps my hearing has adapted to their sounding anyway….).

SanderXpander
I don't usually mix piano voices,but recently found that a judicious level of a German piano with the Japanese one can somehow enhance the overall tone,as previously described.
The velocity problem is lessened to a degree as the Japanese piano is the dominant voice in a dual set up.
It may not sound correct to other players of course,but I'm reasonably happy with them.....yes,several versions already....ongoing...

Thanks for the tip about volume settings.

Best Wishes.