Korg Forums

Has anybody tried to improve the piano sound on a Pa50? Some of the notes are ok, but the sound of the next to top octave is really bad.

I was thinking of splitting the keyboard into zones and trying to adjust the EQ and envelopes (release etc) for each zone separately in an attempt to produce a more usable piano sound over the whole keyboard range.

Does anybody know of any sound editing package for the pa50 to make this easier, or has anybody tried to improve the piano sound already? I am sure that most PA 50 owners would be intersted in swapping information on this topic!

I think that this keyboard is awesome for te price, but these bad notes in the piano sound really lets it down. I have a PSR 3000 that I use for piano practice, but would really prefer to be able to use my Korg!

Hi chrisg,

some major settings can be of help:

1. Select L/R Piano
2. Turn Cutoff down to - 50 to 64
3. Turn the Release Time to + 12 to 20
4. Adjust the Vibrato settings.
a. Vibrato Intensity (tight)
b. Vibrato Speed (slow down)
c. Vibrato Delay (slightly long)
5. Deactivate any chorus settings
6. Choose Rev/SmthHall - set between 36 and 56

If you pm me your e-mail adress I would
send you some MIDI files as references.
(These are PA80 made).

Have sent the MIDIS. Did you receive them?

Choros

Dear Choros,
it worked perfect and I got the piano sound from the board which I have always been looking for

Zubair

Hi Choros,

Thanks for your reply, especially for the midi files.They are great and show what the P50 is capable of when playing piano pieces.

I have just sent a few hours trying to edit the Piano sounds myself, and have found it really hard work trying to refer to the manual for help.

It would be great if we had a beginners guide on how to edit sounds. - perhaps that is a job for me if ever I get good enough to understand the Korg edting properly!

Thanks again for your reply, and great job of editing those midifiles!

ChrisG

The piano sounds after changing some of these settings are better than before, but if any other visitors to this topic have any good piano settings that they wish to share, could they please send them in as reply so we can all share them!

I will continue to try and improve my PA50 piano sound, but will only post the settings if they are really worthwhile!

Thanks,

ChrisG

Hi chrisg,

of course my recommandation is just a guide value.
It varies a bit due to the kind of music&midifile.
For. ex: Some records need Cutoff down to -64,
others need a more crisp sound with the GrandPia.
(With the Grandpia you cannot achieve a much warmer
sound by reducing Cutoff).
If you go through the Oscar Peterson files you will
notice some settings which I think they can not be improved
any more. Some others - not readily edited ones - are still nailing
sporadically in an upper range. The problem is always - finding a compromise
between Velocity and Cutoff&Release.
In general I play Piano using a one octave down transpose.
When playing piano with strings I set the strings one octave down,
leaving the Piano - preferably the L/R - at 0.
One problem is that these PA80 class Pianos showing a thinnner sound
in a specific upper range. But even on GB Piano sample sounds
you can find such phenomena.
Anyway, reasonable settings can be found and the results justify
all expenditure of time

Choros

Hello again Choros!

Thanks again for your reply, I agree with you entirely!

My biggest problem is that I want to get the best from the piano sound when I am just playing 'live' without accompanyments over the whole keyboard so that I can improve my piano playing.

I think that getting the best stand alone sound could be at least as difficult as editing midifile arrangements.

Your advice and files have shown me that there is quite a lot of scope to improve the 'thin' sounds and I will use these to help me test further settings.

I do have a question for you - Is it possible to split the keyboard into zones and allocate a separate piano voice to each zone (upper voices 1-3). this would allow me to place different settings for the same voice in each zone (or range), making seperate adjustments for the zone with the 'thin range' that we are talking about?

I was hoping to use the midi control for each of the three voices to set each range, but I really find the manual very hard (still) to understand.

Thanks,

ChrisG

Hi chrisg,

should be possible! But I never tried such a mode.
I always try to find a compromise for one and the
same instrument over the whole key.
I play always full key, never using any split mode.
Of course you can split the key where you want.
But I am afraid, that if you use different pianos on your
key, the sounds will be too unequal.
And using 2xL/R makes no difference.
I find the most dynamic and warm sound with the L/R.
So I use this one for any style or music genre.
With the onboard settings you can enrich the "thin zone"
a little bit. (2nd. Octave from top).
Overall the basic sound of the L/R is good - also compared
to big samplesounds like NI Akoustik Piano or EW Steinway
etc. And the L/R harmonizes much better with the other internal
sounds of the PA.

Check it out.

Choros

Hi chrisg,
In the info below, Please tell me where is the cutoff to turn down, release time etc. I am new to the PA50. Please email me the files to paulgreenberg@bellsouth.net THANKS!!

some major settings can be of help:

1. Select L/R Piano
2. Turn Cutoff down to - 50 to 64
3. Turn the Release Time to + 12 to 20
4. Adjust the Vibrato settings.
a. Vibrato Intensity (tight)
b. Vibrato Speed (slow down)
c. Vibrato Delay (slightly long)
5. Deactivate any chorus settings
6. Choose Rev/SmthHall - set between 36 and 56


Choros[/quote]

Choros,

I have sent redkeys 88 as much help as I can at the moment, and have shared with him some of the files that you sent me.

I hope that this is ok, and would like to thank you on behalf of both of us for your help.

I think that I will paste a new thread on the site asking if anyone knows of an idiots guide to sound editing on the PA 50 / 80 as I am sure that there are many people who struggle with this subject and would be grateful for the help.

Quick note to redkeys88 - this guy knows loads more than me!


ChrisG

I need help for piano sound on pa50 too. Don't know where to find all the parameters just like redkeys.... can any1 help? You can PM me. Thanks

Hello igorzmn,

I am sorry, but I sold my pa50 and bought a Yamaha psr3000 because I could not improve the piano sound enough on the pa50.

Unfortunately I deleted the files that I sent to redkeys88 so I cannot send them to you and it is too long ago for me to remember what to do on the pa50. Please accept my apologies.

Good luck with this work as I know how hard it is to understand the manual and it will take you many hours of learning!

Best of luck,

chrisg

Choros wrote:Hi chrisg,

some major settings can be of help:

1. Select L/R Piano
2. Turn Cutoff down to - 50 to 64
3. Turn the Release Time to + 12 to 20
4. Adjust the Vibrato settings.
a. Vibrato Intensity (tight)
b. Vibrato Speed (slow down)
c. Vibrato Delay (slightly long)
5. Deactivate any chorus settings
6. Choose Rev/SmthHall - set between 36 and 56

If you pm me your e-mail adress I would
send you some MIDI files as references.
(These are PA80 made).

Have sent the MIDIS. Did you receive them?

Choros

Can I please you to describe me "Vibrato settings" with more details. I have Pa80 and have these parameter for vibrato: VibRate (with value from -64 to +64), VibDpth (from -64 to +64) and VibDel (also from -64 to +64). How can I set your a. b. and c. parameters in my case. Thanks in advance!
Best regards!!!