Ok guys... I had no luck with the CP300, and have tried absolutely everything. I have been thinking about getting the Motif XS8, so I figured what the heck, and went out and bought one. It feels nicer as a piano goes, in my opinion. The sound is better, but still not that great. There is a "vibe" sound that comes from many different notes. I don't think that is the bose, except for the fact that it is mono.

I decided to pack up the bose (since it is so easy to do) and take it to my bedroom and simply take a stereo microphone out to the 4/5 w/ 2 channels (L/R). The Clavinova is 10 years old. It sounds SO MUCH BETTER! So much better, in fact, that I don't know why I even bought a new keyboard to begin with. I guess I had the attitude that technology would be so much better 10 years later. I can play anything from soft, slow piano to rock and roll... And I didn't have to tweak it at all. Everything is flat.

The other sounds are not as good as the XS8 though.

So, anyone have any bright ideas? How can I get the XS8 to sound like a real piano. The Clavinova sounds real. It is nice and warm, bright when it needs to be, and the harder you play it, the louder it sounds without sounding too tinny, or vibish.

I just can't believe I have 3 digital pianos, and the oldest one sounds the best.

But wow... it was nice to just pack up the bose system, and take it somewhere without a struggle. If I get myself a back pack, I will be able to take my entire PA in one trip! HAHA...

Anyway, any help would be great.

Have you tried micing the CP300 with that same stereo mic?

In the same way that some guitarists are happiest when they mic a small tube amp and then run the result through the Bose, you may need to mic the built-in speakers of whatever you're playing to feel the love.

Years ago that was standard practice with Rhodes suitcase models and Wurlitzer electric pianos, so you'd be merely continuing a fine tradition. Kind of like an early ToneMatch technology.

I stopped in at another music store after our last round of messages and did an A-B comparison of the Kurzweil SP2X and Yamaha CP300. By itself, I like the Yamaha just fine. Next to the Kurzweil, absolutely no contest. I really wish you could get your hands on one and check it out.

So in your opinion, the Kurzweil SP2X sounds much better than the Yamaha?

I haven't tried to mic the CP300, but I did mic the clavinova through my EV Pa system, and that sounded awesome.

The Clavinova sounds great with a 1/4" headphone out split to a l/r in channel 4/5.

If I can find my way to GC today, I Will check out the Kurzweils.

Thanks!

It's more complicated than simply x sounds better than y. There are hundreds of variables, and I can only say that for me there's a big difference between those two keyboards. But I've played P-250s and high end Clavinovas many times in concert, and they're quite lovely. And a number of people on this forum whose opinions I trust love the GEM keyboards.

There's a useful shootout here that you should check out.

One of the reasons I like Pianoteq so much is that there are no "steps" between samples, so the playing experience is far superior to Ivory, even though in the abstract Pianoteq sounds a bit less real. I used to use an MKS-20 for the same reason. The sample quality was laughable by today's standards, but the instrument felt good. (I actually still play the keyboard version of that instrument in rehearsals with one band.)

That's what's going on here: it's not so much which keyboard sounds better in a shootout, but which one gives you back the same magic you get playing your grand piano or old Clavinova.

Good point... I tried pianoteq. It was pretty awesome. Is every note sampled, or are they bent to make other notes? I don't have a perfect ear, but I can REALLY tell when notes are bent, and when they are naturally sampled.

Is there a way to buy pianoteq, and load it into a keyboard like the Motif, without having to use a computer? I am new to this stuff...

Thanks again!!

Not samples at all, and the notes are not "bent" - the sound is modeled, in other words mathematically calculated in real time. This takes up a fraction of the hard drive space, but does require a fast CPU.

It's not something one can load into another keyboard. In theory one can run Pianoteq from a laptop, but I'd recommend doing what I do: use a Muse Receptor as the host computer instead.

More on the differences between sampling and modeling here.

quote:

Originally posted by Alan Steinberger:
Not samples at all, and the notes are not "bent" - the sound is modeled, in other words mathematically calculated in real time. This takes up a fraction of the [storage: ROM or disk] space, but does require a fast CPU....

This, by the way, is the same approach GEM uses in their equipment based on their "Drake" technology -- which includes pipe organs as well as pianos.

ahhhhh yes THE MUSE RESEARCH RECEPTOR... MY next-year purchase. I just heard the new piano samples from Garritan the AUTHORIZED STEINWAY AND SONS samples..... sounds deadly and you can have different 'perspectives' from pianoplayer perspective.. audience etc etc. Maybe that would solved this 'problem' I so wanted my piano to sound stellar but I see it will be a comprimise... YAMAHA S90es....its odd the rhodes sounds seem to be pretty ok. Just probs with the grand piano, oh darn.