So many pianos! Which are your faves?
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So many pianos! Which are your faves?
I'm a total Kronos noob - just picked it up and am blown away by the stock grand it comes with but I keep seeing ads for other pianos for sale from various sources (Epic Grand among others) and am now curious if I'm missing something. I do mostly pop, rock, gospel, power ballads.
Any picks?
Any picks?
Despite all the alternatives, my favorites are still the German (Steinway) and the Austrian (Boesendorfer) grand.
Kronos 73 - Moog Voyager RME - Moog LP TE - Behringer Model D - Prophet 6 - Roland Jupiter Xm - Rhodes Stage 73 Mk I - Elektron Analog Rytm MkII - Roland TR-6s - Cubase 12 Pro + Groove Agent 5
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How is that Austrian grand? What do you find it most useful for? No matter how hard I try I just can't get on with the Yamaha Piano. It's just too peaky, bright, and grating. I've messed around with EQ, but no dice.jimknopf wrote:Despite all the alternatives, my favorites are still the German (Steinway) and the Austrian (Boesendorfer) grand.
Korg: KRONOS 73, M50-61, 01W/r
Yamaha: Motif XS7, FS1R
Kawai K5000S, Roland JD-990 w/Vintage Synth
Yamaha: Motif XS7, FS1R
Kawai K5000S, Roland JD-990 w/Vintage Synth
I use the German Grand mainly for acoustic and solo stuff, and the Austrian Grand mainly for rock, funk and electric jazz.
The Austrian sounds a bit strange in solo play, due to hard attack and less body in the sustain. But if you adjust it a bit to to your needs and liking, it works great in loud band context. It has completely replaced the Japanese (Yamaha) grand in my Kronos, which I really dislike for sounding much too thin and ontrusive for my taste (while I normally like real Yamaha grands and their mostly warm tone).
The Austrian sounds a bit strange in solo play, due to hard attack and less body in the sustain. But if you adjust it a bit to to your needs and liking, it works great in loud band context. It has completely replaced the Japanese (Yamaha) grand in my Kronos, which I really dislike for sounding much too thin and ontrusive for my taste (while I normally like real Yamaha grands and their mostly warm tone).
Kronos 73 - Moog Voyager RME - Moog LP TE - Behringer Model D - Prophet 6 - Roland Jupiter Xm - Rhodes Stage 73 Mk I - Elektron Analog Rytm MkII - Roland TR-6s - Cubase 12 Pro + Groove Agent 5
My rig formerly consisted of a Nord Stage 88 (on which I was happily using the "Bright Grand" sample) and a Jupiter 80, but I recently replaced the NS with a Kronos 88. During my first gig with the new rig, our sound guy came up to me and said, "What the ____ happened to your piano? It sounds horrible!" This observation was confirmed by our long-time lighting tech. I had the Kronos sounding good (but not great) on stage through my single (i.e., mono) monitor, so I encouraged him to experiment with the EQ...which he said he did to no avail. He maintained the piano sounded "clunky" and "not smooth."
Hugely disappointed, I was ready to go back to my former rig. As a last ditch effort, after listening to the demos, I purchased the Epic Grand pianos, which completely revived my rig. These pianos really SING, for lack of a better word. The Epic Grand pianos feature a Yamaha sample with a dedicated mono patch, which works well in my classic rock band. Customer support was outstanding, through both pre- and post-purchase phases.
Hugely disappointed, I was ready to go back to my former rig. As a last ditch effort, after listening to the demos, I purchased the Epic Grand pianos, which completely revived my rig. These pianos really SING, for lack of a better word. The Epic Grand pianos feature a Yamaha sample with a dedicated mono patch, which works well in my classic rock band. Customer support was outstanding, through both pre- and post-purchase phases.
Do you mostly use the pianos in a studio setting, or live? I prefer the Yamaha over the Steinway for live (rock) playing; I think its brightness and thinner bass helps it cut live and sit better in the mix. I haven't used the Kronos in the studio yet.NuSkoolTone wrote:How is that Austrian grand? What do you find it most useful for? No matter how hard I try I just can't get on with the Yamaha Piano. It's just too peaky, bright, and grating. I've messed around with EQ, but no dice.jimknopf wrote:Despite all the alternatives, my favorites are still the German (Steinway) and the Austrian (Boesendorfer) grand.
Just curious, which Kronos piano were you using that sounded bad?Moonglow wrote:My rig formerly consisted of a Nord Stage 88 (on which I was happily using the "Bright Grand" sample) and a Jupiter 80, but I recently replaced the NS with a Kronos 88. During my first gig with the new rig, our sound guy came up to me and said, "What the ____ happened to your piano? It sounds horrible!" This observation was confirmed by our long-time lighting tech. I had the Kronos sounding good (but not great) on stage through my single (i.e., mono) monitor, so I encouraged him to experiment with the EQ...which he said he did to no avail. He maintained the piano sounded "clunky" and "not smooth."
Hugely disappointed, I was ready to go back to my former rig. As a last ditch effort, after listening to the demos, I purchased the Epic Grand pianos, which completely revived my rig. These pianos really SING, for lack of a better word. The Epic Grand pianos feature a Yamaha sample with a dedicated mono patch, which works well in my classic rock band. Customer support was outstanding, through both pre- and post-purchase phases.
I started with a German patch developed to work well in mono. It sounded really good in my music room, and as I mentioned good on stage, but not good FOH. I then switched to one of the brighter stock Japanese patches, which I did not enjoy playing, so I did not stick with this one too long. I then switched to the OASYS mono piano, which reportedly was the best of the lot.
Last edited by Moonglow on Mon Oct 20, 2014 2:25 am, edited 1 time in total.