Italian Piano Selection

[whelafam]

I noticed today while using pressing the Program button and getting the program P0 Berlin Grand Bank Int A I can roll the selector wheel and see the Italian Piano types but I don't get any sound when I do. I never noticed it before .... I do see a Samples not loaded in the top of the screen which make sense as to why I can't hear them duh! But my question really is should I have these samples? I have the most recent updates. How would I go about getting them and loading them... hopefully for free!

[Dan Stesco]

Actually the Italian Piano and Austrian Piano is not for free in your Kronos. We can select the piano types but will not sound if the sample pack is not installed.

[whelafam]

Thank you for your response. Too bad they are not free. So how would I go about obtaining the sounds and the instructions for adding them.

[voip]

Try to load the required samples. If the response is Samples not found, then go to:

http://shop.korg.com/Kronos

Look for EXs12 and EXs19. Each of the webpages reached from the "Learn More" links has further links to download the demo versions, which should contain the samples. Download the correct one for your Kronos version. The installation instructions will be contained in the download package.

The payment and authorisation can also be done from this page. A My Kronos account would be needed to authorise the purchased expansions, but not necessary for the demo.
.

[whelafam]

Awesome thanks for all your help

[IAA]

Which currently has a 33% sale on.....

[KK]

I bought Korg's Italian/Fazioli piano about a year ago. It's my second favorite after the Berlin/Bechstein, followed by the German/Steinway. I don't load the Japanese/Yamaha anymore since IMHO it's not in the same league.

[wocongming]

I bought Korg's Italian/Fazioli piano about a year ago. It's my second favorite after the Berlin/Bechstein, followed by the German/Steinway. I don't load the Japanese/Yamaha anymore since IMHO it's not in the same league.

Please tell me what you like about the Italian piano I was thinking of buying it? also does the sample still have the same problem most of the other pianos do? The G and A flat above middle C being louder samples than the rest of the keys And some of the bass notes having a much thinner sound than the others? Thank you

[KK]

Please tell me what you like about the Italian piano I was thinking of buying it? also does the sample still have the same problem most of the other pianos do? The G and A flat above middle C being louder samples than the rest of the keys And some of the bass notes having a much thinner sound than the others? Thank you

On my K2, I don't hear anything odd with the keys you mention compared to other keys, regardless of the piano sample set. There are some slightly louder/softer samples for a few keys at certain velocities only (and different for each piano set), but nothing remarkable when I play. If the same keys sound louder for all piano sample sets on your unit, it's likely caused by dirty key contacts. They are rather easy to clean if you are OK with opening the unit, etc. Of course, wait for your warranty to be expired to do so.

About the Italian/Fazioli, it's of course unique and different. For example, to record classical solo piano I mostly prefer the Berlin/Bechstein for its intensity, extra dynamic range and darker timbre. But the Italian is more like a real Fazioli, it has a more "in your face" crispy timbre that suits better for particular purposes. It can be jazz, more contemporary "classical" solo piano like Prokofiev or Skriabin, etc.

I think Korg did a great job sampling the Steinway, the Bechstein and the Fazioli pianos for their (respectively) German, Berlin and Italian grands, because when you try these acoustic pianos for real, their character is very close. The Steinways often have a slight weakness in the 6th (so-called killer) octave and you can feel this playing the German Grand. The Bechsteins are reputed to offer the widest dynamic range and you can easily create this with the Berlin Grand. Finally, the few Faziolis I've tried had a very pure and clear sound, even more so than the best Yamaha concert grands. This is what I hear when I play the Italian Grand on my Kronos and hence why I don't load the Japanese Grand anymore because it simply became useless.

[wocongming]

Please tell me what you like about the Italian piano I was thinking of buying it? also does the sample still have the same problem most of the other pianos do? The G and A flat above middle C being louder samples than the rest of the keys And some of the bass notes having a much thinner sound than the others? Thank you

On my K2, I don't hear anything odd with the keys you mention compared to other keys, regardless of the piano sample set. There are some slightly louder/softer samples for a few keys at certain velocities only (and different for each piano set), but nothing remarkable when I play. If the same keys sound louder for all piano sample sets on your unit, it's likely caused by dirty key contacts. They are rather easy to clean if you are OK with opening the unit, etc. Of course, wait for your warranty to be expired to do so.

About the Italian/Fazioli, it's of course unique and different. For example, to record classical solo piano I mostly prefer the Berlin/Bechstein for its intensity, extra dynamic range and darker timbre. But the Italian is more like a real Fazioli, it has a more "in your face" crispy timbre that suits better for particular purposes. It can be jazz, more contemporary "classical" solo piano like Prokofiev or Skriabin, etc.

I think Korg did a great job sampling the Steinway, the Bechstein and the Fazioli pianos for their (respectively) German, Berlin and Italian grands, because when you try these acoustic pianos for real, their character is very close. The Steinways often have a slight weakness in the 6th (so-called killer) octave and you can feel this playing the German Grand. The Bechsteins are reputed to offer the widest dynamic range and you can easily create this with the Berlin Grand. Finally, the few Faziolis I've tried had a very pure and clear sound, even more so than the best Yamaha concert grands. This is what I hear when I play the Italian Grand on my Kronos and hence why I don't load the Japanese Grand anymore because it simply became useless.

sorry. i finally tried the italian. it has flaws just like all the others. notes that are thinner than the others cause of the multi note stretch sampling..notes are louder than others like up in the 2nd G above middle C on up to the obvious next sample. btw, im a concert pianist graduated from curtis institute in phila pa. i guess the german dark grand is the closest they have, and thats after i edited it to death.

[KK]

One thing you could do to very easily test the keys your Kronos is to download and install the MIDI-OX freeware. Then simply connect your Kronos to the freeware on a computer. Then play ascending/descending chromatic scales as evenly as you can. All note velocities will be recorded on the MIDI-OX input monitor/screen. If you then see that certain keys often create stronger velocities despite playing evenly, it's because they could need a bit of maintenance/cleanup.

[AntonySharmman]

sorry. i finally tried the italian. it has flaws just like all the others. notes that are thinner than the others cause of the multi note
stretch sampling..notes are louder than others like up in the 2nd G above middle C on up to the obvious next sample. btw, im a concert pianist ...

Just do the following due to investigate if this issue is based on piano samples or it's your keybed itself :
After marking odd notes , then use any kind of keyboard transposition and if artifacts are following transposed notes , then its the piano samples ,
else you have to maintenance your keybed !

btw, im a concert pianist ...

Your case then is for a "real" Fazioli like this http://wavesart.eu/KronosEXs/Italian%20 ... Grand.html
or get Spectrasonic Keyscape VST and use any DAW host ...

[pete.m]

I'm no concert pianist, but I do know where you are coming from with this problem. Even compared to my average quality baby grand, the standard Kronos pianos don't really cut it for me when played on their own - they are too clean and airless compared to the real thing. I think they can work well when mixed in with other instruments, though, and I find them better than the piano sounds I have tried on other synths. The nearest I have come to a piano sound that suits me is one that I edited from one of the existing Kronos piano sounds. I just tailored it to what I wanted to hear, and ended up with something that works for me - it was worth the relatively short time it took.

Anthony's sounds will be good. Have you tried the KaPro sounds in the Korg store as well?

[wocongming]

I'm no concert pianist, but I do know where you are coming from with this problem. Even compared to my average quality baby grand, the standard Kronos pianos don't really cut it for me when played on their own - they are too clean and airless compared to the real thing. I think they can work well when mixed in with other instruments, though, and I find them better than the piano sounds I have tried on other synths. The nearest I have come to a piano sound that suits me is one that I edited from one of the existing Kronos piano sounds. I just tailored it to what I wanted to hear, and ended up with something that works for me - it was worth the relatively short time it took.

Anthony's sounds will be good. Have you tried the KaPro sounds in the Korg store as well?

Yes i agree completely with the edited piano thing. Ive blended my edited piano sounds to suit perfectly either my classical or R and B and jazz recordings just fine! Yes, and ive heard all the demos on korg site and none of them are any better than the others. I found the original German Dark grand(edited of course) to be the best generic one.
Its funny how when they demo the pianos on the site, the piano player always play either very fast runs or staccato type to you dont hear the individual samply issues on some of the registers. False advertising 101 IMO.

[GregC]

I know what you are saying. I like objective , critical thinking.

Roland, Yamaha, almost all the co's put their best players, to demonstrate their keyboards, samples, etc.

Basically, any keyboard they play sounds impressive, since they are skilled.

I also found it difficult to get a good feel of the Italian thru the demo.

After a year of the IG being available, I just went for it.