Piano Types

[spottingjonah]

I've searched far and wide and can't find the answer. Perhaps someone here knows.

In the Piano Types names, what does the "D" or "C" represent, and what about the lowercase "s" at the end of some? (i.e. "German D Dark 1 s")

Is this obvious and I'm unenlightened?

[KK]

The big letters are simply the brand/model number, so German/Steinway D, Japanese/Yamaha C, Austrian/Bösenforfer Imperial and recently Italian F for Fazioli.

The "s" means stretched tuning, which is how acoustic pianos are normally tuned, with lower keys gradually a bit down in pitch and upper keys a bit higher in pitch. The non-stretched tunings remain useful for multi-instrument scenarios, when you don't want the pianos to sound strange or off pitch in those areas.

[spottingjonah]

Thank you so much for the info... I truly appreciate it!!!

Curious, is this a piano thing or a Korg thing?

[KK]

You're welcome.

About using German/Japanese/etc instead of Steinway/Yamaha/etc, I think Korg had to remain a bit vague for some copyright reason or something, just like most other manufacturers emulating acoustic pianos with hardware or software.

About stretched tuning, it is actually a standard practice of acoustic piano tuners to counter the effects of what is called inharmonicity (iH). Because piano strings are made of very rigid metal, when they sound upon impact they not only produce a fundamental frequency corresponding to each note but also "partials", which are harmonics but not exactly equal to the whole number multiples of this fundamental. And as the human ear perceives these mix of partials as slightly out of tune, to compensate the tuner must trick the ear by adjusting/stretching the tuning of the lowest and highest strings. It's a complicated subject but quite interesting so feel free to google about inharmonicity if you want.

[Liviou2004]

You're welcome.

About using German/Japanese/etc instead of Steinway/Yamaha/etc, I think Korg had to remain a bit vague for some copyright reason or something, just like most other manufacturers emulating acoustic pianos with hardware or software.

Yes, as it is the case for Electric Pianos, Korg never mentionned Rhodes or Wurlitzer.

[ChrisDuncan]

The big letters are simply the brand/model number, so German/Steinway D, Japanese/Yamaha C, Austrian/Bösenforfer Imperial and recently Italian F for Fazioli.

The "s" means stretched tuning, which is how acoustic pianos are normally tuned, with lower keys gradually a bit down in pitch and upper keys a bit higher in pitch. The non-stretched tunings remain useful for multi-instrument scenarios, when you don't want the pianos to sound strange or off pitch in those areas.

Thanks, this is very helpful as I've always wondered about the physical pianos the various patches were based on.

That said, I just went into a program and was playing around selecting the different types to hear the differences. Selecting the German, Japanese and Berlin types works fine. However, no matter which Austrian type I select, the keyboard makes no sound.

Is there something special about the Austrian type that I'm missing in order to make use of it?

[edit]
In browsing other posts I now understand that the Austrian piano wasn't included and is a separate purchase. That would explain the silent keys. The pianos I already have sound good, it was just a technical curiosity.
[/edit]

[KK]

Thanks, this is very helpful as I've always wondered about the physical pianos the various patches were based on.

That said, I just went into a program and was playing around selecting the different types to hear the differences. Selecting the German, Japanese and Berlin types works fine. However, no matter which Austrian type I select, the keyboard makes no sound.

Is there something special about the Austrian type that I'm missing in order to make use of it?

In browsing other posts I now understand that the Austrian piano wasn't included and is a separate purchase. That would explain the silent keys. The pianos I already have sound good, it was just a technical curiosity.

Glad I could help. If you are looking for an additional piano to complement the three factory ones, the new Korg Italian grand is quite a bit better than the Austrian. More recent and well-balanced. You can install the demo and see for yourself. I bought it during the latest biannual Korg sale. Next one will be in December I think.

[ChrisDuncan]

Cool, thanks for letting me know.

[ChrisDuncan]

The big letters are simply the brand/model number, so German/Steinway D, Japanese/Yamaha C, Austrian/Bösenforfer Imperial and recently Italian F for Fazioli.

I noticed that the German and Berlin patches both use the Steinway D as their sample model (or whatever it's called). If the German is a Steinway, what's the Berlin - a different model of Steinway?

[KK]

The big letters are simply the brand/model number, so German/Steinway D, Japanese/Yamaha C, Austrian/Bösenforfer Imperial and recently Italian F for Fazioli.

I noticed that the German and Berlin patches both use the Steinway D as their sample model (or whatever it's called). If the German is a Steinway, what's the Berlin - a different model of Steinway?

Hi Chris,

Sorry, totally forgot to mention that the Berlin is a Bechstein, which also happens to be a D model. So German = Steinway D, Berlin = Bechstein D. Same country of origin, same model letter but just a coincidence in this case, as from two different piano factories/makers.

[ChrisDuncan]

Cool, thanks man.