Originally posted by Diki:
Well, one thing you might trust is your wife's opinions! 
I have been playing pianos since I was six, and Yamaha's sampled piano's, even some of the CVP series, leave me kind of cold... I prefer the warmth and mid range detail of the Roland's. I do admit that the PA2Xpro's main battle piano is MUCH improved over the PA1's, but there's still room for improvement. Take a listen to that new four-way for the M3 Upgraded, and tell me I'm wrong..
But yes, I believe you have got it... there is a HUGE difference between a 'pianist' and a keyboard player. And with what works best for them. For the trained pro piano player, nothing less than a wooden 88 will do (have your wife play the new RD700G or FantomG8 and ask her what she thinks of the new 'ivory feel' key-tops).
I have always kept my piano chops up as much as I can (have a nice upright at home, and a Steinway at the studio), but have primarily made my living as a live 'keyboard' player. In the past, this meant a stack of different keyboards on three sides, but I must confess I'm pretty happy with just the one 76 now. Were I to be on the road and have a road crew again, I MIGHT add a Nord Electro or Stage to the mix, but possibly not... So far, the G70 has handled everything I can throw at it.
The trouble with criticizing opinion is that you need a balanced point yourself. If you HAVEN'T played a G70 simply because you were uncertain about it's resale value, you are not giving yourself enough credit... What's the point of resale value, if you don't need to re-sell it! There are many here that will acknowledge many of the points I've made (especially it not being necessarily the best pure arranger ).
But go to Purgatory Creek, listen to all the arranger pianos. The G70 is identical to the FantomX. If you like bright, brittle pianos, Yamaha deliver in spades. But if you want warmth, detail, and dynamic range, it's hard to find anything short of a software piano to beat the G70 (and few, IMO, of them even achieve that!). Ask anyone who HAS played a G70 what they think of the action... Ask them what they think of the organ sim, ask them what they think of the drums...
I am pretty impressed with the T3 overall, but still unable to pull the trigger because of the 61. I hate having a good piano (that one, although I haven't heard the T3 doing the Purgatory Creek file, yet, sounds MUCH improved) and no decent keybed to play it on!
I have always said I do not use the arranger as many here do. I use it, like you, to draft composition and arranging ideas, I use it live as a flexible WS with all live bands, and a combination SMF or arranger play keyboard for smaller outfits. Finding something great at ALL of those tasks proved too much for most other keyboards. It's a pretty stringent set of needs. I have access to most of the TOTL WS's, have a K2500, Tritons, etc., and the studio has more Kurzweils and MotifES's, etc..
I wouldn't trade any of them for my G70, and I have tried everything, short of a T3 (and that gets discarded for the 61).
I like the PA2Xpro's new OS, and I think they are on the right track, but have still a ways to go, but ease of live use as a WS goes to the G70 (IMO ). But for the pro who is both a 'keyboard player' AND a 'pianist', the list of acceptable arrangers gets VERY short.
Very short indeed...
[This message has been edited by Diki (edited 10-14-2008).]I trust her opinions but sound is subjective, Some people would rather play a Yamaha acoustic than a Steinway BECAUSE it cuts through a mix being brighter out of the box.IN fact she prefers the Yamaha acoustic to all.
She prefers the Roland digital though. But she is on her third generation and after one hears a certain sound for so long, it becomes the sound others are judged by. She can hardly play the acoustic Yamaha we have because she is so accustomed to PERFECT tuning pitch on the digitals. Im not that sophisticated. I'm the hack player who is self taught. I could not tell the difference between keytops....but I can tell the difference between keyboard touch and depth of travel etc,
You are right about my ignorance regarding the Roland. I was simply scared off the Roland because of public sentiment presented by the value assigned to different keyboards in a public market forum. I only use the keys on the RD700 when Im playing piano parts, Otherwise the T3 is fine.
Arrangers are a boon to me because I was recording each part separately and using DRUM LOOPS, GUITAR LOOPS AND EVEN hORN LOOPS
I made my own strumming guitar loops. Garritan Strings..on and on.... As a live performer I was contracted with a live bands and hated using tracks because I felt they took the spontaneity away from the performance. I would rather have two keyboard players. One to carry the horns and orchestration, The other for Piano and organ. I met my wife in one of the bands I was contracted to perform with.
The Only way I could do possibly get hired as a OMB act is with an Arranger. I'm not good enough a player to show up with 88 keys and a few drum tracks and play for four hours, playing left hand Bass on some.
[This message has been edited by Kingfrog (edited 10-14-2008).]
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