I think they ALL to some degree have a certain amount of "inconsistency". However, I often find that user issues most often don't deal with that.., rather the issue lies in the default velocity settings themselves.., and many times those adjustments in this area can make a huge difference.

I grew up on the piano..., so I understand the need for a great piano sound (along with a killer set of keys) to appease those of us who traditionally are pianists. In hardware digital pianos and workstations there's ALWAYS shortcuts taken.., cheating here and there on the piano samples.. stretching here, compressing there, faking the stereo effect a bit. It's also not just the piano patches either as you can literally hear the shortcuts taken in other acoustic emulated instruments on today's keyboards too... I'll even use Roland as an example as in many cases regarding some of their stringed instruments such as violins and cellos you can REALLY hear the cheating. You want to hear inconsistency in a patch example..., have a listen to the default violins and cellos on my Roland RS-70.., but make sure you're sitting on the toilet first as the audio might make you do something involuntary. Gawd awful LFO changes from one note to the next and other disturbing things.

I too am picky about my piano sound. I know that NO digital representation is going to get me to that feeling of real ivory bliss.., but if I'm going to choose one that's digital..., I want as much sound shaping control as possible... That's probably what makes me a bit of a loner in terms of patch control to many users here. I don't look for Out of Box patch quality. I look for good raw samples and the tools onboard to allow me to turn that sound inside out should I feel the need.

**on a side note..., I knew some time ago about Roland's use of Steinway samples..., which is why Roland has always been my choice for piano patches.., I also remember hearing rumors that they were using Baldwin too**



[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 01-08-2009).]