Thank you... I enjoy reading your well articulated posts, too.

I love the piano, and after having tried since the original Ensoniq Mirage ( ) to get something onstage that sounded as good as the studio, I have come to realize that anyone that can come even CLOSE is a very talented programmer and recordist...

I have to admit, perhaps I'm not using an 88 wooden controller enough (though in the studio, I use a K2500X for the piano stuff) but having TWO (and a half) samples completely under 64 seems a bit of a waste, as little as you are down there. Filters and dynamic EQ can do wonders in that pianissimo to piano ranger with just the one sample. I honestly would prefer two samples in the 100-127 range.

I think that P.Creek ought to allow a simple velocity shift to allow some of the wrong curves to shine. Perhaps one file for untouched, and another allowed that the user can adjust global dynamics to fit the samples.... But some kind of force standard really needs to be adopted to let pianists NOT have to adjust every single time. Yes, your playing makes a huge difference, but overall, I am happier that there IS a P.Creek standard, rather than the way it used to be done, with no standardization at all...

At least it gives you a good apples to apples comparison of timber and phase coherency (the bugaboo of sampled pianos, IMO) and image stability (I can't believe how many sets 'swim around' in the stereo field).

To be honest, I wish there were something similar for drums and horns, etc... Standardization of touch and expression isn't necessarily a BAD thing! There's be a LOT less work translating styles, for one thing! I am getting very annoyed at how much GM/GS/XG is diverging from those standards. Interchangeability of sounds in styles and live playing is one of the things that made the eighties and nineties arrangers so effective. No surprises, it all just worked (within the limits of single layer sampled sounds).

Today, maybe better sounds, but less compatibility. It might not be a loss, per se, but it's a lot more work for the poor player...

mrdave hasn't responded yet about the K-Sounds piano he posted. I'm a little worried about the chorus-y nature sometimes in it. Perhaps he needs to double-check that the Korg is playing the stereo samples in phase, or maybe there are a few overlaps in the velocity cross-switching?

But if it IS the Vol. 2 piano, at least the Kurzweil programming shows that it CAN be done. It isn't the samples themselves. I used to convert a lot of Akai sets (still quite like some of the EastWest stuff) for my Kurzweil, and am only too aware how difficult it is getting the envelopes just right. It's rare you can use the envelopes for a different piano on another one. They are all just too different...