The piano is one of the most difficult acoustic instruments to reproduce (via digital sampling), partly because of it's wide tonal range, but also because it has complex harmonic overtones which give every piano a unique character and sound. Capturing all the rich hamonic overtones is difficult to achieve and a continuing challenge for keyboard manufacterers.

On the subject of piano sounds on the PSR2000: I was surprised (shocked?) on 'how much' the 'sound' can differ, depending on the output source (internal speakers vs external PA). Michael Bedesem's customized PSR2000 piano registrations (1-8) is an excellent case in point. Each registration uses the same basic piano sample, but each with different efx type, filter, and eq settings. It must be noted that the sound sample itself (attack decay, etc) was not edited. When playing the 8 different piano custom registrations thru the internal speakers, I thought that reg #2 & #8 sounded very impressive like a real acoustic grand piano sounds. This is a far cry from the lack luster sound of the Yamaha factory version you hear if you just selected the 'Grand Piano' patch when demoing at the music store. I then played the same piano registrations (#2 & #8) thru my PA (EVSxA100's) and was shocked to discover that it sounded terrible. Interestingly, registrations #6 & #7 (which incidently, sounded bad thru the PSR2000's internal speakers) sounded superb thru my PA setup. What this points out is that not only is sound subjective, but that it can also sound dramatically different depending on the output source. Another important point to make is that different types of sampled pianos sounds work best for different types of musical situations. A brighter piano might be required to cut thru a heavy mix, while a mellower sound might be more appropriate for a small combo setting (drums/bass). It's important not to get locked into thinking there is just one perfect piano sound. Instead, experiment and find the best piano sound for a given musical situation.
- Scott http://scottyee.com

[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 12-06-2001).]