Hi, I'm new on this forum.

I play piano, and I'm thinking to buy an arranger keyboard. I would like to have a good arranger that has a very good piano voice. That is, an arranger that, playing it like a piano, it sounds (with external amplifier) near a real piano (nothing about keys, I know arranger keys are light plastic).

What would be the better option?

If you think there is no arrangers with a good piano voice, the question would be another one: To Buy an arranger and, then, an expansion card, sample, or something like that, to have a better piano voice on the arranger.

In that case, what arranger and what external piano voice?

Thanks a lot, guys

Ooooh - be prepared for a lot of differing views, my friend. We discuss this topic very often here and you will find EVERY opinion you could hope for. My choice for piano tone alone is the Yamaha 9000pro (not the psr model)
Second choice is tied with Roland VA5/7/76
and the Ketron SD1.
My weak choices are the Technics kn series and the Gem WK series. This is a personal observation, so spend some time with the units you like ...... ALL pianos sound different, even in the acoustic world.

I'd be surprised if you didn't like the 9kpro. Good luck.

Ohh man.. I can smell a hot topic comin' ..lol. On top of that, this stuff is soooo subjective, but here goes my crack at it. I can only share my experiences with the keyboards I've played and owned. I finally got a chance to fool with a 9000 pro which has better "piano" action than the average arranger and a rather good piano sound to boot. Downfalls, if it matters.. about 3,000 US dollars ( give or take a few ), no speakers ( if it matters ), and a little large and clumsy to transport to shows. Still, I'm with UD on this one. 9000 pro is the one I like best of what I've heard.

I've owned several of the lesser PSR lines including the 530, 740 and 2000. I found the ac piano sounds to be ok on all of them, but not great.

I once had the Casio MZ2000. It had an awful ac piano sound..

I now have the PA80, which I still prefer because of it's overall sounds and it's very flexible O/S. Unfortunately, the one sound I like the least on the board is the AC piano. For my ears it ranks right up there with the one from the MZ2000. So my solution for home use: Use the very nice AC piano sound from my Motif ( non arranger ) or use my software samples. On the road, the Motif comes with me for it's outstanding Ac and Rhodes piano sounds.

I love the SD1 ac piano samples I've heard, but I can't really judge it accurately until I get one in front of me to play with.

Who'd I miss ? Roland.. Liked the ac piano sounds ok from what I've tried of the G series, haven't listened to the ones from the VA series.


9000 pro has sampling.. so does the 9000 and the PA80. I don't think you'd need additional piano samples with the 9k pro, but your own ears would tell you that better than I can. I can only speak of my experiences with the PA80 and the Motif. I don't even bother on the PA80, because just for starters you need to buy the "special" korg 8 mb smart media card at about 200 USD before you can do any sampling. I've done it on the Motif. Like the 9000 pro, you start with a rather low sample rom capability ( 4mb on the Mo, probably around the same on the 9000 ), and can expand it to 64 mb via optional SIMM modules.

I never use samples when I am playing live. For other situations, I found sampling to be much easier using my software stuff, ( I even prefer the Modest SB live soundfont software ). Also some of top end piano sample packages are well over 64 mb, so you can;t load them up on the 9000 pro or Motif.

[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 07-02-2002).]

Hello

For me , 9000Pro have the best piano voice with a excellent key taste.

Chico

Oh yeah, you asked the right question if want a lot of different opinions. I agree with Uncle Dave and Bluezplayer. I think the 9000 Pro has the edge in the piano department. Plus as stated by Bluezplayer, the action on the 9000 Pro is great! It's not weighted, but it's got great synth action.. I too used to have the MZ-2000 and I'm with Bluezplayer on that keyboards piano sound. It wasn't the worst, but sure left a lot to be desired. You're going to get a lot of opinions on this subject. The best thing for you to do is go to a local music store and try them out. Everyone's ear for a good piano is different. I just talked to someone the other day who thought the Casio WK-1800 had a better piano sound than the Yamaha PSR-9000 (I of course strongly disagree with this), but it goes to show you you how different we all hear the sound. Try them out for yourself.. We can only suggest what to try, but it all comes down to what your ear likes..

Squeak

All your are right... There are a lot of different piano sounds .... in pianos!!
But I don't want a Steinway, only a decent piano voice for home. I like sweet piano sound, not bright, not synt...

And it it is possible, not to pay 3000 $ or more for it (like 9000 pro.., it is the price of a Clavinova!!!!).
No arrangers between 1.000-2.000$ with good piano voice? Any Roland, Yamaha, Technics or Korg?

Thanks

The descision of which arranger keyboard has the best acoustic piano will depend a lot on the genre (rock, jazz, latin, blues, new age, etc) of music you play, as well as the style of keyboard playing you use (solo piano, full/split keyboard mode, etc).

I think the piano sound on the Ketron SD1 & Roland VA boards really shine for rock, r&b, blues and contempo pop. Both provide plenty of body to cut thru the mix, though the SD1's piano sound is a bit darker.

For straight ahead swing & jazz standards, I prefer the Technics KN keyboard's lighter 'transparent' sounding piano. If you want to play in the comping style of an acoustic jazz pianist (in full keyboard mode), then this is a best choice.

For 'best overall' acoustic piano sound suitable for the widest variety of music genres, my vote goes to the Yamaha 9000pro.

Scott

Bluebird
My opinion.........if you are a 'piano' player and have grown accustomed to playing with the feel and resistance of an acoustic piano keyboard - an argument could be made that you should steer clear of all the arranger keyboards mentioned here so far. As is said often here - the piano sample comparisons are subjective and are also greatly dependant on the room and the quality of your amplification system.

Perhaps the biggest consideration for you should be how often you need to move it around. If its often - you will probably end up preferring to learn how to play and adjust to synth-action keys because the unit weight will be lower.

On the other hand - if you don't move it much - you could stick with regular keyboard action and get a slightly heavier unit. In that regards and depending on your taste in sounds - there is the KF90 by Roland and the SK88 by Generalmusic. Neither of them are on the cutting edge but the KF90 has wonderful sounds.

As to stand alone piano sounds - the Roland FP3 is great as is the Technics SX-P50 and the Yamaha - all of which have piano action. You could take one of those and use it as a controller with an arranger module from someone like Ketron - XD3. One of the problems in combining differening sound sources though is the overall compatibility of sounds - lots of that is the difference in effects processing - but not all products combine well just because of the types of sound generating and processing.

Mike

I hope you can sit down at a Music Store near you and play the 9000 PRO, psr9000, korg 80 and psr2000 ... so you can see if it meets your requirements.
The psr9000 and korg 80 are around same price 1999 (ball park figure)
The 9000Pro is 2699 (ball park figure)
The psr2000 is 1,000 dollars (ball park figure)

So except for the 9000 PRO fit into your 1,000 - 2,000 price range.

With Arrnagers, do an online search for REVIEWS on these models , and you are doing the next best thing - ask people that own them and play them ... 3rd is play them yourself !
Good LUCK.
rgtaa

I'll second that Mike.

I have a Roland KR577 digital Piano/Arranger, and it is the best Piano sound “I” have heard. Period. The KF-90 is a portable version of my Piano, and I nearly had it. But since I don't gig, I thought the KR577 was a better option for me (if not a more expensive one) Having tried the Yamaha 9000 Pro, Technics KN6500, I would recommend the Roland KF90 over both these (My opinion only). And same as Mike says the,KF90 has wonderful sounds. It really is something else.....

You can download a demo for the Roland KF-90 right here if you want bluebird.

Good luck



[This message has been edited by Jupitar5 (edited 07-02-2002).]