That would be a separate track on the computer, @gregb . There are no drum capabilities with the YC88. Just organ, piano, synth and the effects that are laid over them. But they are substantial in capability. I use BIAB to generate rhythm backing tracks when I need them or use them ready-made. I went for the YC88 over the CP88 because I was totally seduced by the organ section (and the cool multicoloured drawbars!) And I’d watched a few of the Hammond organ lessons here and wanted to make organ more of my playing.
I must have watched a dozen demos on YouTube from various people, getting more enthusiastic about the instrument every time, and eventually just went for it.
PS: Have you watched 7notemode’s version of moanin’? I know you enjoy his playing.
Yamaha YDP184R Arius which is decent for all intents and purposes. Has graded pedal response which I like (and is useful for classical). Maybe someday I’ll be able to invest in an avant grand or something, but this will do for now.
I watched the demo and the sound coming out of digital pianos now is so impressive! The purists say that the sound of an analog piano just can’t be duplicated but I must say that my ears just can’t tell the difference. You have a good buy there LG.
For recording PianoGroove lessons, I connect my keyboard to Logic Pro, and the default Steinway sound or the Boesendorfer sound are both great sounds.
If you’re looking for something more sophisticated, there are many advocates of the Ravenscroft 275 virtual piano here in the forum. See the following thread:
If you want to record some performances, I would recommend using a virtual piano. The result will be much cleaner than capturing the audio from the FP30 with a microphone.
One of the positives of the FP30 is that is has built in speakers. If you did want to use a virtual piano, you would have to connect to your computer via the MIDI/USB, and then use some other speakers to generate a similar level of volume.
I would recommend playing around with the default piano sounds in Logic first (Steinway & Boesendorfer)
I meant the available setup sounds of FP 30X itself or Roland apps. For instance, there’s an Roland app called Piano Designer where you find a number of setups to change the piano sound. For playing jazz I’m using LX-17 440Hz Jazz Stage setup. So I was wondering if you were using some of these setups.
Regarding Logic Pro, it is Mac only, right? If that’s the case, I can’t use it…
Awesome, I didn’t know about the Piano Designer app. I will check it out this week and try the LX-17 440Hz Jazz Stage setup.
The keyboard I have in my home is the Roland RD-88. It’s a similar weight to the FP-30 and has the onboard speaker, and has a wider selection of sounds and effects. Here’s the front of the keyboard with the controls:
I really like it. It’s sleek and low profile at the back which makes it easy to use for the lesson recording setup.
Yes that’s right, I believe it’s just for mac.
That being said I’m sure there are other DAWs which you could use. I will ask a musician friend of mine who is a Windows user to see what software he uses.
I have a Yamaha P515; the keybed a bit stiffer than the Roland’s I think but you get used to it to a large degree.
I don’t use the P515’s onboard sound but route the MIDI to my PC, where I have VSL (Vienna Synchron Pianos) running. I route the audio back into the P515 so I can use my headphones on that keyboard again. I love the more characteristic pianos of VSL, especially the German 1904 Upright (in Ambience or Player mode) and Boesendorfer Upright. The Boesendorfer imperial and 280VC are quite clean.
I found it very challenging to pick out a digital piano as most of the top brands are no where to be found if you want to try the nicer models. I was shocked that there wasn’t a single store in Los Angeles to try out any of the Kawai slabs!
I initially took a chance on the Kawai ES520 but unfortunately it had issues with a plastic clicking sound when playing the keys in the lower two octaves (a Kawai rep confirmed this was not how it should sound) so had to pack it up and send it back. I also found the keys to be a bit light for my preference though the piano sounds were very nice.
I would’ve loved to have played all of the Kawai models especially the MP7se which is a real beauty imo but alas it was not possible. I was able to find a Roland slab that had the PHA-50 keyed and that sold me on taking the leap and going for an FP-90x.
It was a huge relief when the board finally arrived and everything was perfect! I have yet to try it with any VST’s but the internal sounds are working just fine and it is a joy to sit down and practice everyday.
I am looking for an electronic piano, 88 weighted keys, with midi input, The main objective is to practice using headphones at night, but also having some speakers for practicing during lessons (for listening both to the lesson (tablet/computer) and to the piano.
I read all the posts on the thread, and I looked on the web, and I see a lot of nice comments about Roland, Yamaha, Kawai, Kurtzweil, Korg… I need to decide, and I don’t want to go to the store, so comments from people that compared products will be very welcome.
I don’t need the keyboard to compete with my Bosedorfer, just trying to learn some Jazz basics, when my wife is asleep. But I don’t want cheapest thing, I want a good product.
I downloaded a midi file “cry me a river”, so I see that the keyboard will need to have MIDI input, and some way to play it from a tablet/computer. I am looking for some midi software that can slow the playback to let me follow fast runs. I need it to play very slowly for now.
I played with MIDI 30-40 years ago. We used only the 5 pin circular DIN connectors (no usb or Bluetooth). I need to learn about that as well.
Hi @dan5,
You can’t go wrong with any of those brands if you’re looking at the higher tier models. For me having a keybed action that I felt a “connection” with was top priority so I took several trips to different music stores to find what I liked. I imagine you would have some kind of preference in this area so it would be best to play some models you are interested in as only you can know what is best for you. I can tell you from experience that buying a DP and having to return it because you do not bond with it is a very cumbersome experience due to the size, weight and packaging.
If this really doesn’t matter to you just make sure the board has bluetooth audio and you will find that streaming audio from your tablet through the keyboard is a very easy way to practice. You would be able to use a compatible program to play the midi file at any tempo you like (for me it would be GarageBand) and the audio will stream through your keyboard headphones or speakers and you can practice along.
This all works flawlessly for me with my Roland FP-90x. Just make sure to do a little digging and make sure whatever DP you decide on is compatible with your tablet. This is a good forum to get opinions and advice as well:
Hi Aaron,
Thank you for your input.At my age, I tend to stay away from stores due to the virus. I did buy my Roland accordions on line. There was no instrument to sample in my state. I relied on many strong recommendations, and it worked out well. I did sample my latest Bugari Evo, just before the pandemic. The inside electronics is made by Roland, and some of the sounds are good. So, I tend to view Roland in a positive light.
I took hours to look at electronic pianos (88 weighted keys with midi and headphone). I looked at stores, user forums and the end of the day I find myself watching a YouTube video comparing 3 candidates: Roland FP-90X, Yamaha P515, Kawai ES920. It is not the most important decision; I will play it only sometimes at night.
The Yamaha seem very attractive, and the sound will probably best approximate my Busendorfer, but I read that “there is Bluetooth connectivity with the P-515, however, it doesn’t allow you to send MIDI data from your DAWs”. I need to verify it. I will look into Bluetooth connectivity on the Roland and Kawai. I will not even bring up all the keyboards’ comparisons.
Listening to MIDI on the electronic piano is much better than a tablet. I also want to slow the music down. One way would be to import written notation and just edit the playback tempo values there, but such software will need to convert the notation to MIDI for playback. It would be nicer to have the operation done directly on the midi file. Does anyone have suggestions for a software solution?
Aaron, thank you again for your response. Your comment about Bluetooth is most helpful. I realize that the post is mostly about technical questions, that will change soon (I am going to buy a piano and deal with MIDI software later).
Meanwhile, I am making some progress. I find the sequence of the jazz basics course very well thought out, helpful and fun.
@dan5 I can certainly understand. Those are three great choices so it will probably come down to the one that works best with your preferred set up. I don’t know much about working with midi files internally (I believe the FP-90x imports midi files via a usb drive but I have not tried it yet) but I am sure someone can help you on the Piano World forum. There seem to be many experienced players there and they love to discuss the tech stuff. Let us know what you decide to purchase!
There are so many choices for digital keyboards these days; as Aaron says, a lot of the choice comes down to a subjective decision by the player regarding action, sounds, and user interface.
To help narrow your choices, I suggest you think about whether (or not) you want the ability to play a wide variety of additional sounds, i.e. organ, electric piano, synthesizers, etc, whether you want a keyboard that can be moved around on a stand (a “stage piano”) vs. one that looks more like a piece of furniture and is not intended to be moved around much, and whether you want the ability to play through speakers at all (and if so, whether you want them integrated into the piano). Also think about priorities with regard to the things I mentioned–quality of the action (how close is it to a good grand piano action), quality and realism of the piano sound, and ease of use.
Regarding your comments/questions about midi–it’s certainly possible to import midi tracks into a DP and then ask the instrument to play it back at different tempos and with different sounds, but that set of tasks is the bread and butter of a DAW (digital audio workstation), so what you’re really asking for is a digital piano that has an onboard DAW, sometimes referred to as a “keyboard workstation”. I’m not sure any of the choices you mentioned (which are all great) would fit the bill, and most keyboard workstations (like Roland FANTOM or Jupiter lines) are intended for performance and have many more features than you need.
A better choice, in my opinion, is to keep the DAW part of the equation on a tablet or a computer, and focus on other features of the piano (action, onboard sounds). If you’re a Mac guy, Garageband is free and will run on an ipad or a Macbook, is fairly easy to learn, and will do exactly what you’re asking.
Once you’ve decided on your priorities, you may want to consider posting your question on pianoworld (forum.pianoworld.com) where you will get a myriad of extremely well-informed answers!
When you slow recorded audio way down, both piano and voice talking pitch goes lower as well. Listen to a lesson in X.25 speed…
The audio needs to be processed to the correct pitch. That takes a DAW with lot of processing, and the results at slow speeds are not impressive.
Midi, however, is for the most part a “note on” and “note off” structure. Yes, it offers patch, key velocity and more. One (or 2?) such byte is a tempo value. That is what you can see on the music notation. I think if I change the tempo on the music sheet , and use a “notation to midi converter” it may work. Of course MIDI can not handle voice or audio, but the simplicity can be helpful here, I hope.
I am just looking into it.
I was surprised to find out how difficult it is to find an 88 weighted key upper end electronic piano. A lot of stores show many piano on the web, but many are out of stock. It may be partly because electric pianos are a good thing during a pandemic, and when the unit got sold, the semiconductor shortage prevents from replenishing the supply.
I did find a Roland FP90X.
