I recently bought a Yamaha NPV60(piaggero) keyboard .It cost $300 .The piano is decent for alot of music but i discovered that for medium loud notes it only sustains about 3 seconds.A real piano goes about 6 seconds.The piano sample would need more megabytes I think for a longer sustain .The same would go for other sounds also.These days megabytes are cheap so I don't know why they can't make at least their keyboard sounds like piano,electric piano,celeste,etc.have a longer sustain.I told yamaha and they said it has to do with wave ROM ,which I think is the same as number of megabytes , and they suggested 2 more models.I said I wouldn't mind paying a little more for a better sustain.When I checked their suggestions I found out they were refering to keyboards costing $1000! That isn't what I had in mind when I said I would pay a little more.I figure for the relatively small amount of extra mb. it should only cost maybe $25 more then one would have quite a few much better expressive keyboard sounds.I have a feeling they should have done that years ago and the reason they don't is that they know you will have to pay a LOT more money(their profit) to get a piano that sustains like a real one.I want to see how many other people agree.It might be a tacit conspiracy involving all the companies that manufacture these keyboards to get yu to buy the expensive ones.What do yu think?There are some other things I think they do also to try to get you to pay more.One is not having a volume pedal output. I just got done spending almost $100 to install a volume pedal for the NPV60.The pedal,cables,adapters for the plugs,and the AC adapter needed that plugs into the pedal cost me about $100! Another is programming many or most voices to have a limited dynamic range(loudest to softest tones).There are some voices on my NPV60 that have a great dynamic range ,but very few, so I don't see why the other voices can't.I think many people prbly agree.One would think if I'm right about what I've been saying that someone would have started their own company and do it the way I suggested.To do that would cost a fortune and the existing companies would likely do all they could to stop such a company from existing.I imagine such a company could have far nicer keyboards in the $300 range and the expensive work stations might cost only 2/3 or less then what one pays now for them.They wouldn't make as much money as the exising companies but the people would be happier.Ha.Ho I hope to get some replies. Thank you. .
better piano samples on cheaper keyboards
- Thread starter rhodeye
- Start date
Not to be critical... but reading a long post with no paragraph indents is usually an invitation for me to NOT read it. 5 or 6 indents would have been nice!
A matter of gauging expectations I suppose. The keyboard costs you $300, but the manufacturer probably got half or a third of that after shipping costs and mark up by the distributor and the retailer.
It's easy to make assumptions about how little, how much it costs for this or that aspect of a piece of technology, but you've got to remember that you're talking entry level here. Everything about that board is as cheap as they could get in order to make it at that price point, including the keybed.
I don't know how long you've been around the keyboard scene, but I've had the opposite impression. I've been amazed at how good the pianos sound these days on even the $300 boards. My point of reference starts in the 80's, with quite a few boards in the 90's and 00's. They've come a long ways! I've always appreciated quality in musical instruments, and these days my Nord Stage makes me very happy, esp. for piano and e piano- but the original price on this board was over $3000.
Almost all digital pianos use looping, so the sustain is usually not that long anyways- it's more a matter of how good the captured sample is, the quality/kind of compression used on the sample, the expertise in making a good loop, how many samples are used up and down the keyboard, etc.
It sounds like you're a beginner that has jumped in and expects high quality from a budget board. Like any field, it can take some painful, expensive lessons to find out what you want and how to get it. I spent $3500 on a top of the line Yamaha workstation, and it turns out I really disliked the board: not user friendly, the sounds didn't turn me on, etc. I spent two years trying to like this board, and when I sold it for $1,400 two years later, I felt like a fool. But like you I was a relative newcomer and learned a lot about buying a keyboard.
These days I spend a fair amount of time on forums reading about the pluses and minuses, and am happy to buy a used board if it's one that has proven to be reliable, knowing I can save upwards of 50%. Rather than you're useless speculation which is based on guesses on your part, not knowledge of the industry or the technology involved- why not research the least expensive board that meets your needs, and then buy it when you know.
In the meantime you've got a reasonable board so you don't have to be in a hurry, and if you buy used you might find a good deal in the $400-$500 range that's better for you. I've heard a lot of people say how much they enjoy their Casio Privia boards, both for the keybed and the sound quality. Not sure if it has an expression pedal jack. A used PX-330 for $500 would be a quality sound for not much money. And for a volume pedal, you can always use a simple volume control pedal, stereo in, stereo out, for that function.
A matter of gauging expectations I suppose. The keyboard costs you $300, but the manufacturer probably got half or a third of that after shipping costs and mark up by the distributor and the retailer.
It's easy to make assumptions about how little, how much it costs for this or that aspect of a piece of technology, but you've got to remember that you're talking entry level here. Everything about that board is as cheap as they could get in order to make it at that price point, including the keybed.
I don't know how long you've been around the keyboard scene, but I've had the opposite impression. I've been amazed at how good the pianos sound these days on even the $300 boards. My point of reference starts in the 80's, with quite a few boards in the 90's and 00's. They've come a long ways! I've always appreciated quality in musical instruments, and these days my Nord Stage makes me very happy, esp. for piano and e piano- but the original price on this board was over $3000.
Almost all digital pianos use looping, so the sustain is usually not that long anyways- it's more a matter of how good the captured sample is, the quality/kind of compression used on the sample, the expertise in making a good loop, how many samples are used up and down the keyboard, etc.
It sounds like you're a beginner that has jumped in and expects high quality from a budget board. Like any field, it can take some painful, expensive lessons to find out what you want and how to get it. I spent $3500 on a top of the line Yamaha workstation, and it turns out I really disliked the board: not user friendly, the sounds didn't turn me on, etc. I spent two years trying to like this board, and when I sold it for $1,400 two years later, I felt like a fool. But like you I was a relative newcomer and learned a lot about buying a keyboard.
These days I spend a fair amount of time on forums reading about the pluses and minuses, and am happy to buy a used board if it's one that has proven to be reliable, knowing I can save upwards of 50%. Rather than you're useless speculation which is based on guesses on your part, not knowledge of the industry or the technology involved- why not research the least expensive board that meets your needs, and then buy it when you know.
In the meantime you've got a reasonable board so you don't have to be in a hurry, and if you buy used you might find a good deal in the $400-$500 range that's better for you. I've heard a lot of people say how much they enjoy their Casio Privia boards, both for the keybed and the sound quality. Not sure if it has an expression pedal jack. A used PX-330 for $500 would be a quality sound for not much money. And for a volume pedal, you can always use a simple volume control pedal, stereo in, stereo out, for that function.
Are you certain there isn't a setting somewhere that changes sustain?