Digital Piano with user temperament

[Helpme]

Hello to all,

I need a digital piano/keyboard that i would only use for composing, since I dont play the piano.
Only requierments are:
1. Ability to create user defined temperaments (tune the pitch of every note to desired pitch);
2. 88 keys;
3. Acceptable sounds (of grand piano, organ, strings...) for classical music. Doesnt have to be great, just acceptable.

I think I could spend up to 900$, but if there are no cheaper options I will do my best to save some more money.

Thank you all in advance,
Aleksandar

 

[happyrat1]

Rroland Juno DS88 could handle your requirements. $100 over your budget though. Or possibly a Casio Privia PX-5S or a PX-360. Also in that price range.

If you're open to used models some of these can be found used on craigslist and there are earlier models that might suffice. Casio Privia PX-350 or PX-340 for instance.

As for tuning individual notes? You can microtune these but all changes affect all notes equally, not individually.

Gary

 

[Helpme]

Thank you for the reply.

Unfortunately your reply doesnt help me because the whole point of the post is to find a digital piano that can tune each note individualy to a desired pitch and save it as a user temperament.

I have found many good solutions with fixed temperaments (pythagorean, just minor/major, werckmeister, meantone, some arabic and indian...), but i havent found one, that doesnt cost 3000$ xD, that lets you create your own temperament and has 88 keys.

 

[happyrat1]

And chances are you won't find one unless you start looking around for a used $3000 model that's 20 years old or older.

There's just no mass market for people who want to play John Cage on electronic pianos. All you're going to find are keyboards designed around a single clock frequency and fixed frequency dividers.

What you're talking about is a keyboard designer's nightmare.

Gary

 

[Helpme]

I found Korg Kross. ))
It seams to be able to save 1 temperament where every tones pitch is defined by the user and that is not limited to 12 notes per octave, and 15 more that are limited to 12 notes per octave. It also has couple of preset temperaments that I mentioned earlier.

Have you played it Gary and do you know how it sounds? I dont trust youtube and you seem to know your keyboards...

If anyone has any other suggestion please let me know, and thank you in advance

 

[happyrat1]

Sorry.

I have no hands on experience with a Korg Kross.

Gary

 

[CowboyNQ]

I found Korg Kross. ))
It seams to be able to save 1 temperament where every tones pitch is defined by the user and that is not limited to 12 notes per octave, and 15 more that are limited to 12 notes per octave. It also has couple of preset temperaments that I mentioned earlier.

Page 165 and 166 here (of the manual, not the PDF) would seem to back up your theory:

http://i.korg.com/uploads/Support/USA_KROSS_ParamG_E.pdf

I'm like Gary though, I've only tooled around with a Kross in a shop - I certainly didn't have a crack at altering the pitch of each note so can't verify how well this works. That would have been a "nice" surprise for the next person to use it though!

 

[cpcohen1945]

I suggest another approach, for the piano sound:

. . . Use a "software piano".

Pianoteq (as one example) lets you use "Scala" files to define alternative temperments. A forum discussion:

http://www.forum-pianoteq.com/viewtopic.php?id=16

You'll need a MIDI keyboard to drive it, but _any_ MIDI keyboard will do the job. If you want to play live, you'll need an Intel i5 (or faster) computer. A current-generation laptop (not netbook, not tablet) will work OK.

But for composing -- that is, you enter the notes, and "realizing" the sound is done later -- CPU speed doesn't matter. Anything will work.

. Charles

 

[Helpme]

Thank you for the suggestion cpcohen1945,

This seems like a very good idea, however playing in "real time/live" is a must.
I need to hear what I am playing, and playing in/making custom temperament makes it that much more important.

I dont have a very good pc so I think it would be actually cheaper to buy a korg kross than to buy a pc, 88 key midi keyboard and pianoteq?

Thank you for your suggestion, all the best
Aleksandar

 

[Fred Coulter]

A current-generation laptop (not netbook, not tablet) will work OK.

My tablet, running Windows 10 Pro on an I5, would probably be acceptable. (Dell Venue Pro)

You'll need a MIDI keyboard to drive it, but _any_ MIDI keyboard will do the job.

If you're going to play piano, I'd limit my search for a MIDI keyboard to an 88 note controller with weighted keys. The good news is that there are some nice ones out there that don't weigh a ton.

 

[cpcohen1945]

The cost of the Kross might be less than { computer + Pianoteq + 88-key weighted MIDI keyboard }. I don't know if there are any cheap 88-key weighted MIDI keyboards.

And if you ever want to sell it, the Kross will be easier to sell.

There's one big advantage to the Korg Kross:

. . . You get _many_ voices.

Whereas, with Pianoteq, the piano (and electric pianos) are really good. But strings, woodwinds, guitars, etc -- you need separate software packages for those.

So the Kross is an "all-in-one" answer to what you need.

. Charles

My tablet, running Windows 10 Pro on an I5, would probably be acceptable. (Dell Venue Pro)

I run Pianoteq on an Intel i5 with Windows 10 -- 4 Gbytes memory, 2.6 GHz. So yes, _your_ tablet would be OK.

 

[Fred Coulter]

I don't know if there are any cheap 88-key weighted MIDI keyboards.

Probably depends on how you define cheap. Just went to Sweetwater and looked at their 88 note controllers.

$199.00

M-Audio Keystation 88 Keyboard Controller - Semi-weighted
Alesis Q88 Keyboard Controller - unknown

$319.99

Nektar Impact Lx88+ Keyboard Controller - Semi-weighted

$499.95

Studiologic SL88 Studio Keyboard Controller - Fully weighted

$799.00

Arturia Keylab 88 Controller with Analog Lab 2 Software - Hammer action (Fully weighted?)
Akai Professional MPK88 Keyboard Controller - Fully weighted

$899.95

Studiologic SL88 Grand Keyboard Controller - Fully weighted

$999.00

Roland A-88 Keyboard Controller - Ivory Feel-G with Escapement (Fully weighted?)
Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol S88 - Fully weighted

$1,849.00

Kawai VPC1 Virtual Piano Controller - Wooden-key, Graded-hammer (Fully weighted?)

 

[Helpme]

Roland A-88, alesis 88, Arturia Keylab 88 Controller with Analog Lab 2 Software and Nektar Impact Lx88+
These are all available in my country. Roland A-88 and Arturia Keylab 88 are both the same price (760,00 €) and come with Cakewalk SONAR LE/Analog Lab.

Do their softwares have all the options I am looking for?

Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol S88 is too expensive in my country

All the best

 

[Fred Coulter]

Do their softwares have all the options I am looking for?

The point of the MIDI controller is that the sound generation is on the computer. Temperament would be a software issue, not a hardware issue. The keyboard says "note 64 was pressed" and the software turns that into a sound.

So you'd need software that lets you redefine the notes, either individually or within each octave.

 

[Helpme]

Yeah thats what I was asking, if someone had any experience with these softwares (especially analog lab 2 since i think id prefer arturia)

thank you all