Winter NAMM 2019...

[keynote]

I heard from a reliable source there will be new synths unveiled at NAMM although what they will be exactly is yet to be determined. What I do know is they will be major releases and the people in the know have been issued non disclosure agreements as a precaution. Loose lips sink ships and so unless the companies themselves decide to leak information we'll have to wait until January 24th the day NAMM opens. Has anybody else heard anything of interest? There's going to be plenty of new guitars from several guitar manufacturers but of course that is to be expected. What I would really like to see is a new high-end arranger from Roland. A Pa5x from Korg would generate a lot of buzz too I would imagine. A new OS update for our beloved Genos would be a welcome sight for sore eyes. Yamaha may surprise us you never know. Here's to hoping.

Mike

[Murat]

Hi Mike,

I am currently a happy owner of a Genos.

I have been using Korg for around 5 years now. Before then, I had Roland keyboards for over 12 years. (and before then other keyboards). My latest keyboard was Pa3x 76 but I bought the lovely Genos a couple of weeks ago. So I am looking to sell the Pa3x.

I have never been entirely happy with Korg, that's why I didn't go for the Korg Pa4x or didn't want to wait for the Pa5x (if there will ever be one).

I had always been very keen on Roland but they haven't been able to produce a good flagship keyboard for many years. I would love Roland to finally produce another great flagship keyboard like how G1000 was in its day.

I was never sure about Yamaha, I always thought Yamaha keyboards (compared to Korg and old Rolands) were like toys BUT I was wrong! The Genos is better than the Korg pa3x. It wasn't very apparent straightaway but after a few days of playing it, it was an obvious winner for me. IF Roland had a good flagship keyboard I would have gone for that but I am really gald I went for the Genos.

Feel free to listen my playings on youtube (all recorded 6-7 years ago using Reason), please remember thought I am not a professional keyboard player (not that all 'professional' keyboard players are good!)

Murat

[keynote]

Casio will be releasing something revolutionary in the Privia line of keyboards.

https://www.facebook.com/CasioMusicGear/videos/315892502356018/

I'm not sure what they mean by revolutionary since the acoustic piano sounds a little thin. But of course listening to a more in depth demo and review will give a better indication of what it really sounds like. It will be interesting to see if there is any accompaniment features on this new 88 key keyboard from Casio.

Murat, I really like my Genos too but it's always nice to see what other brands have to offer. Competition is the key to keep Yamaha on their toes so for instance if Korg released a new Pa5x then the Genos 2 might include special advanced features to counter Korg's new offering that might normally be left off the list of Genos 2 features. I'm still hoping for an OS update for the current Genos but if not then Genos 2 is always an option especially if it includes many advanced features and functions currently not found on the current Genos. Which in my opinion will be pretty hard to accomplish since the Genos is already pretty advanced hardware-wise and in the sonic realm. Roland has really changed their business model within the last several years. They seem to be focused on lower cost, middle tiered products that have mass appeal. They quit making workstation keyboards altogether and they seem content offering low cost arrangers with mediocre sounds and features. Roland could surprise us but I'm not holding my breath. The Pa4x was released back in 2015 so it's due for an upgrade in my opinion. But Korg might wait until next year before we see a Pa5x. Korg could call it something else too like Yamaha did with Genos after the Tyros 5. NAMM is less than 3 weeks away so we'll see what transpires once the doors open.    

Mike

[keynote]

Waldorf announced that it would be showing a new synth at NAMM 2019. The Kyra, as it's known, is said to be the world's first fully FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) powered synthesizer, and the result of a collaboration between Waldorf and independent UK developer Manuel Caballero of Exodus Digital.

Synths and Workstation keyboards can be very valuable pieces of equipment which can be used in conjunction with the Yamaha Genos. Two and three tiered system setups are another option to add new sounds and other advanced features to your rig. So I think it's important to pay attention to other audio and keyboard related gear, especially if you are a gigging musician. And of course new high-end arranger keyboards just add to the excitement of new products from NAMM and Musikmesse which opens April 2nd and runs through April 5th. Enjoy what you play!

Mike

[keynote]

Roland will be releasing a Go:Piano 88 key version at NAMM. The Go:Piano is known for being lightweight, affordable and great for beginners. Roland announced that future versions of the GO:Piano range would feature Amazon's Alexa. This will allow users to effortlessly control their keyboards by voice, meaning hands-free tweaking of settings on the go. Change your key, change your backing track, change your sound - all with a simple vocal request. Enjoy what you play!

Mike

[Bachus]

I would be highly surprised if there wasn't a cp4 stagepiano replacement at Namm

[beykock]

It would be great if USA Yamaha dealers would inform us if we might expect some new Yamaha electronic  " key " products.

We all know Yamaha dealers are not allowed to talk about new products before they are launched and/or introduced by Yamaha.

The only words we need to hear from them :  Yamaha endusers will be offered new electronic " key " products during the Winter Namm 2019.

IMHO Yamaha will not show new electronic " key " products during the Winter Namm 2019 ... but one never knows.

Babette

[vbdx66]

Hi everybody,

Seems Jeremy See got an exclusive to demonstrate the new 88 arranger piano by Casio:

https://youtu.be/1PFufEmOKUM

If this thing has the AiX soundchip, 88 weighted keys, 4-variation styles, a keybed and a piano sound which are at least on par with my DGX650, I might trade my DGX for this Casio.
I had the CT-X3000 at home for a couple of weeks and I loved the keybed, the sounds and the styles, but sent it back because the UI was a sheer nightmare.

Hope this new Casio keyboard with solve the CT-X issues.

Come on, Casio, please, a 76 keys arranger with the CT-X soundchip and a touchscreen...?

Regards,

Vinciane

[beykock]

Hi Vinciane,

As soon as you will have your competitive keyboard, you will not longer be a moderator of this forum, I guess ?

Babette

[vbdx66]

Hi Babette,

For know I still have the DGX650 and the Casio is not even on the market yet. If I like the Casio enough to buy it and it is not too expensive, I will buy it and keep the DGX at the same time.

Regards,

Vinciane

[beykock]

That is good news !👍
Thank you, Vinciane.

Babette

[keynote]

Dexibell is a fairly new Italian company making primarily Stage Pianos with Organ clone capability. Dexibell will be at winter NAMM 2019 and they also have a short teaser video on YouTube of a new stage piano we think. At the heart of the Dexibell piano lies an incredibly powerful "Quad Core" processor capable of managing 320 digital oscillators. This huge number of oscillators allows for the simulation of all elements, sounds and noises which culminate to model the T2L sound (True 2 Life). The increased polyphony used in Dexibell Pianos contributes to simulate the realistic responsiveness of a real acoustic piano as well Classic Organ, through virtually unlimited polyphony.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNh1tSnjjjQ

Here is a brief history of Dexibell by Piano Man Chuck: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tGmj2l-w98

A stage piano or organ clone can be supplemental products used in conjunction with an arranger keyboard as we all know. There are a lot of arranger players, including many on this forum, who also like non-arranger keyboards which can be used in two or three tier setups making a more powerful sonic impression than an arranger by itself in some cases. I have personally owned a workstation keyboard from Roland but as we know Roland quit making workstation keyboards a few years back and I sold the one I had. Yamaha no longer makes a true workstation keyboard either after the demise of the Motif series. Perhaps Yamaha and Roland will reconsider in the future. There is still a high demand for workstation keyboards in my opinion. Currently only Korg offers a true workstation keyboard i.e. the Kronos 2. In conclusion, it is always nice to have various tools to accomplish a variety of things. I started out on arranger keyboards but I'm glad there are other kinds of keyboards to have at one's disposal. And of course software VSTi's are another option. I must say this is a great time to be a keyboard player.

Mike 

[Bachus]

Dexibell is a fairly new Italian company making primarily Stage Pianos with Organ clone capability. Dexibell will be at winter NAMM 2019 and they also have a short teaser video on YouTube of a new stage piano we think. At the heart of the Dexibell piano lies an incredibly powerful "Quad Core" processor capable of managing 320 digital oscillators. This huge number of oscillators allows for the simulation of all elements, sounds and noises which culminate to model the T2L sound (True 2 Life). The increased polyphony used in Dexibell Pianos contributes to simulate the realistic responsiveness of a real acoustic piano as well Classic Organ, through virtually unlimited polyphony.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNh1tSnjjjQ

Here is a brief history of Dexibell by Piano Man Chuck: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tGmj2l-w98

A stage piano or organ clone can be supplemental products used in conjunction with an arranger keyboard as we all know. There are a lot of arranger players, including many on this forum, who also like non-arranger keyboards which can be used in two or three tier setups making a more powerful sonic impression than an arranger by itself in some cases. I have personally owned a workstation keyboard from Roland but as we know Roland quit making workstation keyboards a few years back and I sold the one I had. Yamaha no longer makes a true workstation keyboard either after the demise of the Motif series. Perhaps Yamaha and Roland will reconsider in the future. There is still a high demand for workstation keyboards in my opinion. Currently only Korg offers a true workstation keyboard i.e. the Kronos 2. In conclusion, it is always nice to have various tools to accomplish a variety of things. I started out on arranger keyboards but I'm glad there are other kinds of keyboards to have at one's disposal. And of course software VSTi's are another option. I must say this is a great time to be a keyboard player.

Mike

there is allready the Vivo S9 which is among the best stage piano's..
i guess there will be a Nord stage competitor in the makings..

Dexibell delivers arranger and workstation features trough their Xmure ipad app..
while i like the S9 a lot, i dont like their arranger implementation on the Xmure app, its fully audio based.

[keynote]

This just in. Yamaha announces a new stage piano line. The CP88 stage piano sounds wonderful by the way. Have a listen...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=42&v=wBef8xbGQzU

Sounds better than the Roland RD-2000 in my opinion and directly competes with the Nord Piano 4. Kudos to Yamaha!

Here's another demo that is more in depth... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogg0hB_VuGA

Mike

[beykock]

IMHO it is hard to beat the Nord Piano but I am hopeful Yamaha will do the job.

Babette

[Bachus]

IMHO it is hard to beat the Nord Piano but I am hopeful Yamaha will do the job.

Babette

Its more an effort to compete with the nord stage

Nord stage concentrates on 3 things
-piano's(and dp)
-organs
-synthesizer sounds

The CP concentrates on acoustic and electric piano's ..
The organ and synth parts are neglectable compared to the nord stage..

[Lee Batchelor]

I had the Nord Electro 5. The pianos were very good, as were the organs. The regular voices like guitar, brass, winds, etc...were terrible - not even close to Yamaha of the 80s, much less now. But then look what we have for comparison today: Montage, Genos, Tyros....

Also, the Electro 5 organs always had about 5 percent distortion on them. You could not turn it off. A lot of us wanted the pure B3 sound of the 60s. With the Electro 4, you could turn the distortion completely off. Some engineer dropped the ball!!

But this is a Yamaha forum (LOL) .

[mikf]

Excellent demo - seems like a real players instrument. Would be great with an arranger module for the solo gigging piano player , but pretty heavy to move around.
Mike

[keynote]

Casio just introduced a new Privia digital piano called the PX-s1000/s3000. I would like to congratulate Casio for making such a great sounding and affordable 88 key digital piano! What's not to like? The acoustic Grand Piano(s) are excellent as well as the other sounds I have heard. Plus it's very modern looking and of course compact so portability would be a breeze. The PX-s3000 has 192 notes of polyphony and 700 tones (voices) and also accompaniment rhythms to play along with as well. Integrated bluetooth audio lets you connect your device wirelessly to the PX-s1000/s3000. You can also split voices to have, let's say, a bass on the left and piano on the right. They run on batteries too! The PX-s1000 is $599.99 and the PX-s3000 is $799.00. Here's the Casio website link...Casio PX-s3000

Here's a demo of the PX-s1000 in action... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axny_fDSK50

And here's the full list of specifications...

Keyboard   Number of Keys : 88, Key Action : Smart Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard, Touch Response : 5 sensitivity levels, off, Hammer Response : Yes, Key Off Response : Yes, 88 key digital scaled simulation : Yes

Tones   Polyphony (Maximum) : 192, Number of Built-in Tones : 18, Sound Source : AiR, Layer : Yes, Split : Yes
Acoustic Simulator   String Resonance : Yes (4 types, off), Damper Resonance : Yes (4 types, off), Key Action Noise : Yes (4 types, off), Damper Noise : Yes (4 types, off)

Digital Effect   Sound Mode - Hall Simulator/Reverb : Hall simulator 4 - Surround : 2, Hall Simulator/Reverb : Equipped in Sound mode, Chorus : 4, Brilliance : Yes, DSP : Yes (Preset for some tones)

Songs   Music Library : 60, Demonstration-only Songs : 1, Song Expansion (User Songs) : 10

Additional Features   Connectivity to Chordana Play for Piano : Chordana Play for Piano, Bluetooth Audio : Yes, Lesson Function : Part ON/OFF, Recorder : 2 tracks, 1 song, Duet Mode : Yes, Octave Shift : ±2, Metronome : 0 to 9 beats, tempo range：20～255, Pedals : Included：Damper (SP-3) Optional 3-pedal unit：damper, soft, sostenuto（New SP-34), Key Transpose : 2 octaves (-12 semitones ~ 0 ~+12 semitones), Tuning Control : A4 = 415.5 Hz ~ 440.0 Hz ~ 465.9 Hz, Scale Function（Preset）: Equal temperament + 16 variations, Operation Lock : Yes, Others : Touch sensor button：7（Tone select button：2), Auto Power Off

Connectivity and Storage   PHONES / OUTPUT : PHONES：2（Stereo mini), Pedals : 2（Damper, Pedal Unit), Connector for 3-Pedal Unit : Yes（New SP-34), LINE OUT : 2 L/MONO, R（Standard jack), AUDIO IN : Yes (Stereo mini), USB TO HOST : Yes

Speakers and Amplifiers   Size : 16cm x 8cm（Oval）x 2, Speaker System : 2 speakers, Amplifiers : 8W + 8W

Accessories   AC Adaptor : AD-A12150LW, Battery Drive : Alkaline AA ｘ6, Continuous Battery Life : Approximately 4 hours

Size   Width×Depth×Height (mm) : 1,322 x 232 x 102 mm, Width×Depth×Height (in) : 52 x 9 x 4 inch

Weight   11.2 kg (exclude batteries) 11.4 kg (include batteries) - 24.7 lb (exclude batteries) 25.1 lb (include batteries)
Included Accessories   Pedal (SP-3), Music stand, AC Adaptor(ADA12150LW)

Mike

PS: Competition is a win/win situation. I love my Genos but I'm glad to see Casio and other companies compete with one another because it keeps the ball rolling by giving companies an incentive to keep making better products in a timely manner in order to retain market share of the products they sell. In other words, may the best man, er, company win. Casio just knocked it out of the park with these new releases in my opinion. You basically get a high-end digital piano sound for a mere pittance.

[keynote]

I also found this 88 key offering from Casio.

CASIO CDP-S350 88-Keys Arranger Piano

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPLzQcB5CI4

700 built-in Tones and 200 auto-accompaniment Rhythms that cover a wide range of musical styles. There's also a 6-track MIDI recorder to capture all of your ideas and inspirations with an option to save them to a USB drive for easy sharing. The CDP-S350 is 40% smaller and considerably lighter than other pianos in its class, weighing only 24 lb.

Features
88 scaled hammer action keys
Simulated ivory and ebony key surfaces
Up to 64 note polyphony with 700 built-in tones
6-track MIDI recorder with SD drive storage
Backlit LCD display and easy front-panel controls
Free Chordana Play for Piano app
Connect via USB to your favorite iOS or Android device

Specifications   Keyboard
Number of keys:   88 Key
Action:   Scaled hammer action
Key size:   Full
Aftertouch / Velocity:   Velocity Sensitive
Sounds
Voices: 700
Polyphony (max):   64
Layers:   Not specified
Split:   Not specified
Connectivity
MIDI connectivity:   USB
Line output:   Not specified
Line input:   Stereo mini
USB Connectivity:   Yes
Headphone jacks:   1
Pedal inputs:   1
Storage type:   Internal, external
Expandability available:   No
Onboard Features
Recording/Playback   MIDI record
Display:   Backlit LCD
Effects:   Yes
Other
Width:   52 in.
Height:   3.8 in.
Depth:   9.1 in.
Weight:   24.3 lb.
Power adapter:   Included