Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Testing the Korg RH3

Today I had the opportunity to test the Korg RH3 keyboard, which is Korgs top piano action, the same is on the Kronos 88 key model.

Repetition with half release works.
The hammer moves independently. That is, if you fix the key in place with your thumb, and apply a stroke to the key, without moving it, you get a sound.
Silent keypress works. Halfpedalling works as expected. (Had no opportunity to check the MIDI output, but because Korg builds professional arrangers I expect this to work reasonably)
Playability is good, but very disturbing is the horizontal wobble of the keys. (Be sure, if this where mine I would fix this problem).
I had also the opportunity to test a lot of acoustic pianos and was surprised, how light the touch is. Kawai,Yamaha,Seiler,a (very old) Bechstein Grand,Samick, many others and a lot of very old refurbished pianos. Surprise, surprise! The touch that I liked most was that of a Samick grand piano.
Gemerally I found that the Samick pianos have a very light and very precise action. That surprised me somewhat, because these are often turned down in critics.

If I could afford this samick grand and if I had the space for it, I would purchase it immediately ;-)
It was in their entry area and perfectly in tune and -obviously- perfectly maintained.
There is no comparison to any digital.

Finally, in comparison, I liked the touch of the Korg RH3, and found it authentic in comparison, but this wobblyness disturbed me.
I tested the Korg PA 588, no other digital, but many acoustics old models, worn out and partially out of tune and with true ivory keys and new models.
I dont want true worn out ivory ;-)

I had a lot of difficulties with my former CVP96, the keys where slippery to me, but on the acoustics I liked the plastics surface. I think, the true reason for this is, compared to acoustics, the GH Yamaha action is much too heavy for my fingers.

Best,

Peter

It is just my opinion but the RH3 on the SV-1 I demo'd felt like mud. Did not like it at all.

.

I had a problem with the Korg RH3 at higher velocities.
The problem is, I am somewhat shy to trie this in the store ;-)
The other problem is: This might be caused by the sound generation or by the velocity response, I am not sure. To be sure I must return to this store with my laptop and Galaxy pianos and MIDIOX on it.... Fortunately this is only some kilometers from here, but without the internet I had never found this store...

BTW, Im not in the bussiness for a Kronos. I am truly interested in a PA 588 because I want the accompaniement and MIDI features and a proportional pedal.
If it had 3 pedals and Ivory touch and less wobbly keys I had buyed it 2 years ago but then decided otherwise...

FWIW,

I currently own Korg SV1 with the RH3 action and I'd have to say I'm disappointed with it.

As Dave Ferris points out, having the SoundPack2 installed does indeed make a difference, but the key wobble, clicking keys, and the generally "spongey" feel of the action makes it a less than pleasurable instrument to play. It absolutely feels like I'm playing on an action that is years behind even my Roland RD700SX.

The sounds are superb, but as much as I've tried to love the SV-1, I'm unable to because of it's action............and thus, the primary reason behind my increasing interest in the NP88 or even the NS2 once that arrives.

I thought the action was ok when I tried it. Nothing special, but nothing to brag about either. I think Korg would do well to replace it. I even prefer the action of my NP88 over the RH3 action.

Siriosys, I think you could sell your RD-700SX and SV-1, and get the NS2.

PianoZac,

You're thinking is heading exactly where mine has gone! However, I'm beginning to think that I too, have embarked on what would be an expensive exercise of "upgrading". I'm currently playing my SV1 using my RD700SX's keyboard.

So for me, it's going to come down to whether or not the NP88 or NS2 keyboard is an improvement over my 5+ year old RD700SX's. And that's kinda going to be my sticking point...

.

It's a sign Dave, the NP88 is in your future.

.

Yeah I'm curious to see how the Kronos sounds and plays. I would never buy one (just don't need that much), but I'll be curious to hear the samples. So far, from the videos I've seen, I've not been particularly impressed with the sounds. Could just be poorly done videos.

For those interested, the Korg RH3 action model is shown here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHsE6SsAA7A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHsE6SsAA7A

So.... I have owned many keyboards. My most recent aquisition has been a Korg Kronos 2 73 key with the RH3 action.

I have to say that I agree with you guys about the action. I didn't love it. However, I decided to take on a 'mod' project with it. I opened up the keyboard and took the action out (p.s. I did this with my Roland FP-60 too, btw). I then took every key off and decided to shave off some of the metal off of each key hammer. With a reciprocating saw and a vice grip, I took off about 3-6g per key (more on the lower ones, less on the upper ones because they're graded).

While the result isn't perfect, I'm definitely happier with the feel of the action.

The next thing I'm considering is replacing the felt strips with higher quality ones. It feels to me like when the key stops, it's a bit too abrupt. So maybe having better felt would help make it feel more like a real piano action. Not sure about this....

My concern would be that lowering weight would make the key feel lighter to play (which I'm guessing was your intent), but could also slow the speed of the key's return travel (which could make it feel more sluggish). Did you experience anything like that?