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Dave, I find the Nord Bright Grand lacking in tonal purity in the low notes (they only sampled a 6'3" piano for this voice I believe). But most annoyingly I find at low velocities the Bright Grand, and also the Grand Lady D, have the character of a compressed piano, ie, they are too loud and brash at low velocities...their response to velocity is not linear in my opinion. The Studio Grand 2 is by far the best in this respect and the Bosendorfer is good also.

The deficiencies I describe in the Bright Grand may of course work very well in a live setting, especially when playing with others when you need the piano to punch through even when played relatively quietly. Perhaps the clue is in the title; Bright Grand! But it's not my cup of tea.

Cheers,

Steve

Steve- i'm curious- some people have complained the velocity curve on the Nord (mainly the Stage 2 but it could apply to the NP88?..)is too aggessive or fast. have you or could you use your N3 as a controller for the NP to see if a slower velocity curve really changes the way the samples sound? I'm really interested in the NP88 but i didn't like the fact you can only make the VC lighter or faster than the default. i tend to have a heavier touch but want a softer sound- so that adjustment would be crucial for me to enjoy a DP.

thanks!

On the NP88 it's certainly true that the touch curve can only be made to simulate a lighter touch, not a heavier one. If there was an option to make the touch response one step heavier I would probably use it.

I try to remind myself that the NP is made, in my opinion, primarily for performers/gigging musicians etc and the fact that it doesn't tend to play REALLY quietly is unlikely to be an issue for many users, probably most users. Not all Nord voices are characterised by excessive loudness at low velocities but in my opinion the Bright Grand is brash and in-your-face at low velocities. I get that it is supposed to be bright, hence the name, but I'm talking about volume as much as character.

I've got a Yamaha CP33 here too so if I get time over the weekend I'll hook it up to the NP and see how it goes with the velocity curve of the Yamaha driving the NP's voices.

Cheers,

Steve

but if your sole purpose in acquiring it (NP88) was to use it to record relaxing, laid back jazz/pop piano solo arrangements- it sounds like it might not be the best choice. i'm working with my v-piano to try to create such a sound/voice and am not sure i will ever get there, and i'm not ready to blame my playing (yet....)

if you do try it with the CP33 and its a revelation- i'd appreciate it if you posted

thanks again!

thanks!

Hey Steve---I'm glad to see you back. Sorry to hear you're not thrilled with the new Bright Grand sample on the NP. I haven't heard it (at least I don't think I have) , so I can't comment.

However my main concern with that as well as the Bosie sample is---do they they still have that "harpsichordy" , "stringy" sound to them ? Comparable to the Grand Lady D and to a lesser extent, the Studio Grand 2. That was my main impetus for returning the NP88 in the first place. That sound through my speakers drove me mad !

Like I've mentioned a few times now here and another thread, the E3 HP did not exhibit that "stringy" quality on either of the two piano samples I tried the other day. I'm guessing one was the Bosie, the other I don't know. I'm guessing it wasn't the BG though since it's brand new. I'm trying to find out if the new "long release' feature on the HP has anything to do with the better sound, or the new samples, or a combination of both.

I'm actually still fine with my CP5 has an acoustic piano substitute on gigs. But to reiterate, I need another DP that is lightweight for schleps like last Sat. night.

ot--bdb/Bruce, check your PMs (that little red flag that's flashing at the top of the page). I sent you something regarding pricing on the Nord Piano.

thanks Dave- i'll look for it. i sure would like to play one of these things before i buy one however. can you believe there isn't one to be seen anywhere in a city of 5MM people?..... i may have to tool up to Nashville to try one out.

Come on Dave, just get the NP88, and call it a day. You know what to expect with it. The Bright Grand Yamaha S4 is a KILLER sounding piano live, and as you know I play more to your style of playing than not...albeit not to your level...yet! I think it would work nicely for you.

Roland just released the Jupiter 80. Played it at GC today. They have applied the SN moniker to all of the acoustic instruments on the Jupiter. SN pianos and EPs are there too. Semi weighted synth keys.

Time to trade-in the Kronos/Virus/V-Synth/Shigeru...

James
x

Googled it. Wow, if people here think I'm critical of DPs, they ought to read the comments of those synth guys - incredibly brutal.

[EDIT] Which, after thinking about it for a bit, is rather ironic. They seem to be angry at Roland for not being sufficiently retro. At this point I'm resigned to never really understanding this industry.

The JP 80 is getting bashed for so many reasons on virtually every synth board. The name, the price, the lack of this and that and definitely the price.

I played one today. It is an odd board in today's market. Some very nice sounds and articulations on the acoustic instruments, but a very limited board for the price. It definitely won't replace a V-synth. It is more for a live player who needs to sub for all sorts of instruments or wants the perfect sound to play "Jump." Semi weighted synth action pretty much kills the piano and EP playing for me.

I was among many of the guys in the early 80's, in LA (and of course everywhere) , to use the original JP8.

At that time , that was the most I'd ever spent on a synth. That was until the Kurzweil K2000 came along.

The standard keyboard rig around town at that time was a Rhodes with either the JP8, Prophet V or Oberheim OBX/OBXA/etc. on top. The JP8 was the most popular though. The thing I remember most about it was the fact it was always in tune with itself. The P-V and Obie---forget it. If the power in the club fluctuated the least bit, those oscillators would be constantly out of tune with each other. You'd be tuning in the middle of a song..

For the time the JP8 was a great synth but a beast to move in a flight case.

As soon as the DX7 hit though, the JP8 and all the other analogs were as popular as giant, oversized SUVs at the height of the peak gas prices.

I recall putting my JP8 up for sale on LA's popular free classified paper--"The Recycler". There most have been at least a dozen JP8s on there, all selling for about half of what people paid. I remember taking a huge bath on it.

I'm not at all into the multi-keyboard scene anymore, but if I were doing those kind of gigs, I'd think a Kronos 73/88 with the JP80 as a top board would pretty much cover anything in most popular genres.

I think many of the JP8 guys are the ones who are most upset about the JP80 carrying the Jupiter name.

After playing it today, I didn't think it would really add much to a rig based around any of the popular workstations. It does have some nice articulations of acoustic instruments, but that is the only thing that stood out to me. Even then, I think without the ability to apply articulations to different waveforms, it isn't interesting to synth guys and will appeal to a limited market of players. I would be interested in a rack version, weighted key version or workstation based around the new SN sounds.

Roland is having their JP80 presentation at Guitar Centers this week. Each GC has a scheduled date if anyone is interested.

The strings on the JP8 were unparalleled at that time on a keyboard. Almost every pop record in addition to many film soundtracks out of LA in the '80s used them till the DX7 hit.. The brass was the Prophet's strong suit and if you really used a lot of pads, you'd get the Oberheim.

The Roland had a sound that in a way was a pre-cursor to digital---in your face and hi-fi. More so then any analog synth at the time. Really well built, always in tune and a huge sound.

[video:youtube]YQ7DDFMOd9U[/video]

I really don't care what they want to call it, that JP 80 seems like a lot of fun!

All SN to hear them talk. I sincerely wish the voices in our RD-700NX were all SN.

The nylon guitar sounds a little fake on the upper end, but the trumpet sounds pretty real. The cello sounds nice too.

I wish Roland would drop this crazy body design, I'd rather have something shorter and more box shaped, like the CP33.

It is fun if you want to do trumpet and violin solos and love synth actions. Outside of that you can have much more fun on number of boards out there. The V-synth is more fun if you like playing with articulations.

SN seems to have a different meaning than it does for the APs and EPs because I would hope the APs and EPs aren't trying to articulate piano technique for the player.

I actually liked the physical design, but Im not willing to pay $3500 for that.

It does seem like a lot of fun. If I were rich, I might buy one just to mess around on after practicing the piano all day...

Here are couple of other vids that show it off:

I have seen all those videos. The guy in the first video made a video that inspired me to buy the V-synth. Howard Jones seems like he wishes he was playing his JP8.

I'm going to the GC demo so I can get a better perspective on the board. I had hoped it would replace my V synth but the Jupiter just can't do many of the things the V does.

Wow, thanks!

Really, that made you say "wow"?