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It's interesting how we all see, feel, and hear so differently.
I recently bought a Korg SP250 as the sound and the key action was perfect for what i was looking for - in that price bracket anyway. This was for playing at home and mainly late night classical. I have been playing acoustics for 30 years.

After a month i was curious to see what the others were like and i auditioned the P95, ES6, FP4f along with the Fp7f and the SV1. Apart from the P95, i hadn't previously tried the others as the prices here are at least 2 or 3 times the SP250. The store had a large range of acoustic pianos as well. I found the SP250 and the SV1 to be the closest in action to the acoustic Kawai that i was comparing them to. The Rolands felt too light and more like a keyboard than a piano. The P95 felt very close to the Korgs - but didn't sound as good. THe ES6 surprised me how different (and lighter) it's key action was to the Kawai acoustic but better than the Rolands.

I have found the RH3 keybed great. I can sink my fingers right into the keys. Definately better than my 15yo upright.
I would have taken the SV1 over the SP250 but I am only really interested in the AP sounds....and couldn't justify the (3x) price difference. I did try.

The SP250 is definately not perfect and have found some of its limitations. I am sometimes caught out by the short sustain. Generally it's ok but its evident in pieces like Rach's Bells of Moscow Prelude. No option for a second soft pedal, though it's responsive enough that i can play ppp through to fff.
I love the default piano sound (German Grand) through my headphones. No menus. No fuss. Just power on and play. Like opening the piano lid. The look of the SP250 is a little off center, and that timber trim - well I always did prefer redheads.

The SV-1 is fun, but at this stage I would wait for the (potential) SV-2.

On the other hand, if all you want is a basic all-in-one AP emulator with a few "extras" the SP-250 is still a bargain, IMO. I sold mine a couple of years ago, but have occasionally considered repurchasing for it's no-frills, get-the-job-done approach. The 1970s faux-wood dashboard is just a bonus!!!

SV-2. Great, I can see the lower prices for the SV-1 already.

Yeah, that's exactly what I was looking for - mainly AP. I didn't want the distraction of 300 sounds + 20 drum sets.

Hey Antonino, Great Post. I agree, I rate the RH3 action in some ways over the Roland PHA111. The PHA111 has that very strong and secure feel under the fingers but I find that it bottoms out a little hard,especially to the not warmed up player. It's great for playing acoustic piano sounds but is less giving when playing the EP sounds or any other keyboard type sound. I feel very connected playing the RH3 action whether playing acoustic piano sounds or EPs.

Incidently I owned a Korg SP250 for a couple of years and know it well. Probably still the best board available at it's price point and it's versatily is great.

I have owned an SV-1 for slightly under a year. I researched boards for months before I bought one, as I'm sure most of you guys spending this amount of money did. I currently play in a couple bands and am working on a live looping project with a drummer/dj who is a good friend of mine. I do a lot of live improvising, both harmonically and with effects. I wanted a board that had everything layed out in front of me, with parameter controllers that I could actually grab a hold of. I have a cheap old unweighted Yamaha that I first started trying to play keys on set up above the SV-1 which I run into my Macbook Pro and use as a MIDI controller for Reason, Logic or whatever I am working in. Thus if I want to go into further detail than I can with the SV-1, I process sounds through the MBP and use the MIDI controller. I play mainly EP sounds out of the SV-1, but also use the organs quite frequently. I use the APs less often in a live setting, but that has to do mainly with the environment I am playing in and not the quality of the sounds. I do use the AP quite frequently playing by myself and doing recordings on my own. I have to say I love this board, I have no desire to replace or exchange this board. I started playing keys seriously about 6 or 7 years ago and would not say I have a large amount of experience with boards and keys from years gone by. I minored in music theory during my undergraduate study and took three semesters of piano during that time. With that being said, I am a fan of the RH3 system. I don't have experience playing top line actual pianos, so I don't have a frame of reference from that point of view, however the feel of the SV-1 is actually one of the top reasons I purchased it, having come close to buying the SP-250 a few months earlier. Anyway, I am glad to see this thread, I also am a big fan of my SV-1

PianoBell, My thoughts exactly. I also own a Roland RD700NX which I really like but there's something about the SV1. There is nothing out there at present that I'd change my SV1 for. It's just a joy to play, both it's sounds and action work for me.

Poor AP's and the terrible RH3 action probably ....

It just goes to show... To each his own.

it is amazing- to a reader who doesn't own nor has experience with a particular model DP - how one poster absolutely loves all the aspects of that particular DP and the next person completely pans it as junk. its almost like we're talking about breeds of dogs.

One thing I can say... The longer I own my Kronos, the more certain I am that the RH3 is a poorly constructed action.

Yeah I'm not a fan of the RH3 in the Kronos either .... it does feel cheap and nasty but the whole board feels a bit cheaply built to me when comparing it to a Motif XF or a JP-80 which are both built like tanks. The new SV-2 with the Kronos AP's and EP's will be a improvement in sound but not perhaps in build quality. I still believe my favorite all time DP action for a board that requires both AP and Ep's is the action on my CP1 ....

Dr P. any info on whether the 73-key SV-2 will use a waterfall action?

Cheers,
James
x

No idea whatsoever James but who knows these days ? I seems like everyone's looking for something that makes their board just the 1% different aren't they ?

I miss my CP1 action every day. Best DP action ever IMO.

Same "NW-Stage" keys that are in the CP5, correct?

Is this an ungraded hammer action, or an ungraded weighted action? If the latter, I wonder why it makes the CP1 & 5 weigh so dang much?

Ungraded ...its a very strange action for a stage piano ...but it works better then any other action I've played

I'm really disappointed in my SV1. Iv'e owned dozens of keyboards in 35 years. The EP's are great,I'll give Korg that but the AP's are really weak & insipid.........I want my money back.
It seems to me that what Korg has done is thrown in some really ordinary & quite poor, raw, acoustic piano samples & then thrown in an editor & expected us to do all the hard work & also thought they'd get away with it. They know exactly what good piano sounds are so why not have given us 5 or 6 good ones??
I'm really disappointed!!

Clicky keys are a common problem in DPs, esp those which are heavily played. It is the wear and tear over the years. The way to fix it is to change the keys.

There is a question on durability issue. Which DPs have clicky keys the fastest?

Good quality DPs should withstand quite many years of banging before the keys start to click.

Very exccessive pressure exerted will also cause the keys to click, to stick and become unusable.

Sounds like a prime candidate for a new topic!