It had three wheels - there is one right there at the front in the middle. Original design from 1953. I think they tried to revive the brand in the late 1980's but it didn't quite come off - despite all that free publicity from Only Fools & Horses.

Why doesn't any company manufacture a decent MIDI controller with fully-weighted keys, mod wheel and few MIDI control sliders?

There are a lot of virtual instruments on the market but not a single decent weighted, full-size MIDI controller.The only options today are to buy a handicapped one (maybe no mod wheel or lacking MIDI control sliders), packed with sounds disguised as a synth or a DP.

Kawai MP?

[very off topic]
Top Gear (UK)'s take on the Robin Reliant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bIn_ZgHJaE

How about a highly portable (reasonably compact & lightweight) and affordable stage piano with top of the line sounds and decent keys (i.e. non-toy)?

Outside of Nord, and perhaps Korg, the gigging roadie-less keyboardist seems to be getting short shrift.

How about a speaker / amp setup aimed specifically at DP users in order to get realistic (fidelity & loudness) acoustic piano levels?

dewster, what about the FP-7F?

I agree with you about the amp/speaker for piano players though... EPs and organs sounds nice and crunchy through most guitar amps, however acoustic pianos sound absolutely terrible.

Cheers,
James
x

Too heavy (24 kg / 53 lbs). And too expensive.

The FP-4F is better at 16.6 kg / 36 lbs 10 oz, but everyone seems to hate the keys, and Roland inexplicably dumbed it down from the old FP-4.

When is Yamaha going to release a AvantGrand MIDI controller (no internal sounds, no stand, no speakers. Just a pedal and keyboard)?

Yes, the Kawai DPs look interesting but maybe a bit expensive for most who are in the market for just a MIDI controller keyboard? CME is possibly the closest to fitting the needs, although the keyboard seems a bit stiff to me and their reputation for quality varies.

I don't hear of many people who use the Kawai MPs only for this purpose (as a MIDI controller) on such sites as vi-control.net

Looks like a lovely DP though and I've heard it has a great keyboard. I'd love to try one someday (but I've never seen one in any store). Although now, I'm quite happy with my Yamaha S90ES.

btw, they shouldn't put the mod wheels so far back. And a second mod wheel controller would be really really sweet (like the Yamaha S77 had - 2 mods + pitch). Plus, some long-throw MIDI sliders and some pots would be nice.

Looks like it's already been done! I see mention of the CFX here in the Yamaha CLP-465P blurb: http://usa.yamaha.com/en/products/musica...=product_lineup I haven't looked at any of the others yet.

Greg.

A good quality, realistic action is heavy.



A good quality, realistic action is expensive.

Cheers,
James
x

Thanks for that Greg!

Any idea what the "Keyboard Stabilizers" are? I read the text and looked at the enlarged graphics and now feel dumber. Something about a big red arrow inside the key.

A good quality, realistic action is heavy.



A good quality, realistic action is expensive.

Cheers,
James
x

I wonder how much consumers would be willing to spend on just a controller though? Why not pay the extra to have the convenience of internal sounds etc.?



I'm afraid I'm not familiar with that site, however I know the folks at Synthogy use Kawai MPs (previously MP8/MP8II, currently MP10) to demo Ivory.

Cheers,
James
x

Dewster - no idea re: the keyboard stabilizers - sorry!

Because convenience is about the only thing those crudely compressed and overpriced internal sounds have going for them?

did Rhodes give up on their $1800 midi controller w/ rhodes action? i don't see it anywhere on their website and i thought they were moving in that direction.

there must be some way to build a good piano action using lightweight composites and get the overall weight down for a controller. i think people would pay a grand for that? but you start getting up around $1200 plus and folks want some content too. the MP6 sounds like a good choice for a studio controller/ road/gigging board? not as light as the Nord but under 50 lbs? i tried a rd300nx at a GC but i thought the action was terrible relative to the much heavier rd700nx

So it is. I'm surprised Yamaha didn't make a big thing out of it, considering how much publicity they sought out of the unveiling of the CFX in the Chopin competition last year (it's in all their advertisements on Yamaha acoustic pianos).

Or maybe they didn't want existing DP owners to feel short-changed because their DPs (including all the AvantGrands) are only sampled from the CFX's predecessor, so they prefer to keep things quiet and sneak it in through the back door?

Up !
So Kawai James, any feedback yet, did you manage to visit the fair ?
BR
Zack

Yes. I'll try to write a mini report with some pictures next week.

Cheers,
James
x

Good !

But I can't wait about the casio PX335, any quick leak or I have to wait for the full report ?

For me they have changed the action, but I can't find anyone in music store , or anyone else in the whole internet to confirm this (apart you of course).

I am really impressed by the sens of secrecy of this industry, and finally how small is the active community, not used to...

Bye

zack!, the Casio representatives I spoke to told me that an updated PX-335 model is not planned.
Instead, the minor keyboard action improvement of the PX-130-->PX-135 will be introduced silently as a 'running change'.

Kind regards,
James
x

Thanks !

Do you know when the PX330 will receive this new keyboard improvement (the PX135 one), do you think christmas model could benefit from it ? How can I be sure if I buy the good one ?

For me the PX135 action is a bit better (worth the upgrade), a little bit heavier and less loose both at bottoming and in lateral move (like with slightly more friction giving slower velocity). But still not perfect, not as good as GH and RH. I don't know if anyone has tested the new models and can confirm my feeling, I am not really sure in fact.

This is for the feeling, but do casio representatives confirm that the keys will be more consatnt / sustainable / durable / reliable with age ?

Edit : which is another concern I have heard in this forum, and from a music store vendor...

Kind regards
Zack

I'm sorry, I don't know.

Kind regards,
James
x

Ok, don't mind. Very happy you manage to get some info. And for this part :

I guess they won't tell... or perhaps it is a bit embarrassing for you ?
Anyway, have a good day.
Zack