Hi,

I work for a design company that specializes in luxery furniture and we want to create a bespoke housing for a digital piano. Obviously for our market, the brand name of the piano is important. I know it's a very broad question I just wanted to ask what brand (if any) or model could be considered the Rolls Royce of digital pianos. I suppose my question is: if budget, space or other limiting factors are not an issue, then what is the piano you'd get?

Many thanks!

I think 'luxury' would be a real, acoustic grand in any case. Other than that there's already the pricey AvantGrand N1 on the market.

I agree with torhu, the real Rolls Royce would be a real acoustic piano. I believe that a luxury market wouldn't care so much for something "fake" that is just trying to mimic the real deal. I could be wrong of course.

Among digitals it is probably the AvantGrand N3. It is the most advanced, needs the most space and is by far the most expensive.

Frankly, I don't think any DP can be a luxury brand akin to Rolls Royce. (And Yamaha is certainly not a luxury brand - most non-pianists associate Yamaha with cheap motorbikes).

I'd go for Bösendorfer Imperial 290 acoustic grand - those extra bass keys, the Austro-German name (redolent of Viennese decadence in the last few centuries.... ) and the sheer size and presence will turn heads....

I think the Roland V-Piano Grand is more expensive, and IMO, much more advanced (certainly in computer power)...

Contact Bosendorfer and get them to restart their digital project.

http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/102164.html

Alternatively, yank the action and MIDI controller components out of a Yamaha N2 and drive Synthogy Ivory II's Steinway(s) or Fazioli with it. Or use the Petrof MIDI controller, though if you can stomach something short of an acoustic grand action, I think a Kawai MP10 as MIDI controller would perform well.

http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1785057/1.htmll

As for speakers, lots of opinions on that front.

I work for a design company that specializes in luxery furniture and we want to create a bespoke housing for a digital piano.

There are already companies that take old grand piano shells and place digitals inside. I'm equally sure there are companies that make new grand piano type shells to hold digital pianos.

Would you care to share with us the name and location of the design company for which you work?

Why does that matter Dave?

James
x

In response to my ... Would you care to share with us the name and location of the design company for which you work?

I thought I asked nicely ... and I asked the individual who posted. He or she is free to ignore me or answer me.

And to answer your question, it doesn't matter though I'm curious.

That reminds me, I sent an e-mail to Lipton Tea (I still have their response) asking them what the material in their pyramid tea bags is. Their first response was, Why do you want to know? (I asked because it looked like it was made from a type of plastic.) I responded, Because I'm curious.

Hahahaha!!! LOL!

Why would a luxury brand put a digital piano in a case ? Disklavier's have been around for ever.... for those that want that type of thing. The problem isn't doing it its that there is no reason to do it. If you wanted a nice modern designed art case piano ? Get one of these ....http://www.boesendorfer.com/en/audi.html
or one of these ....
http://www.fazioli.com/en/pianoforti/special/m-liminal

Seriously there is no market for a art case digital ...... for it to work its got to be real.

And besides the Rolls Royce of DP's is really a decent controller and a guy with a laptop.

Thanks for all the replies and help so far. Just to clarify, we are looking to design and build a one off unique shell for a digital piano. Obviously for sound and luxury, an acoustic piano cannot be beaten, but we want to avoid compromising the sound, as much as possible, and as the shape of the piano will be changed, we are settling for the best DP we can get.

We are open to replacing the speakers for a better set, but not much more modification than that.

Dont worry about the market or the reasoning, this will just be a one-off show piece, a better version of something we have already sold.

I think the suggestions so far are AvantGrand N3 and Roland V-Piano Grand. It would be great to hear more suggestions around these.

Kawai James - nice pic!

Thank you!

The V=Piano Grand is more expensive than the N3, and it's just as nicely packaged as the N3. The V-Piano Grand is overpriced IMHO, but it's probably the priciest DP on the market right now.

You mean the Imperial 290! The beast. I don't what's more impressive, the Imperial 290 or the Fazioli F308...

The Roland V-Piano Grand and Yamaha's N3 top the list right now both in technology and how their speakers emulate the piano. They also look pretty to begin with. However, if your "shell" idea precludes using their shape and speakers, you could then build around a number of flagship slab pianos like the original V-Piano or others.

There are even higher fidelity speakers than what they use, however significant technology went into their placement and interaction for effect, so I would first try to preserve the grand body + speakers in either case.

"Impressiveness" is harder to compare, but as an instrument, it's easily the Imperial 290. But then the Faz 278 is actually their best model and quite the concert grand. 290 vs 278 is a better race for the music they produce.

Roland V Piano, possibly?

Very funny!!
Very apt as always James but looking back I can't understand why they didn't remove their bicycle clips before the photo session.

Excuse my French, but who the heck are these guys on the picture?

Curiosity Killed The Cat. British band of a particular era. Originally posted at a relevant moment in the thread!

I see, it makes sense now Thanks! BTW, I love Earl Grey by Lipton and I would never ask what the bags are made of. I am afraid I would stop drinking such a good tea if I know the truth Don't ask questions whose answer you don't wanna hear

EssBrace, I think I used to own a pair of those slip-on black shoes too...complete with faux-leather tassels.

Oh, and how does "poor man's" C. Bechstein D 282 compare with them? :-)

Oh yes...no animals were harmed in the making of those tassles! You are forgiven on this occasion for your fashion misdemeanours. Just as long as you never had the beret. That I would not forgive!

Well, I may have tried on my Mum's beret once or twice, when nobody was around...

Still got mine (from school days). Loved the pic - was half expecting someone to post up a pic of a dead cat but then remembered this is PW and everyone is nice here.....except, it appears, when the topic is VSL and some Etudes!!!

Maybe this is the sort of thing Shadowgap is alluding to.

http://whaletone.com/

Interesting form and shape - not completely convinced about the look. From some angles it looks a little odd. Maybe it's got something to do with the fact its a digital and the shape is superficial. THis is based on a RD700nx - well the specs match up with the NX, but the image shows a SX.

This might have been more interesting if it had been an acoustic instead. People who are in the market for this sort of thing wouldnt be too worried about the action and sound like we are here. As long it is expensive, it must be the best. I could be wrong though. I read somewhere Eddie Murphy has one.

I may bump into your father again one day. My silence can be bought though....

Read that thread earlier - insane!

Quite fine, and rather like the Fazioli to me.

Yes, very interesting design concept.
I wonder what it's actually like to play though?
I recall seeing a silver Fazioli with a similar curved/organic design...

Cheers,
James
x

Was that the Fazioli that Doc linked to?
Not very good looking - except for the side profile. Meant to be based on a Dolphin.
The Audi Bosedorfer - looks like a pirate.

What's with the sea references?

I want a player piano with moving keys in this shell!

It sounds like you want to build something that has a non-traditional piano shape? Is that correct? Otherwise, the Roland V-Grand or the Yamaha CGP-1000 are digital pianos housed in traditional 4'11" grand cases. The CGP includes additional non-piano voices and features found in Yamaha's arranger keyboards. If you are planning on throwing away the case and repackaging the components, then these don't make much sense. You can buy their "guts" in less expensive non-grand style cases.

The N3 is housed in a much smaller 3'11" "grand" style case. It has better sound emulation of an acoustic grand than the others. But again it you are going to trash the case then you could use the N1 or N2 non-grand styles.

But if you want the best sound, then arguably you should use a computer based virtual piano like Ivory II, and build a computer and keyboard from another DP into your custom designed case.

It's still a little hard to figure out exactly what you are trying to accomplish.

Oops! Faux pas - I played the 190 recently and forgot it's the smaller brother of the Viennese black beauty I was thinking of....

An even bigger piano (apart from the Fazioli F308) is the Stuart & Sons, which is even rarer than the others, though the name is not nearly so impressive (reminds one of another S & S). Or how about the Borgato L282, a hand-made Italian grand with truly impressive and unique sound?

Back down to earth, I read a review of the V-Piano which hinted that some pop musicians are installing it within grand piano shells for their gigs, so they have the flexibility to change the sound to their requirements (and amplify to their will) but still with the caché of an acoustic piano with a famous name.....

Source?

Not in Sydney ... pretty common round here



Name one major pop/rock artist who plays a V-piano (of any type) on stage or in the recording studio.

Gary Barlow used it at one Take That gig. Does that count? Do I win a prize?

It's the review in 'Performing Musician', also hinted at in 'Sound on Sound' (SOS). You should hopefully be able to find those by goggling Roland V-Piano review (I don't know how to post the links on here).

Just paste them into the reply box.

Is this the extract you are referring to from the review in 'Performing Musician'?

But what if you’re a serious musician with a few quid stashed away, and you want something that can sound, for all intents and purposes, almost identical to a £60,000 Steinway, even though you don’t have the manpower or enough room in the back of your Ford Transit to lug a nine-foot piano around with you? There are many musicians in this situation who will find the V-Piano to be a more than acceptable substitute, and I have no doubt that Elton John and Paul McCartney will have them built into fake grand piano cases before you can say “Oops, where’s my Bösendorfer?”

http://www.performing-musician.com/pm/dec09/articles/rolandvpiano.htm

Yep, that's the one.

(OK, I know I'm dumb but how do you paste something into a website from another one?)

If you're on a PC:
Select the URL in the address bar, then right click and select 'Copy'.
Then in the text/reply area, right click and select 'Paste'.

If you're on a Mac:
It should be essentially the same process, but you CTRL click (hold the CTRL key, then click the mouse button) instead of right clicking.

Cheers,
James
x

Thanks (now gotta find out whether I'm using a PC or a Mac....) .

Nah ...

He was wrong ...they didn't

Sorry but the V-Piano does not sound like $100,000 grand piano, and neither does the AvantGrand either. I can see the practical use of installing a DP inside an acoustic grand shell, but this is nothing new. And I HIGHLY doubt Steinway, Yamaha/Bosendorfer, Kawai, etc, would allow one of their feature artists to play a different brand DP.

3 things we all have here, pet roo, boomerang and a S&S.

Weird. I always thought that S&S stood for Steinway and Sons.

Not in Sydney

Who are Steinway?

Regards
Chris

Wayne would like that ....LOL

I found my old Roland V-Piano brochure which lists (apart from Gary Barlow already mentioned) Jon Lord, George Duke, Paul Mason (Van Morrison), Nigel Hopkins (Chris De Burgh/Elvis Costello), Howard Jones, Chris Cameron (Leona Lewis/George Michael), Tom Hickox, Mike Skinner, Kate Nash, Moby, Hard-Fi, Mumford & Sons, Groove Armada, and jazzers Joe Stilgoe and Julian Velard as happy V-Piano players. I only recognize a couple of the names, so I don't know how well-known they are (but I'm not into pop/rock, except when I accompany/sing the songs under duress ).

And Lady Gaga played on a V-Piano Grand in Manchester, England in November last year in a high-profile televised gig: I think the song I saw her sing was 'Edge of Glory'.
Though of course she might be using a more expensive stage DP within the Roland shell......

The V-Piano Grand used in a concert with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and The Enid.

http://vimeo.com/34700250

I particularly like the bit (6:26) where the crowd angrily demand their money back after complaining about being subjected to the awful midrange of that fake piano ..........

There's no accounting for tastes.....