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Don't have an exact size on the samples. I don't know if they've gone public with that info, can't see why they wouldn't though.
Sample size used to be stated with a certain amount of pride, these days it's generally in the trade secret / embarrassment category.
Originally Posted by Dave Weiser
Regarding processors - These days I'm pretty sure that the custom chips that Kurz and other companies use are not actually the problem when it comes to prices. I think it's everything else - the enclosure, the buttons, knobs, jacks, i/o and of course the action. We're talking about manufacturing thousands or tens of thousands of units compared to tens of millions of units for computer or cellphone components. Everything at that smaller scale is going to be more expensive.
All the more reason not to go custom in terms of processors. You need large teams to even have a hope of keeping up with the dedicated and focused efforts of others. Then there is fab, tool support, etc. which can't be worth it for the small production run a DP sees.
Originally Posted by Dave Weiser
But the trend with prices has been inching downward for the most part over the past 20 years. In the 90s the big Kurz boards could sell for $7-8k when fully loaded.
I can see the physical design components coming down a lot with modern engineering and particularly cheap labor. Computing hardware is trending towards almost nothing in comparison, even in small quantities. So I don't understand custom anything in that department. Put a USB3 port on the front and stop charging us through the nose for mass sample memory storage.
Really wish this had a sequencer on board - looking to replace a K2500XS I bought new back around 2002 or so thats getting a little long in the tooth. Although for home use, and I have Studio One software - there are times I prefer to just turn the Kurz on and capture ideas for later that I use the onboard sequencer for.
I did just recently purchase a Roland DP90e for the cottage for it's minimalist console design which has an on board sequencer - though I"m not thrilled with the 'on board' speakers!
"I'm still an idiot and I'm still in love" - Blue Sofa - The Plugz 1981 (Tito Larriva) Disclosure : I am professionally associated with Arturia but my sentiments are my own only.
ando, yeah, he plays that same opening riff for all his piano demos it seems. Sometimes I wish he would mix it up a bit more, but I guess there is value in being able to compare different brands by hearing the same pianist play the same things on them. Mike Martin from Casio does a similar thing, he has a riff that seems to be distinctly his. I think he may play it in all of his demo videos, or at least most of them.
ando, yeah, he plays that same opening riff for all his piano demos it seems. Sometimes I wish he would mix it up a bit more, but I guess there is value in being able to compare different brands by hearing the same pianist play the same things on them. Mike Martin from Casio does a similar thing, he has a riff that seems to be distinctly his. I think he may play it in all of his demo videos, or at least most of them.
The thing is, it didn't demonstrate anything about the strengths of the Kurzweil Forte. He makes a big deal about 4GB of full-length, un-looped samples, then plays this naff rubbish without a long held note amongst it. Even a couple of single held notes to show the long decay and lack of looping would be better than that tired old "riff" - to me that's not even real music. Who plays like that? It's elevator music at best - or cheesy salesperson music at worst.
He makes a big deal about 4GB of full-length, un-looped samples, then plays this naff rubbish without a long held note amongst it. Even a couple of single held notes to show the long decay and lack of looping would be better than that tired old "riff" - to me that's not even real music.
Probably gotta forgive him, years of valiantly trying to make DP drek sound acceptable has likely ingrained the habit of playing short, quick notes.
@ 0:22 it looks like the DP is on the Z-stand backwards?
He's got the hipster beard and duds, now all he needs is some tats and a give-a-sh*t attitude and he'd disappear into the crowd at NAMM.
He's got the hipster beard and duds, now all he needs is some tats and a give-a-sh*t attitude and he'd disappear into the crowd at NAMM.
You forgot to mention the type II diabetes, the alarming colour contrast between hair and beard and of course that shirt. The shirt in fact is so horrific it distracts from the cheapo 'Kurzweil' and 'forte' graphics on the piano. So in that sense it's a great shirt I suppose.
The piano sounds ok though - the nine footer anyway. And despite the sausage fingers he can play very well.
"I'm still an idiot and I'm still in love" - Blue Sofa - The Plugz 1981 (Tito Larriva) Disclosure : I am professionally associated with Arturia but my sentiments are my own only.
He's got the hipster beard and duds, now all he needs is some tats and a give-a-sh*t attitude and he'd disappear into the crowd at NAMM.
You forgot to mention the type II diabetes, the alarming colour contrast between hair and beard and of course that shirt. The shirt in fact is so horrific it distracts from the cheapo 'Kurzweil' and 'forte' graphics on the piano. So in that sense it's a great shirt I suppose.
The piano sounds ok though - the nine footer anyway. And despite the sausage fingers he can play very well.
Sausage Fingers.... That's Funny!!!!!! Man, my cheek muscles are hurting
Full disclosure: I worked on this project as a contract sound designer. A few of the AC pianos and all of the EPs and Clavs are mine. Hope you guys dig 'em!
Dave,
I'm hearing digital distortion. e.g Check out Rich 9ft grand There are many instances where my Echo Mia card input is being overdriven.
I did not hear any distortion, maybe they swapped the track. The Yamaha doesn't last past a minute now either. Beemer was wondering what you meant by Soundcloud files marked as downloadable not being transcoded? All Soundcloud uploads get transcoded and are listened to as transcoded. You can download the original if enabled.
I did not hear any distortion, maybe they swapped the track. The Yamaha doesn't last past a minute now either. Beemer was wondering what you meant by Soundcloud files marked as downloadable not being transcoded? All Soundcloud uploads get transcoded and are listened to as transcoded. You can download the original if enabled.
The digital distortion I mentioned is commonly called "clipping". It is very evident and you can still hear it on the track I mentioned two examples being at 19 seconds and 29 seconds. The SoundCloud graph also illustrates these points.
I don't understand your comment about the Rachel Jimenez Liszt clip on Yamaha p140. I was showing a SoundCloud digital piano track that has no clipping distortion whether you download it or not. Incidentally it lasts 31 minutes 49 seconds, not just one minute as you said.
Kawais have bad notes and the old Yamaha three and four layer sample has a glaringly nasty note (a d flat as I recall).
Hah! I always thought that was a production issue with my CLP340 (and I never managed to report it). It is indeed very noticeable. I think it might be the e flat, though, but then again, I've tried my best suppressing it for many years, so you could be right as well.
I did not hear any distortion, maybe they swapped the track. The Yamaha doesn't last past a minute now either. Beemer was wondering what you meant by Soundcloud files marked as downloadable not being transcoded? All Soundcloud uploads get transcoded and are listened to as transcoded. You can download the original if enabled.
The digital distortion I mentioned is commonly called "clipping". It is very evident and you can still hear it on the track I mentioned two examples being at 19 seconds and 29 seconds. The SoundCloud graph also illustrates these points.
I don't understand your comment about the Rachel Jimenez Liszt clip on Yamaha p140. I was showing a SoundCloud digital piano track that has no clipping distortion whether you download it or not. Incidentally it lasts 31 minutes 49 seconds, not just one minute as you said.
Ian
I thought you were talking about the Yamaha track on the Forte page. On the peaks on the 9 ft Forte track my playback doesn't distort. What does it do to your meters? Do they go into the red anywhere?
