Greg.

I spent some time with Pianoteq going through the PX330 internal speakers today and I wasn't able to get a lot of bass no matter what I did with EQing. I did notice some improvement by moving the microphones around a bit, but not all that much.

In contrast to that, a small pair of Logitech computer speakers that I recently bought (2.5wattsx2) gets a much more even and full range response except it's at a lower volume.

This leads me to believe that the PX330 speakers don't have a linear response pattern, and that trying to get Pianoteq to sound solid through those speakers would be pretty time consuming. Maybe one of these days...

It sounds to me as though Casio is cutting some lower midrange along with boosting the bass, so that they can get more volume without distortion. Does that sound right to you?

I did some more listening, and you're really stretching my abilities now. I simply don't know. All I know is that when I switch to headphones, the sound is fuller with more bass, and generally a lot better, as you'd expect.

Greg.

I haven't tried anything other than a very basic bass boost yet which didn't do much, but I'll probably attempt more in the next few days. As you say, Casio must have tailored the sound and speaker EQ. They did a nice job, but even they didn't get a LOT of bass from those small speakers. So I'm not expecting miracles.

It would help matters perhaps if Pianoteq's EQ was a little more sophisticated- it's difficult or impossible to adjust narrow frequency bands. Then again, it could just be my lack of expertise, or else the Pro version has more fine control.

It sounds to me as though Casio is cutting some lower midrange along with boosting the bass, so that they can get more volume without distortion. Does that sound right to you?

Greg.

Very nice! Thankyou. There's so much good music, and so many good musicians that we never get to hear unless someone introduces us.

Happy New Year to you and yours!

Michael

to Michael: no, it wasn't necessary for me, I had to play a "basso continuo" of pieces by Vivaldi and Monteverdi, so I only needed 2 different sounds: PianoTeq for... the harpsichord (!), and a "church organ" provided by "the virtual organ company" - available here, by the way:
http://www.virtualorgancompany.com/

Luc,

That sounds like an interestingly different type of performance from my perspective, since I normally do weddings, parties, pop/jazz gigs, etc.

Nice organs! There's a decent harpsichord in the Privia I found, but nowhere near the quality of Pianoteq's.

I'm glad you like it - thanks for the feedback.

I'm just thinking about the low end EQ issue.  It may be that in order to achieve a sound with the right amount of bass, the overall volume will have to decrease, and that could be an issue.  I.e, it's conceivable that the input to the PX-330 will clip unless the overall signal level is dropped, and hopefully it won't have to be reduced to such an extent that the overall volume is insufficient.

Greg.

Greg,

I believe you're right, and there's a limit to what the low wattage  internal speakers are capable of, especially with bass, but the inputs, surprisingly, seem to be pretty hot.

I'm just thinking about the low end EQ issue.  It may be that in order to achieve a sound with the right amount of bass, the overall volume will have to decrease, and that could be an issue.  I.e, it's conceivable that the input to the PX-330 will clip unless the overall signal level is dropped, and hopefully it won't have to be reduced to such an extent that the overall volume is insufficient.

Greg.

maybe that's because mine is a 320... but for the same reason as you (never internal + external sounds together)  I didn't care either ;-) And I've been using MIDI via USB recently for a dozen of performances without noticing any provblem...

Luc,

Have you figured out an easy way to do patch changes to midi devices with the Privia?

I checked out a number of things:

1) A/B-ed  it to my Studiologic VMK188plus as far as keyboard action and responsiveness with Pianoteq. The Casio reaches higher velocities easier with Pianoteq, a little too easy for me right now, meaning some velocity curve adjusting in Pianoteq. Both keyboards feel quite good to me. Initial impression is that I like the Fatar a bit more, it seems deeper, and I can dig in a bit more. This may entirely change with a new velocity curve. If possible I'd like to replace the Fatar, because it's electronics are flaky.

2) The main two piano sounds are excellent. I've been using Yamaha's almost exclusively for live digital piano sounds: Motif's, P60, P85, and at one point an S90es. The overall brightness of the Privia sound is a welcome change, and I'm thinking it will sound outstanding live.

3) I tried Luc's suggestion of using a single amp along with the internal speakers- it sounds terrific! This is just using a small Peavey KB1 amp with 20 watts RMS and weighing about 17 pounds at a low volume so things blend, emphasizing the bass.

4) I hooked up Pianoteq to the internal speakers of the Privia, going midi out to my netbook via USB (tried standard midi to USB also)  then using either netbook onboard sound or an E-mu 0204 external soundcard back into the Privia. They both sounded quite good through the Privia internal speakers, however Pianoteq didn't have as much bottom end as the internal sounds of the Privia. There was also low level ground noise from the speakers until I hooked up a hum eliminator in series, then sound was super clean. So, it's good to be aware that this type of hookup creates a ground loop (at least it did for me, whether using an AC adapter on the computer or not).

These are just first impressions, but I'm already loving this keyboard!

Greg.