I would like suggestions for a keyboard controller that has a nice piano feel with an escapement.. i’m not concerned about the weight as this would be my home set up, so I can enjoy playing piano without dragging it to gigs.
I would like suggestions for a keyboard controller that has a nice piano feel with an escapement.. i’m not concerned about the weight as this would be my home set up, so I can enjoy playing piano without dragging it to gigs.
Of the keyboards I have tried or bought over the years, I have personally come to feel most comfortable so far with the Kawai MIDI keyboards. I currently have both the MP11SE and the VPC1. Despite the MP11SE being the "big brother" to the VPC1 and considerably more expensive because of its onboard sounds and functionality, in many ways I prefer the VPC1. The MP11SE (and perhaps the VPC1; I don't know yet) does have a known problem that develops after a few years with the thin teflon "slip tape" on one of the hammer components becoming displaced by so many strikes of the capstan of the key action mechanism against it, exposing a sticky adhesive substrate under the slip tape that tends to make the keys sluggish or stick, and like many others I've had to remove the original slip tape and the rubber pad it rests on, and replace it with an alternative (In my case, thin but tough piano felt rubbed with powdered teflon), after consulting some YouTube videos and links on the Web. The fix works well, though the repair process seemed daunting at first. Newer Kawai keyboards (mine are about 7 years old now) might not have this problem (I don't know whether Kawai has addressed it in the interim).
This discussion thread at the PianoWorld forum discusses the Kawai slip-tape problem. User "pianistically" posted a good description of the issue.
https://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthreads...ssues.html
I ordered a Vidal MIDI controller keyboard and am interested and excited to see how it will feel and compare when it is shipped. There are some nice comments about the Vidal here in the Pianoteq forum--
https://forum.modartt.com/viewtopic.php...7#p1002937
Vidal website--
https://playvidal.com/products/vidal
I second everything that you say, and I'd add that the Vidal looks like a very cool project, and I thought about purchasing it myself, however the price was way too steep for me.
I know it's not apple-to-apple, but with LESS than that kind of money I did buy a second-hand Yamaha AvantGrand which Steve may want to consider. Not knowing the budget doesn't help, but a Yamaha NU1, N1 (or there X/A variants) or Kawai Novus NV are highly regarded instrument to be used as controllers. They are very expensive when new, but they can (rarely but surely) be found on the used market for reasonable amount of money and in my experience (and for what I've heard) they are extremely reliable that one could buy them confidently after some pre-purchase tests.
a nice piano feel with an escapement
As you specifically mention an escapement it's worth pointing out that most boards don't have a real escapement, they have a simulation of one. What they give you is a sort of gentle "notch" effect that you feel halfway down if you press a key down slowly. What they don't give you is keys that are genuinely lighter after they have been pressed.
I would like suggestions for a keyboard controller that has a nice piano feel with an escapement.. i’m not concerned about the weight as this would be my home set up, so I can enjoy playing piano without dragging it to gigs.
Great advice ….thank you all. I definitely would like a genuine escapement and not a false bump!
BigSteve wrote:a nice piano feel with an escapement
As you specifically mention an escapement it's worth pointing out that most boards don't have a real escapement, they have a simulation of one. What they give you is a sort of gentle "notch" effect that you feel halfway down if you press a key down slowly. What they don't give you is keys that are genuinely lighter after they have been pressed.
You are right, but on top of the notch feeling effect, it also allows to trigger very low velocities if your finger is positioned just above the notch and gives an impulse from that point.This is quite useful, notably for classical pieces that start with pp or ppp (the famous example is how to position your fingers in the start Ravel's Ondine) . It works on digital pianos with efficient positioning of the middle sensor just below the notch. Without the notch , you have no tactile indication of where the middle sensor is, so doing the above is risky as you can generate a ghost note or chord if you start slightly too low.
Without the notch , you have no tactile indication of where the middle sensor is
100% agree the notch is a useful simulation not a pointless fake.
Seems these days that having a real escapement -- rather than having real strings -- is what elevates your controller or e-piano to "hybrid" status. But the notch is useful and is "real" in the sense that you really do have a notch there.