Topic: Korg D1 with Pianoteq
This is a mini review of my piano:
The D1 is a Korg stage piano from 2018. It was an upgrade from the old Yamaha DGX-640 with GHS action.
It has the Korg RH3 action which I like a lot. It's not a light action, but it's smooth and consistent. With some basic classical technique it feels good. It has faux escapement; there is more resistance towards the bottom of the key travel, but it doesn't have a bump like on the Roland FP-30. One of the keys, C#6, sometimes stays down, and the on-off LED doesn't light up.
The onboard sounds are acceptable, but not as textured and detailed as modern samples. Pianoteq sounds better than the onboard sounds.
As a midi controller it's a step up from the Yamaha. It has two sensors. With a custom velocity curve it works very well. It has more dynamics than the Yamaha. It outputs the full midi range 0-127, but the ends are so hard and soft that they're not really useful, the notes from pp to ff go from about 20 to 110.
The piano is for use at home, and occasional performance in the future. A stand and an Audiofront MIDI Expression-IO was an additional cost. I'm using the Audiofront device to convert MIDI from the piano to USB, and it gives me three pedals with Pianoteq.
All in all, a good buy and upgrade. I'm particularly pleased with the keybed. With a bigger budget I would have been looking at the Yamaha P515, Kawai VPC-1 etcetera.
