Lachnit MK22?

If a digital piano keyboard is to be similar to an acoustic grand piano action, it must feel like a grand piano action and it must be respond like one.

Making a digital keyboard action feel like a grand is of course very difficult. The easiest way to do this would be to use an actual grand keyboard in the digital piano but this is not really practical so alternatives are necessary.  The makers of the LACHNIT  MK apparently do not make their own keyboard. As noted on the website:

"Feedstock of  keyboard  action comes from Italy, complemented and refined in Vienna by FLK according to 'Viennese Classic Specs'".

The most well known keyboard manufacturer in Italy is, I believe, Fatar and they make very good products.

Getting a good keyboard into the digital piano is the first step. Next, various electronic and/or physical mechanisms are needed in order to translate the physical movement of the keys into something that a computer, and the piano software on it, can understand. The most basic thing here is translating the speed of a key into volume; faster moving keys of course produce louder volumes. The LACHNIT  MK seems to use some sort of laser ('Light Sensor Technology') for this.

As for the velocity curve edit...most digital keyboards are able to detect, at most, 127 levels of dynamics. In other word, 127 different key speeds. However, for various reasons, some keyboards will only send a smaller range of values, for example, 10 to 110, or whatever.  This reduced range can still work very well but what if your technique is very sensitive and you want to play notes softer than a 10? With a velocity curve edit you can say 'whenever I play a 10 send a 5; an 11 is a 7; a 12 is a 9; etc.'  Maybe you are not a very powerful player: 'whenever I play a 110, send a 127'! In this scenario, you still only have 100 levels and so the available range is more spread out...the difference between each level is now a bit larger so there are tradeoffs involved.

About the keyboard in the LACHNIT  MK...I suspect it is the same one that is used in the Numa Nero digital controller which I have. But it has apparently undergone various enhancements as mentioned on the LACHNIT website. I like the one I have and with the advanced electronics and Light Sensor technology, it certainly sounds like a nice instrument. But 3000+ Euros is a lot to spend without trying it first. You could just as easily spend a bit less on the Kawai VPC1, which I also have, or something else.

That was yours truly. I have owned, as have you Mabry, the Numa Nero AND the KAWAI VPC1. I prefer the latter. While the TP40WOOD in the Numa Nero is exceptionally good, I prefer the RM3GRANDII in the VPC1. Also, my piano teacher (friend and mentor) who examines for the ABRSM and has years of experience with grand pianos and owning "one of the best Yamaha C3's on the planet", stated when he first played my KAWAI VPC1 that it was "much better" than my previous keyboard (the Numa Nero [TP40WOOD]). I much prefer the feel of the VPC1 and in actual fact, the action is of better quality construction than the TP40WOOD of which I am very familiar.

Having said all this, the Lachnit boards will be meticulously calibrated and will respond extremely well with PianoTeq. Please try both out before purchase if even remotely possible.

Kindest Regards,

Chris

What was it about the Lachnit MK22 that you liked more than the other keyboards you have played?

I wonder how much of the price goes to the Light Sensor technology that is supposed to measure the speed of the key so accurately (which I assume it does, not trying to question this)? If you get this board then use it with Pianoteq...what good is measuring the speed of the key to great accuracy if you only have 16 or so levels of velocity to work with like in sampled pianos?

It is true that many controllers will not send the full range of MIDI values. This can be true for various reasons. I am not sure what the Kawai VPC1 sends. One interesting thing about the Lachnit (http://www.flkeys.at/TechEng.html) from their website:

"Key travel fine adjustment to 11-12mm, Trigger point fine adjustment about 2/3 of key travel."

They have adjusted the throw of the TP40WOOD keyboard, making it a bit shorter, I think. Again, I have this keyboard and the first thing I noticed is that it's key travel was rather deep. I actually kind of liked that. But what is interesting here is that unlike most keyboards which transmit NOTE-ON messages when the key physical whacks something, the Lachnit now does this before the key hits. This of course simulates a real grand action where the hammer is thrown and strikes the string before the key hits the keybed. I can see how this is a real improvement over the TP40WOOD in its unmodified form. But since we have been talking VPC1, I will point out that it's RM3 Grand II action actually does throw a hammer so it has that going for it. See:

http://www.kawai.de/images/productimages/vpc1_1_465.jpg

But it is all in the feel, right?

To measure VPC1 MIDI range, I assume I can use the readout on the VELOCITY section in PianoTeq?

Well...what the frickamazoola is the let-off, what does it do when engaged, why did it improve your experience, what did you loose by letting the let-off be off?

Let-off (otherwise known as escapement) is the term used to describe the action (and feel) of the point at which the Jack moves out from under the hammer butt in a piano action. This action is especially noticeable when a key is played very softly. Some people like a stronger feel and others, less so. Therefore the piano technician is able to adjust the let-off (escapement) to suit the pianists taste.
Many pianist use this effect to aid them in playing pianissimo passages etc. and this is called 'playing the Jack'.

Now, the VPC1 emulates this effect by the use of a silicone(?) arm which the hammer arm rubs up against at the point in the key depress that the Jack would leave the butt in a real piano action. Some people will like this as it is in the VPC1. However, after having disengaged the let-off simulation arms in the action of the VPC1, I found the touch to be much more positive and tactile. It feels more authentic and much less rubbery.

I posted a contest video recorded tonight where I am playing the modified VPC1.

Kindest Regards,

Chris

That's a very interesting question Greg. Yes, I played numerous pianos, Steinway, Fazioli, and many others, uprights and grands plus a harpsichord and clavichord...

And, the answer to whether I have felt those real pianos have to much or too little let-off, yes and no. As I understand, some piano technicians try to minimise the feel of the let-off in a real piano, especially if requested by the artist. However, some pianists like a stronger let-off to aid pianissimo playing. It must be said that the real grand pianos I've played have mostly had a more defined let-off feel than that of my VPC1,
the latter feeling much less positive. It's not that I don't like let-off (I must admit, I quite like the let off on the Roland PhaIII), it's just that I felt the VPC1's response could be improved by removing this feature. And my hunch paid off. I feel much more connected to the software ( PianoTeq) and have finally been able to work out a suitable curve using 'midi shape shifter' plugin (more info on that soon). The RM3 Grand II feels much more mechanical now (in a good way) and is even more pleasure to play,

Kindest Regards,

Chris

Indeed you can!

Kindest Regards,

Chris

EDIT

EDIT 2 May take some time though!!!