Hi everybody ,i'm new to this forum and very interested by pianoteq
I'm actually trying the demo with my yamaha p90 and it sound very nice, but I would like to ask to pianoteq user's witch keyboard they use with this plug. It seems to me very important before buying to know that because I can't imagine to buy pianoteq without a good keyboard for playing it
thanks a lot for reading !
damien
I use a Fatar Studiologic VK-188 Plus, 88 keys, which is a current product. It is a weighted keyboard, and claimed to have both a graded action and some sort of emulation of escapement. While the action can not be mistaken for a piano when it's not making any sound, I find it quite acceptable with PTQ making the sounds. On my model I feel the weighting is very slighty on the heavy side. I seem to recall Fatar making 3 weighting styles for this keyboard, but I don't think this is a customer option, and I don't know which one Fatar put into it. If in doubt, try before buying. Fatar do a lot of business supplying OEM raw keyboards, so I would not expect any quality control manufacturing problems from their own brand products.
This keyboard is overall well made - metal casing with a rubberized feel surface. There are lots of controllers available should you need them. There are 3 pedal inputs at the back. It is very simple to get into: remove two screws at each side, and the top panel lifts up on a very wide piano hinge at the back. All the electronics are on one board attached to the top panel, so repairs should not be expensive. But my sample showed the archetypal problem of mounting a low-voltage power socket directly on the circuit board - except sooner than most. It failed after 2 hours use, and no amount of wriggling the plug in the socket could bring it back to life. When will manufacturers sort this out once and for all? Fortunately the VK-188 Plus can also be powered over a USB cable from any computer, and this should be less likely to fail as the USB socket is more robust.
As a keyboard, it's simple to use, and I think good to play. I am not going to comment on the velocity response, as this can be tailored in Pianoteq, and a lot of other software. (If not, a program like Bome's MIDI Translator will do what is needed). Aftertouch is available (I think channel type). My only criticism is that there is no sofware available for setting up the controllers. Mine came with presets for 11 different music programs (Pianoteq not among them - yet!), and up to 30 can be set up. It can be bought heavily discounted in the UK, perhaps elsewhere in the EU also, and at a discounted price I consider it an absolute bargain. I am not convinced that paying three times more would get me anything better. (I have a Fatar triple pedal unit on order which I'll write up in this thread in due course).
And the acid test - if it were stolen would I buy another? Immediately.
Hi
I'm using a Fatar Keyboard too, it's got Studio 1100 written on the front, I'm not sure how old but some of the keys are gone on it and I'm waiting to get it repaired.
i got it second hand, and when I opened it up, there was a large pool of wax inside the case, which explains why some of the keys stopped working a while after...
Anyway, it feels fine, I didn't have to adjust anything to get it playing very naturally with Pianoteq, the default seemed fine...I know there are some simple velocity curve adjustments/choices, but I haven't bothered.
If I had to start again, I'd still get something that feels as heavy as this, it's reminiscent of how the Kurzweil 2000/2500 etc piano action keyboards used to feel, but I'm kind of sure they were Fatar actions anyway...
whatever, I'd get something like this again if I had to.
cheers jeff
thanks a lot for the answers, i will try these keyboards too
cheers, damien
I'll toss in a long shot: a Kurzweil Midiboard. They were made for a few years in the eighties. I got mine for $500 earlier this year.
They weigh a lot but the action is very good (not precisely piano-like but it's sensitive to more nuances than a piano keyboard) and it sends release velocity and polyphonic aftertouch midi messages, which is the only way you're going to accurately emulate a clavichord. No current controller that I know of sends both those midi messages.
Doepfer LMK4+ here, and I'm very happy with it.
See http://www.doepfer.de/lmk4.htm
Regards, Thomas
Yamaha GrandTouch