Topic: Roland LX-17 digital piano: experience setting up Pianoteq
Hi all,
New user here, hello. Posting about my experience setting up Pianoteq Pro with Roland LX-17.
This piano has 6 amplifiers and 8 speakers, notably a pair in front of the keyboard, which makes quite a difference even with respect to Roland LX-7. It also has Supernatural model unlimited voices internal model, so it is interesting to compare against Pianoteq that I still felt would bring further advantages, so I went ahead and bought that as well.
Connectivity-wise, I am sending the Piano MIDI output over a USB cable to a Macbook Pro 15" (late 2014 model). I also send the output from the headphones (line out) jack back to the (same) piano. I set MIDI control to off in the Roland settings and can flip back and forth between the internal and the Pianoteq sound with just one press of the + or - buttons, which is great for AB comparisons.
In terms of latency--I cannot detect any delay at all, for example at 128 deep buffer. Equally, I cannot hear any crackling sound.
In terms of sound: the above setup provides a very rich and satisfying sound, comparable to the internal sound. However, this required some tweaks that I want to report here. I use the 96 kHz internal sample rate, and my first question is why is the 192 kHz option not available, even though I have a Pro version?
Also, I do not understand why the velocity curves are published here without also specifying the output and dynamics settings. Currently, I have the following settings:
Velocity = [0, 8, 18, 31, 50, 71, 98, 127; 0, 11, 27, 50, 76, 100, 121, 127]
Volume: -2db
Dynamics: 55db
I built the velocity table manually, ensuring that I have roughly the same dynamics as with the internal sound. I have found that the MIDI signal never really goes above 100, so the above velocity curve has to approach the fff level around that velocity. The sound meter goes to amber if I hit the keys hard. I can also play ppp with very light touch.
I run Roland at 55 volume to make it sound not excessively loud.
I am using the Stereophonic output, is that what is expected for playing without headphones?
One final unrelated observation: Bluetooth on this piano is very good for connecting to iPad--everything works well with no delays. Apps like Piano adventures play-along can both follow the keys pressed and play the accompaniment back to the piano at the same time, with no perceived delays. I am still exploring many apps available, and am particularly on the lookout for those supporting Bluetoooth connection to the piano. What is your experience and recommendations?
Thanks!