Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kawai CA95 - New recording

Decided to redo my performance of a favorite jazz standard, i.e., "Body and Soul" by Johnny Green, at the Kawai CA95:

[Edited recording - silent space deleted]

https://www.box.com/s/b4xddglelrco5b07khgk

Default "Concert Grand 2" setting.

Thanks, I enjoyed listening!

Really nice performance! I'm wondering, with that interesting (or should I say controversial?) DP vs AP topic going on, what that performance would sound like played on an AP, just for the sake of comparing the sound.

Thanks for sharing this with us.

Great playing, but I didn't enjoy the sound at all. Surely it sounds much better through the soundboard and isn't really meant to be recorded from line out.

I was about to say the same.

Very well played.

PV88, I'd like to ear your personal impression about how different it sounds played through the CA-95.

Carlos

Sorry I did not like this one bit .It sounded very cheap as if it was a recording taken from a very old Casio.
I was kind of hoping it was going to blow me away being though it is a top of the range kawai and I was planning on driving 60 mile to try it out,I'm very disappointed .
I am only observing the sound I hear ,your playing is fine.
I'm sure the piano sounds excellent from cabinet but for me it needs to record a great sound also for recording quality videos.

I believe the Concert Grand 2 on the CA95 of a grand using the original "harmonic imaging" sampling, where the Concert Grand 1 is the new samples of the Grand EX.

I personally don't like the Concert Grand 2 on my CA95, it sounds fake to me, but the default Concert Grand 1 sounds quite nice.


ps. im just going by what http://www.kawaius.com/main_links/digital/Features/harmonic_imaging2010.html
said regarding concert grand 1 vs 2

On models featuring 88-key sampling, Concert Grand 1 is a well-rounded EX Concert Grand recorded in the standard fashion for classical and jazz music. On many models there is Concert Grand 2, which will be the original Harmonic Imaging Concert Grand sound. It has a very different character from Concert Grand 1.

To help clarify (for those who didn't like the recorded sound) my recording method is very basic:

1) One stereo audio cable is being used from a headphone jack to the computer's audio in jack. The other headphone jack is for headphones so that I can monitor the playing.

2) The audio sounds are recorded directly into Audacity in which I can export a .wav file that can easily be converted to a .mp3.

3) The .mp3 can be uploaded to box.com to share as a link.

Extra note:

I agree that the CA95 itself (when playing) sounds better and quite impressive through its speakers/soundboard as compared to the recording.

It's my view also. At least when I'm listening with my headphones. The default Concert Grand 1 sounds pure, all the others sound inferior over the headphones. When playing through the onboard speakers however, it's different. Then the inferior quality is not that obvious from the non-default samples.

I have to disagree as I think that the "Concert Grand 2" preset is better from the perspective that the tones are brighter (especially in the midrange of the keyboard from about middle C and on up) and the initial decay attack imparts better resonance for those notes when attempting to sustain a long line in a classical piece, like the Schubert Impromptu, Op. 90, No. 3, for example. The initial decay of the notes being played are most important.

I therefore could make a direct comparison (at the CA95 for anyone would want to listen from the "live" perspective of the speakers and soundboard) that the "Concert Grand 2" samples are in fact better than "Concert Grand 1" for certain select notes in the midrange of the keyboard when playing the Schubert Impromptu, with the first sustaining note being the B-flat just above middle C. Anyone listening to me playing this would hear a shorter quick initial decay of the B-flat note in the "Concert Grand 1" preset, as the "Concert Grand 2" preset lends more resonance to the same note with far better initial decay attack.

Any listener would hear this (in my studio room while playing) as I could easily demonstrate the differences between "Concert Grand 1" and "Concert Grand 2." The initial decay is more noticeable over the speakers as compared with headphones.

You would think that this should be the other way around, that the newer samples in the "Concert Grand 1" would have the better initial decay and resonance, but this is not true from what I am hearing.

Also, the initial decay (for midrange treble notes) appears to be better in all presets ending with "2" like "Studio Grand 2," "Mellow Grand 2," and, "Jazz Grand 2." On my CA95, anyway.

Did you try to use the built-in recorder? I always record directly to a USB stick in my DPs (.wav file). That way you get a strict digital recording of your performance. Fantastic playing by the way!!

pv88, thank you for sharing your recording - you play very well.

Regarding 'Concert Grand' vs 'Concert Grand 2', I personally prefer the tonal character of 'Concert Grand', especially with a little tweaking using the various parameters available in the 'Virtual Technician' menu.

However, I would strongly recommend that you do not use the headphone jacks for recording - the 'Line Out' connectors would be a wiser choice.

The best (and most efficient) solution, however, would be to purchase a $5 USB memory stick from...well, pretty much any store, and record your performances digitally as MP3 or WAV files using the instrument's 'USB Audio' feature. I believe I have made this recommendation to you once or twice already, noting that it would also eliminate the 10-20 second delays that typically precede your performances.

Kind regards,
James
x

@KawaiJames: do you mind telling us which tweekings you do for the Concert Grand ?

Stefaan, I haven't spent a great deal of time playing the CA95, however if I owned one, I would probably reduce the reverb depth a little, increase the string/damper resonance, and attenuate the high frequencies using the EQ.

Of course, this is just my personal opinion, and is perhaps a reflection of the kind of piano sounds that I typically prefer (and the style of music I play).

Cheers,
James
x

My opinion on CA95 internal sounds is as follows:

- I generally don't like the "2" presets, far too metallic for my taste
- Jazz Grand is so similar to Concert Grand that it brings nothing new except maybe some mild EQing (if you (don't) like one, you (don't) like the other)
- Mellow Grands are useless because of their super short decay (I mean it, the shortest you can imagine on a piano). They may have some value in pieces where you fire a new note every 1/10th of a second but in music where you actually have time to breathe, silence sets in before you know it.
- I am undecided about Studio Grand - different from Concert Grand for sure, I like it a little less though. May be good for a change from time to time.
- Upright sounds good for very specific kinds of music (ragtime), not good for "general" playing.
- Other sounds are useless for classical/jazz piano playing

Overall, Concert Grand 1 is the best and the only one worth testing if you consider buying this piano. I do have some mild reservations about it but that is to be expected I guess.

Edited to add: I like the pv88's playing and imho the recording would strongly benefit from using Concert Grand 1 instead of 2.

Edited 2nd time to add: USB recording as an obvious solution aside, it would probably take less time to cut the 19 seconds from the recording than type the infamous "silent signature" of yours:-)

+1. I refuse to listen any more to pv88's playing. Now I find he uses Audacity. It really is audacious not to cut those silent beginnings out. One mouse click, swipe, delete, done.

I use an Audio Interface from the line outs on my CA95. I then go from there into my computer.... Is this a good way? The interface I have is the Akai EIE Pro Audi/Midi Interface.



Audio Interface

C'mon now, it's not that big a deal. It's one click & drag for you, too.

That's right, open Audacity, load, swipe, delete, export, done. Then you can listen to it as you want ...

Just figured out how to do this and here's the edited recording:

https://www.box.com/s/b4xddglelrco5b07khgk

Trimmed off the space at the start and end.

[New link has been added to first post.]