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Hi.

I'm thinking of setting up a software piano with my computer.

What's a good digital piano to get.
And what's the recommended software to use?
I would want to try out Steinway and bosendorfer samples.

Would the yamaha p105 or casio px150 suffice?

I tried a set up with my current keyboard a yamaha dgx305 (yes I know it is very old)

But for whatever reason it couldn't work. The sounds were extremely delayed. I'm assuming the processor on the dgx is very very slow?

Not even sure if it is possible to set up a software piano with the dgx305.

But I will be upgrading soon so no worries.

I don't remember the software I used when I tried the first time around.

Was also looking at the Sony v6 studio monitors for a decent headphones to run the set up with.
Can upgrade to studio speakers later on.

Any suggestions will be appreciated guys.
Thanks.

The problem isn't with your keyboard, but with your computer. You likely weren't using ASIO drivers for output, which means that it'll be pretty much impossible to go below 100ms of latency. What does your software/hardware setup look like?

Hello,

I'm not sure about good software for piano, but when I tried Arturia synthesizers for the first time I had the same high latency problem. ASIO resolves the issue. Try here: [url=http://www.asio4all.com/][/url]

I`ve just set up Pianoteq and needed AS104ALL (free download) to pull it together. Your DGX should work ok. The Casio and Yamaha you mentioned are fine too. If you`re using h`phones, should be OK.
You need to connect the piano to the computer before booting up your software piano or chances are it won`t play.
Good look. Hope you have as much fun as me!

realllllyy..... this is interesting..

My setup is a custom built pc.
quad core Phenom II x4
8 GB ram
Dual graphics.
and I use built in 7.1 soundcard for the motherboard Gigabyte 890GX I think.

I shall download the drivers and try them out. Might delay the purchase for a better digital piano. was thinking casio px750 or 850 but I will have to wait. Cash is tight right now.


Will let u guys know if it works out.
Any suggestions of what samples to use ?
Any free ones to experiment with maybe?
I know the Steinway and Bosendorfers must be payed for. Or so i've read.

I will download Pianoteq is it? and the ASIO drivers and try them out.
Thanks a million guys now i'm excited

Currently running the keyboard through a 360watt JVC stereo. I adjusted the eq on the stereo to minimize the bloated bass and minimize colouring the sound as best as possible.

Yamaha DGX 305 keyboard

Windows 8 on the computer

IS the Sony V6 headphones a decent buy or are there any better choices out there?
Heard audio technica is good as well.

Do I have to install drivers for my keyboard on windows 8?
The only drivers available are from Yamaha and they are designed for windows me and 98.

ok so I connected it to the pc.. booted up the software.. and it isn't working.. I have to use the mouse to press the buttons on the computer.. put my DGX 305 into PC mode. tried both PC1 and PC2.. What am I doing wrong?
help?

I know how you feel, man. Same thing happened to me. Now, after you feed your piano into the computer, and before you boot Pianoteq or whatever, you should get an audible "affirmative" (an electronic noise) from the computer acknowledging recognition. If you don`t, then the computer need some software from Yamaha downloaded so that it can recognise the piano. This might not be easy; it wasn`t with my DGX630. What I did eventually was this.
I typed in DGX640 software downloads and got offered choices. I took the DGX630 choice amongst many on offer and achieved through the back door as it were. There seemed no other way round this.

If you`re already getting recognition noises when you plug in the piano, then set the piano to computer 2 (you can do this before plugging into the laptop if you like} THEN boot p pianoteq.

Let us know how ya get on. Cheers! It`ll be worth it.

ok so I got it to work... installed a universal midi driver and it seemed to do the trick... sounds ok over headphones (HD238) but it sounds terrible through the speakers from the 360watt stereo.. like real bad..

I'm confused. lol..


sounds decent through the headphones tho

I'm guessing the samples that come with pianoteq aren't that great?

If anyone can suggest some decent samples or alternative software that sounds more realistic?

The samples sound really artificial. Was expecting better. or is it my headphones?

Using the trial pianoteq. some keys are disabled but the sound is really good. Really contemplating the ivory software.

Gonna have to research on which is the best
Also saw Alicia keys has her own software as well.

Sweet

My headphones cost £5. Pianoteq sounds great through them. Don`t know why yours shouldn't. By the way, the oriinal headphones from Yamaha (15 years ago) were crap, and I replaced them with what I have now.

IT sounds good in the latest version. tried all of the pianos in pianoteq.

I was using a very old copy of pianoteq.

But I'm very picky lol.

From what I've read I think synthology and the Alicia keys software from Kontakt supposed to be the top software.

Also galaxy I think is one?

The latest pianoteq trial isn't bad at all though.

I was impressed enough to buy it. Can`t be arsed wi all the other pianos. Classical recording (D4) does me nicely.

True, the sample libraries you mentioned are nice, but there is also no way to trial them and considering the resources Pianoteq is using, comparing it to the giants in the sampled piano industry is unfair. Sample libraries are going to use alot of RAM and disk streaming power, but they will sound considerably better since they are in essence recordings of true pianos. Since Pianoteq is modelled you have to give a bit in realism but the dynamics are beyond anything that could be achieved with samples.

I would say Synthogy and Galaxy. Alicia's keys was among the most popular software pianos for a while but it's quite dated technologically and the original piano from which it was sampled is medicore. You don't hear people talking about it in this forum much. I personally was not at all impressed when I played it.

We can probably be more specific: the top two pianos, judging by the chatter around here, are Ivory American D and Galaxy Vintage D.

I have to agree with you, gv. I wasted my money on Alicia's Keys. I absolutely hated it.

Among the others I have, I think the Galaxy Vintage D and Galaxy Vienna Grand are best.

The Giant is good, too, for some music, but it doesn't quite rank with the others.

The NI New York Grand is also quite good, but it really needs some tweaking of the velocity curve, beyond what's possible with its built-in controls.

As for Pianoteq ... They've always provided a demo version, but the product is a puzzle to me. At version 2.x it was terrible. At version 3.x it was much better, but still did not satisfy. At version 4 it was only marginally better.

Then came the Bluthner add-on for version 4. It is quite good. But it seems they've raised their prices. You have to spend $380 for that one (Pianoteq 4 Standard, with Bluthner add-on), more than for any of the other pianos. (Or, you can get the cheaper Stage version for "only" $190, but you give up the tweak controls, and it's still more expensive than the other (sampled) pianos.)

Yes, for that price you're getting several pianos in the package, besides the Bluthner. But the latter is the only one I like. (It's like cable TV ... you have to pay for 100 channels even if you only watch one!)

To the OP (Mta88) ...
What's the recommended software to use? I would want to try out Steinway and Bosendorfer samples.
The aforementioned Galaxy Vienna Grand is a Bosendorfer. I like it. Ivory has a Bosendorfer, too, but I like the Galaxy version better.

Would the yamaha p105 or casio px150 suffice?
Just about any piano with a MIDI or USB interface will work. But it was already mentioned above that to reduce latency to acceptable levels, a PC will require an ASIO driver. Try the free ASIO4All program, available online. If it provides suitably low latency, great. It didn't work well for me, though, so I had to buy an external sound card, one that comes with its own ASIO driver.