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Morning all,

Just browsing YouTube and found this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyqC76x4ZAA

Checking out Dexibell's channel it's clear they are quite busy people!

They have finally launched the S1 68 note 8kg battery powered gigging piano.

It's all in Italian but it seems there's a piano module too (finally, some decent piano sounds on a module again - where did they all go!?).

And, rather intriguingly, I am assuming from the last segment of the video I've linked to, that they've developed a 'virtual damper' element in their software. I'm just guessing that it is trying to decide from your playing style whether or not you would want to be using the damper pedal and it makes the decision for you if you don't have a damper pedal available. The demo at the end is interesting. He unplugs the damper and then plays. It's clearly not foolproof but I applaud the company and its efforts to innovate.

My local dealer has these in; I liked the look of one of the home pianos. Very man friendly; the sound seemed ok, and the action was very light. I also tried the new Korg portable, and that was ok too.
I wouldn't really describe them as innovative any more than the usual motley lot. Now if you try out Pianoteq's Bechstein from Kremsegg collection you'll hear those antique sounding resonances that you get from a real piano. It's like a different world.

Yay! Even the current models will have a software update with new features and their collection of downloadable extra sounds has already grown and will grow even more.

(Those can be previewed on their site, if you create an account.)

Anyway, they are getting a bit closer to Nord's customisability and of course already were much more flexible than the "traditional" manufacturer's who might offer an occasional software update every now and then to fix a bug or two.

Personally, I think Dexibell is a fair bit more innovative than certain others. It's results that count of course far more than technical specs but I find their piano sound very agreeable. Much longer samples than others and modelled resonances etc. They are continuing to develop their core products and are launching very interesting new ones.

And I just can't agree about PianoTeq. I bought Stage recently and whilst there are some good things about it I can't even be bothered to take my laptop upstairs to use it now. That's how much allure PT has for me. Yes, the resonances are far and away better than mainstream hardware DPs but the basic tone is nothing like right yet. Nothing like.

The new module is the Dexibell Vivo SX7 which has 1.5GB of assignable RAM on board, into which you can load the presets you want. It's piano sounds are basically the equivalent of the Dexibell S7 keyboard version.

Be careful ... you'll have a horde of pteq fanatics chasing you soon, you know what it is like, such topics can get very sensitive with some

On topic, I haven never seen these anywhere near me in shops, I'd say PMT are the most likely to stock them perhaps at some point I reckon, there is one near me, would be interested trying them out.

You are quite right! But in my defence Pete raised the PT spectre! Not another word, I promise.

I think Dexibell are well worth a try. For us geeks here at PW the stumbling block - by reputation (not necessarily justified) - is that they have Fatar actions. I perhaps ought to disclose that I became a Dexibell owner a couple of months ago. I've had no regrets. It's a 'musical' sounding and behaving piano and that is as good a compliment as I can pay to a digital piano.

It doesn't bother me at all. I agree with you in many ways on that topic and glad that you speak your mind to keep things in perspective. Personally, I have nothing against pteq and glad it exists, for me, there is no vendetta as some seem to take it, as if we are here to just shoot it down for the sake of it. I appreciate some of its strengths but, there are also things I don't like and that hasn't changed from 5 to 6 IMO, despite improvements, but that just doesn't seem to sit well with some of the fanatics.

It's actually a shame at times with things like that we can't have civilised open discussion surrounding the topic, so usually, these days I don't even bother .. pointless.

I think there are many interesting comparisons of recordings that could be made ( and I have done myself ) that I could have posted in that pteq 6 thread that would make for interesting discussion of a real a Steinway model D ( of what I consider good neutral/balanced recordings of that instrument, and not some thin sounding shrill recordings that you get with some mic setups that just happen to match up a bit better with pteq). I have heard a few in the flesh too, as well as having played a few model Os too briefly, what a joy !, but I just couldn't be bothered going there, the discussions pretty much always end up the same way.

Sorry for the OT ... I needed to get that off my chest ... back to Dexibell

Dexibell seems to be doing some things that pianists have been asking for. Lots of sample memory, no loops...I don't see why anyone shouldn't be supportive of a new player actually attempting to cater to users' desires.

I agree the Fatar action is probably a barrier to some customers who are more active online, but to me it illustrates how hard this particular aspect of DP hardware design is, for so many manufacturers. The design, multiple materials, the moving parts, the R&D that has to go into it...without a turnkey solution it probably wouldn't be feasible for a lot of startups or smaller manufacturers.

ESS, really eager to hear your impressions of the Dexibell, and how you came to choose it for your next DP. I've yet to see one in the flesh.

I think you are right on all counts.

Fatar gets some bad press. I had a horror story many years ago with a Fatar action on a Kurzweil piano. Very poorly made action with some sort of adhesive everywhere causing hammer weights to stick. Terrible thing. But I think they have tried hard to improve quality and playability. They are not at the cutting edge, even with their best action (TP40 Wood in my opinion) but their better actions are very playable. If you were to play back to back with a GF2 equipped Kawai there is no comparison; the Kawai wins hands down. That almost doesn't need saying I guess. But in isolation I think you have to ask yourself, "can I express what I want in a musical sense with this action?" Personally I think that you can on the better Fatar actions.

The Dexibell story is a longish one for me. I had been intrigued from the start. Their piano sound is nice. Mellow but responsive. I played one in the very early days at Stourbridge Music Centre in England and was unsure what to think. I sometimes have that experience that I am a bit nonplussed and then the experience settles on my mind over the next days or weeks. I kept thinking about it so went to play another Dexibell at a tiny little dealer in rural Norfolk. The environment wasn't great to be honest so I parked that experience in the back of my mind and gave it some more thought.

In the end I thought; "what the heck, you only live once". I was after another piano to compliment my Kawai CS11 (which I still love to bits and which is a prime example of 'you get what you pay for'). I then found a deal on a floor model Dexibell P7 (stagey type but with built in speakers) at the second dealer I had visited. That became mine at a decent discount. It's good. That's a personal view of course. There's downsides (as there is with every product) but the main impression it always leaves me with is that it is a nice musical instrument. I would encourage anyone to try one out if they get a chance. I'm not saying it's a game changer but it has a tonality and character that could be very appealing. And they have tried hard to move things on a little bit. Much longer samples combined with modelling. Soundfont compatibility, Bluetooth audio streaming (which has become quite common now but I think they were pretty much first with that feature), regular updates, 24 bit audio etc.

I could've bought the S7 instead (which was also a floor model available at the same dealer) and in hindsight I think that might have been a better fit for me. I only say that because the S7 has the Fatar TP40 action and the P7 has Fatar TP100. TP40 is better. I was unsure about that at first but it is certainly better. That said, the P7 with 35 watts per channel onboard amplification/speakers and 88 hammer weighted keys is only about 14kg, which is amazing in my opinion. The S7 with no speakers is 17.5kg. All of that extra weight must be in the action.

Build quality and user interface are both excellent on both the P series and S series. Check them out if you get a chance. I understand they may be in Sam Ash and Musicians Friend and Kraft etc in the USA at some point soon. I think the module looks very promising, assuming it is sensibly priced. I think they are doing some good stuff.

Dexibell also has the X MURE auto accompaniment app (for supported mobile devices). It's completely audio based as opposed to using a General Midi sound set. (Not revolutionary anymore, but a feature anyway.)

So the international director of sales for Dexibell, used to be my Roland rep when i was working retail in the UK.

I reached out to him recently to find out where I could try one in the Vancouver area, and the he advised that the North America Sales Manager (a former colleague at Roland) was going to announce a Vancouver area retailer soon.

I know much of the sales, engineering staff management for Dexibell from my time with Roland. Quality guys, that will build a quality instrument. I am excited to have a good go at one of these pianos.

Jay

Interesting that the user can create and upload sounds in the SF2 format. I can imagine someone updating one of the few remaining SF2 creators with a more modern interface. Oddly, Dexibell doesn't, for now, offer any additional piano sounds on their site. All of the downloads are for other instruments such as organs and string instruments. If they want to compete with the Nord, they will need to develop new pianos or license them from other developers, I suspect.

No but the last software update a month or so ago included a new piano preset (‘Vivo Live’). They seem very ready to keep it current. The UK brand manager tells me they are very receptive to feedback.

It would be nice, but lots of folks compete with Nord and don't have additional downloadable pianos. These have their own advantages, too. The Nord Piano 3 is $3k. The Dexibell S7 is $1800, and has some things the Nord Piano does not, like pitch/mod wheels and 4-zone MIDI control functions. And the one piano sample it has is much larger than any Nord piano sample (no looping).

There will be new piano sounds, but they talk about "quality", so I wonder if it's just one of the already existing pianos, but as a larger sample. Anyway, more sounds coming in the followings couple of months.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCf-A0K3XM8&feature=youtu.be&t=11m11s)

Anotherscott: I assume you mean the one *grand* sample - the S7 has a separate upright sample, from memory - yes?

Greg

It has four variations of the main piano sample; Vivo Grand, Vivo Live, Classic Grand and Pop Piano. There's a pretty big difference between the extremes (Classic - mellow and Pop - bright) but they are all very useable. As you say there is also a very good upright piano and also a heritage type of piano which is a sample of a Pleyel Grand actually played by Chopin from the 1850s. All have the long samples and various modelled resonances.

Will be interesting to hear the 'Platinum' versions to be released in due course...


New video just gone up on YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgoHScxEx7c

Assuming we're thinking about the same guy, he's a really nice chap, and very passionate about the instruments.

Cheers,
James
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