Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards yamaha reface cp, anyone?

Are there opinions on the YAMAHA REFACE CP out there? Anyone? I consider getting one, after seeing this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dru8pHObCa0 and this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqV5iwnknW0

FWIW (these opinions are based on a fairly short test play months ago, and pre-existing biases):

1. The sound generator is remarkably good -- limited, but really nice within those limits.

2. The mini-key action is good, within the mini-key universe. It is way worse than a full-size-key action. If you haven't tried it, you should find one, and develop your own opinion.

3. 37 keys is not enough for serious playing. For example, the fugue in the first video is severely limited in its pitch range -- the voices all seem to run into one another. 37 keys is just enough (for example) to cover the pitch range of a mixed choir.

If you want to drive the Reface CP sound generator from another MIDI keyboard, I think it would be very nice.

What really bothered me about the "Reface" series is that you'd want to have them _all_ -- and that's not a cheap proposition. (For FM fans, the Reface FM uses 4-operator voices; the DX7 used 6-operator voices.)

If I owned one, I wouldn't take it to the beach. Salt and sand can be really nasty!<g>

I thought I started a thread about it, but I can't find it. Maybe my faulty memory, maybe bad search criteria.

The first video is a beautiful example of a skilled musician making optimum use of a limited instrument, IMHO.

Thank you!
I think i'd be ok with just this one..the electric piano sounds..!

Then it's a decent purchase. It looks like a toy, but it's got nice sounds.

I launched these for Yamaha back in 2015. Great Rhodes sound and effects, glitched s little when playing from the keyboard but not over midi (velocity mapping sometimes got a bit out of control when playing the ep’s hard). I did several reface vids for absolute music and GAK. Great fro the odd bit of noodling or as a tone module

Hi.
I am thinking about Reface CP for travelling and to amplify by portable speaker Bose Soundlink mini 2.
Just one doubt - Plugging Bose speaker to my Roland FP 30, I have noticeable latency. Will I have latency as well, plugging Bose to the Reface CP?

Yes, you will have noticeable latency if you stream the audio wirelessly via Bluetooth. This will happen with all Bluetooth speakers/headphones using BT 4.x. Even the latest version of BT, version 5, was mainly about improving transmission speed, not audio latency. We have to wait for a new BT specification and new hardware.

Anyway, if you use an audio cable connect to 3.5mm aux input of the Soundlink you should experience no latency. Edit: this seems to be wrong. The are reports about the Bose Soundlink mini 2 introducing latency due to DSP even when connected via cable.

Bose sound link mini ii is Bluetooth, isn't it? You will always get long latency with Bluetooth (unless they develop a pro standard). But speakers like that, while extremely useful just for listening,, is virtually useless for playing music or any other time-critical application.

Edit: I've just noticed you said 'plugging into Bose speakers'. Are you using the jack cable link? In that case I don't know why you'd have latency unless it's DSP inside the speaker......

Thanks for responses guys.
First of all, little correct - using my Bose, I use a cable only and latency issue always.
Ok, if this kind of speaker is not useful for playing, which portable speakers do you recommend for playing? The most important - small size.

Seems most speakers of the size and type you're after are Bluetooth. However, the ones below are quite small and there are hundreds of offers of this type. Not quite as small as the Bose Soundlink Mini II, which I have, and really recommend for anything except playing music.

I can't give a definite personal recommendation, but there are plenty of options from known brands such as Logitech and Polk.

https://www.amazon.com/Dual-Electro...1&sr=1-3&keywords=Wired+speakers

The smallest I've found that I've liked is the Klipsch KMC3. I've heard some good reports about the iLoud, which distorted too easily for me, but maybe mine was defective, since others seem to have had good experience with it. If you can do with less volume, the Altec IMT620 was nice, I preferred it to the newer IMT630. For tiny (and presumably not so much volume), I read a report of surprisingly good results with a JBL Charge 2.

Wouldn't there be similar latency problems to those mentioned in the OP with the Klipsch kmc33 and JBL charge?

I had no problem with the KMC3, and the person using the JBL had no problem with it. Maybe their DSP latency is less due to the electronics they're using, or just because they don't do as much sonic manipulation as Bose...? There's also the possibility that something could have a small amount of latency that is enough to bother some people but not others. So I don't want to swear there's no latency to these others, just because some people have used them and not noticed any.

I suspect that may well be the case - it's one of the things that make audiophiles despise Bose so much (and rarely have seen such venom outside the SJW / alt-right wars).

As far as I'm concerned, I'm perfectly happy for Bose to use all the DSP they want as long as it brings home the bacon. But that, along with Bluetooth makes these Bose speakers useless for music production/playing.

Let's hope the JBL and kmc3 are ok for latency - I'm assuming you're linking them up with solid cables (not BT), though.

right

I see, I will need speaker more like "amplifier" kind than "portable". In addition, most of these portable speakers are equipped on BT system which is completely useless for piano.
For now I found couple of quite small aplifiers (not small enough for me) but I am not sure they are well enough for piano Reface CP. Most of them are used by guitarists:
https://www.thomann.de/gb/roland_cube_lt_bk_cube_lite.htm
https://www.thomann.de/gb/roland_mobile_cube.htm
https://www.thomann.de/gb/roland_micro_cube_gx.htm
What do you think? These amps would be good enough for piano/EP sounds or you know something much better suited for piano/EP sounds especially smaller dimenssions?

I tried the Mobile Cube once, it was awful. I think the stuff I mentioned is probably better than any of that Roland stuff. Look for something with woofers and tweeters as opposed to merely single "full range" speakers. Wattage figures don't tell you much, but when they differ by a factor of 10, that's probably significant. ;-) Look for something designed for full range music/PA use, not something designed for guitar, where wide/flat response isn't even a design goal.

I am a bit worry about using Bluetooth speakers which can to issue latency.
Any example of strictly music amplifier for keyboards (small dimensions) ?

Any bluetooth speaker is fine if it has a line input you can use, because then it bypasses the bluetooth function entirely anyway, so it's not doing any harm.

If is really like you mention, why my Bose Soundlink mini 2 plugged by 3,5mm jack cable to the FP30 issue latency?