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 Re: Shopping for an Avant Grand
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Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,677
2000 Post Club Member
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2000 Post Club Member
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,677 |
Welcome back mac. PW is not the same without you. Pianoteq sales went up for the last few days... 😀 LOL, good one. 
Me on YouTubeCasio PX-5S. Garritan CFX, Production Grand 2 Gold, Concert Grand LE, AcousticSamples C7, NI Giant, Sampletekk White Grand, Choc. Audio Steinbach, and a few more. Kontakt 5. Reaper.
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Re: Shopping for an Avant Grand
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,356
1000 Post Club Member
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1000 Post Club Member
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,356 |
Welcome back mac. PW is not the same without you. Pianoteq sales went up for the last few days... 😀 Hey don't pick on my beloved PianoTeq. Wait, isn't the saying you pick on the ones you love. So in that case MacMacMac must really LOVE PianoTeq 
All these years playing and I still consider myself a novice.
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Re: Shopping for an Avant Grand
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Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 5,158
5000 Post Club Member
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5000 Post Club Member
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 5,158 |
Welcome back, Mac! It feels like it's been forever. Huge congrats on the new house, that's momentous! It must make your pending retirement suddenly feel all the more real, doesn't it? I'm sure all of the N1X owners can jump in and tell you, but if you like the N3X, the N1X should be almost the same (save the ivorite key finish and damper pedal feel); you get the same action, the same keystick length, the same binaural audio, and less than half the cost. Hopefully you can find one in person to try out. You know I'm going to +1 playing back to back against the Novus. I did the same and came out on the other side of the tunnel, but I'm glad I had the chance to try all the options. Also, are you dead set on a digital piano? You're retiring, you don't have young kids with nap times, you (hopefully) won't have neighbors sharing walls. What about nice acoustic grand to really ring in that well-deserved retirement?
Yamaha P-85, P-105, CP50, Kawai MP11 || Kawai NV-10
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 Re: Shopping for an Avant Grand
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Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 45
Full Member
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Full Member
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 45 |
But of the two Kawai shops, one is around sixty miles away to the southeast, and it's a small shop. The other is 100 miles west. But it's a big shop. In a nice neighborhood. So it's a more attractive place to pay a visit. Wifey would be more likely to tag along on that trip ... assuming there's the prospect of fine dining in the area. Happy shopping then! Do keep us posted ! Also, are you dead set on a digital piano? You're retiring, you don't have young kids with nap times, you (hopefully) won't have neighbors sharing walls. What about nice acoustic grand to really ring in that well-deserved retirement? Interested in the answer here too! Although I think hybrids are very nice instruments, if I can afford to live in a house I'd try to go the acoustic grand way 🤔.
I post piano stuff on my instagram page --> https://www.instagram.com/marchelune I own an old Roland FP-4, looking for a hybrid piano to upgrade to! Current work: Beethoven's Sonata No. 17 ( Der Sturm) Mv. III.
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Re: Shopping for an Avant Grand
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Joined: May 2020
Posts: 221
Full Member
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Full Member
Joined: May 2020
Posts: 221 |
Also, are you dead set on a digital piano? You're retiring, you don't have young kids with nap times, you (hopefully) won't have neighbors sharing walls. What about nice acoustic grand to really ring in that well-deserved retirement? Maybe he needs the best of all worlds: a CyberGene Special! Hooked up to Pianoteq, of course.
Previous owner of a Yahama P-120 - now has new life with a student
New owner of a Kawai CA79 (and love it!)
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Re: Shopping for an Avant Grand
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Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 158
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Full Member
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 158 |
Welcome back, Mac. PW is not the same without you!
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Re: Shopping for an Avant Grand
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 12,966
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
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OP
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 12,966 |
Nice remark!:) Welcome back mac. PW is not the same without you. Pianoteq sales went up for the last few days... 😀 I needed a laugh. That's now been taken care of.
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Re: Shopping for an Avant Grand
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 12,966
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
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OP
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 12,966 |
To those of you suggesting an acoustic piano ... yes, that's a good thought. It did not occur to me at all.
But after hearing that N3X I begin to wonder whether that's close enough!
If the N1X is mostly the same (via headphones) I won't need VSTs anymore. That CFX binaural was stupendous.
But the cost of a proper acoustic? The budget is already having fits.
I'll be writing a check for just under six-figures for the house down payment plus costs.
Plus around $15,000 for the movers.
And another $10,000 for some renovations. Maybe $15,000.
So I'll be groaning when it comes to spending yet another $7000-ish on an N1X, or perhaps more for the NV10.
My bank accounts are already crying in anticipation.
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Re: Shopping for an Avant Grand
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Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 27
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Full Member
Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 27 |
Mac, all this talk of Wexford, Raleigh, and even Wisconsin have me chuckling. I am originally from the Pittsburgh area (not too far from Wexford), but now live in Wisconsin. To top it all off, my mother currently lives near Raleigh (Chapel Hill), but is moving back to suburban Pittsburgh, and I'm driving her (she is blind) all the way next week! LOL!
Such a small world. Good luck with the piano search! I got my N1X from Pianoforte in Chicago early this year. I love it every single day. I had also tried the N3X, and I agree with the others that I got 95% of the N3X for just 50% of the cost. Great deal on a very fine instrument.
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Re: Shopping for an Avant Grand
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Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 2,691
2000 Post Club Member
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2000 Post Club Member
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 2,691 |
I won't need VSTs anymore. That CFX binaural was stupendous. That is a significant savings in cost and time. But even CyberGene moved back to the dark side. It will be interesting to see if you have different view of your VIs when connected to the N1x.
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Re: Shopping for an Avant Grand
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Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 481
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Full Member
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 481 |
Welcome back Mac.
See how much you can get done when you don't spend all your time in the forum???
May will be here before you know it!
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Re: Shopping for an Avant Grand
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 12,966
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
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OP
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 12,966 |
@djvu: Thanks. But the plan is changing. It won't be May. More like December or January.
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Re: Shopping for an Avant Grand
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Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 481
Full Member
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Full Member
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 481 |
Do you mean in 3-4 months or a year after that?
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Re: Shopping for an Avant Grand
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 12,966
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
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OP
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 12,966 |
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Re: Shopping for an Avant Grand
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Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 866
500 Post Club Member
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500 Post Club Member
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 866 |
Congrats on the new home! Big move! That's a sleazy dealership trying to sell the N3X for $20k -- even with PianoBuyer's famously inflated estimates, it comes in at $18.8k. They are making the most of the supply issues. Might be worth taking the risk and shipping one across state lines. Take a look at the GB1K and GL10 at least. Hopefully, the N1X comes in at a good price. Here's some relevant advice quoted from Pete14, you might want to keep in a back pocket: I’d recommend ‘blending’ Pianoteq (Steingraeber) with the N1X’s on-board CFX. It works very well for me (I also enjoy CFX solo).
I go into Pianoteq Pro and work on matching volume levels and note tuning to the CFX on a note per note basis; I do this only for the notes that sound badly out of tune (some notes match well automatically). I skip the upper-most/lower notes altogether because these notes are never played (lowest A and neighboring notes, for example). I just concentrate on the ‘usable’ registers. Also, I still like to leave some level of de-tuning because I find it makes the sound more organic (less perfect/clean).
I believe that the N1X might allow for note-per-note tuning (I’m not 100% sure), but I’m certain that it allows note-per-note volume. If note-per-note tuning is possible on the CFX (via the app) then perhaps you can perform the edits there and not on Pianoteq. As you may already know, you will need Pianoteq Pro for note-per-note edits.
I only work on volume/tuning (note per note) and maybe a little e.q. (globally). At some point I might try to fiddle with the mics on Pianoteq (positioning, etc.).
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Re: Shopping for an Avant Grand
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 12,966
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
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OP
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 12,966 |
Yes, I know that $20,000 is way high for the N3X. But note that the dealer's $20k price was just idle conversation. It could have been meant to establish a norm ... so that later (if I expressed interest to buy) he'd return with a lower asking price ... and the deal would seem sweet. Just a seller's ploy. (He doesn't know who he's dealing with.)
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Re: Shopping for an Avant Grand
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Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 28
Full Member
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Full Member
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 28 |
I picked up an NV-5 from that dealer outside Cleveland, and I had a good experience with that shop. They were making individual appointments due to COVID, which meant that I had the entire floor to myself for about 2 hours. And they have at least one Shigeru Grand on display, in case you want to test the NV-10 action against the real thing.  And yes, there's good food and shopping in the area.
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Re: Shopping for an Avant Grand
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Joined: Nov 2019
Posts: 39
Full Member
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Full Member
Joined: Nov 2019
Posts: 39 |
Lol macmacmac, welcome back. You are definitely the market expert, I believe the Costco N3x price is 15k, do you think it can be done even lower?
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Re: Shopping for an Avant Grand
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 924
500 Post Club Member
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500 Post Club Member
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 924 |
Lol macmacmac, welcome back. You are definitely the market expert, I believe the Costco N3x price is 15k, do you think it can be done even lower? In the Prices Paid thread, someone was able to get it for $13K with shipping included from a dealer in San Antonio, TX to Missouri. That was a year ago.
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Re: Shopping for an Avant Grand
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 571
500 Post Club Member
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500 Post Club Member
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 571 |
Yes if your local dealer won’t budge call around. You should easily get one with shipping < $15,000
Acoustic: Yamaha C6 with AdSilent
Digital: Yamaha N3X, Kawai VPC1 with Pianoteq
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