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I have read with interest the passion for acoustic pianos and high end digital pianos alike. I respect everyone's opinions and understand that nothing will ever replace the feel and nuances of a real live grand. And this is fine for those who are or have dreams of becoming a true concert pianist or stress over the ability to move from one piano to another with little difficulty.

The reality is that most people have no ambitions of ever becoming a concert pianist and let's face it, most of us have difficulty justifying the cost of a new or even used grand for what we want to do. Especially those just starting out who don't know if they will stick with it a year or two down the road.

The high-end digitals such as the Clavinovas are really great as well, but still pretty pricey. The intermediate and low in digitals are pretty darn good but more of an engineering compromise than their bigger brothers.

So that is how I see it. Passion aside, I think the best bet for me is to go with a PC based system and a good keyboard. I am good with computers and I have several Windows based systems that are more than powerful enough to run what is necessary. I also have a decent speaker and amp system that will fit in nicely.

With that said, what keyboard would you buy today to go with this type of system? I like the FP7 a great deal but it may be more than is necessary for a PC based system. I also like the YPG625 but for a PC based system it has more bells and whistles that are not necessary. Same for the RD700SX. Your thoughts on this part of the question are appreciated.

OK now where I am really ignorant - software. When I search on "midi sequencer software" I get tons of hits. It seams there are dozens if not hundreds of shareware sequencers available and then the commercial ones on top of those. Can someone point me to some reviews or give me their own recommendations for sequencers and then virtual instruments?

Or maybe I should put it this way, if you were to build a new system for a beginner to intermediate user, PC itself aside, how would you equip it as far as keyboard, sound card, and software is concerned?

I'll dive in on the keyboard side of the equation; If I were building a dedicated computer based system, I'd go with an upper-end controller keyboard rather than a DP. CME, Novation, StudioLogic, Yamaha, others.

On the software side, I'm a Cubase and Sibelius guy.

This will be an interesting one to watch!

Alden

If I was to take this option, I would use a KAWAI MP8II with a Native Instruments virtual piano.

In terms of PC setup, any Core2 Duo-based system, running with 2gb or ram, running either MacOS X or Windows XP (or both).

Kind regards,
James
x

I have no experience with software pianos,
but they're intriguing, and I've often made
thought experiments of what I would do
to set one up. I would get the least expensive
controller keyboard, that is, one of those
88-key weighted boards that make no sound
and are specifically designed to be used
with a computer. These run around $400-500.
Then I'd get the least expensive virtual
piano, which would be around $150-300.
Then I'd get a custom-built computer online
with the fastest processor and a brobdinagian
amount of RAM, like 4 GB or more. These
can apparently be gotten for around $1000-
1500. I would then dump the Vista operating
system and install an older one like
Windows 98, which will allow the computer
to run like a supercomputer. So, in theory
at least, for as little as $1550 you could
have something that plays like a concert grand.

All you need for a decent software based piano is a good weighted 88-key MIDI controller, a relatively new PC (I'm running an Athlon 3200 with 1GB Ram) with a half decent ASIO soundcard (M-Audio do some excellent cheap ones) and a copy of Truepianos.

Truepianos has very low latency, has very low system requirements and being modelled rather than sampled, is vastly more responsive to differing playing styles. In my opinion it also sounds much better than a sampled piano, but I've yet to try out the higher end ones. Better yet, it's only £70 ($140 or so). You also get 1 years worth of updates. You can download a free trial from their website (45 days, 1 modelled piano, no other limits).

As soon as you go into the realms of high-end sampled pianos you need a hefty amount of RAM and a fast dedicated hard-disk.

Dave

Windows98

Stay away, very very far away from 98 in anything modern. Heck, can it even address 4GB RAM or >30GB HD? Either way, going with such an old OS will seriously compromise which software packages you can use not to mention other hardware niceties. XP is the way to go. Though I myself only upgraded to XP about a year or so ago (from Win2K), the increased hardware support in XP is essential to happily operating any modern computer. Or get yourself a nice MacPro (or maxed out iMac Core Duo).

It's not entirely modeled, but a combination of sampling and modeling. But it's a nice program indeed.

The most important question is application: what are you going to use this piano/system for?

Best program for a real grand is THE GRAND 2, of STEINBERG. It´s really good. Better than most digital pianos and clavinovas. Great engineering. The problem with midi controllers though is the real control. It´s hard to have a good control over the sound. I have an M Audio pro 88 full weighted keyboard controller, but I have few control over it, since the dynamics don´t work right in it.
I need another instrument, but honestly I don´t know whether to get a digi piano or another controller.

I am an adult beginner as far as the piano is concerned so it will be for learning and practice and just individual and family enjoyment. Later I might try my hand at composing but I doubt it, I am not that musically inclined. I don't plan on working any gigs so portability is not an issue. I have worked in IT for a long time and am currently teaching, so the technical aspects of computer generated music are appealing as well. Besides, all DPs are just computers, anyway, the biggest difference between a DP and a PC based computer system is that a DP doesn't give us access to have access to the heart of the system.

What about considering a Roland FP4 as your keyboard? Nice fast action, responsive, and very resonably priced.