Nice demo! What do you think of the Korg grandstage compared to the nord piano 5 and yamaha cp88? Do you recommend this over the nord piano 5 or yamaha cp88? I'm looking for a good stage piano with hands-on easy to use playability. Most importent are the sounds and second the key action. Good to mention: In my country the korg grandstage and yamaha cp88 are both around 2000 euro's while the nord is 2800 euro's, so quit more expensive!
My pleasure! I didn't really set out to make a "review channel" it just happens, that I've gone through all these keyboards recently, and felt it would be good to share my experiences, and the sounds.
Korg GS Favorite List 001 Grandstage Piano 002 Italian Piano 046 Tine Mark I 073 Reed 200A Tremolo 096 FM EPiano Bell Pad 2 111 Clav BD 125 888 Drawbar Organ 030 Austrian Piano Bright 003 German Piano 036 Upright Piano 1 052 Tine Mark I Phaser 086 E.Grand Piano 023 Japanese Piano Dark 251 Sir-D Brass 352 Espress Lead 004 Japanese Piano 009 German Piano Mono 051 Tine Mark II Tremolo 085 German EP Duo Chorus 103 Analog Piano 4 112 Clav AC Auto Wah 157 VOX Organ 4 021 Italian Piano Dark 042 Upright Piano 2 Honky Tonk 049 Tine Dyno Chorus 076 Reed 200 Chorus Comp 106 Synth Piano Wired 2 163 Church Organ Pos / Full 1 413 Vibraphone 2
Hi Ben, hope you're doing fine! Beautiful playing by the way :). I was just wondering if you could tell me which music piece / song you played between the minute 13:10 and 13:30 please? Totally loved it!
Thanks for the compliment, I appreciate it. What I played in the time slot as well as nearly everything else I play is 99% improvised on the spot. I say 99 because I’m sure we all have music we’ve heard before deep into our playing….though in this case, I made an effort to not let that come through in the playing.
Oooooooh! Lovely playing! And, Wow, these are as good as my Roland. This company has come a long way since I tried one of their digital pianos years ago. Now I want one as well, to go with my other. Lol
Really in doubt whether to purchase the Korg GS or Kawai MP11SE. The piano samples of the Korg sound superior but the keybed of the MP11SE is regarded as better.
I have been piano shopping for a while. Watching videos on the RD-2000 and this one. I have played the RD-2000 at a Guitar Center and like it, but I am waiting to see how this compares in sound and feel. What are you thoughts on piano sound and feel of this and the RD-2000 and which do you prefer?
I've had quite a few stage pianos in the last bit, so I think I can comment with some authority here. As far as FEEL goes, nothing beats the CP4 for me. The RD-20 the 00 is the next best for feel, and certainly the RD is the most solid feeling action, and the quietest, but the CP4 to me, falls right where I like as far as the weight and response of the keys. The RD-2000 is next, and then the Nord Piano 3 would be next. The RH3 action on the Grandstage, is an improvement over the RH3 in the Kronos 2 and SV-1, but I'm not sure what the exact differences are. The feel of the keys seems lighter, they seem quicker overall, and more solid than the SV-1 or Kronos 2, but they are still a bit soft coming down when played with some force. By that I mean that with the CP4, NP3, and RD-2000, you get a nice "thunk" that feels solid and firm as the keys are pressed with a lot of pressure. The Grandstage has more of a cushioned landing, a bit softer than I like, but not bad, and not as spongy as the Kronos 2 I had here last week. As for the SOUND, I prefer the Acoustic and Electric pianos in the Grandstage to those in the RD-2000, but you might have a different opinion. The V-Piano delivered pianos sounds in the RD-2000 were never impressive to me, and just never played like the real thing. The SuperNATURAL pianos in the RD-2000 are good, basically a variation on the same sample set, whereas in the Nord Piano 3 and the Grandstage, you get actual different pianos. The RD-2000 is an excellent board and easily beats most anything for the features and amount of sounds, not to mention build quality and MIDI control options. I'd like the RD-2000 action on the Gerandstage, then I'd really be happy, or better yet, the CP4 action. If you just want a stage piano with very few editing options that does pianos and electric pianos well, but has great sounds in other categories, the Grandstage is a good option. If you don't need organ sounds, the CP4 is an even better option. The RD-2000 is jammed full of sounds, and has a killer action and control set, and it is simple to use. I think it comes down to sound and how much adjustment you like to be able to do. Think of the RD as a stage piano that has a ton of adjustment options, and think of the Grandstage as a preset machine that has VERY minimal tweaking options, unless they release an editor for it.
I owned an RD-300SX for over 10 years, and just sold it recently. So I was drawn to the RD-2000 especially with all the controller functions and its ability to edit. But, like you, I haven't found the pianos and especially the tonewheel organs to be impressive in that board. I do really like the sounds I've heard in different videos of the Grandstage, but I'm having a hard time with the idea of sacrificing some feel and editable parameters for the sound. I also really love the sounds from Nord, but it's whole lot more than I can afford. Especially because I'd have to buy a Stage to get the great tonewheel and synth section sounds. I've thought about going all computer based, since I use Mainstage some anyways, but I don't like the idea of relying on my computer for everything, especially if I'm playing live. I'll have to try the CP4. I haven't been much of a Yamaha fan, mostly because their acoustic piano sounds in their boards do not branch outside of their own, which their grands are not bad, but I like the sound of other brands as well. Plus I'd like to have a nice upright piano sound as well. I imagine I'll probably end up with the RD-2000 and mix the internal sounds with software based, but I think I'm going to have to try the CP4 and Grandstage before I make my final decision. Thank you for your help!
I don't know how the action compares, but prefer the Grand Stage piano sound to RD 20. It's closer to the older Roland models such as the HP 307 which I have.
Oh man brother. So wish you could do the demo of the 2.0 update. Too bad. Favorite demo guy on the RU-vid for keys. Besides Woody from piano shack. That guy is just hilarious.
Sounds pretty wonderful to me. All the main six acoustics are very present and real sounding and on first listening I heard almost nothing that would really annoy me about any of the principle sounds. What are your first thoughts about it Ben?
Yes, I find RH3 a bit over-damped at the bottom of the keystroke, almost 'squishy'. But if it sounds great I could live with that and I also like that the RH3 seems quiet when I've tried it before. The pianos really sound excellent...possibly the best on a hardware DP I've yet heard. Not quite the warts-and-all character of Nord but nice variety and what sounds like wonderful fidelity to the source pianos. Enjoy it and keep us updated!
Hi Ben, my name is AndyNice to meet youI am thinking of trading my pa4x for the grand stage,But shops are turning it away, as aparantlt since launch of pa4x nothing has changed within. Does the grand stage have any styles,rhythms,beats?Thanks in advance
Ben Allen that's great. Thank you It's a shame nowadays that with the money we pay for instruments like this, don't don't include some in every products to vamp up the sales. I guess I should become a sales advisor 😂 have a good Christmas 2017
Action: Something is DIFFERENT here besides just the missing aftertouch strip. The Grandstage, set without the dynamics knob turned on, and with the same velocity curve I was using on the Kronos 2 73 (number 9, the wide option) responds much better than the Kronos did. There is a feeling of lightness pressing into the keys, and the first few minutes of playing the Grandstage, made me feel like it was going to be too lightly weighted, but within an hour, that wore off and I was really warming up to it. I think Korg is likely using a different revision of the RH3 in the Grandstage. The general impression I get is that the whole keybed is just more solid and tight than the Kronos 2 73 I had for a few days. Again, this is with no adjustments of the dynamics knob. I like the response and feel of the Grandstage better than the Kronos 2 73, and MUCH better than the SV-1 we have at church. Something else that feels slightly different, is the gradation of the different zones. At least to me, it feels like there is a distinct difference in the upper and lower registers, something I didn't really notice on the Kronos. Action compared to the CP4, Nord Piano 3, and RD-2000/800. The CP4 is still the fastest and best to respond to quick movements. The Nord Piano 3 does very well in this regard as well, and the RD-2000, is a better feeling action, but not quite as quick as those two. The Grandstage RH3, while not as solid as the CP4 or Nord Piano 3, is not the typical RH3, and that is a good thing. The key travel seems natural, and even though this is a double sensor action, it responds quite well and is snappy, more so than the Kronos 2 73 I just returned. The RH3 feels smooth, and doesn't bottom out too hard. I don't get any much of a feeling sponginess or softness from the RH3. I've messed with the dynamics knob, but I tend to leave it basically the same as if it were off.
@@benallen5967 MY Korg SV-1 keybeds are a mess, the E in every octave is cklicking from the second day on...I had three SV1 in 10 years...I hope they changed something inside
Ben Allen Well, the most important thing for me is the feeling of the keys and piano sounds, so which piano do you recommend, between the Korg Grandstage or the Yamaha CP4, Thank you.
If I had to say which current keyboard has the best sound and feel combination (mind you, some have better sounds, others better feel) it would be the Korg Grandstage. The variety and quality of piano sounds is unmatched at this time. I say that as someone who has access to EVERY keyboard you can think of.
Ben Allen better piano sound than Nord? Also, is there any kind of module for the grand stage so you don’t need to buy the full keyboard for the sound?
GS seems to have been discontinued. I don’t have great faith in the keyboard action on the SV2, though the sounds are excellent. I would go Yamaha CP88, or if you are an organ person, YC88. That’s my current personal board. Korg needs to do something to compete with those two. You could say the Vox stuff does that- but the action isn’t 88 weighted.
As I understand it, the SGX-2 engine is primarily sample based, but uses some modeling for things like damper resonance (the Grandstage has no Sympathetic String Resonance).
MolochChronicles I was very happy with the Kronos actually! The versatility and amount of adjustment available is fantastic! Mine had a bad key, so I thought I would go the Grandstage route. The Italian piano and Upright in the Grandstage are really nice, and the response and feel of the RH3 action on the Grandstage is a lot better to me. Something is different about the action on the Grandstage as opposed to the Kronos 2 73, and not just after touch. This action plays and feels better to me, even without turning on the dynamics knob. Some things are missing here though, for example string resonance.
Ben Allen nice to know that both RH3 keybeds actually are different.. i like the Kronos 88 RH3 keybed for its verstallity as a piano/organ/synth hybrid, which has different requirements then a typical stagepiano keybed ...
I agree with you, as an all around for all kinds of sounds action, the RH3 is great on the Kronos, and if I hadn't had one key with an issue on the Kronos 2 73 I had, I would have kept it. The Italian and Upright pianos in the Grandstage though, are pretty killer.
Ranaivotsimba Ravo all the sounds you hear are exactly as the come on the keyboard (except the new update adds strong resonance) so, the reverb setting is different for each sound, but I did not adjust any of them. Most are set about 1/3 of the way up on stage reverb.
I sat and played this instrument for several hours at Sweetwater last week. My thoughts? - Sounds fantastic - Controls are intuitive and easy to use - Action needs updating. It's good, but competing instruments from Kawai, Yamaha, Roland, and......ugh...Casio, run circles around it. Wake up, Korg. - Overpriced - and the real reason I didn't buy it. $2499? Really? Did Korg even look at the existing competition before they put this on the market? Get rid of the included stand that nobody wants and lower the price. And while we're at it, the LED logo on the front that changes color is cool, but ridiculous.
I agree with your assessment for the most part. The action, while feeling slightly different than the same RH3 on the SV-1 and Kronos, is still not in the league of the CP4, Nord Piano 3, or RD-2000. I. have the stand in my kitchen right now. It looks really cool, and it is solid, but it is just really wide and not ideal for my studio set up at home. The logo is fun, but silly.
The version of RH3 on this is actually quite good. It feels much tighter than on the Kronos. But yes, Korg needs to step up and come up with something better in 2019 or they will lose a lot of customers to Roland, Kawai, Yamaha and even Casio.
@@jmkeybass760 I guess you mean the weight. And I agree that the keybeds of Nords are ok at best. But they are playable and quite light. There are very few playable light keybeds out there.
