Yamaha P-70 piano demo

[RockPianoman]

It may sound crazy but as far as fully weighted keys goes, I prefer the keys on my Yamaha P-70 piano to real Yamaha pianos (especially when sliding up or down the keys with one

finger) I find it very hard to slide up or down the keys on a real Yamaha piano compared to my P-70......I have played real Yamaha pianos at the college, the mall and West music for years and this is always the case.....I play the Yamaha baby grand at Von Maur a lot and I ALWAYS find it much more enjoyable to play my P-70 when I get home as far as the action and feel and response......naturally the real piano sounds better.....now when I play even the most expensive pianos I'm extremely aware of how the action isn't the same on all the keys and the action in general just seems flawed and uneven.....I know this sounds crazy but it's true for me (my opinion only)......the action on my P-70 is absolutely perfect on every key.....the current version of my P-70 is the P-35.....what's even better is they sell new for $450 with free shipping and they weigh 25 pounds ....try one out....I'd have to say the piano sound on these is better than any synth and better than the PLG-150 AP too......the piano sound on the Yamaha NP-30 is almost identical but those have 76 unweighted keys....the Yamaha NP-31 is the current model.....I have an NP-30 also....I think the NP-31 is almost the same as the NP-30 but may have lost a feature or two that the NP-30 has....the less expensive models of the NP-31 (which have fewer keys) have no MIDI and only USB like the P-105 does also...no MIDI is a dealbreaker to me....

 

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/P35B/

 

When I play my P-70, I sometimes I close my eyes and I forget I'm playing an electronic instrument.....that says a lot....the keys on the P-70 / P-35 are also

much more quiet than the weighted keys on all the Motif 8 models and the P-200.....I had a Yamaha P-200 once and the keys, although different are more stiff, and remind me very much of my Motif 8 keys but have much stiffer action.....the piano sound on the P-200 is better sampled but I hated moving it.....it's a nightmare to move just like my Motif 8 is....that's why I sold it and I have no regrets....every time I move my P-70 it's a huge improvement...I have no regrets with the P-70's piano sound either (there isn't enough difference from the P-200 to warrant the weight and the piano sound is definitely full and not lacking at all)....the velocity on my P-70 is absolutely perfect.....much better than synth pianos.....it's perfect....

 

This is a recording of my Yamaha P-70 piano and I recorded it with my Yamaha Motif ES6.....it is a totally analog recording as the only way to direct-record the P-70 is from its' headphone jack and I used analog mastering to CD (when I try to master digitally to CD, it's never loud enough)...there was slight clipping (distortion) so I used MP3 Gain to remove it....MP3 Gain also makes MP3's the same volume for better listening without having to adjust the volume control....MP3 Gain is a free program but there are so many versions of it floating around so here is a link to give you a great version:

 

http://sourceforge.net/projects/mp3g...5.exe/download

 

MP3 Gain Instructions:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0nn43hynyw55wne/MP3%20GAIN%20INSTRUCTIONS.rtf

 

Don't judge these keyboards by how the built in speakers sound.....they are ok but not outstanding.....you can hear from the demo how good the acoustic piano sound is.....it's really exceptional for recording or playing through a good amp or PA.....for the best sound, buy two amps and listen in stereo......I always find portable bass amps to be a great value as they seem a lot more powerful than a regular amp at the same price and you're a lot less likely to blow the speaker.....two matched portable bass amps should really give you exceptional power and great sound and true stereo....

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ho44l6cs9h...-70%20Demo.mp3

 

My mom couldn't take her piano when she moved and so I set her up with weighted keys and a synthesizer and two 10" bass amps for her setup and it sounded amazing and was true stereo....we separated the amps about 10 feet apart pointed at her with her keyboard between them and the stereo image was really amazing....

 

I found out that one of my laptops made MP3's or CD's distorted because when I played MP3's or CD's on my other laptop there was no distortion.....if you are hearing distortion on this MP3 and want to hear what this really sounds like, either play this on another computer or burn this to a CD and play this on a separate CD player.....

...

On my laptop with distortion, I had to drop the Wave slider in the mixer quite a ways down until I could hear the distortion disappear. Now there is no distortion (I play my laptops through my stereo).....

 

The P-70 / P-35 / P-200 all have graded hammer action although the P-200 has the very expensive keys....graded hammer action requires more force striking

lower keys compared to top keys......it varies gradually as you move up the keyboard....

 

The Motif 8's all have balanced hammer action where every key has the same action.....

 

Yamaha pianos can naturally use on / off sustain pedals but can also use the Yamaha FC3 sustain pedal which sustains longer the farther you press it.....unfortunately Yamaha sustain pedals are plagued with annoying squeaking

so I quit using my FC3 and switched to this one which I am very happy with (I've been using this kind with all my boards

for years).....this kind also has a plastic piece that snaps on it so the sustain pedal is not so cold if you are playing barefoot.....they make different models of these....I prefer the kind with the polarity switch so they work with any board (my Korg Karma had reversed polarity than Yamaha / Roland boards but you can reverse the pedal polarity in the settings in the Karma):

 

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/KSP100/

 

I have used this kind of keyboard stand for years and have several.....the legs pull out if you want to play standing up

but I don't like playing standing up because if you use more than one sustain pedal at once you're pivoting on your heels and it's like a balancing act.....

 

If possible, since the width is also adjustable, make it so the keyboard's legs go through the stand to prevent it from sliding off.....I put four small metal legs on the bottom of my P-70 piano to go through the stand but a couple pieces of velcro is simpler.....don't use very much velcro or it will be hard to get off after a show.....you won't need very much to keep it from sliding (at my first show with my P-70 on this stand, it almost slid off a couple times).....that's when I added the four metal legs.....two hold it on the stand but four allow it to sit level on a flat surface without rocking.....it was a big job adding the legs.....it seems like I had to take out 60 or more screws to get the bottom off but I used nylon lock nuts that will never come loose and they have never come loose.....

 

One thing I really like about this stand......get a wood dowel that's large enough that it doesn't flex......spray paint it black and put it against the back legs of the stand to keep your pedals from sliding away as you play.....a 2" X 2" board works better as there is no issue with it rolling....

[1001gear]

Could be the compression/sensitivity on the electronic. Conversely, concert pianists are preoccupied - and wonderfully so, with registration, colors, blends and the stuff of magic. And prolly stores don't GAF about floor models.

[RockPianoman]

I think because I've played Yamaha digital pianos so long, and because the very nature of the digital piano allows the action and response to be more precisely controlled and each key feels exactly the same, I find myself noticing the shortcomings of the "real thing".....there's a lot more going on with a real piano than a digital and I can feel the differences in how the different keys are set up.....

 

If a real piano was meticulously set up by a real expert, I'm sure the differences I notice would be much less noticeable....I live in Iowa and probably the pianos I play here aren't given the care and careful setup they would get in a big metropolitan area like New York City, Chicago or Los Angeles...even in a big city, certain venues like Carnegie Hall would get intense care and attention where a community college wouldn't....it costs a lot to get a piano set up to a fine degree and the piano itself is already sooooo expensive and also costs vary a lot depending on WHO sets it up.....these guys can range from someone who barely knows what he's doing to the best in the business.....just moving a piano throws it all out of whack and it can't be set up only once......it needs repeated tunings and adjustments and it might even have inherent flaws, maybe even serious flaws, which is why it's here instead of somewhere prestigious......trust me, the real cream of the crop pianos are purchased before they even leave the factory....Yamaha (and every other manufacturer) know which pianos are the best so that when someone that has no issues with money needs one (or several) they have already narrowed it down and they can save them as much time as possible....by the time pianos are rolling off the assembly line, the manufacturer already knows how much they can sell each one for.....just like with guitars, no two are exactly the same where 2 Yamaha Motif XF8's with no damage are exactly the same....there's hardly any variation with Motifs or most other mass produced electronic boards....quality control doesn't allow this unless it's a real piece of crap manufacturer....even electronic boards have B stock and lower for the ones that didn't turn out quite right and these are priced and marketed accordingly....

 

A good example is the situation where parents want their kid to be a concert pianist....anyone serious about this can't buy a piece of crap piano......they have to fork out for the Steinway baby grand (a really nice one) and they have to fork out for the expensive set up required for the piano to be up to the standards demanded for this (the action on a Steinway has much quicker key return upon release which is why you don't see Yamaha pianos used for classical music)....the parents also have to keep the piano functioning at this level at all times which requires constant care.....

 

It's kinda funny how much a signature can drive a price up.....a while back I saw a Yamaha Motif 8 (the original) on Ebay for $25,000 and it sold because it had Elton John's signature on it.....I guess he played it at some show......that's an old board by now and it sold for about $2500 new in 2001.....that model didn't even have USB storage (I have one in my basement).....I bought mine new in 2002.....