Roland 300 NX was irresistable....now I need to take it back.

[BS88]

At 38 pounds, and a fairly recent price drop....I needed a replacement for my 8 year old Roland 300 SX....300 NX seemed like the obvious choice.

 

The SX has been great for gigging week to week. Plug and play! Nothing fancy....acoustic instrument illusion accomplished.

 

The NX ...surprise! the piano sound samples DEMAND STEREO. And summing stereo down to mono does not fix it. The illusion of these piano samples are non-negotiable. Stereo REQUIRED.

 

So....now I need to carry around a second amplifier to make this thing sound right?

And, in concert....what are my bandmates going to hear in the monitors?

 

The keyboard has a mono patch (I was hoping this was the answer)...but it still way below the clarity of the old SX.

 

I've tweaked and tweaked to make it better only to bring up a different issue in the sound (i.e. lighter key-touch brightens up the sample...hello digital high-end. ugh)

 

 

 

 

[BS88]

Oh...and if you want to play with Little Richard or Jerry Lee Lewis high-velocity rock and roll chops....forget it.

NX has a slug of a keybed in this regard. I like the way it feels...but it has its limits...and this is kind of a biggie for some players.

[AnotherScott]

Within that price and weight parameter, I'd say look at a Casio PX-5S. Even better with the tweaked sound set you can download for it at http://www.casiomusicforums.com/index.php?/topic/6324-px-5s-updated-all-file/ but unfortunately you won't be able to demo it in the store that way. The only other boards I'd recommend for you would be pricier than the 300NX, or heavier, or both.

 

Either way, if you wanted stereo monitoring on stage, people over at another forum seem very happy with the new version of the Spacestation, which gives you stereo out of a single box, and works over a very wide space (you don't have to be in the "sweet spot"). But it's still always good to know that you can get a mono sound you're happy with, because for FOH, mono is often best, regardless of what you've got on stage.

[BS88]

I took my Barbetta amp into the store today to check out the RD 800. 50 pounds isn't too bad. And I'll drop $2500 for something I know I'll love for 10 years. But the same sound quality problem in mono happens with the RD 800.

[AnotherScott]

If you're willing to stretch that far up in price and weight for something really good, at under $2500 and under 50 lbs, I would suggest checking out the Kawai MP7 and Yamaha CP4. Also, besides evaluating them with your Barbetta amp (which has the virtue of letting you hear them through a familiar playback system), I would also try them out with some good headphones (to hear what they sound like straight, with minimal coloration from the playback system). The boards do have mono piano patches, so you'll be able to hear them in mono even directly with stereo headphones.

[zzzxtreme]

i implore you to try CP4. apparently it has the same GH3 key-feel of Clavinova series (starting from CLP330). Warning : Once you try GH3 keys, u won't like others

[SpaceNorman]

I had the identical experience when I purchased my RD700SX a few years back. Tried it in the store with headphones ... loved it! Got it home - plugged it into my "keyboard amp" - and it sounded like ass. Took it with me for a studio thing (assuming I'd be using it as a controller while the engineers dialed in whatever sound they really wanted). They plugged it in .. using both outputs ... and sent it back to me in the headphones. When I asked what sound engine were they running me thru - I was surprised when they told me it was my RD700SX's engine. It didn't take long to realize that the instrument pretty much demanded run through a stereo setup.

 

It was time to upgrade my amp anyway - so I essentially bought myself a small PA system for my stage monitoring ... a small mixer, an amp and a pair of floor wedges. Making the move to stereo brought the RD700SX to life ... and made a big difference for the rest of rig as well. I've since moved to a pair of powered speakers and a line mixer and am happy as can be with the setup.

 

I've read all the arguments explaining why you should monitor in mono. While my eyes and head have seen it and understand the rationale - my ears ain't buying it. My ears LIKE the way my rig sounds in stereo - I'll never go back if I have a choice.

[Mmmmqac]

If you need mono from your stereo sampled instrument, instead of summing left and right (which may not be mono compatible) just use one of the channels, which is the same as having only a single microphone. In the case of piano, I would go for the right channel as it is closer to the treble end of the instrument.

[JeffLearman]

I agree wholeheartedly with Mmmmqac. Rather than sum to mono, try using just the right side output (assuming the left is the summed one). IMHO, that works better for the vast majority of stereo keyboard patches.

 

If the pianos are player-perspective, you'll lose a little on the low notes, using the Right output. If they're audience-perspective, you'll lose a bit on the higher notes, in which case I'd use the Left output but put a 1/4" plug (connected to nothing) in the right output.

 

I nearly always play stereo, but often the PA is mono, so I've carefully examined the options. With my trusty old Ensoniq MR76, the Right output is the "right" one. I now have a CP4 and haven't yet compared single-sided to mono-summed. Fortunately the CP4 has built-in mono piano sample maps, so I'd mostly be checking out all the other sounds I use. I'll be surprised if I find that summed is better than single-sided.

 

For example, I particularly like light stereo chorus effects on things like EPs. Summing to mono I get too much coloration. Taking one side only, it's fine.