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Fatar Studiologic SL-990 Pro vs. Fatar Studiologic SL-990 XP


onlyone-jc

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Hi.

 

I was just wondering what you all thought of these keyboards?

 

I'm considering purchasing one of the two, but what are the main differences between them? What would I be limited with using one keyboard, that I wouldn't be with the other?

 

Preferably, I'd like to be able to use a two or three pedal expression pedal, so that I can both damp and sustain sounds. Will any of these keyboards allow me to do this? Or, are both or only one capable of doing this?

 

Also, are there any other alternatives to these out there, in and around the same price bracket?

 

Thanks,

onlyone-jc.

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I used to own the SL-990XP and it was a fantastic feeling board. If you just want a board with top notch key action I don't think you could go wrong with either one of them.

However its MIDI Control capabilities leaves much to be desired.

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Hi.

 

Thanks for your reply, Eric.

 

Yeah, I simply want this as a good set of master keys. Did you use an expression pedal with your SL-990, at all? If so, do you know which pedals are compatible with it? And, maybe what the difference is between open and closed types?

 

Thank you,

onlyone-jc.

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I think the current studiologic website is here

That other one's a bit mixed up & out of date.

 

From what I gather, the extra money on the XP gets you the Fatar grand touch action and preset memories. The grand touch action is graded I think, this means that the lower notes are heavier than the higher notes as per on a real piano. Also the XP gives you the preset memories where you can store particular midi set-ups to recall later.

 

I should think the graded action will only really matter to you if you are used to playing acoustic pianos as it adds that extra little bit of realism. The extra presets can be handy if you need to set up patches to respond in different ways, ie your main piano patch has a certain velocity response and then your secondary electric piano patch has a different velocity response & also maybe is transposed. The manuals are pretty sketchy on the features so I think you may have to do a little working out yourself.

 

I was playing on the SL-990 Pro today and it is a great multi-purpose piano controller. It may seem to have slightly light keys but this imo is better to play a number of different sounds like acoustic pianos, electric pianos and other keyboard instruments. I've not got my hands on a SL-990 XP so I can't comment on that one.

 

With regards to the pedals, if you go to the newer site you'll see they only list four piano style pedals, all of which should be compatible with both the XP and the pro but it may be worth dropping studiologic an e-mail to make sure as i'm not sure of the functionality of the third pedal on the VFP3.

 

Competing products could be seen to be the M-Audio Keystation 88 and the CME UF8 but in my limited experience I have found the Fatar/Studiologic to be a better key action although its been a while since I tested them side by side.

 

 

Hope this helps jc, I may well be purchasing the 990-XP myself soon for use as a portable practice/gigging board but I need to find out how different the action is from the pro as I need to play clavinet sounds on it aswell as acoustic/electric pianos.

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Hi.

 

Thank you for such an informative reply, kayvon! I really appreciate it!

 

I guess the only way of justifying whether or not the XP is worth the extra money, is to try it out; something easier said than done I suppose, in terms of finding somewhere that demos it!

 

Also, thank you for the link to the more current Studiologic/Fatar website!

 

Thank you,

onlyone-jc.

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No worries, as I say i'd been playing on one today so I'm only too happy to talk about it.

 

Keyboard action is in itself a bit of a holy grail and i've found that you need different actions for different jobs. I've also found that just because something feels expensive to the touch doesn't mean it's best suited to the job.

 

My latest want is to start making white keys out of something frictionless like ivory again. Obviously we couldn't use ivory so how about something like animal bone? Camel bone should work. This was all brought about by seeing a video of Art Tatum where he does white note glissandos in fourths! I couldn't believe it when I saw it and it's quite hard on glossy keys so something like animal bone would be perfect and not too inhumane as long as the animal was being killed anyway.

 

Anyway, I shall stop gassing now before I make myself out to be a complete keyboard weirdo geek.

Have fun getting your new board. :thu:

Pete

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Hi.

 

Thanks for your reply, Allerian!

 

I don't think that would be much of an issue for me, since it can obviously be worked around.

 

Have you used any of the expression pedals with your SL-990 Pro, at all (concerning the above issues)? I'm going to contact Fatar/Studiologic tomorrow, but if you've got an opinion, then I'd be glad to hear it!

 

Thank you,

onlyone-jc.

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To be perfectly honest about my skill level, I'm an "octave in my left hand, triad in my right" kind of player, so I can't speak to any of the more advanced kind of pedals. I use a standard piano-style sustain pedal and have had no problems with it.

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Hi.

 

Thanks again for your reply, Allerian.

 

No worries! I guess what I'm after, is the ability to dampen the sound (like you would a piano). I'm just not sure if either of these keyboards are capable of it, since all I've seen mentioned is sustain; unless dampening comes under the same category when it comes to keyboards? I'm not sure...

 

Thank you,

onlyone-jc.

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Originally posted by onlyone-jc

Hi.


Thanks for your reply, Eric.


Yeah, I simply want this as a good set of master keys. Did you use an expression pedal with your SL-990, at all? If so, do you know which pedals are compatible with it? And, maybe what the difference is between open and closed types?


Thank you,

onlyone-jc.

 

 

I just used a sustain with it, nothing special. It was really my first "Professional" Master keyboard that I used to learn on. I loved it to bits. The only reason I got rid of it was that I eventually got a Fantom X8, so I really had no need for a second hammer action controller (And I prefered the feel of the X8.)

 

if you want some flexible MIDI control, use the 990 in conjunction with a Evolution UC33e MIDI Control box. Worked perfect for me until I accidently fried the UC33e.

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