Piano actions

[Ecaroh]

Hi all!

I know this topic has been discussed thousand times but still it’s a bit puzzling.

Is there a clear evidence what actually is NP5’s keybed and how it’s compared to new NS4 (73/88)? If I am right those both have Fatars and of course one difference is ar least aftertouch strip of NS4. For example TP40 can also have escapement as an option. Does Piano 5 have this feature?

Here’s a link to Fatar’s models:
http://www.fatar.com/Pages/TP_40WOOD.htm


Any fact about Piano 5’s keybed and personal experience about its quality is highly appreciated!

[FZiegler]

No, I don't think the Piano 5 keyboard action has the escapement option. Instead, it has the virtual hammer action the Piano 4 already had. I serioulsy considered buying one of them as I liked them - the Piano 5 even a little more. Unfortunately, I don't really need it.

[maxpiano]

No, I don't think the Piano 5 keyboard action has the escapement option. Instead, it has the virtual hammer action the Piano 4 already had. I serioulsy considered buying one of them as I liked them - the Piano 5 even a little more. Unfortunately, I don't really need it.

The Virtual Hammer action is just a software implementation of Nord, i.e an algorithm used to to interpolate the 3 sensors switches reading, not something related to the Fatar keybed as such (just to avoid confusion)

Having said that i believe NP5 and NP4 have the same keyboard, probably a TP40H since no "graded hammer" (GH) action is advertised in the specs as well as no escapement.

[Nordlicht]

A very subjective topic indeed! I've bought a NP5 88 half a year ago and I'm still very happy about it.

When I bought it, I only could compare NP5 88 and NS3 HP76 directly in the store - there could only be one "winner". The HP keyboard was somehow "freaky" and very "unpianistic".
I had played all digital pianos in the store (stage and console pianos from Yamaha, Roland, Korg, Casio and Kawai) before buying the NP5 and ended up (not only because of the keybed) with the Nord (this is of course extremely subjective).
I was later able to play a Nord Grand and had the impression that the keys were a bit "bouncy" - not bad but also not very realistic, perhaps typical Kawai (I owned a Kawai ES7 before and therefore I know Kawai plastic actions).

According to everything you read and hear, NP5 and NS3/4 88 have a Fatar TP/40 inside, but obviously differently designed/modified (in the Stage rather lighter). Nord does not have any keyboard with a graded action or escapement simulation.
According to Fatar, there are the following TP/40:
TP/40GH: Four Zones Graded Hammer Action.
TP/40H: Hard Touch Feeling 95 gr.
TP/40M: Medium Touch Feeling 85 gr.
TP/40L: Light Touch Feeling 75 gr.

I had once tested with improvised weights on my NP5: at about 85 g the (white) keys definitely don't go down yet, but at 97 g they do (I didn't have exactly 95 g).
So one can assume that there might be a TP/40H in the NP5, and in the Stage (according to the subjective statements of others) possibly a TP/40M or L. Only Clavia knows

In my personal experience, the NP5 feels pretty very realistic. My ex-father-in-law had a Bösendorfer grand piano at home and from memory it played not unlike the NP5.
Regarding quality control at Fatar and/or Clavia: I switched my first NP5 for a new one after a few weeks because the first one had a very inconsistent keyboard (several keys came back "hard" with a clacking sound after being released). The replacement device, on the other hand, is top notch.

[JeffLearman]

I wish we wouldn't call the action a "keybed." Indeed, that is what Fatar calls it, possibly due to a bad Italian->English translation.

To a piano tech, the keybed on a grand piano is the space where the action sits. If you remove the action from a grand, there's an open, empty expanse of wood. That's the "keybed."

Admittedly, "action" has two meanings: the hardware and the feeling, and that can lead to some ambiguity, but not usually.

OK, I'll take off my bow tie and shut up now.

PS: I see Nord calls them that too.