Any pianist using the electro/stage 73sw?

[peppi]

I'm just tempted by the electro 5d 73sw and was wondering pros and cons of using the waterfall keys for piano practice amongst other uses.
I should add I'm a seasoned piano player and am not particularly worried by the waterfall feel. It feels plasticky but tolerable.
I was wondering what other pianists thoughts in order to get other point of views before committing to it.

[maurus]

I'm just tempted by the electro 5d 73sw and was wondering pros and cons of using the waterfall keys for piano practice amongst other uses.
I should add I'm a seasoned piano player and am not particularly worried by the waterfall feel. It feels plasticky but tolerable.
I was wondering what other pianists thoughts in order to get other point of views before committing to it.

I'm using an Electro 5D 73SW alongside my grand, mostly when I am traveling or when I am playing to/with friends and don't have access to an acoustic piano. Mostly classical, some improvised music. I admit I find it a bit difficult to adjust and get the finer nuances out of the waterfall keys. It works, but only just. For regular practicing I wouldn't be satisfied. The transition to the grand is a little too far for my taste. I do use the Electro for regular night practice, but coupled to a Kawai VPC1. I should add that I found the situation to be quite similar when I had an Electro 3HP earlier on, despite the somewhat heavier keys on that one.

[peppi]

Interesting, I'm now leaning towards the e5 73hp as big and sole investment for a few years to come. I could probably live with the shorter keybed, regarding action I haven't had a piano in 8 years so I'm not particuarly fussy.
I'm quite curious though as to why you didn't like to electro 3hp and whether there's anything BIG missing from the hp action which I could find on much cheaper instruments such as yamaha pianos.

[Rusty Mike]

I had an Electro 3-73SW prior to getting the E3 HP, which I've been playing for a few years now.

I found that, as primarily a piano player, the SW action was most challenging on the release and not the attack. The attack portion is certainly lighter than the HP action, but was easier to adjust. The bigger issue to me was the spring-back speed of the key as you let go. It simply came back too fast, and that impacted my timing and overall feel. The HP action releases more naturally to my expectations.

I recently played a demo Electro 5HP in a store, and I observed a much smoother action compared to my 3HP. I do not know if this is a universal thing or isolated to the "well played" demo model.

Over time, I have not found the 73 key length to be an issue at all. I much prefer to practice and play piano on the HP actions over the SW.

[maurus]

Peppi, the HP action is certainly closer to a piano action than the SW action but I found it still unsatisfying when it came to nuanced playing. Add to that that the HP action is quite a bit noisier than the SW action - which is OK in an amplified context but much less so when you are doing silent night practice with headphones. Whenever I coupled my Electro 3 HP to a more substantial action (for a while I used a Yamaha P155 with the GH action for that purpose) I felt at home so much more that I eventually went for the VPC1 for that purpose.

PS. I agree with Rusty Mike that 73 keys are OK for many purposes. (Classical piano music composed since about the middle of the 19th century gets more difficult to play on 73 keys though.) 61 keys would be much more limiting.

[cphollis]

I've tried and tried to play acoustic piano parts on unweighted keys. Big fail all around. I completely suck every time I mistakenly try.

I'm sure there are more talented people than me who can pull it off. Maybe if I didn't have the option of a real weighted keyboard, I'd be forced to adapt. Hey, if that's all you've got, you make do, right?

But that's not the case. I have the luxury of having weighted boards for AP (and EP) parts, and then use an unweighted board for things they're good at: organ, synth, samples, etc. If you can afford it, definitely the way to go.

[peppi]

thank you all, has anybody compared the feel of the hp and ha keybeds?

unfortunately the store I was earlier tends to either have hp or ha in stock.
and I've just tried the stage hp which i hear of slightly more spongy than the electro due to the aftertouch strip.

also I suppose the hp would be to weighted for hammond/organs or would it be just a perfect compromise for both pianos and organs?

comparing the jump in price btw sw and hp was just wondering whether -as you suggest- a second dedicated keyboard would be more worthwhile.

thanks again
peppi

[magpie85]

I find the HP keybed to be a suitable compromise for organ and piano, but only in a band setting. I am a hobbyist and started playing more organ as a result of buying an E3HP. I don't pretend to be what I am not though. I am a classically trained pianist who indulges in a band setting (mostly at church) with piano, EP and organ.

The HP keybed is a compromise for playing classical piano on it's own, it is not designed to be a fully weighted action. Personally I don't find the HP keybed suitable for playing classical piano - but this is a very subjective discussion.

Unless you have mega money then you have to decide what compromise you are willing to make.

I presume you've ruled out the Nord Piano because you want to explore some organs? But that would be the best Nord for classical piano playing.

[AlQuinn]

I've had an Electro 4D SW for three years and always struggle making the transition from my real AP to the E4D. For the me, the action is terrible for AP and organ. It's the worst of all worlds. The reason I still have the E4D is because I can't find a better all-in-one light-weight keyboard which I need for certain situations. I particularly like the E4D's Silver Grand AP and EP's. For most gigs I use either a Yamaha CP4 for AP and EP, or a Crumar Mojo for organ -- the action on both of these keyboards is excellent. Occasionally, I use the E4D as a top board above the CP4 but when I do I use an HX3 organ module as it's sound is far superior to the E4D organ.

I had a Stage 2 HA88 for three and half years. I kept trying to love it but just couldn't because of the action. The finger to ear connection was never comfortable for me. I practice mostly on an acoustic piano and the transition to the Stage 2 HA88 was always unsettling. So, I eventually gave up and sold it.

I really like a lot of the Nord sounds but, despite years of trying can't warm up to their SW and HA actions. I can't comment on the Nord HP action as I've never played a Nord HP.

[danrv]

I think if, like myself you're a trained pianist you can get by at gigs on anything as your technique is established.
To keep the weight down (need to watch the back) I've always compromised by using semi-weighted 76 key boards.
I used a Roland XP80 for years for rock/pop/light jazz playing. No good for piano style use though.

The Yamaha CP4 is probably the best lightweight, fully weighted electric piano around and I think I'd prefer the piano
sounds to my Stage 2 ones.
I don't really need 88 keys for my live band work plus I stand too and the Stage 2 HA76 is more compact for this position.

I'd probably get used to the SW action for live band use but not to practise on.
As Rusty Mike says, It's the rapid return of the keys more so than the initial key resistance.