Stage 73 realistic sound no even close to real Fender Rhodes

[violanted]

Hi All,

I have a Max OSX Sierra pretty powerful setup 16GB memory i5-6600 and Sound card Zoom UAC USB-3

The stage 73 is setup with a korg SV-1 which has already some Fender Rhodes sound which is one of the best if not the best closest sound that you can get out of a modern keyboard, but I was still not happy with it.

Now the question is is there a need of specific extra Hardware to make this sound as the real thing? The reason I am asking is because the korg sounds better and closer to the real thing compared with Arturia stage however i was wondering if one of the culprit could be my Behringer 180W K1800FX, could this Amp compromise the quality of the sound? I know is not one of the best and that Roland Amp for keyboard should be the way to go.

Does anyone suggest what would be the best combination of Hardware and setup to make this Stage 73 sound better. Also the audio default is low by default I tried some adjustments raising the volume but the result is when playing and many keys are pressed on the keyboard I hear a cracking sound is that anything to do with buffer settings?

Any help advise is welcome

Thanks

[MajorFubar]

None of the Arturia pianos are particularly faithful to their namesakes, be that electronic or acoustic. They are maybe good enough to use as background instruments, but as you've found out, they quickly fall apart when you compare them to sampled pianos such as those on your Korg. With the electronic pianos, you can mask their deficiencies to a degree by plugging them into virtual effects such amps or phasers. But if you need a clean sound, especially as a lead, they just aren't good enough. Even the standard electronic piano in Mac GarageBand wipes the floor with the Stage 73V.

If you want to hear the best modelled pianos currently available, listen to Pianoteq. (No I'm not affiliated; wish I was...I might get a discount). There's a reason why the full version of it with all the instruments costs €800. But there is a stripped-down version you can buy for €129 containing any two instrument packs. Pricey yes, but you get what you pay for: studio-quality piano simulation.

[violanted]

Great info

Unfortunately i read a lots of blogs about Arturia and ads saying about the product being great but there is no way this is any close to a real fender and you are confirming that too though I may acquire the real thing at €2000 which is expensive but I will have a look at the product you mentioned as if I can get just the Fender Rhodes sound and maybe a Vox Continental I may have a great deal but this time I must find a way to test it instead of buying ahead.

Cheers buddy.

[fredmant]

I would have to agree. I have just spent some time comparing the Arturia Stage 73 and the AIR Velvet equivalent from their default settings and I can get them close. But I also have a Korg (ancient M3) and I agree the sampled sounds in the Korg, although much more of a pain in the ass to tweak, just sound great out of the box. It's has nothing to do with the real piano feel of the M3-88 keyboard, as I can use my KeyLab Mk2 controller when I midi assign it to the Korg, and the playability while different, still gives me a very e-piano like response (although there is much more dynamic range on the Korg keys themselves).

So yes, I've also hear "Ben Gear" on youtube extolling the virtues of Pianoteq as well. For now, I have more piano than I can play, so the Korg is still my goto for best e-piano sounds.

By the way, same goes for the Korg Wurly vs Arturia Wurly and AIR Velvet Wurly. Korg wins.

[violanted]

Bottom line

I guess the best is to either using Korg SV-1 or buy the real thing.

Considering the vintage beauty of Fender Rhodes and costs of 2000 Euros max for a model of 1971 it may be worth it.

However pianoteq seems to be really the best to much closely the sound i downloaded demos.

Thanks