What’s up, all my keyboard brothers and sisters, Jacob Dupre here! I think we’d all agree that there really is nothing like the sound of an acoustic piano, especially from the perspective of the player. That very absorbing and intimate experience is one any pianist will speak highly of, and it’s a large part of what makes us fall in love with the instrument. It has been a longtime goal of keyboard manufacturers to try to capture this experience by creating ultra-realistic piano sounds for their keyboards. The technology for sampling acoustic pianos in digital keyboards has gotten remarkably better in recent years. With so many great options out there, you may not know where to start. To help you out, I’ve surveyed Sweetwater’s current selection of digital pianos and compiled a list of keyboards with the most realistic piano sounds.
Kawai MP11SE
You’d have trouble finding any list of keyboards with realistic piano sounds that doesn’t include the Kawai MP11SE. The sampling of the piano sounds is arguably second to none. It has extraordinary piano sounds, including the Shugeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand piano, meticulously sampled with all 88 keys painstakingly recorded and faithfully reproduced using Kawai’s Harmonic Imaging XL technology. This proprietary process accurately re-creates the immense dynamic range of the grand piano, giving you a truly impressive measure of expressiveness from pianississimo (ppp) to fortississimo (fff) and beyond. The MP11SE is an instrument that doesn’t sacrifice on sound.
Roland RD-2000
The Roland RD-2000 is a favorite among studio owners and performers alike. That’s why there is one in our own Sweetwater Studios right here in Fort Wayne, IN, where I have the pleasure of working. In a word, the RD-2000’s acoustic-piano sounds are magnificent. Incorporating Roland’s very latest piano technologies and long-running V-Piano research, the acoustic voice is incredibly natural, responsive, and richly detailed. The dedicated acoustic sound engine features full-keyboard polyphony, allowing you to realize authentic piano performances with absolutely no compromises.
Nord Grand
Nord has been revered as a leader in the digital-piano world for many years. The Nord Grand is their newest addition to their line of professional stage pianos. The Nord Grand factory bank gives you a breathtaking collection of 10 grands, nine uprights, a selection of digital pianos, and more from the world-class Nord Piano Library — each instrument hand-selected for its unique sonic characteristics. Nord’s cutting-edge sampling techniques capture the nuances and character of these extraordinary instruments with stunning realism. Nord’s exclusive Piano Library is continually being updated with new, unique premium sounds, and they are always freely available.
Dexibell Vivo S7 Pro
Dexibell is a newcomer to the digital-piano world. However, how long you’ve been in the game shouldn’t matter. It’s about how well you play, and this newly drafted player has impressed a lot of people. To start off, the Vivo S7 Pro has unlimited polyphony — yes, unlimited. That means you can play and sustain as many notes as you want and not a single note will be cut off. Dexibell’s sound engine, T2L (True to Life), is what drives the exquisite grand-piano sounds on the S7. T2L allows the length of each note to be 15 seconds, whereas other models have between 1–5 seconds. When you play a note on a grand piano and hold it indefinitely, it seems like it rings forever, even when it’s sounding at imperceptible volumes. T2L allows the S7 to mimic that long decay time, so you can hear the vibrant harmonics throughout the evolution of each sustained note like you would on an acoustic instrument.
Korg Grandstage 88
Korg has been in the digital-piano game since the early 1980s. Those years of experience shine through in the Grandstage 88. Containing piano sounds from top-level instruments worldwide, the SGX-2 acoustic-piano sound engine is what makes the Grandstage worthy of the term “ultimate.” The five grand-piano sounds have all been lavishly captured using classic instruments from Berlin, Heidelberg, Austria, Japan, and Italy. In addition, the Grandstage provides a newly sampled upright-piano sound, featuring an intimate character different from its grand-piano sounds. The SGX-2 sound engine contains high-capacity unlooped stereo samples for every key and uses up to 12 levels of velocity switching to perfectly convey the detailed and powerful expressiveness of an acoustic piano.
Kurzweil Forte
When making your wish list of digital pianos, don’t overlook this exceptional instrument. The Kurzweil Forte features 2GB of sample content, including the gorgeous Japanese and German grand pianos. A unique feature is polyphony with dynamic allocation, and the implementation of this technology means you’ll never hear notes drop off when you reach maximum polyphony. Even if you’re playing heavily layered sounds with lots of effects, the Forte is selective about which voices to drop in favor of new ones. Imagine an acoustic piano. When you hold the sustain pedal and play the keys, there is no limit to how many strings will sound. You can sustain all 88 keys simultaneously and continue striking the already ringing strings as many times as you like. The polyphony of the Forte mirrors that aspect of acoustic pianos. Other Kurzweil models with the fully weighted hammer-action keybed include the SP6, Forte SE, and Forte 7 synthesizer.
I hope this helps you in your search for a new keyboard! If you want to learn more about these keyboards or any of the dozens of keyboards we carry, just call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer at (800) 222-4700, and they will be glad to assist you.
