GPO steinway keyboard not so forte

[sam ward]

When I play fast or repeat a note in quick succession on GPO's steinways (or on other piano patches), the notes fade or drop out. Was wondering if someone might have had a similar experience. Thanks.

GPO latest version, Logic Pro 6.4.1, Mac DP1.24, 2G ram, 10.2.8, Roland amt8 midi transmitter, Roland D50 keyboard

[Garritan]

Sam,

Did you try resetting the Sustain Pedal to "Normal Sustain" Operation? The sustain pedal defaults to legato mode soince the vast majority of the instruments in the library sustain. Go in the options menu and reset the pedal mode to the first option and this may be what you are looking for,

Gary Garritan

[rwayland]

When I play fast or repeat a note in quick succession on GPO's steinways (or on other piano patches), the notes fade or drop out. Was wondering if someone might have had a similar experience. Thanks.

GPO latest version, Logic Pro 6.4.1, Mac DP1.24, 2G ram, 10.2.8, Roland amt8 midi transmitter, Roland D50 keyboard

Well, it also is quite helpful to use the X-custom steinway with the velocity slider all the way to the right. I have many piano pieces, which work well in this way.

Richard

[Easy_Rhino]

Synth actions (velocity weighted or not) aren't really designed for fast playing (the same note or many notes in succession) with velocity-sensitive instruments like a piano. I think the Roland D50 (from the specs I saw on it) falls into this category. The drop out notes are due to the hammer not reaching the velocity switch at all. The faded notes are due to the key being released just prior to the hammer making contact. In this case the hammer is close enough to make light contact through it's own inertia. This type of problem may not manifest itself in other samples because the instrument at hand doesn't handle dynamics from the keyboard, be it an organ or the lion's share of GPO samples.

The easy answer would be to get a keyboard with a more competent action (I have the Yamaha P-90 stage piano - others have raved about the Kawai 9500, if you can still find them on EBay). But I think you might be able to get a little more consistency if you're willing to experiment with your keyboard technique. Try playing the quick succession of the same note with two hands - more specifically the index fingers of your right and left hand. Using a staccato strike will allow the note to be struck with force, at the same time allowing the key to return to rest before the opposite finger strikes. If the keys in the D50 don't snap back to position, it may be worthwhile to take it in to get the action cleaned and/or oiled up.

Fast passages are a different animal. Basically, the best advice here is to play them slowly at first, making sure all notes are hit consistently. Then gradually speed up until the consistency slips (notes drop off in volume, disappear, etc.). Take note of this and keep practicing these passages at this speed for a while. If the consistency gets better, then you know you can develop a keyboard technique for the D50 that will help you play faster more consistently. If the consistency remains the same, then that's about as fast as the action on the D50 will allow you to play.