Stage piano
Encyclopedia
Digital piano
A digital piano is a modern electronic musical instrument, different from the electronic keyboard, designed to serve primarily as an alternative to a traditional piano, both in the way it feels to play and in the sound produced. It is meant to provide an accurate simulation of a real piano. Some...
s designed for in-home use and electronic synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s, they have a number of features which set them apart. Stage pianos usually provide a small number of sounds (acoustic piano, electric piano, and Hammond organ) in a rugged case.
Controls and features
Stage pianos usually have a smaller selection of sounds than digital electronic keyboards and synthesizers. Instead of the hundreds of sounds and complex oscillator controls available on a high-end, professional synthesizer, they often have only a few sounds, typically acoustic pianoPiano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, electric piano
Electric piano
An electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
, and Hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
. Also, instead of scrolling through the on-screen menus used on synthesizers, stage pianos are usually controlled with knobs and buttons.
Stage pianos differ from inexpensive home digital keyboards such as the Casio CTK-533 in a number of ways. Home digital keyboards such as the Casio CTK-533 provide a hundred sounds, ranging from imitation electric piano and flute sounds to buzzy synth-style sounds. However, the imitation sounds are created by relatively simple synthesis methods, rather than by sampling or complex Digital Signal Processing-modelling, as in the case of a high-end stage piano. This means that the sound quality of the Casio CTK-533 presets are not suitable for a professional performance.
Stage pianos often have a heavier, more robust body, which is better able to withstand the stress of heavy touring. Unlike digital pianos designed for home use, they do not have a fixed stand or fixed sustain pedals. Instead, they are designed to be used with a separate portable stand and portable sustain pedals.
While almost all digital pianos and lower-end synthesizers designed for home use have small onboard powered speakers, stage pianos are often designed without onboard speakers; instead, they are designed to be used with external amplification
Instrument amplifier
An instrument amplifier is an electronic amplifier that converts the often barely audible or purely electronic signal from musical instruments such as an electric guitar, an electric bass, or an electric keyboard into an electronic signal capable of driving a loudspeaker that can be heard by the...
. While small, low-powered amplified speakers may be appropriate for in-home use, they cannot provide sufficient power for on-stage monitoring in rock and jazz performance settings. While most onboard powered speakers produce between 10 and 30 watts per speaker, a typical professional keyboard amplifier will produce over 300 watts. Nevertheless, some stage pianos, such as the Yamaha P-250
Yamaha P-250
The Yamaha P-250 is a digital stage piano. It was announced in mid-2003 as a replacement for the P-200 and went to market shortly thereafter....
, do have onboard powered speakers.
Most stage pianos provide a recreation of the electro-mechanical electric pianos that were based on amplifying the sound of a metal tine, reed or string hit by a hammer, such as the Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer
Wurlitzer
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to simply as Wurlitzer, was an American company that produced stringed instruments, woodwinds, brass instruments, theatre organs, band organs, orchestrions, electronic organs, electric pianos and jukeboxes....
200A or Yamaha CP-70/CP-80 series. Instead of using tines or strings, stage pianos reproduce sound electronically by the use of sampled or digitally modelled sounds
Digital piano
A digital piano is a modern electronic musical instrument, different from the electronic keyboard, designed to serve primarily as an alternative to a traditional piano, both in the way it feels to play and in the sound produced. It is meant to provide an accurate simulation of a real piano. Some...
. They usually have MIDI interfaces to permit them to be used as master keyboards, which can control other tone-generating modules, such as Hammond organ-emulators
Clonewheel organ
"Clonewheel organ" is a jargon term used to refer to an electronic musical instrument that emulates the sound of the electromechanical tonewheel-based organs formerly manufactured by Hammond. The first generation of clonewheel organs used synthesizer voices, which were not able to accurately...
or synthesizer string modules.
Keyboards
Most digital stage pianos have weighted keys or semi-weighted keys. Fully weighted keys are designed to replicate the weight and playing actionAction (piano)
The piano action mechanism, or the key action mechanism, or simply the action of a piano or other musical keyboards, is the mechanical assembly which translates the depression of the keys into rapid motion of a hammer, which creates sound by striking the strings. Action can be referred to a pianos...
of acoustic piano hammer-action keys. Semi-weighted keys save weight, which is an important consideration for a mobile stage piano. Stage pianos usually have 88 keys, which is standard for all modern acoustic pianos
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. However, some stage pianos have fewer keys, such as the Kurzweil
Kurzweil Music Systems
Kurzweil Music Systems is a company that produces electronic musical instruments for professionals and home users. Founded in 1982 by Raymond Kurzweil, a developer of reading machines for the blind, the company made use of many of the technologies originally designed for reading machines and...
SP76. It has only 76 semi-weighted keys, but is still called a stage piano because of its layout and weighted keys.
Sounds
While the sounds or "voices" available on stage pianos is often wider than that of a digital piano designed for home use, stage pianos have far fewer voices than a typical electronic synthesizer. Stage pianos usually have a smaller selection of voices, typically acoustic pianoPiano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, electric piano
Electric piano
An electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
, Hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, and a few others. Some stage pianos also provide a few basic synthesizer functions, to enable performers to play accompaniment "pads" or synth "leads."
Stage pianos
- Casio Privia PX-130, PX-330, PX-3: They have high quality samples of the instruments, in example they have a four layers samples (higher quality) for the pianos. They have 88 weighted keys, tuning control, 128 polyphony... The PX-130 has 16 instruments, the PX-330 and the PX-3 has 250 instruments. The PX-3 does not have speakers.
- Clavia Nord StageClavia Nord StageThe Nord Stage is a digital keyboard or stage piano manufactured by Clavia Digital Music Instruments of Stockholm, Sweden.The Nord Stage builds on the success of the Nord Electro 2, whose accurate emulations of vintage electromechanical keyboard sounds made it very popular...
: produces organ, piano and synthesizer sounds. It comes with either 88 or 76 keys, or a lighter-weight model with semi-weighted keys. - Clavia Nord Electro 3: sold in 61 or 73-key semi-weighted action models. Produces organ and pianos, but also other sounds from the Nord Piano Library or Nord Sample Library.
- Kurzweil SP88X: This stage pianos has 76- and 88-key semi-weighted action models, and an 88-note fully weighted action model. Its sounds include grand piano, electric piano, various Hammond-organ sounds, and synthesizer string sounds.
- RolandRoland Corporationis a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on April 18, 1972, with ¥33 million in capital. In 2005 Roland's headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Today it has factories in Japan,...
RD series (RD-150, RD-300SX, RD-700 etc.): the keyboard has 88-key full-weighted keyboard with graded hammer system. It uses high quality acoustic, electric and Rhodes piano samples, additionally providing other lead and backing instruments, e.g. clavinet, electric and acoustic bass, string/synth pads and vocal effects. It is designed for live use, and the operation panel includes the most used functions to avoid having to navigate with on-screen menus. - Yamaha P-250Yamaha P-250The Yamaha P-250 is a digital stage piano. It was announced in mid-2003 as a replacement for the P-200 and went to market shortly thereafter....
: a digital stage piano designed for professional live performance or for use as a studio instrument. It includes grand piano stereo samples, 88-key Graded Hammer (GH) action, MIDI-controller capability, and on-board powered speakers. - Yamaha CP33: this series of stage piano was first introduced in 1976. It has an 88-key Graded Hammer keyboard, 28 other voices, and MIDI master keyboard controller capability.
- M-AudioM-AudioM-Audio is a business unit of Avid Technology that designs and markets digital audio and MIDI interfaces, keyboards and MIDI controllers, synthesizers, loudspeakers, studio monitors, digital DJ systems, microphones, and music software...
ProKeys 88: this digital stage piano has 88 hammer-action keys, a stereo grand piano sound, 14 other instrument sounds, and MIDI controller functionality. - KorgKorgis a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners...
SP200: this digital stage piano has 88 fully weighted keys, MIDI controller functionality and a total of 30 piano, organ, string and pad sounds. Designed for touring, it is barely more than twice the size of the keyboard itself. - KurzweilKurzweil Music SystemsKurzweil Music Systems is a company that produces electronic musical instruments for professionals and home users. Founded in 1982 by Raymond Kurzweil, a developer of reading machines for the blind, the company made use of many of the technologies originally designed for reading machines and...
SP3X: This stage piano has 512 preset sounds, 128 effects, 60 rhythm patterns and piano-weighted keyboard action that is velocity and aftertouch sensitive. It has 88 keys and 64-note polyphonyPolyphonyIn music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....