Soft pedal sound?

[Orbit]

Hello all,

I was wonder what the group opinion was regarding the sound of the soft pedal on the 300's. I haven't had the opportunity to see/hear one in person but I gather the pedals are programmable. Can one pedal emulate the muted sound of a traditional soft pedal?

Thanks and happy holidays,
Orbit

[Orbit]

That's a great question Orbit. When you first asked, you didn't even own a CVP. Congratulations on your purchase! Now that you have a CVP, do you still have the same question?

Yes, I'm still wondering if there is a way to emulate the muted soft pedal sound found on an acoustic - not just turning the volume down.

any recent thoughts from the kind and bright people on this forum?

thanks!
Orbit
______
CVP-309 PE

[Scubacpa]

They always so it's OK to talk to yourself. It's when you answer yourself that you have to start worrying.:)

[Scubacpa]

Seriously ...

Having never owned an acoustic piano I'm not 100% sure what your question is. As you have probably found out by now all three pedals are totally programable. One of the things that I sometimes do is program the left and middle pedal to the intro and ending of a style so I can start and end a song without taking my hands off the keyboard.

I know that is not what you were talking about but I was just putting in my 2 cents of how I use the pedals (and stop you from having to talk to yourself). With that kind of versatility I'm sure there is a way to do what you want.

[Orbit]

thanks for the info Scuba,

....and remember... you're not paranoid if they are really after you (although you might be)....

(sorry, couldn't resist) :)

[jkhtexas]

So, Orbit, how do you like your new CVP? I'm getting mine on MONDAY!!!!!!!!!!!! (307). Lookin' forward to it!

I understand what you're asking...just don't know the answer. Thought that's what the left pedal on the 307/309 would do. I bet anyone else on here who has ever played an acoustic piano and now has a CVP could answer your question. They're probably just all off playing their CVPs and have been too busy to answer :)

Jan

[kempedkemp]

I think they've done a pretty good job with the soft pedal effect Orbit. I tend to be a heavy handed player and play with my foot on the soft pedal quite frequently. It doesn't turn the volume down, rather, changes the timbre of the piano like I would expect it to on an acoustic.

Hope all you newbies are enjoying your instruments. I just purchased an HHB CDR830 CD recorder so I can record onto disc. Got a great deal on e-Bay ($202 vs $549 retail.) Great little machine. . . hooks up to the CVP with an optical input.

I love the number of functions you can assign to the pedals. I use them frequently for voice part on/off and to switch registrations... don't forget you can add an extra pedal as well, most handy.

[jkhtexas]

Ed,
What is the purpose of the optical input? I just purchased a Tascom DP01FX/CD on the recommendation of the music store I was dealing with, but it does not have optical input. Someone mentioned to look for optical input, but I couldn't really find any information on why that might be good to have. After discussing it with another music store, I decided to go forward with the Tascam. But am still curious as to what the optical input does...?

I probably shouldn't ask...might find out I wish I had it - ha!


Jan

[Scubacpa]

Originally posted by jkhtexas

I probably shouldn't ask...might find out I wish I had it - ha!

Jan

If you have an optical out on your CVP (and your new 307 will) you definitely DO want to have it. It allows a direct digital to digital recording connection between the CVP and the audio CD burner. The resulting CD will sound exactly like the CVP. See if you can swap it. I have it on my Sony recorder. It's the difference between analog and digital.

[kempedkemp]

Jan, to be honest, I'm not sure it makes all that much difference but, "they" tell me that it makes for higher (truer) fidelity... your recording will be EXACTLY like the original. Amateurs (non recording studio professionals) are likely to notice little difference between the recordings made on these two machines.

That said, however, go to Amazon and check out the review an unsatisfied customer wrote on your Tascam DP01FX/CD.

I'm curious Gary and Jan, do your recorders burn at 1x and require finalization? You cannot use high speed discs with the HHB (anything over 24x). You can use RW discs but I'm informed that not all CD players can play them. The only source I've found for these slow burn CD's is HHB!

[Scubacpa]

Yes. That is one drawback of using the audio recorder attached directly to the CVP as opposed to through a PC connection. You have to use Audio CDRs (Data CDRs will not work) and audio CDRs are a little more expensive (but not armbreaking - about 20%). I get mine at Staples, Circuit City, Best Buy etc no problem. Once it is finalized they play in all players (so far anyway - my home system, car, and walkman).

[Orbit]

Originally posted by jkhtexas
So, Orbit, how do you like your new CVP? I'm getting mine on MONDAY!!!!!!!!!!!! (307). Lookin' forward to it!

Jan,

Congrats on your purchase- I love my CVP and I am sure you will love yours too! So many features and great sounds - I'm constantly learning more about it. (thanks to the help of the friendly people on this group)

Get lots of rest this weekend as come Monday, you will not be getting any sleep!

Orbit

[kempedkemp]

Jan, it appears your Tascam has a lot more features than the HHB. More of these features were available in the next higher model of the HHB CDR830, the "Plus" model.

The address for that review is:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000B6FAVM/ref=sr_11_1/002-5574653-9023224?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=11091801

[Orbit]

My needs are a lot less sophisticated, but I use an Iriver MP3 player as an audio recorder. It has optical inputs as well. It's a few years old but works as an all-in-one MP3 player, portable harddrive (no drivers required), and audio recorder. I miss having the track wheel found on the Ipods, but works for my meager needs.

[kempedkemp]

That is a very smart option Orbit... Sorry to say, Compact Discs soon to be history, just like the vinyl LP and recording tape.

[jkhtexas]

Y'all are so helpful...I love it! Thanks for all the insights. Don't like the customer review I read at all, but glad to have that information. I haven't really used this recorder yet, so don't know much about it. Was waiting for my CVP to arrive. But the main reason I got the recorder was so that I can record my singing as well as my playing. So am concerned if that review was correct - if the microphone doesn't record well, that's a problem. I'm not at all technical (you guys sound like you're REALLY technical), so it appeared the Tascom would be fairly easy to use. The advertisement "Hands-on tracking and mixdown are so easy a game show hostess could do it!" sounded like just what I need - ha!

Well, I'll just have to try it out and give my own review. The place I bought this from is pretty reputable, so hope they will work with me on it, if I'm not satisfied.

Will let you know the verdict. Meanwhile, I better get to bed so I can rest up for Monday!

Jan

[Jane]

Talk about thread drift ??? :D :D

On acoustic pianos, the soft pedals work one of two ways.

On a grand, the pedal actually moves the action to the side so the hammer doesn't strike all the strings. Hence the musical direction una corda on scores. The sound is different, not just quieter, because of the fewer strings. I remember Artur Rubinstein talking about using the una corda and sustain ('loud') pedals simultaneously... as, I'd guess, do many folks who play classical music.

On uprights, often the 'soft' pedal just tilts the action slightly forward so the hammers are closer to the strings. Thus, even if you hit the keys hard there's less sound... but it's not the same 'una corda' effect.

As for the Clavinova... I have a 207 and have mentioned how I hate the default grand piano sound... so I almost always play with the Grand Piano 2. On the Grand Piano 1, however, if I adjust the soft pedal 'depth' to 2 I hear a significant difference (while wearing headphones) in texture (more muffled, not just less loud)...