And It Fits (Just)...
From the original Analog Industries archive. Some links and images from that era no longer resolve.
Believe it or not, I was able to get that CP80B in to my office. Had to take out a lot of shit, but it was shit I obviously needed in here less than a CP80B.
For the morbidly curious, I’ve tuned the center three octaves so far. The entire piano, aside from being fairly out of tune with itself, was a half step flat, so it’s a pretty tedious process. I’m going to end up doing it twice, because being so flat, tuning up the outside is going to drag the middle down pretty drastically, and I don’t know enough about piano tuning to actually preempt this event. Luckily, there are only two strings per note where a “real” piano would have three, so that’s a bit of a time saver. It also makes it really easy to adjust the richness of the individual notes. Once all is said and done, I’m tuning one of the strings about two beats per second flat against the first, which should give a nice meaty chorusing.
Probably.
Anyhow, this bad boy didn’t come with a power supply, so I had to whittle one; luckily, they can run off a simple wall wart, so it’s not that hard a chore. It sounds fantastical good, though, and I’m pretty pleased to have it.
10 comments
How does the action feel?
Your tuning technique for natural chorusing made me slap my head. An obvious method that has never came to mind before. Going to try an idea of it with my max/msp oscillator patch. Thanks for the tip!
The action... well, hmmmm. The throw of the keys is noticeably shorter than in a normal American or Japanese piano. I think that the throw weight is about the same, but since they don't have as far to go, you end up hitting them a bit harder than you need to if you're used to something with a little more meat.
The net result is that this initially seems to have a Vienna-style action, but it actually isn't that light. It's kind of its own thing, I guess. It makes it a bit difficult to get really dynamic, though. Also, there seems to be some compression happening in the pre-amp, which makes the sustain curve seem somewhat artificial. It sustains really well for longer than you'd think seemed natural, then drops off quickly.
All of those things are part and parcel of the CP80 (and CP70) sound, though. It is really kind of its own thing, and requires its own playing style. I think that it is really suited to legato playing without a lot of dynamics; either that, or it requires more finesse than I have at my command. Like any instrument of this complexity, it'll take some learning and practice to get the most out of it.
-CR
Wow, super sweet.
I give it six months before he flips it.
The gold record looks very nice next to a piano. Reminds me of that Youtube video of Steve Porcaro jamming on his piano with all his gold records on the wall.
That is boss! I would not be able to resist playing "Lead A Normal Life."
- c
That's a platinum record. It's under the gold one.
And I won't be able to flip this because (a) I'm the only person within a couple hundred miles that even knows what one is, let alone what it's for, and (b) it's too motherfucking heavy to flip.
-CR
Wait. Which album is the gold record then? Or did you receive gold and platinum displays when the same disc reached each level?
The gold record is for James Brown Is Dead.
Just to be clear, they're only useful for making people that care about such things jealous. They serve no purpose whatsoever otherwise, and haven't done me a lick of good other than giving me a nice opportunity to patronize people that deserve it.
-CR
So you're saying you've got an office with gold records on the wall?
Seems cliche. Next you'll be claiming to be lucky to have stayed sane after all you've been through.
You sir, shouldn't complain. But some times you may.
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