AP-470 finding a sound I’m happy with

[naominelson]

Hi everyone ☺️
My dear hubby just spoilt me with an AP-470 because I had to give an AP-80 back to my nephew, we were looking after it for a while, and I just loved the ‘piano rock’ sound on the 80, and I’ve gone through the 470 and I’m really finding it hard to find a sound I like, the ‘piano rock’ on the 470 sounds very twangy almost like a harpsichord sound, and the other piano sounds, sound muffled to me, I love love love a crisp resonant piano sound, I am going through the manual to see how I improve or change the sound of a tone, but with some of the options on Chordana I can’t hear any change in sound or tone. Also I’ve only ever used an electric piano, so what exactly is the ‘hammer’ and ‘damper’ buttons for? Hammer I’ve tried on and off but no real change and the damper is like the sustain pedal right? But turning that on and off doesn’t seem to change anything either, but I’m wondering why you’d need a damper option when you already have the sustain pedal?

Anyway just thought I’d see what anyone’s thoughts are on here ☺️
Thanks heaps 👍

[Brad Saucier]

The damper key is "damper noise".  In an acoustic piano, felt dampers are pressed against the strings to mute the sound.  Pressing the damper pedal lifts the felt from the strings allowing them to sustain. The lifting action causes a subtle noise to sound from the strings.  The damper key enables or disables that sound effect.  

 

Hammer is "hammer response".  This is the setting which adjusts the latency (lag, or delay) which occurs between the time a key is pressed and the note sounds.  Different acoustic pianos will have different response characteristics. This setting is meant to adjust that to your desired taste. 

[naominelson]

17 hours ago, Brad Saucier said:

The damper key is "damper noise".  In an acoustic piano, felt dampers are pressed against the strings to mute the sound.  Pressing the damper pedal lifts the felt from the strings allowing them to sustain. The lifting action causes a subtle noise to sound from the strings.  The damper key enables or disables that sound effect.  

 

Hammer is "hammer response".  This is the setting which adjusts the latency (lag, or delay) which occurs between the time a key is pressed and the note sounds.  Different acoustic pianos will have different response characteristics. This setting is meant to adjust that to your desired taste. 

 

[Bill Hugh]

Its my second week with the AP470. I also cannot find a good sound. The Concert 1 and 2 are very muffled. I can't believe this is a NY Grand Piano sound. I'm also getting strange hot keys. Keys that sound off then the rest. I'll get a key that is doubled with the next octave. Very strange. I'll have all this at one time. I'll turn it off then come back the next day and its fine. The other thing I hate the most is a very long sustain when holding down the peddle. It goes on for ever. Not good when playing classical. I've been playing now for about 50years. I've used a Casio PS-20 that I think sounds better. All and All not Happy. They say you should go and test different pianos at the store but the selection in my city are not good. There was a nice youtube review of the AP470 from a guy in Canada. He tried not to say the AP470 is not worth the money. I should have watched his body language. Concerning the Chordana app I agree with the first post you cannot change much.  The only thing that is good, the cabinet is beautiful. 

Thanks for letting me post.

[Brad Saucier]

If you are experiencing random keys with double notes or extremely loud notes, this would need a technician to resolve.  If this is a brand new purchase, I would contact your dealer to resolve that.  This is not normal for a new instrument. 

 

As far as finding a piano tone you like, have you tried all of the preset tones?  They always have some brighter tones in the presets for those who prefer that.  Grand piano 1 and 2 each have 3 different variations, "concert" "mellow" and "bright".  The piano also has a "brilliance" adjustment which can brighten the sound of tones.  You can also try adjusting "touch response" to a lighter setting so it is easier to reach brighter dynamics. 

[Bill Hugh]

I have lived with all the tones for a week now. I've tried adjustments with Chordana and nothing sounds any different. The mellow tone is way to mellow and the grand piano sounds like there is something covering the speakers. The crazy thing is all the funny sounds I'm getting stop when I change tones then come back later. This is an intermittent problem that a technician would be hard to solve. I called the shop I bought it from and they will check with the Caso rep. I'll leave it with that for now.

Thanks for your post.

[Brad Saucier]

One other thing I didn't mention, the lid on the top of the piano can be opened to allow a brighter sound as well.  

[Bill Hugh]

So, I've got some good news. A Casio technician called me the other day and explained to me my problem with some keys being louder than others. He said this happens when Casio's sit in a store for a long time and not played. They can get dusty inside. My piano, although not played, sat on the floor of the store for a long time before I got it. The problem is very fixable, and he's got no problem driving the 75 miles to my house to do it. Thats very nice that Casio is doing this. It says a lot about the company.