Connecting to Mono Keyboard Amp

[Bramley Studio]

I’d be very grateful for any advice from the knowledgeable group on this forum on the following issue, of which I have little experience.
I require a grand piano sound to be sent from the PX-560 to a Mono Keyboard Amp. I was wondering what players have found to be the best option.
1.    Sum the two output channels at the piano and run one cable from the L/Mono Out to the Keyboard Amp.
2.    Run two cables from the piano to the Keybaord Amp and let the amp do the ‘summing’
3.    Choose a ‘Mono Piano’ sound from the PX-560 bank and run that to the Keyboard Amp.
I find it difficult to assess which is the better ‘sound wise’, because it takes time to change between different set-ups and therefore makes comparison tricky and I would welcome suggestions as to which option sounds best in your view.
One other question. Do players find that having the PX-560’s own speakers OFF or ON make any difference to the sound coming from the Mono Keyboard Amp – as suggested in the User Manual p11?
Many thanks in advance for any observations.
 

[AndrewL]

I must say I haven't tried all your scenarios, but I don't think there is much sense in trying #2 (additional unnecessary cable). About #3 , even if you pick a mono tone I think you could still have some effects which produce stereo sound, or for instance if you want to layer the piano with something else or use a rhythm. Anyway, even if you do pick a mono sound, you still have to choose between #1 and #2, don't you? The only case where choosing a mono sound would make a difference is if you used the R (not mono) output, right? That wouldn't make sense to me. Unless you have two mono amps, but that's not your case apparently.

Long story short: use L/Mono as that's exactly what it is for.

 

Regarding the sound optimization... I didn't do any comparison, but it seems that disabling the speakers should be better. I guess that's something you can easily test to see how much of a difference you hear with your particular setup. I would record something and then play back in front of the amp speakers to compare, not in front of the keyboard where the onboard speakers will affect your analysis.

Edited February 2, 2022 by AndrewL

[Bramley Studio]

Thank you very much Andrew for taking time to answer my query. The particular situation in which I need this setup is for a 'piano only' - so no concerns about stereo/layering effects from other sounds, as you correctly suggest. I seem to remember reading in the past that summing a Stereo Piano Sound can produce phasing issues and so maybe not as clean a sound as a Mono that has been specifically made for the keyboard. I love the PX-560 Grand Piano sounds. I think, as you say, making a few recordings is the way to assess this. Many thanks.👍

[Back on Board]

Regarding disabling the onboard speakers - when running through an amp (or other sound system) I've found a distinct difference in the sound when the internal speakers are on or off. According to the manual "While sound output from the speakers is disabled the Digital Piano automatically optimizes sound for headphones and LINE OUT listening. During [internal] speaker output, it automatically switches to optimization for listening with [the internal] speakers."

 

With the internal speakers on I find the high and low ends overboosted for output to a quality amp. If you need to use the internal speakers as a monitor while using external speakers you can dial back the high and low ends with the onboard EQ.

[Bramley Studio]

Useful suggestions Back On Board 👍Thank you for sharing your observations.