Vidal - new midi controller being developed

I love how the idea of this.

If they can get the action to respond well and feel nice, I think it could be fantastic.

I know it’s a controller, but I see a lot of room for some speakers atop, so why not?

Is a controller with speakers an odd thing to ask for?

It’s not like I’m asking for internal sounds, but speakers would go a long way for me, for you see, I’m not a fan of dangling cables, stands, and satellite speakers hovering over the piano; I prefer my speakers grounded, so that I can feel the rumbling on the keys, even if this comes at a bit of a loss in terms of overall fidelity as compared to high-end monitors; which, by the way, can cost a bundle.

Pete14 Why the cynicism?

They’ve stated -very clearly- how great the action, yet you’re bent on an inquisition!

What if they’ve figured out a way to defy the laws of gravity? surely, we have no idea what kind of alien-tech the guys at Vidal Sassoon have at their disposal.

Shame on you all, for such cynicism!

for the sins of questioning a piano manufacturer of their antigrav technology,

i will never recover from this. 😗

I haven't been this excited since the AvantGrand came along. I'd prefer this without any panel on the left.

I haven't got the space for a hybrid, but if this works as promised it could be my keyboard for life. It's expensive, and there are other things I'd spend the money on first (if I had it), but my current digital will have to be replaced eventually.

Johnstaf but if this works as promised

What’s their promise? I haven’t seen any details whatsoever.

CyberGene What’s their promise? I haven’t seen any details whatsoever.

That it feels like a concert grand. We've heard that before of course. There hasn't been a development in digital actions in a long time, so it's exciting to see something new.

Unless I see how they designed the hammer weights leverage and how the hammers are linked to the keys, I’d be very skeptical. To me it seems like the same principle as in the existing digital piano actions in a very compact space which is worrying.

I'm with you, CG.

It sound like much hype and little substance.

CyberGene Unless I see how they designed the hammer weights leverage and how the hammers are linked to the keys, I’d be very skeptical. To me it seems like the same principle as in the existing digital piano actions in a very compact space which is worrying.

It's the promise of something new that excites me, but I'm still cautious. If it has realistic letoff simulation that's actually useful like on a grand, I'll seriously consider it. If it is just hype, I'll just move along. No harm done.

let's talk about the wood work, the quality looks good, but the artistry, somewhat pedantic/pedestrian.

it looks more like something dads make, not trying to diminish the important role of dad-gineering, but the geometry is not very beautiful/inspired.

perhaps the final version could use some curves and asymmetry. 🙃

I love the look of it. If the Victorians did minimalism it would be like this. 😃

kawafanboi

+1

Johnstaf

don't know bout that johnstaf.

for example, look at the edge between the side wall and the top cover. there's no proper transition, it's just endgrain ontop of side grain, this is dad-gineering.

and if you sand end grain, it just looks worse, planed surfaces are best as opposed to sanded or sawn, although if you have those super japanese blades at 10k rpm, you can sort of get away with it.

I'd be interested in just a really good midi controller. Something that could reach all the velocity layers with a minimalist design (no speakers, onboard sounds, etc). I like the idea of an adjustable key action provided it had the mechanics of an acoustic action. Although, I'm partial to the polished black look so I might have to put an ebony/poly stain on the nice wood.

I would imagine only a small and wealthy segment of musicians would place a preorder and pay for something like this before it's even out.

God Bless,
David

Remember that “wooden” horse dad made you?

Remember how the arse was flat, the head squared, the legs short, and the “member” missing?

That’s the Vidal: a dad-gineered, skewed, crossed-eyed, dead horse; and yes, I do look a gift-horse in the mouth, and that there Vidal horse is ugly as heck!

Disclaimer: I don’t always agree with one by the name of KFB, but when he’s right, he’s right!🤣

David B Although, I'm partial to the polished black look so I might have to put an ebony/poly stain on the nice wood.

I must say the blonde wood is growing on me -not literally. 😀

😊

That's because it's vidal sassoon.

Pete14

+1 for the build in speakers.

If they combine that with a build in usb-audio interface it would be awesome.

Yes, an audio interface would be great!

I remember having to purchase a separate interface, monitors, stands, cables, etc. for the VPC-1, you know, because it’s “the best” controller in the world, yet somehow I was still underwhelmed despite its so-called ‘authorized’ velocity curve(s) for Pianoteq!

“An authorized curve,” I thought, “surely, it can’t get better than that;” well, it turns out that it can get better than that + a bag of chips; sans the cumbersome cables/interface & overall expense associated with the VPC-1 setup.