Here’s a quick status update on my attempt to get a functioning soft pedal (una corda) effect on my N3X. By the way, I apologize for abusing this N1X thread for a question on N3X, but there don’t seem to be any threads on the N3X.

At this point imagine me circling slowly, slowly, very cautiously around the VST rabbit hole: “Should I, should I not? Do I really want to tinker with laptops, cables, software parameters…and… gasp… playing with headphones?”

And before I realized what is happening, oops, I slipped down the slippery slope. While sliding into the dark abyss I somehow managed to part with 250 dollars and received a Modern D in return. After landing, I rummaged through the storage boxes and once I blew dust off various cables and gadgets, I rolled up my sleeves and went to work.

jenpal I use the in-built USB audio interface on my N1X with 64-buffer size and haven’t noticed any latency. Furthermore, I find its audio quality better than the stereo mini-jack AUX IN.

I realized that N3X, which came to market before N1X, does not have the USB audio interface of the latter. There is a USB-to-Host option, but it only sends out MIDI signal. It is, however, not a two-way-street, it cannot convey audio from the laptop back to the N3X speaker system. This means I have no other option but to use the stereo mini-jack AUX-IN input on the N3X.

Pete14 It might not “translate” too well for various reasons, but most importantly how the “stereo” samples play through the N3X’s “multi-channel” (not optimal). As for latency, a half-decent computer should be able to handle this without any issues….
I don’t think the MD could match the N3X’s on-board playability, although some may disagree; for you see, every single aspect of the N3X (speakers, action, sound engine) has been optimized at the factory level (something that is difficult to match), so the only thing the MD could possibly add to the picture is perhaps a little more detail around the edges, but then again, most of this gets lost in translation (from inception to “recreation”) due to the above-mentioned

Pete hypothesized correctly. I can feed Modern D sound in stereo through the mini-jack AUX-IN input, but the sound coming through the internal speaker system is not at all at the level of the on-board Yamaha CFX. The illusion of playing an acoustic grand is not there, and I don’t think I will enjoy playing Modern D this way.

If I use headphones though (I tried several and landed on Sennheiser HD800S), this was a revelation and a new experience for me. My Yamaha CXF turned into a NY Steinway D, yay! 🙂 And the una corda effect is finally there, what a joy!

No latency problems at any point.

Pete14 Might I recommend Pianoteq? First of all, you can try it for free, and second, you could simply use Pianoteq’s resonances (see Olivier’s hack), and “blend” these resonances with the N3X’s on-board sound. Since modeling is considered “better” at resonances, this could potentially give you the best of both worlds: keep the multi-channel/on-board perspective + add a little more detail around the edges (resonances) that doesn’t get lost in translation……

Now, I am not sure if I understood this suggestion, Pete, was this directly related to my una corda question? Apologies, I decided not to tinker with this Pianoteq resonances approach for the time being as I did not really understand the technicalities.

In summary, for daily general technical practice and playing repertoire that doesn’t require una corda pedal I will probably continue using the N3X on-board CFX sounds through the built-in speaker system as this gives me the best overall illusion of an acoustic instrument.

For the occasions when I want to use una corda, the Modern D VST through headphones sounds a good compromise that I can live with.

And who knows, perhaps with time I’ll develop a sense of appreciation and love for the VST Wonderland 🙂