Here is the final installment in the Acoustic & Digital Differences series by composer Rob Kennedy. While this is the final installment of this series, I hope to collaborate with Rob again. Enjoy the article, and don’t forget to check out https://www.robjkennedy.net/.

Acoustic & Digital Differences 4

When this series of articles began I was going to focus only on the differences between the Acoustic and Digital world, but it expanded to cover the many things that are connected to both domains. Now I bring us back to the heart of the combined worlds of acoustic and digital music.

I say combined, because now I can truly say they have come together most uniquely. Music technology companies have been trying to emulate the sound of the acoustic world for a long time. While they may never get to a one-on-one simulation, some are so close it’s almost impossible to hear and feel the difference.

The step that companies needed to take to bring these worlds closely aligned was through the hybrid. We’ve seen it in breath controllers and electronic/acoustic wind instruments for some time. But in the last five years companies have been combining acoustic action with digital sounds, and Yamaha with their AvantGrand NU1X has not only done this, but they have created an instrument that is even more sensitive to the touch than the real thing. I feel that this is so much the case, that I bought one.

Hybrid – the Yamaha NU1X

I’ve had many acoustic pianos, uprights and grands over the last 40 years, and I know how important touch and response is for a player and also a composer. It’s the inner workings of an acoustic piano that give back so much to the sound a performer creates.

The NU1X actually allows a player to develop a greater sensitivity because it is more subtle under the fingers than an acoustic piano. The real upright action Yamaha have included along with how they have devised the way the “hammers” hit, combined with being able to adjust the sound balance with what they call Intelligent Acoustic Control (IAC) and the responsive damper pedal, they have made a unique hybrid instrument. Plus it also has four levels of touch sensitivity.

The NU1X has the feel of an upright, with the sound of a grand. Yamaha has based the standard piano sound in the NU1X on their concert grand the CFX. There are 14 other voices as well.

Along with the usual MIDI/audio connections, you can play and record as MIDI or WAV files to USB and use it as a MIDI controller. Then there’s the 20 levels of reverb to get the resonance that works for you.

Composing and the instrument

As a composer, experimentation and repetition are normal parts of the process. But, who wants to hear what a composer is writing? People only want to hear what composers have written. Being able to create on an instrument that gives you lifelike feel and sound with headphones on will probably save your relationship and sooth your neighbours. I’ve had neighbours banging on roofs and doors at night when I was trying to compose, it’s a major put off. My father basically booted me out of home the day I brought a grand piano home.

With all that, it’s simply the feel and the sound of the hybrid instrument that lets you create what we can now say is a real acoustic sound from a digital instrument. We have crossed the acoustic and digital divide.

Check out a video of Rob playing his NU1X below, and don’t forget to check out his other posts:

https://composerstoolbox.com/2019/05/03/acoustic-digital-differences-1/ (Part 1)

https://composerstoolbox.com/2019/05/07/acoustic-digital-differences-2/ (Part 2)

https://composerstoolbox.com/2019/05/22/acoustic-digital-differences-3/ (Part 3)