# SL88 Grand Action "Heavier" Than VPC-1?



## SchnookyPants (Oct 17, 2018)

I read this recently here: https://www.forum-pianoteq.com/viewtopic.php?id=5536 (post #18).

As I'm nowhere near a showroom where I could try out either of these controllers, does anyone here have any experience to add to this statement?

Is the SL88 Grand's Fatar TP40/Wood action really a "heavier" action than that of the VPC-1? 

Any input greatly appreciated.


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## Gerbil (Oct 17, 2018)

No, strangely it's lighter but that makes playing quiet passages just a little less comfortable. Your fingers really sink into the keys on the VPC1 because of their weight and release very smoothly. 

I bought them with the intention of using the SL for orchestra etc and the VPC1 solely for piano duties. However, because the SL88 grand is facing my monitors, four times out of five I end up using it for piano anyway. 

I tend to use the VPC1 for romantic piano works (Chopin etc) but I actually prefer the SL for composers like Scarlatti and Shostakovich for some reason. I think its because the SL feels more like an upright to me and I tend to favour playing leaner music on my acoustic upright 

Tbh, I'd happily use either keyboard but the VPC1 would be my choice if it was just for piano music. If it was for piano and everything else I'd definitely go with the SL.


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## SchnookyPants (Oct 17, 2018)

Thank you for sharing your experience. How long have you had your '88 Grand? Reliable? Did you find it required an initial velocity-tweaking setup?


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## Gerbil (Oct 18, 2018)

I've had it a couple of years now. No reliability issues at all. It has just one peculiarity: I have to turn it off and on twice after booting up otherwise there are weird lags and stuck notes in Reaper. I've no idea why this is the case or if it's just my particular keyboard or computer that causes the issue but it's not finally an inconvenience and causes no problems.

The software for setting up midi control assignments and zones and velocities is excellent. I've got all sorts of presets set up depending on which sample piano or sample library or synth I'm using. I use the Garritan and VSL CFX pianos the most and they took an afternoon of concentrated tweaking to properly set. But I am a bit finnickity. Most people could probably just plug and play.

One thing I will say is that the weighting across the keyboard is not quite as good as the VPC1. The middle of my SL is barely any different to the low end. That might be an issue for you. Like I said before, it reminds me more of an upright and many that I play on do not have a very noticeable difference in weight until you get to the higher octaves. It doesn't hinder my performance and on certain instruments actually helps.

I'll also say that the aftertouch requires some effort. I don't employ it too often because I like my finger joints. It's definitely not capable of delivering the gradual smoothness you'd get from semi-weighted keyboard like a Voyager or an SY99 but comes in handy for adding a bit of vibrato here and there.

It's a shame you can't try one because these things are so subjective. Four people have played on it and three of them really liked it and one wasn't a big fan. She didn't like the joysticks either (I love them).


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## SchnookyPants (Oct 18, 2018)

Thanks for that. I'm a REAPER guy too, so thanks to you I won't freak out if mine gets weird at opening DAW. I gotta wait a while, as it looks like won't be available to me till early Nov.

I don't think I'll be bothered too much by any of the aforementioned irregularities, as I learned early on to be able to adapt to all sorts of provided crappy pianos at various venues. Sounds like I'll be able to adapt just fine. I never thought so much about all the niggling little differences in actions until I started hunting around online for a new keyboard. I've always been of the mind that you just adapt to what ya' got and wring out of it the most emotion you can manage.

Thanks so much for sharing. I'm gonna order one.


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## SchnookyPants (Oct 28, 2018)

I went ahead and got the SL88 Grand. I really dig this thing.

Regarding the above comment on using with REAPER - I find that if I first turn on the SL88,_ then_ REAPER, I have zero connection issues.


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