Any Crumar Seven users out there?

I’ve been looking for a stage piano mainly for the studio for a while now. I’d sort of settled on the Kawai MP7 or 11 but I keep getting drawn back to the Crumar Seven. It’s modelled Rhodes (the main sound I’m looking for) sounds great to my ears on demo’s I’ve seen. I like the retro vibe of it (I’ve got their vintage DP analogue piano that the Seven seems to take inspiration from) and I’ve also checked out the Viscount EP too.

The general consensus seems to be that the Viscount does better piano sounds whilst the Seven has the better EP sounds. The Seven has recently got new grand piano sounds but the Viscount has also just had a new OS release with improved patches too.

Thw Seventeen may be an option as it also has the modelled Rhodes sounds but just a sample based engine for the other sounds. The Kawai has a much better proper piano action but I’ve read a few issues with it plus the size and price difference. The Korg SV gets compared quite a bit but it just doesn’t float my boat like the Crumar does.

Have any fellow ‘nauts played any of these or bought one?

I recently sold my Korg SV2 to purchase the Crumar Seven. I always thought the build quality of the Korg in relation to the cost was lacking (buttons felt cheap, pressboard bottom). I couldn’t be happier with the Seven. I like the action more than the SV2 and the EP’s are fantastic. The stock acoustic piano sounds are crap tbh. The new acoustic sound banks they’ve released are fantastic. I also like that unlike the SV2 I can put another keyboard on top of the Seven.

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Welcome to the forum!

Thanks for the input!

re the new piano patches… that’s just what I wanted to hear. Many of the demos are from a few years ago before the newer patches so it’s hard to get a handle on how much better they are but you’ve answered my question.

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There is a good review with some comparison to competitors in Amazona.

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I’m new to this forum, but wanted to share my thoughts. I have both the sv2 and crumar seven, sv2 for about 5 years, the crumar seven for over a year.

The EP sounds of the Crumar Seven are meshmerizing, they can vary from dry to watery, and the reverb/delay/distort can be varied in such a wide range, it’s a joy. Same goes for the tremolo effects where intensity and speed can be set. What makes the EP section incredible, is how insanely wide the range is in terms of touch-sensitivity. Comparing to EP sounds in the SV2, some of which sound great too, you’ll notice the difference mostly when you’re playing really softly or very aggressively where the Crumar Seven follows without any any reservation from watery to tangy and grippy, and it doesn’t ever feel like a synth, it feels like a proper analogue instrument.

The keybed is a bit heavier than the SV2, which means the latter plays a bit lighter, and in terms of playing, I prefer the SV2 resistance. Still the fatar keybed of the Crumar is very good to play fast, and keys bounce back well.

Agree with the comment, it’s fun to stack on top of the Crumar Seven, and for a long while I’ve had the SV2 on top of it. Now I live in two locations, and have each at one location, so swap playing with them for my practice.

The SV2 doesn’t have a decent reverb, as the min/max setting for reverb really only for a small part of that min/max sounds ok. With the Crumar Seven, the level of reverb & delay always is easy to set, from dry to soaking wet, and boy does it sound the lushest you’ve ever heard in your life. Courtesy I’m sure of the resonance engine they’ve put in the Crumar Seven. The SV2 makes an echo and it doesn’t sound bad, but change it a bit and you’ll cringe a quickly put it back nearer to the stock settings. It’s just not what the SV2 shines in. Perhaps I need to dig into the SV2 editor on my mac, but I recall going there without too great results.

The main gripe with the Crumar Seven: even after the update, are the piano sounds. Since the architecture of Crumar Seven was set up around the synths inside, and not -like the SV2- around the samples (needed for the piano), even though the sounds of the new patches are much better, there’s a main issue: very faint touches to the keybed will occasionallly drop a note. Similar touches won’t get lost on the SV2 EVER, nor will they on the EP part of the Crumar Seven. I did increase the sensitivity on the Crumar Seven piano patch, through its wifi interface, and this improved it a bit, but still had lost notes after that.

If there’s interest, happy to upload some recordings of either or both.

Can highly recommend both SV2 and Crumar Seven, as the latter will not ever disappoint in the EP section, reverb is super lush, keybed a tad heavy but super responsive for the EP section. If you often play highly dynamic pieces and need the piano sound; either have a good alternative for the crumar seven or stay away from it. If EP sound is what you need, I can highly recommend.

SV2S 88 - I have the version with built-in speakers, sounds fantastic, and plays very very pleasantly. The keys are more plasticy than the fatar keybed of the Crumar Seven, but are well weighted, and make for less fatigue on your fingers. Sounds are good and diverse, except for the control on the reverb. I’m sure if you add reverb with a different device, you could compensate for that part, but I’m not sure you’ll get to the fidelity and depth of the EP section on Crumar Seven

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