Korg SV-2

The Lounge Other Gear
#22

After playing piano for all of my life and only using budget models throughout my adulthood, I finally upgraded to an SV-2S 88. I really like it and am keeping it, but there are definitely a few annoyances:

  1. I primarily use acoustic piano sounds when I use it, and the much-touted speakers of the S model just can’t quite pull it off. The 2 octaves below middle C are muddy on pretty much every model. EQ helps but it takes a long time to dial in something good to the ear. The Italian Bright model (2B) is my favorite by far.
  2. No metronome? How is it even legal to build a digital piano with no metronome in 2022?
  3. The music stand sucks. It just sucks. Every time I sit down and plop a book or sheet on it, it slips out from the bottom because it is designed to sit at an obtuse angle. There is a little rubber stopper included in the plastic wrapping of the keyboard, but why not just design something which doesn’t need an additional part?
  4. Some of the modulation effects could use a wider range of parameter tweaking, especially Speed. All of their speeds are too fast.

It sounds like I have a lot of complaints, but in reality I love the thing. I love sitting there practicing. It’s just so very fun. But considering how expensive it is, those issues above should be no-brainers to have gotten right. I’m thankful I found a demo model on Reverb, else I’d be waiting until about April which is when Korg said they would come back in stock. Here are some standout features:

  1. The keybed is perfect. Better than any digital piano I’ve ever used, and better than a lot of acoustic keybeds. They just nailed it.
  2. The built-in speakers of the 2S model sound great for all the other non-acoustic piano sounds.
  3. Great connectivity. This is now my primary MIDI controller for my computer (though I keep a little keystep around for pitch/mod)
  4. Creating favorites and tweaking effects is very fun, but not so distracting that I never practice.
  5. It’s beautiful. In my opinion, the nicest-looking digital piano. Not a huge deal but always nice when something is aesthetically pleasing.

Definitely worth a try if you want a digital piano which doesn’t distract you from practicing. (once you get the EQ right for acoustic pianos)

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#23

Hey, thanks for posting your thoughts! I too have only played more budget digital pianos and don’t currently have a weighted keyboard.

I’m thinking of saving up for one of these when I can. Do you think getting the version with built in speakers is worth it if I already have a keyboard amp? I’d primarily use it to practice acoustic piano, with some wurly snd rhoads sounds here and there.

1 Like
#24

This forum contains great knowledge.

3 Likes
#25

I can only think of two reasons to go with the speaker model in your case:

  1. If you keyboard amp isn’t stereo, you might miss some of the excellence of the effects, like the stereo delay, chorus, and univibe. Also, the sampling is stereo meaning that when you play a really high note, it’s more in the right channel and low notes and more in the left channel.
  2. The white looks so good hahaha

If you’ve always played out of an amp and like that, then I think you’ll do fine with the non-speaker model.

1 Like
#26

Thanks! I appreciate your insight! I hadn’t considered the stereo aspect. That’s definitely something to consider as my amp is mono.

The white does look incredible. Though, the standard version is also a very pretty keyboard!

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#27

Question re: Balanced vs Unbalanced outputs

The Korg SV-2 has Balanced XLR outs and Unbalanced 1/4" outs. When I use my 5foot 1/4" cables in the unbalanced outputs, it sounds like complete garbage. The bass and treble are gone and the output is low. But if I connect to my interface using XLR cables from the Balanced outputs, it sounds like the high quality I expect.

Am I doing something wrong? Or do all unbalanced outputs sound significantly worse than balanced? I would like to connect my SV-2 to some pedals, and they take 1/4" cables. But it’s not worth it if the sound quality is so much worse.

#28

Just use XLR to 1/4 cables and problem solved.

#29

I don’t have an SV-2 but that doesn’t sound right to me — as far as I understand, balanced vs. unbalanced quality differences should only come into play with long cable runs. A 5foot cable should sound basically the same in 1/4" balanced or unbalanced jacks.

So maybe there’s an issue with the jacks?

1 Like
#30

Are the cables made with TRS jacks? What is the input type (un/balanced?) on the receiving device?

#31

Sure that’s an option, but I would prefer to understand how to use unbalanced jacks correctly instead of just chalking them up to be defective and never using them.

#32

I’m using 10" instrument (guitar) cables. Pretty high quality ones, too- from the brand Pig Hog. Is that too long for an unbalanced jack?

#33

The cables are TS (not TRS) and I was plugging them both into the Line Ins of my interface, and the stereo input of my Meris Polymoon. Now that I think about it, I may have forgotten to activate the Polymoon’s stereo input so maybe there was a phasing issue?

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#34

Nah 10 feet should be fine for unbalanced connections. From some quick Googling, it looks like unbalanced connections only introduce noise after 20 feet or so. Again, I’m not an expert but since you describe it as such a radical difference, it seems like the issue may be in the jacks themselves.

Editing to add — or maybe the cables are the issue! That’s probably way more common, it’s easy to come across bum 1/4" cables but probably rare that there are significant issues with those jacks, so maybe swap in some different cables?

3 Likes
#35

yeah, that sounds like a phasing issue somewhere in the chain to me…

1 Like
#36

Of course, you should make sure to check if the unbalanced outputs are defective. As @your_lamp writes the difference between unbalanced and balanced should not be that obvious that it is in your case.
And check if its the cables that are defective first.
Meanwhile, you get that sorted you can use XLR to 1/4 cables.

#37

Thanks for all the suggestions and info, I will test this tonight or tomorrow and report back with my findings!

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#38

Sorry for the delay in following up! (Life comes at you fast, don’t it?)

I just made a recording from both the XLR outputs and the 1/4" outputs. It was the same performance, recorded into Inputs 1-2 and 3-4 of my interface, respectively and simultaneously. They sound utterly identical, which is a relief. The problem isn’t with the SV-2.

Thus, it must have been an issue with either the cables I used last time (today I used new, known-to-be-good cables) or maybe I was running through a pedal and things were going weird there with phase. But, I’m glad to learn the keyboard isn’t at fault.

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#39

I have the same problem with my music stand and was using Google to find a solution.
Can you describe/send a pic of rubber stopper you described?
Korg customer service has no idea what I’m talking about.
Thanks

1 Like
#40

IMG_5406
IMG_54064032×3024 1.87 MB
It’s that clearish plastic thing stopping the paper from falling off. It barely noticed it in the packaging while I was throwing the shipping box away. Hope you can get it! It’s 100% necessary.