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Technology
The RP220 features five unique applications of
sound design technology including "physical mod-
els" to simulate the internal characteristics of a
piano soundboard.
Natural String Resonance
This physical model technology, patented by
Generalmusic as " Natural String Resonance ", al-
lows all of the complex harmonics normally pro-
duced by the piano soundboard to be faithfully
reproduced. This means that a note's individual
sound will always be slightly different depending
upon which other notes are currently being held,
(and consequently which strings are un-damped
and free to resonate in sympathy). If you hold a low
"C" and let the note decay, the strings for that note
are still un-damped for as long as the key remains
depressed. If you now strike another "C" higher up
the keyboard, (staccato), you will hear the sympa-
thetic resonance of the low "C" strings in response
to the new note played. This natural effect repli-
cates exactly what happens on a grand piano. If you
experiment with different combinations of notes you
will hear harmonic colours particular to each. Be-
cause this effect is produced by physical models
and not by samples or DSP effects, the result is a
musically and technically accurate simulation of a
piano's soundboard and virtually infinite combina-
tions of harmonics can be produced.
Soundboard Simulation
This new and revolutionary Physical Model, pat-
ented by Generalmusic as "Soundboard Simula-
tion", allows real time simulation of a grand piano's
soundboard, giving the digital piano sound of the
RP220 a warm and natural aspect never before
possible to reproduce in a digital piano.
3D DSP
A new and exclusive spatializing algorithm, created
by Generalmusic in collaboration with the C.S.C.
laboratory of Padua University. Thanks to this new
complex algorithm, RP220 breaks the standard
concept of left and right channels, opening he stereo
panorama so that the general sound speaks with
greater definition and clarity, while thanks to the
dynamic pan, the sound of each note changes
position as occurs in an acoustic grand piano.
Damper Physical Model
This technology is patented by Generalmusic as
" Damper Physical Model ". When the damper pedal
is depressed, the damper physical model will simu-
late the effect of sympathetic resonances being
produced by the un-damped strings. You can hear
the effect of the Damper Physical Model by compar-
ing the sounds of notes played in the highest octave
of the instrument with and without the damper pedal
depressed.
Advanced Release Technology
This technology, applied to the piano sounds in the
RP220, is called " Advanced Release Technology ",
(patent pending). Sample based electronic pianos
traditionally use envelope generators to control what
happens when a key is released. This simply allows
the sample loop to continue for a set period of time
until it's amplitude is reduced to zero by the enve-
lope generator. In an acoustic piano, vibrating
strings are silenced by the action of a damper
making contact with the string. When this happens,
depending on the velocity with which the key was
struck and the length of the string itself, certain
frequencies are damped earlier than others produc-
ing a distinctive harmonic "ring" as the different
frequencies in the string's tone dissipate through-
out the piano soundboard. The ART in the RP220
simulates this feature with precise accuracy through-
out the 88 note range.
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