My pleasure, greenKnight,
Yes, 25 years ago the electrical technology in existence at the time, meant that what are often called "noise floors" or referred to as "signal to noise ratios" were a lot worse than most everyday amplifiers of today. Of course, as most devices work in the digital domain today, when there's no signal there's usually absolute silence. And again at our age, the hearing ability of our ears at higher frequencies has completely disappeared! This is the normal ageing process. If you're like me, you'll be struggling to hear the highest frequencies from a violin. You may be able to hear no higher than about 5 or 6 kHz (thousand cycles per second).
It's likely that if you listened to the same Roland device today you wouldn't hear any hiss at all!
And that may be why you can't hear any hiss from the Kawai, it may be there, you just have no high frequency hearing capability any more.
Then, the amount of memory available to store "note samples" within the Kawai will have increased probably a thousand fold.
More space equals higher quality samples. The processor in the Kawai is probably a thousand times faster, etc.
In short, most of today's instruments knock spots off the older gear.
Yes, that's no bad choice in my view. Getting back the pleasure of playing, and enjoying a good modern instrument can be extremely satisfying.
MIDI can be a good assistant in this. There are thousands of MIDI files on the Internet and having a playback facility via the computer to play along to can be fun. There's nothing like playing along to a big band or full orchestra to bring a smile to the face.
Learning how to create your own can come later.
Forget the b****y garden!
Some technical terms.
A DAW (digital audio workstation) is a computer optimized to process digital audio data and therefore also runs DAW software.
Often the software alone is referred to as a DAW. Sonar, Cubase, Pro Tools, Ableton Live are some examples.
DAW software, as well as acting like a multi-track audio recording studio, also usually processes MIDI messages, and thus has a
sequencer inside it.
A MIDI controller is usually a keyboard with no sounds in it.
A set of keys, anything from 25 to usually 61 (sometimes mini keys) and lots of knobs and sliders plus a display and a little bit of processing power.
Of course it will have a USB connector (to computer) and possibly MIDI in and out ports for connection to other MIDI instruments.
MIDI controllers can also be e.g. a wind device, where you blow into it and the wind and lip pressure and key position (arranged like a flute perhaps) is sent to a (soft) synth or VI (see below) to play the notes. Google Akai EWI 4000.
A synthesiser is an electronic device (usually with a keyboard) where the user can take basic sound shapes, e.g. a sine wave, and using clever electronic wave shaping tools, alter the sounds to create imitative or completely new sounds. They usually have loads of controls on their work surface to facilitate this.
Analogue versus digital synths. Just the way the waves are generated and shaped.
The original (analogue) synths came before micro computers had been invented.
Analogue synths were less "perfect" than digital. They often drifted out of tune and introduced.
Modern synths are sometimes a hybrid of the lovely lush sound of analogue with the accuracy of digital.
A soft(ware) synth is a synthesiser created as a program, that runs totally within the computer.
Above is a snap shot of a piece of software that runs on my computer that allows me to edit, via MIDI, a Yamaha AN1x (catchy name eh?) synthesiser.
N.B. This is not a simple synth.
Another one for you is a virtual instrument (VI).
This is usually where individual note samples are taken from an instrument, say a flute, and stored within the computer for playback via e.g. a controller.
The Kawai has note samples stored within it that play back as you touch the keys.
The Flute, in the first picture from my earlier post, is from a VI that has samples of a complete orchestra.
Google Garritan GPO4. Garritan also does Marching bands, Jazz band, classic organs, etc. and is one of hundreds of companies offering products in this market place.
A VI can be played via the Kawai over MIDI.
The results can be stored on the computer using either the audio recording part of the DAW as a performance, or via the sequencer part as MIDI note messages that can then be modified as required and later turned into an audio performance.
One step at a time.
Phew!
Probably enough for lesson one, eh?
Kind regards,
JohnG.