I've been experimenting with both acoustic and digital pianos and noticed the sustain pedal feels quite different. From a physics and signal‑processing perspective, how does the sustain pedal actually shape the harmonic content and decay of notes in each type? Are there specific mechanisms in digital instruments that try to emulate the natural resonance, and how effective are they compared to the mechanical soundboard of an acoustic piano?
How does the sustain pedal influence harmonic resonance in digital versus acoustic pianos?
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When I first swapped my old upright for a stage‑ready digital piano, the sustain pedal felt almost “instant” – the notes just kept ringing, but the richness was missing. On the acoustic piano the damper lifts and the strings keep vibrating against the soundboard, so the overtones interact and slowly blend, especially in the low register where the board adds those warm, lingering resonances. In a digital piano the pedal mainly triggers a longer envelope and, in more sophisticated models, a simulated sympathetic resonance engine that adds a subtle decay curve and a few extra harmonics based on the key’s pitch. I’ve tried a few brands: the ones with a dedicated “soundboard resonance” model actually cross‑fade the partials of nearby strings, so the chord sounds a bit more organic, but it still lacks the complex, nonlinear coupling you get from a real wood board. The result is decent for gigging or practice, but when I sit at a grand and let the damper lift, the harmonic bloom and the way the upper strings feed back into the lower ones is something the digital algorithms can only approximate, not fully replicate.