All user reviews of 4/5 for the Roland RD-700

For my 50th birthday my wife surprised me with a Roland RD 700.

I had been looking at all of the various electric stage pianos and thought this one looked pretty interesting as it seemed to deliver everything I wanted at the best price.

Thus, The keyboard was bought to provide an electric stage piano with variety of piano, electric piano, and organ voices. It had to be light enough to take when playing out and would otherwise be kept in our music room with drum set, amps, PA etc.

The Roland RD 700 was bought to replace an older, Alisus (sp?) Q77 keyboard that has unweighted keys, only 77 keys, is difficult to move from voice to voice since the LED display is damaged and has not been what I have enjoyed playing given a choice.

My wife bought The Roland RD 700 via an internet purchase at Z Zounds for $1,989, including shipping.



1. great weighted feel on the keys
2. excellent voices
3. ease of moving from voice to voice
4. In comparison to other similar stage pianos this seemed to deliver the most bang for the buck.
5. There is a sense of the piano having something powerful about it that is difficult to describe but thrilling to play.

1. have yet to find a matching gig bag or hard case

2. It going to be a beast to move around as it's pretty heavy

3. There are better B-3 Leslie voices out there

seems very sturdy; so far so good

The Roland RD 700, though a big expense for our budget, seemed to offer the most value in the category and seems to be exactly what I thought it would be. I did not expect to have such difficulty finding a gig bag or hard shell to fit it but further exploration may solve that problem.

Only having it for the last two months I am pleased thus far.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I have loved the RD-700 since the SX series several years back, and Rolands has always outdone themselves. The Touch and Feel of the Third Gen - Progressive Hammer Action (PHA3) keys is the BEST in the business, and the synthetic Ivory keys are amazingly effective when out gigging and you get those sweaty hands. Now, in comparison to other stage pianos, the RD-700GX and NX are some of the heaviest stage pianos in the business because of the PHA3..... so if weight is a concern too you, I would look into the RD-300GX. But, I have had many Pianists sit and play my RD-700GX and comment on how shocked they are at the quality of sound and realism of the Action. But I also wish I had a 300gx sometimes as well, Cause the RD-700NX/GX weighs over 55 pounds


UTILIZATION

It's a good stage box, very versatile with the four layers, foot controller, and a good assortment of factory patches. I've tweaked the patches considerably, and am mostly pleased with the product. It has a great feel too it, not like a real grand piano or anything but compared to some other boards similar to this, this one just feels better.

SOUNDS

Amazing 3 grand pianos 3 electric pianos ivory pha3 keys easy to use nice sound & touch response the best rd series congratulations to Roland job well done very recommended gear to all whose looking for digital pianos.

OVERALL OPINION


The 2 downsides for me are, the acoustic pianos don’t sound like they should or like they do on other boards. I think they could have a more rich sound to them. The acoustics are very mid heavy and plain. Almost like a boxy type of sounds, you will have to spend a lot of time on the eq to get them they way they should sound. Very happy with this board overall though.

See below. Complete connectivity to note the lack of audio input as the fp2 or vk8m. No USB dumps to computer, which is indicative of the "obsolescence" of this keyboard (yes already!)

UTILIZATION

One of the best touch I've played. The config and ergonomics are really great. Large buttons. As a master keyboard is fine too, thanks to the function tx and a backlit display. Manual fine.

SOUNDS

Sounds, there is the real problem. Generation (method) of sample is old and it means: decay of the envelope unrealistic ... Note no "reason" not in some ways like a real piano. The electric pianos are ok, just ok. the bass is ok ... The rhythms are very well (with some features of arrangement fill-in etc). But not enough.

The organs are from the series VK7 (see my review on this product)

OVERALL OPINION

I used it for a few months then I sold it. This is a good keyboard (especially a very good master keyboard) but the lack of sustain piano was unacceptable to me. I tried many other models and since I now have a fp2 I am delighted.

What I liked most was the touch and feel really great (backlit). The least: the sounds of piano and weight (25 kg).

See the manufacturer's site.

USE

The keyboard is a good old-school one and the quality of the keys is impressive.
It's very easy and intuitive to use.
I'm a pianist with 20+ years of experience and you can trust me when I say you can easily go from an RD to a piano and vice versa.

SOUND

I bought it in 2002, it was very good back then, I compared it with the Yamaha s90 (which was more expensive) and I thought it was pretty good.
I have now moved on to vst instruments (Steinberg grand, B4ll, elektrik piano) and I only use it as a master keyboard.
The piano sound is OK, but the decay is very fast. Notes disappear very fast
Rhodes- Excellent
Hammond (OK) lacks amp simulation and other hammond effects

It's OK to play a small gig without wrecking your head with a PC and connections. I bought a SRX11 card to improve the piano sounds.
It's quite heavy, but well-made.