Roland Other musical instruments

Everything has been said about its features. 10/10 UTILIZATION I don't play piano, I "thump" it. I'm in a '60s-'70s cover band (CSN&Y, Eagles, Beatles, America, ...). I gave up piano a couple of years ago. My wife insisted that I retake it, so I did, and the first thing I played was "Cathedral" by Graham Nash. Suddenly I had the bug again and I started using it once more. The manual is very comprehensive. The keyboard is simply stunning. Setup is both simple and very complex. The possibilities are huge. 10/10 SOUNDS I only use a fraction of the sounds. Mainly piano, organs, violin pads, and from time to time flute, sax, bass... The possibility to "split" the piano in four parts can be interesting in certain cases.. Sounds are realistic and effects allow you to add touches to it (although I don't use them much). 9/70 (I haven't tested everything) OVERALL OPINION I've used it for 5 years and I haven't gotten tired of it. I tested some other models before. I even came back with a Kurzweil, but it wasn't for me. I took my son along with me to exchange the piano for another model. When he heard the Roland, he said, "Dad, there's no doubt about it, this is the one." It just goes to show that we sometimes need a younger look at things. The weight might be a problem for some. It weighs almost 90lbs inside its flight case. I always need the help of someone else to take it down to our rehearsal room (which is in the cellar). I bought a cart so I didn't have to bother my "playing mates" too often. But the weight is a given, since you can't have such a key action mechanism on a unit weighing only 11-13lbs. For rehearsals I use the Juno, another Roland. I also use this keyboard for certain organ and violin sounds (they are different to the ones on the RD). I'd buy it again without hesitation. 9/10 (due to its weight)

USE The keyboard is one of the RD 700's strengths. It features true hammer action (which was something pretty new for stage keyboards back then) and it's sturdy (having used it for years, I have never had a mechanical problem and the response of the keys has always been the same, due to the hammer action). The manual is clear enough: The INC and DEC system to increase or decrease the parameters (which is typical of Roland) is a bit confusing at first... The use of more buttons would've been easier, wouldn't it? The overall configuration is easy enough, keyboard adjustment is quite precise and fine. SOUND The acoustic pianos were very good back in the day but they have gotten a bit old. Especially regarding the sustain because it's really awful compared to a modern digital piano: Sounds don't last long enough... You usually expect notes of a piano sound to last longer, not to be attenuated so fast! That said, one of its main strengths is that the attack, the "biting," of the piano sounds is incredibly real, so fast jazz solos sound very realistic, which makes the delight of the pianist. It comes perfectly through in a mix, the sounds are balanced, round and detailed. The expression is rather good, it's a wonderful piano to play live. The dynamic response is excellent. Rhodes sounds are also noteworthy, very well-achieved, with a good tremolo. The strings and pads are just as good and the effects are credible, even if a bit obsolete nowadays. OVERALL OPINION I've been using it for live gigs several times a month for 8 years and it's always a pleasure! I have tested other models and back then it outclassed the Yamaha P200 and the P80, as well as the Kurzweils of the day... It was very popular until recently, when the RD 700 GX arrived, with its new keyboard and sounds, which actually bring about new things. The Nords are also better now. Today, I'll keep it as a master keyboard and invest on a nice virtual piano to control with the RD 700 (I can't make up my mind between the Ivory II and the Garritan Steinway). I would buy it again without hesitation because it will become a very good master keyboard for years to come!

*88 weighted keys *Sounds: 5 piano styles/3 electric piano styles/4 Mallet styles/4 String styles *In terms of FX it has Chorus and a reverb, which aren't really modifiable. *connections: 2 x mono out(L/R) on 1/4" jacks 2 x mono in (L/R) on 1/4" jacks with a pot to vary the gain between Line and Mic Midi in/out/thru (no usb at the time) 2 x pedals (soft/damper) on 1/4" jacks UTILIZATION Weighted keys with hammer action. You can feel a small resistance when you press the keys. It's very easy to use. It's a very simple digital piano and not an arranger that can do everything. SOUNDS It's very subjective to like a piano sound over another one. Personally, I like very much the electric piano, the sound of piano1, I have virtually never used the "Mallets," for example, the organs could be better and certain string styles are really very good. When it comes to the realistic quality of the sounds, of the piano, for example, there are better options on the market today, it's obvious, the developments in terms of sound from the time of the FP8 are huge. OVERALL OPINION I've used it for 20 years. I like the sound out of the built-in speakers. When connected to external speakers, the sound seems colder. I have performed dozens of concerts and gone on tour with it! It is very robust, and it is also quite heavy. To finish, I have never had any problems with it, no repairs needed and everything still works fine. I'll keep it.

(Originally written by pat48/translated from Audiofanzine FR) This piano was not conceived for professional musicians. If you're a beginner or an average pianist, if you need an easily transportable piano, or if you want a budget piano with Roland sound for your children then keep on reading, but ONLY in this case. Pros: compact dimensions, light, affordable, comprehensive connections (audio, Midi, footswitch) Cons: only 76 keys, half-weighted keys. See all features on Roland's website! UTILIZATION Very good user's manual and easy-to-use product. Metronome and 2-track recording. SOUNDS "Impressive" prerecorded demo songs OVERALL OPINION I've been using it since 2004 as my second piano (I take it with me when I travel. It's quite good as a second piano or for beginners (especially considering its price). I think it's been discontinued.

88-key piano with lots of jack connections (2 headphone outputs, right output, left output, right input, left input, sustain pedal, damper pedal), and three MIDI (in, out, thru). 8 classic sounds (97), piano, ep, organ... pretty decent... ...for its time. One chorus and one reverb effect. No editing, as far as I know. UTILIZATION Very nice keyboard, much similar to a real piano than other digital pianos. It's light enough but you can still feel the action mechanism under your fingers. Being a pianist, I find its keyboard very intuitive, the keys are well proportioned and do not slip. Having rescued it from the junkyard, I never had the manual! I have never been tempted to configure MIDI, it starts directly on channel 1, so I adapt my MIDI setup consequently. It's a very good master keyboard. SOUNDS The sounds aren't very useful, given their age. I recommend it exclusively as a master keyboard! OVERALL OPINION I've used it for a year, more or less. I love its keyboard, its robustness (I've taken it on tour several times and it has endured all sorts of abuse — liquid, dirt, drops, welding, etc.), and it can be easily repaired when there's a problem. The snag is its size (88 keys, it's as wide as a piano!) and weight (it's heavy as a whale), which make it very impractical to transport in a car. I saved it from the junkyard, so it cost me nothing (apart from the tin to repair a couple of things), so its value for money is pretty interesting!

Roland does it again with the RD-100, this board has amazing sounds. All of the Roland boards have a very warm sound, plus this keyboard is very affordable. The after touch is great and the keys feel like a real grand piano. I have used this keyboard a few times on and off and every time I mess with this board I am surprised by just the overall feel of it UTILIZATION Like I said before and I will always say this about Rolands boards. All of the sounds have great warmth too them, other boards have sounds that sound light and thin. All of Rolands boards bring a very well rounded full warm sound to the table. Roland prides themselves on creating keyboards that have the best and highest quality sounds. SOUNDS I would compare the sounds to this board with the sounds of the higher Roland workstation boards, except this boards electric pianos are probably the best out of all of the Roland series of boards and workstations. OVERALL OPINION Overall with the price of this board its definitely worth the purchase, just go to your local keyboard store and sit down with the Roland RD-100 and you will see what im talking about and what all of the buzz is about. You will sit down at this board (whether you are a seasoned keyboard player or a beginner) and you will feel like you are playing a grand piano. The weight on the white and black keys is about the same which is hard to find on electric keyboards. This board will have you feeling very creative and ready to lay down some great chord progressions that will leave your audience with their mouth open. Finding an electric keyboard that can do this is rare, that’s why you must give this one a try.Not the best but will sound great in your house.

Piano numrique scne of 88 notes, touch piano (hammers mcaniques) 16 sounds (4 by its variation) Reverb, Chorus, Keyboard splitable. Output L / R, 2 headphone outputs, MIDI in / out, 2 between expression pedals (including sustain pedals included) UTILIZATION The feel is correct but a bit lightweight. Forcment is useful if you want to make super fast solos but I prfre even when the heavy touch of my old RD 300 which is much closer to that of a real piano (but hey, instrument-l did not have the same price dpart). That said, I think it's partly thanks to touch the relatively lightweight as poinds the piano does not Exceeds 20 pounds (my back says thank you!). Operation is simple, once you read the manual. Some remarks dsobligeantes even when: - It is unfortunate that need both hands when you want to change the sound of the "lower" split keyboard mode. - There is no Volume Controller spars for the midi out channel. - The automatic transposition in split mode is a functionality that I would pass. SOUNDS The sounds are correct. I find the piano a little mtallique and Difference in volume between the treble and bass are EXAGRES (means only the treble and it's really boring). At home I will continue to use Acustix with Halion. I love the rhodes and hammond sounds. OVERALL OPINION This is not the instrument but I rvais report quality price is right. I have tried many other instruments but olny that Roland was more or less my needs (and I can not afford to buy a Clavia nordstage). If I had to buy a piano now, my choice would be srement on this instrument, even when that Submitted a number of advantages, including poinds pen for scne.

This digital piano is from the 80s I think. It is a professional quality instrument. It has various piano sounds and the other limited choice of basic sounds like organs, harpsichord, strings etc. The sounds can be edited and saved. The instrument is multi-timbrel. If memory serves me correct it doesn't have a sequencer. It has facility for splitting the keyboard into parts where different sounds are triggered on different sections of the keyboard. It has some cheesy drum sounds. There are the usual line outs, pedal outs, midi in/outs. The keyboard feels like a real piano. The piano is heavy. UTILIZATION The one drawback of this keyboard is that it is not user friendly when accessing the deeper functions which requires the manual to figure out. It is also very heavy but it is transportable. SOUNDS This digital piano sounds great! It sounds very much like a real piano. And the fidelity of the output sound is extremely good. All the output sounds sound very solid and strong with very low if any background noise. On recordings it sounds like a real piano. Not all of the piano sounds are great but there are a few great ones. OVERALL OPINION I was fortunate enough to be able to borrow one of these for a number of years. Eventually I had to return it to the owner. I deeply miss the Roland RD 500. However I am not a true piano player. I'm a guitarist/composer who plays and records some piano and uses piano for composing. The best thing about this digital piano is that it feels and sounds like a real piano. I like to play in a beautiful romantic style using the damper pedal. With this piano I could easily get into and feel inspired by the sound. I have looked for another digital piano since losing this one but I have been looking in the $300.00 range. I have not found anything including the new Yamahas that feel or play as good as this piano. I believe the going rate for a used RD 500 is around $500.00. If I could find another used for a good price I would definitely buy it.

I use this as my main gigging piano and have done for the last seven years. I have had to go into the editing as deep as I can to get the acoustic piano sound that satisfied me, but I feel I have now achieved this. It can be hard to get a good live sound with this board straight out of the box but with work it can be done. I have recorded extensively with this piano and it is compares well with an acoustic grand piano and better than many I have played. In my opinion is is a better gigging machine than the RD800 which has much more plastic in its construction . I am happy to see that the new RD2000 has gone back to the metal casing set up. I've yet to try one to see if it is worth changing from my RD700NX. I have done at least 700 gigs with this piano and it has never let me down, I have played all the major brands but I still find the combination of action and sound (once edited) to be the best all round gigging piano.

SEE ROLAND'S WEBSITE UTILIZATION VERY NICE KEYBOARD, BETTER THAN THE RD700 AND THE KORG SV1, SO IT'S VERY GOOD. I PLAY PROFESSIONALLY ON AN ACOUSTIC YAMAHA PARLOR GRAND AND I FIND THAT THE KEYBOARD OF BOTH IS SIMILAR, WHICH CAN ONLY BE TAKEN AS A COMPLIMENT. SOUNDS THE SOUND? NOTHING COMPARES TO AN ACOUSTIC PIANO, BU IT'S NOT BAD AT ALL, IT'S ACTUALLY STUNNING OVERALL OPINION FOR ME, IT'S ONE OF THE BEST RIGHT NOW QUITE TRANSPORTABLE IT'S NO TOY, IT'S SIMPLY A NO-FRILLS, SOLID, GOOD PIANO.

This is a simple piece of gear. It has a very nice hammer-mechanism piano keyboard, a few sounds, midi connection, basic sequencer. $800 UTILIZATION Very easy to use. Hold 2 preset buttons to layer 2 sounds, etc. I've had the RD-150 for 3 years and had no problems with it. SOUNDS The RD-150 has only a few presets available, namely a couple of pianos, rhodes, strings, etc. The main piano and rhodes are the ones I use all the time, although I mainly use the RD-150 as a MIDI controller. OVERALL OPINION I do not feel super attached to it, although it is a nice controller and digital piano. Originally posted on FutureProducers.com Posted by: mano 1 ( 6-, 2005)

First, let me correct something here. The RD 2000 has 8 independent zones (which means, you can play up to 8 patches/sounds at a time, and adjust each of them independently). But you can combine even more than 8 at a time with a DAW of course. It does not need built-in speakers... why? Because it is a Stage Digital Piano; it was designed focused on the professional use. But despite being marketed as a digital piano, it does has the power of an extremely powerful MIDI controller, bundled with extensive MIDI features, including combinations and scenes, great DAW integration with a built-in audio interface at 24bit/48Khz, and it has more than 1,100 non-piano sounds, including organs, synths, brass, orchestral strings, and many others, plus the expansions. And gorgeous pianos sounds (which for me is a top priority) and many great other sounds. In fact, this is much more than just a digital piano. But one of my favorite things about the RD 2000 is the authentic hammer action and escapement; this keybed captures every nuance of your expression, you can feel how this piano reacts to your expression as you play. It is the Roland's premium PHA-50 keyboard action which other than a real grand piano, the RD 2000 is the one that has given me the most satisfactory action and feel. This includes an advanced sensor mechanism which makes it incredibly responsive to acoustic and electric pianos. The piano sounds are gorgeous. But I recommend you two things to have the same happiness that I have with this piano: 1st, install the latest system update from the Roland website. 2nd, learn to create your own (custom) piano sound; it's easy and there are instructional videos online to help you. Why? Because your idea of how a piano sound should be, is different than my idea, and anyone else idea. Everybody has a different preference. But that's one of the great things about the RD 2000, it does gives you an easy way to create your own dream piano. Both, the V-Piano Engine and the SuperNatural sound engine, both are amazing. Try it! And there's a lot of features and good things to say about this instrument, but I don't want to make this review longer. If you are a pianist, your top priority is the piano sounds and the action/feel. This instrument gives you that, plus the MIDI and stage/performance features. In a few words: When I bought this piano, I was just trying it, but then I couldn't resist to this instrument, and I keep it. I was so amazed of everything! Roland made a really great job with this instrument. I love it forever!