Graham Howard

“I really like the Roland HP503”

I must say I really like the Roland HP503 – nice feel (it didn’t
have the “clickiness” that other Rolands I tried in the past have got)
good sound, great attack, and a good level of functionality.

It’s a bit more that I was initially intending to spend (it was on
sale for £1575, but I’ve seen it a little cheaper online)

Review by Hugo Allen

 

>> For Roland HP503 information, specifications and prices, click here

“Key touch good, piano sound good, other features disappointing”

Reviews on digital pianos costing 2000 – 2500 EUR (year 2012) confirm that in this price range the products from Roland, Kawai and Yamaha are just excellent ones, and everyone to his taste prefers the one or the other product depending on personal feeling of the dynamic key touch and the sound of the principal piano tone. As recommended, I tried to myself compare the pianos in a store, in order to find out what individually would be the best for me. Limited by local scantiness of demonstration equipment here in the province, I havenn´t got the chance to experience any Kawai. So, comparing the Yamaha and the Roland I quickly found my decision: I am the fortunate owner of a Roland HP 505, now. I am perfectly happy with my decision, and enjoy this great digital piano. No doubt about the quality of the keyboard and principal piano sounds.

But I seriously have to criticize some aspects of the HP 505. It is about the additional features besides the key touch and grand piano sounds, the other things for which I also paid for. I am here disappointed. I owned a Technics KN800 entertainer keyboard about 20(!) years ago, and I blindly expected that technology comforts of that time would certainly be included in any today´s digital instrument. I will comment you on the disappointing aspects here.

Let me first summarize how I came to my decision, to emphasize all the good things of the Roland HP 505.

Touch:
As I never played piano before but played electric organ in the past, I followed the recommendations from pianists as published all over in the digital piano internet discussion forums. I think this topic is best summarized by Graham Howard: “The most important thing you need from a digital piano when you’re learning is a realistic touch. A good piano sound and minimum of 4 touch sensitivity levels (pp, mp, mf and f) are also important. Factors such as dimensions, weight, colour and ‘bells and whistles’ shouldn’t really be the deciding factor in your purchase” (taken from his web site: www.ukpianos.co.uk). It is to be pointed out, that this especially applies to people who are learning to play piano.

As I seriously now want to learn playing piano and know that I am biased by my organ experience, I gave highest priority to carefully follow this recommendation. I believe that the plenty pianists around, who commented in the internet that the keyboards of this price range of digital pianos (> 1700 EUR) would come pretty close to a keyboard feeling of an acoustic piano can’t be wrong all together, and therefore I was right away searching in this price range. I could clearly feel on the Roland keyboard of a HP 503 the extra weight of the keys and necessary extra force for the key strokes (in comparison to an organ keyboard), and most important: for me it felt very well balanced, while the Yamaha keyboard of a CLP 430 behaved somehow imprecise as if some wiggly springs below the keys would slightly impact the up and down movement of the keys.

Sound:
I was searching for a peaceful sound, good to play some dolce and warming music, of course still providing also some exhilarant spring season mood. I was not searching for a bright tune valid for jazz and ragtime music, and not in any need of the piano to stand it’s ground in the context of playing with a band or a choir. I personally felt overwhelmed by the Roland sound in respect to my wishes.

Decision Taking:
Touch and sound decided for a Roland HP 503, but the promise to get an even better (the best available) keyboard from Roland with the HP 505, and to get an even better loud speaker system delivered made me spent some more money and finally blindly bought the HP 505. It was delivered within 2 days, and I am REALLY happy with it – as a piano. Its touch and response feel just perfect to me and make me enjoying playing it, and the sound of the piano can’t be distinguished (neither with very high quality headphones nor very high class HiFi-loudspeakers) from the sound of a grand piano recorded on a purchased piano music CD. My digital piano to me appears even warmer and fuller in sound than what’s coming from CD. Wishes fulfilled.

Further Reading:
As there are no comments on a HP505 on Graham Howard’s site, grab some further information from this comments, who in the one or other aspect are also representative for the HP505. I think they express what I myself experience on the 505:
Read the comments from Carey Humphreys, Brendan Clifford and Dennis Morton here: www.ukpianos.co.uk/roland-hp307-review, and read this two pages to get an impression about which class of keyboard and sound we are speaking about: www.ukpianos.co.uk/roland-hp507 and www.ukpianos.co.uk/roland-rd700gx-review

Donn´t miss to study his site and reviews therein before purchasing your digital piano – to me the most helpful one I found in the internet – especially because descriptions and comments to my own experience really well describe the situation.

Disappointing Aspects of the Roland HP 505:

a) You would expect that there are 10 piano sounds provided? Piano sounds 2 and 3 and 8 are (nice though) variations of sound 1. But sounds 5, 6 and 7 grouped in “Piano-Grand” are unfortunately the concert grand piano sound no 1 layered with strings, pad or choir, and sound no 4 called “Magical”, is described as “a dream like sound” and indeed, it has nothing to do with a piano but sounds like some synthesizer sound. If you then press enough times the “+” button you will finally reach sound no 8, a variation of the sound no 1. This one is described “a grand piano sound notable for its clarity” and is thus perfectly described. Practicing every day for hours, I actually prefer this sound to sound no 1, because it sounds exactly the same beautiful but without the quite noticeable reverb of sound no 1. If I power on the piano I would like to be welcomed with this sound, because practicing is what I do all the day. If I then from time to time want to present myself and just listen to my advances in piano playing, I could still change to the reverberation concert grand. Unfortunately the HP 505 can’t save in the settings which sound should be on by default.

Similar critics on the unfruitful organization of the sound blocks can be applied to all other sound banks as well. There unfortunately is no logics in the grouping of the available sounds. It would be very helpful to group all Piano sounds in a block (uninterrupted from layered and synthesizer sounds), all Pipe and Church Organ sounds in a block, all E-Organ sounds in a block, all brass instruments in a block, etc. . I would like to have a chance to switch between for instance E-Organ sounds by just pressing a button, or only very few times pressing a “+” or “-“ button. But not changing from no 7 to no 32 and back because they are separated so far from each other. Thatn´s just useless to do with the “+” and *-“ buttons. Check and judge yourself on the organization of sounds, it is published on page 54 in the owner´s manual.

b) As listed in the section “troubleshooting” of the ownern´s manual: ”The sound of the higher notes suddenly changes from a certain key: On an acoustic piano, the approximately one and a half octaves of notes at the top of the keyboard will continue sounding regardless of the damper pedal. These notes also have a somewhat different tonal character. The unit faithfully simulate this characteristic of acoustic pianos. On the unit, the range that is unaffected by the damper pedal will change according to the key transpose setting.”

The difference in sustain is so extreme, that I contacted the Roland service because I first thought my digital piano would not work correctly. Now I understand that it is not a failure, but a feature. But I still can’t fully accustom myself to this feature: why is it not possible to provide a parameter in the settings which would let me choose if I want this “classic piano” feature simulated, or if I want a “modern” electronic implementation which overcomes this historical limitation in mechanical damping technique? Instruments can improve and do not have to stay stuck in the past. This is why we play pianoforte today and not anymore fortepiano, or?

c) The high tones of the concert grand piano (sound no 1) sound is clearly dominated by the noise which the hammer mechanics produce on an acoustic piano. I almost can’t hear the sound coming from the piano strings, because the hammering is so loudly simulated. You can call this again a feature, but I do not see the point to suffer it, if it would be so beautiful in a digital piano to hide it and just hear the swinging string harmonics. For sure in the past the engineers tried hard to keep this hammering noise as low as possible, but to a certain extend couldn’t do it better. Now we could! Again: why is it not possible to at least provide a parameter in the settings which would let me choose if I want this or not?

d) There is a “Piano-Early” group of sounds. Unfortunately it is only described to expect “early, mellow, or brilliant” sounds of a fortepiano. Would be nice to know which instrument from which year is simulated. And again (see critics mentioned in (A)): why to group here a sound “Dolcechd”, described as “a dream-like sound that can sound like a pinao or harpsichord”? Finally, we find here also a harpsichord layered with the sound one octave higher ”Hpsd8+4”. Did this really exist in history, or is this just a fantasy variation? Such bad organization of the sound banks really annoys and unnecessarily depreciates the otherwise excellent experience with this digital piano.

e) On my system, also some of the organ sounds change significantly in their sound harmonics, from a certain key on. It is so extreme, that playing a scale from the low to the high tones sounds as if you would change the instrument in between. If the central C is called C4, this then happens on G4 and/or on G5, depending on which sound is selected. Again a feature? For the ear for sure a severe failure!

f) Several parameters can’t be saved in the memory and have to be newly adjusted each time you power on the piano again. This are important functions like the MIDI Local ON/OFF setting, the adjustment of the volume of the audio input, or some HP 50x specific functions like the CPdl Fnc and Oct Shft parameters. Also, the last used sound settings are not memorized after powering off and on the equipment. It would be really comfortable to find already activated in the Piano-Grand/Piano-Early/E.Piano/Strings/Other sound groups the last used sound memorized as before switching the system off. This are features, which usually have been implemented on other electronic instruments already 20 years ago. It is disappointing to still not find such simple things on a brand new and costly > 2000 EUR valued equipment.

g) In times that any mobile device like a cell phone or even a cheap MP3 player comes with an elegant and easy to use display (even touch screen) and menu structure for handling its features, it is disappointing to still have nothing comparable on a brand new hitting the market (2012) over 2000 EUR costly electronic device.

h) The volume controller acts much too heavily between the second and fourth scale points. Around scale point three I find all the volume settings between very quietly practicing and already bothering my neighbors. This range is just the interesting one on a digital home piano. Unfortunately it is extremely hard to fine adjust it in this range. Actually I can’t say how it behaves up to the top of the volume scale, scale points 8 or 10? I did not even check where it reaches the end. Anything louder than 4 will for sure make me see my neighbors quickly, but preventing me from this is the reason to have a digital piano and not an acoustic one. Having in the HP 505 the more powerful speaker system, especially more speakers, is really a win to the HP 503, but precise volume adjustment capability in the lower range should still be a serious focus of a digital home piano.

Summary:
If the key touch and feel wouldn’t be so extremely good, and the primary piano sounds wouldn’t be so extremely good, than I could not recommend the HP 505, because all other electronic function is surprisingly not advanced to the state-of-the-art in current electronics. I do not know how Yamaha and Kawai perform in this respect, but from what I saw on the commercials I wouldn’t expect Kawai to be better in this, neither. Maybe Yamaha is?
The HP505 is an excellent digital piano which I really enjoy and would hardly like to exchange for another digital piano – used simply as a piano and not in desire to change any sound within a song or to frequently change sounds from song to song. The high tone´s sound behavior regarding the un-damped sustain and the very loudly implemented hammer noises deserves attention.

Review by Matthew

 

>> For Roland HP505 information, specifications and prices, click here

“I decided for the HP507 because my friend likes hers”

I decided to buy a roland HP507 which has a lot of features and gadgets that are not so essential(according to Graham Howard’s piano buying guide) for a good digital piano BUT I want a piano with the best keyboard and sound one can find on the market today and as my best friend bought a roland HP507 a year ago or so and who is very happy with it (she is a skilled pianist) and I have some money spend,I decided for this one.

Review by Johannes Thiecke, France

 

“These are customer reviews from actual owners of this piano.
The most recent review is at the top of this page “, Graham Howard, Piano Advisor

Send me an email if you have any questions or need advice: grahamhoward@ukpianos.co.uk
Or call 020 8367 5107

 

“The whole world seems to love it”

The piano has been delivered two day ago,a Roland HP507-PE.I love it,my wife loves it,my granddaughter loves it,even the neighbours love it…for being so silent.Now one small detail :learn to play it.

Review by Jan Thiecke

 

“I haven’t regretted one split second that I bought this instrument”

Why Roland? I’ve been playing music (rock,jazz,…) for about 35 years now and have been working with Roland products quite a lot. In general I’m really satisfied with those products.Other reason is that a good friend of mine bought a Roland digital piano about a year ago so I already had the occasion to try it out.

Now after one month of being the owner of a HP507 a haven’t regretted one split second that I bought this instrument. It looks fantastic,it sounds for almost 99% like a steinway grand,it feels great. Because I start from zero I found myself a private teacher,someone who is working on his master-degree at the royal conservatory of Brussels,to learn me the basics and also to have an introduction into the classical repertoire by somebody who really knows it well.

Sometimes I go to his place and sometimes he comes to my home so he already had the occasion to play on my piano.Actually it is my teacher who was surprised by the quality of sound and feel of the roland(that it feels and sounds for 99 % like a steinway grand).

At his play he has a yamaha “middle class”,relatively not bad but apparently nothing next to mine.And off course he is used to playing on a real steinway grand at the conservatory so I think that his opnion is quite relevant for evaluation a digital piano.

Well,this is it for the moment,I still have to play and practise for a couple of years for really beeing able to evaluate my instrument but in the meantime I have a lot of fun playing it.

Review by K Johannes Thiecke, France

 

“Well worth the money for the enjoyment it has brought the family”

The Roland HP507 digital piano we purchased was one of the best things we’ve ever done and well worth the money for the enjoyment it has brought the family. My son’s playing has gone from strength to strength since having the piano and he has enjoyed experimenting with the vast range of different sounds. He also worked out how to record his playing before his dad did!

My husband loves having a piano in the house at last and commented on how nice the tone is. He also commented on the lovely touch of the keys, the HP507 is not so removed from those of an upright. He prefers the Pianoforte setting as opposed to the Concert Piano setting, which Alex favours, but there’s a sound for every taste. He has been very impressed at how the quality of digital pianos has improved over the years.

I have always cherished a dream of playing the piano and am also learning to play. Thus, I can say hand on heart that this is a piano suitable for anyone of any age and of any ability. Thank you so much for all your advice and we look forward to many happy years of playing.

Review by Lynne Hallett

 

“It was close, but the Roland HP507 had the edge”

I am an occasional piano player in Hong Kong and own a Roland HP307. I am also a school principal since we all have to earn a living!

For our school, I took 4 – 5 of our best student pianists (grade 8 / Diploma level) to play on Yamaha Clavinova 480 and Roland HP507 in different showrooms, with the view of acquiring several of these for them to practice – we have over a dozen pianists studying music in IB Diploma or Hong Kong Diploma (equivalent to A level), and they all need to practice, record as well as compose, so we must have these digital pianos, simply because of the need to have silence in the school(!) which is achieved by plugging in headphones, and also we need the recording MIDI to USB function, as they must generate exam coursework. Its unusual to have so many music students studying it right up to the top of a secondary school; we are by no means a special music school or anything, just a regular good school. (www.css.edu.hk)

Those students who like the Yamaha commented on the (slightly) better sound in the showroom, and those who like the Roland HP507 commented on the (slightly) better sense of touch. I cannot afford to have two of each, because we could run into logistical problems as soon as one piano is out of action, so I have to take a decision to get 4 of the same. The issue is being settled for me simply because Roland can deliver at the start of this school year and there is a 30 day waiting period for the Yamahas. I would still have probably chosen the Rolands, because touch is more critical than sound.

We also looked at replacing an acoustic baby grand, a 6’1″ Kawai C3 in the school hall. It is too small for the hall but it was all we could afford 6 years ago as a new school; the hall is often damp and the piano has to be moved around often (bad for tuning) and worse of all, it doesn’t get played on very often because the hall is very busy with so many other events going on.

I went last night to a premiere showing of the Roland V grand piano and it seemed to have answered all my prayers. Very rich sound, much better than our Kawai, much cheaper than the equivalent Yamaha N3 (probably better sound as well but I could no do a direct comparison) , never needs tuning and always available for students to practice on once they plug in headphones and draw the stage curtains! While the Yamaha digital grand pianos contain sound sampling from Yamaha’s own range of acoustic grand pianos, the Roland claims to provide sound samplings from Steinway grand pianos. I do not have such a refined ear to be able to tell the difference quite honestly, but it does make sense that Roland has teamed up with Steinway since the two brands do not have overlapping products.

We all gave the thumbs down to the hybrid silent pianos – acoustic uprights with a function added to mute the sound and convert to digital. They may be very convenient for parents with awkward neighbours who complain about piano noise, but they seem to take a little something away from the touch/sensation of playing on an acoustic upright piano – probably the depth/travel of the keys, which is slightly shortened for some technical reason. They offer the player nothing much really in our view, and of course cost more than a purely digital piano or a purely acoustic piano.

Once our students get their hands on the Roland HP507s and the Roland V grand piano, I may have more to reflect on. As far as maintenance and care of these machines are concerned, and the more technical aspects of their performance I will refer your publication to the head of music and her students.

Thanks once again,

Review by Siu Ming, Hong Kong

 

>> For Roland HP507 information, specifications and prices, click here

“The FP4 has a nice, firm key touch”

We looked at Yamaha, Casio Priva & Roland and tried each in London (Chappels & Harrods) & locally at KeySound (Leicester). Yamaha sounded tinny, Casio was good and Roland FP4 very nice. Decided to push the boat out and go for the most expensive.

The FP4 has a nice, firm key touch which seems ideal for 2 young boys just starting to learn piano. In white it can fit in anywhere in the house.

So far after about 3 weeks we’re very pleased with our choice.

Review by Bob

 

“These are customer reviews from actual owners of this piano.
The most recent review is at the top of this page “, Graham Howard, Piano Advisor

Send me an email if you have any questions or need advice: grahamhoward@ukpianos.co.uk
Or call 020 8367 5107

 

“The action was not entirely Piano like as it was quite light”

When I tried the Roland FP4 I was so relieved.  The action was not entirely Piano like as it was quite light, but very pleasant to use. The sensitivity for hard to soft was not like a Piano but was still enough for some expression and was fun to use. (I only tried for 10 mins while the Yamaha P155 was being brought in from the warehouse).  I can see why people like Roland keyboards.

Review by John Taylor

 

>> For Roland FP4 information, specifications and prices, click here

“One feature that I’ve used really stands out already, and that’s the ‘Session Partner’.”

Hi Graham,

I got a Roland FP7 through my local Professional Music Technology store  –  I’ve bought a lot of stuff from them in the past and would have felt very disloyal going anywhere else.  I haven’t had a great deal of time to get to know it yet, but one feature that I’ve used really stands out already, and that’s the “Session Partner”.  The way the display shows what chord is playing, what chord is going to come next, and highlights the next chord a beat before the change seems a really well thought-out idea, enabling you to improvise much more securely till you get used to the pattern aurally.

This was one of the pianos you rated.  Thanks very much indeed for all your comments and advice  –  much appreciated.

Review by Stephen Dunstone, UK

 

“These are customer reviews from actual owners of this piano.
The most recent review is at the top of this page “, Graham Howard, Piano Advisor

Send me an email if you have any questions or need advice: grahamhoward@ukpianos.co.uk
Or call 020 8367 5107

 

“The FP7 is simpler for those not involved in complicated stage work and recording”

I was able to spend two hours in a Roland Planet where there was a really helpful demonstrator on hand and to compare it with the other options both Roland and Yamaha (and a couple of others). Definitely the FP7 is simpler for those not involved in complicated stage work and recording and who basically want the best portable options on top of feel and sound quality.

It is amazing but I hear that a slightly more updated model is around the corner and that is possibly why they wanted to clear their stock. The internal amps are very good indeed and although I bought an amp for playing at larger venues, I will be surprised if it will be needed for many!

The instruction booklet is very well done for those who are inexperienced or non-technical and well worth working though slowly. The realism of the various sounds is incredible, especially the double base accompaniments.

Review by Paul Hewitt, Edinburgh, Scotland

 

“The keys weren’t as noisy as some”

The main reasons I bought a Roland FP7 were the feel of the keys with the graded hammer action and they weren’t as noisy as some with the volume turned down, a tip I picked up from Graham Howard of ukpianos.co.uk, it has avery good sound and the added advantage of being able to plug in an audio system and play along with my favourite tracks.

I bought an ex demonstration model and managed to get nearly £400 off the retail price.

Another reason for chosing the roland was the size originally I was thinking of getting the Yamaha Arius but the cabinet was too big for my room and the Roland fits perfectly

Review by David Gear, Eastbourne

 

“The feel of the keyboard is the best part of this piano”

It has the so called “escapement” keybed- I know from your article that you
consider this un-necessary and its hardly appropriate to have an escapement
mechanism on a non mechanical piano- but if you press a key very gently you
do feel the slight bump sensation as if the escapement has dis-engaged. It
does add realism to the touch although I’m not sure if its worth the extra
money.

The keys are nice as they are replica ivory so have a dull surface and from
the side they look like wood- but it is just wood coloured plastic- a Roland
illusion !

The feel of the keyboard is the best part of this piano. It is loaded with
various features I do not really need like auto accompaniments for jamming,
and a vocal harmoniser if you wish to plug in a microphone- again –
irrelevant to myself- so how did the FP7F get on my shortlist?- well it has
the new Roland Supernatural sound- which is the computer modelling to fill
in the gaps between the 4 layer samples. Thats why I tried it out.It may
sound better with external amplification as some pianos sound different when
you can stand back from the sound rather than hear it close up.

After playing it for 2 hours- I just did not think that it sounded good
enough,a very nice piano sound and superb action but it did not give me “The
Thrill” of playing a Grand Piano. So thats why I walked out of the shop
without it.

Review by David Spencer

 

>> For Roland FP7 information, specifications and prices, click here

“It lacks the authentic feel, an experienced pianist would probably turn up their nose at it”

I purchased my Roland F110 piano from Nevada Music in Portsmouth. This was based upon your recommendation, and a few other points listed below. I wanted the white version of the piano, and this store was about the only one left in the uk who had them in stock. Roland have a large back order, and most places were not expecting stock until the end of january / middle of February.

I was eventually comparing the Korg LP350 and the Roland F110 (both in white to match the decor of my house).

The reasons I decided on the Roland are:

Larger range of voices

Higher Polyphony

Line in (I have a Boss 16 track recording unit with drums, guitar and vocal effects built into it, I can plug this directly into the Piano and use the speakers of the piano for everything…much neater)

Some nice features:

3d spatial sound makes the grand piano sound increadible….it lacks depth without it. Unfortunately this cannot be set to default, but as soon as you learn the menu system it’s easy enough to set.

Keyboard split and several tracks for recording is useful.

Bad features:

Although the keyboard is ok, compared to the next model up DP900, it lacks the authentic feel.

Menu system is annoying, its based up pressing several buttons together, a better display on the unit would really simplify things.

Overall:

Great fun piano for learning on.  An experienced pianist would probably turn up their nose at it, but for someone to learn on it great.  Aesthitically I wanted a white piano, so my choices were limited.  If I wanted a black piano, I would strongly recommend spending a little more and going for the DP990 (or whatever the model number is…look it up if you want to post this).  They keyboard on it is fantastic, and has 3 sensitivity levels to get some really clever effects on some voices.

Review by Adrian Barfield

 

“I live in a flat the compact F110 was an ideal option”

Dear Graham,

Thank you for your very helpful book and support you provide on this area.

I am very happy with my Roland F110. The piano is for myself. This piano suits the requirements I had (good touch and sound) and I prefer the sound of a Roland to that of Yamahas – I simply just fell in love with the more crispy tone. As I live in a flat the compact F110 was an ideal option.

Also, unlike some of Yamaha’s digital piano’s in the same price range – it had decent speakers included (2x12W). However, I ended up spending more than I had expected when I started to look into the possible options – I guess I felt that in the long run, the extra amount was worth it in the long run.

Also, for me the look and the feel is also important, so I cannot help the urge to play.

Review by Annette, Copenhagen, Denmark

 

“This piano has given me much joy already in just a few weeks!”

After Graham Howard’s stellar advice, I bought a Roland F110. Here are my two cent’s:

I am simply delighted with my Roland F110! Size was a big concern for me, because I live in a small, crowded appartment. And it may only be a few inches smaller (depth-wise) than most digital pianos, but it really makes a difference. It doesn’t overpower the room, so to speak. I do not have the knowledge or experience to compare it to other digital piano’s. I can really only compare it to the old, upright (acoustic) piano that my family still owns and which is badly in need of tuning… I played as a child, and haven’t played in 30-odd years, so I am no piano expert, digital or otherwise. But in the store I liked the Roland’s sound better than a Yamaha model which was a similar price. I´ve had it for a few weeks now, and I love playing it. The keyboard touch feels real and weighted enough for me. The first day I played around some with the different voices (strings, choir, drums, etc), but now I really only play the regular piano sound. I play with good quality in-ear headphones, to keep my neighbours happy (and my ears burn when I use circum/supra-aural headphones). And the sound quality is good enough for me. This may not be the piano for very experienced players or people who play for an audience, but I play for my personal enjoyment and this piano has given me much joy already in just a few weeks!

Review by Anne Beckers, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

 

“It fits the bill for me”

After some research based on Graham’s Buyer’s Guide, of course, I found a white Roland F-110
at sale price as it had ben on display and has been replaced by the F-120. It fits the bill
for me of being a bit more than just a digital piano with a good number of options and
facilities and yet not overwhelming.

I’m mostly playing classical at the moment but want the option of branching out later.
I also like that it takes up minimal space and is less chunky than some that look just like
new pianos. I was surprised to find that I like the sound better than the Yamaha or Korg
that I was looking at.

Review by Gina Lawrie, Farnham, UK

 

>> For Roland F110 information, specifications and prices, click here

“The sounds are great”

I have always been a fan of Roland. I love the sound of their basic piano sound and the touch on the keyboard. I bought this piano for the worship band at church. It needed to be in a budget around a 1000 pounds.

After careful considerations and research, we choose this model against the yamaha CP33. I am very pleased with it: it is a full stage digital piano but it is very light and easy to transport. The sounds are great and we were immediately able to use his main functions without reading the manual. It also looks modern and has everything we needed without costing a fortune.

Review by Rachel Lee, London, UK

“Overall, it is a very inspiring instrument and I’m very happy I have it”

The sound is amazing, as I dont have an amplifier yet, I use my Koss
headphones and the sound coming through that is like a real piano, no doubt
with fantastic bass tone colour. The only thing is that if you hold a chord
for a longer time, then the sound later gets unreal, quite chemical.

The touch is very nice as well, its a definite non slippery surface,
which must be nice for people with sweaty hands. I think I need to get used
to it a bit, but great!

What I’m really missing (or maybe it’s there but I haven’t found it yet) is
a simple record button that would give me an immediate control of my
performance. I know I can record through MIDI sequencer (which I don’t have)
or through digital recorder (don’t have either…not yet). My old Roland
digital piano (I think it was HP135) that I bought in 1997 has this button
and somehow automatically I thought that this one would have it too.

I love the fact that I can play MP3 formats from my USB hard drive, play
along with that, slow it down (could have been more than 25% but that will
have to do :-), something I will definitely use for better understanding of
quick solos.

There is plenty of features that I will most probably never use but that is
determined by the type of music I do.

On the downside, I’m missing a simple sheet music stand. I know that it is a
stage piano and you don’t normally use sheet music on the stage, but it is
made for other purposes than just stage performance… like rehearsals, home
study etc. when you need to have music or notes in front of you. It wouldn’t
be that difficult for Roland engineers to make 2 holes at the back where a
simple one bent bar holder can be pushed in for an occasional use.

Overall, it is a very inspiring instrument and I’m very happy I have it
(although I had to spend 600 GBP more on it here in South Africa than in the UK

Review by Hana Rowe, South Africa

 

“I was simply amazed by the keyboard touch”

I purchased a Roland RD-700GXF from J&R Music in NYC. I am delighted. Graham Howard’s positive comments on the 700GX at UKPianos got my interest in the instrument going. From there, a friend of a friend – a student at the The Berkeley School of Music in Boston – let me spend time with his Roland 700GX. I liked the sound (on headphones) right away and was simply amazed by the keyboard touch. I started playing acoustic pianos when I was a child. Decades later, I’ve rarely played anything else. I’ve owned and used everything from barely functioning, cheap spinets to Steinway grands, but never a digital.

Now a combination of space and cost pushed me toward a digital piano. I first heard a Roland at a Jazz club and was struck by the sound quality (I believe it was a Roland V-piano). Yet I assumed that an instrument of that sort
(plus the amplifier, stand, etc) was out of my price range, and that anything much cheaper would sound and feel,
well, cheap. I first looked at the Yamaha and Roland home pianos. However the cost and the size were problems.

Then, based on Graham’s comments, I started looking into the digital stage pianos and found both problems solved. In addition, through musician friends, I was able to pick up the rest of the gear cheaply. I like the fact that the 700GX is “expandable.” Indeed, my RD-700GXF is already “expanded” with the “SuperNatural” piano sounds from Roland. I am slowly learning all of the instrument’s many other possibilities. This will take both time and help. One possibility I enjoy is the “pipe organ” tone. It is rather good. I am regularly drafted to be a “fill-in” church musician. I am an “OK” pianist and very poor organist (never got the pedal board down). Yet having the Roland organ sound helps me to work on fingering and phrasing (though I have to fight the urge to use the damper pedal!

Review by Bob Power, New York

“The keys were OK to start with then I noticed wear on the white keys”

I eventually purchased an RD700GX and have some observations.

The sound quality is first class through the headphones. I am using my
Tyros Amp and don’t find the sound is as good as through the phones so
am still unsure about which amp/speakers I should purchase that will
reproduce the sound quality of the headphones

The keys were OK to start with then I noticed wear on the white keys,
the so called Ivory Feel keys. After 4 months I contacted Roland and
explained the problem. They collected the instrument, replaced the
keys returned it within a week and its been OK since but time will
tell.

Review by David Hoyle

 

“Solution is to move piano to ideal position”

Here is small note for David Hoyle review. I experienced the same sound quality doubt. Problem is not inside Roland (or any other stage digital piano) neither in sound system (good one). Problem is that you are very likely listening sound from your instrument in different position then your speakers are designed to be listened. Put your speakers 1 – 2 metres in front of you to the same height as your head is. Do it during day with volume quite high. (Piano is not silent instrument) You will be amazed with sound improvement

Explanation: Majority of us is using this instrument (or other digital stage pianos) in our houses because we do not have space for bigger instrument, but we would like to have the best possible sound. We have at home decent sound systems which sounds great for our cd/dvd collection and we connect our machine to it. Problem is that we are listening our cds in sofas with sound system in ideal position (triangel) but piano is in corner or next to wall and we are often playing it at evening with volume down Solution is to move piano to ideal position, to buy second set of speakers and put them to ideal position for piano player or finaly, piano player is using headphones and listeners are listening from sofa. Caution – do not forget to switch off your sound system at midnight when you are playing and using your headphones. Neighbours takes it funny only first time.

Review by Daniel Vandansk

“Roland FP4-F versus Yamaha P155 versus Kawai ES6 – it blew both out of the water!”

I decided on a Roland FP-4F. I tried out a number of pianos in the €1000-1500 range. I was going to buy the Kawai ES6 but upon playing it, while it sounds nice (especially the piano and strings combo) I didn’t like the feel. It felt quite “soft”, I’m not sure how else to describe it… there wasn’t effort required to press the keys down… a lack of inertia I guess. My next option was the Yamaha P155 and I did quite like it, the touch was good and it seemed to sound more like an acoustic than the Kawai, perhaps due to the reverb on the Kawai which made it sound more “warm”.

However, the Roland FP-4F, in my opinion, blew both out of the water. I wasn’t even going to try it as it was a bit more expensive than the other two and they were already stretching my budget. But I was glad I did.

Firstly upon playing it I thought it was going through a Keyboard amp. Right before trying it I had tried a Yamaha without speakers which was going through an amp and the Roland sounded similar. It is VERY loud. The speaker are only 12W each, the same as the Yamaha P155 but their performance is far greater. You could easily play a gig in an intimate venue without an amp. Even at the halfway mark it is quite loud, it is quite incredible.

Next the keys. The keys have an “ivory-feel” which I love. The keys of the other pianos have a cheap plastic feel to them and it was only upon playing the Roland that I realised how much I didn’t like them.

The action is quite heavy compared to other digital pianos including the Roland FP-7F which seems to be a step up from the 4F. I’ve read one or two reviews online that said they found the 4F tiring to play for long sessions. I prefer this heavier action though and the action can be changed using the function mode to change it to a lighter touch if necessary though I haven’t tried that yet.

I’m not an experienced pianist, having never had formal lessons but one thing I’ve learned from playing various digital pianos is that while it can be useful to separate action and sound (listening to someone else play was important, makes it a lot easier to tell if it sounds like an acoustic), I feel that it is the action and sound together that should guide your decision. As in how the action affects the sound. I didn’t necessarily really like the action of the Roland when I played the keys while it was turned off, it was only when the speakers came on that I fell in love with it.

Review by Steven Pillay, Ireland

 

“These are customer reviews from actual owners of this piano.
The most recent review is at the top of this page “, Graham Howard, Piano Advisor

Send me an email if you have any questions or need advice: grahamhoward@ukpianos.co.uk
Or call 020 8367 5107

 

“I now have the piano and am extremely satisfied”

I bought a Roland FP-4F.
Wanted the 7F but the feature price difference did not give me the incentive to get it.

I purchased it based on recommendation from friends who have also bought it and reviews from the internet.

Though it had a few critical comments from several players about the noisy key action mostly from people who have had the FP4 before.

I now have the piano and am extremely satisfied. especially with the samples. I tried the P95 yamaha but just did not like the samples and also the number of touch sensitivity, 2 vs 5. its a easy winner.

Review by Ken Chew

 

“The keyboard is a luxury for the eyes”

Hi Graham,

Here are my impressions on the Roland FP4F.

First of all let me say Graham Howard’s piano buyer’s guide had a strong role in my final choice.

I am 68 years old and till 2 years ago I never played a keyboard.
I thought that once defined my objectives I could buy the cheapest piano
even if I colud have some reserve.
Reading the guide I changed my mind and I decided to buy the best I
could afford also thinking that I will not buy another piano for a long time
and my choice was Roland FPF4.

Now a review of an unexpert pianist, and the consideration that guided me.

1. The aspect.
Speaking of a piano one should start from sound and mechanics, but what I saw the first time is that this piano is beautiful, is narrow and slim, wery well finished in all details, the keyboard a luxury for the eyes.
It is also light compared to is competitors: 16.6 Kg against 18.6 of Yamaha P155 and 21.5 of Kaway ES6.
Now I think that if a brand invest so much in the aspect of their products this is an index of higher quality.

2. The sound.
I like particularly the sound of piano 1,2,3  but in general I like all the piano sounds, I also like the
reverb and equalizer functions. The equalizer I don’t know exactly what it meams,
but it gives to the sound a touch of brightness very nice.
Speaking of sound, the speakers give a powerful voice which is perfectely adeguate.
In general, even if I like the Rolnad sound, I have to say that this was what I expected
and one could prefer Yamaha or Kaway sound.

I have sone concern about the lower keys, they give some distorsion in the tuning,
especially the F1 key, but it seems that this was disappearing  after some day of use.

This piano has something like more than 300 tones and I have not interest in that,
furthermore from number 51 they start again with a piano1 that I cannot
distinguish from number 1 piano1, so I wonder why they exist, perhaps I will discover
one day.

3. The keyboard and the touch.
The “Ivory Feel” keyboard is really a plus for that piano.
When you put your fingers on this keyboard you feel the real difference.

I also like the softness of this keyboard, but this is a personal feeling: someone
could prefer a harder weighted keyboard.

But what is really superb is the “Supernatural Piano” touch.
You really feel that the sound changes when you play hardly or softly.
It means that this keyboard has a real responsiveness to the touch.

4. The other features.
I will not speak of the plenty of others features that this piano has.

I verified the funtion of metronome and pedal, but there I stopped.

In my future I will look at session partner, rhythms, registration,
connectivity, midi and usb, all things that I suppose are very useful, but
in which I am not very interested.

So this is what I have experienced in the first days of use, and now
I will go on to play my piano very happily.

Review by Sergio

 

“Good for gigging”

I’m very impressed by the touch of the sound and weight (good for gigging) of the Roland FP-4F.
I found a decently priced one too!

Review by Veronica, Australia

 

“I immediately felt the improvement over the Yamaha”

I was looking for a digital piano so that I could practice with headphones on. I play classical music to LRSM standard and am an acoustic piano aficionado (or snob). So my main criterion was that the digital played as much like an acoustic piano as possible. I also wanted it to be portable, in case I get asked to play somewhere without a (decent) instrument.

I had tried out some Yamaha portables (P155) in a local shop and after initially thinking they weren’t too bad to play, got very depressed that it was a compromise too far when I returned to give them a proper work out with the pieces I was currently practising. I then came across the UK Piano website with its wealth of information and advice. I emailed Graham for his advice on my specific requirements and he promptly came back with his suggestion of the Roland FP-4F.

I then went to a local shop to try that out and immediately felt the improvement over the Yamaha, so I duly bought the FP-4F. It was more expensive than I’d originally anticipated spending, but it is worth it – I do use it to practise, when I can easily imagine spending less on a lesser piano but not playing it at all.

The touch is still not as good as an acoustic, but it is sufficiently close that I’m happy to play even the romantic repertoire, and not just practice fingerwork.

I don’t think anyone would be able to tell from its sound alone it is digital, and sampling Steinway makes it close to my acoustic Boston grand. The Roland FP-4F is not quite as portable as I’d envisaged – being able to lift it is not quite the same as manipulating it on and off the stand!

I am extremely grateful for the info and advice on the UK Pianos website and to Graham for cutting through it all to narrow down my search. If it weren’t for him I believe I would have made an expensive and useless purchase.

Review by Gillian Butcher

 

“There’s lots of things about the functions I don’t like, but the sound is good”

Thanks for your informative digital piano information, Graham.

I recently bought a Roland FP-4F. Two years ago I bought a Yamaha P155 which I will be giving to my daughter for her children to start lessons. I wanted something a bit better than the Yamaha as I found its sound and action a bit weak compared to the FP-4F. I also like the key texture better on the latter as I will be using it at my cottage in the summer where it is very humid and my fingers tend to grab on the Yamaha plastic when I sweat.

The action is somewhat springy compared to the Yamaha’s but I don’t find it tiring as some people seem to find it to be. I have always preferred Yamaha over Roland. Had a P200 which I gave to my other daughter and I still have a P90 with my home midi setup. But nowYamaha doesn’t make anything comparable to the FP-4F and that’s too bad.

There are a lot of things about the functions on the FP 4 I don’t like but the sound is better than the P155 when I compare them side by side in my home. However, neither of them really come close to a real piano. I have a 6 ft. Pleyel and will probably never really be satisfied with digital pianos. I have played commercially in groups and bars for many years so I have seen about everything in broken down pianos so I guess we must get used to the digital era.

Review by Peter Johnson, Canada

 

>> For Roland FP-4F information, specifications and prices, click here

“I have always felt happier getting exactly what I wanted”

I am about to purchase a Roland FP-7F because of its sound, and the actions and, not the least important, the appearance (call me superficial) of the “fake ivory” keys. I was about to buy Korg SP250 ($1000 less) but I just could not get over the flimsiness of SP250. It had good base sound but I found higher key notes are not good, very uneven – some keys are really mechanical-sounding than others. Also the keys were more wobbly sideways (one of you checklist items). So I decided to spend $1000 more on FP-7F. I hope I am not making a mistake. From my past “materialistic” experience, I have always felt happier getting exactly what I wanted, with the price being the secondary priority.

Review by Mas Tatsui, Kansas, USA

 

“These are customer reviews from actual owners of this piano.
The most recent review is at the top of this page “, Graham Howard, Piano Advisor

Send me an email if you have any questions or need advice: grahamhoward@ukpianos.co.uk
Or call 020 8367 5107

 

“I love the new ivory III keyboard”

Dear Graham,

Thanks for your advice for picking up digital piano, I really learnt a lot from your advice and finally bought my Roland FP-F7.
I am not a professional at all, so can’t contribute too much review on the digital piano. I used to play acoustic piano when I was little. So I can tell that FP7’s sound is really good and I love the new ivory III keyboard, they feel really like high-end acoustic pianos!

The resistence of the keys is a bit less than the acoustic ones, but I am not bothered with it at all, it helps me to play with fast songs. I just got the piano yesterday, therefore haven’t explored too much about the functions yet.

Review by Stella Hu

 

“The Roland SuperNatural sound (with good headphones) is the best sounding DP I have ever heard”

Hi Graham,

I had my mind made up that I was going to buy a Yamaha CP300 (I’ve owned one before, great DP). I mostly play at home but will gig 2-3 times a year with friends. So I need some portability.

I love the external speakers on the CP300 and many easy access functions. Also, piano and EP sounds good for a DP with nice GHE action. However, when I sat it front of it after an absence of owning one, the technology and action seemed to be a little dated now especially for $2,000 – a lot of $$$ for a DP with 2006 technology.

So , I looked at the RD700NX, incredible keyboard, but it had too many features for me and no onboard speakers.
However, everything I like so much about the RD700NX I found in the FP7-F mostly the PHAIII keyboard. So, I bought the FP7-F. After playing the FP7F, the CP300 seemed so outdated in so ways. The PHAIII keyboard on the Roland is amazing to play ( I can discuss that forever).

The Roland SuperNatural sound (with good headphones) is the best sounding DP I have ever heard out of the many I’ve tried. Also, some great rhythm and mic features that I have not used yet, but will soon.. My only concern with the FP7-F was the external speakers being weaker than the CP300, so much that I was almost willing to give up all the Roland SN sounds, PHAIII action and cutting edge features to get another CP300 just for the great beefy onboard speakers.

However, I found a VERY simple solution, I just added a small powered subwoofer to the FP7-F and now it really
sounds tremendous! As good and beefy or maybe better even than the CP300. I’m so happy with my purchase now and cant say enough of great things about it. I got very lucky and found a great deal paid $1,699 for the FP7-F during a 15% off President’s Day special. Original price is was $1,999. The CP300 was $1,999 with no promotion.
You can still find either keyboard for under $1,999 if look online or ask a store vendor to match some pricing.

Review by Mark, Boston, USA

 

“It really was an easy choice after reading your guide”

Hello Howard,

Thank you for your help in choosing the right digital piano for my daughter. I read your guide and everything became easier to understand. I learnt what was important when choosing a piano in a few hours.
I finally settled on the Roland FP7F because it is reasonably small and light for a weighted keyboard with integrated speakers and the piano voice is really nice. It really was an easy buy after reading your guide and being comforted in my choice reading a few posts on the pianoworld forum.

I was tempted to buy it from Thomann due to previous good experiences with them but in the end bought it together with stand, gig bag and RPU3 pedals at a local music shop for not much more.
If prices are reasonable, I’d rather give my business to a local shop.

Review by Alexander Leitchenstein

 

“The sound is quality and the touch is VERY good”

We opted to purchase the Roland FP-7F. We recd it last week and my daughter has been playing non stop since our purchase. The sound is quality and the touch is VERY good. She has been experimenting with all the various sounds available, and were very curious to try out the  harmonizing effect. Also excited to see her start recording her compositions using the USB.
Thanks so much for all your advice- very helpful!

Review by Alexia Jowers

 

“I opted for the Roland FP-7F for the sound quality”

We were looking for a high-quality digital keyboard – something that we could potentially use for my daughter’s rehearsals that are sure to develop in her near future, as well as for my off-site studio events. I own a beautiful baby grand 5’1″ Kawai that I teach from, by the way. However, my daughter was doing more and more tinkering around and composing her own music on a cheap Yamaha keyboard we had in her room. Since she is becoming a serious player, I figured it was time to replace that with something she could move forward with. One day, I see passing this keyboard on to her to take to college and/or her first place.

We value sound/touch VERY much – what is the point if it doesn’t sound/feel REAL? I had been leaning towards the Roland FP-4 because of the portability, but had real concerns about the weight taking away the quality of sound. I opted for the twice as heavy Roland FP-7 (80 lbs!). I figure for the 4-6 times a year that we might be taking it out of the house, I’ll get help unloading/setting up My poor husband might have preferred the the FP-4, but as long as I’m happy, he’s happy :):)

Review by Alexia Jowers, Orlando, Florida, USA

 

“The tone was more like a honky-tonk sound”

I bought one of the pianos you recommended, Roland fp-7f, and in two areas of the keyboard, approx 3rd and 6th octave, the tone was more like a honky-tonk sound and the more I played the more I detected that sound in other keys. I went back to dealer and his piano was the same. Exchanged for a Kawai es7.

The overall sound on Roland fp-7f was superior to the Kawai and would have preferred it if not for the tone problem.

Review by AL

 

>> For Roland FP-7F information, specifications and prices, click here