Roland FP50

Description

Discontinued. Replaced by Roland FP60

 

Keyboard Carry Bag

Buy a carry bag to protect your Roland FP50 >> more details
(Thick padding, large pockets, shoulder strap, nametag, 5 year guarantee)

 

Included:

Sustain Pedal
Music Rest
Mains Power Adaptor

 

Roland FP50 Reviews

“I bought the FP50 because of Roland and UK Pianos reputation”

My previous concern of weight, when I made a mock-up, ruled out my first choice of the RP 80. The 50, as expected, is heavy but perfectly manageable. I rate the 80 as transportable and the 50 as portable.
Due to my hearing problem I had preferred the 80’s 102 decibels. However the 98 decibels of the 50 is more than adequate.

Certainly initially I found the key action heavy especially on medium touch when playing in 4/4 at 192 to 208 bpm Metronome. At times too much for 80 year old fingers! I can always compromise using the lighter setting(s). It has taken time to adjust the permutations of the settings but it is now pretty much to my satisfaction.

I have been disappointed that there is a terrible mechanical like thump that overrides the sound of the ‘A’ note below middle ‘C’. However suspicion has fallen on my signal processors and their wireless circuitry that will pick-up from electronic units and also that they are focused on speech frequencies. I have now retrieved my old analog general hearing aids from the drawer, bought some batteries, and this has effected a near transformation.

So, things seem to be getting better and better as time passes. When one ceases to try a challenge, however old, it is time to get in one’s box methinks! I hope this may be of some interest to you.

The reasons I bought the Roland FP50 are:

-You – UK Pianos
-Roland’s reputation (with your help) for quality, authenticity of sound and reliability

Review by David W. Farrow, Burnham-on-Crouch

—

My Roland FP50 has an amazing authentic sound and the feel is very much like playing an acoustic piano, I would never think of changing it other than the weight.

Review by Helen Lewis

 

Questions and Comments (Email your questions to grahamhoward@ukpianos.co.uk)

Hi Graham,

Please may I ask you just one question.
If an 88 key weighted portable piano will suffice.

What is the minimum price you would suggest one needs to spend in order to get a piano that sounds the most realistic (i.e. as good or better than a piano)…… based upon its sound alone?

You advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks, David

Reply/ Hi David

I like your question!

It’s a difficult one to answer, because no portable piano
will ever sound like a real piano.

But I get where you’re coming from.

Let me take a stab at it.

I would say the new Roland FP50 is the best for its price.
The sound quality is very good. It sounds warm, round
and resonant. Very Steinwayish. Quite lovely.

If you are prepared to pay more, then the Roland FP80
will give you an even clearer, cleaner sound. You also
get a smoother, more sensitive key touch.

Check it here

Yours pianistically,

Graham Howard

—

Question/ Looking to buy a portable electric piano for daughter to take to Uni Grade 8 standard. Overwhelmed by choice. She likes playing classical music and Satie, Einaudi etc

Reply/ Hi Sandra

The Kurzweil MPS20 and Roland FP50 would both be suitable for your daughter.
They are our most popular portable-type pianos.

They’re really good pianos and have a realistic key feel and lovely piano tone. There’s little to choose between them, but I would say that the Kurzweil sound is a bit fuller and has more resonance.

You can see them here

Roland FP50

They can both be connected to an external amp.
Although with the Kurzweil it’s probably not necessary because of its large volume range.

Kind regards, Graham Howard

Further Question/ Hi Graham

Are either of those 2 you suggest available on the rental scheme?

Just to add the piano only needs to be portable to actually get it to university – once there it would stay in one place. Would you still suggest the same two?

Reply/ Hi Sandra

Yes, I would still suggest the same two.
They are both quite compact as well.
And you can buy a wooden stand to put it on to make it stable. I recommend this.

The Kurzweil MPS20 is available on the rental scheme.
It is £55 per month with the first 6 months rental going towards the price.

Please let me know if you would like to go ahead.

Kind regards, Graham Howard

 

Description

The Roland FP50 is a digital piano that’s playable, portable and affordable. You get the authentic tone and touch of an acoustic grand piano, plus a large selection of versatile sounds for performing in a variety of situations. This entry-level FP piano is designed to be played every day, with a host of features to make your piano practice more rewarding. The intelligent rhythm feature creates incredible music, providing dynamic, sophisticated accompaniments that automatically follow your performances in real time. Sound, touch and style combine to create an affordable piano that rivals high-end instruments costing many times more.

The FP50 is available in black or white, this compact and stylish digital piano also includes a built-in speaker system, so it’s always ready to go wherever you want to play.

• Roland’s acclaimed SuperNATURAL Piano sound engine
• Ivory Feel-G Keyboard with Escapement
• Built-in speaker system
• Intelligent rhythm feature with full-keyboard chord recognition
• 90 rhythm types, with two variations for each style
• Available in attractive black or white finishes
• Compatible with DP-10 Damper Pedal (included) or RPU-3 Triple Pedal (optional)
• Optional matching stands: KSC-44 (for home use) and KS-18Z (for stage use)
• Optional CB-88RL carrying bag

Style, feel and authentic sound for playing piano at home

When a piano is made to be played every day, it needs to have a comfortable keyboard. The FP-50’s is called the ‘Ivory Feel-G keyboard with Escapement’, which replicates the appearance, texture, and moisture absorbing properties of real ivory. If you’re an experienced player, you’ll appreciate the authentic feel of the keyboard; if you’re a beginner, you’ll be starting in the right place.

The piano sounds of the FP-50 are among Roland’s finest too, using a unique technology called SuperNATURAL Piano to power the grand piano sounds. The FP-50 reacts quickly to your touch over the entire length of the keyboard and the transition of notes from soft to hard is smooth, responsive and realistic – no matter how quickly you play. The ‘decay’ of each note (how long it takes to fade to silence after being played) is also consistent with that of a real grand piano, so the character of the tone changes authentically, as it decays.

Easy to carry, hard to beat

The FP-50 is easy to carry, but sounds much bigger than it looks; in addition to the premium acoustic pianos, it’s brimming with a large selection of essential stage-ready sounds, including SuperNATURAL-based classic EPs, smoky organ tones, emotive strings, modern synths, and more. Stereo outputs let you connect to an external amplification system, while the built-in speakers help you monitor your performance while on stage. The intelligent rhythm feature gives you control of an entire onboard backing band for solo performing, with automatic accompaniment that follows whatever you play on the keyboard.

Helping you become a better piano player

The FP-50 was designed to be played every day and includes several ways to help you practice. You can turn off the built-in speakers and play privately using headphones, allowing you to practice day or night without disturbing family members or neighbours. The on-board Rhythm accompaniments can help you develop your timing and groove, and the wide selection of on-board music styles help expand your versatility. The optional USB memory also lets you play along with your favourite songs saved as WAV audio files, but here’s the clever bit: you can change the key and adjust the speed of the audio, and even reduce the sound of pre-recorded vocals so you can sing over the top. Best of all, you can record your performances back to USB memory as audio data, useful for composing or self-evaluation. SMF songs can be played from USB memory as well.

Fun Air Performer App for iOS Devices

The FP-50 works with Roland Wireless Connect and the free Air Performer app, and you can play along with your favourite songs in your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch through the FP-50’s sound system. Roland Wireless Connect is simple to set up and use, providing convenient, cable-free communication with Apple iOS devices via Roland’s optional WNA1100-RL Wireless USB Adapter.

Keyboard

88 keys (Ivory Feel-G Keyboard with Escapement)

Touch Sensitivity

Key Touch: 5 levels, Fixed Touch Keyboard

Modes

Whole Dual (volume balance adjustable) Split (split point, volume balance adjustable)

Sound Generator

Piano Sound

SuperNATURAL Piano Sound

MIDI Format

Conforms to GM2, GS, XGlite

Max. Polyphony

128 voices

Tones

Grand Piano: 14 tones

E.Piano: 25 tones

Strings: 18 tones

Other: 315 tones (including 8 drum sets, 1 SFX set)

Temperaments

8 types, selectable temperament

key Stretched Tuning (only for piano tones)

On Off

Master Tuning

415.3 to 466.2 Hz (adjustable in increments of 0.1 Hz)

Transpose

Key Transpose: -6 to +5 (in semitones) Playback Transpose: -6 to +5 (in semitones)

Effects

Ambience (Off, 1 to 10) Equalizer (4-band digital equalizer) Only for piano tones: Soundboard Behaviour (Off, 1 to 10) Cabinet Resonance (Off, 1 to 10) Damper Resonance (Off, 1 to 10) String Resonance (Off, 1 to 10) Key Off Resonance (Off, 1 to 10) Only for organ tones: Rotary (Slow/Fast) Only for some tones: Modulation Speed (1 to 127)

Metronome

Tempo

Quarter note = 10 to 500 (When rhythm function turns on: Quarter note = 20 to 250)
Beat2/2, 0/4, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 7/4, 3/8, 6/8, 9/8, 12/8

Volume

11 levels

SMF Recorder

Parts

2 parts (Keyboard, Accompaniment)

Song Save Format

Standard MIDI Files (Format 0)

Songs

1 song

Note Storage

Approx. 30,000 notes

Controls

Song Select Play/Stop Rec Rewinding Fast-forwarding Beginning of song/Previous song Next song Tempo All songs play Count-in Tempo

Quarter note = 10 to 500 (When rhythm function turns on: Quarter note = 20 to 250)

Resolution

120 ticks per quarter note

Rhythm

90 types x 2 variations

Controls

Start/Stop Sync Start Intro/Ending Fill In Variation Chord Hold Leading Bass Rhythm Part

Audio

Playable Format

Audio files (WAV format, 44.1 kHz, 16-bit linear) Recording (when using sold separately USB Flash Memory)

Keyboard SMF data Song Rhythm Recording Format (when using sold separately USB Flash Memory)

Audio files (WAV format, 44.1 kHz, 16-bit linear)

Transpose

Playback Transpose: -6 to +5 (in semitones)

Tempo

Audio Playback Speed: 75 to 125 %

Controls

Song Select Play/Stop Rec Rewinding Fast-forwarding Beginning of song/Previous song Next song Tempo All songs play Center Cancel

External Memory

External Storage

USB Flash Memory Playable Song Format

Standard MIDI Files (Format 0, 1) Roland original format (i-Format) Audio files (WAV format, 44.1 kHz, 16-bit linear) Save Format

Standard MIDI Files (Format 0) Audio files (WAV format, 44.1 kHz, 16-bit linear) Registration set files (Roland original format)

Other

Internal Songs

30 songs Registrations

20 Registrations (capable of pedal shift) Rated Power Output12 W x 2 Volume Level (SPL)98 dB * This figure was measured according to the method that is based on Roland’s technical standard. Speakers(8 cm (3-3/16 inches) x 12 cm (4-3/4 inches)) x 2

Display

Custom LCD Control

Volume (slider)

Other Functions

Panel Lock V-LINK MIDI Visual Control Tone Demo Roland Wireless Connect (wireless LAN function *1) *1: Wireless USB Adapter sold by Roland is required.

Connectors

DC IN jack PEDAL (DAMPER/R, SOFT/L *, SOSTENUTO/C *) jacks : 1/4-inch phone type (* assignable) INPUT jack: Stereo miniature phone type OUTPUT (L/Mono, R) jacks: 1/4-inch phone type USB MEMORY port: USB Type A MIDI (IN, OUT) connectors PHONES jack: Stereo 1/4-inch phone type

Power Supply

AC Adaptor

Power Consumption

9 W (6 to 31 W) 9 W: Average power consumption while piano is played with volume at center position 6 W: Power consumption immediately after power-up; nothing being played 31 W: Rated power consumption

Accessories

Owner’s Manual
AC Adaptor Power Cord
Music Rest
Damper Pedal (capable of continuous detection)

Options (sold separately)
KSC-44 Keyboard Stand:
KS-18Z, KS-G8, KS-12 Carrying Bag:
CB-88RL Pedal Unit:
RPU-3 Damper Pedal:
DP-10 Pedal Switch:
DP-2 Expression Pedal:
EV-5, EV-7 USB Flash Memory (*) * Use USB Flash memory sold by Roland. We cannot guarantee operation if other products are used.

Size and Weight

Width 1343 mm 52-7/8 inches
Depth 313 mm 12-6/16 inches
Height 125 mm 4-15/16 inches
Weight 16.5 kg 36 lbs. 7 oz.

Size and Weight (FP-50 with dedicated stand KSC-44 and music rest)

Width 1343 mm 52-7/8 inches
Depth 405 mm 16 inches
Height 927 mm 36-1/2 inches
Weight 28.9 kg 63 lbs. 12 oz.

 

UK Pianos Customer Reviews on TrustPilot

“I am so pleased with the service from UK Pianos. Graham was so responsive and a real pleasure to do business with.
Purchase, delivery and installation was carried out in 3 hours!”, Dionne Dsane, Enfield

“Your web site and advice has been invaluable! Cannot recommend high enough”,
Barry, Glasgow

Customer Comments

Dear Graham

“Thanks again for the very honest, knowledgeable and impartial advice for confused parents (but music lovers) like ourselves. Many thanks again for all the support and advice.”

Dr A Maitra MBBS, MRCP, MRCPCH, MMedSci
Sheffield, UK

“Many thanks for your article ‘digital pianos – which brand should I buy?’. It was really useful to get an insight of the quality and prices of different brands of digital pianos.”

Rami Al Ashi

“I’d just like to say thank you for the E-mails you’ve been sending me. Some of them were really helpful and informative.”

Many Thanks, Gaz